Cam's team

We had the official little league season kick off today. That included the official team photo (here is a non-official but similar looking photo)

And here's the kids being goofy:



I don't know how it happened. But I went to today's big t-ball event without any CAMERAS! I don't know how that happened. Luckily I had my phone. It's good to have back up.

BIG news

Mr. Cam has big news everyone.

BIG NEWS.

Cameron has a wiggly tooth. And he doesn't really know what to do about it. He was SO excited to tell me about his big tooth news after the middle of his first inning at t-ball. He spent the rest of his time on and off the field wiggling the tooth. It's a really big deal.

Now I'm going to be honest.

I'm putting on a very brave face about this tooth thing. First, I think it's crazy that we're going to have to create another fake character just to fit in with our culture: the Tooth Fairy. It's stupid but Randy doesn't want Cam to become "that kid." So we'll do the Tooth Fairy. Also, since I'm being honest... I am totally grossed out by loose teeth. I'm acting all cool about it but every time I see a wiggly tooth, I feel weak. I've offered to help him get his tooth out. I'll be brave. But I'm totally pretending. Inside my head, I'll be screaming.

As for his big game... Cam did great. The team did great. We're really starting to figure out how help prep a team for the season. It's very exciting to watch these kids having fun. Some of the highlights: He got to run all of the bases each time he was at bat. He actually paid attention when he was out in the field - sometimes. He paid SO much attention that he actually TAGGED A KID OUT!! (see the picture to the right - that's his reaction right after it happened) We were very proud and excited. There was no crying, just smiles and a bit of unfocus. And I'm totally okay with that.

T-ball excitement

It's interesting what happens when you're suddenly dropped into helping coach a t-ball team... And you never played t-ball a day in your life. Cam had another exciting day of t-ball practice and this time he actually had to listen to me. As the coach, he actually did listen. Maybe I should be the coach all the time.

The trials and tribulations of being a six year old is relatively challenging. I'm trying really hard to be in his position... Especially since his sister took to tattling on him all the time this weekend. Sometimes she tells the truth so he can't get away with the little pushes and shoves he apparently is doing behind my back. It's fascinating to suddenly know what's going on behind my back. It's exhausting.

At the same time, they're playing together more and communicating better with each other. This summer's big planned vacation (where they will sit next to each other for hours at a time in the family minivan) will be very, very interesting. (I say this with high hopes of a positive experience.)

Bowling and parenting

I am a tough mom. I believe in tough love. I love my kids with all my heart. It breaks my heart when my child does something wrong at home or at school. Cam made a bad choice at school yesterday... And I knew we had to deal with it by making a point. He had a field trip today and I had decided at first to prevent him from going on his field trip all together. But after talking to Randy (who is out of town - he's always out of town when we have an incident at school) and Cam's teacher, I decided that he should go bowling, but not to the after-bowling park trip.

It made a point. We had a ton of fun bowling, but Cam was SUPER upset about not going back on the bus to play at the park.

The whole thing was emotionally taxing and I still feel a little spent. I'm looking forward to a weekend where the kids and I can play, sleep (I hope we all take naps) and play.... And maybe clean a little.

Cam's party

I'm still playing catch up from Cam's birthday party ... But if you compare the release of this video, I'm actually WAY ahead. The video we got of his party last year is still on a tape. I borrowed a new camera from work where the video was recorded digitally and it prompted me to actually edit something together. Here are some of the video highlights of his day:


Cameron's 6th birthday party from NerdyMom on Vimeo.

Busy Earth Day

Cameron was outside constantly on this Earth Day -- exactly what you would hope for. We enjoyed Earth Day as best we could after I lost Randy for an hour (long story short - I stink). The kids enjoyed popsicles and some of the events including this picture -- a very large Earth that kids can jump onto. Cam loved it.

He had a successful t-ball practice with Randy. I didn't go this time around since Jordan was napping. Next week I'll be there for sure.

Cam also got to play with some of the neighborhood kids just before bed... It was kind of cool. They all gathered in our backyard and ran around for a while. I even got to chat with the parents. Adult conversation! How cool is that? (Sorry Randy, I know I talk to you... but you know what I mean) Hopefully it's a sign of more neighborhood playtime as we get into summer mode.

Scrapbook of Cam's birthday

Getting back

We're back in town after a long trip for work... So Cam and Jordan got to play with their grandparents.

So the first day I get to send Cam off to school, he snuck his iPod into his classroom. Bad move.

His teacher was kind enough to just take it from him for safe keeping. I let her know that he shouldn't get it back without her handing it to me -- So Cam had to go a day without it. She never chastised him - but when I picked him up from school, he was very sorry for sneaking it in. He says he learned a lesson.

I know I did. I'll search his bag much better every morning - just in case.

By the way - I missed him a ton and it's so cool to be home again. He's taken to trying to parent his sister -- He was doing it before we left town, but it seems like he's taken it to a higher level. What's scary is the tone he uses with his sister is exactly my Mommy-in-charge tone.

I sound really strict.

Flickr has video!!

I had to try out Flickr's new video service. Here's a little interview I had with Cameron the morning of his birthday.

Let the T-ball season begin!

Cam's team had its first practice today... I got a chance to meet a bunch of new parents while Randy and a few other dads got to work with the kids. A lot of our team goes to Cam's school so he's very excited about that. Who know if Cam will take to the sport this year, we have high hopes.

Cameron tells me that he can't wait for the next little league season - when the grown ups pitch and there's an actual score. He really doesn't like the whole "everyone is a winner" thing.

