Instructions for my husband: Sleep-away camp has all the comforts of home. Even if it sounds like it doesn't.

My oldest, Magpie, at the age of 10 has now joined the ranks of those who can say they've gone to sleep-away camp.

My husband, who never went to sleep-away camp, finds the whole idea of sending one's child away incredibly baffling. And it becomes even more baffling to him because Magpie isn't just at any sleep-away camp this summer, she's at my childhood sleep-away camp.

Which means my husband and I have conversations like this one, which of course only re-enforces his whole idea that the concept of sleep-away camp is extremely befuddling:

Husband: I'm worried about if she forgets something.

Me: Don't worry! If you need something, Blue Boar's has it.

Husband: Blank stare.

Me: Y'know, I told you about Blue Boar's. Actually it's not Blue Boar's anymore, it's Jean Mart.

Husband: Blank stare, now on an increasingly irritated face.

Me: Jean. You don't remember me telling you about Jean? The head of camp for like years and years? Very beloved. She was awesome, truly a very special person. That's why Blue Boar's is Jean Mart now.

Husband: Blank stare, possible smoke coming from ears.

Me: (sighing) The commissary. Blue Boar's, which is Jane Mart, is just the commissary. Okay?

Husband:  (sighing in a way that makes my previous sigh seem like a tiny, little whisper) What the fuck is a commissary?

Me: The camp store. It has everything. You don't need to worry about her forgetting something, because she can get it there. The camp store. The commissary. Blue Boar's. But to be entirely correct Jean Mart.

Husband: Would it have been so hard for you just to say there's a camp store?

Me: It's not MY fault you never went to sleep-away camp.

This is my thirty-seventh instruction in my ongoing series Instructions for my Husband.

Follow along on Facebook on the Instructions to my Husband page since something stupid funny is always going on there.

Poison Ivy Advice, Identification And Rhymes, Too!

It wouldn't be summer if I wasn't worrying that every plant, vine and leaf that I see is in fact not an innocent piece of flora, but in fact, the dreaded Poison Ivy.

So you can imagine my happiness when recently I saw this graphic:

Not only are the photos incredibly helpful to know what to avoid, but I love the rhymes like "Hairy vine, no friend of mine." I didn't even know that poison ivy can appear as a hairy vine!

So this summer, I will be consulting this Poison Ivy Identification graphic often, while hoping for the best.

I was not compensated for this post and I'm sorry not to have cited the photo properly, I can't remember where/how/or from whom I got it.

Craft Failing... Again!

Thanks to Robyn and Craft Fail for featuring my son's latest creation, Home Tweet Home Improvement.

Here's an example of the first of many outtakes, but for it's fully craft fail glory head over to Craft Fail.

Spoiler Alert: the bird house turns out spectacularly!

Bye, Summer.

I realized that today is the last (official) day of summer. So to say goodbye to what is by far my most favorite of the seasons, here is an amazing video from mon chere Liz, who came all the way from Paris to share in a summer that was much too fun, and much too short.

 

And because the director is missing from her film, here's Liz:

 

Bye summer 2013. Thanks for the memories.

The last night of summer vacation

It seems like just yesterday it was the last day of school.

And yet, already, another summer is now in the family history books.

 

 

 

 

The kids go back to school tomorrow.

 

 

 

And as it does every year, the summer just went by much too fast.

Mom's Ultimate Summer Bucket List

It seems everywhere I look - including the handwritten list in my own kitchen - I see a list of awesome things to do with your kids before summer ends, usually given a jaunty title like Ultimate Summer Bucket List.

Favorite must-dos that I see appear over and over again on these lists include:

• Catch lightening bugs
• Make s'mores
• Go out for ice cream
• Have a sleepover under the stars

I will note that these activities involve late nights and disrupted bedtimes, sugar overloads, and me needing to light a real-live actual fire.

In short, while these may be great, memorable activities for my kids there's not so much in it for me.

Which is why I've decided to spend less time making sure we check everything off a kid-centric Ultimate Summer Bucket List and spend more time getting to the items on my newly created Mom's Ultimate Summer Bucket List.

In no particular order, here are 20 things I plan to do before summer 2013 kicks the bucket.

