Combo pics - skiing and homeschool

Here are more pictures....combination of a ski pic and a Parker pic.

At the top of the first lift at Beaver Creek, they had a guy serving hot cocoa on a silver tray. (I took this picture, so I'm not in it. ) The sign says "Cocoa and Corduroy". Corduroy refers to the ridges the snowcats make in the snow when they groom the slopes. They advertise that these are the best groomed slopes around, and I agree....although I haven't been 'around' that much. They even had the snowcats running during the day - lined up in formation with their lights flashing so you didn't run into them.



On Thursday and Friday, Parker was sick AGAIN with a fever. We did a little homeschooling and practiced tracing letters. She loves to trace letters, but won't write them on her own. Since she's been sick 3 times since Feb 1, we went to the doctor today to have her checked. She was diagnosed with 'a cold'. I asked if it was ok to send her to school, because I was worried she might be contagious. The pediatrician said not to worry about it...since she caught it from kids in the class, we might as well pay them back.

We're baaaaaack

We're home from our vacation! We went to Beaver Creek, Colorado on a ski trip. It was just me, Bob and our friends Nick and Cindy. We had a really wonderful time and did 3 days of hard skiing. The views at Beaver Creek are incredible, but you can't really tell from this pictures. And for some reason, in this picture, we all look really short but we're not. Actually Cindy is. I'll post some more trip highlights later.

Parker stayed home with Bob's parents. She was not the least bit bothered when we left either. When we would call in the evening to say goodnight, she was only interested in talking to one parent...not both, so we'd have to alternate who talked to her each day. She had a great time with her Gigi and Papa and is totally worn out I think. Here are some pictures I haven't gotten around to posting:

Cooking for 4. Parker has really been enjoying the kitchen she got from Santa. Here, she's cooking and setting up the table for a party of 4 apparently. Notice all the condiments set out. And notice potholder on her hand. She set the table herself with forks and napkins underneath the bowls. She's all about details.

Pink boots - She's finally reached the cowboy boot stage. These were an impulse buy from the Target clearance bin and she wears them everywhere (except school). We have a conversation every morning about why she can't wear them to school (too slippery). Otherwise, she wears them constantly, whether they match or not. Although what really does match fuchsia metallic princess boots?

Sick again

Well, we weren't healthy for long. Parker stayed home from school today again, sick. Actually, we made it part of the way to school before she threw up in the car. Of the 5 times she has had a vomit-type illness, 4 of them have been in the car or bike trailer. Luckily, she only threw up that one time today....but I had the couch well protected in case she did! She spent most of the day on the couch nibbling on snacks and drinking bits of liquids I'd allow her in quarter hour increments and watching cartoons. She had a low fever too, but that ended around 2pm, and I bet she'll be able to attend school tomorrow. Isn't she just pitiful? There is so much sickness going around, and I really hope we have now received our quota!

home sick

On Thursday, the school called me to come get Parker because she had a 101.2 fever. And per their rules, you have to be fever-free for 24 hours before you can return. So today, she stayed home 'sick'. Here are some pictures of sick Parker at 8am, dancing with her penguin and jumping on bubble-wrap. Clearly, she is feeling much better and has been very animated and busy and talkative all day long.

How a humidifier works

Parker got a new humidifier for her bedroom. She and Bob got it all set up before bed. When I went up to kiss her goodnight, she explained to me how it works:

"You put water in it, and turn it on, and stink comes out the top".

Nothing really

Nothing much going on here, but I thought I'd post some pictures before I forgot about them. One evening when Bob stopped at the grocery store on the way home, he decided to get Parker a bouquet of flowers. Just what every mom wishes her child would receive right before bedtime.
Anyway, she was pretty excited, but mainly, she was interested in holding them. And for several days afterward, she would request to hold one. I guess she doesn't have much opportunity to hold live flowers ...she's usually told "don't pick!". Except for dandelions, she's real familiar with those.

A couple weeks ago we went to a birthday party for a neighbor/friend and they had pony rides! The birthday girl is one of those types that loooooooves horses so much, and her mom said "how can I NOT have a pony party?" So they did. The kids would go outside 2 at a time, and the handlers would take them on a lap around the house. Parker was generally too introverted to play with many of the kids at the party, but she had no reservations about riding the ponies.

