what? another dog?

We seem to have adopted a dog. Just what we need. He came here on Friday, and has shown no signs of packing his bags. He sleeps in Ben's room at night, and just hangs around here during the day like he has been here all his life. He is a black lab mix, he sits and shakes and lies down, comes when called, and hasn't gone near the road or shown any signs of running off. He gets along with Rosie like they have been raised together, and is gentle with the kids. He hasn't jumped up on anyone, or even growled. So Benjamin has been asking around to find out where he belongs, and tonight he talked to some people from down the highway a ways, and they think he the dog of an older kid who left the house when his mom left his dad. The people do not think the Mr. of the house liked the dog or was kind to it, and that is all I will write here because I don't know who reads this. The Mr. was not home when Ben checked, but it was before he heard the dog's story....so now he is hesitant to go back again when Mr. is at home, because from all the neighbors' accounts, Mr. has not looked for dog or asked around for him, and is not a very good owner. So.....do we give dog back to Mr. anyways? Yes, I know, it all points to YES, it might all be heresay, and if it is his dog, then we have no right to keep him. But then again, we did not steal this dog, HE came to US. For all we know, they dropped him off, and he found our happy family before he found his way back home again. Our kids just love him, Glen Cocoa they named him....if you haven't watched the movie, "Mean Girls", the name means nothing....

Tonight, we have two doggies sprawled out on the living room floor, relaxing.

Anyway.....the weather here in the Northeast has been nothing short of glorious. Ninety degrees and sunny today. I went in the pool and passed out popsicles to the kids. The pool water is so warm they had to be careful not to let their popscicles go under.

Poplar trees grow fast, and there are several near our pool....that means lots and lots of tree fluff. It has been snowing fluff around here off and on for days. Our filter basket gets filled up over and over, and skimming the fluff from the pool is like a part time job. I would like to get the chainsaw and cut those trees right down.

We had a watermelon today. Oh, I love watermelon season. Especially now they make those nice little seedless ones, that are just enough for our family to eat up in one day. Yes, I know they don't really MAKE them, but almost.....genetic engineering is wonderful.

Camille insisted on going to bed at seven tonight, which was very nice indeed. Except for this one small thing: she woke up again after eight with too much energy. It was a cheaty little power nap. She was saying her leg hurt her, so we gave her some ibuprofen. She has not walked for a week now, but she can scoot around the floor on her butt. She has learned to say very sweetly, " I want you, Mama, and I can't walk!", so I will go pick her up. She is asking to go to bed again. hmm. I am tired, so it sounds good.

Okay, here's some sadness: Mirielle is most likely going away for the entire summer. wah. It is nice for her, it is a good job with good pay, and near some good friends. But what about me? And Aaron and Samuel are going to Norway for a whole month! And with Emily and Abigail working, when can we go camping? We might be able to go at the end of the summer when Mirielle gets back, and Aaron and Sam will be back, but Emily and Abigail still won't be able to go, except for maybe the weekend. And Ben will probably only be able to go for a few days, too. Strange the way things work, adding kid after kid into the camper each year, and now we are starting to downsize....

Camille may be helpless, but she just put Rosie in her cage and is trying to latch it. Rosie might be a pain in the neck sometimes, but a dog who not only listens to a two year old, but a two year old who cannot walk....now, she is a keeper!

Emily and Abigail and Mirielle and Mali and Margaret and Kathryn are going on a girls' trip this weekend to the ocean with like eighteen other girls. Emily and Kathryn are at Walmart buying a cartop carrier and new cooler. I am so excited for them, and wish I was young and I could go too.

I hope this week is a bit slower than last week was. But I don't know...Sonja did something to her foot....it LOOKS like it might be a sting or an insect bite, the way it is so swollen, but she says it doesn't itch, it just hurts. She hasn't walked all the way on it at all. More x-rays? More co-pays? The kids say I am mean to mention how much things cost and make them feel guilty, so I try not to. But my goodness, I got Mali two new inhalers the other day: $77! Of course I got them for her anyway. But. Oh. Dear. And Evelyn has a tooth that is growing in wrong and she keeps telling me it hurts. Okay, I will call the dentist. But do we have to actually go there?

Camille is turning off the power strip for my computer...she is telling me that "we hafta sposta have it off, okay Momma?" I think she needs attention.....