Wednesday, April 30, 2008

helen keller, sleepovers and pads

or, things that have conspired to make this a suck ass day.

first. at least three weeks ago the girl was given a project for school. i should say the hubs and i were given a project because this year it seems we are getting graded and not the girl. at the beginning of the year when she was assigned projects she waited until the last minute, would throw something together that i would then type on the computer (and resist trying to edit) and dammit if she didn't get an a or b on the projects. when she was assigned this project, on helen keller, i started nagging her. sadly she is like me in this regard and procrastinates. i get the project details in bits and pieces, usually at bedtime or in the morning when there's nothing i can do about it. the report is due tomorrow. she has to give a 2-4 minute speech as if she were helen. she has a tri-fold board (those science fair boards) that has to contain quotes, fast facts, a time line and pictures. most of that is done. this morning she informs me that she needs a costume for this gig. granted 3 weeks ago she asked if she could wear a flower girl dress she wore about 3 years ago. i told her no, i doesn't fit anymore. nothing else was said. this morning she informs me that the costume is part of her grade. it was an ugly morning. we argued. she glared. she blamed me. it was ugly. so of course for the rest of the day i'm going to be thinking of some way to pull a helen keller outfit out of thin air. i hate school projects.

second. daycare sent home a note this week that two of the 20-something female counselors have invited the older after school girls on a sleepover this friday. do you find that strange? we do. obviously i do not think these counselors are pedophiles or serial killers because i do pay them to take care of my kids during the day, but aside from that i know nothing about them. the daycare is affiliated with a church (that is not why we picked this daycare). i am not stupid enough to assume that because it is a church affiliated daycare that everyone there is lily white. i also realize that as the girl gets older she will not always be with me and that we will have to let her do things we might not always be comfortable with, however, i just don't feel right letting her spend the night with people i pay to care for her during the day when i know nothing about them. the sleepover will be at one of their houses. i don't know where they live. my gut is telling me no (as is the hubs'). yes i'm cynical in this regard at least, but who in their right mind spends all day getting paid to take care of kids and then wants to spend their free time, not getting paid, to be with kids that aren't theirs? the hubs said it's like a restaurant owner inviting everyone back to his house after closing so he can cook for them. what adult chooses to spend their free time with kids that aren't theirs?

third. day before yesterday i was zipping through the drug store and picked up a thing of pads and tampons. i didn't think much about the pads except to make sure they aren't the type w/ wings cos i hate those damn things. i'm always getting the wings stuck to stuff before i get them where they're supposed to be, etc. so i didn't pay attention...that is until yesterday at work when i saw one for the first time. i'm not kidding, the thing is a foot long and two inches thick! i have complete coverage from my belly button to the top of my butt crack. it is ginormous! are you KIDDING me??? i could seriously duct tape these suckers together and make a new pillow top for my king size bed. and no, it is not a depends, seriously, i checked.

5 comments:

Trish said...

OK. Does anybody else find this funny...she has to give a SPEECH as if she were Helen? That should be easy - she can just stand up there and pretend she's doing sign language.

broad minded said...

good point.

just put her in a long skirt and long button down praire type shirt, maybe those mormons in texas could donate an ensemble?

Kristin.... said...

Do you know any simple signs? Go online and find some SIMPLE signs she can demonstrate to the class. My daughter LOVES Hellen Keller. We read one book and she thinks she was awesome.
Yeah, I'm with you on the sleepover. I find it odd. Not bad, just a bit weird.

creative kerfuffle said...

trish--well, you can only imagine what fun the hubs had w/ the irony of giving a speech as helen keller. yes, he was totally rude and politically incorrect and hilarious.
broad--had we had a skirt and a praire shirt we could have done that but alas, we didn't. we stopped at goodwill after work and got a long, black velvet dress w/ long sleeves and white lace trim/pearly buttons. it looks old. it also looks hot (since tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s). the girl doesn't have to wear it all day but i'm thinking if it's uncomfortably hot for her for a little while that's her punishment for being so vile this morning. i know, i'm mean.
kristin--HK really is pretty cool. i've learned a lot about her, more than i realized. the girl is using a porcelain doll as a prop (it was anne's gift to her when she 1st came and the 1st word she spelled into HK's hand--doll) and she's going to spell doll in sign language.
she's practiced once and if she'd drop the english accent (???) it would be good. i don't think alabama-born HK had much of an english accent.

{sue} said...

I am just catching up. I totally agree on the sleepover. I am funny about them too. What's wrong with everybody sleeping at home in their own bed? And I am laughing my butt off about using the pads for a pillow top...omg, I have quite a visual image!