Spring is coming

Spring is a glorious time of year in Atlanta. To me it looks like the entire city is getting ready for a wedding. The heleboris bloom right after the holidays and they always make me start getting excited about spring. I love their beautiful muted colors. The daffodils and forsythia are in bloom and the tulips have popped up out of the soil. But how do I know that spring is almost here? Because all of the kids in the neighborhood are wearing winter pants that are much too short! Another month and we will be in shorts.

In the Blink of an Eye

In the blink of an eye the little four year old who traveled half way around the world to spend the summer in Atlanta has turned nine. That summer that I hosted K seems so long ago but also seems like just yesterday.

K has worked so hard and learned so much. She is kind, thoughtful and generous. She has nice manners and always thinks of others. When she gets something new her first thought is always that she wants to share it with Ellie and Annie. She loves animals, Barbies and everything fairies. K and Ellie are self proclaimed tomboys but I think they just like the way it sounds. Though not really girlie girls they are terrified of bugs, werewolves and cobwebs. She loves arts and crafts and would much rather be inside in the summer when it is so hot. No more camps that involve riflery, archery and canoeing for her (what can I say we live in the south!)

K loves God and Jesus-always sayz God and Jesus, not just God or Jesus. She has given up apples (her favorite food) for lent this year.

Nine is a wonderful age. K is so independent. She gets up easily in the morning, makes her bed and is easy to get off to school. One Saturday morning I came down and she was making herself a waffle-it really hit me that she is growing up so quickly. She does her homework as soon as she gets home from school. What an easy child. She is a great traveller except that she wishes that we had our own plane (me too!)

She loves her pets and wants more. She loves Uncle Mark and calls him almost every day. Their conversations are so funny-she calls him Uncie Markie. Sometimes I hear her talking and think someone is here but she is on the phone with Uncle Mark. Thank goodnes I have the world's most patient brother.

I need to live in the moment and enjoy these times. In the blink of an eye she will be fourteen.

The Three Amigos

On K's actual birthday we had planned a dinner with Sheila and Elliot at a hibachi restaurant. It is so much fun to watch kids faces when they are cooking the food. Ellie was at our house when we were getting ready to go so we asked her to join us. A few minutes later Annie called and asked if she could come too. So it was off to dinner with the three amigos as we call them.

Love the look on Annie's face

Annie caught the piece of egg the chef threw at her-the rest of us missed

Mayhem

Doodle Marie Mayhem (aka Doodle the Clown) was the entertainment for K's birthday party. It is great because Doodle talks non-stop for 90 minutes and has the kids totally mesmerized. She arrived in her new Doodle mobile.

The girls were a little tenative in the beginning

Franny jumped right in and got her face painted


Lila before
Lila after

This cute little face did not need painting



Madison


Sweet Reeves gave it a try but wanted to wash her face as soon as Doodle was finished



K taking it all in

Collier

Lizzie

A NASTY smelling ferret

Magic trick

K as a tv star

A diaper on her head-not sure what that was all about

Getting ready to blow out candles


Happy birthday K!!!!!!!

Cold Weather Girls

I grew up in Aspen and K often asks me why we only go there in the summer. I hate cold weather. K is my little clone except when it comes to the cold weather issue-she loves it. I have noticed that it has frequently been -22 degrees in Kazakhstan this winter. So for President's Day weekend we took a trip to Chicago. We visited our friends Beverly and Peter and got to have dinner with Mackie and Alison (Beverly's son and daughter in law) and their adorable baby Lila. Then we took the train to our cousin Kathy's house. K was so cute on the train, she gazed out the window the entire trip and was so excited about the fresh blanket of snow. Our time at Kathy's was a winter wonderland. K was outside playing in the snow by 7AM every morning. We went sledding and went to John's hockey tournament. It was more than enough cold weather for me. K can't wait to go back and wants to know when we are going to Aspen.

K and Bev's cat, Sophie

Alison and cute Lila

Mackie and Lila

Bev and K walking to breakfast in the snow

John and K sledding

Bobby came home from college for the weekend

Bobby's girlfriend Sam-so sweet

Kathy had this bloody Mary that was garnished with shrimp, a brussell sprout and a sausage among other things!

Bob's Birthday

K: Mom, today is Bob's birthday

Me: That's nice (half asleep-thinking that I don't remember anyone named Bob).

K: Are we going to celebrate?

Me: Is your class going to have cupcakes?

K: No!

Me: Why not?

K: Mom, Bob is dead.

I'm thinking that something must have been lost in translation. Then K said that maybe Ziggy was celebrating Bob's birthday. OK-either we spend way too much time listening to Reggae on Sirius radio or way too much time around Winston (our Jamaican). Or maybe a little of both.

So we baked some cupcakes, listened to Bob Marley and K wore her dread lock wig that Winston gave her. Listening to "Every Little Thing's Gonna be All Right." was just what we needed.

Happy Birthday Bob!

I Have Been a Bit Distracted Lately

Business has been crazy. I hate it when work gets in the way of enjoying my life. This morning I got up (18 degrees out) and turned on my computer and read this article in The Aspen Times. Sotheby's Aspen office is closing. Well, not exactly. They were going to be evicted next Friday. I love how the paper doesn't mention this detail. It also reports that the president claims that he was trying to downsize the company starting early last year. Oh really? Is that why he exercised options on 5 leases last April? This guy owes me money in the six figures and has left all of his brokers hanging. Nice that he has secured a job for himself. Lawsuits to follow. I own the building that Sotheby's is "moving out of."

Sooooo......as I pulled into carpool line there was a medium sized moving truck pulling into carpool line. I asked K how she would like to get out of a moving truck and she said that it would be very embarrassing. Then said that she is even embarrassed when she has to get out of Winston's truck. First of all, Winston has only taken her to school once this year when I was so sick I could barely move.. Second, he usually drives an SUV. Sometimes, if he is making a delivery he drives a truck. but it is brand new and he goes nuts if it gets the least bit dirty. I don't quite understand the point of owning a truck if it can't get dirty but that is Winston. As I was getting ready to pull out of the school parking lot, K said "Mommy!". Geez-I had forgotten to let her out. I had to make another lap and cut back into carpool line to let her out. Like I said I have been a bit distracted lately!



This picture left over from Christmas has nothing to do with this post-well maybe it is a bear market? I just love this bear in this tree. And I love K's coat. She wears it every day. Out to play, where ever. It is really nasty. I need to sneak it away from her and get it dry cleaned.