Wednesday
May282008
CAMP MOMMY 2008 - A Perfect Day & '08 Tip #1
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 10:41AM
I'm not drinking or nacho-bingeing today (yet!), but I suspect that compulsive shopping is just another substitute and avoidance strategy. It's not even exciting shopping, it's wandering around Target after I dropped hubby off at work. (We still haven't received our deposits back on the whole condo upheaval, so we are still a one-car family, but it works.)
Target purchases: short socks for the boys; laundry baskets; snow cone syrup (sugar free!); a comforter set for Drama Queen's new bed (being delivered today); and I did buy two t-shirts and a tie-dyed skirt for ME, so I guess that's a little bit fun. It's nice to have a 13yo, and older kids that can be at home by themselves for an hour or so, so I can go wander around, buying socks & stuff -- it's like a cigarette break from work, but I don't smoke.
(At least, not yet! ;-)
We have a quiet day at home today, which is nice. Chores & stuff, following the
Camp Mommy K.I.S.S. Schedule, so it's all good.
I feel I owe some sort of explanation for panicky, worst Camp Mommy Day #1 blogs yesterday. We did, actually, have a great day, with just one added stress and complication, but that's the thing I am avoiding, and I still don't want to go there.
1) Drove hubby to work;
2) Stopped at Publix for groceries;
3) Drama Queen made smoothies w/left-over snack strawberries, bananas and vanilla frozen yogurt, which were delicious. Yum. I was planning to let them make freezer-popsicles with the leftovers (popsicle trays are ON SALE at Target this week, as are snow cone supplies -- straws, cups, syrup, etc.), but there were no leftovers, so we made orange juice popsicles, which they enjoyed with breakfast this morning.
4) Grammy (my mom) came over, to show off her new car and spend some time with us;
5) Eventually, I got the three cats (remember my Biggest Challenge) and what I thought was a sufficient amount of stuff in the car [note to self: need to add a spray bottle of water to the Summer Essentials/Schlep List][publish list tomorrow!] for a Camp Mommy Adventure, with Grammy...
6) We went to Steak & Shake for lunch, which is a favorite for everybody. We even went inside and sat down for lunch, instead of through the drive-thru.
Camp Mommy 2008 Tip #1: Take a deck of playing cards with you, everywhere.
This will definitely be added to the Camp Mommy Summer Essentials lists (of stuff to schlep around). The kids will play cards together, anytime, anywhere, and it's a wonderful thing, almost magical, how they'll settle in and play quietly together. (Well, until the youngest starts losing, and the older ones start rubbing it in and aggravating him, just for the entertainment of it.) Current favorite games are Blackjack, Spit and "Tree Falls On Your Neighbor," which is a variation of an old classic, "Screw Your Neighbor." I'll see if I can round up the directions for play.
I came across the best little book a couple of years ago that we go to all the time for new card games and ideas. It's awesome, and small enough to carry around --
highly recommended:
The Book of Cards for Kids
That little book gets us through slow restaurant service, long car trips, family game night, waiting rooms and a ton of other places and situations where chaos might otherwise reign...
Where was I?! Oh yes...
7) We went to the SKATEPARK we discovered a couple of months ago, which is a county park specifically built for skateboarders, about half-hour from our house. I know I already used the word, but this place is truly AWESOME, and we all love it, even me! The kids all skate (rollerblades or skateboard), and I can settle in on a nice, shaded bench or at a table, with a full view of everything, and read or write, while keeping one eye on them.
The skatepark is fenced and they have, essentially, lifeguards -- teenagers who keep an eye on everyone, make sure they are wearing helmets and following the rules. They are even cool enough to help the kids out with tips and advice. These guys are California-cool skateboarders with skills, and it is a very well-run operation (clean bathrooms, even!). There are snack machines, but we take a cooler bag with water and snacks. Periodically, they stop to rest and cool down (it does get HOT out on the concrete -- a spray bottle of water would have been really nice for my overheated skaters)...and we play cards until they are ready to go again. We were there for about two hours yesterday, and it was great.
8) We drove-thru Steak & Shake on the way back home for after-skate shakes.
And that was Camp Mommy 2008 - Day #1.
Budget Notes:
Day 1 Total = $40 - on budget!
