I signed Biscuit up for two weeks of summer camp last week. It's January! And I'm already having to plan his summer activities.
The city we live in isn't small, so if you want to get the good summer camps, you have to sign up early. But January?!
After his kindergarten year, he went to summer camp at the YMCA near our house. It was okay, but he didn't seem excited about going back.
At the end of the summer, he said, "Guys, do you think I could go to a different summer camp next year?"
"Why? I thought you liked camp this year," I said.
"I did," Biscuit said, "but I didn't learn a thing!"
So last year, we swapped it up.
I broke his weeks up so he wouldn't get bored. He spent two weeks at my parents' house (one in June and one in August). He spent four weeks at a camp that's held at a local park. They got to swim every day, and we added on a golf lesson for once a week. Then I got him two weeks of camp at the local children's museum (one called Spy Camp, and the other based on a book of chapter books he's been reading).
The two weeks I've already booked at the children's museum. He'll be doing Harry Potter camp and Lego Robotics camp. He seems really excited.
And we're planning to send him back to the camp at the park, too. He said he definitely wants to take more golf lessons. And of course, he'll be spending two weeks with my parents again, too.
I just can't get over the fact that his summer is pretty much planned out already!
And just as a side note ...
The park camp he went to has their pick-up and drop-off areas marked, and as I was dropping Biscuit off one morning, he saw this sign near the door.
Biscuit said, "Mom! I didn't know I was going to Camp Drop Off!"
"Dude!" I said. "That sounds just as corny as something Grandpa would've said."
And Biscuit laughed and laughed at himself.
"You know what?" I asked him. "Your Grandpa may have left this earth, but his sense of humor flew straight into you."
Biscuit is learning how to read an analog clock at school. A lot of kids nowadays can only read digital clocks, so I'm glad they're learning it.
When Biscuit's aunt and uncle asked for a Christmas gift idea, I suggested an analog wristwatch. They got him a cute little watch with a velcro band, so he can put it on all by himself.
He wears it to school every day, except the days he has P.E. He says he's afraid of getting it messed up when they do their exercises and play their games.
He still has to count the numbers, so when Jeff asked him what time it was, he said he'd have to think about it.
So I said, "What does it look like when you're thinking?"
And he struck this pose.
He did answer Jeff, but he had to wait a couple of minutes.
"Dad, the big hand is between 3 and 4, and we haven't learned the in between minutes yet," Biscuit said. So he waited until the big hand got to the 4, then said, "Okay, now it's 7:20."
A few things Biscuit has said recently:
Be yourself: Biscuit doesn't like milk on his cereal. He actually doesn't eat cereal that often, but when he does, he just wants it in a bowl with a spoon. And he drinks milk with it.
Jeff and I were teasing him about it the other morning.
"That's just weird," I said. "How can you eat cereal without milk?"
"I HAVE milk, Mom," Biscuit said. "It's just not on top of my cereal."
"Dude!" Jeff said. "It's crazy to eat cereal without milk."
This continued for a few minutes, and Biscuit was giving it as good as he was getting it.
About 5 minutes later, Biscuit got a serious look on his face and said, "Guys, I know we were playing earlier, but do you know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says you should never judge people by things. You know, like the color of your skin. Or the things you like and don't like. You know, like how I don't like milk on my cereal."
Really? I love that he knows about MLK, but I don't think cereal was quite what he was preaching about.
Lucky break: Our boy is a picky eater. He's willing to try things without any fuss, but so far there have only been a very few things that he tries and likes.
I put a big hunk of pork in the crockpot this afternoon for dinner tonight, and Biscuit came in and asked, "What kind of meat is that?" And y'all, I considered lying just to make sure he'd eat it!
"It's pork, and you've had it before and liked it," Jeff told him.
We got to the table, and I said, "Shoot! I forgot to make the green beans."
Biscuit grinned real big, wiped his hand across his forehead and said, "Whew!"
A work friend of mine retired today. And I'm pretty sad about it. It's always hard to see people leave, whether they retire or move on to other positions, but it's especially hard when it's someone you enjoy spending time with.
When I would get fed up with whatever I was working on, I would walk down to her office, and we'd talk about movies or TV or books or more often than not, Biscuit.
When Biscuit did something that I thought was cool or fun or smart, I'd go share it with her. I would usually start my story with, "I know I can brag to you about my boy without you thinking I'm being one of those moms ..." She doesn't have any grandkids of her own, so I told her she could claim Biscuit as hers. And she let me brag as much as I wanted.
And she reads this blog. And she's already told me that I have to get on the stick and write more often, especially now that she's retired.
Her job was as our librarian. She did research and made sure our stories and photos were archived for future use (and a bunch of other things, too). So Biscuit calls her "The Library Girl."
So when I picked him up from school today, he asked how I was doing, and I told him I was a little sad because my friend was leaving. I called her by name, and Biscuit said, "You're talking about The Library Girl, right?"
"Yes," I told him. "But she's going to come have lunch with me sometimes, so I'll still see her."
"Will I ever see her again?" he asked.
"We'll make sure that you do," I told him.
So if you're reading this, you're definitely on the hook for lunch with me and a date with Biscuit. Happy retirement!
I made three New Year's resolutions.
1. Cook more. I enjoy cooking, and I enjoy feeding my family. The problem has been a lack of planning on my part - making sure I have the groceries and time to put a meal together.
2. Use my cool kitchen gadgets and appliances more often. I love gadgets and appliances that help make cooking easier or more fun. And I have plenty of them. But again, it's just a matter of planning.
3. Write more blog posts. No explanation needed.
I've done well with two of these. Sunday evening, I made honey chicken in my slow cooker, a loaf of bread in my breadmaker and arborio rice in my rice cooker. So which resolution do you think has gotten the short end of the stick?!
Biscuit went back to school Jan. 4 after two weeks of winter break. Then that weekend, it snowed, and he was out of school Monday through Wednesday of that next week. Then Monday of this week was a holiday, so since the beginning of the new year, he's been to school a total of 7 days.
Thankfully, Jeff and I can both work from home when we need to. We usually try to take turns. And Monday, Biscuit went to work with us. We take the portable DVD player and his tablet. When he gets bored, he walks around and visits with people.
One lady at work said, "I mean this in the most complimentary way possible, but do you know how some work places have therapy dogs ..."
I started laughing because I realized that she was calling my kid a therapy dog!
"Don't laugh," she said. "He walks around and talks to everybody, and when he walks away from their desk, they always have a smile on their face."
A couple of other people agreed. And as weird as it sounds, that makes me proud of my boy.
There are a couple of people in our office who don't like kids, and couple who don't like much of anything! But they like our boy. I think it's because talking to him is like having a conversation with a 58-year-old! I swear, that boy has been around one time before.
Biscuit came home Tuesday with homework, and it was a real struggle to get everything done. We had gotten used to being on a loose schedule, so this week, we're trying to find our rhythm again.
So far, so good.
