Ten of us went to Chili's...Abigail, Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille...and me...
Cuteness? My sister's grandson, Will..and his Mama Susan, who is expecting twins! (Will is in for a surprise, eh?)
I was a gypsy...a last minute gypsy, Evelyn was disapointed I didn't dress up...so I did.
Miss Charlotte Claire, a.k.a Little Red Riding Hood
Cuteness?
Camille the kitty
Camille loves Kitty KittenWe splurged and spent $34 for dinner...the kids really enjoyed it though. Camille only ate a few bites of her cheeseburger and a few fries...so when her food was boxed up to bring home, she actually kissed the styrofoam container. You know how sometimes when you bring lots of kids somewhere it can be challenging and you wonder why the heck you thought this would be a good idea? Well, last night was NOT one of those times. We walked through a beautiful neighborhood with big expensive houses...they trudged up the driveways and across the lawns, filling those bags, and really delighting in it. They got toothbrushes and crayons and pretzels with their candy. It was cold out, but they had warm coats and mittens, and there was no wind or rain...
This morning as I said goodbye to the four college kids I said, "Maybe today I will not have any trials.". ha. Then, ...the school principal called. He had Evelyn in his office. What? Evelyn? I took the phone in my room to get away from the noise of the dog barking at the cat and the school-skipping elementary kids squealing about their candy, all dumped out on the floor...anyway, he said Evelyn has to have a restricted lunch today because she failed to bring in notes from when she was absent. Seriously? The nurse calls here when they are out, and I usually write the notes. She probably told me she needed one, and I didn't get to it. The principal said there has to be a punishment when these things are not taken care of. So I said, "For her or for me?" Oh, he stammered, for Evelyn. "Why Evelyn? The problem is clearly my fault. And do you know how busy it is around here? We have four kids commuting to college, and eight in school...to remember a note for being absent is not the top of the list, but if anyone should be punished for it, it shouldn't be her...furthermore, it seems ridiculous that a good girl like Ev has to get in trouble for something like this when there are kids on the bus being so mean" (one kids likes to tell these kids that their mom is fat, that's me! And I hate him! I don't even know him, but why would he be so mean? I don't personally care if he calls me that, but my poor kids!) anyway...."they get shoved in the hallways, and kids get away with all kinds of things that are mean-spirited, and my kids are kind and good, and get punished for something like this?!!" He apologized, said it is School Policy, and he has NO CHOICE. I asked how we change the policy, and he stammered and uh, blamed it on New York State. So I asked, "Is it New York State law that a child gets a restricted lunch if her mom forgets to write an excuse?" Um, no, not specifically, but it IS School Policy. rrr. I was sorry to give him a hard time, but jeepers. I started crying my eyes out, as I usually do when I go out of my comfort zone of being nice and compliant and good natured. I had to get off the phone before The Principal realized how upset I got.
Now I have to analyze why this ordeal was so difficult for me. rrr. The school does not own my kids. The State does not own my kids. I understand we have to live in a society, and live by the rules of it, but....the teachers exclaim about what good kids we have...don't they know that part of this is that we spend time with them? And that there are so many of them, that makes them nicer because they love each other, and learn to get along with others from so much practice at home? Whatever. They will never understand. We live in a world in which The Rules can't be broken.
And of course Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan, and Charlotte Claire are all home today. They were tired! They didn't get tucked in until 9:45, and hardly even got to see their candy last night because they had to get to bed...they have it all dumped out on the floor...and I don't suppose it matters one bit to the school officials that they are learning how to trade and count and share....
Hopefully we don't get into trouble one of these years. I don't WANT to cause trouble. I just firmly believe that it is best for these guys to not spend all their days in that school. They need some days like this! Life is short, and they need to feel love and goodness...not just on the weekends. And part if it IS selfishness, they are MY kids, I love them, and want to enjoy them too! And now that I remember, I did tell Mr. Principal that Evelyn is going to want to homeschool now more than ever! Maybe that's what I am going to have to do...
