Parents who lie

I've done it to kae, we lie about Santa, and the tooth fairy. Ross and I decided a long time ago to let her keep her innocent and imagination as long as possible. In this world of social media and ever evolving pop culture, I want my kid to get to be, we'll, a kid.

What I don't appreciate are parents who lie to other parents. 

I'm not talking mommy wars, or maybe I am, just a little.

It's those overachieving, "perfect" moms that I'm talking about.

Room mom, runs the bake sale, president of the PTA, Girl Scout troop leader, and a full time job. I hate these moms. The ones that are wearing something other than the jeans that haven't been washed in a month, and a two day old t-shirt with eggs on it. The moms who do their hair when I barely have time to brush mine. And who wear make up just to drop their snowflakes off at school.

These are the same moms who tell me that as a stay at home mom, Connor should be in full time daycare...

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Monday is Kae's school carnival. A month ago I get a frantic text, no one is volunteering to help! 

Ok, what can I do?

You can make a game, please, I'm going to have to do them all!!!!1!!!1!1

Alright! I'll do the beanbag game. When do you need it by.

The due date comes and goes. The game is still in my living room. I told her it doesn't fit in my car, she promises to pick it up, lives about 3 minutes from me. Still in my living room.

Then this morning, i get an email to all the parents in the class. They have SIX freaking bean bag games. SIX?!?!?!

Mostly I'm pissed because I have a job now, and unlike her my young child is not in full time daycare. I took my time and money to make this thing. For it not to be needed. And I wasn't told it wasn't needed until two days after it was due. 

Carnival

Saturday my mom came and helped me build a bean bag toss game for Kae's school carnival. 

Mom helped because I have two children and only one lap.

We used a PVC frame, 24 inches by 40 inches, and a yard of 45 inch wide outdoor fabric from Joann's. 

The bean bags are scrap fabric and dried peas! Mmmm peas.

Took about 3 hours to measure, cut, and then recut and add. Notice the line down the right side! Nah, we didn't bother to line up the damn dots. 

I'm never volunteering for a project like this again.

All Around

The mulberry bush

The monkey chased the weasel 

Last night my children came home covered in...stuff

Red gooey stuff that looked like blood.

But turned out to be mulberries.

- about two years ago I was forced by the husbeast and the girl child to identify a tree growing in our neighborhood, it's a red mulberry tree, two of them actually -

Then kae grabbed a bucket off the patio and about an hour later she and Ross returned with the whole bucket...filled to overflowing, with ripe mulberries.

My grandmother used to make pies with the ones we'd pick wild on the farm. I have very fond memories of that. Since we always got to help.

Today I made a trip to the Walmart and bought pectin, canning jars and a 5 pound bag of turbinato sugar (its less processed).

And we made JAM!

4 pints from all the goo, which isn't too bad. 

Grandma would be so proud :)

I know my mom was.

Let's look at the price breakdown 

12 jars with lids and rings - 6.97 (58c each)

1.75 oz box pectin - 2.87

Funnel - 98 cents

Grippy jar dipper - 2.00

Sugar - 1.98 

If I did my math correctly, I paid about $1.80 a jar for each of the 4 I got from our harvest. This isn't including the cost of the funnel or tongs. Typically a 1 pint jar of jam costs about $4-6 here. Hurray!

Thank Yous

With the school year, and Girl Scout year, coming to an end. Kae and I decided to do thank you gifts for the church, and Kae's guidance counselor.

The church has been really good to use, letting us use the youth group room and the Sunday school rooms these last two years. And since I want to be able to use the room again, we're making sure to say thanks.

We painted the pot grey/silver, the dripped green and blue paint from the bottom. The blue didn't want to run /sigh.

Kae also picked a pentas plant for the church to but in their butterfly/memorial garden.

The second pot I did myself, for Ms. S, she's worked privately with kaeley all year, and while I can't honestly say its made a huge difference, it has made A difference. Kae knows there is an adult at school who will listen to her, and cares. That's so much more than I can say for her teacher. 

Kae picked a huge red gerber daisy plant to give Ms S. might clash with the pot, bug kae picked the colors. Black light reactive yellow, purple and pink. It's so bright it dims the sun.

KitchenWorks

KitchenWorks is a cooking school in Jupiter. They offer all sorts of classes, kids only, mommy and me, healthy eating, Italian. We did a kids only birthday party type class with scouts last night.

