Graceann is already a 7th grader...ahhh...where does the time go?
Caroline and Pauline...4th and 1st grade respectively....wow my babies are growing up!So you haven’t heard from me in a few days. I have an excuse and its better than “the dog ate my homework”. How about…..ready for this….”the kids ate my sanity”…why? Because today is the first day of school and getting there is more of a battle than the one fought at Waterloo. Yes Virginia…today is the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Let’s hear it for all the parents out there…Hip, hip, hooray! It should be some kind of National Holiday. This couldn’t have come at a sooner time. Yes! Yes! Yes! Can you tell I’m excited? To be honest with you I don’t know why we don’t prepare children for their roles as working adults and grant them only 2 weeks of summer vacation. Has anyone thought of that? Maybe I’ll suggest it at the next PTA meeting, only if I had time for a PTA meeting.
Why do you wonder is it so hard getting the kids ready for school? Well have you ever looked at the kid’s school supply list? It’s looking more and more like the complete inventory supply list of staples…and times that by 3 school age children and you better own stock in Staples as well. And picky, picky, picky, do we really need a 6 inch ruler vs. the regular 12 inch ruler? And is there a big difference between marble notebooks and spiral? I know that spiral comes apart more easily…so here’s my vote for MARBLE! All summer long I picked up pencils, notebooks and crayons when they were on sale. I cashed in on the penny and nickel sales. When they limit the blowout deals to 3 per customer I don’t think they bank on my family walking on through the door. You could only imagine what they thought when 3 year old Rebecca was on line with her 3 pennies for her three rulers.
Also have you noticed the summer assignments lately? Who ever heard of summer Math packets? Isn’t summer about having fun? How about something fun like baking with fractions (half cups? ¼ spoons?)…Did Dewy Decimal envision this is how summers should be spent? Don’t even get me started on the missing packets. How can children be required to remember in September where they put these packets in June? I made two trips to the school over the summer getting replacement packets. Imagine my crazed world when two days before they were due I washed them because they were hidden in Graceann’s backpack (oh yeah that was another thing I forgot to get…so I figured last season’s model would look new with a wash). I washed those answers right off the paper. Definitely not a candidate for Mother of the Year.
I am all for reading...but a book report quilt? I was up until 2:30 in the morning helping sew together that report. What happened to a nice little summary with a cover and calling it a day? What happened to reading for pleasure? Lord knows you won't be able to do that when you have kids so you might as well do it when you are a kid. Don’t get me wrong Flags of our Fathers is a book I thoroughly enjoyed but at 11 years old I might have preferred Nancy Drew.
Here’s another no-no that should have me voted off Mother Island. No new school shoes for the first day. I know I should be in charge when my 7 year old says she doesn’t want to buy new shoes and last years shoes still fit, but this wasn’t the case. Yes, I should know that kids are like weeds, a little sun, a little water, a little summer and they grow, grow, and grow. But here’s what I was banking on….THE SUPERSIZE SHOE. Whenever I buy something that my girls will wear I always buy something 1 or 2 sizes larger. This way I get more use out of it….come on…admit you’ve done it too! I find myself saying “just wear thick socks…till your foot grows.” “Try wearing it with a belt…it looks all the rage!” or “but that’s what cuffs are for”. So I figured Pauline’s shoe from last year would fit. No such luck and this morning started off with a screaming, total meltdown. Things eventually calmed down when I convinced Pauline that her really shiny copper ones could be considered a distant relative of the dark brown required shoe. Oh yes the girls go to Catholic School so it’s all about the uniforms. And thank goodness for that. If I had to be coordinating outfits I would have really been put over the edge.
But I am still rejoicing! School is in Session! Yeah!
Why do you wonder is it so hard getting the kids ready for school? Well have you ever looked at the kid’s school supply list? It’s looking more and more like the complete inventory supply list of staples…and times that by 3 school age children and you better own stock in Staples as well. And picky, picky, picky, do we really need a 6 inch ruler vs. the regular 12 inch ruler? And is there a big difference between marble notebooks and spiral? I know that spiral comes apart more easily…so here’s my vote for MARBLE! All summer long I picked up pencils, notebooks and crayons when they were on sale. I cashed in on the penny and nickel sales. When they limit the blowout deals to 3 per customer I don’t think they bank on my family walking on through the door. You could only imagine what they thought when 3 year old Rebecca was on line with her 3 pennies for her three rulers.
Also have you noticed the summer assignments lately? Who ever heard of summer Math packets? Isn’t summer about having fun? How about something fun like baking with fractions (half cups? ¼ spoons?)…Did Dewy Decimal envision this is how summers should be spent? Don’t even get me started on the missing packets. How can children be required to remember in September where they put these packets in June? I made two trips to the school over the summer getting replacement packets. Imagine my crazed world when two days before they were due I washed them because they were hidden in Graceann’s backpack (oh yeah that was another thing I forgot to get…so I figured last season’s model would look new with a wash). I washed those answers right off the paper. Definitely not a candidate for Mother of the Year.
I am all for reading...but a book report quilt? I was up until 2:30 in the morning helping sew together that report. What happened to a nice little summary with a cover and calling it a day? What happened to reading for pleasure? Lord knows you won't be able to do that when you have kids so you might as well do it when you are a kid. Don’t get me wrong Flags of our Fathers is a book I thoroughly enjoyed but at 11 years old I might have preferred Nancy Drew.
Here’s another no-no that should have me voted off Mother Island. No new school shoes for the first day. I know I should be in charge when my 7 year old says she doesn’t want to buy new shoes and last years shoes still fit, but this wasn’t the case. Yes, I should know that kids are like weeds, a little sun, a little water, a little summer and they grow, grow, and grow. But here’s what I was banking on….THE SUPERSIZE SHOE. Whenever I buy something that my girls will wear I always buy something 1 or 2 sizes larger. This way I get more use out of it….come on…admit you’ve done it too! I find myself saying “just wear thick socks…till your foot grows.” “Try wearing it with a belt…it looks all the rage!” or “but that’s what cuffs are for”. So I figured Pauline’s shoe from last year would fit. No such luck and this morning started off with a screaming, total meltdown. Things eventually calmed down when I convinced Pauline that her really shiny copper ones could be considered a distant relative of the dark brown required shoe. Oh yes the girls go to Catholic School so it’s all about the uniforms. And thank goodness for that. If I had to be coordinating outfits I would have really been put over the edge.
But I am still rejoicing! School is in Session! Yeah!
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