Anyway, so much for No Trials today. When I got on the scale this morning, ugh. One good meal, and ugh. When I say, "good", I mean GOOD! Honey-chipotle crispy chicken chunks! When they say, "crispy", they mean fried! Battered and fried! I also had broccoli, and fries. Yes, I ate most of the fries. I DID substitute the loaded potato for the broccoli, so I lose ten pounds for that, right? I also had lots of warm tortilla chips with salsa...lots. I do not eat those anymore, but I did last night. I figured I would try to trick my metabolism...ha. I tricked myself into eating lots of carbs and fat, and it was good. I also had half a Ghiardelli Caramel Latte square, grabbed it right out of Sonja K.'s hand after she trick or treated it...shared with Abigail. We WERE chaperoning them, so we deserved at least one piece.
So...today I have to lie to the school nurse and tell her these guys don't feel well....either that or tell the truth and say they have about twenty pounds of candy dumped on comforters on the living room floor and are having the best day of the year besides maybe Christmas...
We need groceries again...some fresh stuff, at least. Today I shall stay away from the candy and behave, and hope my newly tricked metabolism just works overtime and I still get to lose like twenty pounds before our vacation...ha.
6 comments:
You are a beautiful gypsy!
Your face is looking so much thinner! Yay for that! And maybe you'll drop a couple of pounds in the next few days - while your body figures out that oh, it's *not* starving or deprived because of your dinner last night. Sounds so YUM!!!
I love your approach on WHY the kids are so well behaved - and how you always write about how you love to have them around you. It is such a good spirit to drink of, instead of our current society's opinion that the longer they are in school and out of our way, the better!
I really feel for you- school rules are stupid. Some (most) people don't seem to mind, but I did. I hated feeling like the school owned my kids and had so much control, even in kindergarten my kids had an hour of homework after they'd been in school all day! Homeschooling has challenges, of course, but so much more freedom. We live in Florida where it is pretty easy to homeschool...I know in NY there are more hoops to jump through, but it can be done.
Your holidays always look like a lot of fun, I love reading about your family:)
~Shel
Just an idea...
Print out a note and have the kids put it in their backpack to give to teacher...something like this.
Date:_______ (fill in the blank)
Please excuse my child _______ as she/he was feeling ill.
Thanks,
Sue Smith (or whatever your name is)
You can print out a mass of these and just fill in the name and date! Hopefully the kids can help you remember!
I agree with you - don't punish the child! I find I have so many tendencies that you have - doesn't take much to let a child take a day off from school. If they seem to stressed and seems they really need a day, I'll keep them home. This doesn't happen very often, even. I homeschooled them last year, because it seemed they really needed a de-stresser (international move a couple years ago, then another move here in Finland a year later ... ) I'd love to homeschool throughout their school years, but since we're living here it seemed the need to continue to learn Finnish outweighed my want to protect them from the stresses of attending public school.
You're looking great, by the way! I mean, you've always looked so pretty in your pictures, but the weight loss is sure showing! I need some motivation ....
Oh, that school thing would just make me so crabby! And I think you did right in challenging that principal by asking him the questions you did, because, even though it is School Policy and he has no choice and on and on, I can guarantee it made him think! We ran into a similar situation for something as stupid and the next year, I did end up homeschooling that child. And I did tell them that, due to some circumstances the previous year, I just felt it was better all around that she was home.. And to think of all you do for society by spending the time you do with your kids, loving them and teaching them and what they learn from each other. To be honest, every time I read your blog (and it is much more often than I comment...) I just think, "I don't think she realizes how much she IS already homeschooling!" I started homeschooling some of my kids about 3 years ago but not until this year did I homeschool all of my kids, so I've had a lot of time between now and then to read up and study how so many of the skills being taught in schools are already integrated into our lives, especially as larger families.
I love reading your blog because, even though we have only half the number of children you have, I see so many similarities in the way we think and run our households...
Post a Comment