Summer Camp

Town & Country’s June cover story focused on summer camps and their enduring popularity. In fact, according to the article, summer sleep-away camps have seen a rise in enrollment as parents seek ways to “unplug” their kids from the world and immerse them in the great outdoors, athletics and arts and crafts, with not a TV or iPhone in sight.

I never attended sleep-away camp, only day camps. My husband did, albeit a week-long camp not far outside of Louisville. The camps featured in T&C host kids for weeks at a time, and often campers travel several hundred miles to attend these storied institutions, many based in North Carolina, New Hampshire and Maine. One anecdote even told of the very wealthy flying their children in private jets to and from camp. Well, this is Town & Country after all. The campers can’t just arrive in a minivan for God’s sake!

Many of the camps featured in the article focus on general outdoor activities, as well as the building of leadership skills and friendships. So often these days, kids go away to camps that have a very specific focus, such as tennis and lacrosse, or engineering or the arts - which is not a bad thing, especially if your child really enjoys it. But, the article focuses on the benefits of a typical summer camp where kids can be kids, and experience the rite of passage that is sleep-away camp. Of course, I should note that the "typical" summer camp that T&C discusses doesn't come with a typical price tag. Again, that wouldn't be very T&C, would it?

Did you go to summer camp? What did you like/dislike about it? Will your own kids go to summer camp?

Image from Town & Country Magazine

Crawling into Bed

So true, so very true. Every morning there's at least one munchkin in our bed, often times, two. If it happens on a Saturday, I often awake to find Hubby has gone into our daughter's room to try to catch some sleep. 

I shouldn't complain, though. All too quickly there will come a day where they won't want to cuddle with me or hold hands. Although my four-year old son pulled at my heartstrings this morning by saying, "Mommy, when I'm a daddy I will be your neighbor. Then you can hug me whenever you want."

Cue the tears. :)

Image from unknown source, via Facebook

Goodbye Halloween, Hello November

The kids and their friends loading up on candy at our neighbor's house.

Batman proudly showing off his loot.

Batman and Little Red Riding Hood enjoying the Halloween festivities.

Another Halloween has passed. Little Red Riding Hood, Batman and their friends had a ball sprinting from house to house, loading up on treats. Ugh, I need to get this candy out of my house, pronto. We're heading into the holiday food slide. If I'm not careful, I'll be eating my way into the new year.

Hard to believe it's November. Thanksgiving is about three weeks away! I'm sure we're all looking forward to a few days off. And, of course, plenty of food.

How was your Halloween? Did lots of ghosts and goblins come to visit?
Images property of JMW A Place to Dwell blog

The Countdown to Halloween

Little Man taking in the many displays on "The Halloween Street" on Saturday.

Halloween is approaching rapidly and my kids are like spinning tops, wound up with excitement.

Miss E. attended a birthday party of a classmate on Saturday, where everyone was encouraged to wear costumes. So, this was the first of many appearances by Little Red Riding Hood.

Not sure why I opted to take her photo next to the trash can in the kitchen. Not a wise decision on my part.

Our Batman in his bare feet.

So, while our social butterfly was consuming sugar at her friend’s party, we took Little Man on a tour of what we call “The Halloween Street.” If you know Louisville, you’re familiar with Hillcrest, which is a street in the Crescent Hill neighborhood where residents go all-out when it comes to Halloween.

We parked a street away and then walked up and down looking at the spooky set-ups. I can’t imagine putting that much work into a Halloween display, but it’s such fun for passers-by. Then, on Halloween, people come from all over the city to Trick-or-Treat. I’ve heard that the neighborhood association helps foot the bill for the candy, because you can only imagine how much candy is given out on that night.

Little Man wanted to take photos of every house with my iPhone, and he just about did. By himself. We’ve joked for a while now that our son has quite the eye when it comes to photography. He’s our photographer prodigy. Not a bad shot of Mommy and Daddy, huh?

In every other photo, Little Man wanted to give his "scary face."

This is one of the more disturbing displays on Hillcrest. Ah, Halloween!

