Thursday, March 26, 2009

not a good look

Now, I'm no fashionista. I can usually be seen sporting some seriously unfashionable mommy gear because it's comfortable, darn it. But today, I saw 2 outfits that stood out in their wrongness. One was a young woman sporting one of those trendy sweat suits. The pants were low-cut exposing her flat little belly because the jacket didn't quite meet the pants. But it was the shoes that got me. Bedazzled thong sandals with kitten heels. It just didn't look right, people.

But the wrongest (yes, I know that's not really a word, but it fits this situation) was the woman I saw running in my neighborhood. I imagine her mental checklist as she geared up for her run: Running shoes. Check. Running shorts. Check. Ipod. Check. Tube top. Check.

A tube top for running?! Seriously? That sounds like asking for an injury.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Disappearing teachers

L'il Sis had a preschool field trip last Thursday. I'm so thankful it is the last one of the year. Parents have to transport the kids. Not so unusual in a preschool setting. That's not the problem.

For this last field trip, there were 2 moms to chaperon and drive. Between us, we had 5 kids because 2 were not there that day. (Yes, it is a very small class!) The 2 teachers drove in a separate vehicle. We met another, larger class at a nature center and combined the 2 classes for the field trip because ours was so tiny. Not a problem. After the tour was over, the guide allowed the kids to go in the nature center display area. Shortly after that, the other class left. The other mom, the kids and I wandered into a side area with the guide who continued talking to us and the kids about things.

I was waiting for the teachers. Finally, I walked out to the entrance area, looked out the front doors and saw them walking in the parking lot to their vehicle. There were only 4 cars in the lot at this time. The director of the preschool was also getting into her car and leaving. The other 2 cars belonged to the other mom and me. By the time I was able to call the other mom's attention to the fact that the teachers were leaving and round up the kids to get them out to the cars, the teachers were gone. Seriously.

Back at the classroom, the other mom asked about it and the lead teacher said she didn't see us and thought we'd left. Hmm. Their car was parked between ours and our cars were still in the parking lot when they left the nature center. So, I'm not buying it.

The field trip before this one, we had more moms along but again, the teachers disappeared at the end. We all came back to the school and classroom because some of the kids needed to be picked up or were staying for extended care. The rest of us stood in that room waiting for the teachers who never showed. We theorized that they went to lunch and just never bothered to say anything to anyone.

Maybe I'm over-reacting. For the most part, I really like L'il Sis' teachers. But this seems to be a serious lack of communication.

*update: I had a chat with the Director of the preschool and she agreed it was an area of concern and that she would address it.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

are we there yet?

It's the future...where's my flying car? Apparently, it's here but I can't afford it:

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

um...okay...

Seen when we took the kids to a BBQ place recently:
a car parked in front of the restaurant with a vegetarian bumper sticker.

Happy...um....what day is it?

I've already resigned myself to the fact that I will never be Mom of the Year. I know this. But then along comes my good friend Jody to really show me up!

I didn't even remember that today was St. Patrick's Day until the rest of L'il Sis' preschool class showed up in green shirts. She picked out her own clothes and was wearing a pink tank top and denim skort with pink ruffle. There were some tiny green embroidered leaves on the skort, but I don't think they counted since her teacher pinched her anyway.

Oh, and Big Sis and I weren't wearing anything green either. Then I read Jody's blog and see they've set out leprechaun traps... and almost caught some!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

dancing raindrops

It was a busy morning. Big Sis and Stretch had their last games for Upward Bound basketball and L'il Sis had her first dance performance at a local festival. Stretch and Big Sis left for basketball after breakfast. I was so bummed to miss her last game. After they left, I still had to wrestle L'il Sis' hair into a bun. It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't so hair-challenged. I had to get another mom to tell me how to do it. L'il Sis didn't care for the gel, hair pins, or hairspray. I can't really say I blame her. She probably wouldn't have been too crazy about the hairnet either, if she'd known about it. But, miraculously, it all stopped hurting her after I gave her a few M&M's.



It's not the most beautiful thing up close, but it got the job done!
















Waiting to go on.

Once the girls were ready to perform, my Flip froze up on me during the beginning of the routine. I managed to get it going again just after L'il Sis and the other raindrops began their part of the dance, collectively I guess they are a raincloud. L'il Sis is mostly to the far left of the screen, the tallest of the brunette raindrops:



The first thing L'il Sis said as she came off the stage was, "Do we get to try again?" with a smile. When I told her no, she asked sadly, "We only get one try?" She refused to take her costume off and wore it to the basketball game Stretch was coaching. She also provided some off-court entertainment by dancing on the side-lines. I don't think the cheerleaders' coaches were too pleased when half their girls were distracted by the little ballerina.

Monday, March 09, 2009

seriously?!

It's 5:20 p.m.
I'm in the midst of making dinner for my family when my cell phone rings.
It's the rental car company calling to tell me that today is the last day that my insurance will be paying for the rental.
What?!
(I'd taken my car in for repairs last week.)
Apparently, the repairs had been completed last Friday.
Again, WHAT?!
No one had called to inform me of this little nugget.
I ask when the rental office closes.
6:00.
Of course.
I call the repair office, confirm that the car is indeed ready and ask what time they close.
6:00.
By now it is 5:30.
And, oh, by the way, I live about 30 minutes away.
(The only good part was that both offices were located at the same dealership location.)
Fortunately, Stretch was home.
I told him how to finish dinner as I launched myself out of the garage.
Somehow, I made it to the repair shop in record time, with time to spare! Let's just say that I put those Korean driving skills to good use. Ahem.

I think I need a bubble bath ...or wine... or both...

Saturday, March 07, 2009

yakka-wanna



Not only do girls want to have fun, this one has no shortage of confidence! When I showed her the video, her first words were,
"I have a cute voice!"


Hmm... I just noticed she's wearing the same outfit as the previous post. I swear it is a different day and it has been laundered! ;D

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Punky Brewster


L'il Sis dressed herself today, as she does most days. The headband is supposed to make her hair look "fancy." I wondered a bit about some color choices but decided she was channeling Punky Brewster. So this is how she looked as we headed out the door to preschool this morning.

Just the fact that she would willingly choose to put on tights suggests she might not be my child after all. As a child, my sister was known to ask for tights and change her clothes several times a day (something else that L'il Sis does). Somehow I ended up with my sister's child.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

At least I didn't see any scissors...

Suddenly, I realized, "Hmm, it's very quiet around here. A little TOO quiet..." Then I see doors closed, including the one to the girls' bathroom with light coming from in there. "What are you doing?" I ask as make my way to the door to open it. I hear my 8 year old answer, "Spa!"

'What?!' I'm thinking as I open the door to see my 4 year old standing in front of the mirror, staring at herself very seriously while holding a handtowel around her shoulders. I think her sister was wielding a brush. I don't know for sure, because I exited quickly. They're together and there's no screaming or blood-letting. I think I'll just enjoy the quiet.