Tag Archives: exercise

The First Day of Summer Vacation and Other Matters

Posted on May 31, 2011 | 6 comments

Hi Everyone!

I hope each of you had a great Memorial Day weekend!  We did; we didn’t do anything special, but we got to go bowling, nap, shopping, nap, attend church, nap, eat out, nap – you get the idea! 

Today marks a change in the rhythm of our lives for the next two and a half months – Kayla’s summer vacation starts today.  Until I taught, many moons ago, I didn’t realize how much teachers look forward to summer vacation.  Until Kayla started Kindergarten, I also didn’t realize how much parents enjoy summer vacation, too.  I don’t have to fuss about homework; bed time, while still important, is not essential; and getting Kayla ready in the morning amounts to being sure she is dressed properly instead of the list of things we have to have ready for school. 

Specifically for us, too, summer vacation is different because I take Kayla to a day camp near to where I work, which means that she and I ride to and from work together.  I am looking forward to the extra time with her, although I have to resign myself to the fact that I will be listening to the Disney Channel radio for the next two and a half months, also. 

  •      Rememborizing

On the way to the bowling alley this weekend, Kayla was trying to tell us that she either remembered something or had memorized it, I am not sure which, but the word that came out was “rememborized.”  She tried again with another variation, and finally got frustrated and said “Whatever,” which in 9-year-old parlance translates to “you know what I mean so let’s get past the pronunciation and on to the discussion.”

  • Santa Claus

When we went shopping this weekend, one of the things we needed were new white church shoes for Kayla.  We noticed Sunday that her feet were hanging off both the front and the back of her old church sandals.  (She is in the middle of a growth spurt.)  As we were walking into the store, out of the blue, Kayla started talking about maybe buying some underwear also, then, remembering that she had gotten some from Santa for Christmas (yes, folks, she got a lot of other things too, and they were all toys), stopped in the middle of the road  and asked Mark and I, “How did Santa Claus know my underwear size?”  I asked her if Santa knew whether she had been good or bad, why couldn’t he know her underwear size?  She answered, “That’s just embarrassing!  

  • The Treadmill 

For Father’s Day, I got Mark a treadmill.  It came last week, a little early, so he took some time yesterday to put it together, with Kayla’s help.  She did a very good job helping him, both in reading the directions, handing him the necessary parts and sometimes getting to handle some of the tools, like the wrench and screwdriver, and even the drill (used as a screwdriver) once or twice. 

Once Mark and she got it put together, it was time to try it out, briefly.  Each of us spent about two minutes on it, just to see if it worked.  What we didn’t expect was the dogs’ reaction to it.  Tyra ignored it, but Mandy was mesmerized, and Darwin, unwilling to let his twin enjoy something without him, decided he would be mesmerized, too.  I thought maybe it was just a one day thing, but this morning, when Mark got up early to use the treadmill, the two dogs camped out by the treadmill yet again.

Mandy, Fascinated by the Treadmill

Mandy and Darwin Mesmerized by the Treadmill

You never know exactly what is going through the minds of your dogs at any particular time, except maybe feeding time, but I sure would like to know what they are thinking while they watch the treadmill! 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Just stuff..., On the Home Front, Pets, working mom

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My Unintended Exercise

Posted on February 21, 2011 | 2 comments

We spent this weekend with our friends in Augusta, and in the process I managed to get quite a workout.   Our friends/cousins have a little girl also, and the two girls love to play with each other.  They also have a 19 year old cat named Muffin.  Poor Muffin was soundly harassed by the two girls, who wanted to pick her up and play with her and love on her, all while they were shrieking at the top of their lungs, until all parents finally managed to be firm enough to get across the idea that the cat had to be LEFT ALONE!  It took a few hours to get the message across, and I expect on Monday Muffin will be hiding somewhere trying to recover from a nervous breakdown

Our friends also have a dog named Sadie, who is a beautiful little black and white dog that reminds me of a border collie, only smaller.  I went to let Sadie out of the pen to go into the house, and instead she rocketed out of her pen, took a hard left instead of going straight, and ran down one of the tallest hills I have ever seen.  My friend had to stay with the girls, so I took off after Sadie.  With the help of some friendly neighbors, I followed the trail of the dog down the hill, then with the help of another neighbor across the street at the bottom of the hill, I managed to recapture the dog.  Of course, going down was a lot easier than going back up, and this time I had the dog to haul with me also.  I have tried since to guess how far up I had to climb, and I think it is the equivalent of an eight story building stretched out over about a quarter mile.  I managed to recross the street while I was carrying the dog, but then I had to stop and rest for a minute at which time the first set of neighbors who had helped me track the dog came out and offered the use of a leash, which was very gratefully accepted.  The dog thought it was a great adventure and felt like she bonded with me through the experience.  I thought it was an awfully big hill to have to climb down and back up again, but at least the dog was okay!

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Posted in The quest for health

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