What a Kick Off

Our family officially started off Spring by camping! Over the winter we had acquired quite the array of camping tools/supplies and were chomping at the bit to use them. So, when the camp sites opened up again and the weather warmed up... out we went!

The new tent worked great, our sleeping bag padding was really comfortable. My new cast iron pots and pans were awesome, although I still haven't learned exactly how to clean them! They're really high maintenance but great for camping! Eric bought a special camping hammock and slept in that. He said he liked it better then the tent. Once he set the hammock up, the kids couldn't stay off of it! They played in it for hours. Who knew a hammock could be so fun!

This week is the last one until Spring Break for the kids. I had aspirations of putting them in some kind of Spring Break camp, but I never got around to it, I'm not sure what we'll do to keep ourselves busy, most likely we'll spent 90% of it outside somewhere.

Elle is more then half done with the 2nd grade. She really loves her teacher and has great friends. This year though she really has started to have trouble in the math department. She's always done really well, but they are now moving past the stuff she did well at and moving into things she isn't so sure about. It also doesn't help that she seems to have a hard time focusing and paying attention. Her memory is really awful, she literally can't remember an instruction you give her, 5 minutes after she's given it. I'm starting to get a little worried about it. But she is a very sweet little girl and very kind hearted and loves to make people feel better. She's always the one that helps kids at school who don't have many friends. She always tells me how she felt bad for so and so, because they was being picked on, and she decided to be their friend at recess. She makes cards and notes for anyone and everyone she knows! She also joined Girl Scouts last month and is fitting into that nicely!

Pinky is loving Pre-K. She gets excited when I tell her it's almost time to leave for school. I think I've mentioned this before, how her teachers don't think she's ready for Kindergarten because she's the smallest and very coddled and babied by the other kids (which she loves by the way!). She's SLOWLY learning how to write her name. But I think she'll be ready if I keep working with her. She really tries hard and that's the important thing! Pinky sometimes blows me away with how observant and intelligent she is. She really pays attention to what ticks me off and is VERY good and getting around it. It's hard for me to remember that she's only 4 sometimes! Her memory is a steel trap, she literally never forgets ANYTHING. And I'm ashamed to say that my 4 year old might even have a better memory then ME! Which is why I think it's so strange that she can't identify letters/numbers yet, or write simple words. She's SO smart in some ways, I just I just expect that to spill over into other aspects of her life.
Although she has been having a few issues at school lately. Her teacher has been having problems with her beating up on the other kids. Not just a little hit now and again but like wailing on them, leaving marks on them, eyeing her victim across the room and running over to body slam them... remember I said she was the smallest one in her class...?? Her teacher says she thinks it's because she is acting out of frustration with her loss of hearing. She really has trouble hearing things lately and I'm sure she gets frustrated. It probably doesn't help that when she talks, no one can really understand her. I'm just hoping that next week when she gets her surgery, all this will be cleared up! So we're just biding out time!

Eric is being kept busy at Universata. Being the president of a company sounds glamorous but he will tell you differently! Lately he's been traveling alot, several days a week. I don't like being home alone at night, but I feel safer knowing anyone who broke into my house would have to face one of our 8 very scary guns... thats if they can get past our fierce German Shepard attack dog first! Eric comes home exhausted and beaten down. That poor man needs a vacation! He works harder and longer then anyone I know, he literally doesn't have an off switch. He is like a superman!

As for me, I'm doing well. Still going to the gym 3-4 days a week. Love that. I'm spending alot of time researching what I have plans to do with both kids in school full time this fall. I have two things I want to pursue. I wont share them though, because I have a bad habit of getting ahead of myself or overly excited about something and telling the whole world, only to have it NOT happen. Then I look and feel like an ass! So, this time I'm keeping my projects to myself! But I'm very excited! I succumbed and got a housekeeper. She starts on Friday. YIPPEE!! She was a good deal and a referral from a friend of a friend, hopefully she works out and cleans the house to my standards! I'm very picky!

So happy Spring everyone!!!