Ladies and Gentlemen.....It's Hannah Montanna!

Ruby is going to be Hannah Montana for Halloween this year. She was so happy that I finally got her wig today. Here she is, ready to rock! She certainly has the attitude down! (I've got to find and scan the pix my mom took of me in a long blond wig when I was little.)




Hannah apparently partied a bit too much after the concert last night because she passed out in the middle of the living room floor.

(Actually, this is what happens to a 4 1/2 year old rock star when her soccer team is short players and there are no subs. She had to play the whole game this morning and she was wiped out!)

Dr. Feelgood loses his license

Cumberland-area cardiologist Elmer Manalo has temporarily lost his medical license. Manalo is being investigated for the many prescriptions for methadone, Xanax and OxyContin he has written. And oh yeah, there's also allegations of a murder-for-hire plot against one of his patients.

Mega Party

Kaylee got to attend a "mega party" at her school today with a bunch of inflatables (slides, bounce houses, tunnels, etc.) as a reward from the school fundraiser.

That's her new best buddy Tori in the last pictures with her. (She could have had her face painted too, but the line was too long and she got impatient. They really needed more than one person doing it.)

The kids had a TON of fun and it was a great way to end the first quarter.

Report Cards

Keithen and Kaylee had fall parent/teacher conferences and got their report cards this week. Since everyone is doing well, they all got new Webkinz. Kaylee got a bulldog, Keithen got a leopard and Ruby got a pink pony. The girls also got some new matching nightgowns. Keithen got a Marauders Map to put on the wall in his room.

Keithen made honor roll and got a "Personal Best" award for the first time. His study habits and focus in the classroom have improved a lot since the start of the new school year.

Kaylee's only area that needed work is her penmanship, which is really probably to be expected at this point. I know when Keithen was in first grade, his improved about 200% from the start of the year to the end of the year.

Ruby is currently working on learning to read word families at home and is doing a good job. We've also been doing some math games with dice.

Toothless Jaguar Girl

Kaylee has had two wiggly teeth for a while now. One on top and one on the bottom. Yesterday after school she told me that she could push the one on the bottom out totally flat with her tongue. I looked at it and could see the new tooth pushing up behind it. She wanted me to try to help her pull it. I tried and it started bleeding a bit but wouldn't come out. She decided that was enough for right now. Later, after dinner, she let me try again and out it popped! We couldn't find the little unicorn box that she usually puts her lost teeth in, so instead we used this little treasure chest.


This morning she woke up COVERED in pink fairy dust and $2 richer. I think she plans to save her loot to buy another Webkinz.

Peyton Manning's Mind

LOVE LOVE LOVE this commercial!

Gymnastics and the park

Ruby warming up at the start of gymnastics class. She was very excited that they were going to do the big balance beam today. The parents sit outside the class, but from what I can see, she is doing a very good job of following instructions.

And after gymnastics we had to take a little trip to the playground. She had a lot of fun zipping back and forth between the swings and the slides.

"Big Girl Clothes"

Kaylee has recently complained that some of her clothes are "too baby" and she wanted more "big girl clothes." I've seen a tendency for her to want to wear stuff that looks like Hannah Montana or High School Musical. I had some fun shopping for her last week. I found these great pants and this sweater at Burlington. We've decided that they are "Sharpay" pants. (Or maybe London from The Suite Life?)

Saturday Soccer

Keithen running through the tunnel after the game.


It was cold and windy during Ruby's game!

Hard to tell if Ruby's team won or not. They play two games on two fields at the same time, so it's basically impossible to keep track.

Keithen's team won this time. It was an interesting game because Keithen has 2 classmates on his team and they played against 2 other classmates.

9/11

In memory of those who lost their lives trying to help others on September 11, take a moment to do a good deed today .

Julian Opie - Signs

Sign sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Julian Opie's Signs exhibit is finally packing up and leaving town. Thank goodness. I was far from impressed with this "art" that resembled a crosswalk sign. Maybe next time the Arts Council of Indianapolis wants to install a major exhibit like this, they'll consider some local artists.

Gymnast girl!

