Midsummer

Oh, hi. Is anyone still reading my blog? I’m going to assume probably not, but feel free to correct me.


I guess I should apologize. JD’s school was the source of a significant amount of stress in our family most of the school year. Then starting around mid-January we were having serious issues and that sort of overwhelmed most of my brain function. I became totally preoccupied (justifiably I think) and then when I realized I needed to change the subject for my own sanity I had to just stop talking about anything school related.

And since I primarily blog to keep up with JD’s childhood, the little memories, the milestones; I couldn’t write about him with out School looming in the back ground. This is of course a shame because there were some good parts. JD danced in the children’s village at Fest For All with his class. I thought he did an excellent job. We went on field trips to pick strawberries and to Global Wildlife which was fun.

There are lingering issues too since we have no idea where JD is going to go to school in the fall. Well I exaggerate; we have some idea of where he’ll go next year, but no definitive plans. I am hoping for definitive by the end of next week. The big dilemma is do we go with a private school we really can’t afford or a public school and potentially run into the same problems. Prior to this school year I was dead set on public schools so I feel mildly embarrassed about my change in allegiance, but not embarrassed enough to not apply to private school.

But… Change of Subject!

At AgMagic this year JD asked questions for 30 minutes with questions like "What's this? Where does it live? What does it eat? Does it sting?" for nearly every bug on display. The entomologist he was bugging seemed thrilled that a kid was so interested in bugs. I was thoroughly impressed.

JD had a birthday. He’s a big boy 5 now. He went to the eye doctor, the pediatrician, and the dentist in the space of a week or two. He passed all his exams with flying colors. The pediatrician said, and I quote, “He’s as healthy as a horse”.

JD is loving summer camp. I take it as a very good sign that he wants to go back as soon as I pick him up. He’s also telling me about his day, with whom he played, and other details that we had been missing all school year. He loves swimming and crafts and sports and field trips and and and! He’s even made friends with a boy who, as it turns out, has parents who went to LSMSA. I find this highly amusing. We have family night at camp this week and I am looking forward to it.

Since we listened to the Hobbit on Audio we’ve expanded JD’s repertoire and have listened to a number of audio books including James and the Giant Peach, the Fantastic Mr. Fox, Spiderwick Chronicles, and the first 4 Harry Potter books. We stopped at the Goblet of Fire because the end of the book was over his head. We’re also doing the summer reading program at the Library. Technically I could turn in his form now and get the prizes but there so much summer left I feel like that it is cheating.

Since my last post was about Pixie’s failing health I should probably mention she still living. She still has an awful swollen lymph node but we got the swelling out of her face. She’s currently the weakest link in a flea infestation at our house. Since pixie has a tendency to lay down in one spot for long periods of time, and usually the same spots day after day, we could give her a bath where she would have 200-300 fleas, and the next day she would 200-300 fleas again. In my weaker moments I wanted to burn down the house. We treated the house and yard with little success long-term. We’ve had to employ medications that I am sure aren’t good for her liver and kidney function, but I think we‘ve gotten the fleas under control. I’m not declaring victory yet, but I’m cautiously optimistic. Of course, she still extremely skinny and has awful skin.

We finally took Rocket to the vet to get all his shots. When he first turned up we got him his rabies shot but not all the rest. He has to be fully vaccinated before betting neutered. He’s going to get neutered next week.