Winter Camp

[LauraP]

Sierra will be going for her third consecutive winter camp session (Dec 27th to Jan 2nd), and will hopefully have a wonderful time, as she has the past 2 years. We are really fortunate to have this program (it's the same program she attends for Summer Camp), so that she has a fun time between semesters at school, and so that we can have a little time with Rhiannon alone. This year, we are having a weekend at a ski resort, and taking Rhi and her best friend as well. This is going to be so much fun! It's our gift to each other this year.

I used to feel so guilty about sending Sierra to respite programs, but I have realized that it is more fun and less fustrating for everyone, that we have a chance to recharge our energies at the appropriate levels, and that we are getting some much-needed Rhi time--she is in high school now, and we really won't have so many years where we are the most important people in her life. By bringing a buddy, she has the best of all worlds (and her friend is a sweetheart--really good kid, great parents, and she is very good with Sierra).

The other gift we are giving Rhi is tickets to see a Broadway show that is coming to our area (Evita). She's been dropping hints for months now, so it will be a fun surprise for her.

[AKF]

What fun!! and as long as Sierra enjoys the camp, don't feel guilty about it! You need that time without the stress to help get you through the stressful times.

The play sounds like a great idea. Alicia and I went to see "Cats" a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. "Lord of the Dance" is coming in March and we want to see that, too.

[RathyKay]

I never heard of a winter camp before. Sounds like fun! I hope you all have a relaxing and refreshing holiday.

[MomOTwins]

I'm so jealous! Rhi and Sierra will have great holiday breaks, as will Mom and Dad.

Wish we could find something fun like that for Andrew...but services (other than crisis management-type stuff) are few and far between out here in the country. We'd end up hiking into the Albany area (45 miles away) to be able to find anything, and any activities are usually booked up by the local folks before we even hear about them. Guess we got really lucky with Bike Camp over the summer.

The touring Broadway show sounds like fun, DH and I are splurging for a night on the town as our Christmas gift to each other - nice dinner out and the touring version of SPAMALOT. I'm SOOOOOO ready to laugh...:D

[LauraP]

Since Peg was so good to repost this, and remind me of the great things that have happened this year, and the real happiness and enjoyment that we have had, I wanted to give you all an update on how the camp went.

Sierra was actually helping the counselors with chores (without prompting), and was great at getting other kids in the camp to get up and participate during their New Year's Dance. She is apparently the camp mascot for cuteness and sociability now, and they have told us that her behavior has so greatly improved over the last few years, she can participate in the Pioneers Camp, which does hiking, backpacking, canoeing, etc., rather than just arts and crafts and less strenuous stuff.

She'll love this, since it's the kind of activities we do as a family. It also signals a transition from 1:1 camper/counselor to 3:1 (much less restrictive, which is the direction we want for her), and is about $350 less for the week than the 1:1, so we'll have more respite funding to spend on other activities throughout the year.

I also got a great compliment from my father-in-law, who said that Sierra's progress has been so remarkable, that he feels like she's welcome to come spend the summer with them (this has never been offered before). While I won't take them up on the offer for the entire summer (for one thing, she has summer school, also they are retired and deserve some leisure time themselves!), I might take them up on the offer for a couple of weeks in August. That was a nice thing for him to say, and it really brightened my spirit!

[Mother's Heart]

wow! that IS terrific! :) Those christmas letter people can have their degrees and awards and travels. Sierra's gains are the real stuff!!! :)
Have a happy and prosperous Year!

[AKF]

I'm so glad things went well. It sounds like this camp is a great thing for her. I think camp is wonderful for children; it lets them gain independence and self-esteem.

It's wonderful to hear about her progress!! Congrats!

[LauraP]

only problem is that she came home with a case of rotavirus (stomach "flu") that has basically ONLY made her throw up at school, so I've had to take parts of the day off on Friday and today, which is not good right now (annual review time around the corner). I will probably take the day off tomorrow in its entirety, since she can't come back to school within 24 hours of vomiting. Sigh. She acts happy and fine the rest of the time, helped set the table, etc. tonight, so I can't figure this out...

[MomOTwins]

Oh yeah....that bug hit our house over the holidays, first Patrick (before Christmas), then Andrew (after Christmas), then me. Augh! Sucks out loud to have to deal with it, but my boys had the same kind of reaction - intermittent vomiting with lots of OK time in between.

Good luck and I hope that no one else catches it!

[AKF]

Alicia had a stomach bug New Year's Eve. She got up about 3 a.m. throwing up and was sick for right at 24 hours. We had to drive back home from Mississippi (4 hours!!) that day. Thank goodness for ziplock bags; they make great barf bags!! I'm sure the drive didn't help any; but we had to get home. She woke up New Year's Day completely back to normal, so it was apparently a 24 hour thing.

Nobody else in our house got it, but my mom and my cousin's daughter were both sick the next couple of days with it. How's that for family togetherness??

[LauraP]

yuck! I got the bug Monday night, so spent the day yesterday (with a kid who was feeling mighty fine!) in bed trying to not hurl. I had to haul myself out to a dental appointment that I was told I could not miss--surprisingly, getting up briefly was a better therapy than I thought possible.

Sigh. All that hand-washing for nothin'!