Just Dancing

Somehow the family got off track on our New Year's exercise program. We were supposed to work out 30 minutes each day on our exercise equipment. First Momoko hurt her leg. Then Kit Kat got sick. The result is that we are no longer exercising.

Just yesterday we got back into working out on the exercise equipment. So today I asked Kit Kat if we were going to continue for the second day in a row. She wanted to play the new Just Dance Wii game we got. To her that is exercise. The benefit is that Momoko can dance with us, but do it from a sitting position to protect her injured leg.

This crazy dance game is hard to keep up with. Kit Kat seems to get the high score a lot. At least they got some good songs in the game. In other news, I pushed Kit Kat to take the longest practice drive ever today. Things were going fine until the final drive home. Kit Kat stopped at the stop sign, but did not see the big truck coming with the right of way. Kit Kat pulled out. We got lucky that the truck slowed down and did not ram us.

I am still lobbying for Kit Kat to go out into traffic. She still just wants to travel the back roads and secondary streets. That is fine ... for now.

Lost Without my Planner

Last night we had some scheduling business to take care of. One of the cats brought down my daytimer. This planner hold my money, as well as my life. It lists all the things I need to do each day. It also has all the work meetings I need to attend. Somehow my planner got left downstairs last night. Trouble.

I woke up tired this morning. My planner was not on my dresser. So I left without it. Ouch. The planner is my wallet which holds my driver's license. It also has all my cache. I knew I was in trouble when I could not find the call in number to my first meeting of the day.

So I gathered up all my computers and papers at work, then headed home. Sure enough the planner was downstairs where I left it last night. I was so hungry by the time I got home. But there was no time to run out and get some carry out. My next meeting was starting soon. The moral of the story is to always return the planner to either my back pocket, or the top of my dresser upstairs. Otherwise doom is near at hand.

Life of the Patrol

Momoko had to go to college class today. So I had to leave work early to get Little Kat from school. I was working as fast as I could. And I made sure I did not volunteer for any new work to be done today.

I got to Little Kat's school and waited at his safety patrol spot. The weather was very hot. I was directly under the sun. My work shoes are black. The sun heated them up so much during my wait for Little Kat that my foot hurt.

While waiting for Little Kat's patrol duty to end, I read the paper and practiced a presentation I need to give at work later this week. However I still spied on Little Kat in action.

Some kid tried to exit out the wrong door. The kid told Little Kat that somebody else told him he could exit. Little Kat informed this guy that Little Kat was telling him that he could not. Some other kid tried to cut through the line and go the wrong way. Little Kat directed him back into the line. The bus driver got out of the bus and told Little Kat that the rules made no sense.

Normally we teach kids such as Little Kat to obey all direction from adults. Luckily I am sure that the teacher in charge of patrols laid down the rules for kid movement after school. And that teacher's rules trump any bus driver opinions. It was interesting to see how Little Kat ignored the bus driver's commentary. Perhaps I will get Little Kat to inform the bus driver that the rules are determined by the teacher in charge of patrols, and that any complaints need to be taken up with the boss.

Driving with Kit Kat

Today I had to return to work. It was not fair because Momoko and the kids are still on Spring Break vacation. I hurried home after work to take Kit Kat driving.

We decided to take a longer drive today. On the first ride out, Kit Kat successfully hugged the right hand curb. This was good. A neighbor came around the corner and was driving in the middle of the street. Kit Kat's driving made it easy to avoid an accident.

On the second pass around the block, I told Kit Kat to signal a right hand turn out of the local school parking lot. She hit the windshield wiper lever instead of the turning signal one. The windshield wiper phased her and she lost control for a bit. We ended up going over the curb but there was no damage done.

Overall Kit Kat is gaining better control over the car. She says she is more confident. Her acceleration and braking is more smooth. I noticed she also goes above the speed limit on the open roads a bit. Got to watch that. I am hoping Kit Kat gets enough skills so that we can drive all the way to her school in the morning (which is a long 30 minute drive away).

Easter Dinner

Today we are having my family over for dinner. My uncle made a surprise visit to my folks house. So he will be coming over for dinner as well. We all slept in a little this morning. However Kit Kat was up early enough to start cooking the ham.

Little Kat and Kit Kat camped out in the back yard last night. Little Kat has been trying hard to get Kit Kat to spend the night. Earlier in the week he spent some nights in the tent alone.

Today Momoko and I were getting the room ready for a big dinner table. We spotted some ants coming into the house by our vent. Previously I dumped a bunch of Ortho Home Defense outside. Momoko and Kit Kat sprayed 409 cleaner inside to kills the ants that made it in. This continued today.

Now I am going to take one last tour of the house with Little Kat. My parents have not seen any of the new appliances or furniture (bookshelves) that we have acquired over the past year. Happy Easter to all.

The Big Drive

Now that Kit Kat has her learner's permit, she needs some practice driving. I told her we would go take a drive today. The destination was her friend's house. Kit Kat's friend lives about 3 miles from us.

To start I had Kit Kat ride in my passenger seat. We took a test drive where I was behind the wheel. At each point I described what I was doing, especially with my foot on the gas and break. Then I drove us back home.

Kit Kat and I switched positions. She did not want to do such a lengthy drive. But me and Momoko decided we would push Kit Kat a bit to help her learn to drive. I tried to schedule our ride during the time of day that is not busy. However a bunch of cars showed up anyway.

Kit Kat was able to manage the car while I gave her specific directions on when to break and turn. I had to remind her to put on her turning signals. Once we got to Kit Kat's friend's street, some other car got behind us and was impatient. We took our time and the car eventually pulled in a driveway. It was difficult for Kit Kat to drive home since there is one treacherous left turn. It is hard to see traffic there. We made it home safely. When asked whether she wanted to attempt the same trek again right away, Kit Kat was sure she needed a rest from the ordeal.

Kit Kat is Driving

During our Spring Break vacation, Kit Kat studied the driving laws of our state. Yesterday she passed the test to get a learner's permit with a 100% score. Now she can drive with an adult.

Little Kat and I spied on Kit Kat as she practiced driving Momoko's car in and out of the driveway. Late last night the family went for an ice cream run to McDonald's. I had Kit Kat back Momoko's car out of the driveway and turn it around.

Today is the big day. I am going to have Kit Kat drive me to her friend's house. Luckily Kit Kat's friend only lives about 3 miles from our house. Kit Kat is a bit nervous because we need to drive on a busy street (she calls it a highway). But I think she will do fine.