Think Before You Speak

Honestly, I don't even know how it happened.  Remember a couple posts back where I said that the PTA specifies that Executive Board members cannot hold a position for more than two years?  And that I was hoping to slide into the Secretary's spot for the next couple school years taking me through Sunshine's 5th grade year at SuperAwesomeSchool?

Ain't.Gonna.Happen.

I'm still sitting here, shaking my head, in total disbelief about how the following occurred.

The other Exec. Board members and I have been discussing the benefits of dissolving our PTA and going the PTO route.  Again, mentioned in a previous post.  Everyone from our Principal down to teachers and other parents seem to be on board.   So last week, our PTA Secretary and I were talking before the start of our board meeting.  She very casually says "so, since we're going PTO next year, you can stay on as Treasurer since you've got a routine & know what you're doing."

This my friends is where things went horribly, horribly wrong.

"I know---I might as well do it."

It was out there, I couldn't take it back.  I couldn't deny I said it as the President and VP were sitting right.there.

*sigh*

Yep, staying on as Treasurer for a 3rd year.

What's that?  That sign on my forehead?  It says "Sucker"

Think before you speak, you might wind up being Treasurer 3 years in a row.

Perfectly Lovely Weekend

Weekends are special in our house---they can be super lazy or they can be hectic, but we take Saturday and Sunday seriously.  This weekend has been nothing short of wonderful.   For starters, all three of us slept in late on Saturday.  Hunter was the first one up and made coffee (thank you, sweetie!).  I chose to laze about in bed reading my book and just enjoying the quiet.  Sunshine didn't roll out of bed until around 9:15 at which point she came into our room, got in bed with me and watched cartoons while I read.  Hunter was kind enough to run to Starbuck's to get our breakfast.

Since Sunshine is a crafty girl and loves her AG dolls, we found this online and thought it would be a cool project to do.  Sadly, our tent that you see in the picture is quite possibly the worst quality and has since been returned to major retailer with a bulls eye for a logo.  We're currently saving for the AG version as we know the quality is much better.  

But, don't Chrissa, Elizabeth, Felicity and McKenna deserve a little place to toast marshmallows??  Of course, they do!   So, after we had lazed about for a sufficient amount of time, we went to the park near our house and picked up sticks and rocks.  We came home, broke out the glue gun and waited for Hunter to drill the hole in our board.  

We laid out our rocks in a nice little circle

Sunshine wanted the twigs REALLY tall.  I'm pretty sure her dolls will singe their brows when lighting this fire!

We stopped for dinner while the glue was drying.   I made zucchini pizzas from a recipe I'd found on Pinterest.  Ours were broiled rather than grilled but were yummy nonetheless!

Elizabeth thought she'd camp out to test out the campfire site.

Sunday morning we went back to the park as our soil has a high concentration of clay which isn't conducive to gluing!

We spread the glue on the board and started spreading!

A few hours later and wallah!  Instant campfire for dollies!  Elizabeth, McKenna & Felicity are enjoying it.

Chrissa is modeling the t shirt that Sunshine and I designed  last week.  

Then we moved the party inside.  Chrissa was so excited she kept falling over backwards.


We're off to bring a picnic lunch to the park so Sunshine can get some fresh air and play before we come home and subject her to the horrors of Mommy watching the Patriots take on the Jets.  Hunter will fix our Sunday during football season dinner standard--wings and we'll have a salad as well.  This week will be crazy busy as our PTA is putting on the annual Fall Festival on Friday.  I'll come back up for air hopefully next Sunday!
Have a great week!!

Insert Witty Title Here

Let's see, in a nut shell, here's what's happened since last I posted:


1)  PTA Audit is over.  According to PTA guidelines, you can be in a board position for 2 years.  You may return to that position but only after a year has passed.  I can say with all honesty that I will NOT return to the Treasurer position for Sunshine's final year at *superawesomeschool*.   PTA Executive Board members are volunteers.  Aside from the occasional lunch, there is no reimbursement.  They put in long, long hours to make sure the fun things at school run smoothly.  And that's just the hours that you see them at school.  There are countless hours they put in once the school day is done.  The Treasurer's position is one of those positions.  I'm so hoping for Secretary next year as I can take notes, type them up & submit them.  It wouldn't lessen my time spent at school, but it's certainly a good deal less work at home!

