Oh Boy, I've Got Joy...

So I had the privilege of being one of Camryn's Joy School teachers this year. Joy School is a preschool curriculum where the teachers are the students' mothers (basically, a preschool co-op). We had our fun little graduation this week and I can't believe it's actually over! The year completely flew by. We were fortunate to have a fantastic group of preschoolers and teachers. We didn't have any serious issues with discipline (students or teachers!) and the moms were pretty laid back and agreeable about everything. I couldn't have asked for a better year.

I spent a chunk of time putting together a cute DVD as a graduation present for the teachers and preschoolers. It turned out really cute and I got a lot of satisfaction knowing that our little preschoolers experienced a year of learning about the "joys" of the world together.

So here's to you my Joy School Posse....you rocked my year!

So we'd always start our day with a welcome song. This gave the kids an opportunity to open their "Joy School Window" signaling the start of school. I really enjoyed this part of the day. I' had so much fun with the kids while we were singing...they totally ate it up!

This is the Joy School weather, calendar, helper chart. Each child had his own specific job to accomplish on the chart. They really got into this - and never tired of it either! It was hilarious to see the kids race to the window to figure out the weather of the day. Camryn was sooooo excited when Joy School was at our house because that meant she was the designated "snack helper." In fact, there were MANY nights where she'd cry to me, "...but I want Joy School to be at my house!" At first I thought it was because she liked me best - HA! Actually, it was because she wanted to be the "snack helper" every week! Funny girl.

They were always excited to do any kind of craft or art activity - who isn't at that age?? I busted out the play-doh on occasion, but they had the opportunity to do so many other fun activities throughout the year too.


"Free Time" was a favorite of the preschoolers. They got to do whatever they wanted during free play time. It served a great purpose: They were forced to get along with each other! It was usually a time of smiles and laughter, but it did get ugly a few times too! Good times. Outside free play was always a favorite...


We had some cute little programs throughout the year. It usually consisted of a few songs and always ended with some treats. I'll let you guess what the kids liked the best.

Halloween...

Thanksgiving...

Christmas

And of course....Graduation...


Here are the amazing teachers on graduation day....
I was the group leader and I loved working with these guys....
I felt like we just kicked back and enjoyed the year...

And here is a shot of the whole gang....


I truly loved teaching these little dudes - I grew quite fond of each one of them. I loved loved loved the enthusiasm they brought to each and every lesson. I completely enjoyed the cute songs that were incorporated into each lesson (I actually thought they were totally cheesy initially, but they really grew on me). I have gotten so much joy out of listening to Camryn sing the songs in random places...like on the toilet. Anyway, the best part of this whole experience was bonding with my baby girl. She told me I was her favorite teacher.
It doesn't get much better than that!

Spotlight of the Month: Camryn...

I've been busy creating a DVD for Camryn this last month, so it's only natural that she is the spotlight for the month of April. I have been getting a kick out of sifting through old pictures and video clips of my little chiquita banana these last few weeks. It's been enjoyable to take a trip down memory lane...


When I found out that I was going to have a little girl, I experienced a brief moment of shock. For some strange reason, I had envisioned myself as being a mother of boys. So when the ultrasound tech announced we were going to have a girl, I was completely surprised. What was I supposed to do with a girl? The circumstances around the time of my pregnancy with Camryn were less than ideal. It was Joel's 2nd year of med school (which ranks up there as one of the worst years of my life - THE worst was his 1st year of med school!) and I was commuting an hour each day to work (in a car with an air conditioner that worked about 2/3 of the time - not fun in Arizona!).



When Camryn was born, I was an official stay-at-homer. I was grateful for that - I was ready to move on from teaching. It took JD some time to adjust to his new role as big brother, but he eventually learned that kicking his sister in the face (sad, but true) and rough housing with an infant quickly changed his happy little world into...well, you get the point...so did he...eventually. Once JD made the transition from beating his sister to protecting her, I knew they would be good buds. That they are.



Camryn is quite a little social butterfly. She is obsessed with playing with friends. Thankfully we live in a community that is ideal for that. She's got at least a dozen friends within walking distance that she can play with on any given day. In fact she's at her good buddy Brittani's house as I write this! Sometimes I eavesdrop on her play dates just so I can get a laugh. It usually works - kids really do say the darndest things!

There are so many things I love about Camryn. She used (and I am very sad that she quit) to make her own & JD's bed in the morning because she heard her mother calling him a stinker for not making his bed.


I love how she takes a bath with all of her 23 little ponies and insists on washing and combing each of their manes before getting out. I love how she says, "Come find me, I'm hiding," even though it's totally obvious where she is (usually behind the couch).




