Hip Hip Hooray It's a Gymboree Day

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I meant to post this last week but never finished the slide show so here it is now. We have been looking into starting some kind of activity during the day to get Cameron out and interacting with other kids. The hopes is that it will help with his social development and help him get over his stranger issues. So Gymboree fell into our laps and boy are we glad it did. What I really like about Gymboree is that it isn't only a gym class. They also have art and music classes and when Cam gets a bit older they have school skills classes. But for now we are doing the Art, Music and Gymboree classes. The timing is great because on Tuesday we have Music and Wednesday we have Music. Immediately follow those classes is Cam's level Gymboree class. So we have two classes those days. Then I take him for Gymobree on Friday and Rob started taking Cam to the Sunday morning Gymboree class. He loves it!!! He calls it Cammy's school. And he talks about what he does all week long. As soon as we pull into the parking lot he squeals with delight. The teachers are great. They know about his social stuff and work well with him. They try to encourage him to participate but know when to just let him be and eventually he will come around. So if you are in the neighborhood and have a little one give me a call. We can bring guests to the open play time for free. We would love for you to join us.

The worst way to start the day

Today started out like any other. Nobody wanted to get up, slowly eating breakfast, two lunches made, brush your teeth, brush your hair, three pair of shoes on, hurry its time to go. Out to the car we go. I am sure the neighbors know our "get in the car" routine by now because like yesterday and the weeks before that we did it the same. I slowly back out of the driveway and I notice my truck is acting a bit funny. I chalk it up the our newly brisk fall weather until I start up the street and then I know. @#$!% I have a flat tire. So I back into the driveway and I run across the street to see if the neighbor can take Kenzie to school. Their house is dark so I send the kids inside so I can start to see what I can do. After removing a stroller, emergency kit, diaper bag, all the papers that we picked up for the neighbor last week and a bunch of odds and ends I start working on getting the spare tire down. Then I notice the neighbors starting to stir. I run over and ask if they can take Kenzie to school. One thing off my shoulders. So I go back to getting the tire out. It really isn't that hard just takes a while to loosen the bolt enough to unhook the plate holding it on. Then I start on the lug nuts on the flat tire. While I have the knowledge to change a tire (thanks dad for making sure I was able to take care of my own car and not be a helpless little girl) I lack one major attribute for this job. Brute Strength. Even with a bit of WD40 I was only able to loosen one lug nut. So now I sit here waiting for my neighbors husband to get back from his Dr appointment to see if he can loosen them for me. The funny thing is while I absolutely love working on cars and getting my hands all greasy the only thing I could think about while trying to change my tire was not how much it is going to cost me to replace the tire (that is a concern but not my first concern) but I hope to god that I don't ruin my brand new manicure. Go figure.

You just never know

So I am in the guest room running the vacuum and straightening up and in comes Cam like this.......

So I ask "What are you doing?"

And he says "I robot."

Well OK then.

By the way that is the empty pretzel rod container that I plan on using for a Halloween decoration, that is after Cam is done being a robot.

Cake #2

So here is cake #2. I know that my icing job is a bit shotty but if you knew what my schedule was like this week you would know that I was a bit pressed for time when it came to icing the cake. Next time I will crumb coat it and then do a final icing. I still have a few more flowers to add to it because the flowers that I made before haven't dried yet and I can't put them on. So for now the cake sits in the fridge waiting its final decoration. If you are in the neighborhood drop by we have enough cake for everyone.

Just needs a few finishing touches

Practice makes perfect.

Yeah Dawn

Yes Dawn was correct (not to mention the only one) in noticing the Cameron's room lacks a crib. For a little over a month now we have been cribless. Now while that doesn't seem like a huge deal to some here it is for a couple of reasons. 1-That means my baby (sniff sniff) isn't a baby any more, 2-He is now sleeping through the night (thought that would never happen), and 3-This is the first time in 9 years that we haven't had a crib in our house. Yes you heard me right 9 years that crib has been up. No I don't secretly have a bunch of kids I keep hidden under the stairs. We bought that crib for Kenzie. Knowing that we are a military family and space is usually limited we opted to buy a convertible crib to save space and money. When Kenzie was big enough to go into a toddler bed we just converted the crib to a toddler bed. And because she is so small until we needed the crib for Cam she slept in it. So that means that until she was 7 she technically slept in a crib. It was nice because her room was a bit small in Germany so we put the bed platform on the highest level and created storage space for her under her bed. And she even used it sometimes as a fort. For Christmas last year my parents bought Cam his very own toddler bed. Cam loves his big boy bed and does very well in it. We do put a baby gate at the door to his room just to keep him from wandering if he should get up in the middle of the night.

Cake Class

So I decided to take the Wilton cake decorating class at Michael's. Actually I decided to take them sometime back in the spring but scheduling conflicts kept me from going. If you know me then you will know that about 10 years ago I actually worked in a bakery decorating cakes for a few years. While I still remember some of what I use to do I think that there is always room for improvement. Plus what I did back then was learned through on the job training and not formal education. So I have been going to my cake class every Tuesday now for four weeks. The first week we learned what we would be covering, the supplies we needed and the teacher decorated a cake while we watched to show us what we would be making. Then each week we have had to bring in our pre-iced cake ready to start decorating. We learned a lot of cool things that I never knew. I am having a lot of fun learning techniques each week. I am now finished with course 1 and will be starting course 2 next week. I am not sure how far I will go but I am having fun learning. Below is the cake I made in week two. I make cupcakes in week three but forgot to take a picture of them. This week (week 4) will be my final cake and class isn't until 6:30 pm so I will have to post that picture later. Too bad you all don't live closer. I really could use someone to give these cakes away to because I really don't need to be eating cake. I have been very good and only have one piece of each. Then the trash enjoys the rest. Enjoy.

