Meow

Oh, great. I have another kitty. The inside kind. The kind that is 24 pounds, very short, and has new eyeteeth. Can anyone tell me why my children think they are animals? And why cats, in particular? He used to bark once in awhile, but now it's all meow. I had him and Wils in the bakery twice this week and he (the NEW kitty) was meowing up a storm. The OLD kitty, Wils, wasn't meowing at all. So I get one over it and the next one in line morphs.

The three oldest kids were all in a spring concert this week. Elijah did not permit us to watch his part, so we left the gym for awhile. Ben did great, he has always participated well. This time he didn't really do the arm motion stuff ("Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun, please shine down on me!") but I noticed a lot of the boys didn't. Ana had her very first up front solo and she did awesome, her voice was so strong and clear. And then....this kitty caught sight of his beloved sister up there and decided he was going up there too! He headed for the hills. I intercepted him and let me tell you, it was a long, long, long, long, walk to the back of that big, crowded, hot, gym, wearing high heels, holding a screaming toddler who thought he was going to do a duet with his sister.

She also had some very exciting news in that she get a great spartan award. That's an academic award that students get for various reasons. Ben got one in the fall for penmanship. Hers is for the top reading score in her grade on the standardized testing they do every spring.

Today Ana had her babysitting course through community ed. The content sounded excellent and it was taught by a retired nursing instructor that I have met before. Ana is very excited to put her new skills to use on someone other than her usual clients. I think she is about the right age for a "parent's helper" type job so I'll start poking around for opportunities for her. Elijah figures that now that she's in the real job market, he should get all the cash gigs at home. The thing is, he IS a great babysitter--nobody insists on rules being followed like that guy. The thing is, I can't afford him. Just watch, he'll join a union or something.

Wil was so cute all day. Well, he always is. But he's been into telling these long, long, long, involved stories and they take FOREVER and he talks like a CODA (child of deaf adults). He stops talking the minute you break eye contact and HE STARTS OVER AT THE BEGINNING. Oh, man. And he uses these big hand gestures. So he was telling me about this truck and trailer he is going to buy when he is a grown up (big hand gesture showing how grown up he'll be) and he won't need a booster seat when he drives it (hands show booster seat) and he will have a snogobile and a 4 wheeler on his trailer (hands show driving these items) and he will be a grown up (big hand gesture showing how tall) and he won't need his booster seat (hands show booster seat) AND...the best part.....Ariana can ride in the trailer. He'll be driving (because he'll be grown up.....hand gesture showing just how much.)