I love her quirky sense of style. She has quite a talent with putting together interesting outfits - matched by her rock'n awesome pink barbie cowboy boots (that christian likes to wear). She loves to eat cucumbers & carrots with Ranch dressing ("white sauce") and chocolate milk for breakfast. I love how she triple headbands her hair and tells me that she's prettier than me, "...but you're still pretty Mom, you can keep trying to look like me." She loves to be the "snack helper" at Joyschool & asks every week if we're going to be the "hosts" for her school friends.


I love how she asks me to play with her because she knows she can boss me around and I'll do what she asks. I've learned in my old age that it's so much easier to just go along with it. I love that once she decides that she can indeed play alone, she'll play and sing to herself for hours.




My favorite thing of all about Camryn lately is snuggle time at bed. It's the only time during the day where she'll let me hug her. She never wants to let go either. Oftentimes I'll crawl into bed with her and hold her until she falls asleep - it's so peaceful. I'm so happy that I've got a little girl! I love you Camarondi!

Just for fun...

So I realize that I just put forth a whole lot of effort for two little clips, but I thought they were cute. I wanted to learn how to upload a video onto my blog. I realize that these clips won't make it into my soon-to-be blog book, but I have a feeling some of you will enjoy them.


In a previous post, I mentioned the kids having a "moment" at night. This is one of the many moments that keeps replaying itself night after night...

It doesn't seem to get old...

I'm going to show this to the kids when they're teanagers - they'll need to see that they used to love each other!




Since it's Chistian's birthday tomorrow, I looked for a clip that showcased my main man. When JD would leave for the bus in the morning, Christian didn't want his bro to leave him so he'd promptly chase him each and every morning. Most mornings were like this one. Christian loved wearing his sister's "clicky" shoes. It didn't seem to bother him that it was the middle of January in Michigan (brrr...). You'll notice that Camryn is decked out in her "Belle" dress at 8:30 in the morning eating string cheese...doesn't it feel good knowing you're a better mom than I?

Creativity Only Comes at Night...

Nighttime is a funny time around these parts. Once Joel senses the clock is approaching 7 pm, he gets excited: Alone time for Mom & Dad! I have to admit that I do too. There is this atmosphere in our house of a race being lost by some kid, "Hurry, hurry Camryn, JD is winning!" Or, "The person who gets ready for bed first, gets to snuggle with Mom the longest!" The latter usually being the true motivator. It's kind of cute actually. I love the fact that JD and Camryn fight over who gets to win the longest snuggles from Mom or Dad.

Inevitably, Camryn gets to bed first and once her book is read and she burrows into bed, she wraps her arms around my neck and refuses to let go. She pulls me down so that I'm practically laying on top of her, wraps her arms around me and then whispers in my ear, "Tell me a story Mommy." I hate that my first reaction is, "Ugh, why do I have to do this...I just want to go downstairs and hang out with Joel." Since my prime motivation for most things is guilt, I usually give in and say, "OK." This is how a typical story goes:

Mom: "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named ____________."
(I wait for Camryn to give me a name).

Camryn: "Ummm," (as if in deep thought)...she'll pick one of 3 names:
"Gabby", "Ballerina Zoe" or "Princess Fairytopia."

Mom: "OK, and Ballerina Zoe lived a beautiful land called ____________."
(I wait for Camryn to give me a place).

Camryn: "Ummm," (as if in deep thought)...then she'll usually say Fairytopia.

At this point I proceed with a very creative rendition of the adventures of Ballerina Zoe, or Gabby or Princess Fairytopia in the land of Fairytopia. By this point, JD has hopped into bed and is intently listening to Mom's fable:

JD: "Mom, will you snuggle with me."

Mom: "Yes, for a little bit." Again, motivated by guilt.
I say this while I'm trying to figure out a sneeky way to break free of Camryn's death grip around my neck.

As I continue on with my tale, it inevitably turns towards potty talk. As I begin prompting my kids for more plot to the story, they both head down the "poop, pee and gas" track. I usually cut them off by saying something very motherly like, "Cut the potty talk," or, "I'm done if you keep it up." Last night however, I decided to go with it. The story quickly turned from a nice little bedtime story to a platform for JD and Camryn to make each other giggle with potty words:

Camryn: "And then she pooped out of her eye!"
(both laughing hysterically)

JD: "And then she gased and her head blew off and poop flew all over the place."
(again, both laughing hysterically)

Now I allowed them to morph my innocent fable for a bit longer until I couldn't stand it any longer and I said, "And then she gased and it blew up the whole world!" Whoa, that was it, JD about lost it. He was laughing so hard he said, "Mom, I think I peed a little bit!" Anyway, as you may have guessed, I'm sure I opened up a can of worms with that story, but it was pretty funny. Some people just shouldn't have kids.