1. Sleep-in to 9:00 am. Just once.

2. Pee alone. This includes not talking to me through the closed door.

3. Shower alone. Again, I'm not alone if someone is talking to me.

4. Drink one full cup of coffee, while still hot, completely uninterrupted.

5. Read a novel in the backyard hammock.

6. Eat a grown-up dinner at a nice restaurant with my husband. After 8:00 pm.

7. Mother-daughter trip to the mall. (Note: the mother referred to here is my mom, and I'm the daughter.)

8. Eat hard-shelled crabs on the deck. With beer. Lots of beer.

9. Take a family hike. Bonus request: no whining.

10. See the sunrise - by choice, not as an unfortunate result of getting-up with early risers.

11. Have power of selection over the TV for an entire night.

12. Ladies lunch in Manhattan with my mom and daughters. I choose the restaurant.

13. Mother-son outing to the dog park. Admire the canines, but none of them have to be taken care of by me.

14. Watch a Rated R movie.

15. One entire day when no one - including me - requests to use the computer or the iPad or to check "just one quick thing" on the phone.

16.  Enjoy the sweet sounds of my children playing for more than 10 minutes before fighting ensues.

17. Visit our old neighborhood in Manhattan while the kids listen with rapt attention to stories about when they were babies.

18. One good celebrity sighting.

19. Spend a day at the beach and no one gets sunburned.

20. Go to sleep at 9:00 pm. Just once.

What about you? What's on your Summer Bucket List?

An Easy Way to Entertain a Toddler on a Hot Summer Day

This project is from last summer. In honor of too many 90+ degree days lately, I'm re-posting it for anyone who has hot weather, and a toddler, and needs a fun idea.

Any toddler age two and over will enjoy poking around in a block of ice that is filled with tiny toys.

For my son, I just froze some of the toys he already owned (sequins, beads, little plastic guys) but you could make this project really exciting and freeze some not-yet-seen items.

All you need to do is take a plastic container fill it about 3/4 full with water and throw in the toys. If your child is doing this with you, my cousin Patsy pointed-out you could play "sink or float" while you do it.

Then pop the whole container of water and toys into the freezer and enjoy listening to your toddler ask "is it ready yet?" for the next several hours.

Once completely frozen (or semi-frozen works, too), head outdoors and let your child enjoy going on an icy treasure hunt to get the toys out of the frozen block.

I gave my son a plastic knife to explore and excavate with, but more safety-minded parents might want to find something less sharp to arm their toddlers with for this portion of the activity.

It was really fun when the ice block split into two pieces, but was still attached via the strand of broken Mardi Gras beads.

Ziggy came up with the fun idea of using our wet hands to make handprints on the steps. Which obviously, I loved.

We used the chunks of ice that broke off to make drawings, and at his prompting, I wrote our names.

And while I would be lying if I said I wouldn't have minded it being a few degrees cooler, it was a really fun way to spend a summer's day with my son.

Hello to everyone here from Pinterest! I have lots more ideas for summer fun with kids on my Summer Pinterest Board. You can follow me on Pinterest here and on Facebook at Facebook.com/RandomHandprints.

Do you have a favorite way to entertain a toddler on a hot summer day? Please share!

Month In Review: It's July Already?!

How is it already July?! It seems like just yesterday the blank slate of June was in front of me, and all of my good intentions to scritch scratch my entire to do list off during my self-declared Being a Grown-Up Month.

Being a Grown-Up Month was an epic fail: I got nothing done. But in my defense, Being a Grown-Up Month's success was stymied by all the things I had to do because I am in fact already a grown-up, so I'm giving up on the idea - at least for now. July and August are no time for being a grown-up in general, let alone for tackling endless lists of things to do. (Unless your my husband, in which case you should feel free to get on all those home repair projects I like to nag you about right away.)

Last week, we took our annual family vacation to Delmarva which was great as it always is, photographic evidence here:

You may notice the absence of any photos of Magpie - she missed our trip because she is at sleep away camp, and while I want to think she is sad to have missed it the numerous photos from camp say otherwise, as does this letter in which she spends the entirety of it making her case to stay at camp longer.

 

In case you can't read it, the last line is "I miss you... sarcastic font."

In addition to taking a vacation, I also wrote some stuff, including:

Golf Courses About in the Westfield Area - public and private courses as well as where to mini-golf!

