Butterflies, Bows and Beauties

Graduation Day

It was graduation day at the Kaz household. Olivia is now certified in safety. Our five-year old, soon-to-be kindergartener now knows everything about calling 911 -- or even boarding a bus for school. This is thanks to Safety Town, a week long camp. I can't believe she's almost ready to start school. Two down... one to go...

Ella has made it through her first trip to the movie theater. I was inspired after seeing video of another 10TV baby (Emma) preparing to go to see Kung Fu Panda. Ella sat through the entire movie. David and I couldn’t believe it. She was an angel.

 

Meanwhile, Rudy has been anything but an angel. He was never really a “good” dog anyway. Now that he’s on medication, he’s much worse. He’s annoying, edgy and will eat anything – and I mean anything – in sight. He’s stealth about it too. Sometimes I think he wasn’t meant to be part of our family. It breaks my heart. I’m thinking about reading Marley & Me for a little inspiration. Wish us luck. We need it.

Happy Father's Day

A cell phone pic. If it wasn't a cute one, I wouldn't be posting it. Pay no attention to Ella's My Little Pony undies.

There they are in their "I love daddy" shirts waiting patiently at Circuit City. I bought the shirts last year -- one or two sizes too big so they could wear them again this year. Crazy, but I can see how much they've changed in a year. Ella has changed the most. She doesn't look like a baby anymore. I'm glad I got the shirts... even happier that I dug them out of the depths of their bedrooms on a whim last night.

All in all, it's been a pretty wonderful day. We spoiled Dad with breakfast in bed. Then it was off to finally purchase an HDTV! Of course, we had to get a PS3 and a little Guitar Hero too.

On this Father's Day, I am thankful that I have a husband who is an amazing father...

I am also thankful that I have a father who is an incredible role model.

  

And I feel blessed to have known my father-in-law who became a trusted friend.

  

Happy Father's Day.

Million Dollar Dog

You could call him the Million Dollar Dog. Okay, maybe he's not worth a million and there are no bionics involved, but he IS worth several mortgage payments now. Rudy, our crazy dog, fought a mysterious illness for several weeks. We knew something was wrong when he stopped eating socks and stealing underwear. He gave us quite a scare. Just shy of his first birthday... and we thought for sure that we were going to lose him. After several visits to the vet, we took him to a neurologist who diagnosed him with meningitis. Yes, I wrote neurologi$t. If you look at his picture, you can see shaved spots on his paws where they took samples from him. Now Rudy is on medication and feeling much better. In the process, we were told that he suffers from dysplasia as well. I'm sure there will be more vet bills to come. For now, I'm thrilled that he's starting to steal things off of the table again. In fact, I just watched him swallow a napkin whole before I could utter a single word. All is well again.

Go Bulls!

After six months in the Triangle, we finally ventured into Durham to watch the Bulls play at the DBAP. The stadium is pretty spectacular -- designed by the same folks who did The Jake. It's just much smaller in scale. The DBAP is located in the heart of the American Tobacco historic district. It's mix-use development that utilized old tobacco warehouses. It doesn't sound like much, but it's beautiful. Wool E. Bull was a big hit with the girls at our company picnic before the game. He wrestled Isabel to the ground. She was laughing so hard that she couldn't get up!

Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without a reference to the movie, Bull Durham. I wanted to share so many quotes I love from the movie, but they wouldn't be appropriate for my family-oriented website. I did find one that made me smile.

Joe Reardon: He walked 18.
Larry: New league record!
Joe Reardon: Struck out 18.
Larry: Another new league record! In addition he hit the sportswriter, the public address announcer, the bull mascot twice...
[Joe laughs]
Larry: Also new league records! But, Joe, this guy's got some serious sh@!.

Isabel's Big Night

Our little drama queen had a chance to show off her skills tonight! She and other first graders in her class performed Anansi and the Talking Melon.

Isabel was the turtle (on the far right) -- complete with a homemade costume. She had one line, seven words to say: "not like this one... this melon talks." And she was brilliant if I must say so myself.

Congratulations on a big year Isabel! I can't believe you're almost done with first grade! Where did the time go? Way too fast.

You Gotta Love TV

Why do I love my job? One day I'm standing next to a former president. The next day -- this.

