Leave No Trace Award - Tiger Year

Here is the poster that my son made (with help from Tumbling Girl and I) for the Leave No Trace award for his Tiger Cub Scout year.  I hope you can understand what the illustrations are.  I believe that we put them in the order of the pledge.

For this award, we went on a couple of hikes with his den and then one on the Mom and Me camp out at Camp Thunderbird a couple of weeks ago.  For his service project, he picked up litter along the road in our neighborhood after school.

His den decided not to work on this as a group.  Since we had already completed most of the requirements, I decided to help him with this today.  He has his final award ceremony next week, so hopefully, there will be enough time to order this.  If not, he'll get the award in September when he is a Wolf Cub.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Brag Vest After the Mom and Me Camp Out

I have updated my son's Brag Vest.  They had an award ceremony last month, so he received a few more segments.  Today, I sewed on the totem patches from the Mom and Me camp out that we attended over the weekend.

He earned a couple of other patches and belt loops from the activities at the Mom and Me.  Cub Scouts is wrapping up for the year in 2 weeks, so he won't receive those until September, when it starts back up again.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Seeking Donations of Outdated Girl Scouts Badges/Pins/Etc.

I know I've mentioned that I will be starting up a Girl Scout troop for my daughter next year.  When I was at the Mom and Me camp out with my son this weekend, I thought of a great idea for an annual Investiture/Re-dedication Ceremony.  I thought it would be cool to help promote the continuity of Girl Scouts for each one to choose an old patch or pin.  Later, it could even turn into a fun research project.

I would really love to do something like this for my daughter's troop next year.  If anyone feels that this is a worthy cause, outdated patches and pin donations would be gladly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Mom and Me camp out

My son and I spent Friday night and most of Saturday at our local Boy Scout camp.  It was a lot of fun!  I had never been to Boy Scout camp before.  I went to Girl Scout camp once when I was in Brownies and church camp once with a Mormon friend of mine.

I had never slept in a bunkhouse like this before.  The Cub Scouts and their moms stayed in adjoining bunkhouses with a door in between the rooms.  The moms stayed on one side of the cabin and the boys stayed on the other.  Each side had their own bathroom.

To pack for the trip, I read the vague descriptions listed on the website and the recommended items to bring along.  No where on there did it mention showers, so I didn't pack towels or shampoo.  Of course, there turned out to be showers :/  Oh well, it was only one day of being stinky.

My favorite item that we brought along was one we found at Goodwill, a vintage metal Boy Scouts canteen with a red cover.  It held lots of water and having a handle on it was very useful, especially with all the hiking.

We ate in the mess hall, which I don't believe I had ever done before.  The food was pretty good.  For breakfast, I had french toast, sausage, yogurt, milk, and fruit.  For lunch, I had a taco salad.

The activities were very fun!  There was:  a fire demonstration, BB Guns at the shooting range, archery at the range, a nature hike, and the boys made a kaleidoscope.  I took a gun safety course about 17 years ago.  I was very rusty at it, but I was ok at it.  I had done archery before!  I used a simple long bow.  It was really hard to maintain the tension on it and my arm was really shaky.  The boys used youth compound bows.  I wish I had used that instead, but they thought I was too strong for it.  Cub Scout was a little discouraged the first time, as the arrows didn't reach the target.  He did much better the second time.  I think we did about the same.

The nature hike was very nice.  The boys learned the different types of vegetation growing there.  The last activity was making a kaleidoscope with cardboard rolls, tape, and beads.

The staff at the camp did a morning flag ceremony and one at the closing ceremony.  I don't believe that I had ever attended one at camp before.  I had seen them at school assemblies and was taught how to fold a flag in middle school.  I'm still not sure why I learned that in gym class, though I guess I'm glad to know how, if I had to.

They did a night ceremony down by the lake and did a beautiful flag retirement ceremony.  It was so dark that none of the pics really turned out.  Each cabin of boys did a skit at the fireside ceremony, too.  My son's cabin did the "We Don't Have a Skit" skit.  It was pretty cute!

Luckily, my son seems to have my taste in souvenirs.  He wanted a patch to add to his brag vest  At the camp store, they said that we'd get a patch at the end of day, so he chose a totem slide for his neckerchief.  

