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Craft Camp at Auntie’s
My niece, Rapunzel, has been staying with us for a week. She calls it “Auntie Boot Camp” because a long time ago I told her she could come visit me for a week if she’d let me school some manners into her. It was a joke, mostly, because she has this terrible habit of burping loudly and then sweetly saying “excuse me” as if young ladies burp like monsters all the time.
I don’t know, maybe burping is totally normal for 11-year-olds, but it drives me crazy because then Bug wants to copy her. Next thing you know I have a chorus of burp blasts and little excuse me‘s echoing around my living room. Personally, I think it’s gross.
Thankfully, aside from the burping, Rapunzel is a delightful tween and hardly needs boot camp for manners. She’s actually quite a help around the house and with Bug. She’s just old enough to go run errands without me having to worry that she’ll get lost between here and the neighbor’s house, yet still young enough to still enjoy a good swing in the park. We’ve been having a great time.
In fact, today I organized a craft camp with some friends and the kids I babysit. There were seven kids total. CRAZAY, I know! I couldn’t have done it without some key older mom friends (Hi Jen!), my super-fun artist neighbor (Hi Deb!) and my niece who loves crafts (What up, Rapunzel).
We had to do the craft at my friend Deb’s house because it is hotter than Hades in my house in the summer, and I do not have a yard in which to make messes. My friend Deb has a shady covered carport and that’s where we set up. It was great.
We made seashell mosaics. (A step-by-step post will be up at Alpha Mom tomorrow.) It wasn’t a crazy original craft but it was definitely a crowd-pleaser. Simple, fun, and a bit messy—perfect for bored kids on a long summer afternoon. I recommend it!
I think Rapunzel will go home with lots of memories of good times. We’ve kept her plenty busy so far and the week is only half over. Between trips to the beach to collect shells, our traditional breakfast of doughnuts on the lifeguard tower and a day of errands all over the place to collect supplies for my craft camp, we’re really packing it in.
Apparently we’re burning lots of calories while we pack it in because tweenagers can EAT!!! I knew I’d have to stock up on lots of extra fruit and snacks, but I had no idea she would be a bottomless pit. She eats a regular adult-sized portion of dinner, then has dessert, then goes back for seconds of dinner and then has some fruit…after that I had to cut her off, because sheesh! She’s going to eat me out of house and home. I’m glad Bug is only three. I’m sooooo not ready for a teenager.
But it’s been fun. Definitely fun for a week.
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Happy Birthday America, Let’s blow stuff up!
One of the many reasons we didn’t go to camp this last week is that the Fourth of July celebration is probably one of our favorite holidays to celebrate with Toby. Toby doesn’t have a lot of time to hang out with us so we take the time he does have very seriously. And by seriously, I mean we like to blow stuff up.
You see, Toby really likes fireworks. Unfortunately because of where we live (and our pansy-ass city council), fireworks are not allowed. We’ve tried the mentos and diet coke bombs and exploding confetti but nothing is as fun as real fire and loud noise. So this year we had a plan.
First we had a little token barbeque with my brother, CC and my niece, Superchic. We figured we might as well get together since the other half of the family is off having fun at camp without us. They can celebrate with campfires and roasted marshmallows, lakeside views and mountain air but we’ll celebrate with margaritas, hotdogs and whatever we can find on television that is suitable for all ages—aka the National Geographic Channel. It wasn’t bad. We didn’t even suffer from any mosquito bites.
Then we all piled in our cars and drove over to a friend’s house who lives in the burbs of a nearby town that does allow fireworks. Toby had bought several bags of legal explosives the day before and put on quite a show for us. The kids seemed to be into it. They were a little frightened by the loud pops and bright flashes but a little fear makes it more fun I think.
“Ooooooooooh!!!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! My eyes!!!”
(Is Superchic crossing her fingers, hoping not to die?)
Our little celebration got me to thinking…I’ve celebrated America’s birthday in so many ways over the years. I’ve hiked up hills to watch public shows from three towns overlap. I’ve made-out with boyfriends at tailgate parties on the Indian Reservation, I’ve watched crazy street scenes with hoodlums lighting off illegal fireworks, I’ve watched parades in Disneyland and even made champagne toasts on the patios of the mega-rich over-looking the ocean…I’ve pretty much done it all.
But I have to say that sitting on a curb with my kid, watching her Dad light stuff off is something I cherish. We might not have had the big mega explosions or the pretty lake reflections but we do have each other and the beginning of a tradition that will probably be a big deal in Bug’s life. Sure, other kids have great memories of fishing or playing baseball with their Dads but Bug is going to have great memories of her Dad blowing stuff up.
God Bless America.
