My husbands work graciously sent this really lovely fruit basket while I'm recuperating. Actually, it came in a box and had pears, apples, mangoes and oranges. Really nice. The thing that stumped me was the label on the top of the box. In big bold letters it said, Warning: May Contain Fruit. Hmmmm. Now If I was shipping a fruit basket, would I need to put a warning label telling me about the product? What exactly is wrong with the fruit that I need to warned that it's fruit. I could see if it had peanuts or something that might cause an allergy but it's fruit. Fruit shipped as fruit... in a box. No mystery there. Hmmm.
These are our dogs, Pete and Stewie-they are best buds. Pete stays home and sleeps all day while Stewie is out at work with my husband working as his hearing dog. Larry has been deaf since the age of 4.
Stewie alerts Larry to the telephone ringing, someone knocking at the door, the kids crying, smoke alarm and many other sounds. Tonight, Larry ran to Target to pick up a few items for me. There were two girls there ooohing and aaahing over Stewie and trying to get close to him and pet him. Their mother stood by and said and did nothing. Stewie in his ever present working mode, stared straight ahead and only focused on Larry as he should. He's spot on in public. In restaurants, he curls up under the tables and sleeps and only responds when Larry needs him. So what annoys me? People who clearly see the sign on Stewies vest that says, "I'm working-please don't pet me" and ignore it. Stewie is not a pet, he is an assistance dog. He is on duty 24 hours a day and loves working for Larry. He's a Lab and all Labs need a job or they turn into lunatics that don't behave.
At home Stewie loves to play but also knows at a moment's notice that Larry may need him. We always stop to educate people that may have questions about hearing dogs. Questions are different than interrupting a service dog at work and preventing them from doing their job. Yet people on a daily basis, often ask to pet Stewie. Last week while at Walmart, a woman and her family blocked the aisle so that Larry and Stewie couldn't get through. They stood there and stared at the dog and were talking to the dog in a cutesy voice trying to get the dog to respond. Larry just explains that he's working and excuses himself. Some people just don't get it. So here's the thing....feel free to ask questions, don't pet or talk to the dog, tell your kids (and adults) that we are not being rude, and move on.
Patrick and Morgan had sign language today. My neighbor and fellow homeschooling mom picked the kids up for me since I'm unable to drive. While the kids were gone, I had some nice time to work with Tae one on one. Being the smallest, he always has to share his time with the other kids. And let's face it-as homeschoolers we are always together. Tae was digging thru some books that a friend gave us and found this one that let's the kids use a dry erase marker to do their work. Tae LOVES dry erase markers. He has his own dry erase board for drawing or doodling or putting his magnetic letters on.It's amazing to watch how he's putting things together. He's figuring out that letters have sounds with them. A few weeks ago he didn't understand this. I don't push him but he's getting it on his own. He did this all by himself and only put a K for the beginning letter in cup. "Kite begins with K" he said. (He often looks at the alphabet chart on the wall for sound and letter comparison). It's so confusing to them when they start to learn the sounds with letters-especially the letters that don't fit the norm. He'll get it. I forget that he's not even 5 years old yet. I remember this age with my other two kids. Watching the wheels turn and it seems for weeks they are stuck on one thing and then just explode with new concepts.
He worked on this page too. Beginning sounds. I was laughing because he had no idea what the milk carton was. Homeschooled kids never see or use milk cartons like public school kids. When I told him that is was milk he said, "Why isn't it in a glass jug?" We get our milk delivered each week the old fashioned way. Perhaps if it was in a sippy cup with a crazy straw he would know what it was. 
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