OK! Time to play "catch up!"

Yowza, I've never gone this long without adding a new blog. Sorry about that. I even received an email from a friend asking if everything is OK. It is. I'm OK, just busy, tired and ....you'll see!

CARMEL

After planting a yard full of spring flowers and hosting Easter at my house, my mom and I drove up with my dog, Bailey, for 4 days in Carmel. This is the 4th time we've been there. We always stay at the Cypress Inn, owned by Doris Day. It is my favorite vacation spot for many reasons. The people who travel there are all so nice, you're by the ocean and in a forest at the same time, you can take the dog and they're allowed almost everywhere, and it is so beautiful.

THE BLOWOUT

Despite the long drive to Carmel, we've never had in incident. So, I guess we were due. On the last day, I was about to load the luggage into the car and it had a flat tire. Grrr....so I called AAA and they came and fixed it. Problem solved, right? Wrong.

We drove 130 miles and steering wheel began to shudder. I thought we were just on a textured surface. Then we heard the sound, the grinding sound that tells you something is seriously wrong. We had a blowout on the tire that was fixed. Maybe it was brittle from being the spare and sitting in the sun, I don't know.

Luckily, I never lost control of the car. We were on the left lane at the time, but there was a shoulder there. AAA came again and rescued us. The tow truck driver had to lift Bailey into the cab of the truck because I couldn't do it. My mom was a wreck, Bailey was nervous but trusting, and I was a little numb.

Even though we had that major setback, it could've been so much worse. There were no injuries and we were back on the road for home in 3 hours. It was a Sunday and the tow truck driver knew where to take us, and the tire shop even stay open 45 minutes late to take care of us. This was in Atascadero, CA.

Getting home felt SOOO good that night! The insurance will pay for the damage to my car. It is no one's fault. Now I just have to get the time to take my car in for repair. I'm going to have to wait until school's out, which means another 4 weeks of driving it around like this.

I'm getting a new car this summer. It's time. Mine is 10 years old and has 94,000 miles on it. I love CR-V's and will probably just get another one.

OPEN HOUSE
The week after Spring Vacation ended, we had Open House at my school. I know, nice timing, huh? My kids worked their fannies off doing research papers for Open House, which I still need to grade. A lot of preparation went into that night. I wish we had a better turn out from parents and administration.

MOM'S NEW DOG

My mom, who has been working with a Golden Retriver rescue organization, finally found a dog that fits her busy lifestyle as a retired person who babysits her grandson. Brinkley is a great dog. He's about 8 years old, and was surrendered by his previous owners because they couldn't take care of him anymore. He and Bailey get along just great and he's wonderful with my little nephew. My mom is thrilled with her new canine companion and he gets a lot of attention everywhere he goes!

TESTING
Yep, there's more!

State testing at school has been going on for the last 2 weeks. It has been very tiring, especially because I test my kids in 2 groups per day. They recommend that for the upper grades because we have so many kids.

And, speaking of lots of kids, I got 2 new students during testing. Fortunately they will not be tested. I do have 2 make-up sessions with a child who went home ill the other day. I hope to start those tomorrow if he's there.

RAMIUS
And there was another furry addition at my house...

Eight days ago I was coming back from a sushi dinner when I heard this desperate meowing coming from the front of my house. I thought one of my cats was stuck somewhere, but when I approached the front, I looked down and saw a little white kitten. He was screaming his head off, not because he was stuck, but because he was in dire straights. Filthy dirty--almost brown, bony, red-eyed, scared, hungry, and flea ridden.

I brought him in and fed him and that is when I saw the fleas. There were HUNDREDS of them. I took him into the bathroom and scrubbed him down in the sink with Ivory soap. He was too worn out to put up much of a fight. That got rid of most of them. I also put some topical solution behind his neck to kill the rest.

Over the last few days, Ramius the kitten has become healthier, cleaner, and I'm keeping him. He's very sweet, uses the kitty box and the cat scratcher, and cute as can be. The other animals are adjusting to having him here and, although it was completely unplanned, he's been a great little addition. We went to the vet on Thursday for his vaccinations, de-worming, flea pill, and some tests to make sure he's healthy inside and out, since we don't know his history.

Look at the difference in 8 days!
And in case you're wondering about the name, Ramius...I let a good friend name him. The name is from Sean Connery's white-bearded character in The Hunt for Red October. I like it. The name seems to fit him.

SO, ANYWAY....
That is what has been happening around here. And things promise to get even busier because school is heading for the home stretch. Report cards, more testing, organizing the kids into their classes for next year, picking a grade, packing up the room, and updating all of the kids' files--my LEAST favorite end-of-year activity...these are the things that I have to look forward to in the next 4 weeks. So, if you don't see another blog for a while, you'll know why!