Is it something in the air?

That is a very interesting question because the 'rents have that scratchy throat and tiredness that only comes when one is sick. I'm not as a bad off as Parent2 is at this stage. If work commitments didn't dictate attendance Parent2 probably wouldn't have made it to work today. Anyway enough about us you're here to read about CamMad.

CamMad has tried to eek out the last drops of the nice weather in September. When we get home from our day jobs we've been outside playing. Child1 and I have a game where I kick this giant ball up in the air and Child1 tries to hit it out of the air like a volleyball. This activity has been mutually beneficial. Child1 gets to run around and enjoy the fresh air and I can put frustrations from work into ball and not in an unhealthy mode. Child2 just likes to be outside playing in only a way that Child2 enjoys.

I've got to admit the last couple of days I never been more proud of Child1. Those of you who know me know my situation with Child1's education. In the last couple of days I've been hearing more and more positive compliments about Child1's accomplishments in school. It gives me such a warm feeling. I'm not going to sit back here and take all of the credit (just enough to make my ego feel better). Everytime someone pays that kind of a compliment towards me I feel like the parenting style we have is validated. By no means do I feel like Child1 is perfect or a model child but Child1 is a responsible, caring, and has a good head on the shoulders. Even though we may hold Child2 to the same kinds of standards that Child1 has I definitely feel like Child2 is not going to be following in the shadows of Child1 but will establish a persona that is different (but still in a good positive way).

A side note: How is it that Jerry Springer is still in the show Dances with Stars? I don't get it!

New side note: Why is it that CBS is not in HD out here?

Tomorrow is my marathon day. I probably won't have time to blog. Sheepish, if you see us in the parking lot please wave. I don't want a repeat of last week's disappointment!

Weekend Recap

This was a quiet weekend in the CamMad household. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the fact that I was the only healthy one in the house, or maybe it was the fact that the school week takes too much out of us to want to do anything more! I choose all of the above.

Sleeping this weekend was weird. Friday night I wanted to let those who weren't feeling well get a night of sleep without getting me infected (again). Last night Parent2 was snoring badly enough I had to leave the room. Both nights I ended up on the couch. Not a lot of restful sleep for me!

CamMad has found a new passtime, coloring pages. The kids have been creating some wonderful pieces to have around the house. Parent2 has even gotten into the act. We may have to turn a wall in the old playroom into an art gallery.

Not much else to report so I will sign off...

Recap of the last few days

It has been a few days since my last blog entry. I wish I had a good excuse like, "My computer crashed!" or "We've been stuck at the hospital dealing with a family member." No my excuse is that my body gave out on me and the weather has been too nice.

Coming home on Friday I was truly exhausted. By the time I woke up on Saturday morning I had the sore throat, achy body, and exhaustion that sleep would fix. I chalked it up to stress and poor sleeping habits. I made it to school today and found out a few other co-workers felt the exact same way. So maybe it is something in the air (germs from the kids).

In the life of CamMad, this was a good weekend enjoying the nice weather at home. We watched the Pats game yesterday and thankfully the kids were not in the room late in the game when I almost lost it when the Pats were holding on for dear life. The kids helped clean the house for a baby shower later in the week. They also went shopping for the party supplies.

Today I was able to come home with Child1 and the weather was so nice we couldn't stay inside waiting for the rest of the crew. We decided to play outside. I got the big ball and we played a version of soccer meets volleyball and had a great time. For me it was a great stress breaker from work and let all the politics stay there and not impact the home life. For Child1 it was nice to get out and run around so night-night would be a little easier (one can hope).

Tonight I made the commitment to get to bed as soon as possible. The DVR is set for Studio 60 and CSI:Miami. The 10:00 pm hour needs to be a sleeping hour not a television hour. Until tomorrow...

Negativity Sucks

This has been one of the most stressful beginnings of the school year that I can remember. There is a lot of negativity floating around in the school. I'm trying really hard not to let any of the negativity get to CamMad with my interactions with them. It is not easy!

Tonight I had the honor of putting Child2 to bed and in the last few minutes the Child awoke from a sound sleep and cried out. I, being a caring parent, ran up and soothe the grumpy child. The child asked for me to stay for a couple of minutes. In those couple of minutes I felt like I had a little sanctuary where I could really think about things and try to sort out all of the stuff going on at work. Do I think I figured it out? No, but at least it gave me a chance to start and that is a lot better than where I was an hour ago.

Enough about me, CamMad is starting to make the big adjustments to the school year. We still are dealing with the meltdowns but they are becoming fewer and farther in between meltdowns. Tomorrow starts our longest day with school and gymnastics in the evening. Child1 is really looking forward to the experience and in some ways I'm looking forward to the dedicated time to catch up on some of the best creativity times I get throughout the year. For some reason I can be at the gymnastics class and come up with great insights and ideas for work, who knew!

Right now I'm mentally drained and I don't really have much else to blog that would be meaningful and not selfish. Good night everyone!

Finally a Patriot Sunday

When I woke up this morning I had this feeling I hadn't had in a while, sort of a nervous energy. I then realized what that energy was centered around, Patriots football. It was a Sunday and we had a meaningful game. Normally I would have lounged around this morning and enjoyed a morning of doing what I want around the house when I want to do it but not today. I wanted to get all of the errands we didn't get done yesterday as quick as we could so I would be home in time for the pregame show and the openning kick.