The girls made cupcakes (from scratch) and pizza.

It would have been fun for them to make the dough too since it only had a ten minute rise time, but I'm not really complaining, just observing. 

The girls also tinted the frosting, frosted, and decorated their cupcakes, while the pizzas cooked. Then the inhaled all the foods!

School parties

There is a reason we don't really attend school parties.

Kae is usually ignored, after the kids question the host child, "did you invite kaeley?!" The response is always, "my mom invited the whole class." Punctuated by an eye roll so hard they probably saw their brain.

I love how I'm also ignored. Today I just sat and knit on my sock. 

Overhearing the parents talk about the end of school year parties that kae won't be invited to, breaks my heart. 

The slumber parties and play dates that she's excluded from. 

I don't know how to fix it. 

Go Van Gogh

We took Kae's scout troop on their big cookie spend yesterday. They were given about 30 choices and decided on Go Van Gogh and a movie.

Go Van Gogh is a paint your own pottery place in downtown gardens. The girls painted terra cotta pots and coffee mugs. 

Then we had ice cream at Sloan's and toured the movie theater.

Only a tour because not a single flipping child friendly movie was playing.

It was fun, and exhausting...

Mother Daughter Tea

This afternoon was the Mother Daughter Tea. Organized by Marsh Pointe Elementary and held at Brio. It's a fab little cafe at the Gardens Mall.

The surprise of the day was the full meal. I was expecting tea and desserts. Turned out we had a full menu to choose from. Very awesome.

Kids need more art

The title of the post is the name of an art school for kids in Jupiter, Florida. It's pretty awesome.

Kae's Girl Scout troop had a field trip there yesterday. They explored art in nature, as in artists that worked outdoors. They learned about Van Gogh, and Monet. They also learned some art history by comparing pictures of old paintings.

The girls learned a lot about the technical aspects of art, composition, light, shading. They used a mixed medium to draw and paint Tiger Lilies. 

It was the quietest the girls have ever been in the two years I've known them!

We'll definitely go back for their Brownie Art Try-It

Green Thumb

Kae is super excited about how her garden is growing! And I have some updates.

We have beans!

The tomatoes have all been transplanted.

The pumpkins are crazy and have flowers.

Kae brought home a cilantro for me as a Mother's Day gift. I was informed this afternoon that hers is the only one alive. It's not even been a week /sigh

That makes me sad. 

I also got a Calla Lily for Mother's Day from my sister in law, it's a beautiful dark red. 

Sometimes

There are days when I think that I'm letting kae down. Because she doesn't have extra curricular activities like the rest of the girls she knows.

Every time I consider a class or activity, I see other moms trying to collaborate schedules, and no one can agree on anything because they have so much other shit to do. They're all "dance, tennis, golf, music, gymnastics, horseback riding, play date, birthday party" and I'm sitting there like, nope...knitting and gaming, and I can miss both of those.

We go to the library, and the park. Kae is into reading, and her garden.

On one hand I feel like I'm letting her down. But on the other I feel like I'm doing my best to encourage what she's interested in /sigh

I hate this school and these parents. And I really hate the stupid mommy wars.

April Reading List

April
1-23 Lover At Last - JR Ward (4/9) Free/Library
2-24 The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan (4/14) Free/Own storytime with Kae
3-25 Alice in Zombieland - Gena Showalter (4/16) free/library
4-26 Have a New You By Friday - Kevin Leman (4/21) Audiobook free/overdrive
5-27 The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa (4/28) free/library

So...the only book i didn't like this month was Have a New You by Friday. It wasn't so much about changing yourself as being more aware of why you are who you are. based on Birth order. which i'd already done a ton of reading on for my sociology classes in high school and college. nothing new there.

I'm never disappointed with the Warden, Lover at Last was fantastic.

The Lightening Thief was a read-aloud with kae. we're deciding if we want to start book 2 or try Harry Potter again :D

Alice in Zombieland was NOT a zombie novel, not in the traditional sense, it was good, just not what i was expecting. I'll probably read the sequel.

The Immortal Rules..oh how i love this author. This book was probably my favorite for the month. the sequel came out yesterday and i already have it on hold at the library. This series and the Iron Fey series (both) are books i NEED to own.

so i didn't get my classic read for the month...but all my books were free...trade off? /sigh