Birthday fun

Cam had his big birthday party today - We had a TON of fun. The theme was a Wii bowling party. The kids had a chance to play bowling on two different TVs - one in the "man cave/basement" and the other in my reading room/living room. I borrowed a second Wii from a student.

By the way -- We had 15 kids total at the house. 15. That's a lot of kids. Well, there was a little baby. If we include her we had 16. Some parents dropped the kids off, others hung out and enjoyed the fun. We are friends with really cool parents... Or my kid is friends with kids who have really cool parents. Either way, it was fun.

In the end, most kids ended up playing in the backyard - which was my main goal. I just wanted a chance to let the kids run around and have fun. The only crying: two of the kids just didn't want to go home. Other than that, there was a lot of laughing, running and dodge ball/bubble chasing.

I make a point to not accept gifts at Cam's parties - He already has SO many toys. It feels good to have a lot of fun and not require parents to bring stuff. What's really cool is how many kids brought handmade cards and drawings. I got video of Cam going through all of this cards after everyone went home. He thanked each and every kid as if it was as special as a toy. I think friendships are more important than the toy. And if you visited my house, you'd see how Cam already has everything a kid ever wanted.

Speaking of everything a kid ever wanted: Cam got an iPod Nano for his birthday. It's one that I won in a video contest. I bought a REALLY great skin to keep it from breaking from the brute force of a six year old. Check out iFrogz. I was really impressed with what we got. I also got a cool one called Audiowrapz for Jordan. I highly recommend it!

We had a really great birthday week for Mr. Cam. On his birthday, we had special birthday doughnuts and I even surprised him at school at lunchtime. He's been begging me to eat with him, so he was really excited. We took him out to dinner and he loved all of the really cool things he got from his family. Along with the iPod, he got some awesome outdoors gear to help with all of our hikes and explorations. He's feeling very special and I'm so glad to see him excited and happy.

Big party

Wow. I've always invited a few more kids to Cam's birthday party than I should -- since we rarely have every person accept the invitation. But this year -- ummm. It's going to be a packed house. We have 10 kids - including some siblings. That means I will have 12 or so kids running around the house. PLEASE PLEASE be sunny outside! Add the the parents and this is going to be a zoo.

I like zoo parties to be honest. I hope we just have fun running around. That's my favorite kind of party. But I'm starting to think that I need a second Wii so no one gets upset because they can't play.

I also have some outside bowling games. And I'm thinking of buying inexpensive balls for each kid again this year because we had SO much fun playing grown up vs. kid dodge ball.

I think this year is going to be a blast!

Happy birthday big guy

How can it be a whole six years?

I've been running around getting ready for Cameron's big sixth birthday. I'm so excited for him and I hope he enjoys the day. I bought his big balloon bouquet. I have a cake cooling in the kitchen. I have yummy doughnuts for breakfast and plans to bring cupcakes to school in the morning. Cameron has been counting down the days for a month.

Six years ago I was begging him to come out... Although I didn't know he was a boy or a girl, I desperately wanted him to arrive. So April fools or not - The baby I was so sure would be a girl came out a beautiful, large headed and sweet little boy. It's been an amazing six years of parenting, amazement and exhaustion.

The week-long celebration will continue on Saturday with a big party full of kids running around. Hopefully the rain will stop so we can play in the backyard!

That's snot funny

Mr. Cam is full of snot. He's not very good at blowing his nose. Actually, he's terrible at it. So terrible that he's thrown up phlegm the last two mornings in a row. So we focused hard on blowing his nose and drinking a lot of liquids. I'm trying to think out that icky stuff so he doesn't feel as icky.

No fever. No big complaints. The thing that stinks is every time Cam starts running around or gets worked up, he starts coughing. Poor kid. Hopefully we'll beat this down soon. I wouldn't call this a fun spring break.

Happy Easter!

Cameron had a pretty good Easter... He really enjoyed new crayons and markers. He loves his new sun glasses and little bunny. The Easter bunny has given Cam a bunny every year... The bunnies aren't as expensive as they used to be. Luckily the Easter bunny figured out that it's the thought that counts.

We had an egg hunt after church. I decided against doing it outside after it started FLURRYING! That's so wrong. I shouldn't see snow on an Easter morning. The kids had fun and ate too much sugar. A wonderful day to reflect and eat yummy food.

Morning hike

Cam and I had a really nice morning. First, he let us sleep in by keeping busy and continuing to destroy his messy room. Second, he and I let Daddy and Jordan sleep while we drove out to a nearby trail for a hike. I'm not sure what the distance is, but it's pretty substantial. We talked, we listened to natural music (animal noises (crickets and frogs) and the wind blowing and the birds chirping) and ran around enjoying the slow arrival of Spring. We had a really nice time. When we got home we were refreshed, happy and ready for more fun.

The whole family went to see Horton Hears a Who! It was wonderful. We all giggled a lot and as usual, Cam was VERY focused on the movie. Now he and Jordan are napping before we run off for a book buying session thanks to Grandma and Grandpa's Easter gift cards! A fun day for all.

Spring Break

It's Cameron's first spring break... I hate to say this, but there's nothing exciting planned. He gets to go to work with me for the week. BUT, I got the idea that we're going to shoot a video together. I'm going to let him shoot video and then we're going to edit it together.

I just have to decide if we want to edit it on iMovie or Avid NewsCutter. I figure he could figure out iMovie... But I'm not sure I want him using my computer. Avid is probably a little advanced for him, but I'm okay with introducing the concepts to him now. I would really love it if he knew how to edit on Avid and can help video approve our college students before he turns 10. That would be awesome.

Anyway, I have to work this week, but I'll look for ways to take Cam away for a couple of hours here and there. He'll have fun (I hope).

I am starting to figure it out

My boy is desperate for more one-on-one time. He has been extra emotional and highly defiant.

It is a combination:
1. I need some more alone time with my boy.
2. I need to accept the fact that he is sensitive. He is emotional. It is just that way and I need to accept it.

Classic neighborhood day

I had to get Cam away from the Wii this morning, but once he was out, he decided to invite a neighborhood kid over to play. This kid is such a sweetie and the two boys got along really well. This friend is more than a year younger than Cam but that didn't seem to matter at all. It was nice to see Cam play with a neighbor nicely. There's another kid nearby who just doesn't mix well with Cam. It was good to see that Cam can play with a neighbor without someone breaking out into high level anger.

Cam ended up playing with the other kid for a short time this afternoon as well. It was short enough to prevent a lot of screaming.

But all in all, it was a classic neighborhood day. You have to push to get our neighborhood to flow socially. We live on a rolling hill street. There's enough privacy in our yards that you can seclude yourself in the backyard and not seek out friends. So you really need to get out and say hello to encourage social stuff. I'm not comfortable letting Cam wander around in the neighborhood on his own yet. I know that's crazy, but I'm like that.

By the way. The out of control protests at dinner continue. Tonight's freak out was over corn on the cob. At some point, I told Cam he was going to eat it when he yelled: "No I ain't!"

No I ain't?

Woah. That's not going to work under my roof.

By the way. While Cam was freaking out, Jordan was eating her corn and declaring: "I eat it. I like it."

Warm and happy

It was so warm out that we got to go on a hike today! Cameron was a trooper and walked to a cool playground and back to the car with minimal complaint. It was clear that he had an amazing amount of energy cooped up inside him. I swear he ran more than walked for most of the walk.

He also got to bring out the baseballs and bat... And he has a lot more force than last year. He also seemed to have more focus. It could be a very interesting t-ball season when it starts in April. Cam also worked on his basketball skills. If things get warm enough, we're going to start working on riding bikes again. One of our neighbors mentioned how they were thinking about selling their bike attachment that lets your kid pedal, but it's attached to your bike. I should have bought one of those a long time ago... But I think this is the right opportunity. Cam can use it as the step towards really riding a bike and then Jordan can follow.

A warm day really helped improve the mood here. The air has been so cold and uncomfortable, it's been tough to stay sane. I know Cam's had a hard time lately. Getting sick and having a lot of days off from school -- it's great to get out and run.

Cooped up

We had two snow days followed by a three day weekend. (Well, tomorrow makes his third day) That's five days out of being out of sort and stuck in the house.

Cam is stir crazy and driving us crazy. I love him. But geez! Can I get a moment where I can just sit down and focus?

Anyway. Cam is on a quest to clean the house up so he can go on a special adventure. I'm thinking the local hamster run for kids is the right spot for him to run off his extra energy. I'm not a huge fan of the place, but I figure it's safe, it's fun for him and they have wireless so I can do work over there if I want.

Proof I'm getting Old

"Mom! There's a song that's called 'Welcome to the Jungle!' Have you heard it?"

"Uh Yeah." (And here's where you know the times are changing) "Honey, do you have that in your iTunes?"

Next reason why I'm getting old:
I started telling a story to a student that had happened seven years ago. Seven.

Geez.

"Grandfather!"

Cam is feeling better but I'm guessing he's getting a little stir crazy. He hasn't left the house since Thursday. The cough is improving and he's been wrestling with his dad. He just got tackled by Randy... And Cameron yelled out:

"GRANDFATHER!!!"

He meant "UNCLE!" to get his dad off of him.

I guess you had to be there. It was really funny.

Cam kept trying to play with Jordan today.. But it was things that weren't quite age appropriate. Like puzzles or books that can be easily ripped. Right before bed they started playing with Jordan's Aquadoodle. It's an awesome toy. All you need is water and there's enough room for both kids to draw. It's so cool. They both are pretty supportive of each other when they aren't trying to bargain for attention.

My poor little valentine

My sweet Cam had a rough day. He woke up coughing and was having a hard day getting his day started. But he REALLY wanted to go to school for his Valentine's Day party. I kept asking him if he wanted to stay home. He decided he just had to go. That was okay until I got a call about four hours later saying that he threw up on the playground.

Poor buddy.

So his Dad took him home for the day. He got to take home all of his valentines and the treats that came with it all. Randy made sure Cam took it easy and gave him toast and water for lunch. When I got home, I started cooking dinner and asked Cam if he was up for the meal. Cam told me that his dad told him that he was going to have to eat toast. So I made him toast. I figured he must still be feeling a little queasy.

I was wrong.

When I took my poor, congested son up to bed, I noticed sugar all over his sheets and quilt. And there were little tiny pieces of hardened sugar. I look at Cam and ask if he's been eating cookies in his bed. He looks at me in shock: "NO!" It turns out it was Nerds. You know, those tiny chunks of sugar that I thought were AMAZING when Willy Wonka came out with them.

Apparently Cam snuck up to his room this afternoon with a box of valentine's candy and chowed down. And he left a sugary mess behind.

Silly boy.

So, we changed the sheets and talked about ways to properly eat candy (i.e. NOT in bed).

He's not feeling great, but at least his tummy is fine.

I love this kid

You know what's really exciting about this year's Mommy-made valentine? This is the first year Cameron can really read it all by himself. That's pretty special.

Wii fun for Kindergarteners

Cameron and his very good friend got to hang out today -- They haven't seen each other much since they started Kindergarten at different schools. But I tell you, the Wii brings kids together. They had a blast competing in sports and Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. It's really fun to see Cam play with another kid his age without falling out and crying when he loses something. He won a bunch of stuff too... So that helped.

Unfortunately, Cam's excitement kept him from maintaining his self control for the rest of the night. The screaming and tantrums returned. But I know he's going to figure out that it doesn't work. Some day he will realize that crying won't keep us from turning off the Wii, or making him eat dinner. or telling him to go to bed, or telling him to clean up... or... whatever you can think of. Someday... Some day he will realize that crying doesn't work.

Some day.

Tonight he told me another chapter of Boo and Chowder -- It was all about the two going to a Foo Fighters concert. He was watching the Grammys before bedtime... And he was mad that we wouldn't let him stay up to watch the Foo Fighters perform.

Boo and Chowder

This week, Cameron has been making up a chapter book in his head. Instead of reading something during bed time, he tells me a chapter about the adventures of "Boo and Chowder." Boo is a monster and Chowder is his friend who is a boy. The chapters include quotes like:

"I don't want to scare you. I want to be your friend," Boo said.

"I guess I could be your friend," said Chowder.

It's classic. If I could secretly bring in an audio recorder, I'd try to keep track of this story. It's very cute. I'm also impressed with the complexity of his story so far.

Cameron has been extra emotional around me lately. He wants to play with me... He doesn't want to be alone... He has returned to crying over his food at dinner time. He wines and cries over stupid stuff. Oy. I'm sure there's a correlation between that and how I've been working more than usual.

So many things

There have been so many things going on in Cam's world... But I've been a bad blogging mommy who has worked too much and blogged too little.

Mr. Cam continues to research caves at school. He's still working on his social skills there... And that's putting it mildly.

He's becoming an amazing pro in tennis and bowling on the Wii. He's also starting to consistently hit home runs in baseball. He is fiercely competitive and his Dad has been forcing him to play against us so Cam can deal with losing every once and a while.

In between brilliant conversation and excellent reading and writing skills, Cam still thinks he can cry to get his way. It is exhausting.

I'll tell you this though -- He loves his parents. I found the sweetest page he wrote in school: "I love my mom and dad. They are my best frens" (You know, that's Kindergarten spelling for friends)

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

23

Why do people get sick?

My aunt is in the hospital... She's battled ovarian cancer for the last eight and a half years. It's a mean, mean cancer. Right now she's in the hospital due to blood clots - a danger that is created from the chemo treatments.

I've made sure Aunt Jan is in Cameron's prayers in the last few nights. Each night he's asked me about illness and hospitals. Tonight he asked me why people get sick. I told him that some people get sick because they didn't wash their hands or they happened to be close to someone who was already sick. Then there are other people who get sick and no one knows why. Cameron asked if that's what happened to Aunt Jan. I said yes... But honestly, I wish I had more answers why some people get these kinds of horrible illnesses. My mom has Type 1 diabetes. That's supposed to be a genetic terminal illness - but it isn't in our family's history until my mom got it. No one we know in our family tree has had ovarian cancer but my aunt got it. It all just sucks. That's all I can say. It sucks.

So if you have a moment... Say a prayer for my aunt. If you don't do the prayer thing, I ask you to think positive thoughts in the direction of Dallas. My aunt deserves every bit of it.

[update on 1/6/08: She's out of the hospital!!]

Found in Cam's bag:

Two pieces of paper.

On the front of the first page: A big heart with the words, "I love you. Look on the back"

On the back of the first page: "Lets have a sleep over this night."

On the second piece of paper: The girl's phone number








Wow.

Wii are having fun

Cameron loves his new Wii. LOVES it. Did I mention how he loves it? I'd say that if he could play it all the time and win that entire time, he'd play it non-stop. He's an incredible bowler. In his first day playing, he bowled a 178. Wow.

He's enjoying that, but he did have a really hard time with his sister's birthday. He felt so dang jealous of how she was the center of attention. Poor kid. I know how hard that is... It's a big part of growing up with a sibling. At one point he went to me and said: "I'm feeling jealous." So we talked it out. I'm not sure it helped... But we did find a little time in the day to get away from it all and go for a little walk/run around the neighborhood.

On the whole, this time off from school has been good. I think he's enjoying the family time away from school. He gets some extra family fun for the next few days. My parents are up from Florida to watch the kids while Randy and I travel for work. They should have fun watching Cam and I know he'll enjoy the Grandparent time.

Merry Christmas!

You gotta love it when your son is as excited about books as the new Power Ranger helmet he got for Christmas.

Cam didn't want to go to bed tonight before he got a chance to try and bowl on our new Wii. He immediately threw a bowling ball into the crowd of people at the bowling alley. He seemed a bit distressed about that. I told him we'll work on it. By next week he'll be a bowling pro.

Cam had a hard time waiting for present opening time. He was the oldest kid in the bunch this year. I think that was a little different for him. But he did write a sweet note to Santa. I expect Cam will find the four cookies and glass of milk will be a hit with him. I'm not sure how much longer we'll enjoy Santa with Cam, so I'm eating it up this year. Next year, Jordan will probably buy into it. That will be fun to see.

Holidays together

Cam and Jordan have been a lot more "together" these days. Sure, it's mostly because they're stuck with each other while we all hang out for the holidays. But they're also just playing together more. They're also fighting and arguing and bothering each other. But that's all part of being siblings. I just think it's cool to see them coming together and sharing their attention with each other. They chase, they hide, they scream, they giggle. It's fun to watch.

Right before school let out, I helped out with the holiday party at Cam's school. The teacher made it a craft-themed party. I decided to make "crafty" food. I mixed a bunch of frosting different colors so kids could decorate cookies. I also brought bagels and raisins for the non-sweets kids (those actually exist). It was fun to watch the concoctions they came up with. The kids had fun playing and eating at the same time.

Sledding fun

Cameron is starting to really enjoy his sled... And living with a really cool, steep road next to our house makes things really fun -- With parental supervision of course.

That little giggle of his as he's sliding down the hill is fantastic.

Figuring things out

The holiday season is interesting as Cam gets older. He's always kind of understood why we celebrate Christmas and he's always been much more excited about the Santa stuff than the God stuff. But recently, he started seeing through the Santa stuff. He announced to me:

Cameron: "Mom, Santa is already dead. There's just people pretending to be him."

Me: "Hmmmm. Interesting theory."

I didn't really say much more than that... But I think he's starting to see through the ruse. I haven't spent a ton of time trying to keep him from coming to the conclusion that Santa is just from our imagination... But I have a feeling this is the first crack in the Santa foundation.

Other than the Santa think, Cam's teacher and I are discussing ways to help direct Cameron's attention to constructive work when he's done with the class assignments. Apparently, his teacher finds Cam dwelling on super heroes when he doesn't have to do work at school... And we've seen a bit of a correlation between super hero obsession and violence against his friends. So we're trying to limit his time dwelling on superheros. So instead, his teacher is thinking about giving Cam a "six-year-old's" research project. Cameron and I are going to pick out a topic and Cam will get to go to the library, look up books and work on a research project. I think that's pretty great. It will give Cameron a new challenge and help him focus his time on something more constructive. Pretty exciting stuff.

He loves the snow

We had a great snowy morning to enjoy yesterday. Cam hopped into bed around 6:50 and I said: If you get dressed quickly, we'll eat a fast breakfast so you can go out and play in the snow. That boy was fast. I had both kids fed and dressed by 7:06. They were bundled up and out by 7:10. To top it all off, Cam got a new sled! He loves it. I'll be honest. I've never bought him a real sled before. I always think of it before it's too late in the season. We have a really sweet sled, but it's a classic sled, not a fast sled. So this year, he has one. It's a cheap piece of plastic and it's exactly what my boy always wanted. He had a BLAST sledding down the slight hill in our backyard. It's a great starter hill.

We got to play for an hour before packing up for school. We walked to school with all of the neighborhood kids and they were all high on snow excitement. It was great. The thrill of snow isn't exciting until you've spent a good 10 minute walk up and down steep hills with super-hyper kids (ages 5-10) trying not to throw snow. It was fun. The whole morning was fun.

New World

So I'm trying to de-violence Cam's world... We're focusing less on super heroes and more on positive things. I'm thinking about leaving Tae Kwon Do and moving Cam's attentions to piano lessons.

So a funny thing as I try to make these changes. I walk into Cam's afterschool program and there he is in a Spider Man costume running around "fighting" someone. I immediately found the director of our program and talked to her about Cam's recent violence issues. She's so cool and responsive that she's willing to take the costumes away from all of the kids to help restore my boy's grip on reality. I think that's super kind. She seemed impressed that I wanted to talk about Cam's problems... I think it's important that every person who watches him is on the same page. As Randy mentioned: It's in her own best interest.

So true.

Go Tigers

Questioning my ability as a mom

Today went really poorly and all of those gut issues I've had with Ben 10 came to a head today. It's gone. Cartoon Network is gone. Ben 10 is gone. I'm sad that the deep pit of my stomach told me that he should have never watched the show in the first place. I should have never encouraged or allowed it to continue.

The big issue: Cam is so grown up on some levels, but so immature on others. I realize no one can know how role play and games can affect a child, but Cameron can take it too far. He took it too far today. And I blame myself.

I feel pretty rotten right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cam enjoyed a delicious meal for Thanksgiving with his Uncle Jon and his boyfriend Erik. We're lucky to have enjoyed a yummy meal thanks to Erik's expert cooking skills. Even Cam enjoyed the turkey and Daddy's dressing.

Cam's been really good during his time off from school. He's reading up a storm and playing every single video game on the Cartoon Network's website. I'm not a gamer type (Until we get our Wii up and running after Christmas) so I think it's amazing to see all of the games Cam has figured out how to play without ever asking for help. He has an interesting mind.

Updates on the boy

Okay -- First a few little comments Cam said in the last week that I have to remember forever:

1) Jordan finally started saying Cameron's name. When she said it, Cam announced: "She said my name in her REAL voice!" I guess you had to be there but apparently Jordan's real voice is only when she uses understandable words.

2) I was walking down the street with Cam last Friday when he had the day off from school and got to follow me around at work and on campus all day. He was incredible, patient and so grown up. So I asked him when he got so big. He immediately responded: "Because I can read." And it makes sense. The world opened up to him in an instant when words made sense to him. He can surf the web (yikes), he can read signs and books and notes and shirts and whatever he finds. I told him that math can do the same when numbers and information start working together. (I'm trying to make sure he gives math as much love and attention as he does words... JUST to see if we can lead him to a more lucrative career as compared to journalism)

Other updates -- Cam is growing so dang fast it makes my head spin. He still has emotional outbursts at home and at school... But he's learning and dealing more often. He's also MADLY in love with drawing and writing and learning. He's asking SO many hypothetical questions these days: "What would happen if kids didn't have parents?" (He decided that kids wouldn't have money and then I asked him if that was all I was to him: a source of money. He said yes.) "What would happen if there wasn't a world?" (I told him nothing would exist and everything would be black) "Why do people die?" (That was a toughie) I could go on and on. He isn't being annoying with the questions, he really just wants to talk about the things that are rolling through his mind. It's really amazing.

Another thing: Cam's really into Ben 10. It's a cartoon on Cartoon Network. I'm not a fan of the network, but I've let him watch things on cartoonnetwork.com and now he's a HUGE Ben 10 fan. Ben is a kid who finds a wrist-watch-type-thing that is now permanently attached to Ben's arm and it lets Ben turn into ten different aliens. It's like every boy's dream show. It's an animated show, it's too violent for my liking and I can't figure out a way to help Cam "quit" the show. Kids are going to pretend and run around and "fight" things... There aren't any guns, but some of these aliens can throw fire or heavy things and hurt "the bad guys." I guess I'm just kind of torn between letting Cam enjoy boy stuff and pretend things and keeping him away from any ideas of violence. And I say this as a mother of a boy who is in Tae Kwon Do where they use weapons. I guess it's all a moot point.

Santa Visit

Cam and Jordan visited Santa on the first day he was in town. Why you ask? I'm crazy and I just like getting it over with. The local mall had a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity to have "breakfast with Santa." They had crummy food options but the carousel was free so we went on that a bunch of times. We saw friends, we smiled and giggled a bit and then I made the kids get in line for Santa before Santa even got there. Yes. We were the first ones in line because I just wanted to make sure we got it done before both kids lost patience. Is that bad? Unfortunately, Jordan doesn't like Santa so I had to sit with them. But hey - Cam got to pitch hit top toy picks of the year: A Ben 10 watch (it's not really a watch, I can't even explain to you what it is) and the Power Rangers Mega Mission Helmet. Big deal stuff.

We're funny

So... I'm trying really hard to make sure I make time for the boy. When he and I got silly tonight, we pulled out the computer and made funny faces again into Photobooth. It's great for giggles.

Fall, glorious Fall.

Today was gorgeous. So I grabbed the kids and headed out for a hike. Cam is a fantastic hiker... Except when he forgets to watch his feet. Not long into today's hike, he starts running, trips on a rock and falls flat on his face. No injuries, but a great reminder that you have to watch your feet. He was great the rest of the time and actually quickly recovered from his fall. We admired the trees that are past the peak color so we admired the leaf covered hills, we admired a piece of bark that became his sword for the rest of the trip, we had fun taking pictures (yes, that's my official Fall pic of the kids for this year), Cam bravely climbed across a huge tree trunk a couple of times, we checked out a cave and Cam was BEGGING to go deeper into it (but I couldn't since the baby was on my back in the backpack and I didn't want to bang her head on the cave ceiling)... It was just a great time.

As we drove home, I asked the kids if they had fun and they both yelled: "YEAH!" Then Cam said: "Thanks for taking me out on the hike!" He said the same thing as I closed the door after putting him to bed. So dang sweet.

When we got home, the kids and I had a leaf fight. We chased each other with leaves and giggled a lot. Jordan kind of chased around with us. It was great.

These are the kind of days I live for as a Mommy.

Official Kindergarten Picture

I paid the extra 15 dollars to get Cam's Kindergarten picture on a CD -- so here it is. His official picture proving that smiles on demand are just a little too much for some 5 year olds.

Another awesome Halloween

Cam had a ton of fun today. He had a really cool school party, followed by a quick visit at Jordan's school party, followed by a quick dinner and a REALLY long trick or treat session in our neighborhood. He was INCREDIBLY patient as I asked him to wait for his sister to walk up to each door with him.

He's a great big brother and a fantastic superhero. Picture will come soon. I promise.

My hands smelled like pumpkin all day

I got to spend the morning with Cameron and his class. We carved pumpkins! Now the first response is -- Good Lord! Kindergarteners with knives? That's nuts! Well, this was a chance for me to learn about ways kids can carve pumpkins WITHOUT knives. It was pretty great. The kids used mallets and cookie cutters. Cameron wouldn't help us get the seeds out of the pumpkin... But he and his friends were all about hitting the pumpkin with a mallet. The end result looks strange, but it was a fun time for all.

I went straight to meetings on campus and smelled VERY pumpkiny.

Our newest pumpkin

Ready for Halloween

He's ready folks. Introducing my boy: The Flash! Cam finally got to see his new costume. He's a little loopy when it comes to these cool outfits, so we hide it until he really needs it. We had a neighborhood party today, so he got to enjoy this new superhero look. He already told me he plans to wear it when he gets home from school tomorrow.

Pumpkin fun

We had a great time carving pumpkins a couple of weekends ago... Unfortunately I forgot the rule I had given myself a number of years ago: Carve at the last possible weekend. So now Cam's current alien pumpkin is rotting. I made sure he got a picture with the pumpkin before it totally decays. It was rough explaining to Cam how this pumpkin won't make it to the 31st. Fortunately, we have another weekend to carve more.

I also found out that Cam's class only had one volunteer to help with the class Halloween party next week... So now I'm offering to help. I'm bringing cupcakes and some small pumpkins. I guess we're going to create "centers" so the kids have different games to play so groups of kids can go nuts in smaller groups. I'm also going to bring Jordan so I can visit her class party for a short time and then we can run off to Cam's big day.

Seems complicated for a fake holiday don't you think?

Homecoming excitement

Cam had a ton of fun today thanks to Homecoming. He and his Dad walked with a float to celebrate Cam's after school program. Cam's group was way ahead of Jordan's school, so he and Randy walked with our float a little at the end.

Cam had all kinds of fun handing out candy and seeing some of his old friends from around town.

After a quick lunch and nap, we went to a football game... It was the first for the whole family this season. It was so fun to watch the game and hangout as a family. I think we're seriously considering saving some money on the side to do season family tickets next year (there's a family section). Fun times for all!!! Hooray for Homecoming!

What a guy

How can someone drive me NUTS one second and the very next I just want to hold him tight and never let him go. That's the kind of relationship I have with Cam these days. He is READING up a storm. It's incredible. His teacher keeps sending home new books to read and Cam just roars through it. I love it.

Today the whole family played at Cam's after school program. We got to watch him run around with his friends in the gym and out in the playground. He was having a lot of fun -- but he's not one to dangle along the monkey bars. He did seem to have fun just running around and screaming.

Hiking pro

Cameron continued to show his hiking prowess. We hiked close to 2.5 miles AND then we hiked another mile to visit a really cool cave. Cam barely complained and he actually was interested in exploring inside the cave! I didn't bring a flashlight and I didn't feel very balanced to really go in with Jordan on my back. But it was really great to spend so much time outside with the kids.

After the big hike, we got some ice cream and enjoyed it at a really great park where I saw a bunch of people who have kids at Cam's old school. Cam climbed to the very top of the tallest piece of playground equipment and went down the tunnel slide again and again and again. It was amazing. Of course he screamed REALLY loud every time. Funny stuff.

After dinner, Cam even got a chance to meet up with a pre-school friend at the local indoor kid playground place. We were there for an hour and it was great to see the kids play again. But man, we packed a TON of stuff into the day. Hopefully Cam will sleep really well.

Food

Food. It's an aggravating topic. Cam has made big strides this year in the types of food he'll eat. But lately it's just been a struggle to keep him in his seat and open his mind to at least try ONE BITE.

So this week, I stumbled upon a couple of interesting things. First there's this article from the New York Times. It claims my child's eating problems stem from genetics. From what I know from his father and my brother-in-law, I can blame them. Unfortunately, it doesn't really help us solve the problem of Cameron's bad eating habits.

So my Mom watches Oprah and found a possible solution thanks to Jerry Seinfeld's wife. Yeah. Jerry Seinfeld's wife. She wrote a book called Deceptively Delicious. It's a theory where we should puree veggies and fold it into food without the kids knowing it. Sounds like a possible idea. I'd also like to see if there's a chapter for working moms on where to find time to puree veggies and cook all of our dinners from scratch. Either way, I'll probably give some of her ideas a try. Anything to get healthy stuff into Cam's body.

Reading and Reading

Cameron and I got a chance to go on a field trip together to the local pumpkin patch. Last night we prepared by reading a really great book: The Pumpkin Circle. What shocked the poopy out of me was watching Cam read almost the entire book on his own and we haven't read it since last Fall. It's amazing.

So today we went on our trip. I got to meet a bunch of parents and I was able to start placing names with faces. We picked out tiny pumpkins and I told Cam we'll get a big one tomorrow. In the meanwhile, Cam has decided he wants to be the guest reader in his class by bringing in his Pumpkin Circle book. I'm trying to not put pressure on him to do it after he thought of the idea... For now, the idea is exciting to him and he can't wait to read the book. He's even decided to grab every book he can find to help him "practice." Hopefully we'll have some time to work on reading his pumpkin book. I'm so excited that he's this excited about reading.

Woo hoo!! I'm physically too exhausted to upload the pictures I took at the pumpkin farm. I promise I will this weekend.

Fun and family time

Cameron had a pretty good time while I was out of town last week... But this weekend has been a big family bonanza. His Grandma and Poppy are here and so is his uncle and his girlfriend Beth. To makes things even more exciting, Cam came along to meet up with some folks who went to school with us. Afterwards, we walked over to a new park that has a great playground area AND this really fun water play area. The sprayers pop up when you least expect it. In the end, Cam got totally soaked and it was SO worth it. He has so much fun. We had a great time giggling at him.

Cam is writing up a storm these days. Today he took a piece of paper and started copying sentences from a new Dora book he got. He's reading a ton... He drawing really great pictures. He even wrote a birthday note with a drawing for his Grandma today. It's just great. His ability to draw and write are improving a TON since he started Kindergarten.

Weekend excitement

Cam got a chance to hang out with a friend from pre-school. We met her family at an art festival downtown. It was a lot of fun. There were all kinds of art projects for the kids and we got to eat yummy food. Best of all, the kids really enjoyed hanging out together. Even Jordan seemed to have a bit of fun (even though I kept her in the stroller so I could keep her contained).

I ran around with the iPhone taking great pictures of the kids drawing and painting and eating.

Where are the pictures you ask? Well, I went to sync my phone with my computer and found there was a new update for the phone. So I sync the phone, but it wouldn't connect with my photo program. So I figured I'd deal with it after the updating process.

Except during the update, my phone crashed.

And I lost my cool pictures.

And now I'm sad.

At least the kids had fun. That's more important than pictures. But pictures rock and I'm a bit disappointed.

Oh! Speaking of pictures, Cam had picture day at school last week and we almost didn't get to school on time because we had to fight over Cam's outfit and his hair. He was VERY angry with me as I tried to comb and style it. So who knows what it will look like. We can only hope for the best.

Homework

Cam started getting a homework folder sent home for us to finish each week. I have quickly found that any homework Cam works on, he wants me to watch.

"Mom! Watch me write an upper-case 'L!'"

"Now watch a lower case one!"

"Mom! Are you watching?"

"Mom! Aren't you proud of me?"

I'm not sure what is the proper balance: How much should I watch and how much should I require him to do on his own for the sake of my own sanity and his ability to do work on his own? Tricky, tricky, tricky.

Big roller day

I'm out of town but I had to mention that Cameron had a big day today. This morning he got a chance to go to a rollerskating rink for a birthday party. He's NEVER skated before and to be honest, his Dad and I figured it would be a disaster. You know, because Cam is always SO careful about his physical safety. But Randy prepped Cam by letting him know that he'll fall down and get up A LOT and that it will be super fun. Apparently that worked because Cam LOVED it. He loved it so much that he decided that he wants his own pair of skates. I'm so proud of him and I'm so glad he had a ton of fun.

I'm back home tomorrow... I'll get to sneak into Cam's room and give him a kiss while he's sleeping.

Playing a lot in the neighborhood

Cam is getting to know some of the kids in the neighborhood. One of the boys (a 4 year old) who lives up the street -- on the same side -- Keeps knocking on our door to play. So Cam has him over or Cam goes over to his house. Either way, they seem to play pretty well for an hour or so at a time. If it gets much longer, they start a power play over a toy or over who is in charge. I think it's great to see Cam running around pretending to fight the bad guys. Tonight the neighbor's older brother (who is a year and a half older than Cam) came over too. I couldn't really figure out what game they were playing. They were earning points or something and they needed to get stuff from a "garage sale" that was in our basement. Either way, the boys were climbing up the treehouse and down the slide... up and down... up and down. It was funny to watch.

Jordan wanted to play "ide." That's how she says "outside."

SO I think Cam is ready for another week of school. I won't be here for most of the week, but I think he and I need a little time off. I get him worked up, he gets me worked up. We spent a lot of time drawing pictures today. Oh! And Cam read some amazing books to me. He's really comprehending and sounding out words. I love it.

We had a bad day yesterday

But after a lot of talking and a loss of his favorite book for a while... And a good talk with his Tae Kwon Do instructor, I think we're going to work this out.

He's growing and learning.

And he's SUCH a boy.

Growing, learning... Testing

Mister Kindergarten has talents that he's never exposed before at home. Look at this picture! It's his self portrait. It's awesome.

Cam has been REALLY busy since Kindergarten started. He has a whole bunch of friends and he's been pretty darn positive about everything he talks about at school. And I finally got Cam interested in riding his bike! On Sunday, I finally reached him as he started screaming, "I can't! I can't!" That's when I announced to Cam that I won't bike ride with him unless he changes his attitude to "I can." It worked pretty well. Instead of driving to the nearby parking lot, I got him to walk his bike up the hill we live on and then ride it almost all the way to the parking lot. We rode like crazy and I almost got him to ride all the way home on the bike. The best part: He asked to go out biking after dinner. So we did. I hooked the bike trailer to the back of Randy's bike and had Jordan join us for the ride. Cam had very few "I can'ts" and Jordan even wore her helmet the whole time without protest. It was fantastic. I'm SO thrilled to have more excuses to enjoy outside time with the kids. The best part: As Cam and I were riding down our street he looked over to me while he pedaled and said: "I love being outside." It was awesome. Then we talked about our great camping trip. It makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Of course he's still testing me. Food continues to be a big challenge. But that testing is normal stuff... And the crying and craziness is not as crazy as it has been. The funniest stuff is Cam's complaining as we walk towards school. He is a bit more motivated each morning when we walk with our neighbors. That's been an added plus to the morning walks: Grown ups to talk to!!

I blame the iPhone commercials

I have an iPhone. Yes. I'm that kind of nerd. Cameron knows how to use it. I haven't shown him a thing. He knows how to do EVERYTHING.

I had to institute a no-touching policy on the phone.

If only I could convince the baby to keep her hands off the thing. Every time she sees it she yells: "MINE!"

What a guy

Cam has been a really good kid this weekend... Some of the normal issues... But we've had a good time hanging out. Cam has been talking more and more about his new friends and fun games at school. Apparently some of the guys in his class are his "Super hero friends." I guess they play super heros during recess. On the whole, it sounds like he's having fun and recovering pretty well during setbacks in his day.

What's super funny about Mr. Cam these days is how everything is to the extremes. I'll talk to him at one moment and he'll say: "This is the best day ever!" Something goes wrong and instantly it's "the worst day ever!" So dramatic. My boss is pretty sure Cam has a future in theater. Who knows.

Oh! We've started reading "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe." I've been waiting to read this to him. I think he's going to really enjoy it. Apparently he had to brag about it to all of his friends at Sunday school today. I didn't realize he was that excited. Aren't books fun?

By the way, we haven't watched a movie over a weekend since we were on vacation and stuck in the car. Any time Cam asks to watch a movie, I take him outside. It feels better... And I have ALL KINDS of bug bites.