Cam's Room

I finally got around to loading a few pictures of Cam's room and I thought you would all enjoy seeing his space. Cam's room is the most complete room. All of our other rooms still have room for improvement. About a month ago while Rob was gone again Cam and I decided to clean his room and do a little bit of organizing and rearranging in his room. He had a lot of fun helping me. Afterward we took a few pictures to share. Does anyone notice something different about his room? I will share on Wednesday what that is.

Julie

And one time at Art Camp.... (#1 in the Summer series)

This year MacKenzie was lucky enough to received a scholarship to go to Art Camp. She was very excited. Every morning for two weeks we would load up into the car and head to her regular school and wait for the bus. She had a lot of fun. This years theme was inspired by nature. If you know MacKenzie then you will know that this was right up her alley. They made nature masks, season prints, dream catchers, raffia weaving, homemade paper, Oaxacan animal sculptures, clay leaf bowls with watercolor technique, and landscape and seascape paintings with handmade frames. It was a lot of work but she loved every minute of it. At the end of the camp Rob, Cameron and myself went to the school for an art exhibit. MacKenzie proudly showed off all of her art work. I was lucky enough to be gifted the clay leaf bowl. I proudly display it on my buffet in the dining room. We even hung all of her work on the walls of the dining room for her very own gallery show. MacKenzie hopes that she will be able to go back again next year.

My "You know your old moment"

While I don't think of myself as being old I know I am getting older ( be quiet Val). I really love my age and proudly tell anyone who asks that I am 32. I did have a moment the other day that made me realize that I am in fact getting older. MacKenzie and I decided to make some chocolate dipped pretzel rods to send up to New Jersey for a baby shower. So where does the "I getting old moment" come in? Well the baby shower is for the girlfriend of a kid that I use to baby sit for when he was little. I remember getting up very early on Saturday mornings and going over to their house, before the kids were even up, so that their mom could go to work and their dad could go duck hunting. I enjoyed watching Chris and his sister very much. And we are still friends with their family today. It is just scary when you see kids that you took care of having kids of their own.

Coming soon

So today I was looking for a picture in one of my picture files and realized that I have a ton of pictures that I took over the summer that I never posted. So I have decided to sit down and start a series called "What we did during summer vacation". I have no clue how many installments there will be but I will try to get them all in by the end of October. So keep coming back to see what we did. And I love it when people leave comments, so don't forget to let me know that you are checking things out. I also take requests so if there is something you are dying to see or know just ask.

Yoda

Also on my camera was the final picture of the Yoda that Kenzie and I helped build. I tried to get Cam to stand next to it but he fell getting out of the stroller so he was having none of that.

Smart Girl

I have been wanting to post this for a while but I couldn't get my the pictures off of my other camera. Finally today I found the cord that would let me upload the pictures from my point and shoot camera. So here are the pictures from MacKenzies first day at SIGNET. SIGNET is the gifted program for the Prince William County school district. I can't remember off the top of my head what SIGNET stands for but when I find it I will post it. Once a week after I drop Kenzie off at her regular school a bus comes and picks her and a few other kids up and takes them to a school a few miles away. They spend the day there exploring education outside of the regular classroom. The day is broken up into a few different periods. Some of that time is spent doing Centers. Don't ask me what centers are yet. Kenzie has never been in a school that does them. But from what I can gather so far it is an independent learning packet that the kids work on at their own pace. The topics are extremely varied to cover all of the kids strong points. Right now they are all working on the first center together so that they can all learn what is expected of them. The center they are working on now is called "Treasure Seekers". It has to do with pirates. They are making circle maps, tree maps, and double bubble maps. Don't ask me what that is, that is what Kenzie said they are doing. But once they finish this center they will get to choose their own. Kenzie has decided that she is going to choose the center that is French. She is excited to learn yet another language. When they are not working on their centers they do group work where they are given topics that they have to discuss and come up with a group answer to present to the class. Right now they are doing a project where they are making up their own business. They are naming it, choosing its location, what the product is and they work with their group to market the product. When they are done they will present it to the class and the class will vote on the businesses success. The SIGNET class really works on getting the kids to think outside the box and use their brains in creative ways. MacKenzie really loves it. Not only does she get to do really cool and creative things there but she gets to ride the school bus.

Tantrum

So Cam had a great little tantrum this afternoon. I was the first real tantrum that he has ever had. Sure he has been mad but not like this. We have a few toys that stay in the car so that when we are out and about he has a few things to keep him busy. Well today he wanted to bring one of them in the house. I said no that it stays in the car and he went crazy. He threw his baby T-Rex on the ground, then he threw his puppy, then he sat himself in the driveway, and for his grand finale he took off and threw his flip flops. I called him to come inside and that just made him madder so I left him there. Now don't worry. I just went in to the entry way and stood by the door and watched him. After a minute I went back out and asked him if he was ready to come in. He said no so I went back inside. Finally the next time he came inside still angry but willing to be in the house. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. It was too funny.