(if we don't count gas -- and what's up with $4/gallon?!)
-- Steak & Shake $20
-- Skatepark Admission $9
-- After-skate Shakes $11
Target purchases: short socks for the boys; laundry baskets; snow cone syrup (sugar free!); a comforter set for Drama Queen's new bed (being delivered today); and I did buy two t-shirts and a tie-dyed skirt for ME, so I guess that's a little bit fun. It's nice to have a 13yo, and older kids that can be at home by themselves for an hour or so, so I can go wander around, buying socks & stuff -- it's like a cigarette break from work, but I don't smoke.
(At least, not yet! ;-)
We have a quiet day at home today, which is nice. Chores & stuff, following the
Camp Mommy K.I.S.S. Schedule, so it's all good.
I feel I owe some sort of explanation for panicky, worst Camp Mommy Day #1 blogs yesterday. We did, actually, have a great day, with just one added stress and complication, but that's the thing I am avoiding, and I still don't want to go there.
A near-perfect day of Camp Mommy:
1) Drove hubby to work;
2) Stopped at Publix for groceries;
3) Drama Queen made smoothies w/left-over snack strawberries, bananas and vanilla frozen yogurt, which were delicious. Yum. I was planning to let them make freezer-popsicles with the leftovers (popsicle trays are ON SALE at Target this week, as are snow cone supplies -- straws, cups, syrup, etc.), but there were no leftovers, so we made orange juice popsicles, which they enjoyed with breakfast this morning.
4) Grammy (my mom) came over, to show off her new car and spend some time with us;
5) Eventually, I got the three cats (remember my Biggest Challenge) and what I thought was a sufficient amount of stuff in the car [note to self: need to add a spray bottle of water to the Summer Essentials/Schlep List][publish list tomorrow!] for a Camp Mommy Adventure, with Grammy...
6) We went to Steak & Shake for lunch, which is a favorite for everybody. We even went inside and sat down for lunch, instead of through the drive-thru.
Camp Mommy 2008 Tip #1: Take a deck of playing cards with you, everywhere.
This will definitely be added to the Camp Mommy Summer Essentials lists (of stuff to schlep around). The kids will play cards together, anytime, anywhere, and it's a wonderful thing, almost magical, how they'll settle in and play quietly together. (Well, until the youngest starts losing, and the older ones start rubbing it in and aggravating him, just for the entertainment of it.) Current favorite games are Blackjack, Spit and "Tree Falls On Your Neighbor," which is a variation of an old classic, "Screw Your Neighbor." I'll see if I can round up the directions for play.
I came across the best little book a couple of years ago that we go to all the time for new card games and ideas. It's awesome, and small enough to carry around --
highly recommended:
The Book of Cards for Kids
By Gail MacColl
That little book gets us through slow restaurant service, long car trips, family game night, waiting rooms and a ton of other places and situations where chaos might otherwise reign...
Where was I?! Oh yes...
7) We went to the SKATEPARK we discovered a couple of months ago, which is a county park specifically built for skateboarders, about half-hour from our house. I know I already used the word, but this place is truly AWESOME, and we all love it, even me! The kids all skate (rollerblades or skateboard), and I can settle in on a nice, shaded bench or at a table, with a full view of everything, and read or write, while keeping one eye on them.
The skatepark is fenced and they have, essentially, lifeguards -- teenagers who keep an eye on everyone, make sure they are wearing helmets and following the rules. They are even cool enough to help the kids out with tips and advice. These guys are California-cool skateboarders with skills, and it is a very well-run operation (clean bathrooms, even!). There are snack machines, but we take a cooler bag with water and snacks. Periodically, they stop to rest and cool down (it does get HOT out on the concrete -- a spray bottle of water would have been really nice for my overheated skaters)...and we play cards until they are ready to go again. We were there for about two hours yesterday, and it was great.
8) We drove-thru Steak & Shake on the way back home for after-skate shakes.
And that was Camp Mommy 2008 - Day #1.
Budget Notes:
Day 1 Total = $40 - on budget!
(if we don't count gas -- and what's up with $4/gallon?!)
-- Steak & Shake $20
-- Skatepark Admission $9
-- After-skate Shakes $11
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