First day of kindergarten...

Thursday, August 28, 2008

McKenzie had a great first day in school...her first day in kindergarten...she loves her teacher and knew one of the girls in her class. She told me she loved her "hot lunch". When I asked her what she had, she replied, "a peanut butter and jelly sandwich". She was so excited to buy her lunch at school!! She didn't get in any trouble and the teacher read a book. They did the days of the week and today's date as well as learning their letters and numbers (a review for her and something they will practice for a long time) She enjoyed going outside to play but they didn't have recess and she didn't have to stand on the fence (which is what happens when they get in trouble at school).
She immediately wanted to play on her trampoline when she came home, but when I told her homework came first she replied very adult-like, "Nanny, I don't have homework, Mommies has to do the homework and not Nanny's." When I replied that her household wasn't like many of her friends (some kids don't do homework until just before bed, or have parents who help them with homework), we have to do homework (which is not to take more than 10 minutes) first (a good habit to learn), then get a snack or vice versa because she has other things to do after school, she got her backpack, took out her folder and gave it to me. Sure enough, the homework was for Mommy..it was her emergency contact card which needed completed and returned. lol

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

POLLY20 8/28/2008 11:55AM

What a great first day of school.. She just acted like such a little person with a very adult attitude.. Blessings for McKenzie & Nanny.. Love Ya Polly Keep the spirit & have some fun with it .. Hugs Report Inappropriate Comment

WOWEETOO 8/28/2008 10:10AM

ooh i saved things like that and for christmas last year i did not only the start of the scrapbook for the grandchild (which is two big binders now) but did one for my son and hhis is three with all the pics and the life he "didn't have" lol he couldn't believe i saved all that stuff and he had a life after all and lots of laughs how fun was that to surprise them at chritmas and give them opportunites to tell their stories to other in pics YOWZEE!!!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

TAZZIE5 8/28/2008 8:17AM

This is just too precious & so priceless! You must keep a copy of it in McKenzie's babybook and/or your scrapbook/journal. Surely you have her picture to go along with it. I loved reading it & can feel your love for her too. So what did Nanny do all day without her? I saw Parents putting their kindergardener on the bus yesterday & was shocked to hear they go all day. That seems a little long for the 1st yr. Oh the times they are a changin'! Comment edited on: 8/28/2008 8:15:41 AM Report Inappropriate Comment

My beautiful blue bike...picture

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I just had to share a picture of my beautiful new blue bike. As my daughter says "and aren't you glad your DD and SIL were there to save the day (and risk their necks first)! :-) Just kidding, Momma! You know I love you... You have to update everyone and tell them that we both rode the bike today... It's a gem! It has the colors of a 50's car at the carhop..."
Thank you everyone for stopping by and reading my blog...

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

GRANDMANANCY 8/26/2008 4:13PM

Oh my goodness Helen!!!! No wonder you had to have her ! She is absolutely beautiful !! Have fun pedaling around showing her off! Report Inappropriate Comment

POLLY20 8/26/2008 1:59PM

Helen, Spiffy looks like a clasic.. WTG~ You'll be peddling you butt all around town now.. Go for it Dear Friend.. Nice way to get some exercises in.. Beautiful.. Keep making it all happen.. Love Ya Polly It even matches your Spark Page.. Comment edited on: 8/26/2008 1:58:56 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

WOWEETOO 8/26/2008 10:09AM

ohmigosh i am so jealous and envious YOWZEE what a wonderful looking bike and you didn't even have to wait until christmas!!! hugs my friend mary Report Inappropriate Comment

JOANN135 8/26/2008 8:29AM

Oh, Helen, it is just like mine was when I was 6! Beautiful blue and shiny chrome. What memories - and I still have the knee scars to prove it! Of course, that was before knee pads and helmets. Just remember, stay on the bike! Report Inappropriate Comment

ROLLERSKATE 8/26/2008 8:02AM

Oh Helen, how precious is that! I love it. It looks like mine did when it was new (about 41 years ago). It was a royal blue. I rode it about 6 times (I was 14 at the time and more interested in library boks than in riding a bike.) My brother borrowed it to visit his girlfriend and when he came out it was stolen. I was okay with it, but dad was prtty mad about it. So when you ride.... think of the times long ago when all we had was pedal and stop. Report Inappropriate Comment

TAZZIE5 8/26/2008 7:46AM

I love your bike! No Gears & no hand brakes! That's the best & the color is gorgeous too! Happy biking! I just got a new mountain bike last wkend. It has 7 gears and hand brakes for me to get used to. The trails I go on are too rough for my daughters fancy commuter bike that I was borrowing. It only had 3 gears & that was nice. It also had foot brakes which I prefer. Maybe we'll pass each other in our cross country ride!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

The light that comes only from God...