Music, Movies and More - Summertime Fun in and Around Westfield - so many fabulous events and things to do for families, most of them free!

Great Stationery for Sleepaway Camp - there are tons of awesome ideas for camp stationery, but not so many ideas on how to get your kids to actually use it.

And last, but not least, I won a VOTY! If you aren't a blogger, this will definitely mean nothing to you (and if you are a blogger, it probably still doesn't mean anything to you) but all the same, getting the email that my post I'd Like to Thank the Academy was one of twenty selected by BlogHer as a "Voice of the Year" in the humor category was better than another email from a Nigerian Prince about my riches that never seem to materialize. Way better.

Click here to read the full list of VOTY winners.

And Happy July!

June Declared "Being a Grown-Up Month" at Random Handprints {Day 1}

That's right everyone, I have declared the entire month of June "Being a Grown-Up Month" in honor of all of the undone things on my to do lists, and all of the appointments that have not been gone to, or in fact, even made yet.

So what does Being a Grown-Up Month mean here at the Random Handprints corporate offices?

I think, unfortunately, my Being a Grown-Up lifestyle for the month of June might be at odds with "Blog in Any and All Spare Moments," which is what has led to the need for Being a Grown-Up Month in the first place.

I'm going to go blogging light for the month, with hopes that it only takes one month of being a respectable grown-up to make it possible to then take the rest of the summer off from doing what feels like every single boring things in the entire world.

Today, the first day of Being a Grown-Up Month, I did a pile of things that have been on the to do list for-evah:

- Took the kids to get Passport photos.
- Filled-out all the stupid paperwork that has to be completed to get a passport.
- Made all the photocopies that had to be done in triplicate, one for each kid, and came to the conclusion that Passport procurement is a very good reason not to have a large family. Or, not to travel internationally if you do decide to have a large family.
- Took all of this to the post office and then waited in the longest line in the history of the whole entire world to turn-in all of this stuff.

And as if the Passport getting was not enough, I also went and got the tire replaced on my car. (To be completely accurate, I got my husband to go and get the tire replaced, but still, it sorta counts on my list because it's my car and I did have to be the one to bug him to go, which is no easy task, let me tell you.)

This being an adult stuff is exhausting, and did I mention boring? But despite fully admitting its boring-ness, I'll totally be updating throughout the month the rest of the things I complete in my quest to be caught-up on the life maintenance by July 1.

What's the state of your to do list? Anyone want to join me in Being a Grown-Up Month?

The endless looming of things to do is apparently not only a problem for me. Read this hilarious take on responsibilities on The Onion.

Other Stuff I Wrote Last Week: Back to School Shoes, Books and a Last Hurrah of Summer

This week I'm shifting from summer to fall. The kids are back to school on Thursday, and while I'll miss the sun and the fun, I feel like it's time.

I wrote about our trip to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor for BaristaKids.com, and while it wasn't the best day out ever, it was pretty fun.

For back to school, I covered See Kai Run, maker of great kids shoes. Here's my son modeling his pair from (gasp!) last season:

And here are some of the hipster styles from See Kai Run for this fall:

I also shared three of my favorite books about the first day of school. 

Marco Goes to School, by the hilarious Roz Chas, has particularly grown on me over the last 1,816 times I've read it to my enthralled son:

Next up, getting my own three kids back to school.

What are you doing this week?

Giving the People What They Want: Six Flags Hurricane Harbor

This week's Giving the People What They Want didn't come from a Google Analytics Search.

No, this week it's a real-life example of Giving the People What They Want.

My husband and I left work behind on Friday and took our six- and eight-year-old on a summer's-almost-over outing to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.

Can you tell how much I love water parks?

We had a blast, and it sure beat working. Or, as my husband put it, "we're participating in an important on-site client meeting."

Albeit a client meeting with a lazy river, a wave pool and water slides. And the next day, for me, a sunburn.

I was not compensated for this post, which is the case in most things I do in life as well as on this blog.

You can read a full-review of our day at Hurricane Harbor on BaristaKids.com.

Ziggy Turns Three!

My little guy turned three this week.

His sisters made him really awesome birthday cards filled with all his nicknames (Boodle-pants is a favorite, and no, I don't know where it came from or how it started), the radio station played his favorite song Firework complete with birthday dedication, we rode every kiddie ride at the amusement park, and he ate his weight in ice cream.

