Because I Couldn't Make This Stuff Up

The other day we were talking about the annual All Saints celebration at A's school. Instead of dressing up in "traditional" Halloween costumes, each kid chooses a saint, researches him/her, then dresses like that saint for Mass and a "treat walk." A will be St. Patrick this year. I've made a rather kick-a** costume. I digress. A was telling J that when she gets to kindergarten, she will have to choose a saint to be.

A: You'll have to be a GIRL saint.
J: Like Sleeping Beauty?

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A's teacher has instituted a new system for charting their behavior and schoolwork each day. It's essentially a calendar, and they color the day according to how they did that day. Green for "good," yellow for a "warning," and red for "better luck tomorrow." I asked A who determines what color they get each day, and he said that the students decide. What happens, then, if the teacher disagrees?

A: What do you mean?
me: Like, what happens if you think you had a "green" day, but Mrs. K thinks you had a "red" day?
A: Well, I, uh, think we do "rock, paper, scissors" or somethin'.

Money Well Spent.

Wednesday is Mass Day at A's school. Every Wednesday evening we ask how Mass was and he always says, "Good."

This week, D asked him how Mass had gone. Here's how it went:

D: How was Mass?
A: Good.
D: Well, what did Father talk about?
A: Ummm...I don't really know.
D: Well, do you know what the Gospel was about?
A: Uhhhh....I think it came from Luke. But that's probably just a guess.
D: Oh. Well...
A: I usually don't pay attention during Mass.

So, at least he's getting the virtue of honesty.

Because it has to be said.

Yes, I'm a Republican. No, I don't line up 100% with the party. Yes, I'm one of the energized, re-committed individuals who finds the nomination of Sarah Palin intriguing and fantastic. I've been caught up in all the news reports too. No matter what one's political persuasion, as a woman (and no, not a feminist - whatever that term means to you, I don't think that word describes me), and a working mother, I think the chance to have that unique perspective on the national level is hopeful. Something about all the coverage of the past 5 days has kind of rubbed me raw, but I haven't been able to put words around what exactly has gotten under my skin. But I read this today, and it sums it up. At least mostly.

It's a reminder that the Mommy Wars debates are largely had by people who can afford to spend a lot of time theorizing in op-ed columns rather than trying to put gas in the car and food on the table. Feminist liberal moms sometimes choose to stay home while evangelical moms sometimes have to work; they may not want to, but a study I once wrote about suggested they feel less unhappiness about finding a "work-life" balance than their feminist peers do. It's a psychological truism that people who judge you are really reflecting something of their own anxieties. Why else, in the supposed age of gender equality, do we respond with the same old Pavlovian frenzy when the mommy-isn't-at-home bell is rung instead of stepping back to ask: How can we change our culture so this is a decision that falls equally to mom and dad? How come feminist-minded journalists don't take male politicians to task for how they run their lives but get in at arms when a conservative mother chooses to run for national office? As Anne pointed out, isn't this ironic? Whatever the problems I have with Palin’s politics, her decision to run for VP as a mom with a young kid is not one of them.

It was posted by Meghan O'Rourke at slate.com. If you happen to go to that site and read most of the other things written about Palin there, I will admit that I don't usually agree. But I think this quote is right on.

First Day of Preschool

Well...

Today was the day that J started school. Preschool. I'm glad it finally got here, because now the anticipation of it is all over. Because seriously...it's only been within the last month that she has agreed to go to preschool in the first place.

This morning she woke up and was raring to go. She announced to D that she needed a good breakfast because "It's a big day for preschoolers, Dad."

I walked her in to her classroom and turned in her paperwork. I stood amongst all the other (good) moms who had remembered to bring their cameras (I thought I was doing really well to remember the tissues, paper towels, and emergency medical forms). Kids were clinging to their mothers...some were crying, others were clearly apprehensive.

Mine? She walked about 5 steps into the classroom, turned around, flashed me a HUGE smile, and threw me a wave. "BYE!!!!" she yelled.

My mom says it's a sign that she's well-adjusted and trusts that we're going to be there when she's done with school.

To me, she could just as well have said, "Get the hell outta here, Mom! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out!"

Our fantastic priest, pastor, and friend, has started a blog. Interesting, since he's the very last person I'd expect to do such a thing. He's an eloquent writer and knows so much about so many things...it will be an enjoyable read! I've linked him in the sidebar.

Why?

...haven't I started doing laundry in preparation for our trip? We leave in two days, and I haven't done laundry, really, since 2 weeks ago. Thank chocolate D did some while we were away last weekend, or we'd all be out of underwear.

...am I sitting upstairs, thinking about how I'm going to go downstairs to the family room to read my new book, when I know that the light bulb in the lamp behind the couch is out and I won't want to turn the overheads on to read, but I'll forget to take a new bulb with me when I go downstairs?

...are all the pay-per-view movies (a luxury, I might add, that we have JUST NOW become familiar with - totally crazy since it's way cheaper and easier than planning a night out at the movies and hiring a sitter) that we want to watch starting at either 7:00 (too early) or 9:30 (no chance we'd stay awake)?

...can't I keep my car clean? Oh wait. I know the answer to that one. The better question is why my children insist on carting loads of crap into the car with them every.time.we.leave.the.house, and then leaving everything in the backseat when we get home?

...am I losing my resolve to keep the boy off the Wii this summer? I mean, he gets exercise, I suppose, and I guess in some sense it's better than him sitting and watching cartoons or whatever...I guess the fact that it's on TV that makes me feel like I should be all anxious and concerned. Perhaps it's just particularly bad this week because it's been rainy, and during the times it hasn't been rainy, the neighbor kid's been on vacation. And gee. We're going on a Wii-less vacation in two short days. Hm. I can talk my way around anything.

We're off to the north woods this weekend. Two whole weeks away. Sand, water, cedar trees, only occasional internet access, and long sunsets over the water. Pinch me now.

It's a Good Thing She's Cute

...most days, it's her saving grace.

We're fighting strep here. As in strep throat, that illness that most people get during the winter. I've had it precisely one time in my life. My son... twice in the last month and a half, three times if you're looking at the last four months. Now the girl has it too.

She keeps telling me her "fever hurts, right here in my mouf," while she opens her mouth to say "ahhhh" and breathes her stinky, strep-y breaf all over me. Dang, it's a good thing my kids are (knock-on-wood) generally healthy. I'm good at being a doting, spoiling, I'll-get-you-anything-you-want, Mom, for a little while. But if this went on for days I'd be in trouble.

She just came to me at the table weilding a package of fruit snacks telling me that she really needed them because "they're good and they make my fever froat go away."

Perhaps it was that she smells fresh from the bath she just got after she threw up all over my bed (oh, did I forget that part up above?), perhaps it was her big blue eyes and her pink flushed cheeks, but man was she cute and absolutely impossible to refuse.