Me: Why do I always have to put you to bed?
The Princess: Because you made me.hmmmm,,,, I have no response.
Category Archives: Mom Camp 2013
Me: Why do I al…
January 3, 2014 · 3:41 am
The Second Empress is Second Best
The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon’s Court by Michelle Moran
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have enjoyed a number of Moran’s books and The Second Empress was a tolerable piece of historical fiction. It has taken me a few days to work up to writing a review on the book because I have nothing to say about it— either good or bad.
The Second Empress is the account of Napoleon’s second wife. Most people think of Josephine when they the of the Emperor but he had another wife and a son! The story is not exclusively about his second wife… It is more about his sister compared to his second wife.
Three characters tell the story of The Second Empress. The shifting point of view helps the narrative and Moran is smart not to attempt story telling from Napoleon’s point of view.
From the historical perspective, the book seems rushed… It does address much of Napoleon’s rise or his fall– slight glossing over of Russia and his escape from Elba.
This is a quick read worthy of a snowy weekend or a lazy beach read… Nothing more. But, in that category it’s very solid!
I don’t think it’s Moran’s best work. I preferred her books on Cleopatra’s Daughter and Madame Tussaud. This was a little weak, but in terms of story telling seems on par with The Heretic Queen.
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Allegiant: Not so Good.
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Allegiant is the third book in the Divergent trilogy. It takes place in bombed out Chicago and tells the story of people who live in “factions” based on whatever character trait they feel is most important–selflessness, honesty, intelligence, strength, you get the idea. These factions unravel and we follow two young people, Tris and Four, through the dramatic events.
Stop reading here if you want to avoid SPOILERS!!
So, by book three Tris and Four decide to venture outside of Chicago and see what’s beyond the city. What they find is a group of government scientists who are constantly watching the people in Chicago and using their faction based society as an experiment. We soon discover that the people in Chicago are the decedents of genetically altered people and are considered genetically damaged…
It gets more complicated and absurd from there– oh please! I mean did it really have to be so over the top?
In the end, Tris dies while trying to erase the memory of the scientists so they will treat the genetically damaged as regular people. And Four is left to go on with her.
The book really seems as if the author was looking for a quick ending. The writing is so so. And, she does an awful job reminding the reader what happened in books 1 and 2.
I enjoyed the first two books, but this is a mess! SKIP IT!
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Welcome Back Bridget!
Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ha! Ha! Ha! Bridget Jones is back! Please stop reading here if you don’t want to read any SPOILERS!
I enjoyed the original books (although the second one was not as good) and I was bit nervous to catch up with the crazy Ms. Jones turned Mrs. Darcy all these years later.
In book 3, Darcy has passed away and Bridget is now a “geriatric mother” of two young children and SINGLE. Much like the past books we follow Bridget the ups and downs of dating, only this time we see her as a cougar trying to date a man who is 21 years younger than herself.
Fielding stays true to the character and points out the absurd in everyday life without making us feel guilty and with her snappy brand of humor.
Some of the details are just too real– too many plastic toys from Amazon for Xmas and the ubermom at school.
I also love Bridget’s friends (although they play less of a role in this novel than in the previous ones). And, Tom’s Paltrow obsession is too funny!
The only draw back to the book is the very end. I wish Bridget would have kept going on her own instead of finding a new man. It’s too much like the old ending with Darcy. Plus, I think it would be a good message to women that they can go it alone and don’t always have to the quickly wrapped up happy ending.
I also could have done without all the farting and vomit talk, but I’ll over look it!
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The End Of Mom Camp 2013
Another summer of Mom Camp is over. It’s bitter sweet. I love Mom Camp almost as much as the kids do. But, it’s a lot of work. In some ways, I feel as if I am finally getting my own life back.
But, there is always the lingering sensation that another year of childhood is slipping out of my hands. Another summer of late night family movies, silly stories and exploration and discovery must yield to classical educational instruction.
In the end, as much as I’d like to pretend Mom Camp is all about the kids–it’s not. A big part of Mom Camp is about the Mom–who wants to squeeze in as many laughs, tears and tickles out of Cinco and The Princess as i can before summer break gives way to adulthood’s jobs and responsibility.
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Mom Camp Days 28/29: Willy Wonka Day
The Princess loves the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She even wants to open her open candy factory and candy shop when she grows up! Last summer we had a Willy Wonka day for mom camp and we brought it back this year by special request.
We decided to make a number of candy treats. A lot of them were watermelon based. I mean, a watermelon is pretty big so you can use it over and over.
We started with frozen watermelon popsicle. I chopped up some watermelon cubes and dumped them into the good old Cuisinart. The Princess of course got to press the start button. Round and round it went until it was mushed up to a thin pulp. We poured it straight into the popsicle molds and promptly placed it in the freezer. When we tasted them a few hours later, they were slightly watery and not really all that sweet, I think I should have added some sugar and maybe boiled down the watermelon juice. But, the kids liked it so that’s really all that matters.
For last year’s Wonka Day, we made our own chocolate from a kit I purchased online. This year, I skipped the chocolate kit and went for melted chocolate chips. Then I purchased some molds. As you know, Cinco loves Star Wars. (See Mom Camp Days: 14, 15, and 16). So, I decided to buy some Star Wars molds: Han Solo in Carbonite! 
Last year we used the chocolate from the kit to cover some pretzels. I LOVE chocolate covered pretzels. We had a rose mold from last year that we used for the pretzels again.
