Tire-Ed

School can really drain your brain AND your body! So far, I have been very impressed with his teacher. She seems to keep his mind and his hands busy. Now, if only she could tackle getting his lips to stay closed when they need to. All in good time! Sleep tight, little Mason. There are worksheets a-plenty when you get home!

Old Fashioned Butt-Kicking...

Having a good attitude is one of the many important lessons the kids learn in Taekwondo – even when you're sparring someone who is 5 belt levels above you. Mason and Taylor have been friends for a while now and, although she was getting kicks to his headgear in left and right, Mason came out unscathed and with a smile on his face. Way to show good attitude!

Summer is Coming to an End...

Now that school had begun, our family has become acutely aware that summer is coming to a screeching hault. Although the days are still baking hot here in Georgia, the mornings and evenings are getting more and more pleasant.

Daylight-savings time will be over soon, and it will be dark when we get home in the evenings. That leaves us more time to do homework, but not a lot of outside time on weekdays. I imagine that means we will have more neighborhood kids over to play inside rather than shooing them out the door to play outside.

Oh, summer...why do you have to end?

A Boy and His Dog...

Callie is a very privileged animal, indeed. She begins her day with a ride in the truck – front seat, of course. She then gets to play on the golf course all day, chase geese and run along side the golf cart. Clearly, she is loved and pampered – as I got this mobile email this afternoon from Brian. The look like they are working hard, right?

Hey Grandma, Look at ME!!!

I always knew the day would come when the training wheels would come off of the bike. Honestly, I just didn't think it would be this summer.

The inspiration came from one of the neighbor kids – who is Mason's age. Sadid is the youngest son of our Afghan neighbors and he was riding his bike, sans training wheels, in the cul-de-sac on Sunday afternoon. I had casually asked Mason if he would be willing to try riding his bike without his training wheels and, to my surprise, he agreed!


"Mom, I'm going to need a kicking stand," Mason said, after he struggled to get onto his bicycle AND balance at the same time. Brian thoughtfully reminded me that he didn't have a "kicking stand" on his bike growing up on the farm and got along just fine.


I can imagine that his bike is heavy for him, but he managed to balance and get going a few times without help.


Learning Taekwondo has been a very good experience in that it teaches him perseverance in all aspects of life. I gave him a good push and off he went on the very first try!


Look at him go! I was giddy with excitement and HAD to call Brian at work.

Of course I captured the whole experience on video! He was so excited to get going and have me video tape him riding his bike to post on the blog. He's going to be so technology savvy!

For Brian...

Bright and early Saturday morning, the family woke up and drove to Alpharetta for Mason's first Taekwondo tournament. He wasn't nervous or excited, but he was prepared. He practiced and practiced and knew that he had done everything he could to get ready for this day.

We discovered that a lot of tournaments is waiting and watching. First was bow in, then the demo team competition (there is a special surprise at the end of this post for that) and then the kids are broken down into groups. Everything is done by age group and gender.

At long last, the boys were called out and ready to begin. The kids are introduced to the judges and each judge has a specialty they judge on. Then, they bow in (again).


It was funny to see each kid down the line turn around to see where their parents were. All business, this one...


...and a wave to mom and dad.


Mason and his classmate, Christopher, were the two lowest ranks competing. They are both camouflage belts. Not every belt rank does the same form, so it was fun to see the forms some of the higher belts were performing. Mason's form is a 32-move form and is called Songham 5. He performed it better than he ever had!


He lost his balance a little on one of his kicks, but still scored a 7–7–6. From what I am told, that is a very high score for someone of his belt rank. He didn't place in forms, but had nothing to hang his head over. The kids he was up against had been in Taekwondo for several years!


Next up: sparring. With all of that gear on, the only way I can tell this is Mason is because his name is on his chest protector! The sparring partners are drawn randomly, and Mason sparred against a red belt – the next to highest before black belt. He faired well, but lost his round.


I think he gained valuable knowledge for his next tournament by watching the other students.


Overall, another camouflage belt from another school won sparring and a red belt won forms.

Mason did receive a participation medal. I'm not going to go into why I think that's not a good idea.


The judges then asked the kids if they had fun and if they wanted to compete again. Each of them said, "Yes SIR!" Then they all flexed their muscles. Awesome.

This post is dedicated to Brian. As we arrived in Alpharetta for the tournament, we realized that I had forgotten Mason's sparring gear and his bow staff. Brian drove 45 minutes back to Lawrenceville to pick up his gear and came back. I want to thank him for his infinite patience with me. This video is for him, since he missed the Demo Team performance.

