Kelliloo's Place

Oh my lord! It's the PTA job that doesn't die! The fundraising orders were delivered yesterday, on five pallets. That wouldn't fit through the doors at the school. So they were delivered to the dock next to the cafeteria kitchen. My lucky volunteers and I had to unpack all of them, load them on handcarts and wheel them through the cafeteria and out into the hall. Thankfully the principal got a large flatbed cart and helped us out. Things went much more quickly after that.

We got the dry goods orders delivered to the classrooms but all the cookie dough orders had to be picked up in the main hall as the kids were leaving school. Yeah, not so much with the picking up. Over half of the orders didn't get picked up so we had to start calling parents and leaving messages. By the time I left, there were still about 10 boxes that I had to put in the cafeteria freezer.

Then, this morning, the phone calls started because people got the wrong thing. And they can't be bothered to read the packing slip which gives the toll free customer service number to call with problems! Thankfully the lovely ladies in the school office took down the number and started giving it to people when they called the school. I owe J, B, and A big time!

The one good thing? I had exactly one order out of hundreds that had bounced checks. And the mom paid cash yesterday when she picked up the cookie dough so that's all resolved. Yay!

I don't know if I have the strength to do this again next year. Although, it is the best we've ever done dollarwise. I know that's all because of me. ;-)

Somehow I let myself be talked into the position of chairing the Fall Fundraiser for the Girl's school. And chairing in this case means doing most of it myself. Maybe I would have been better off doing the school newsletter every month.

The Fall Fundraiser kicked off Oct 3, ended Oct 18, and I finally turned in the orders today. Now I just have to wait for the delivery on Nov 14. Oh, and worry if any checks are going to bounce. And then track down those people. Like I had to track down the parents of the kids who turned in orders with money missing. So not fun.

But, we did sell a lot! The Girl is going to get "the sizzlers, the pufferball, the FM scan radio, and the party pack". So she's over the moon. And I'm ready for a stiff drink.

Was there ever a lovelier phrase to grace a mom's ears? I think not! Really, I love the Girl and spending time with her, but trying to work this summer with her in the house was hard. Because the state moved the start of school to Aug 27 for everyone, school started almost three weeks later this year. Summer was really, really long.

But now, she's back in school as a big first grader and raring to go. She's already informed me that she knows the way to her classroom so I can just drop her off in the morning. I guess I should be thrilled that she's so independent.

And now, the obligatory first day of school pictures.


I bet you wish your shoes were this shiny.



Let's get to work!

Yesterday, the Girl and I were out running errands. As I was pulling out of a parking lot, a woman in an SUV was driving in holding an infant in her lap. I'm a bit of a carseat freak so I yelled out "Oh My God! That woman is driving holding a baby!" The Girl is also a carseat freak but she didn't key in on the woman holding the baby. No, she yelled at me: "Mom! You aren't supposed to speak the Lord's name in pain!"

After I stopped laughing and wiped the tears from my eyes, I told her it was in vain, not pain. Then I had to try and explain what taking the Lord's name in vain means. I think she understood. But for now, I'm not taking the Lord's name in vain or pain.

The Girl really is a sweetie, even when she's driving me crazy. At random moments throughout the day she'll say (or holler if she's in another room), Mommy, I love you. It's enough to make you melt.

She can also make me laugh. She was reading a book to me called The Fat Cat Sat On The Mat. Gripping, I tell you. Anyway, at one point in the book, the cat says to these other animals, Do you think I'm stupid? She didn't recognize the word so she spelled it out so I could tell her what it was. I told her that word is stupid. She said, well, I can't say that word! And I had to tell her it's okay to say it if it's in a story. She said, I just don't know if I could ever read that aloud at school. It was all I could do not laugh.

Finally, yesterday, sweet and funny at the same time. We took my 88 year old grandmother to the dentist. She was switching from her dentist to ours and the Girl was excited that Granny would get to see her dentist.

So we drive 45 minutes to pick up Granny and then drive over to the dentist (yes, I drive this far to the dentist, he's wonderful and I've been going to him for about 20 years). They call Granny back and the Girl and I stay in the waiting room. She looks at me and says, aren't we going back with Granny? I told her no, the rooms are small, no room for two extra people. She said, well I want to go back with Granny. Again, I told her no. She looks at me, getting a little a teary, and says, I want to be with Granny. I didn't come all this way just to sit in the waiting room!

I was really good and just bit my lip.

It's a little hard to see where the teeth came out because of the new teeth behind them.

I always wonder if I'm doing a good job as a mother with the Girl. I think most parents feel the same way. You wonder if you're instilling good values and a sense of caring in them. You hope they're not too materialistic, especially when they keep adding to their list to Santa.

Today was one of the days where I got to see what a caring daughter the Aggie and I are raising.

This morning the Girl and I met my mom and stepfather at the downtown Neiman Marcus store to see Santa. After that, she had a birthday party to attend. On our way to the birthday party, we saw a homeless man on a street corner holding a sign. She asked if he was homeless and I said yes. Then she wanted to know what his sign said, so I told her: Homeless. Need a Bible, food, and clothes. God bless you.

The Girl said, that just breaks my heart. Then she got quiet. After about five minutes she said, I said a prayer for that man.

It was all I could do not to cry.