Crayola Markers in Preschool.....Crayola Markers in College.

So yesterday was Emery's 4th day of preschool which loosely translates into my 4th day of freedom!  Although it's funny how my definition of "freedom" has changed over the years.  At age 8 it meant I could ride my bike to 7-11 for a Slurpee. At age 13 it meant that I could stray from my mom for an hour at the mall and shop for a new Esprit bag without someone asking, "Why is that bag $20 cooler than this one?"  At age 21 it meant that I could stop toting around Crayola markers in an attempt to mimic bar stamps so that I could enjoy my God-given right to sing a little Karaoke!  (Side note:  Don't judge!  I lived in a university town, was the youngest of my friends, and it was a time honored tradition that had been passed down by those who shared the same 20-something brain-lapse that I fear for my own children!  Did I mention Luelle isn't going to college away from home?  Ever.)  Regardless, at age 32 "freedom" means I can tote a 19 month old around for 3 hours while running errands at sonic speed, all the while thinking, "How did I not realize how easy life was when I only had one!?"  (I'm sure those of you with 3+ are laughing at me right about now....)

So back to yesterday, I somehow got it in my mind that with my 3 precious hours I was going to go to Winco and do some grocery shopping.  Now I'm not much of a Winco shopper.  It's not that I don't appreciate a good reduced-price can of Ranch-Style beans, it's more that it's just way too far away and I can't take the intense pressure of speed bagging groceries while the checker holds up the next order snickering at my inability to keep up the pace. Seriously, I loathe bagging my own groceries there; it speeds up my heart rate. The plastic bags never come apart easily and the paper bags only hold a few things each unless you happen to have a level of puzzle solving skills that warrants your acceptance onto CBS's Survivor.  So while I completely understand people's love of Winco's low price selections, I have to say I would rather save money by stretching out my (denied) hair coloring treatments than shop there on a regular basis.  To each his own, right?

But yesterday I needed to restock on things like salad dressing and canned basics and I simply cannot deny that Winco's prices are significantly better on mega-trips than my little town's Safeway where if you shop wrong, ketchup is going to cost you a good portion of your child's college savings. So I braved the crowds and stuck little LuLu in the cart determined not to get caught in the aisle gridlock that my husband (not so) affectionately refers to as the "Winco Shuffle" ("Which way you going?  Whatcha trying to get at? Am I in your way?  Can you hand me that?")  I believe with my whole heart that at the end of any Winco trip I have, by nature, bonded with my fellow shoppers more than I could have ever bonded with the girls who taught me the marker bar-stamp trick!  So it's only natural to size these people up as soon as I enter those double doors.  I mean, we're going to spend the next hour together analyzing each other carts, talking about whether Santias chips are better than Juanita's, you get it.

But do you know what I discovered?  Winco in practically empty at 8:00 in the morning! For the most part I didn't even have to engage in conversation!  I did happen upon another shopper by the cilantro but I didn't talk to her because she was too busy touching every single bunch of it and selectivity smelling some for freshness.  Are you supposed to smell cilantro?  I've never done that.  It was kind of gross and made me rethink my desire to make pico de gallo in the first place.  That's probably something that needed to be rethought anyway because I've never actually made it and I could just stop by Baja Fresh instead and eat mini-cup after mini-cup from the salsa bar to my heart's content for the price of a side of chips!   This leads way to my PSA for this week: always remember to wash your produce people!

For as empty as that store was it still took me forever to get out of there.  It reaffirmed my belief that it may just not be the store for me.  I have a low patience level, short time frame, and the money saved by shopping there is eaten by commute when gas is $4 a gallon!  In fact, I was so tired when I was done that instead of making a special trip to get a fall scented candle (one of my yearly traditions when the weather changes) I just bought one from the dog food aisle.  I did smile that it was only $7 instead the $25 Yankee candles that I desperately try to justify to myself every year.  I don't care who you are or how much money you have, there had better be gold flakes in $25 candles! And they better be made in a world of rainbows by magical unicorns where kittens cry when less superior candles are burnt!  Thank the good Lord above for Bed, Bath, and Beyond 20% off coupons, because I don't feel the same way about $19.99 candles...

