In the Spotlight

Kaitlyn was in a play put on by her class and another class. It was called "School Daze". She was selected to sing a solo. She was soooo nervous and that was reflected in her voice. But she did it and didn't forget the words, etc. I was so proud of her and she had a ball with it. Dirk videotaped it and burned it to a DVD for the teachers. Now some of the families have requested them so he's made 3 and has 8 more to go.

The play came a week after Kaits spent a week at home with her horrible hives. The timing couldn't have been better, if it had to happen. She would have been devastated if she had missed the play.

Singing her solo.


The beloved Mr. Herman. He will be greatly missed!


June 11 was the annual dance recital. The girls were in the same classes this year so it made it a little easier at the recital. They were the first number in the first show and we were able to leave right after that. Then, they had 2 numbers in the second show. Again, the first one and the second one after the intermission. It wasn't an overly hot day but the auditorium at the Middle School was HOT! Apparently, the AC wasn't working. Those poor girls who were in multiple numbers must have been exhausted! The recital lasted 3 hours but was very good. I was so proud of the girls, especially Renee. She had missed the rehearsal because she was sick so the first dance wasn't as good. But they did a great job for the second one. Renee was a little moody but she willingly danced and seemed to have a good time. We went to Pizza Hut afterwards so it was close to 9:30 before they were sleeping.



Miss Lori Williams, their CDT teacher. Both girls have had her for 2 years now.




Kaitlyn and Jaycee Karelus

Renee and Camryn Karelus














This is Miss Tara, their Acro/Hip-Hop teacher.








The following day the first graders were getting their Bibles so I got up and walked to church while Dirk and the girls stayed home. Renee was still sleeping when I left before 8:30. She was a tired little girl.

This is their last week of school. They have half days through Thursday. Kaitlyn is very sad about the year ending and so am I. She has had an amazing year. I thought last year was awesome but this year has been every bit as awesome. She continues to blossom as a learner and has tons of friends. I am glad the year is ending for Renee though. It's been a tough year socially and the class is not very good behaviorally. She is looking forward to a better year next year. Academically, she has grown and I need to continue to foster that over the summer. Her reading skills are beginning to develop but they're not strong enough for her to read very independently. It will come, though.

Unwanted Visitor

We had an unwelcome visitor at our home this morning. Her name is "THE MOMMY MONSTER" and she physically resembles me. But let me tell you, she is NOT who I want to be or who I want my children to remember me by! Here's what happened. Grab a cup of coffee, it might be long. (I just need to vent. Sorry!)

Last Thursday, Renee had a field trip to Tinker Park. Earlier in the year, her class went to the Strong Museum and she told me because she had been there lots of times she didn't want me to go. Fine. It turned out to be the same day as the 2nd. grade sing-a-long. Well, don't ya' know, come the week of the trip, she changed her mind. The tears started, "I want you to go" etc. She ended up being placed in a group with her teacher and I think she had an OK time. So, when the paper came home about this spring field trip, I signed up right away. The day of the trip arrived and although I was all set to go, she complained about going. It turned out to be a sunny day but windy and COLD. We were lucky if it hit 60. She was a grump most of the time and the other kids in our little group even asked why Renee was in such a bad mood. At one point, she said she didn't feel good but I hear that a lot when she's being a grump so I didn't take her seriously. On the bus ride home, she sat on my lap and we snuggled but she seemed OK. I thought for sure I would have a fight about her coming home with me but she told me goodbye in the hall and went back to her classroom. I ran my errands and life was good. WRONG! When she got off the bus, she said she didn't feel good and laid down on the couch. She felt warm so I took her temp. and it was 100.7. She slept for 1.5 hrs. and barely ate any dinner.

