End-of-The-Week Highlights.

This has been quite an eventful week, I must say. Both kids are perfecting their 2-wheel riding skills and, thankfully, both are now tooling around the neighborhood independently minus training wheels.

For Hayden, it was very simple....we just held on, gave him a little push, and off he went. That was it. Biking independence.

But, the process was a bit different for Kennedy. She had a lot of fear. She didn't want to fall. Being quite a perfectionist, she didn't want to try because she knew that she wasn't very good at it. She didn't want our help, wanting to do it by herself. And, she kept working on it, hour after hour, fall after fall, frustration after frustration. And, after a couple of days, with lots of perseverance.....SHE DID IT! She is not as fast as Hayden is (he is fairly wreckless!) but she is riding and so happy about it.....she learned that not everything always comes easy (most things do come easy for her, but not this one!) and that when you work hard and keep practicing, your persistence pays off. She definitely built some character this week....Great job, Girl.

And for both kids, we went through nearly 2 boxes of large bandaids given the scraped knees and elbows, but the happiness and satisfaction from both kids (and us parents!) took a lot of the sting of the ouchies away.

Friday at school was Career Day. My little animal-lover went to school as a veterinarian, coupled with several of her stuffed friends.
And I went to first grade, too, to speak to the kids about my job. When I asked them what a professor was, here were some of their priceless responses:

• "They're the boss"
• "They own the big building, I think."
• "They tell the people what to do."

So there you have it, from the mouths of babes. It was a lot of fun spending the morning with the kids and opening their eyes to new career options. I loved that several of the little girls in the class came to Career Day with dolls, dressed as Moms.....that did my heart good. And I talked about my role as a Mom, too, in addition to my roles as psychologist and professor. After all, being is Mom is without a doubt the most challenging and rewarding career out there.

Friday afternoon, we were back at school to listen to the first graders present their research on animals. Kennedy chose to do her report on Amphibians, and she did a great job speaking clearly. The kids each learned how to put together a PowerPoint presentation, complete with clipart and special transition effects. They did such a great job. Kennedy spoke loudly, confidently, and enthusiastically. It's amazing the technology available to kids these days.....the screens that the kids presented on are called SmartBoards, and it is a touch-screen...all you have to do it touch the screen just as you would use the mouse, and you can control your presentation right on the screen itself. Amazing, and I love that the kids are becoming experts and being exposed to the edge of technology even at 6 and 7 years old. Great job, Presenters!
And, this morning brought our fourth t-ball fame. Kennedy's interest in softball has really strengthened, and she is now asking to be put in positions where she can field the ball often. She played at the pitcher position today and fielded almost every ball that came to her. Her throwing is also getting much more strong and accurate. It is fun to see the girls progress in their confidence each game.

Here is a sneak of an ATC that I have been working on for the Month-to-Month swap that I am involved in......this is a flowering tree using the new Nature stamps from Love, Elsie and some random flower/bling embellishments.
And, this week, we are also celebrating the one-year mark that Rube has been part of our family. It was last year on Mother's Day that we picked her up from her birthhome and took her home to be ours. The year has not been without its challenges, but we love Rube and her sweet spirit. Our family would just not be the same without her....she is smart, trainable, affectionate, and loyal....and she follows me around the house like a little toddler.
So, in honor of her birthday, Rube got a brand new bed in this chic orange color.....even monogrammed with her name. And yes, I realize that "Rube" is not the typical way to spell "Ruby".....but YOU try arguing with a 6-year old who is determined that it should be R-U-B-E. I know to pick my battles!
And in closing for today, I still find this very difficult to believe: