Common Mom

His birthday is this coming Friday, but we had his party last weekend Dude invited 4 friends to join us for the baseball game and then sleep over. It. Was. A. BLAST! I made him a baseball birthday cake, which he thought was way cool . . . even though the frosting totally sucked (really, Duncan Hines Whipped White Frosting is TERRIBLE!). But, the boys ate it anyway

We also thought it would be fun (and safer!) to make them all matching t-shirts to wear to the game . . . in bright red, so they’re easier for a tired mom’s eyes to keep track of We got these baseball t-shirts on clearance at Target.

 Then we thought it would be cool to make them look like more like baseball jerseys, so we put their names and the number 8 on the back (Princess wanted a 6 since she’ll be 6 - girls!).

With each game ticket, the kids got a hot dog, chips, small soda, Nestle Drumstick birthday treat, and an all game pass to the Fun Zone (bouncy houses, speed pitch, giant slide). We ate dinner and headed to the Fun Zone right away. They had lots of fun, then headed back to their seats to watch the game. The boys got on the giant scoreboard screen multiple times, which was cool - gotta love minor league baseball! At one point, they put the Kiss Cam up . . . the 8 year olds were of course embarrassed for all the fools who were silly enough to kiss in front of everyone

Dude got his name announced over the PA and his name scrolled across the giant scoreboard to say Happy Birthday to him . . . very cool Then, Sox the Fox, the team mascot, came over to give Dude a birthday present - a baseball signed by the team and a miniature wooden bat. All the boys enjoyed their treats . . . not like they hadn’t already had enough sugar

Since it was Friday, there was a fireworks show after the game - the fireworks were spectacular! We headed home and got everyone in bed by 11:00 p.m. They were of course up at 6:30, ready to go . . . so Hubby made M&M Pancakes and sent them out to play. All the boys got along so well and were so well-behaved - it was a pleasure to have all of them. And I must say that I was very impressed with Dude’s choice of party guests. The boy has a wide array of friends . . . one from daycare (he’s known T since he was 8 weeks old), one from preschool, one from down the street (Dude and H share the exact same birthday!), and one that he met in school this year. It was a great group of boys to have over.

So, Dude’s birthday is over until next year . . . and I must say that 8 just seems so old . . . I mean, really, so much older than 7. How can that be? I don’t know . . . but I know I don’t like it!

Oh - I must give a great big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa, who were here on vacation and went to the game with us. I’m sure spending the evening with five 8 year old boys at the baseball game and then having them sleep over in the room right above theirs wasn’t their idea of vacation! But they were very helpful and very wonderful with the boys. Thank you thank you thank you!

Today’s the day - summer camp starts. And even though Princess and Dude are going to summer camp at the same school they’ve been at for the past 4 1/2 years, it’s all pretty new and exciting!

For me, it’s new and exciting because it means I have until 4:30 to pick them up every day, instead of having to bolt from work at 3:00 so I can get Princess and meet Dude at home after the bus drops him off. It means I have just one drop off in the morning . . . both kids to the same place . . . no getting ready to go to the bus with Dude then coming home, finishing getting Princess ready, then taking her to school before I head to work. It means that Hubby and I can spend more time together on my Wednesdays off if he’s home. No rushing to fit in a movie in a tiny amount of time - no rushing around the golf course - no using all of our time getting groceries or running errands. That extra 1 1/2 hours is amazing! And finally, it means that I can sleep in an extra 45 minutes! Not that that will actually happen - that whole internal clock and stuff - but the kids can sleep in and they NEED it. Especially in the summer, they have so much fun and are so busy playing that they just crash at night. So ya - I’m WAY excited!

For Dude, it’s new and exciting because he gets to see some of his old friends from Montessori. We live in a different district than the Montessori school is in, so many of his friends that he had up through 1st grade went to different schools than he did. He loves his new school and friends that he made this year, and we kept in touch with the others, but he’s so excited to see them every day again! He’s also happy that he doesn’t have to get up so early.

For Princess, it’s new and exciting because she is moving on up - yup, today she heads in to the Kindergarten room! She’s so excited! I’m excited, and sad . . . I mean, my baby is in Kindergarten! She is so ready to move up . . . she was the oldest in her preschool class by 6 months, she no longer takes the required nap, and she was doing so well in her schoolwork. She also was ready to go on field trips with the bigger kids and be able to participate in the sports clinics they offer this summer. So yay - she’s so excited that she can hardly contain herslef

For both of them, it’s new and exciting because of all the wonderful things they get to do. Throughout the summer they are participating in a number of different “clinics” at the school . . . golf, soccer, cheerleading. They also have a pool there, so they get to have swimming lessons 4 days a week every week! They learned a lot last year in those lessons, and this year the instructors are even better (we took private lessons with them previously) so we’re expecting great things And finally, there is at least 1 and sometimes 2 field trips per week for them to go on. We signed them up for all but a couple of them. It’s so awesome that they get to have so much fun all summer with their friends. It costs money, of course . . . but when we figured what it would cost for them to go to a number of different Y camps and sports camps and day camps and stuff, it was totally worth it. It’s not that much more for them to be able to stay at the same school all summer with the same schedule. And, it’s TOTALLY worth it for me to not have to figure all that stuff out and figure out where they can be while I’m at work . . . what a stress! It’s so worth it for me to just have them at one place and pick and choose what I want to sign them up for while they’re there. Next year will be a different story - Dude won’t go there for summer camp, so I’ll have to do all the scheduling and driving and bluck bluck bluck . . . so I’m taking advantage of one last stress free summer camp schedule

How about you - what do you do with your kids in the summer?

One year ago, when my son was 6 3/4 years old, he finished his dinner and went to his room to “pack” for the sleepover at his buddy’s house. He came out with his Spiderman sleeping bag and a backpack slung over his shoulder. He gave me a hug and a kiss and said “Well, I’m off to Hayden’s house. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Me: “Hang on. Lemme get Princess and some shoes and we’ll walk you down there.”
Dude: “That’s OK. I don’t need you to.”

I wanted to cry out “You do too still need me!!!”

Instead, I gave him a kiss and a hug and cried as he walked down the street alone to his first sleepover.

Today was Dude’s last day of 2nd grade. The day when he has his end of school party in class. The day when he gives his wonderful teacher a gift. The day when he almost cries because he really wants Mr. Krich to be his teach next year. The day he brings home all of his “stuff” from school. The day he graduates from 2nd grade and joins the ranks of 3rd grade.

A 3rd grader. Already. I think I’m going to cry.

Today I get to chaperone Dude’s class field trip. We’re going to the money museum “and we get a real piece of old money when we leave!!!” It’s just too exciting for words, really.

What I’m happy about is that when I told him last week that I was going to chaperone, he hugged me and said “Oh yay! I’m so glad you get to come with! I like having you go on the field trips with us!”

Then we stopped at the bus stop to drop him off at the bus. When I went for a hug and a kiss, just like every other day, he rolled his eyes at me and half-heartedly gave me a hug. I can only assume it’s because Cameron, the pretty little blonde from his class, was already at the bus stop.

At least he still wants me around some of the time! I’ll take what I can get while I can still get it