Fun in the 'Hood (part 2)

We love having a pool in the neighborhood. It's close enough to walk to – if it weren't 9,000º outside. My boys love to horseplay in the pool. Is there a safer place to throw your offspring that high into the air? I think not.


Here they are: two of the three loves of my life. They're both a tie for first, ice cream is second. Mmmm.


I don't think I have any photos of the two of them where they aren't making silly faces at me. This is my life. Two silly boys at the pool. I couldn't ask for more!

Fun in the 'Hood

There are a lot of perks to living in our neighborhood: great neighbors that have great kids, quiet cul-de-sac living, walking trails, swimming, tennis, volleyball and a pond for fishing.

Sometime in the last year, Brian taught Mason how to cast a spinner reel. I was impressed! We didn't catch anything this day, but we will have many more opportunities.

Ninja Mason

New Life Academy doesn't have a traditional physical education program like most public schools. In keeping with the Charter based on the Chinese culture, the children learn the basics of Taekwondo. Odd, considering Taekwondo originated in Korea, but who am I to argue?

Last school year, the children wore their white dobok to school all day. Picture, if you will, what a white pair of pants worn by a 5-year old would look like at the end of the day. Got it? Okay, now multiply that times 50 and you'll know how filthy those pants were every Tuesday. There isn't enough bleach on the planet to get those stains out.

I was pleased to hear that NLAE will be requiring students to wear the black dobok this year. I wasn't thrilled to have to purchase one, but at least he wouldn't be ruining the uniforms he wears to his regular Taekwondo class. Doesn't he look like a mini Ninja? Awesome.

This coming weekend, Mason will be competing in his first tournament! There are 7 ATA schools around the city and they all come together for an inter-school tournament once a year. Mason will be competing in forms (a routine consisting of 32+ traditional Taekwondo moves) and sparring (traditional kicking of other kids' butts). He's super excited! Stay tuned. Videos to come!

Skool Dayz...

Okay, moms out there. I know each of you have come across this at a certain age in your children's lives. You know what I'm talking about...the goofy-faced photos. Here I am: a hard-working mom just trying to get a good photo of my 6-year old on the first day of school and this is what I get. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about goofy and fun photos – but dangit, I want a smile!

Or, maybe not. This is the kind of smile I get these days. Happy first day of school to all you moms, dads and kids! It's going to be a GREAT year!

This One's for You, Janet

Today was the day I got to meet with Mason's first-grade teacher. I was very nervous about who the administration would place him with after the ordeal we went through last year. Mr. Forward, the principle, assured me that they would be very mindful of who's classroom they would place Mason in.

Ms. Azavedo is the lead teacher for the first grade, but it wasn't that she was the lead that impressed me. Right away, she put my mind at ease about Mason being teased and bullied in the classroom.

She also gave each student a welcome package that was full of classroom information for both student and parents. In the package was this letter:

Janet, I know you've been as anxious about Mason's schooling as Brian and I, but this letter certainly put my mind at ease. I know you'll feel better knowing that Mason is being taught in a loving, Christian environment. It's going to be a GREAT year!

Introducing...

Welcome to my humble abode! I posted a photo of the exterior here before, but this one has OUR cars in the driveway! Man, does that feel good!


Come on in...

This is a view of the entryway. I love the arched doorways that lead into the office and dining room. With the buttery wall color, it has a kind of Mediterranean feel to it.


Wow, you can really see the bend of the fisheye lens in the hardwood floors! I love the light in this house. This is a view of the office from the entryway. There is plenty of room for my gigantic, old school-teacher's desk AND...


...a comfortable television area for Mason and his friends. I don't have any window treatments yet, but Ikea is calling my name!


I only have a few boxes left to unpack in this room, and boy does it feel good! The computer is all set up and ready to go, but the Comcast guy hasn't come out yet.

I'll be posting photos of the house one room at a time. Stay tuned! The dining room is next!

Why I Shop at Target...

Yes, I know shopping at Target costs more. Yes, I'm aware that it's not as close to my house as Wal-Mart and therefor spend more in gas to get to Target. Yes, I'm also aware that Target's merchandise is specifically geared toward my demographic and therefor cannot resist its temptations and therefor spend more money. However, shopping at Target really is worth the extra money I spend and here's why:

As anyone who knows me would tell you, I'm not the most patient person in the world. It's one of my many faults. I'm working on it. Anyway, back to school shopping reared its ugly head again this year and, in Georgia, we have a tax-free holiday so parents can save some cash on those every day things kids need in the classroom.

