I would like to extend a special belated greeting to our little campers, the Pidhotovchij Tabir!!
They started here on Sunday and have already had a big impact with their innovative and creative renditions of "Dyakuyemo!" So instead of hearing "dyakuyemo, dyakuyemo, dyakuyemo, dyakuyemo, dyakuyemo, dyakuyemo, smachne bulo!" or "Dyakuyemo, dyakuyemo, azh pidskakuyemo, whooooo!" we hear "dyakuyem, dyakuyem, dyakuyem paniam v kyxni, dyakuyem, dyakuyem, dyakuyem paniam v kuxni, dyakuyem, dyakuyem, dyakuyem paniam v kuxni, zaaaaah makarony!" AWESOME!! To the tune of Macarena, no less!! OLE!

We have to wear gloves, as I've said. We have latex ones, vinyl ones and these kind of crinkly plastic ones. I usually just grab whatever's there. So lately, the gloves seem kind of tight and I'm thinking, "Oh, great, now my hands are getting fat? What the--?" Then I look and the box says "Small". Duh... I thought one size fits all, no?

Every day there is a "cherhovij rij", a group that has to help clean up the dining room after the meals. Now, clean up is a relative term. We have buckets with handi-wipes and water, and they need to wipe the tables, pick up and throw away the garbage, and maybe sweep if necessary. What these kids do with those handi -wipes is a sheer joy to watch. They'll take them out of the (watery) bucket, WRING THEM OUT ONTO THE FLOOR, and then wipe the tables. Or, they'll take them out of the bucket and start swinging them around their head. Or, they'll take them out of the bucket and, sopping wet, start SLAPPING THE TABLES WITH THEM! Ah, my heart sings with pride! We all LOVE having to clean up after the clean up.

Lunch today was chicken cutlets/chicken patties/ hamburgers on a bun with french fries. I get to have another Spasta as I have to make spaghetti later. All the older kids are gone on a prohulka, so we are just feeding the young ones. Got up at 5:00 to make those 160 sandwiches. That was fun. I also counted apples, sliced tomatoes, tore lettuce, and prepared coffee-crumb cake for pidvechirok (snack). Now I need to go clean my room.