kennedy + the not so graceful bike ride

If you've been following along, you know that Kennedy learned how to ride without training wheels earlier this year. Well she's pretty much mastered the skill and the necessary behaviors bike riding calls for, so we've begun letting her ride around our block by herself. Since our neighborhood is pretty quiet and she doesn't have to cross any roads we have felt okay taking this step. I mean, we all rode bikes in the road as kids, right? I know the world has become an absolutely crazy place to call home, but I don't want to dwell and make her sacrifice certain kidly rights.

Well, Wednesday while I was at work I get this picture sent to me:

OH GOODIE! Kennedy tells a story of two little girls playing on the sidewalk. Being the courteous gal she is, she swerves to avoid hitting them since they didn't move and bingo-bango she went right over her handle bars and onto the cement. Not only does she take this tremendous tumble, she does it on corner that is farthest from our house. And yeah, with our new 'freedom biking' policy we weren't with her. Have no fear though, Brendon was able to hear her screams from home and he set off on foot after her. How awesome we must've seemed to anyone witnessing the event.

This is what it looked like yesterday after one day:

The scrape really is not so bad, but there is some swelling and some nasty bruising. Bad mom alert! One of my first thoughts was, "Is thing going to be gone in time for the first day of school?!" Yes, I'm just wretched.

Then to top off bicycle issues, we were outside in the front yard when Piper wandered into the garage. Knowing there was nothing out that could hurt her, I let her go investigate on her own. After a few minutes of not hearing her rummage or talking, I went to check on her.

Yeahhhhh. About shit my pants on this one. My bike was steady but man, this would have been a very nasty fall. The scariest part for me is imagining her hike up to her seat! I truly don't see a feasible route. Do you?

The heart aches and scares of motherhood.

Leia

kennedy grace: latest happenings

This week has been full of fun achievements for my almost five year old.

1. End of the year conferences resulted in her teachers recommending her for "early" kindergarten next year! September 1 is the deadline for five year olds to register for kindergarten and her birthday is not until October 22. They say they do not always recommend sending them early even when they are close to the cutoff because of problems that can arise with different developmental areas (mainly reading and writing). I am proud to say that Mrs. Taylor said, "If I were to keep her in preschool for another year it would be for my own selfish reasons. We truly love having her presence in class." Makes me so proud to be her momma!

2. She started soccer in April, but today, two months later she scored her first game goal! We all went ballistic. She dribbled the ball from one end of the field to the other and scored. I haven't seen her more proud of herself on the field than I did this morning.

3. She is riding her bike 95% without training wheels. Two days ago was day one.

 She did surprisingly well for it being her first time without her stabilizers! There were many moments that she just flat out did not want to try anymore. More understandable since it was another sweaty balls day. Many water breaks and pep talks were needed.

Day two was yesterday. She did so good! I think she had good ju-ju from the fashion gods. Each time she fell and wimpered she refused to take no for an answer. She kept getting up and getting back on the bike at such an intense rate that I finally told her we needed to sit down and breathe for a minute so she didn't wind up completely hate her bike. We persevered. A little bit of blood was shed but she did so well. The next step is getting her to start going on her own without help from one of us.

'At Huffy, We Make Fun.'

Leia

"you're nuttier than a tim horton's maple log!"

For those of you who didn't realize that was a quote from the one and only Robin Scherbatsky, shame on you!

Today has no choice but to be a great (at least until I go to work this evening) because we have a Tim Horton's reward card filled up!

October 9, 2015: YAAAASSSS. 

Free coffee and freedom of outfit expression?! It's Friday y'all! I woke up with the girls while I left Brendon to sleep in, since Thursday's I am gone from 8:45am til after midnight, and we headed off to Tim Horton's after shaking off the sleepies. Kennedy clearly won that contest and by this time she hasn't fully pulled her outfit together.

Hooray! We made it to Tim Horton's (and face it, I wasn't ready to confront McDonald's for breakfast yet) and the unveiling of her outfit commences! We took dad's truck so we didn't attempt going through the drive-thru (duelly + unfamiliar driver + curbed-in drive-thru = insurance claim) so everyone got to see Kennedy Couture in action. 99% of the time the outfit she puts on is the outfit I let her keep on (with the exception of weather and important events where she could potentially brand me a lunatic).

We've now added Frozen ear muffs and gloves along with trail grade hiking shoes? We just roll with it.

Once we got home and settled in, everyone got to have their Tim's for breakfast. Piper was happy, Kennedy's donut was gone before we got out of the parking lot, and Brendon and I put forth zero to little effort to get everyone fed and happy this morning. That's a win on all fronts. 

Then to top of our afternoon, we took a couple trips around the block on our bikes as the hot mess express before the ominous skies decided to let the rain fall. I mean, family! We took our bikes around the block as a family! It's rare that we do much on the days I work but Saturday and Sunday I am working extra and won't have much time at home. The high lasted enough for my car ride to work; but now I'm ready to leave yet I have 7 hours left of my shift. C'est la vie.

Teal Cruiser, White Helmet, Piper's Seat

Let me tell you, we never had bikes until we moved to the 'country' and they were some of the best purchases we've ever made. Kennedy is constantly wanting to get out and ride and Piper gets more enjoyment than I thought possible from her seat.

Critical Cyles Women's Beach Cruiser: When I was trying to pick out which bike I wanted I chose based on leisure. I wanted it to be clear that my bike was for stress relief and relaxation. There shall be no mountain climbed with my bike! But really, I wish now that I had gotten a bike that wasn't single speed. Any slight incline is difficult, but that could just be user function. Being in shape was something I never claimed to be.

Bern Unlimited Lenox Helmet: Let's face it. I tried picking out a helmet that was more stylish so I wouldn't mind wearing it; and ultimately I don't mind wearing it, but helmets are dorky. But if you thought there was a chance of Kennedy letting Brendon and/or I get away with riding our bikes without one.. you thought wrong.

 YEPP Mini: This baby seat has been AMAZING. I have full confidence in it's safety, she isn't tucked behind me out of my view, and in no way has it interfered with the balance of my bike. There are some baby seats that cost less but for the most part, $150 was comparable between different brands/styles.



'I can ride my bike with no handlebars.'
Leia