2)  Fall Festival is upon us.  Granted, it's 2 1/2 weeks away but everyone is in full prep mode already.  My friend K who is our PTA President & Co-Chair of FF is losing her mind.  I love her dearly but holy cow, I thought I was bad when it came to Book Fair?  She's even worse than I am!  Deep down I'm praying for October 26th at 9pm to come quickly.  And painlessly.  K may need a major girls night after she recovers.

3)  A major rite of passage occurred here over the past weekend.  Sunshine got her ears pierced.  When she was 5, we told her that she could get them done but she'd put it off.  "When I start 1st grade" she'd say.  When 1st grade was in full swing, she'd say "When I turn 7"  The 7th birthday came & went.  No pierced ears.  Fast forward to last month.  She'd ask me questions about whether it hurt,  how was it done?  Would she get to wear the pearl earrings that Hunter bought her during one of his overseas tours?  So, we agreed on a date to have them done & asked one of her friends to come along for moral support.   Only my child would have an entourage tag along for an ear piercing!  Hunter was asked to come along as he would "help me be brave", as well as her friend H.  H's mom & grandmother came as they brought her straight from the soccer field.  There were a few tears, partly from nerves & in the end she was all smiles.  Of course she chose the birthstone earrings---faux diamonds for April.  I'm in trouble with this one! ;)

4)  Back to PTA "stuff"---we're doing research on the benefits from dissolving our PTA & going the PTO route.  Last year we paid over $1000 do the local & state PTA councils.  The benefits aren't that great to be truthful.   Yes, we receive a discount at Office Depot or some other office supply store, but it's never promoted.  Yes, we have lobbyists but we're a public school---lobbyists aren't that helpful when you're already government run.  So far I've done some online research on the hows & whys as well as exchanged emails with another local school's PTA president.  They made the switch last year & are very pleased with it.  We have a decent size budget for our school but an additional $1000 can go a long way---it would pay for buses for 2-3 field trips or could go for additional teacher grant money.

5) I've become addicted to Almond Joy coffee creamer.    I love my Starbucks but can't always make it there in the morning so I'll make coffee at home.  A little dash of this creamer in my Starbucks Vanilla coffee, 2 sweet'n lows later & I'm in heaven.

6)  I'm nearing the end of the baby blanket that I started three years ago.  You know, for the baby who was born in Germany (where his dad was stationed), moved back to the US & is now on his way back to Germany.  I've decided that I'm going to donate it to the hospital on post.  After I finish, I need to work on my UFO socks to complete my UFOs from years past.

7) I'm so proud of the girl I'm mentoring---she's the niece of the SuperAwesome bookatarian & is honestly one of the sweetest kids ever.  She learned to knit in June & is doing so well!  Her first project with a pattern was a dishcloth---a picture cloth of a turtle.  I'm not kidding when I say I made her rip it out three times.  The first time, she had holes from dropped stitches.  The second happened when there were errors with her purling.  The third, honestly I've kind of blocked because at that point, I felt like the meanest task master ever.  The upshot was the dishcloth turned out PERFECT!  Her stockinette stitches are beautiful & oh-so-even!  I felt like Rex Harrison--by jove, she's got it!!  She completed a scarf on her own--complete with switching colors, weaving in ends & everything!  I'm so excited about her progress & can't wait to see what else she creates!

8)  Today is Early Release Day for elementary schools in our district.  Sunshine gets out 2 hours earlier than normal.  Usually I try to plan something fun for ER days.  Last month, we were in Book Fair & had to go back in the evening for a PTA meeting (where we voted on the annual budget) & Family Night at the BF so I was trying to rest up during the afternoon.  We went to see Hotel Transylvania on opening weekend & Sunshine has no interest in Frankenweenie so I think we're going to Barnes & Noble to pick up the 3rd book in the AG Caroline series (A Surprise For Caroline), run by Zaxby's to get Sunshine a birthday cake shake & then home to play before starting homework.  

We've been enjoying a few days of more seasonal temperatures which has been wonderful!  It's been nice to wake up to temps in the low 60s/high 50s & daily highs in the mid 70s.  Keep it coming!  This girl wants cold weather!!