All in all, a pretty perfect three-year-old day.

The birthday cards with the nicknames reminded me of this cool project on Pinterest where you write all your kid's favorite things down on a photo on their birthday (or the first day of school or other occasion).

So I made one with Ziggy's favorite things as of three years old.

Can't wait to see what makes the list when he is four.

Happy Birthday, Boodle-pants.

Unlike a lot of Pinterest projects, this one only took about five minutes. I used Picasa, but it could be made using PicMonkey or any other photo editing program.

Old Photo Friday: The Yellow Bikini

I keep forgetting about Old Photo Friday! Which I think means it's time to give it a rest for awhile, but first (or should it be last?) these now and then pics:

Me, in a yellow bikini, 1970-something.

My daughter, in a yellow bikini, 2012:

My milestone birthday has come and gone, so I'm ending the old photo thing for now. Instead, Fridays will now be a new feature I'm going to call "Giving the People What They Want." I'll let you know what that is this Friday.

A big thanks to everyone who followed along in my extended trip down memory lane.

Ariat, the U.S. Equestrian Team and the Olympics

A few months ago, I had the chance to see the latest from Ariat at a press preview they held in NYC. Ariat is a company rooted in providing apparel and footwear for the top equestrian athletes, but which also has plenty of offerings for "regular folks," too.

Here are just some of the fantastic boots. I pretty much want them all.

When the London Games began, I was reminded of Ariat because they are the official apparel supplier and partner of the United States Equestrian Federation, and Ariat outfitted the U.S. Olympic Equestrian team with official team gear including the cap, jacket and polo pictured here:

And, for the rest of us who aren't Olympic equestrians, there is a retail-line inspired by the Olympic designs (all are available online at Ariat.com):

　
　
So far, medals in the equestrian events have been awarded to athletes from Germany, Great Britain and Sweden.  I'll be watching to see if Team USA will be added to the medal count this week - view the full schedule here.

I was not compensated for this post. I just love the intersection of the Olympics and fashion. And I've always loved riding apparel - you can blame that on my Virginia roots.
　

A few favorite must-haves for summer

Over the last few months I've written a lot of posts at Momtrends.com about must-haves for summer. Here are a few of my favorite products in case you're still searching for the perfect summer bag, tee or toy for the kids:

Bungalow360 - These awesome totes from Bungalow360 are super eco-friendly and depending on the style are around $30. My tote has quickly become my favorite bag this summer.

Icebreaker Merino - I'm so in love with Icebreaker Merino's line of stylish and comfy performance clothing - tees, hoodies and more for women, men and kids.

Miamica Travel Accessories - From "Upgrade Me!" luggage tags to the "Bling it on!" travel jewelry case, Miamica products add a little bit of fun and whimsy to your travel gear.

Mudpuppy Toddler Travel Puzzles - These puzzles from Mudpuppy are genius for travel. All the pieces fit inside one compact pouch with a zipper so you don't spend your trip searching for lost pieces.

Nogent*** Knives - Nogent is a long-standing French knife maker, who recently came out with a new line of knives in fun summer colors. I have the paring knife in lime green, and I'm a big fan.

What's your favorite summer must-have?

Garden Update - Because I know you worry

The garden is doing fine, more than fine considering the heat and lack of rain this summer here in Jersey.

The tomato plant has like, I'm not kidding, thirty tomatoes that are almost, almost ripe.

The string bean plant has yielded maybe five, possibly even six, string beans. All of which Kay ate, so that alone made it worth it.

The transplanted flowers from Strong Island have all made it, and the Black-eyed Susans are lately really starting to bloom.

And the herb collection - Lavender, Rosemary, Chamomile and Lemon Verbena - are all good.

Magpie's sunflowers, grown from seed, have all bloomed to her great delight - but given she's eight, not surprise.

Happy Bee!

Magpie's sunflowers, three string beans in a row, and proof the lavender plant is indeed lavender. {Ahem.}

We have not had success with the squash, which I think the local animals have been chomping, and the strawberry plant has also been a no go as well.

But I'm not discouraged. There's always next year.

Do you garden? Are you having a successful year?

