Upside to Jacob's going to camp in a different neighborhood than ours:
1. Meeting and making friends with kids of different backgrounds
2. Playing all.day.long like a maniac and loving it
3. Lightening up on his boy-crush on the BMOC of his school

Downsides:
1. Coming home sunburnt on day 1
2. No bus transportation
3. Responding to almost anything I say with "Dang!"
4. Having to protect his Lunchables from overly aggressive poachers
5. Before- and After-Camp childcare consists of a few bored counselors watching the kids play basketball in the gym for two hours at a time. I thought they provided a cold breakfast but I was wrong. Luckily, I brought Jacob a breakfast to eat there this morning after having already pressed a drinkable yogurt into his hands while I packed his lunch. Jacob's breakfast: Nutri-Grain bar, banana, lowfat chocolate milk, and cereal. Fellow camper Christian's breakfas t: Pop-Tart and Hawaiian Punch.

Last night, I let the boys all jump into Big Bed to watch a half hour of Sprout (grr) with that dumb beyotch Melanie, whose aggressive sweetness makes me want to set my own hair on fire. After a shockingly repetitive game of "Melanie Says," Jacob announces:

"It's not 'Melanie Says,' it's 'Simon Says.'"
"I know, honey."
"And it's way too easy."
"Well, honey, I guess you're getting to be pretty old for this stuff. It's really meant for kids who are younger than you are, but it's safe for Danny and the baby."
"I'm just not down with that, Mommy."

Hunh????

"What'd you just say?"
"I'm not down with that."
"Where did you get that?"
"I made it up. It means I don't like it; I'm not into it."
"Jakey, you didn't make it up; it's something some people say, but it's just not something I'm used to hearing from a kid."

I didn't know how to explain hip-hop terminology to him, so I dropped it. But I have to wonder how much of a poser my kid will sound like by August.