I don't usually shop at Wal-Mart and, in fact, I try to avoid going at all costs. However, I had a few Wal-Mart gift cards left over from Christmas of last year, so I decided that I would go there first for any back to school items on Mason's mile-long list. I waited until later in the evening, around 9:30, to brave my personal hell that is Wal-Mart. I really have to get into the Wal-Mart zone, mentally, before I go...and I was ready!

List in hand. Check. I grabbed a cart on the way in – knowing there wouldn't be any inside the doors where they should be. Check. I headed directly for the back to school aisle...it was easy to spot: lots of parents holding lists and wandering around like lost sheep with mouths agape. I was soon to be one of them.

The aisles looked as though a tornado had just hit: folders everywhere, notebooks on the floors, bins and bins of pencils and pens, glue sticks a-plenty and nary a Wal-Mart associate to be found. We're on our own, folks. Good luck finding what you need!

Luckily, most everything on the list was $5 or less. I do have to admit that I LOVE Wal-Mart prices. Shhh. Don't tell anyone. Since I had saved so much money on supplies and was able to pick up most of the things on the required list, I was also able to get Mason a new lunchbox, drink and food thermos and the bubble bath I had promised him (not on the list *wink*).

Mission accomplished. Checkout time. Again, I have to be in a certain mindset when I'm at Wal-Mart. Even after an hour and a half of shopping through the disaster that is Wal-Mart back to school, I was ready to endure the long checkout lines. No problem.

I finally reach the front of the line – YES! I put all of my things onto the conveyor belt and plop my reusable Wal-Mart shopping bags up for the checkout girl. She rolls her eyes and proceeds to put everything on top of the bag dispenser. Okay, so I apparently have to bag my own stuff if I want to be environmentally friendly. No problem. I am Zen.

Of course, I grab the lunch bag with no tag on it. Again, I get the eye roll from the checkout girl. "Do you know the price on this," she asks. Um...no, of course I don't. Another eye roll. Awesome. She then types in the barcode number located on the inside tag. Ding! Yay, it's only $6.94!

Finally, all of my items have been rung up and I'm ready to pay. I get out my gift cards and swipe them through the self-pay machine. I swear I lose 15 IQ points every time I use those darn things. Anyway, my first gift card didn't swipe through. I hand it to the checkout girl. Eye roll, of course. I try and swipe the second gift card and, wouldn'tcha know it...it doesn't swipe either. Eye roll. I swipe my third gift card (are you seeing a pattern here?) and it doesn't go through. Eye roll. Woops, my bad. That one was a JCPenney card. Eye roll.

Saturday mornings, Mason has Taekwondo. Luckily, there is a Target right next to the Do Jang and I was able to finish up what I wasn't able to get at Wal-Mart the night before. I headed to the back to school aisles first thing. There were 4 Target associates working the back to school aisles! Again, I'm wandering around like a lost sheep and one of the associates approaches me and asks me, "Can I help you find anything?" Yes! Yes you can! He then proceeds to help me find the 3 remaining items on the list. Guess what? It was his first week working there. Awesome. I make sure to sing his praises to his boss – who was also working the back to school aisles. Love it.

I get to the checkout line and there is only one other family in front of me. Refreshing. The checkout lady was polite and asked me if I found everything that I needed today. No eye rolling here. Also refreshing. She commended me for remembering my reusable bags and even packed them for me. No eye rolling. AH! She thanked me and EVEN said, "Have a great afternoon!" Wow.

Shopping at Target, for me, is just a more enjoyable experience. There are no children running amuck through the aisles, the associates are friendly and helpful and the store is actually clean. I may have to cut coupons to shop there, but dangit, my sanity is worth the extra price! 'Nuff said!

Independence Day...

I know I promised you photos of the spectacular Independence Day fireworks display of Country Club of the South, but this year, I decided to leave the camera behind and enjoy the show. Yep, that's right. I detached my right arm and looked at the world through my eyes instead of a viewfinder. I must say, it was liberating!

I did enjoy some pre-fireworks fun with Mason in the parking lot of the maintenance shop, though. As the men-folk were preparing the grill for burgers, dogs and any other kind of dead animal we could muster, Mason and I enjoyed some scooter time. These little Razor scooters are FAST!


Maybe a little too fast. The parking lot has a little bit of a slope to it, and the scooter can zip down it pretty quickly. Mason only fell and skinned his knee once, though.

After dinner, we all headed up to the clubhouse (how very Thurston Howell, III of us) to watch the fireworks. As usual, the Club put on a good show! Thankfully, the fire department was on hand to put out a small pine straw fire. We all got to see a real fire truck and firefighters in action! It was exciting! And, of course...at that point I had regretted leaving my right arm at the shop. So, all excitement and no photos. Lesson learned.