Copycat post.....Giftedness

On my friend's blog, she posted a picture of her kiddo using his brother's sleeper pajamas as a cape to be superman. She said she's saving it for the kindergarten Gifted and Talented application: "Uses items in ways other than their intended purpose"

So I thought I'd copy.

Here's Parker showing her 'gifts'. She's playing Christmas carols on a plastic eggplant as if it were a trumpet, of course.

In other news, Bob has his colonoscopy today. Everything was totally normal, so that's good news. Before the procedure, when they were prepping him (IV, etc) one of the techs came in and asked, in a nice professional way, if he had been born a male. Apparently, on his wrist band, they listed him as a female! Too bad we had them change it....can you imagine the lawsuit opportunity we missed out on?

Artwork from school

Here are some paintings from school. They are watercolor, and then they sprinkled salt on them to make them sparkle like snow. Or somesuch.

This one is a family portrait. Bob, me in the middle, and Parker on the right. She got cut off a little in the photo.

New Toy

Today, Parker discovered that her old 'vacuum cleaner'...which was really one of those toddler push toys with the balls inside that would go POP POP POP when you pushed it, was "put up in the attic" (or maybe given away) (or maybe thrown away if you want the truth). So now she's a proud owner of a toy Dyson, just like mommy's. It actually does work and suck up stuff, but she doesn't know that yet. So far she's content with just pushing it around and saying "nnnnnnnnn", so I might keep that info to myself. Plus the idea of cleaning out the dirt tray grosses me out.

Weekend events

Another weekend recap.
We had another busy one, lots of shopping for home decor on my part, and lots of together time for Parker and Bob.
She also had some play time with her friend. In this picture, they're playing Hi Ho Cherry-O and Parker is correcting the way her friend put her cherries on the board. She prefers 'stem down' so they don't roll around when you spin.

And the fruits of my shopping trips:

Yes, after 4 years we finally have artwork hanging in our home. I really wanted something non-objective, but this is a neutral-enough subject, and slightly abstract (up close) and we all agree that we like it, so it's a winner. With any luck, next week I'll post drapery pictures!

Weekend chores

These are pictures from last week. We had a productive day around here! We took town all the Christmas stuff and since the weather was nice, Bob did some outdoor yardwork.

Helping with the outdoor lights.....

And is it just me, or are all the pictures of Bob surrounded by a pile of limbs starting to run together? The dead Willow tree at the end of our driveway is gone now.

Here's an action shot......

And the giant dead Redtip in the front of the house is gone too. I guess the drought/wet spring combo was too much for it.

The aftermath....

Apparently the sound of a chainsaw is to a man's ears as a dog whistle is to a dog's ears. This was the resulting pow-wow.

True story

Today Parker was looking at some new plates we got for Christmas. They have a picture of a dish, and a recipe printed on them. She asked about the words on there, so I carefully explained.

Me: "That's a recipe. A recipe is a list of ingredients and instructions on how to cook something."

Parker: "Oh. I thought it was hieroglyphics."

--------------------------------

And here's a picture of Parker helping Bob make waffles. Bob got a Belgium waffle maker for Christmas, and he tried it out this weekend for the first time, with great results.

School, glorious school

School started back to day, THANK GOODNESS. I think Parker was more excited about returning to school than she was about Santa coming.

It was so quite today....no one saying...
"Mom! Watch this!"
"Mom! Look!"
"Mom! What are you doing? Are you cooking? Can I help?"
"Mom! Where is the toy I got from Taco Bell?"
"Mom! What snacks do we have?"
"Mom! Pretend to be a beaver."
"Mom! Watch me jump off of this."
"Mom! Sing with me!"
"Mom! What time is it?"
"Mom! Who was on the phone?"
"What did they say?"
"And what did you say?"
"And then, what did they say?"

It's been a looong 2 week break.
When I picked her up from school today, she was just as amped as when I dropped her off...and stayed that way until bedtime. Hopefully she's just as excited tomorrow.

And here's a picture. She's getting SO BIG, she can get her own water now!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008!

We rang in the new year across the street at a party our neighbor's house. We were instructed to wear black and a masqueade mask. Parker and 2 of her friends stayed home with a babysitter. She was super excited about her first 'sleepover'.