Mr. Gator dropped in for a visit along with a Burmese Python, a Lemur and a few other scary critters. Apparently, they are the big draw this weekend at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA.

After seeing the Lemur (like in the movie, Madagascar)... I just couldn't get this song out of my head. It's one of those that just sticks.

Red Box Bargain and a Congrats!

Occasionally, you find something that makes life more convenient. Take for example, the DVR. I love that thing. I could never, ever imagine watching TV without it again. Yes, I'm spoiled. I'm a TV snob, so it's fitting that I work at a TV station.

My latest media discovery is Red Box. If you've been too afraid to try it, I hope you muster up the courage. I must say it looks a little shady at first. But you can rent movies for one night for one buck. Just make your selection, swipe your credit card and off you go. Once again, I'm left with the feeling -- why didn't I think of that? No need to go to Blockbuster ever again.

A shout out now to my niece Mariah... who became a Bat Mitzvah! Sorry that we missed your special day, but please know that we are thinking of you.

 Aunt Aysu, Uncle David, Isabel, Olivia and Ella are so proud of you!

Congrats!

Carolina In My Mind

Like Hang on Sloopy is Ohio's song, Carolina in My Mind is a signature here in the Tar Heel state.

I finally attended a James Taylor concert after all of these years! He was one of the few artists left on my list -- the must-see in concert list. J.T. sang his signature song here in his home state along with some of my other favorites, You've Got a Friend, Shower the People and Sweet Baby James. 

David and I had to cut out early to get home to the girls so I missed my all time favorite, Fire and Rain. That's why I'm posting a version of it on the blog. It's not a happy song by any means, but it's beautifully written like so many of the songs he sings.

Ella's Glossary of Terms

If only the little spitfire came with a manual... some instructions to make our mornings, evenings and weekends a little easier. For Ella, the Terrible Twos have been here and aren’t going away anytime soon. For us, it’s more like the Tiring Twos. And even though she’s almost more than we can handle on some days, she can melt our hearts in an instant. Sometimes it’s the mischievous grin after she’s stolen her sister’s lip gloss. Other times, it’s when she gets out of bed for the 10^th time and says, “I scared. Will you way (lay) with me?”

 

Ella started calling herself Eddie as soon as she could say da-da and ma-ma. She pretty much changed her name at the ripe old age of one. From that moment on, our family has adopted so many Eddie-isms.

 

Here are some of the highlights from what we’ll call Ella’s Glossary of Terms:

 

Take a Bathtub – what she means to say is take a bath. A simple bath is not enough. Apparently, she has to take the bathtub with her.

 

Are you happy with me mom? – what she means to say is “am I in trouble?” or “am I getting a time out?”

 

My Diarrhea – what she means to say is “my diary.” For some reason, she thinks every pad of paper is a diary and is pronounced like diarrhea. I think her older sisters helped her come up with his one.

 

Butter Cracker – what she means to say is “butt crack.” We taught her “butter cracker” so she wouldn’t embarrass us in public anymore. Hmmm. I wonder which two hooligans taught her “butt crack” from the get go. Hint: it isn't David or me.

 

Over the years, we’ve adopted some of the girls’ terms as part of our family’s vocabulary. Thanks to Isabel, we will always call Kraft parmesan cheese “shaky cheese.” And Olivia’s contribution is our good friend, “Clarence.” For the longest time, we thought she met a clerk in the checkout aisle named “Clarence” because she always said, “Let’s go see Clarence.” It turned out to be “clearance” like “on sale.”

 

Gotta love this stuff. And I hope I never forget it.

 

Here’s a picture I took today on my cell phone that captures Ella in the moment. She is covered head to toe in ice cream. David’s reaction to the mess… “Oh man!” to which Ella responds, “I’m not a man.”

 

 

 

Wecome Home

Welcome home to my mom and dad. After six months in Florida, they are back home in Ohio... near their children and grandchildren. Well, most of them anyway. While on the road, they stopped to see us for a couple of days. The girls hammed it up. Isabel gave away lots of hugs and kisses. Olivia made my mom pet her hamsters. I thought my mom was going to pass out! And Ella, she just said one cute thing after another. I hope it won't be another six months until I see them. My parents even came to see me at work. My dad, who is not a man of many words, said, "you stay here." I guess that means he liked it. But I sure do miss home.