Friday she barely made it off the couch. Her throat hurt and her fever fluctuated all day, from 103 to 101. I took her to the doctor on Sat. morning and the rapid strep test came back negative but we went ahead and started her on meds. just in case. Because she had strep in May, they put her on something other than the amoxicillin, which she likes. The new stuff tasted nasty so it was more of a struggle to get her to take it, but NOTHING like Kaitlyn, thank you very much. Poor thing, she missed her dance rehersal and still felt lousy. At one point, her fever went up to 104.2! Sunday was a repeat. Monday she felt a little better but not much. The strep results came back negative so we stopped the Rx but kept doing the Tylenol/Motrin routine.

To top it all off, I came down with a horrible sinus cold on Sat. and wasn't much good to anyone on Sunday. I wasn't able to keep Nicole on Monday because I felt so lousy. But I never had the fever that Renee did. She never had the snotty nose that I did. If you combined both of our symptoms, we would have been REALLY MISERABLE!!

Tuesday she stayed home and played in the morning beautifully. But once again, barely ate anything. She fought with me to get in the tub and have her hair washed before bed but finally settled down and talked about going back to school.

So, this morning, she came downstairs at 7:40. grumpier than grumpy. She was mad because I didn't wake her up or carry her downstairs. Then she complained about being starving but wouldn't tell me what she wanted to eat. It was my fault, of course, because I didn't carry her downstairs or wake her up. I finally took her back upstairs and put her back in her bed and said we would start over. It took her a good 40 minutes to cooperate and she finally was dressed, ate a quick granola bar and was ready for the bus. She even let me brush her hair. But none of that happened without some tears, some yelling and a few spanks. I tell ya', that little girl sure does know how to push my buttons!! She is so stinkin' stubborn and grumpy. I can hardly wait for the teen years, to see what kinds of battles we have then.

This has been a tough year for Renee at school. She had a wonderful friend in Pre-K and they were so good for each other. Not to say that we never had our struggles because we certainly did, but at least she had a special friend while she was there. This year she walked into her Kindergarten class knowing NO ONE!! Her teacher is very sweet and nice but doesn't have the classroom management skills necessary for a well-behaved class and Renee doesn't like that kind of environment. She hasn't made a lot of friends and often complains that she doesn't want to go. Today she told me that another teacher in their building told them they were the worst kindergarten class. She is a rule-follower (Ha...isn't that hilarious!) and tries so hard to be a good girl. I'm praying that she'll have at least 1 friend in her first grade class and a better structured learning environment.

Memorial Day marked the 7th. year since Dad passed away. We headed to the lake after school on Friday and knew going into the weekend that we would have to spend at least one night in the cottage. We got there around 7 and I quickly cleaned the bedrooms and bathroom plus the front of the cottage. Kaitlyn slept on the top bunk and Renee was on the bottom. It was close to 10:30 before Renee finally settled down. She didn't want to sleep there, she wanted to sleep on the top bunk, she wanted to sleep in the trailer (which was still on the basketball court), she wanted to go home, etc. I was in tears because frankly, I didn't want to stay there either. I have not spent a night in the cottage since the night we found Dad and it was just a little too painful. So I was ready to take her home and bag the whole weekend. Dirk was the voice of reason and managed to talk some sense into her and she finally fell asleep. We repeated that scenario the next night too but at least then she was willing to sleep in our bed until we went to bed.

Dirk and Jack Baker attempted to move our trailer onto our lot but were unsuccessful. It was too swampy across the road, where the tractor needed to be. To say we were disappointed is an understatement. But Jack called me this morning and said we'll all set to go now. He moved it yesterday and he wanted my little girl to know she could sleep in her own bed now.

As the day has gone on, I have worried about Renee and her emotions. She was crying on the bus but I hope it was short-lived. Today they were going to start handprinting white t-shirts and it was her day to take a special book for the teacher to read, along with a special snack. She choose cheese balls so she had a big plastic container of them, along with her backpack that I swear weighs 30 lbs. I should weigh it.

Thanks for letting me vent. I will post another day and include pictures from Kaitlyn's theatrical debut and their upcoming dance recital.