Disclosure: This is an actual update about my garden in suburban New Jersey. It is not meant as a metaphor for life.

My tips for making your guest bathroom ready for visitors

Thank you to Kleenex Hand Towels for sponsoring this post about how I'm making my bathroom guest-ready! To learn more about Kleenex Hand Towels or to find out how you can save money when you buy your own, check out this site.

_______________________________

 

Ah, summertime. It's a great time for hosting visitors, especially if like me you have a country home (really, it's our year-round house in suburban New Jersey but I like the sound of "country home" better than the alternatives) and lots of urban friends and family who love coming out from New York City for an afternoon of lounging around outdoors, grilling on the barbecue, and if they're lucky perhaps even a woodchuck sighting.

I'm excited to be working with the Clever Girls Collective and Kleenex Hand Towels to share my tips for making a guest bathroom ready for visitors.

Before having people over, the first thing I always do is make sure the sink is clean. My grandma believed if your sink was clean, visitors would think your house is clean. I'm not sure if she was right or not, but since my messy house needs all the help it can get, I don't take any chances.

I also make sure to have some nice smelling liquid hand soap, and also that my children haven't used it all in their pumping glee.

For visiting children, I have a step stool so little ones can reach the sink. And I keep a cabinet stocked with wipes and diapers in case they're needed for babies and toddlers.

Add a chandelier for a little sparkle, and our guest bathroom is ready to go.

Let's just hope the traffic isn't too bad for the City folk making there way out here to the New Jersey countryside.

_______________________________

Join the 14 million people who have already joined the Clean Hands campaign by using Kleenex Hand Towels, and click here for savings and more!      

I was selected for participation in this campaign as a member of Clever Girls Collective.

Field Station: Dinosaurs - Just Another Reason to Heart New Jersey!

New Jersey already has it all - famous beaches, natural beauty, industry and incredible theme parks.

And now it has Field Station: Dinosaurs, an incredible travel-back-in-time experience in Secacus.

Being Jerseyites, we drove to Field Station: Dinosaurs, but New Yorkers can also get there easily via New Jersey Transit from Penn Station, and then a short shuttle.

We arrived in the morning, paid $10 for parking and took the absolute farthest away parking space as directed by the parking lot attendant. I was a little miffed, but decided someone had to park there, so it might as well be us.

When we entered the park we were given a Trail Map as well as a Passport, which can get stamped at various designated places. My kids were super-excited about getting stamps in their Passports.

The main attraction of Field Station: Dinosaurs are the giant animatronic dinosaurs, and they are seriously amazing. Their necks swivel, their eyes blink, and they roar - very loud, authentic sounding dinosaur roars.

My kids (ages 2, 6 and 8) were all equally enthralled, and I'm happy to report that the two-year-old was not scared at all.

In addition to the dinos, there are various activities. Several were not open the day we were there, which reduced the stamp-getting options for my kids who were on a Passport-stamping quest. There were also a few spots with stamp potential but for one reason or another my kids didn't qualify for a stamp.

Personally, I thought they could have been a little more loose with the stamps, but I will fully admit to also being of the everyone-gets-a-participation-medal school of parenting. My two older kids only managed to eek out a single stamp, and my little guy couldn't complete that activity so he couldn't get even one.

There was a lot of educational dino info throughout the park, which I think would be particularly interesting to dino-obsessed and older kids, as well as to visiting school groups.

Field Station: Dinosaurs was a truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and I'm glad that New Jersey is home to this latest piece of awesome. I would consider it a must-see for anyone visiting the area, and it would make a great day trip for folks on a New York City vacation.

However, I should also note it is an expensive piece of awesome. Ticket prices in advance are $17.50 for kids and $20 for adults, and at the park ticket prises rise to $20 for kids and $25 for adults. Kids two and under are free, and there are discounts for seniors and groups. However, for frequent visitors, season passes are $48-54 so that might be a good - and affordable - option for repeat visitors.

To learn more about Field Station: Dinosaurs visit their website,  like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter: @Jerseysaurus. You can also purchase discounted admission tickets online, as well as season passes.

Field Station:Dinosaurs is open daily from 10am to 6pm.

My family received free tickets to Field Station: Dinosaurs for review purposes from MamaDrama. All opinions are my own.