Just Another Day

Last May, I decided to quit my job at Liberty bank and start picking up some kids from school and watching them until their parents get off work. I watched one 12 year old girl and two 8 year old boys. This was for two separate families that live down the street from each other. Because of some job changes for one family, I am primarily watching only one boy this semester. I watched this child full time last summer and over this past holiday break. He has taught me so much about children and what life will be like once I become a parent. He has also taught be a lot about children with special needs and the impact I can have on them as a future teacher. I also can't help but notice things that I know I did when I was a kid that must have annoyed my parents so much. For example, yesterday I took him to the Fort Smith Nature Center for a change of scenery and... honestly, just something else to do before school resumed today. So, we drove over there just in time for "critter crunch" and watched a guide feed a rattlesnake a little mouse. This past summer we got to visit the Nature Center several times, but I still find the experience interesting and somewhat sad to see a snake first bite the mouse to inject venom into it and then wait patiently for the mouse to die before slithering over to it and somehow unhinging his jaws to swallow the little mouse whole. After watching "critter crunch", we decided to take a little hike through a path outside. If you haven't ever been to the Fort Smith Nature Center, you should plan a trip. It is actually a really neat place with a small lake you can fish or canoe in and several paths you can walk outside. The center itself is really engaging and fun as well. Here's the link to their website.
http://www.rivervalleynaturecenter.com/ 

Anyway, before we went on our walk I said that I was going to use the restroom and asked if he needed to go as well. He said he didn't.... but I told him he should at least try to go since we would be walking without any restrooms around. (He didn't try to go....) Surprise, surprise! Not five minutes into the walk, he says he really needs to use the restroom. It hit me then that I knew I had done the same thing when I was his age. So annoying... but definitely something all kids do at some point. Since we were in the woods, I just told him to go by a tree... hoping nobody would walk by. Luckily nobody did.

That was just one example of how I am reminded that I was once a kid that did the exact same things he does that tend to annoy me. The other two kids I watched have also done things or acted in ways that I know I did when I was their age, especially the 12 year old, preteen girl. Gah, I've called my mom a number of times to ask if I was really that moody. Pretty amusing watching children age and grow as an adult instead of a child. It gives you a completely different viewpoint and personal experience to add to the situation. I've always heard the phrase "with age comes wisdom"... well, it is definitely true.

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One thing I REALLY want to get is a privacy fence. Yesterday Winston had to stay in his cage pretty much all day except for a short break when Zac came home for lunch. We have a fenced backyard, but the fence is not near sturdy or strong enough to ensure our dogs' safety when we are gone. Pretty sad. So, when I got home from work... I took Winston to Creekmore park for a long, brisk walk. He loved it! I really enjoy walking Winston and feel 1000000000 times safer with a mean looking (but extremely sweet and honestly timid) pit-bull at my side. Anyway, I had a guy from a fencing company come out the other day to give us a free estimate. He explained that it would be best to remove some of the trees by the fence-line (which we don't have many and only one good size tree) and said it would cost about $2300!! I did not like that price at all. We are considering putting it up ourselves but honestly know very little about what all that requires and what type of budget we should expect. I'd love to put one up for $1000... but I think $1200-1500 is a more reasonable amount to think about. Either way, it is still a huge expense we are putting off spending. Maybe this Spring we will find the urge to put one up. I just hate having to leave Winston in his cage for so long. Now that school is about to start, I will be coming home more frequently... so perhaps it won't be a huge problem. Maybe eventually we can leave him out in the house with the girls.

I'll leave you with some precious pictures of our dogs.

Winston tired from the dog park.

Miss Mocha!!!

The dogs waiting patiently for Zac to give them some food at Thanksgiving.

Isn't he pitiful?

Zac took this picture the other night when he came to bed late.
Doesn't she look like a little human that fell asleep reading?

Much love,

EM