I kinda wish I would have let him get the camp's patch.  They are starting a new tradition with the different types of camps that they offer.  The camp's patch is the top of a totem pole.  He also received another piece of the totem to represent the Mom and Me camp that we attended.  The idea is that when they go to the different types of camps, they will build their totem pole of patches.  It's a cool idea, but we'll try to purchase the specific patch to the camp before it's completely fazed out.  

Cub also picked out a cub scout cookie cutter for his sister for a souvenir.  Tumbling Girl loves to play with Play Doh and to cut out shapes with cookie cutters.  She loved it, but has yet to play with it.

At the end of the day, Cub received a certificate and his totem patches.  I'll have to figure out if the patches are meant to be sewn on or ironed on, so I have to call the scout store tomorrow.  I'll post a pic once they are added.  Since this was Mother's Day weekend, I also received a rose for attending.

It was a lot of fun!  I hope the hubby will attend with him next year for the Lad and Dad.  He'd love shooting the BB Guns and I don't believe that he's ever done archery, though he'd like it.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Bathing and Grooming Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are a relatively low-maintenance pet, and are similar to taking care of any other rodent.  I have owned hamsters and gerbils in the past.  They each have their benefits, but I really do prefer guinea pigs over any other rodent.  I'll probably make an entry dedicated to just that sometime in the future.

Occasionally, guinea pigs should be groomed and less frequently, bathed.  Their nails can become overgrown quickly, which can make walking difficult or even painful.  When I do this, I prefer to bathe them first to soften their nails a bit and make it quick and easy.  They don't enjoy being groomed, at least mine don't, but it makes me feel better knowing that I am taking good care of them.

I wish I would have taken a pic of the guineas while they were in the tub, but I didn't think of it at the time.  I put 2 towels down in the tub, so they don't slip around.  Guinea pigs can swim if they have to, but they really don't enjoy being in the water.  I fill the tub just a couple of inches with luke warm water with a little baby shampoo.  I don't have the water any higher than their chest height.  I have 4 guinea pigs, so I prefer to bathe them all at once in the bathtub.

Then, I give each one a light cleaning.  We use wood chips to line the bottom of the cage and cover it with a layer of hay.  We try to keep up cleaning the cage, so they don't get too dirty.

I take them out one at a time to dry them in a towel and trim their nails.  I don't think any of them enjoy this, but some complain less than others.  My younger 2 guineas' nails don't grow as quickly as my older sister guineas' nails do.  I don't know if this is hereditary or because of their age differences.  The younger 2 are not related that I know of.  Once, Cleo, the leader of my herd of guinea pigs, nails grew a little too long and she snagged one on something or it broke off.  Either way, it didn't look like a pleasant experience.

Nails can be very difficult to trim, especially black nails.  It is very hard to tell where the nail begins and their fingers end.  Trimming too little will make more work for later, especially if they grow quickly.  Cutting them too short could hurt your poor little pets.  Their white nails are easy to distinguish where the nail begins, as the fingernail is clear in the light.

.
I also examine their mouths while I have them bundled up and drying off, which they like even less.  Their teeth grow continuously, so they need to constantly gnaw on hay to keep them healthy and injury/disease free.

While they are freshly groomed, this is a good time to brush their hair, if needed.  All of mine have short-to-medium length of fur, so they need little grooming assistance.  I do have 2 that rarely need assistance with grooming their hair by removing things stuck in it.  I have seen some guinea pigs that would need extensive grooming.  I don't think I'd ever seek out a long-haired guinea pig, but I'd take one in if I had to.

I try to do this while my hubby is changing their bedding from their cage.  I put them temporarily into a smaller cage.  Sometimes, I bring in my kids' swimming pool and line it with towels while they dry off and their home is being cleaned, so they have more room to run around.

Taking good care of any pet is part of being a good pet owner/parent.  I'd like to think that at the end of grooming my guineas and their cage is all cleaned, the noisy little creatures are saying "thank you" as they wheek and walk around their freshly cleaned cage all groomed up.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Catching Up

I have been so busy lately, so I have lots to catch up on with blogging.  I have been out of town on a camping trip, but more about that later.  I hope I can remember everything!

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa