Happy Birthday Kaylin!

The Boss was good to me and forced everyone working Saturday to come and help with the tortoise mud pit. We removed three large loads of sludge and straw and then filled the hole with rock and sand. We'll eventually cover the sand with dirt, but the sky looked terrible so we tarped the hole just before the torrential downpour hit. What a nasty, disgusting job! The tortoise himself didn't move much on Saturday. He stayed in his nice, hot barn. Hopefully, he'll be ok.

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We celebrated Kaylin's 8th birthday Saturday night at my parents' house. It was a low key affair, with just my parents, brother and us eating pizza and cupcakes. Oh, and SALAD. With RANCH dressing. Kaylin's FAVORITE. (The child seriously babbles incessantly about how much she LOVES salad with ranch dressing, lol.) I can't believe she's eight!

I love toys sooooo much. It was kind of sad shopping for Kaylin's birthday present this year. Last year she was still into Littlest Pet Shop. This year it's not that she doesn't still play with Littlest Pet Shop (and Playmobil and My Little Pony) it's just that I can't imagine adding any big pieces to the collection(s.) It was tough for me to peruse the preschool toy aisles at ToysRUs and realize BOTH kids are done with that phase :( (Preschool toys are my favorites.) Kaylin wanted science stuff, art supplies and Webkinz. Once I got over the shock of not buying toys, science stuff turned out to be pretty fun. I founds magnets and bug houses and a geyser device you set off using Mentos and diet soda (I can't wait to try that.) I found all kinds of silly little trinkets such as a pocket volcano and a roly-poly playground (kind of a tiny amusement park for pill bugs.) The coolest was this microscope thing you plug into your tv that magnifies things 200x. We've spent a lot of time looking at hair, carpet, clothing, skin. It's pretty awesome! Yeah, I guess it's not so bad, just different. At least she's not into (yawn) video games. I think Logan is entering THAT hideous phase.

I'm suffering from horrible mommy guilt because I promised Kaylin a day out with her best friend instead of a birthday party. I have yet to so much as call the friend's mother to see when she'll be available and arrange a date/time. I've been so insanely busy at work and then so exhausted when I get home for some reason calling people on the phone has become nearly impossible for me. It's as if getting out of my chair, finding the school directory, looking up the number and placing the call would be so mentally taxing I might just drop over dead from the effort. I always hate the phone but not THAT much!!! I WILL get it done but I've decided that it will HAVE to wait until the inspection's over next week.

Ugh. I had great plans to get many things accomplished today before Kaylin's 3pm dentist appointment. Then I rechecked my calendar and the appointment's at 1pm. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Should I even BOTHER taking her to camp today? Yes. I need that few hours to myself :)