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Friday morning I picked McKenzie up a bit early and was back home before 8 am. It was a little overcast and foggy. As she got out of the Explorer, she looked up at the sky and said, "Nanny, I see God." When I asked where, she pointed heavenward and sure enough, the sun was coming from behind a cloud and the rays cast down through the darkness, looking just like the pictures in the Bible and other Bible story books. For her that was the light that comes only from God Himself...beautiful and unforgetable!!! And if not for a 4 year old, I would have missed it. We are truly blessed!!! Oh...if we could only look at our lives through the eyes of a four year old and remember to count only our blessings and cast aside the bad,...

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

PDRAKE 8/25/2008 6:14PM

helen thanks for the comment on my blog McKenzie has beautiful insites for a sweet young lady Report Inappropriate Comment

CELEBRATELIFE 8/25/2008 5:23PM

Helen, thanks so much for the comments you made on my blog. You are definitely an inspiration and I look forward to hearing from you. You remind me of how blessed I am. God bless you in your journey. Report Inappropriate Comment

POLLY20 8/25/2008 4:13PM

Helen, How true through the Eyes of a Child.. Heavenly That's what it all about.. How beautiful & so very sweet.. Got to Love Our 4 yr olds.. Mckenzie is so very fortunate to have a Nanny like you Helen.. Love Ya Polly God Bless & Keep you all safe.. Report Inappropriate Comment

GRANDMANANCY 8/25/2008 7:17AM

Hallelujah...praying for McKenzie Report Inappropriate Comment

TAZZIE5 8/25/2008 6:25AM

How precious for her to witness such beauty just before starting to school! How lucky for you to share the moment with her! Report Inappropriate Comment

WOWEETOO 8/24/2008 7:34PM

and those are called justifiably "glories" hugs mary Comment edited on: 8/24/2008 7:32:41 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

Browsing at the

Sunday, August 24, 2008

We went to our favorite "junk" store in Cabbage Flats...not really a junk store...they just have so much stuff it is hard to walk around...and they have everything under the sun there. I love to go there and browse at least one or twice a month. The first Friday of each month, they also hold an auction. We rarely get to the auction as Ken always works afternoon shift..so sad for me. (Pity party...lol)
We haven't been there in several weeks and just "had" to go today. It was amazing all the great "stuff" they had gotten in. Tons of baby items and furniture, wicker furniture, adirondack chairs, tools, even a yoga mat, which I grabbed right away for only $4.00. YIPPEE!!! Personally I was really excited over a blue girl's bicycle...the old fashioned kind with regular handlebars and brakes on the pedals. Nothing powered, no gears, just one speed...as fast or slow as you can pedal and real pedal brakes. WOOHOO!! I was ready to pay for it when my DD suggested I try it for size...well it actually was a little to high for me (26"). It was the perfect height for my DD but I guess she has longer legs than I do even thought we are the same height. Life just isn't fair. (Not surprised at that though!! That lesson was learned a long time ago!!) As I tried getting off and on it, my shorts kept sticking to the seat. I couldn't get on and I couldn't get off after I got on. I am not sure what the seat is made of...looks like velvet but is probably some type of neoprene. I have never seen blue jean material stick to anything! I'm sure it was the funniest sight you ever saw...this young in spirit (but old lady) trying to get on this too tall bike. Anyway everyone was definitely laughing their butts off... literally. Then they tell me that it is too tall for me by at least two inches even with adjusting the seat, etc.. I was so disappointed. I knew this powder blue bike was my soul mate. ((sigh)) Anyway, as we were getting ready to leave the store my DD found another old fashioned bike only this one was red. I didn't feel a close tie to this red bike at all but I need a new bike so I was willing to buy it instead. Then my SIL tells me that the back wheel is really bent and would need replaced immediately. It is made of steel, not aluminum so it can not be fixed and I would have to buy a new wheel for roughly $30-40+ at the bike shop if I am lucky. Well the bike was only $30 and I felt no close ties to it. At the same time I didn't want to spend $60+ on this new bike by the time it was fixed. I know they cost a lot more than that, but I was at my junk store and my first love was only $45.00 I went back and looked at the blue bike again...I really wanted it. I tried it again after my SIL lowered the seat. I think I can live with it. Anyway I went ahead and bought it; and my DD and SIL took it home for me so that he could make all the adjustments and tighten all the bolts, etc. so that it was safe for me. I am now the proud owner of my brand spanking new powder-blue old-fashioned do it yourself bike. Right up my alley and I love it. We are soul mates.
Hugs,
Helen

