Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The Zoo Revisited

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Kim and the kiddos, taken by one of my colleagues at the zoo summer reading event. So cute!

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Monday, May 19, 2008

The End of Play

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This morning was the last "Tots in Motion" Parents as Teachers playtime for LB.

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

Trike


He says it's got a VW engine, a Suzuki front end, and a Harley frame.

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Saturday, May 17, 2008

A Stroll Around The Neighborhood


I put TS in the frontpack this evening for a 30-minute walk. She fussed a lot going in, but seemed to enjoy the experience once we got moving.

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Buggy at the zoo


Today was the kickoff for the library Summer Reading Program, held at the zoo this year. In keeping with our kids' theme of "Catch the Reading Bug" (and the teens' complementary "Metamorphosis" theme) the zoo did some insect displays, including an opportunity to pet a giant cockroach!

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Friday, May 16, 2008

Bowling night


This was LB's first time at a real bowling alley. I think he did a great job, given his age.

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Xylophones


Earlier today, we had to bring BB his backpack at school. The music teacher let LB play with the Orff instruments.

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Watch your step!


BB and LB went for a walk with me around the complex tonight. I carried TS. The storm rolling in along with the lateness of the hour created this weird light.

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Friday, May 09, 2008

Blood Drive


People think I'm crazy, but one of the most satisfying things I do on a regular basis is donate blood. A tiny amount of pain and an hour of your time provide so much to people who need it.

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Thursday, May 08, 2008

Motorvatin'


Not sure if LB's doing Peter Fonda or Dennis Hopper here. What do you think?

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London Bridge?


Not sure what's happening here. They might be playing together or they might be fighting over a toy.

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On Deck


Here's a photo my mother-in-law took when they came to visit last month. More to come shortly.

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Oh, Dewey!


Laura Raphael was a real trouper tonight. After the tornado warning was over, she still went on stage and did a marvelous job with her one-woman show about the wonders of the Dewey Decimal System. Don't laugh. It was wonderful!

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Tornado Warning



I came back to the library for a program tonight, and just as it was about to begin, the sirens went off and we had to take cover.

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Monday, May 05, 2008

Exercise

After dropping BB off at school today, I took the little ones for a walk around the Promenade Mall. 30 brisk minutes followed by some playtime for LB made for a very nice morning.



Locals: if you're home at noontime today, turn on Channel 6. I'll be on talking to Glenda Silvey about books and the Young People's Creative Writing Contest.

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Saturday, May 03, 2008

Kicking Off National Bike Month


Today was my first bike commute of the year. I tried out my backstreet route and made it to work in 35 minutes. Coming home I made a wrong turn and also had some headwind and traffic, but it was still about the same. Maybe it's downhill? Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and I can't wait for the next one!

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Friday, May 02, 2008

Socks are Done!


They're definitely too short, and I'd use smaller needles with this yarn if I did it again, but I've finished them!

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Big Step


BB has been taking the bus home for a few weeks now. Today I walked to the stop to bring him home. It's only a few blocks, and he's angling to be allowed to walk home on his own! I'm not sure we're ready for that yet, but it's coming.

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Thursday, May 01, 2008

Home Stretch


I had hoped to complete my socks tonight, but I'm falling asleep in my chair. Guess it'll have to be tomorrow.

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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Kisses for TS


On Saturday we took the kidlets to Sears for portraits. This is the best of the lot. How can you not love them?

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Monday, April 28, 2008

Playtime


"Daddy, wanna come in the house?"

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Exercise


Due to logistical snafus of the kind that ofren occur on busy Sundays, Kim and I took separate cars to church, but returned in just the one. I took advantage of this opportunity to get a walk in. 45 minutes of perambulation during which I learned that 1/8" of neoprene insole really does make a huge difference in the comfort and wearability of a shoe. Ouch.