Meet the Neighbors (sorta)...

We moved into our new house last weekend! As we were moving our stuff in, some of the neighbor kids came over and helped us unload. Wow! I thought I was in an episode of "Leave it to Beaver." It was awesome. City folk don't know what they're missing out on in the 'burbs!

As luck would have it, the neighbors across the street have a 6-year old boy as well. Crazy good luck, right? Meet Micheal:

Micheal has two sisters – Madison and Christy. Micheal also has something I have always wanted – no, two things I have always wanted: power wheels. Of course, I'm too big for power wheels now, but at least Micheal was happy to share his awesomeness with Mason!

It was also good luck that Mason and Micheal get along! They were playing Forest Park Ranger in the cul-de-sac all afternoon...until the batteries died, anyway.


Pow, pow, power wheels!

Behind Mason is Pete, Micheal's dad. He's a very nice guy! I don't know many details about their family yet, but we have years to get to know them.


This is a good start for learning to drive a golf cart, right?

Photos of the house are coming, I promise! I may even take some while the boxes are still all over the place...kind of a before/after thing. We'll see. Unpacking is quite a task!

Philly Cheesesteak...

Heidi and I went on another adventurous road trip two weeks ago. This time, we traveled to Philadelphia for one of my oldest and dearest friend's wedding.

We stayed with Heidi's sister, Holly, the first night of the trip. I wanted to do something touristy that day since it was the only day I was going to be in Philly. Of course, when you're in Philly, you HAVE to have a cheesesteak. So, she brought us here: Dalessandro's.


It's an old-school dive where, it seems, the locals like to go. No tourists here (except us). This was the real-deal. The toppings for the cheesesteaks are on the counter: red chili paste, pickles, banana peppers and pickled green peppers. Yowza!

I'm still trying to figure out how they pass a health inspection with this method, but I didn't let it detour me from piling on the toppings...I decided on a combo of banana peppers and red chili paste. Just the right amount of flavor and heat. Yum!


There is no doubt about it: this sandwich was a BEAST! Heidi and I should have split one...it was enormous! I did manage to work my way through most of it, though. Yes, I did regret it.

I can now check off a genuine Philly cheesesteak from my food bucket list.

The Life of a GC Assistant...

It's very lucky for Brian that it's not sweltering outside in GA. This lovely getup is what he has to wear when they spray a highly toxic chemical on the course. Oh, how pretty the grass looks, though!

July 4th Plans...

We moved to the Atlanta area 4 years ago, and ever since then we have celebrated Independence Day where Brian works. The first year, Brian worked at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Mason was 3 years old and hob-knobbed with the rich kids by enjoying their carnival games, petting zoo and rides for free – suckers! It really IS about who you know in this world.

This year will be our third year celebrating at the Country Club of the South, but the first year that it's not Brian's weekend to work! Although he will spend some time working on Saturday, we will enjoy the day by having BBQ and watching the fireworks.

For the past 2 years, I have taken photos from this angle, but THIS year I'm looking for something different. I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!

Future Computer Geeks of America

Much like insects are drawn to light, there's something magnetic about the glow coming from a giant computer monitor. Bring up Yahoo! games and the glow becomes simply irresistible!

I have no qualms with raising a computer-literate child. Judge me, if you will, for plopping my 6-year old in front of an iMac to play a parquetry puzzle game online. I figure that feeding his mind with a computer game is more constructive than allowing him to sit in front of the television all summer watching SpongeBob reruns.

Little Chefs Academy

Mason's been invited to all kinds of birthday parties over the last few years from parties at the park, Chuckie Cheese, roller skating and bowling. Last weekend, he was invited to an alien-themed party at Little Chefs Academy. The children were going to be making green pizza and green cupcakes. Fun!


The kids learned the value of cleanliness, measuring and waiting your turn.



Scoop. It's okay if you get a little flour on the counter and even on YOU.


Tap, sweep then put it in the bowl.


Dump it in to the mixing bowl. How many cups did we need, again?


The food coloring wasn't mixed in with the dough. The yeast, itself, was soaked in the food coloring, so the green color didn't stain the kids' hands! Cool, very cool.

I have to admit that, even though it was fun for the kids to make the green pizza, it doesn't look very appetizing.


I think we could put pepperoni on apple pie and Mason would eat it.


The kids didn't seem to notice that the crust was a lovely shade of mold. Gross.


There was even green alien juice. I'm not sure which part of the alien this juice came from, but I'm not sure I don't want to know.


After pizza, it was time for dessert! The kids iced their own cupcakes...


...complete with green icing...


...M&M's, gummy worms and chocolate sprinkles.

Will work for food!