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JMMCOLORADO 8/25/2008 9:26AM

I love riding my bike. I live in Colorado so the gears are pretty necessary to get around in the hilly area I live in. From one side of town to the others the altitude changes by 250 feet. I like to bike and bus to work. I bike until I can't take it anymore and then I take the bus the rest of the way. Make sure you get a helmet because your brains are too important to take chances with. Enjoy your new bike. Mine is blue too and I love it! Report Inappropriate Comment

POOH_BEAR_69 8/24/2008 11:08PM

And aren't you glad your DD and SIL were there to save the day (and risk their necks first)! :-) Just kidding, Momma! You know I love you... You have to update everyone and tell them that we both rode the bike today... It's a gem! It has the colors of a 50's car at the carhop... Report Inappropriate Comment

JOANN135 8/24/2008 3:37PM

Helen, my very first bike was powder blue - just the kind you're talking about. We were living in Montgomery and I was 6 years old. Of course, I put streamers on the handlebars and a couple of playing cards in the wheels - attached by clothes pins. Have you fixed yours up yet? - Jo Ann Report Inappropriate Comment

ALLTHEWAY4 8/24/2008 11:36AM

Wow, Helen, I'm so happy for you! I don't know if I'm brave enough to get out in traffic. Now that you have wheels, you may want to bike the TransAmerica Trail (or walk like me) It's at http://exercise.lbl.gov Happy biking! Shirley Report Inappropriate Comment

WOWEETOO 8/24/2008 11:31AM

ooohh a baby blue bike how many of those are there around and i'm glad you got the blue one once you start riding it it won't matter how high it is after all you gotta wonder how those old fashioned bikes where they sat WAY UP off the road worked and how did they get on and off those things anyhow and the local kids couldn't steal it because they couldn't figure out how to get up there fast enough LOL Comment edited on: 8/24/2008 11:30:09 AM Report Inappropriate Comment

MARLA7 8/24/2008 7:00AM

Helen - Yeah for you for buying your bike...er.. soul mate! LOL I can see you now peddling all over the place. Just look out when you go to stop.... have a step stool somewhere near ya so you can get off the thing! I love junk stores & used to go to them all the time when I had money! Enjoy! Love ya, Marla Report Inappropriate Comment

GRANDMANANCY 8/24/2008 6:39AM

Helen ! Your blog made me smile. You are such a blessing to me and to others. ((HUGS))) nancy Report Inappropriate Comment

Praise God for our wonderful friends.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Praise God for our wonderful friends. My best friend told her adult son 5 years ago that I would probably be willing to watch his newborn daughter. Those five years have flown by and of course she has been the sunshine of our lives and I couldn't love her more if she were my own. Now that period of her life comes to a close as she starts school (kindergarten) on Monday (8/25/08). I am so happy and very excited for her as she is about to embark on the greatest adventure of her life but also sad for myself as I will deeply miss her. I thank God that I was given this opportunity to care for and love her. May God continue to bless you as she travels this exciting part of her life!
Hugs,
Helen

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

POLLY20 8/23/2008 9:41PM

Helen, I am so thankful that you are part of My life as well..We have conected & have been there for eachother for a very long time now.. I remember when you came into my life.. I made a comment that no one knew that I was a Helen too.. I have always been called Polly as My Mom was Helen as well.. You will miss your special little Angel, but the love that you have given to her, will always be there.. I bet that you will shed a few tears as she enters Kindergarten..Oh how sweet to feel such a Special Love for each other.. Love You My Dear Wonderful Friend.. Tears of Joy, for McKenzie Best Wishes Little One Comment edited on: 8/23/2008 9:39:53 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

JOANN135 8/23/2008 3:58PM

And what a little cutie she is! Those little ones are such a joy from the Lord. We've had our 3 year old more lately as our kids are working on a house they will be moving into in a couple of weeks. Our 5 year old granddaughter just started kindergarten and she loves it. I think that she will just thrive in a structured classroom. And I'm sure that your little friend will too. Just take a deep breath and be ready for what God has for you now! Maybe a period of rest . . . Report Inappropriate Comment

ALLTHEWAY4 8/23/2008 10:45AM

Wow! How wonderful that you shared this special time of her life. Those memories will be treasures forever. Shirley Report Inappropriate Comment

GRANDMANANCY 8/23/2008 10:29AM

and they also should praise God that they had such a wonderful Christian, loving caregiver for their blessing from God. (((HUGS)))) for you as you look to what God wants of you now... nancy Report Inappropriate Comment