BEFORE:




AFTER:

Christmas cookies

Check back for more details, but here's a couple pictures that were too cute not to share immediately of Parker making cookies at Bob's folk's house.

School Stuff

It's been a whirl wind of school photo ops lately. First, was Spaghetti with Santa.....they have a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at school, and you can also have a private audience Santa (insert political joke here) and get your photo done. This is a snapshot of the photo. (Redneck scanner) She did her best to smile. Once again, Ms. Claus thinks this is all about her.

I guess at school, they dictated a note to Santa with something they wanted for Christmas. It was nice to see this clipped on the drying line in the school hallway for the whole world to see.

(in case you have low res, it says "I wish I had a bookshelf to put my books in it so they are not all over the floor" )
For what it's worth, these are words directly out of Bob's mouth....I guess they stuck in her head....but it was months ago that he said this, and since, her books have been neatly put in a basket (until we find a suitable bookshelf of course).

And last Friday night, she had her Christmas Program. I was VERY pleased with myself for having her bathed, fed, dressed and there on time for us to get a good seat. Major improvement over last year when we were frantic and running late. Here's what she wore:

She did very well, no stage fright, and had a great time singing the songs on stage with her classmates.

And finally, her school picture for this year:
I wasn't all that organized the week of school pictures, so it was a bit of surprise getting to school and learning it was picture day. Luckily she put together a semi-matching ensemble that morning, and I did a decent job on her hair. The teacher said the expression on her face is a perfect mirror of her personality at school. Ok, but I'm a liiiiitle worried about that smirk.

Bob-tracker

And in other news, Bob has written a program that will track him as he drives (using the GPS on his phone). That way, in the evening Parker and I can see how long we have before he gets home. We can see one of his coworkers in Austin on it too. You know it's a slow night in the Post home when we sit on the couch and watch his friend drive home from work on the laptop!

Half Mary Moms

Last weekend, my friend Holly and I ran the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. The week prior, the weather forecast was all over the place. For most of the week we thought it was going to be warm, and were concerned about heat and dehydration. Race officials even ordered extra cups and ice. But at the last minute, the forecast changed to cold (w/ dropping temps) and rain. We put lots of energy into trying to pick out clothing that would keep us warm, but not hot, and dry. At the start of the full marathon, the temp was 47.
There were some good showers on the drive to the start that caused lots of anxiety, but we only had a few sprinkles during the actual race. We started the race wearing trashbags for warmth and dryness (lots of people do this, so we didn't look as weird as you think). After about a mile or so, we discarded them. After about a quarter of mile or so, we realized it was easier to run if you poked arm holes.
By the time we finished our half, it was 44. I read in the paper that the Kenyans (Kenyans always run/win marathons) complained about the cold. Note to Kenyans: Wear more clothes!

Because of the dreary weather, the jet flyovers at the start were grounded, but it was still exciting standing, huddled with thousands waiting the countdown to start. At one point, a blast of cold wind hit us, and the entire crowd squeeled, and then cheered, as if to say "What are we doing out here! This is crazy! Lets go!!"

During most of the race, the miles seemed to tick by. There were lots of spectators, despite the weather, and lots of interesting things to see along the way. People holding signs - "This seemed like a good idea in September" and "Toenails are for wimps". We saw a group running clothing items they had made out of Crown Royal bags. We added to the levity by wearing signs on our backs. We got lots of attention from other moms!

It was really nice this year to have a training partner and a running buddy on race day. Usually I run alone and listen to my ipod, but for many of the long training runs this year, Holly and I ran together. Chatting about new things we're cooking, how to get our children to behave and where we would live if we ran away from home made the miles go by much more quickly.

Here we are about mile 6 or so. My finish time was 2:19:35 I think, which is an improvement over last year, so that's good. I think it works out to a 10:39 pace, which is pretty good over 13 miles. I'm not really into racing and trying to go super fast, for the most part I like to just keep a steady effort and enjoy myself.
They had lots of neat tracking/results sites this year. Here are mine: http://www.runpix11.com/dwr07/21/finord.php?LastName=10060&lan=&aset=0
If that link doesn't work, you can go to Runtherock.com and put my bib # in on the results page. Bib #10060