Outside our own home, we have a few ghosts hanging in the tree in the front yard, in addition to potted mums and fall wreaths on the front door. Pumpkins will follow with a trip to the pumpkin patch this coming weekend.

Do you decorate for Halloween? If so, how?

Happy Monday, friends. It was hard getting up this morning. Little Man was not having it. When we approached his pre-school, he said, "If they're not there, we're leaving." Sorry, buddy. They were waiting for you. :)
All images property of A Place to Dwell blog

Presenting the Elephant in His Habitat...

For those of you who tuned in yesterday, here is my darling daughter's diorama, featuring an elephant in its natural habitat.

So much better than the zoo version, wouldn't you say? She was very excited to carry this to school today and I'm so proud of the hard work she put into it (with a some help from Daddy, although most of it was her creation).

Do you have a favorite project that your child created? What is it?

Friends, we're getting closer to the weekend. Thank you, God!
Photo property of A Place to Dwell blog

Where the Elephant Lives

This week at school, Miss E. can earn bonus points if she creates a diorama of an animal habitat. She has chosen the home of an elephant. When I asked her how she would decorate the diorama, a.k.a., shoe box, she said "I'll use some hay for the bottom and bars for the fence."

Sigh. This is why I have such mixed emotions about the zoo.

You'll be glad to know, though, that after some discussion and "research" of a true elephant habitat, Babar will have an African savanna-type homestead, rather than that of the Louisville Zoological Gardens.

This reminded me of the old commercial advertising Fisher-Price's "See and Say," the toy where you pull the string, it lands on a photo of a certain animal, then mimics that animal's sound. The commercial urged parents of city kids to buy the toy, panning to a little boy at an urban park petting zoo waving to a sheep and saying, "Hi, doggie!"

I still laugh thinking about it.
Image from The New York Times

First Day of First Grade

My eldest child started 1st grade today, so we took the requisite photos in front of the house, as well as at school. I can't believe she's already into her second year at this school, a school we have grown to love so much.

In addition to it being the first day of school, the Tooth Fairy paid yet another visit last night. Seriously, this girl has teeth falling out of her head left and right. And, of course, by the time Hubby and I got our act together, we found we had only one dollar bill between us. So we added some quarters to the loot.

Then Hubby asked, "Should we add a note about how this will help her learn to count coins, now that she's in first grade?" Which meant, "Are you going to write the note?" So, I found some pretty stationery and used my best curly-cue handwriting with hearts over the i's, because, you know, that's how the Tooth Fairy rolls. I even had the TF give a shout-out to our son, who thought that was the most amazing thing.

So, now we return to a more structured routine since school is in session. Before you know, Halloween will be here. Yikes!

For those of you with kids returning to school, starting school for the first time or if you're heading back yourself, best of luck to you and your family. It's going to be a great year!

All photos property of A Place to Dwell

Back to School and A Day with the Ponies

Today marks Little Man's first day in the 4-year old Pre-K program at his school. Next stop: Kindergarten. So, I had to take a few shots of him before he left for school, because as the second child, poor little guy has far less documentation of his life than his older sister (I know, bad mommy.)

Then, of course, said sister had to join in the shot for a funny-face photo.

Big sister, aka Miss E., has been having quite the time of it over the last week, as her first day of school approaches this Wednesday. Between alternating days with my dad and my mother-in-law, she's been living the life. Last week, Grandpa took her to the backside at Churchill Downs to watch the morning workouts, visit the horses and have breakfast at the track kitchen.

Ah, breakfast of champions.

The action is literally right outside the window at the backside track kitchen.

She met a 14-year old cat who keeps the horses company and the barns rid of mice.

After spending the day experiencing what most people will not - a special behind-the-scenes tour of the world-famous Churchill Downs - she later said her favorite part of the day was going to the movies to see "Smurfs" with Grandpa. Sigh.

So, friends, for those of you with kids, are they ready for school? Are you? The local public schools were supposed to start today. But, a major windstorm swept through Saturday evening, knocking out power across the state, along with major damage to homes, trees, etc. Therefore, school has been postponed for one more day.