Hope you all had a great week!

And So It Begins...

Okay, I've been taking an extended hiatus from my blog...I know.  Somehow I decided that I deserved a "Summer Vacation" from self promoting and decided that I would come back to my little project in the fall.  (Side note: did you know you shouldn't capitalize seasons? I had to Google that.)  If you're like me, fall is a second chance at conquering your New Year's resolutions. It's a time to give it your all (for a week) again!  So I'm going to see if I can start squeezing in a few blogs while Emery is hard at work conquering his grueling 3 hour schedule at a place where a good day means you didn't need your "emergency clothing" conveniently kept near the pint-sized restrooms. 

Ahhhh......preschool.  You've been a long time coming, my friend!  Maybe not every parent anxiously awaited for the momentousness "first day" to arrive with the same anticipation as myself.  But I bet those are the same parents that have a well-used craft bin at home with pipe cleaners, glue sticks, and other little dollar store finds that can be made into toddler projects whenever inspiration strikes (yep...I'm talking to you Pamela Susan!)  Notice I said a well-used bin.  Don't get me wrong, I have all of those things.  I'm not sure where they are and they definitely aren't opened, but I have them.  In any case, as a work-at-home mom with two toddler schedules to juggle, I have to be honest and say I'm not breaking out the glue gun that often. But I digress....

What I was trying to get at is that although I'm not winning any awards for a strongly structured home pre-preschool curriculum, I've always known that when the day arrived for Emery to start school, I wanted to be one of the parents who make it a priority to be involved.  This was heavily foreshadowed by my own childhood tendencies where I did things like begging to stay after recess to help the aides pick up balls so my "go home slip" would have a gold star instead of just a check.  And that was only first grade!  Fast forward to afternoons where I was up to my elbows in tempera* paint making student council posters and it's not shocking that my kids might develop a strategy to hide parent volunteer forms from me. Speaking of tempera paint, I bought some for Emery's classroom (even though it was the optional supplies list) just because the smell brought back fond elementary school memories the same way the sight of Elmer's Glue still makes me think of that kid (name withheld) who used to spread it on his hand until it dried and peel it off like it was dead skin.  I bet if he has his own kids, he taught them this nifty little trick in an effort to pass the legacy on!  I base that assumption on the fact that even though my over-involvement is embarrassing to admit, I can't shake it from my DNA 15 years later!

As you can imagine, when I got an email saying the very first PTO meeting was taking place in the church basement I cleared my schedule to make an appearance.  But seeing as the preschool is connected to a private school with children who've been attending for up to 7 years, I knew I would be low man on the totem pole and tricked my husband into coming with me.  "It's a parent's meeting Luke, everyone will be there!"  Ha!  Everyone was not there.  Am I the only one who got the letter? Or the only one that cared?  In all fairness they only gave us 2 days warning so I'm imagining very few people had the same flexibility to attend. But regardless I had just walked into a private meeting with the principle, two other moms, and the office administrator.  So I sat there and very awkwardly kept my mouth shut in a meeting where the seasoned pros went back and forth with inside jokes that I'm assuming might be funny to me if I had a 5th grader who took art literacy last year.  It was a very narrow audience they were appealing to if you catch my drift. They were very nice women, but I couldn't have jumped in there with an ice breaker if I tried!  We did finally have a chance to contribute to the meeting though.  When conversation worked its way to volunteerism, it was suggested that parents could offer their natural skill to help out.   

PTO Mom:  "So if someone likes to cold call, they can volunteer to cold call for us!"

Luke: "Yeah....good luck finding a cold caller. Solid idea"

Needless to say that if we weren't on the radar two weeks ago, we are now.

(*Edited because tempura is a batter and tempera is a paint!  You failed me spellcheck!)

Here are some pictures of Emery on his first day.  Joking aside, We really do love his new school and everyone there has been amazing!

He kept doing this!

So proud of his "big boy" backpack!

"Leave already mom!"