Bella has bee home all week. I've been busy with my side project, my (now) part-time paid work, and volunteering obligations .... and there's this girl. This Meanie Weenie. And all she wants to do is play outside and visit her friends and how about bingo, Mama? It's relentless.
But I only have one kid this week because my big boy is at camp. !!! His attitude this year is so drastically different from his attitude last year.
What a difference a year makes. Of course, it makes a difference for someone else, too. Where last year she was bored, this year she was distraught.
Which led to a rare moment of gentleness between siblings (who were only hours earlier screaming about one looking at the other and how one is ruining the other's life). And so much feely-good !!! that my heart felt heavy and swollen with happiness.
I am not the type of parent who cries when her child is away. I happen to think we all get along better with a little bit of absence. That doesn't mean I didn't spend a large majority of this week wondering aloud, "What do you think Javi's doing right now?" If only sleepaway camp came with a 24-hour webcam!
But camp is over. I'll be picking my boy up in the morning and life will return to normal ... or as normal as life can be with two warlords waging battle while you try to snag another freelance contract that may or may not last more than six months.
If I had to name my favorite part of Javi being at camp, it would be the letter I get on Thursday each year. So I'll leave you with them both. Have you ever seen such classic examples of !!! ?
Awwww What a great experience for him Looks like he's have a great time. I bet he'll have lots of stories when he comes home. Love the letters
how do we do it. I wait til the children are asleep or occupied by a cartoon and grab a half hour here or there or stay awake til 3am writing posts to catch up. Lately I've just been skipping and posting when I can. 1-2 days to comment another 5 to post
3 am sounds like me. I've been trying to be asleep by midnight ... but as you can see, it's not happening. I'm glad I'm not the only one!
Love love love the feely goodness. But mostly the fact that Javi got "carried away" and couldn't write. My oldest will be heading off to sleepaway camp next year. And as we discussed it the other day, he told me he was "never coming back!" I laughed a little. But then I wondered...is it really so bad here? oh NO!
Love your !!! It is SO summer and SO you and SO all about the kids. (Oh, and a little bit of absence? Um, !!! to be sure.)
I love the contrasting pictures! They say it all! I'm glad Javi had a terrific time and you got a little break!
The pics are great. It is so neat to see what happened last year at the same time.
As far as blogging is concerned, I've put less pressure on myself to have a blog entry out everyday. Just writing when the mood strikes, so that leaves me a little more time to comment. I agree, though, blogging and commenting almost becomes a full-time job.
That is adorable! There really was a change in attitude from last year to this year!
i love this post! love the comparison!
no blogging or comments on a regular basis here!
Nice past/present pics. And the sibling moment? Too, too precious. I hope my own little one will have that someday.
Oh my goodness, the LETTERS. I love this post, Kelly. The photos say so very much. And you did a great job of putting together a lovely post WITH kid underfoot. You know, because you just have to DO IT. :)
The letters are my fave, too. I thought I was soooo smart to pre-fold and stuff his envelopes with paper. I didn't realize he wouldn't take the time to unfold the paper when he decided to write a letter! His grandma and great-grandma got similar letters -- all written right on the fold. Love it!
Poor guy is worn out from camp and is now conked out upstairs. I can't wait to hear all the great stories!
Your last comment here about the folded paper made me giggle. I love your pictures. I actually got a giggle out of the role reversals. Jellybean does sleep away camp for the first time this year. I'm not sure who is going to enjoy it more-me or her. LOL.
And yeah, I'm up until 3 am too, so if anyone tells you the secret, please pass it on!
I love the this year/last year pictures. But the letters are the best! I can't WAIT until my kids can write. Although when they learned to talk, it did have downsides (like the song: I don't love Mama)
I need to find sleep away camp. My kids are in day camp all summer and luckily they are in different groups because all that being near each other makes them fight constantly.
Glad Javi had a better attitude about camp this year!
I love how you lined up the photos and letters from last year and this year. Such a great example of !!! (And PS: I have no idea how people keep up with blogs during the summer either. I'm so behind I think I'm gonna have to just let it go...)
I gave up on trying to be sane a long time ago! And it is hard to keep up. My time online is drastically reduced over the summer.
Looks like your summer is a fun one so far!
Love the pics. I am having a terrible time getting everything done this summer! My blog is definitely low on the list unfortunately.:(
This is an awesome post! The one with your daughter holding onto him is the best!
I am SO impressed that you not only had your camera with you both times you took your son to camp, but that you know where the pics were from both years!!!
As far as how to get everything done with the kids around - I'll bet that's different for every mommy. :) I am one of those moms that just cannot stand to be away from my kids - my husband and I are saving up all our date nights for when they are grown and out of the house. Lol!
I would say the same as another commenter - stealing moments here and there. My life is all about our schedule. When I'm on schedule, the house is clean, the (4, soon to be 5) kids are happy and occupied and dinner is simmering on the stove when hubby gets home! When I'm not on schedule? Well ... let's just say it quite obvious that I'm NOT on schedule!! :)
Also, my husband and I work as an awesome team. We really tag team - especially when there is a project that we both are working hard to get done. We communicate really well, too. Some days, he takes the kids to the park to give me some quiet time or makes dinner or whatever. Other days, I make sure he has a nice clean quiet spot to work. Lots of give and take.