Learning respect

I had to take Cameron out of church for the first time... You'd think I would have had to do that when he was a baby. Nope. I had to do it when he was 5. He was being disrespectful and wouldn't sit in the pew. So I took him out, found a pew in a nearby room and we practiced. For 30 minutes he practiced sitting properly. He had a hard time learning that lesson.

I'm trying soooo hard to be patient.

We've moved into this stage where anytime Cam is told to do something on any negative level, he starts to cry. If he doesn't get anything he wants, he starts to cry. If he gets upset over anything, he instantly cries. I'm trying to help him direct his energy... I'm trying to not call him a cry baby... I'm trying to talk to him logically about how there are consequences to his actions. Crying won't stop those consequences. I wish I could help him. Obviously this is a developmental issue that he needs to work on himself. But I also will keep guiding him and helping him see the logic in walking away from the constant crying. But it's going to be up to him.

Signs I have calmed down as a mother

No your eyes are not deceiving you. I let the boy go out and get his haircut by riding in the convertible. Yes. I said he'd never ride in it until he was 12. I guess 5 is okay. No highway driving or anything like that.

We're about to head home... I'll write more when we get there.

Kindergarten-ho!

Yesterday was a big day. We finally got to go to Cam's "home school" to fill out the paper work, make sure he's properly immunized and check out how the school works. It turns out the immunization stuff got me a little stressed -- the possibility of not having all of the right shots got me nervous. But we're good.

We've been struggling with what is the right place for kindergarten. Cam's learning style is different and I want an environment that fosters his growth, not stymies it because he's very active and wiggly while learning. I've talked to a local magnet school a couple of times and had emailed the principal at our local school. When I got to registration, he had made sure the vice principal tracked us down so he could meet with us. That was very kind. He spent time with us in his office talking about what his school can do for us. He's been more mindful of boy needs in the learning process since he became principal of the school. He's been there 3 years. I know the school pretty well from volunteering there for 2 and a half years so I've heard a lot about him from the teachers. It's been mostly positive. Right after all the paperwork and learning about summer school for kindergarten (how cool!), we got a tour with a really cool 5th grader. I saw parts of the school I hadn't seen before, but on the whole I felt really comfortable there because of all of my volunteer time.

Immediately after we spent almost 2 hours are our local school, we had a sit down meeting with the principal and a teacher from the magnet school. I'll be honest, I'm not sure I got the same positive vibe from the meeting. But I'm still a bit torn over which school is the right school for Cam's needs. We might put our names into the hat for the kindergarten lottery... If we get in that doesn't meet we have to put Cam into that school. So we have some more time to think about this. I'm trying to not be crazy about elementary school. Honest I'm not.

Family time

Fun pose
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

Cameron had a blast this past weekend hanging out at my cousin Mike's house. He has a son who turns 6 next month and a daughter who is turning 5 next month as well (or 4. Dang I can't keep that straight). Anyway, it is so cool to see how Cam loved playing with Will and Amanda. They have a younger brother Henry who I loved playing with. He and Jordan will have fun playing together someday soon.

So I actually go to see my Aunt and Uncle and all three of their sons at the same time. Unfortunately all this fun and excitement was for Mike. He's an emergency room doctor in the military and is headed to Afghanistan to help with a hospital on a base. He could use all of your prayers. He leaves May first.

On another side note, it appears that Cameron may be allergic to grass. He and Randy rolled down a grassy hill... And now Cam's arms are broken out into a red rash. I can't seem to get rid of it. He doesn't seem to mind it though.

Oh, one other thing and I'd love some input. Cam has taken to sleeping under a quilt and his pillow. He says it keeps him safe. Well, I went in to kiss him tonight. When I dug him out of the pillow/quilt combo, he was a ball of sweat from head to toe. I have to get the quilt off him, but he was upset and felt unsafe. I have to figure out an alternate to this heavy quilt. He's going to be stinky and gross and need an early morning bath. Which is reason for me to get to bed.