Sometimes I feel like I live in the extreme-weather capital of the world. Sheesh!

Have a great Monday, folks!
All photos property of A Place to Dwell

Longing for Spring, Gearing Up for the Weekend

This photo was featured in the late-great "Southern Accents" a few years ago. The article showcased a gorgeous home in one of the Carolinas. I fell in love with the front door, the huge entry hall and grand front porch. There's nothing like an early summer day, a child paddling barefoot on the hardwood floors, swinging open the screen door and then running outside in the summer sun to play. It's been raining cats and dogs here, plus it's cold again, so I went back to this photo for some virtual sunshine and warm weather.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'm lunchroom monitor again today, so I get to see Miss E. at school and help the little ones open their milks and ketchup packets. Tonight is the Girl Scout troops' Father/Daughter dance at school, so Miss E. and Hubby are getting all dolled up for this special event. He's ordered her a wrist corsage - I promise to show pictures at some point. Miss E. then has two birthday parties this weekend. I can't keep up with this child's social life! 

Next week, Miss E. turns 6. I can't believe it. While picking up gifts last night for her friends' birthdays, Hubby managed to sneak around the store with the salesguy to order her new bike. She's been riding a bike that was a hand-me-down from our neighbor's daughter a couple of years ago. It's been a great bike, but she's outgrowing it. Last year, Little Guy got a bike and I know she's been longing for a new one, although hasn't said much about it. So, last night, trying to be ever-so-sly, we asked her opinion on the bikes in the store. She liked one in particular and then off I swept the kids so Hubby could go into covert action. She never suspected a thing. :)

Happy Friday, my friends! What's on tap for your weekend?
Image from Southern Accents

Turning on the Imagination

This family is featured in today's New York Times, in a story about families and communities trying to restore playtime in their kids' lives.  

I found this article in the New York Times very interesting. It’s about an effort to restore playtime in the lives of children.

I’ve been hearing over the years that due to an enormous presence that technology has in kids’ lives these days, as well as kids being overscheduled with countless extracurricular activities, their imaginations have been stunted. But I guess I wasn’t quite aware of the extent until reading this article. It made me appreciate that our kids have vivid imaginations and that Hubby and I have fostered this along.

I have to admit, I likely allow too much TV, especially on cold or rainy days. But, we’ve been making a concerted effort to turn off the TV or the computer games and let the kids have their own make-believe time.

They may whine a bit at first, but it’s amazing how quickly they turn on their imaginations. I start hearing conversations between dolls, chugging noises from a choo choo train and playful banter throughout the house. One day, they built a fort in the basement made of chairs and a blanket. On nice days, they run around in the yard, make chalk drawings on the driveway and much more. Our house gets cluttered, but I'm okay with that. We have little kids who have toys strewn about and who play dress-up. That is life in our household and personally, I think that's how life in many households should be. But, hey, that's me. Not going to push my way of life on everyone.

This article also reported about some schools where recess is no longer permitted, because of a fear that kids will get hurt. Are you kidding me?? Groups are being developed across the country to bring back recess and playtime to schools and neighborhoods. Amazing. Maybe that’s why workplaces like Google, eBay and Facebook look like giant playgrounds because the staff at those companies missed out on playtime as kids. They have to go to work to learn how to play. :)

Please share your thoughts on this topic - would love to hear what you think.

Bowl Weekend
Enjoy your weekend, folks. Hope you have some fun activities planned. We’ll be cheering on my Kentucky Wildcats against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the BCVS Compass Bowl (whatever the heck that is) on Saturday.

Go CATS!!!!!!

Images from The New York Times and Lexington Herald-Leader

Barbie Video Girl

Have you heard about the latest Barbie doll, Barbie Video Girl and the controversy surrounding it? Apparently the FBI has issued a cyber crime alert on the new doll.

Mattel's Barbie Video Girl has a video camera lens built into its necklace that can record up to 30 minutes of footage to be downloaded on a computer.