We got everyone in the car and started getting our errands done. The car ride was full of anticipation and excitement knowing the game was coming up. I was able to listen to the pregame show on the radio. Errands were done quickly (despite some of the inept employees who work on Sunday mornings) and we made our way home in plenty of time.

CamMad had their outfits ready to go for game time. Child2 decided to take the famous nappy nap so I had to be on my best behavior. The Pats didn't give me too much to cheer about early. Fortunately Child2 woke up during halftime and so did the Patriots. Coincidence, that might be interesting. I might have to have Child2 take the nappy nap earlier on Sundays when the games are at 1:00 pm. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when the games are 8:15 pm!

Did I mention the superstitous side of me during the football season?

Child1 and I enjoyed popcorn and cheering when the good plays occurred. The only thing I was disappointed about the TV experience was the fact that the game was not in HD. TimeWarner and the local CBS affilate need to get on the same page. Where I live CBS is the only network that doesn't have the HD package on the local cable carrier. This is a travisty and I will be writing to the powers that be seeking a solution.

The most important thing here is that the Patriots won! Now I need to remember to get back into the swing of balancing my homework with football.

Rick Charrette and Apples

Yesterday the whole CamMad clan packed up the car and made our way to South Hiram to the Apple Acres Farm for a Rick Charrette concert. That was not the initial plan for the day as I wanted to get our weekend errands done before the Pats game on Sunday but this was going to be better quality time with the family.

If you've never been to a Rick Charrette concert you've missed something of a local legend performing children's music. The concert is not for the faint of heart if you don't love your children. You would think after the first week of school going to this kind of a concert would be the last thing I would do (actually you're right but it is about CamMad more than myself). During the concert he poked fun at himself when he asked if there are any parents who remember when they first heard his first song as a child. The funny thing was that a couple of people did respond.

The good part of the concert is that children love the music. CamMad joined Rick on stage for two songs. My cousin and CamMad's cousin also made appearances on stage. Thanks to the new digital camera I was able to get some great pictures as well as a video of one of the songs when CamMad was on stage.

As is normally the case, right after the concert we were living on borrowed time with Child2. The meltdown was coming and we all knew it. The meltdown was the request to get into the car to avoid the meltdown, how ironic.

We decided to skip apple picking (we haven't gotten on the new pay cycle) until later in the month we could spend some real time planning and thinking about all the good things we can make with the apples.

Boy, We're Tired

Everyone in the CamMad household is tired. We are all trying to get use to the new routines. I'll be glad when the weekend is here and I can finally breathe.

School for Child1 is going well. New friends are being made and Child1's teacher is making a real impression. The drive is something we are all getting use to. Thank goodness we found that iPod last night. This is going to be crucial in keeping my sanity throughout the southern part of the state.

For Child2 there doesn't seem to be any bumps in the road. Child2 is enjoying the socializing and play time. In some ways nothing has really changed.

As is traditional Thursday nights are going to be slow nights for blogging but I promise to make up for it later on.

Day 1 is in the Record Books

CamMad made through this first day of school. Child1 loves school. It is very refreshing having a child express their genuine excitement about the learning process. Child2 enjoyed their day of playing with the cousins.

In some ways my first day was like a blur. The first I remember was the team meeting then I was at an assembly then it was lunch then I was getting kids ready to get home via the big yellow bus. I really want to get through this first week of minutia and get to the real teaching and exploring that comes with my job.

Tonight we as a family celebrating this first day with a dinner at that apple place but then we went back to school for the Parent Information Night. By the time I got home everyone was asleep or just about asleep. I'll be right there in a little while but I've got to finish catching up due to the blur of the day.

Do I have to...

This represents my last post...before the school year starts. The school year seems to provide better blogging opportunities. Faithful readers are probably scratching their heads now but realize that we have better quality time even though our quantity time goes way down.

Child1 is so looking forward to the beginning of the school year. I haven't had the heart to to tell her that my excitement level isn't there yet. I think I just need to immerse myself in the environment to get to that excitement level. I'm excited that I'll be able to walk Child1 to the classroom. That was a very special moment for me last year and I'm looking forward to it again this year.

Child2 will not be ignored on this posting. We've spent the better part of the weekend working on potty training. At times it has been very exciting but at others it has been very frustrating. This morning was a good example. Child2 woke up at 4:30 am! and we started with the liquid with no peeing by 9:15 when the request for a nap was taken seriously. The kid took a nap and stayed dry (yippee). We continued to put said child on the potty because we knew we were on borrowed time but to no avail. We decide to let the child go play with Child1 down in the basement. Within 2 minutes a gallon of liquid must have come out of that child. To everyone else this would have been very funny but to the 'rents it represented frustration. Oh the joys of potty training.

We've tried to lay low this past weekend as this is going to be a very busy week not to mention the potty training. So there is really nothing else to blog about tonight without getting all about me (which is not necessary). There may not be an entry tomorrow as we have Child1's Parent Information Night. Happy Labor Day everyone!