How sweet

I'm out of town in Vegas for a conference. Cam called me while I was in a conference session and left a voicemail on my cellphone saying:

"Hi Mommy. I love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever! Night!"

Damn that makes my heart melt. I played it again and again tonight.

Party guy

1. Birthday guy, 2. The crazy crowd, 3. Dodgeball sillies, 4. The cake!!

Man did we have fun at Cam's birthday party. My goal was to have fun and I think we really did it. It was cold outside and I was worried the kids would feel too cold to stay outside. So I bought board games and crayons to keep them busy inside. It turned out that it can be cold outside... But if the sun is shining, the kids will play nomatter what. I bought bouncy balls for each kid to shoot hoops in the back yard. Instead, the party turned into a battle of dodge ball: Grown ups versus the kids. It was awesome.

As the craziness was winding down, Cam walks up to me and asks if it's cake time. The party boy asks.. The party boy gets. The cake was yummy. Even the parents had fun. It was a blast. I'm so happy the kids had fun, I had fun.

Why don't I sound stressed about it? I bought a ton of food from the grocery store and I was lucky enough to have two students come by to help. They are wonderful, fantastic and so dang sweet. They actually helped shoot video! So I could savor the moment, juggle other details. Randy took pictures. It was wonderful. Thanks Matt and Nikki!

Cam had fun. He told me that his favorite part was the dodge ball and getting a Transformer. His awesome friend Camryn actually brought him back a High School Musical baseball hat and a wall hanging. It's so cool. He's wearing the hat all around the house. The wall hanging is right over his bed.

To add to the silliness, the Easter bunny arrived the next day with gifts of new Disney underwear and a Little Einsteins toy. Sugar, sugar and more sugar. Cam was begging for sugar for hours. It was kind of silly. But I figured Halloween and Easter are two days where you're allowed to go nutty with the chocolate.

Birthday and Easter fun and games

Oh my gosh. So much happened this weekend and I have to go to bed. The pictures are all uploaded on our Flickr page. Many stories are to come. I promise.

Funny moment today: "Mom, the Easter bunny is pretend right?" I just smiled. He's already figuring this stuff out. But not enough to require fewer gifts next year.

Marriage talk

Today is Randy and my 9 year wedding anniversary. I'm proud and happy of this day. We were married on 4/4 at 4:00. I thought that was cool. I'm glad we didn't wait to get married on 4/4/04. It was actually 1998.

So I went downtown and picked up one of my favorite dinners to surprise Randy. I had to take the kids to get it without him knowing. So I started talking to Cam about our anniversary.

I told him how his Dad and I were celebrating the day we got married. Cam thought Randy and I were actually going to GET married. So then I framed our anniversary like it was the birthday of our wedding. Cam understood that. Then he asked:

"Did you dance at your wedding?"

"Yes"

"Did you kiss?"

"Yes"

"On the lips? Like you're married?"

"Yes and yes."

Happy birthday buddy

Happy birthday buddy
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

Almost exactly 5 years ago I woke up with a jolt and knew my boy was going to be an April Fool's baby. It was no joke. It was awesome. I had expected Cam to arrive in the world early... Just like every other baby in the last 2 generations of women. So when he was four days late, it was like it was the end of the world.

Cam's arrival was amazing. No drugs, a little scary pushing (the boy's head is big, very big). But the high I felt when I held this sweet child armed with the knowledge that I brought him into the world... My gosh, it was incredible.

I'm still just as proud to be Cameron's mom. I'm working on my patience. He says he's working on his listening skills. But either way, he's an incredible little guy. He's the best big brother. He's a caring friend to everyone he knows. And boy does he love birthdays. (I wonder where he gets that from.)

Happy birthday Cam. Enjoy the celebrations we have planned for you this week. Since the big family party was a day early, we're going to take him to Meet The Robinsons on his actual birthday. Cupcakes are planned at school on Monday. Then his big High School Musical birthday party is planned next Saturday. I can only hope we have a sunny day for that one. Oh the things we do for our kids.

He's worth it.