And, I also purchased a princess pretzel mold for this year’s project. The Princess picked them out on Amazon herself.
This year in addition to the molds, we rolled the pretzel sticks in chocolate and sprinkles, too! This was a little easier for the kids.
English: Watermelon flavored Rock candy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There were also a few candy projects that just never panned out. We attempted to make rock candy. But the sugar crystals never formed, even after waiting almost a week. I even pre-treated the sticks!!!
Our sad little, science experiment just sat there…
The second candy project that just didn’t taste right were make your own healthy gummies. I used the recipe at Sweet Little Peanut. And, I give them credit for trying to find a healthy option. But, I think the taste of the sugar substitute just ruined the gummy. I guess you have to go with good old corn syrup to get the sugary flavor. So much for making a healthy version. Sometimes you just have to go with the real thing to make it worth the calories. Thankfully, I almost NEVER eat gummies, so it’s not a big deal for me. I will say, the gummies we make LOOKED GREAT! I had this cute little mold I found in the dollar section and target and we poured the liquid into it. Adorable.
With all that treat creation out-of-the-way, it was time for a few activities. There was a lot of time dedicated to: 
And of course, they day would not be complete without watching the Wonka movie.
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Mom Camp Day 27: Knights and Princesses
After a family vacation, its time to start good ol’ Mom Camp again. The original plan was to have two or three days for our Knight and Princess theme. But, with school just around the corner and so much to do before it starts, we had to squeeze things into a single day.
We made three crafts. The Princess wanted wands. I found these at the Dollar Store and saved them. She didn’t add too much decoration, but she was happy with them…
Next we made these cute little princess and knight crafts. The idea came from Busy Bee Crafts. Although we made up the princess craft ourselves. We used some left over fabric, glitter sticker sheets, cotton balls and buttons. The Princess needed a little help getting started, but Cinco made his knight without any help!
The next craft was a dragon! The idea for this one was borrowed from Activity Village. It was originally supposed to be a dragon made from a wooden spoon. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to buy any wooden spoons so wemodified the craft and used plastic ones. The kids still had a great time painting and designing the dragons.
For our reading, we have been listening to 
Our movie was: 
Update: I did do a Magna Carta Day….
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Ocean/Water Theme: Mom Camp Day 24/25/26
Yes, we did three days of Ocean/Water Mom Camp!!! It was something of a catch-all category that includes: Ocean animals, pirates, mermaids and anything else that could be thrown in for fun.
I had the bright idea of taking the family on a stay-action to Mandalay Bay.
My plan was to take full advantage of the amazing pool there. They have a wave pool, lazy river and a beach, plus of course normal pools! We checked-in early and went straight to the pool. We soon discovered that The Princess was too tiny to use the wave pool. This really upset her and caused a lot of disappointment.
We got in about three hours at the pool before the Vegas summer monsoons struck. Then it was off to the room. I was planning to have the kids watch a pay-per-view movie in the room. But they didn’t have any!!! I guess they want you down at the gaming tables.
Luckily I had a few simple crafts. The wooden pirate masks that the kids colored. A mermaid coloring book that lets you design the mermaids faces with stickers. Still, the crafts didn’t last long. Then we rode the tram around between the Luxor and Excalibur SEVERAL times!!!!
Then next day we hit the pool again. This time we had a much better time. Cinco started out scared of the wave pool. But he finally got into it. Plus The Princess found a kids pool area that she enjoyed and even caught a few ‘mini waves’ as she called them. After paying $40 for some inner tubes the kids played in the lazy river for quite awhile.
After checkout we went to Shark Reef. We have been several times before, but the kids love it!
Back home the following day, it was crafts galore!
Cinco painted a pirate ship bird house and some wooden pirate peg dolls. The Princess designed a treasure chest!
We also made cute clothes pin mermaids!
The idea came from Disney Family. But, as you can see they are pretty basic.
From Brilliant Bundles we borrowed the idea of the fish CD. Again, simple.
Next up, octopus crafts! From Mom to 2 Posh Little Divas, we got a crazy easy octopus craft.
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A Trip to the Rainforest: Mom Camp Day 23
Day 23 we embarked on a Mom Camp field trip! And, we went with one of Cinco’s friends he has known since his first days of pre-school! As luck would have it, Cinco’s buddy as an adorable little sister who is only a little younger than The Princess. And the two girls have turned into friends as well!
We started by watching 
Armed with information on the rainforest, we headed over to none other than the Rainforest Cafe. If you live in a tourist Mecca like we do, odds are you have a Rainforest Cafe in your town. In my opinion, the food is not very good and it’s over priced. But the kids really enjoy the rain effects… So I periodically take them.
While waiting for our friends to arrive, we took a stroll through the gift shop. They used to have a talking tree that The Princess really loved. The voice recording still plays, but the mouth and eyes of the tree no longer move. This was disappointing to The Princess. When I sat she really loved the tree I mean she spent a period of several months asking if all trees could talk. I got suckered into purchasing the kids stuffed animal snakes– but 4 days later they are still playing with them all the time. They also used the snakes to design their own stuffed animal rainforest.
After lunch we headed over to another attraction: a rainforest exhibit for kids @ Springs Preserve. . The exhibit had a bunch of fun things to do: a climbing tree, a log tunnel, a gorilla sanctuary, coloring pages, a wooden bridge to assemble and loom with big weaving ribbons. Lots to do.
Plus, I let the kids watch another non-educational show!
Then we ended the day with a little reading!
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The Booky Mom 