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Sunday, April 27, 2008

Grandma Visits



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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Anarchy in pk


I'm sure I'm not the first knitter to see the potential for anarchic symbology in a set of double-pointed needles, but I'm the first one to post it on this particular blog. :-)

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Caveat Emptor


I went looking for a bow tie today, for tomorrow night's library dinner where the dress is "snappy casual". My first lesson is that real bow ties, the ones you actually tie, run about $40 at Dillard's. Not in my price range at present. My next notion after wandering the mall fruitlessly (30 minutes of walking accomplished!) was to try Burlington Coat Factory. They often have more offbeat men's clothing. On the way there, though, I decided to hit a tuxedo rental store. They had an impressive selection of hook-on bows, used, and the proprietor offered me one for $12. This mysteriously became $12.99 by the time we reached the register, which should have been my red flag, but I bought the thing anyway. Then I went to Burlington and found a brand-new bow tie, with matching pocket square, for all of $3. I need hardly tell you that the tux shop wouldn't take my return, so I now own two slightly different black patterned bow ties. Anyone want to buy one?

[This was edited to fix the prices. For some reason, the translation from my phone to Utterz stripped out the dollar signs and, in some cases, the numbers that immediately followed. How annoying!]

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Exercise

Today was the second day of the OLA conference. I had already planned to walk to India Palace for lunch, just a brief stroll from the hotel. When I stopped at Panera for breakfast, though, I decided to leave the car there. So, I had four short ten-minute walks today, for a 40-minute total. Very satisfactory. I'm captain of our library's team for a friendly walking competition for county employees, so I'm trying to set a good example.

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Black and Gray Sock #1 Complete


The top is a bit shorter than I'd hoped, but overall, it fits quite nicely. Now on to #2!

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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Not exactly a book cart


I'm at the OLA conference today. One of the maintenance staff decided to decorate her custodial cart with a discarded ALA ribbon, and I thought I'd share.

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Sunday, April 20, 2008

Medals


My father gave me these medals today. Each commemmorates a Catholic saint who shares a name with one of my children. What a wonderful gift!

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Saturday, April 19, 2008

Helping Hand


LB gave me an assist at the grocery store the other night. Even after the basket was full, he wouldn't give it up. He pushed it along the floor to the checkout.

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Exercise

I walked to dinner at Which Wich with the kids last night. About 20 minutes all told.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Social Experiment


I picked out this outfit because I really liked it, and I decided that there was no good reason my daughter couldn't wear blue. It's interesting to see how people react. Even folks at church who know her seem more likely to talk about how big she is instead of how cute.

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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Exercise

I made a grocery run on the bike tonight. About 30 minutes all told, including the time in the store. I had intended to leave my car at work and bike home, then ride to work in the morning. Unfortunately, I forgot that I have a meeting at Central first thing, and I can't justify the time it would take me to ride from one library to the other. Not on "company time."

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Monday, April 14, 2008

Tonight's Project


I've been planning this for awhile. Almost since we moved in to the townhouse, in fact. The one place where we lost the most square footage in the move was the kitchen, and this should help alleviate that.

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Sunday, April 13, 2008

Exercise


I biked home from bell rehearsals tonight, my first ride in at least six months. It took just shy of fifteen minutes, and was pretty cold, but not intolerable. I think some bike commuting is in my near future. I've already mapped out a route that avoids the major thoroughfares between here and the library.

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Higher Math for Toddlers

I play a little game with LB whenever I'm strapping him into the carseat. It has three buckles, so we count, "Buckle one, buckle two..." but that third buckle is always something tricky, like 48 or 5,283. He finds this hilarious. "Stupid Daddy. Don't you know what comes after two?" Today, though, I threw him a real curveball. "Buckle one," I said. "Buckle two, buckle pi." This time he didn't laugh, so I thought maybe he was distracted and hadn't heard me. A few moments later, though, I heard a puzzled voice from the backseat. "Pie? I don't have any pie, Daddy!" Wise beyond his years, that one.

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Spring Rolls for TS


Here's TS mere moments after rolling over from back to front, and just before rolling back the other way. There she is, supremely supine!

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Friday, April 11, 2008

What? Ridden on a horse?


BB's school play is being performed again, this time at a nearby retirement home. Here, some of the older kids do bits from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Socks For Me!


For the first time, I'm working on a pair of socks for myself. It's also the first time I've made socks with "real" sock yarn. I really love the self-patterning dye, with such great character.

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You Know It's Rained A Lot...


...When waterfowl are taking up residence in the gutters!

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The Play's The Thing


BB is the Narrator in his Gifted and Talented class play, Bisclavret. It's a

French werewolf story.

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Sunday, April 06, 2008

Not Bouncing Yet


TS is exploring her tiptoes!

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