No pictures since parents sit outside the class, but Ruby started her first gymnastics class today with Miss Joan. She seemed to really enjoy it and her teacher seems really good. At least one of the little girls has been in her ballet class before and Mandie's little boy Sean is in the class too. She'll do gymnastics for a while this fall, we'll take Miss Martha's Parent & Me class and then she'll move up to Miss Johanna's intermediate ballet class.

Touching a piece of history

If only they hadn't placed it in front of the big window so it wouldn't be backlit like that!

Fall soccer season is here again

Unfortunately, Ruby and Keithen's games overlapped today. I only got to see the first 15 mins or so of Keithen's before I had to take Ruby to the other end of the field for her game. Keithen said his team ended up losing, he thought by 2 points. Ruby's team split in two and played two games at once. She got a goal and an assist.

ETA:
I forgot to mention the two little girls on the team that Ruby played against. They were SO CUTE. Every time anyone on either team scored a goal, these two little ones hugged each other! It was adorable!

*Sniff* One of my favorite childhood authors died

Author Madeleine L'Engle died Thursday morning at the age of 88. Her novels, including "A Wrinkle in Time," were among my favorites in middle school. She was my introduction to the science fiction/fantasy genre. She is survived by two daughters, Josephine and Maria. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Who Wants it More?!

Understandably, there is a lot of excitement in town today. The NFL opening kick-off is just hours away. Keithen's soccer coach has promised to end practice early. The meeting I have at Kaylee's school has been promised to not go past 7:45 so everyone has time to get home before the game starts. A friend's hubby worked the press conference with all the "talent" at the Arts Garden yesterday. Half the guys my hubby works with are downtown on the Circle preparing for the big pre-game concert while he's busy setting up for the Penrod Arts Fair.



PREDICTION - Colts defeat Saints - 34-24

Letterman Communication and Media Building to be Dedicated

Ball State will welcome David Letterman back to campus tomorrow for the dedication of the Communication and Media Building.

The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. and will take place in front of the new Communication and Media Building on McKinley Avenue, directly west of Shafer Tower. The event is free and open to the public. Those who come are encouraged to wear their BSU gear to welcome Dave back to campus.

RIP Luciano Pavarotti

15 years ago, my Grandfather died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.

Today, the world has lost an immense talent, Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, to pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.

May they both rest in peace.

Another reason to love Peyton Manning

As of this afternoon, St. Vincent Children’s Hospital here in Indianapolis will now be known as Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent. Petyon has been a spokesperson for St. Vincent's since 1998, the year he joined the Colts. Peyton and his wife Ashley made an undisclosed monetary donation to the hospital. Peyton, Ashley and his parents Archie and Olivia were all on hand for the big announcement this afternoon. Manning’s PeyBack Foundation and his True Heroes” program has helped the hospital provide pediatric patients with parties in past years. Peyton now plans to take a more active role in fund-raising efforts for the hospital.

I was thrilled beyond measure this afternoon when I heard this news story. So often these days when we hear a sports figure's name mentioned in the news, it's due to some bad choice the person has made. I always know when I hear Peyton's name in the news, it's going to be something positive. He works so hard and understands the importance of giving something back to the community he represents. I have absolutely no problem with my kids looking up to Peyton because I know the kind of example he's going to set for them. Dream big, work hard and give back. Touchdown!

FINALLY. The candy store is closing.

There is this doctor's office in our area that more closely resembles a tattoo parlor. As a matter of fact, I think that's what it actually was before it became a doctor's office. I use the term "doctor's office" pretty loosely when I talk about the establishment. It's really more of a "candy store" for drug-seekers. Now, it finally looks as though the candy store may be closing up shop.

For the past year or so, every time we drove past this place we would see crowds of unsavory-looking characters hanging around outside smoking. The parking lot would be packed with people all hours of the day and night. Some friends have said that the buisnesses near-by have reported increased problems with shop-lifting. Last night, the DEA finally raided the joint. It looks as though cardiologist Elmer P. Manalo will probably be closing up shop and his drug-seeking friends, who come from as far away as Kentucky and Ohio for their candy, will have to find a new candy store.