Happy Birthday, Carissa

Happy Birthday, Carissa. I can not believe that she is 10 years old. She told me, "I am a double digit number now, so you do not need to wrap my presents. You can just give them to me right now." I told her that it was a nice try.

She is a lovely, young lady that is mature beyond her years. I often forget that she is years younger than Brittany. She is good with words and loves to debate topics. She also is a sensitive child who loves animals.

It was easy to buy her presents this year. She made a nice list and for her birthday cake she wanted strawberry shortcake. Carissa also requested that we go to the mall with Haley and then spend the night at our campsite. Carissa received some birthday money from both Grandparents and she is always eager to spend her money. She is also hoping that the pool will be open at camp and she is negotiating a time when we will come home on Sunday. I think that topic is still up for debate.

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day. We were not able to go camping with our friends at the State Park because it is a 2 and 1/2 hour drive. Our budget and gas prices just did not allow it this year. Several others had to back out as well.

However, we had a great weekend at Hejamada. We started off the weekend by going shopping for bathing suits and with young teens that is no easy project. We did find some nice looking but modest suits and all were happy, except Dad who fell asleep on the mall bench after a 2 hour wait. The girls also had fun picking up a few summer outfits at Steve & Barry's (Brittany's new favorite store).

Everyone in our family is making new friends and meeting new people. The girls are making friends with girls and boys, which is hard to admit that my little girls are growing up.

It is also going to be an interesting summer because everyone lives so close to you at camp and often know what you are doing most of the time. For example, our beagle got upset with us because we went for a walk without him. So, he decide to tear the screen on the door of the camper. John did a great job of getting new screen and repairing it but I was surprised by how many people commented on the incident.

The School Year is Coming to an End!

I have to say that this year I am extremely glad that the end of the school year is almost here. I have a difficult class this year. Today, we had a field trip to visit the Kindergarten Classrooms and also have lunch in the cafeteria. The kids were wild and off the wall. I have to say that my stress level went through the roof. However, overall the children did well when it came right down to it. I have high expectations for my children and the group this year is like none other that I have had. I have several children with major problems. They have social, emotional, and learning problems that can really hinder their ability to control their impulses and self-regulating skills.

I have learned a lot from them. One of the things that I learned was that high levels of lead could have something to do with it. It is a major problem in this area with older homes and then the recent discovering of lead in many toys. I have also read a lot of information about brain research and their ability to help determine the way a brain thinks.

Anyway, I know I am rambling but I am glad I have a 4 day weekend. I also understand why teachers have a long summer break. They really do need to mentally rejuvenate, so that they do not get burned out. And with saying all that, it still touches me when one child invites me to go camping with her, another wants me to take her to the zoo, or another little boy just wants me to come to his house with PB&J sandwiches.

Update:

Okay, so we finally had the squirrel move on. Hopefully he is doing okay but he has not been in our garden for a few days.

The other update is that we are excited to go to our camp site this weekend. We did go last weekend and had a good time. We played badminton and lost the birdie in the tree. The girls threw the football in the tree a few times but could not really see where to throw. This is because the birdie is a green-yellow color. They finally decide to move the picnic table over to the tree to stand on it and look around, (and the picnic table is heavy). Then I see the birdie on the ground behind my oldest.

My youngest also got a kick out of my oldest last weekend because we got a schedule of events from the campground when we checked in and on the schedule it listed a band or DJ every Saturday. My oldest asks who the DJ is and John answers "DJ Daddy John ." Brittany responses with "Oh man is he an old guy." Carissa and I laughed and answered "yes." Then John says "Hey I am not old." Brittany finally got it and we all laughed about the joke the whole weekend.

We are going to go again tomorrow to do some more clean up. We also think that are friends may decide to get a seasonal site. The cost of gas and admission into campgrounds up, so they went to look at some sites on Wednesday.

My girls and their love of animals!

Last Monday afternoon, my girls and a couple of neighborhood children found a baby squirrel. They brought it back to our house and they had to feed it. I told them it was a wild animal and to leave it alone. The mother was probably looking for it. Well they were worried, so they gave it some carrots and set up a build-a-bear box to keep it warm. Which I found out was still there the next morning.

So, I thought for sure the thing would be gone by morning anyway. Much to my surprise it was still in the box even after school. So the children gave it more food and water. At this point, I thought my husband would have a fit that a box with a baby squirrel was living in our front flower bed. He only in passing asked what the box was for and was to preoccupied to comment more on it.

Needless to say, we went camping this weekend and came home. My husband finally took more notice of the box. I again thought for sure since we had been gone since Friday night and it is now Sunday night that the animal would be gone. It wasn't. Then my husband instead of getting upset that my girls are caring for a wild animal - wanted to bring the squirrel into our house with 2 dogs and 2 cats. I flat out refused but he is concerned with it dying. So, he and the girls changed the wet bedding, put in a hot water bottle to keep it warm, and fed it more carrots and other food.

I am actually hoping to attach some pictures. It is really funny that they are caring for this animal. I am worried that they are domesticating this animal and I do not want a pet squirrel. KIDS and husbands!!