Happy 7th birthday, Cameron!

My little big guy is 7 years old today!  Happy birthday to my first born baby, Cameron.  To me, you will always be my little boy!

It doesn't feel like 7 years ago that I held you in the crook of my neck..

Or that Daddy held your smushy, squishy little face in the palm of his hand.  These pictures were taken two days after you were born.  At the time, we were freaked out, exhausted & felt clueless as to what to do with this teeny little creature that had entered our lives in a big hurry (you were delivered in 4 short hours!)  I'll never forget the night that you cried non-stop, despite anything & everything that we did to calm you.  I hadn't slept in what felt like days & Daddy looked at me & said in an exasperated, desperate voice, "What should we do?!?!"  And I answered honestly, in an equally exasperated voice, "I don't know?!?!"  And we both looked at each each other & laughed hysterically (come to think of it, maybe I cried hysterically!)  Somehow we got through those long days & nights & we wouldn't trade them for the world!  You changed our lives forever & we would never want that other life back (even if it was more simple & sleep filled!)  Nowadays, we'll ask, "What did we do on Saturdays before kids??"  And I truly don't know.  Probably a lot of sleeping, TV watching & bar hopping!

You transformed me & your daddy from a couple to a family.  Now we call ourselves "Team Pernecky!"  Cameron, you've grown into a sweet, sensitive & loving little seven year old.  You are such a sweet boy & care so much about people's feelings.  Other than your sister, you're always kind to those that you meet & you make fast friends.

Even though you love, love, love pushing Reese's buttons, I know you care about your baby sister too!  When Reese gets hurt, you're always quick to run over & make sure she's okay... you're not fooling us, kid!  If you think you've let someone down, it hurts you to the core.  You always play the song, "You Are My Sunshine" on our Amazon Echo because you know it means lots to me since I sang it to you each night as a baby.  You love math & even did your homework by yourself, without prompting the other night.

You still adore video games & your most recent passion is playing Madden football on the Xbox.  You're an active kid & love to take walks, challenge me to a race or play tag in the yard.  You always tell me that you can walk farther than me if we were in a contest.  Stinky little, Bubba (that's your nickname!)  Needless to say, you're very competitive.  With that being said, we're still working on the whole "sore loser" thing since you tend to cry when you don't win.  You're an emotional kid & we're working on you controlling your emotions & realizing there are better ways to handle situations than crying.  Easy for your mom to say though since I tend to be an emotional basket case at times!

At 6:54pm on Wednesday, September 24, 2008, my life became much more interesting & full "because there had never been anyone like you, ever in the world."  We love you more than you will ever know, Cameron Michael!  

Get your groove on!

It's the fourth week of school & we're finally getting into a new groove & a new normal.  It hasn't always been easy, but we're trucking along over here.  I must say, the days are long since I leave the house at 6:30 in the morning & get home after 5:30 in the evening.  Of course from there comes all the good stuff of homework, dinner, baths, making lunches, wading through school paperwork....  you know the drill!

It's September which means we're in the countdown to Cam's 7th birthday on the 24th!  Cam's chosen a Minion party this year, so I'm trying to get things in order to prevent last minute scrambling & chaos.



Speaking of September, my husband is in hog heaven since the NFL season is officially here.  You would have thought it was Christmas!  I've wanted a Bears flag since we've owned a home & we finally got one!  I officially feel like a home-owning adult at the ripe young age of 36!

I've gotten into the mindset of, "if you can't beat em, join em!"  I used to protest 50% of our already short weekend being compromised, but I've learned to embrace it & now we make an event of Sunday game days with food & friends.  It's just an excuse to eat something yummy & catch up with good peeps!  I must say though, by the end of the season, I'm so ready for it to be over!

We were in desperate need of new bedding so Reese & I headed to IKEA on my Wednesday off last week.  Since we got there just as it opened, the place was basically empty & we got in & out in a flash!

I knew I needed a comforter/duvet cover so I could easily wash them since our last king comforter was way too bulky to fit into our washer & had to go to a laundromat instead (which grossly enough, never happened).  We use our comforter as a blanket at night & I tend to get hot so I picked up a comforter that's really light & cool.  Fresh new bedding for under $70?  Score!

Amidst the madness of the recent weeks, we've squeezed in some fun too!  Reese has had some time to frolick in the rain!  She watches a lot of Peppa Pig & if you've had the pleasure of watching the show, you know that those damn pigs love to splash in their English muddy puddles!

I use the gorgeously beautiful cutting board my woodworking neighbor crafted for me on a nearly daily basis, but I was finally able to use it as a serving platter.  This is a cutting board I will treasure forever!  Half of the wood is from American trees & the other half African trees & one side is flat for cutting, the other has a slight curve for serving.  Love, love, love!

With Cam back to school, Reese & I have our girly Wednesdays together & things have been very smooth & productive.  A lot less fighting without Cam to push buttons!  We normally do "quiet time" for at least an hour so she has time to herself & I have time to myself.  We abandoned it over the summer, so when we went back to it a few weeks ago, she saw it as a punishment.  For whatever reason, that flipped like a switch & now she asks for it.  She takes her tablet into her room, watches a movie or just relaxes or plays with her toys.  Last week she even ended up falling asleep.  I get a lot done in that uninterrupted hour & sometimes even steal 15 minutes to relax.

There are many weeks where Mike will choose a weeknight to meet up with the guys for whatever reason.  I adore those nights since I put the kids & dogs to bed, pour myself a glass of wine & relax with my treasured trashy TV shows like the Real Housewives of O.C.  However, Mike's last guys night did not fare well for me.  Not five minutes after he left, I was in the bathroom taking out my contacts when I heard a very loud buzzing sound that could only come from a VERY large bug.  Without thinking, I bolted from the bathroom sans contacts, slamming the doors behind me, sealing the bottom with Mike's pants so the bug couldn't get into my room.  Without the contacts, I couldn't see a thing.  Unfortunately my glasses sat next to the bathroom sink with the dreaded, unknown bug.  If you know me, you'll know that I'm irrationally TERRIFIED of bugs so there was no way I was going back in there.  But how was I to watch my trashy shows without my glasses?!?  It was 7:40pm & the world was my oyster for two blissful hours.  Dang.  Mike refused to come home & Cam was too scared to get my glasses.  Yes, I got my six year-old out of bed & begged him to get them.  Low, oh so low.  Well, time for the big guns.  I grabbed my winter, hooded jacket from college & zipped it tightly so only my eyes were barely exposed, ran into the bathroom, closed the door behind me, grabbed my glasses & sealed the door back up.  I begged Mike to kill the bug when he got home & not lie about it like he's done in the past.  He said it was a "small" flying beetle but I'm not buying it.  That thing was probably the size of a small child.  Ha.

But, after my bug scare, I was finally able to catch up with my "programs" while my kitties snuggled next to me!  So, that's what's been happening around these parts! 

All about Mike

I am ashamed to say that in the hoopla of the first day of school & documenting Cameron & Reese's stats, I totally forgot about my darling husband, Mike.  It took my dear friend, Lesli to remind me of it so I'm remedying the situation with a post about Mike.  Thank you, Lesli!!

With today being Mike's first day of 8/25/15, this is a very BIG day in the Pernecky house!!!

Back to school!

It's back to school today & there was a lot of excitement last night & this morning.  I knew it was a good sign when I picked Cam up from his last day of summer camp on Friday & he told me that he wished it was Monday!

On top of Cameron starting a new school year, I found out Friday that Reese was also moving up to a new class today.  Too much to handle in just one day, but I did very well this morning & no tears were shed by anyone!

Me & Lo Lo getting in on the action!

Saturday we had a fun photo shoot with my talented friend, Jill, just as we did last year.  The pictures turned out awesome & I'm thankful since I love updating our framed family photos each year.

 

 

 

Tay Tay & Reese

It's funny because Taylor has always called Reese, "Baby" Reese & we're starting to wonder when that will stop!  Mind you, they're only 6 months apart, so it's pretty funny!
 

Cameron, Avery, Reese & Brooks

 

 Last Thursday we had the opportunity to check out Cam's school & meet his first grade teacher, Mrs. Marzullo.  She seems super organized & on top of things which is right up my alley.  They're using an app/website called Class Dojo to track behavior/points to redeem for good behavior.  I love being able to see how he's doing in class & this is so much more with the times since I can check in remotely.

It's crazy to see just how much Cameron's grown in one short year; 2.5" & 9.2#!!

 Despite the crazy, busy evenings, the start of the school year brings so much excitement!  Looking forward to a great, new year!

Recent happenings

What hasn't been happening lately?!  We've been keeping very busy (perhaps a little too busy for my tastes) so there's been plenty going on.

Grammy got an awesome flight deal so she came in for a week at the spur of the moment.  I was so happy she was able to spend some uninterrupted time with Cam before he heads back to school next week.

Cam & his buddy Tyler

Cam stayed home from summer camp every day but Friday since he didn't want to miss his big Legoland field trip.

Me & lovely Lo Lo

Grammy was nice enough to watch the kids while we headed to see Sublime in concert last Friday.  I really wasn't even excited to go (I know, I know I'm lame) but sometimes the idea of a big, late night out is just not very appealing to me after an insane week, but we ended up having a great time.

Me & my darling hubby

 It ended up POURING on us as we arrived & I was dumb enough to ditch my typical flip flops for wedges.  Big mistake.  Huge.  After the rain though, the weather was gloriously cool, unlike the typically insane heat we've been dealing with. 

My Minions seeing the Minions

While Grammy was in town, we headed to see the Minions & the kids were so excited that we decided to make Minion cupcakes.

 


The kids made quite the mess with the sprinkles but the cupcakes ended up turning out so cute!  Cam's birthday is about a month away so we'll be whipping these up for his Minion party (unless he changes his theme by then!)

We got the dentist checked off the before school to-do list.

 

Luckily there were no cavities!!

I was done with my ever growing hair so I decided to hack 5" off.

And my three year-old has decided that she prefers showers to baths.  It's quite hilarious to see her naked little body standing in the huge shower!  Love her!

Speaking of love, this picture is positively adorable!!  Such a big personality in a petite, little body!  Reese cracks me up... she's the best.

We also hit a Tampa Bay Rays vs. the Mets baseball game with Matt, Kelly, Grammy & the kids & snapped this precious pic of Cam & Leah.  Since Matt's a Mets fan & Cam played little league on the Mets, Leah wore his jersey so we kept joking that they were married.  That would be awesome.  I seriously hope I end up with a daughter-in-law like Leah when Cam eventually gets married!

This pic of Reese & Sammy is ridiculously sweet.  They love each other so much!

PJ day at school today!

Tomorrow we all have the day off to head to Cam's open house at his BRAND NEW SCHOOL!  Exciting!

I must be getting overwhelmed with everything that's going on since I cannot sleep well these days.  I read a quote that said, "When you're anxious, you're living in the future."  That is so true for me since I'm always worrying ahead & I just lay in bed at night, thinking of the ever growing list of things to do.  Even just stupid stuff like, Haven't flossed in a while.  Speaking of flossing, I never floss my kids teeth!  Speaking of teeth, my dog hasn't been to the vet in forever to get her teeth cleaned!  Ahhh!!!  Why can't I just shut by friggin brain off for a minute?!?!