According to the Associated Press, "Officials warn that it could possibly be used to produce child pornography, but say they don't have any reported crimes. The FBI's Sacramento office issued a report with the warning on the doll last month...A Mattel spokeswoman says the FBI has confirmed no reported incidents of using the doll for criminal activity." Oh, Mattel, it's just a matter of time, now.

Hmm, interesting choice for a doll. I guess Barbie was getting a bit bored hanging out in the Dream House with Skipper and Ken, tooling around in her Corvette Power Wheels, so she needed a new hobby. Here she
is filming her new posse. Clearly, Ken has gone "all Justin Timberlake" on his bad self.

I can tell you ONE thing that WON'T be under our tree this Christmas.
Images from amaszon.com

Creative Costumes

So, what are the kids in your lives wearing this Halloween? We have a Spiderman and Dorothy in our house. Thank God no Lady Gaga costumes this year.

Hubby and I are planning to dress up for our neighbor's costume party in a couple of weeks. He's wearing camouflage pants and I'm wearing a camo shirt and hat. Can you guess what we're going as? An Upper and Lower GI. Hee hee.

Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!
Image courtesy of Southern Living

Think Pink

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I encourage you to read your kids “Pinkalicious." No big message about BCA, it’s just a great kids’ story. And it’s pink. ;)

Then, read “Purplelicious.” Especially if you have a child who is trying to fit in or wants to embrace something he or she really likes, but is being pressured to follow the masses. Celebrate your unique self, kids. Love pink. Love purple. Or whatever color you like, even if it’s not popular with the rest of the group. Be who you are and don’t try to let anyone try to change you.

As the mom of a kindergartener, I have recently been introduced to the world of “Pinkalicious” and the series of books by authors and illustrators (and sisters) Victoria and Elizabeth Kann. I’ve come to learn that not only are there books, but there are toys, a curriculum guide for teachers, a musical and even a how-to on hosting your own Pinkalicious party. Seriously, why can I never be on the front-end of these ideas??

And, if you purchase any of the Pinkalicious cupcakes from the Crumbs Bake Shop chain (or online), a percentage of the sale will go to the Ink Well Foundation, an organization that pairs professional animators, illustrators, and cartoon artists with hospitalized children so they can create art together.

So, think pink today!
Images courtesy of thinkpinkalicious.com and Cupcakes Take the Cake blog

Look What Sissy Did, Mom!

Dear Eldest Child,

I am thrilled that you are learning to read, write and spell at such an amazing pace. But, from now on, please refrain from writing your brother's name on his leg. Right after his bath. With a red Sharpie.

Love,
Mom

What Happens in the Pool, Unfortunately Stays in the Pool

The entrance to "The Club" (be sure to lock your jaw when saying it), as well as the scene of the crime.

Took the kids to my mother-in-law’s country club to swim yesterday. And while most of these folks are living in high cotton, even the down and dirty comes to visit sometimes at the toniest of locales.

The baby pool was closed because, according to the lifeguard, “Fecal matter was detected in the ph levels, therefore we will need to drain, scrub and refill the pool. It should take about two hours.” Hmm, whose darn kid pooped in the pool for Christ's sake??

Oh, well. Miss E. wanted to swim in the big pool anyway, now that she’s loving her water wings. And, while Little Guy didn’t want any part of it at first, I pulled him in anyway, to which he responded, “See, I told you I liked it!” Then, after passing him off to my MIL, he fell asleep in her arms, in the pool. I wish I could fall asleep that easily!

Meanwhile, Hubby stayed behind to make another jaunt to Home Depot, the second home for those who have recently move into a new house. Thanks, hun, for all of the work you did. The house is looking great!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and are surviving another Monday. :)

For Those Bound for College...

Found some of these back-to-school items for college students. For those of you with a university-bound kiddo or friend, you may want to consider these items (saying this tongue-in-cheek, mind you).

