Home Girl Blog

Hey, Spring! Hey, Summer Camp Sloop!

Spring done sprung, which means most Summer Camp schedules are up online and filling up fast. It's never too early to get those summer camps locked in, folks. Especially in Austin.

After a stint in wait-list purgatory, a lucky contest win and hearing a tip from a good friend, I got Zack into three awesome camps last summer (Austin Children's Museum (Dino-Mania), Zach Scott Theater (Story Drama) and The Ivy School (Spanish immersion). I watched their websites like a hawk this year as soon as the weather warmed up because I did not want my boy left out in the cold. I could leave him enrolled in his school over the summer, but every kid needs a break. Yes, I am a stay-at-home mom, so my son doesn't NEED summer camps, per se, but I love the ongoing enrichment that these experiences add to his life. Whether or not I have my own selfish reasons for  having him otherwise occupied during the summer days is neither here nor there. *ahem*

Most folks don't have reminders in their phones to check websites for summer camps, and even if they did, keeping track of the over 1200...over 1200... Austin area summer camps in impossible--for a mere parent. But the Rebeccas of Camp Sloop have got you covered. 

Two Rebeccas, both Austin moms and business women, have created a NEW and FREE online database that helps families find the right Texas camp for their kids. These ladies are well-versed about Austin family-friendly activities and the Texas camp landscape.

Visit Camp Sloop for information about:

• Choosing the right camp for your child’s developmental and special needs
• Navigating the exhaustive camp search
• Finding the best camp option for your children, considering geographic location, price, activities, track record and where their friends are going
• Determining which camp is/is not a match for your child
• Reasons to start planning NOW!

About the Rebbecas:

Rebecca D’Amico is president and co-creator of Camp Sloop. D’Amico is always trying to make things go smoother, faster, and easier for parents. She started her first business when she was just 8 years old, and she now runs Nannies from the Heart, which helps parents find suitable nannies.  She lives in Austin with her husband/business partner, Rob, and their two children.

Rebecca Cole is vice-president and co-creator of Camp Sloop. Cole founded Nurture My Child in 2008 to help families with their childcare search and founded Nurture Training in 2009 to partner with child educators and parents.  She lives in Austin with her husband, Mike, and their two children. 

These Austin mamas know their stuff and have made your job so much easier. And did I mention this service is free? Get over to Camp Sloop and get to gettin'. Happy Summer Camp Hunting! 

Am I alone? Are you an early summer camp spot grabber too? 

Happy Friday!

My paul bunyan baby boy is 4 months old now. His hair is growing back, his eczema is improving and I love him exponentially more everyday than I did the day before. He refuses to lay down and play on his activity mat like a normal baby. I tried laying him down on it a few days ago when I got it and he wasn't having it. He's very nosey curious about his surroundings and is more comfortable if he can look around and find me when he wants to. He loves to play on his back, but only if I'm looking down at him. Today when we got back from his first playdate (he was the youngest there, but had a blast watching the other kids play and screamed and laughed right along with them and I enjoyed the company of adults during daytime hours which was great), he was wired up so I tried laying him down again to see how he'd do--no ma'am. So, our compromise was to put him in his infant seat so he could play with the toys at eye level. As you can see, that made him very happy...for about an hour!  Score!

Sometimes...

At the end of the day
I want to go some place dark and very quiet
And drink something very strong and smooth
And smoke.

I don't smoke, but it always looks relaxing when I see other people do it. Instead of drinking and smoking, I settle for a long shower and coffee and sometimes a late trip to Barnes and Noble to relax--it works. My son is sleeping all night now, which means he naps less during the day, which means I better be rested, bright and shiny when he wakes up in the mornings. So far so good. 

"She only drinks coffee at midnight when the moment is not right...

...Her timing is quite unusual."  Train wrote those lyrics about Virginia, but that line sounds a lot like Raquel these days.

I feel like my day starts at 9 o'clock at night and there's no real "night" for me. Around 9, my son goes down for the night. Once he's out, I take a good, longer than necessary shower. Then, if Billy hasn't cooked, I'll make a quick dinner, which is usually something like a breakfast--the favorite this week was an okra, onion and egg omelet with smashed potatoes. Then I'll clean the kitchen while the coffee pot is brewing. When the kitchen's done or the coffee is ready, whichever comes first, I have a seat on the sofa next to Billy and log on to the Internet to catch up on emails, blogs, celeb gossip and political happenings while I have my coffee. Then if I'm not in the mood to read, I watch old episodes of my favorite shows on the network websites. I watch online because Billy's usually watching the playoffs or nothing interesting is on tv at that time of night. These days I'm re-watching Lipstick Jungle on abc.com. It's like Sex and the City except better. Then around midnight we lock the house down, settle the dogs in and then settle ourselves in. The boy usually wakes up around 2:30 am to eat so from midnight to about that time, while Billy's asleep, I'm lying in bed resting and listening to talk radio over Billy's sleep-breathing and the low hum of the baby monitor waiting for my son's call. On a good night, I'll fall asleep and he won't call until much later if at all like this morning when I had to wake him up at 7 am only because my boobs were about to pop.Then it's me and my boy, playing nursing and napping until my day starts again around 9 at night. Almost three and a half months into this motherhood thing and I think I'm starting to feel like I'm catching a rhythm.

It's 10:55 pm now. The Laker game just ended and I'm finishing my coffee and this post.

Goodnight and Good morning. 

Settling into motherhood...

So I went in to the office and had The Talk with my bosses a couple of days ago. I'm not returning to work after my maternity leave. They were great about it...and not surprised. I will be working on a project basis from home from time to time, but I won't be working full-time or part-time anytime soon. I love being at home with my son. I love being a mom. I'm glad I can focus on him right now. When he can tell me how his day was, I'll feel comfortable putting him in someone else's care--not a day sooner than that. After that, I'll consider working again, but only part-time. There will be more children soon and I'll want pretty much the same time with them, so just call me Momma Bear!

Right now, I'm exactly where I want to be--listening to the last of my three morning talk radio shows (Austin Morning News, Neal Boortz and Rush Limbaugh) and ending this post so I can step over my two sleeping dogs on the way to peek in on my sleeping baby... 

A Little Humpday Cheese

We took Zack on his first ride through Zilker Park on the Zilker Zephyr miniature train Saturday. He had a really good time--he even chimed in 9-week-old style with the big kids making train sounds when we went through the tunnel. A fellow passenger took this picture during the ride--we had a moment.

 

Stretch marks

First of all, YAAAAY! It's Thursdaaaaaaaaay! I have a date with my TV tonight and it's gonna be awesome!

Now, back to the stretch marks. Stretch marks caused by pregnancy, in particular. If you don't care about pregnancy stretch marks, feel free to stop reading right abouuuuuuuuut...here. However, if  you care to know the inside scoop I got from my Dermatologist today on preventing them, continue reading right abouuuuuuut...here.