Crossing Over

Caitlin's Daisy Girl Scout Troop had their bridging ceremony on April 29th. This ceremony marks the official transition from Daisies to Brownies. The girls in her troop all performed an adorable song about leaving Daisies behind to become Brownies to the tune of Frere Jaques. Afterward, each girl crossed over "the bridge" where they changed from the Daisy blue vest to a Brownie brown vest, received certificates & roses and then enjoyed delicious...BROWNIES...of course!

Caitlin has really enjoyed being in Girl Scouts and has said that she wants to continue all the way through high school. With all the good values and lessons that Girls Scouts teach, we are 110% behind her!



With her Brownie vest--just after crossing the bridge. Officially a Brownie!


Caitlin smelling her rose.



With her vest on! :o)

Brag Post-Be Warned!

I'm bursting with pride at the moment. At school pick-up today, I was informed that Caitlin scored the highest in her class (of 29) on the state's math test that was administered today. She also placed among the highest in the school and in the district for her grade-level (1st grade)! This is my child who is always asking how to do one math problem or another, did summer bridging workbooks in 2nd grade math and is now working on multiplication and division. Since the math gene is kind of...umm...dormant on my side of the family, it is quite obvious where the skills come from. I fear that by the time Caitlin is in 4th grade, we may have to rely on her father or a tutor to help her with her math, if she has questions, because it will be out of my realm.

While my head was spinning from this awesome information, I further learned that Caitlin just finished the 1B math book ahead of her class and is moving onto the next level. She plowed through the book in about two months' time! What a challenge it must be for her wonderful teacher to keep up with a class of 29 students, all at different levels. In the reading department, our brainiac is soon to be moving up to the highest reading level, along with another of her classmates. Contrary to the math gene, I know exactlywhere the love of reading comes from! From the time she was born, Caitlin has had shelves filled with books, weekly trips to the library and nightly reading sessions. What is so wonderful now, is that Caitlin can read to herself (chapter books) and also enjoys reading to her sister. She gets quite animated and uses different voices and tones. You can often find her with her iPod on and a book in her lap on car rides or just relaxing. I know that her love for reading has helped develop her advanced vocabulary, quest for knowledge and general love of learning. It just tickles me that at times, she'd rather read than do anything else.

That's my (our) girl! Okay, I'm done bragging but sometimes, you just have to!

Struggling

I have really been struggling with blogging material lately. Some days, it seems like our lives are so normal & mundane, that who would want to read about it? Other times, I'd love to share certain things with my readers, but worry about totally putting myself "out there" for all the world to see & know. There are some matters that are best left off of blogsphere, if you know what I mean. Privacy is still important, even when one has a blog and even though it may seem to go against every fiber in my being.

Yes, there has been turmoil in our lives lately, but thankfully, there have also been many wonderful memories and super-supportive family & friends who have the amazing ability to make our troubles melt away, even if only momentarily. I am really trying to focus on the positive things in our lives while keeping the struggles in the back of my mind, always there, thought about & planned for, but not all-consuming.

I take comfort in knowing that we are not alone, that many other we know and others around the nation are also struggling and yet, managing to adjust, adapt and move on. We have cut back, become super frugal and, at the same time, become closer as a family and have found the true meaning of life in a lot of ways. How could a night be more perfect than a leisurely walk through the park, pulling a wagon and having an honest, down-to-earth discussion while admiring the approaching sunset and ducks swimming in a pond? I think, when times get tough, we tend to come together, face things head on, and also truly appreciate the simple pleasures of life.

I've blogged before about returning to simplicity and, in a way, we are doing that, and in a way, this makes my heart glad. While part of me worries that my children will feel deprived, part of me also knows that they are learning important life lessons--that there is a limit to what we can buy, that it's okay to do without some things, that our basic needs will always be met, that something old can be new again and that creativity is fun! One of my favorite things, as of late, has been to introduce my girls to the old-school movies I loved as a kid as well as some of the games that I enjoyed playing. Who knew, huh?

All in all, I am determined to make the most of the changes that have been, for lack of a better term, forced upon us. But, know that if I don't blog often, it's because I often struggle with just what to post and, occasionally, the unpleasantness of life consumes me. Just know, that no matter what, I relish my connections that I have with my readers and I won't disappear entirely.

Thank You Earth!

Happy Earth Day to our 3rd rock from the sun! Thank you for sustaining life, providing us with air to breathe, food to eat and scenery to admire.

Today was the perfect Earth Day, in my opinion (though maybe, we could've done without the tornado warning and sirens) as it was raining and you could just see the grass, flowers and trees springing to life! Spring really is my favorite season of the year. I love the "rebirth" of our Earth. Could we have a more wonderful planet to call home?