The College Care Gift Bag from Star Provisions - for only $175, you can send your college student off to school with:

• 1 Star Provisions feed bag
• 1 Star Provisions baseball cap
• 1 Bodum Brazil 12oz french coffee press
• 1 lb bag Dancing Goats coffee
• 2 heavy hall china plates
• 2 heavy hall cereal bowls
• 2 heavy hall mugs
• 12 disposable wooden place settings flatware
• 1 box Hot Tamale candy
• 2 boxed candy cigarettes
• 1 ear popcorn on the cob
• 1 bag bourbon caramel corn
• 1 Orla Kiely composition book
• 1 table top ping pong set

Hmm, this sounds like a swag bag for Holden Caulfield, not the average college student I know. But, hey, maybe kids are more sophisticated these days. Should we be concerned that it contains stimulants, fake tobacco products and bourbon laced caramal corn? Hmmm.

The Alfie Khaki Bag from Elements is an upscale alternative to your L.L. Bean backpack. It features a back slot for your laptop or iPad, but at $240, I’m going to have to pass.

A more affordable item is the Dorm Survival Kit from Mr. & Mrs. It contains a book light, caffeine gum, eye mask, earplugs, a first aid kit, thermometer, laundry bag, laundry instructions, sewing kit, air freshener, poster adhesive and screwdriver. Laundry instructions - really? Geez, parents, get your kids on board with doing the laundry long before college.

I found these oh-so-practical items among other great finds on Taigon. If you haven’t visited this luxury online retail site, be sure to stop by. While most items are not in my budget, it’s fun to browse anyway.

TGIF, folks. Have a great weekend!

And So It Begins...

Banner day in our household - our eldest started kindergarten!

I'm already so thrilled with this school. Late last night, my husband told me to look out the window. There was a sign with a balloon in our front yard, welcoming E. to her new school. Then, this morning we took her outside to take photos and show her the sign. When we opened the front door, there was a gift bag on the porch with a stuffed animal and a note from our sponsor parents (each new family has another family that serves as a "sponsor" or guide to welcome and orient them to the school). How wonderful is that?

We arrived at school to a canopy of balloons and an upbeat atmosphere. All of the kindergarteners gathered in the cafeteria to wait for their teachers. Miss E. met her 7th grade "buddy," a boy whose name is actually Buddy. I tried not to laugh at that one. As the kids left in single line to walk to their classroom, our three-year-old said, "Well, there she goes!"

So, can't wait until this afternoon to hear about her day. For those of you with kiddos starting a new school year, best wishes to all of you!

Meet Your Teacher

Bear with me while I post yet again about my lovely daughter. We're beginning a new chapter with the start of Kindergarten tomorrow and this is a big deal in our home.

Yesterday was "Meet Your Teacher" day at school, during which Miss E. visited her classroom for the first time and dropped off her school supplies. She saw her new cubby and took in the sights. Miss E. can be very shy, so few words were spoken. But, she did meet one of her classmates, Lily, a very sweet girl, so I'm hoping she will be one of many new friends our daughter makes at her new school. Luckily, one of her pals from preschool will be in her class as well. In fact, I dropped her off at her house this morning so they can spend the day together.

Tomorrow we will walk our girl into school and hand her off to her new teachers. I'm excited for her and a little nervous, but I think she'll do fine. We'll be taking plenty of photos of her in her new uniform sporting her backpack, so I'll be sure to bore you with more images of the big day!

Happy Tuesday, all!

Kindergarten Countdown

Last week I took my daughter to purchase her uniform for kindergarten. It’s hard to believe that she’s already reaching this milestone. In just a month she’ll be attending a new school, meeting new friends and facing new challenges. Above is a photo that I took in the dressing room, as she strikes a pose for the camera. As you can see, Little Guy wanted to jump in the shot too - Sissy can't have ALL of the attention!

Later this week, we’ll join family in the mountains for a last getaway before the hustle and bustle of a new school year begins. I’m hoping that the mountain air will be somewhat cooler than what we’ve been enduring in this valley. The heat has been stifling to say the least.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and that your ready to face the new week. Personally, I need a little more coffee.

P.S. – Any suggestions on where to get backpacks for school? I used to order mine from L.L. Bean for high school and college, but do you think the ones are Target are just as durable (and affordable)?

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

Ugh, I could really use more of this.

Little Guy after a hard day of play. Don't you wish you could fall asleep this easily?