Stress, even with fewer kids

Got Sam off to Camp on Tuesday. First year in a long time that I wasn't totally ready to kick him out of the house mid-June. He was great, right up until we got to camp. Then he was rude and obnoxious, just like a normal boy.

Hardest part about camp drop-off was that Sofia totally thought SHE was staying, too. It took some convincing to get her into the car.

So now I'm home with Micah and Sofia. (David in Costa Rica. Again).

Feeling very guilty that Micah does not have any play dates this week. But his few friends who don't go to sleepaway camp are just too busy. Or their moms can't plan more than 10 hours in advance. Or both. Very frustrating.

Took Sofia to visit her new camp this morning. It's the first year we are going; it's a Special Needs camp in Natick. Every camper gets a 1:1 aide. This is the first time they did a meet-and-greet on staff day. Which was good, because I had no idea where the camp was, so this way I got to find it first.

Awesome place. Very small, contained, right on the lake. Indoor and outdoor spaces. Ramp for wheelchair access to water. Sofia spent the hour we were there TOTALLY bossing the staff around. She loved it.

Interesting thing was that another mom and child who showed up were blasts from our past. W also has DS, and is about the same age as Sofia. We were at Early Intervention together. And that's where the comparison should END. W's mom does not speak much English (just Portuguese). And she's the one who used to take one look at Sofia and burst into tears. W does not have the same kind of muscle tone or abilities that Sofia has.

And still his mom does not speak English. Sofia and W are 8 years old. I would think that by now she would have learned at least a little bit. That frustrates me.

But W is still a delicious little boy. Gave me the BEST hug, and plopped down in my lap for a long time. Totally stimming on feeling the ground and the leaves. (And then we had to take some leaves out of his mouth).

Meanwhile, Sofia had about a dozen camp staffers busy playing a game of "knock the bowling pins over with a baseball bat." My delicate flower.

After the camp visit, I had to take Sofia with me to a meeting at "The Office" (aka Starbucks). Unfortunately, the internet was not working properly, and it took me about half an hour to connect. I was trying to juggle my laptop, my phone, Sam's iPad for Sofia, Sofia, two yogurts, a coffee and her water cup. Very frustrating.

But managed to complete the meeting, using ooVoo to video conference call 4 of us to discuss the use of various technologies at school. Nifty, getting to experiment with different things.

After that, we came home and just hung out all afternoon on this rainy day. Around 5:30, we all got hungry, so we went to my favorite, The Aztec, a tiny Mexican restaurant in Framingham. And then mid-way through the meal, Sofia got sick, so we packed up the food, paid quickly and came home.

She's feeling better now, at after a quick bath she went right to bed. It's 7:43, and she's already fast asleep.

Hopefully Ikea tomorrow to get the boys a new dresser.