Of campers and camp-moms
After two summers (and two March Breaks) of longing to be old enough to join her big brother at camp, C finally got her wish today.
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Two lunchboxes, two backpacks, two containers of sunscreen, two hats, two changes of clothes, two windbreakers. Two kids officially camp-bound.
I dropped them off, rushed back home, and went straight into the office to work. I wrote and edited and emailed steadily, without having to keep one ear open for them. Without having to break up fights or suggest new activities or roust them back up to their rooms. Without having to feel guilty for working.
They won’t go every day, all summer (although from D’s enthusiasm and C’s beaming recount of the details, they would love to).
But they will go enough to help out our we-don’t-have-childcare any-more situation.
They will be enough to (hopefully) help me get shit done and then be able to enjoy my free time without worrying about work as much.
I’ve been battling The Sads lately and generally in a funk, which in turn makes me feel like I’m being impatient and/or cranky and/or not-fun around the kids. Not a good place to be, when it feels like the world is on vacation slash cheersing at a BBQ slash having the best summer of their lives.
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But today has been a good day. It feels good to carve out specific work-time that doesn’t make me feel torn or guilty about the kids. It feels good to know the kids are thoroughly enjoying their time at camp. It feels good to have a couple of fun things with friends on our agenda.
Yes, I’m dealing with not-happy situations in one part of my life, but I’m tired of letting it creep into all aspects of my life. I’m going to start trying to choose happiness.
Kids silhouette art
My kids are both in the stage where they don’t want me to take their picture. Ever.
Well, the five-year-old doesn’t want his picture taken and the three-year-old copies her brother and refuses, too. So our days involve a lot of pleading to take just one picture and then turning off the shutter sound on my iPhone and sneaking a few more.
When I got the idea for this project, I tricked the kids by telling them I didn’t want to take their picture, but I wanted to take their silhouette — and they didn’t even have to smile. They were intrigued and I was able to grab a few shots while I rambled on about silhouettes and profiles and the shapes of their faces.
Do you, too, enjoy tricking your children into taking their photo? Well, here’s how to make your own silhouette artwork …
Have your subject stand in front of a window and face off to one side, so you can take their picture. I probably could have found a good “profile shot” of each of the kids if I really tried, but it was easier to just snap new ones.
Pull up the photo on your computer and scale it to print at a good size for your frame. I wanted both of the kids faces in one 8 x 10 frame, so I printed each photo — landscape — on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of plain printer paper.
DIY silhouette art
Pop over to My Handmade Home to see the full tutorial — and Happy 4th to my lovely American readers!
xo
Breakfast hack: pancake muffins
Seriously. They’re not the texture of a muffin at all. They’re like eating cake for breakfast. You’re welcome.
xo
You’re into pancakes? Cool. You might also like …
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| Sandwich artist? Dude, I’m a pancake artist! |
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| Itsy-bitsy, baby-friendly, whole-wheat, egg-yolk-only baby cereal pancakes |
Vacation, all I ever wanted?
We’re back from our first non-camping vacation with the kids, and I talked a bit about our adventures in my parenting column this week.
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(Namely: the kids sharing a room/bed and keeping each other awake, getting waaaaay off our schedule, and visiting “Canada’s Flordia,” as I describe Ontario my dear American friends)
As Ma Ingalls used to say in my favourite Little House on the Prairie books, “Sometimes a change is as good as a rest.” I wouldn’t say this has been the most restful trip, as we shuttle the kids to different sights and experiences they’d never get to see at home — like touching real elephants and giraffes at the African Lion Safari! — but everything about it has been different …
As featured on …
