A day in the life

There was an incident that occurred that as it was happening I considered it blog worthy, so this week we will have a ‘morning in the life of the Mud Puddle Mom’ blog entry.

First let me start by saying it is the Mud Puddle, the dogs and I holding down the fort at the moment. Scott is off in Paris (ahh.. Paris in springtime whoop-de-doo) and I will be meeting him on the other side of the pond in London (LDN anytime of year kicks Paris’ BUTT).

So this morning after fixing the Mud Puddle’s hair (see last week’s post) I had what can only be described as sublime moment. I found myself saying rather loudly the following: “DO NOT THROW LAVA AT THE DOGS.” I paused and looked at myself in the mirror as if to say “Did I really just say that??” some background for you:

The Mud Puddle had spent the previous night with my brother E. I had class and Scott was in Paris so E was on Mud Puddle patrol. Now apparently they had some kind of Super Hero conversation and the Mud Puddle decided he was Lava Boy (which made me Lava Girl and not Lava Mummy somehow).
The next morning he got up and decided he was Ice Man instead of Lava Boy. He then changed back into Lava Boy after having his hair spiked b/c only Lava Boy can have spikes. I don’t know WHY I am just imparting the facts to you.

So after doing his hair Lava Boy style – he heads out to the living room, I ask him to let the dogs in and he informs me he is going to drop Lava on them with his Lava Boy SUPER POWERS. Hence me telling him rather seriously not to throw lava at the dogs. Yeah, I am not living a sublime life AT ALL.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I have spent some time in the past discussing the Mud Puddle’s hair. When he was about a year and a half he HATED having his hair cut and it turned into a major drama. Since then he has been much better about it and actually looks forward to visiting the hair salon. We found one here in Nash that caters to children (if you have kids look and see if you have one: they are called Snip Its and it is a little more than a Super Cuts but SO kid friendly).

We have been pretty consistent with his hair for the last year or so –wearing it short and tight. Well, this past weekend he decided he wanted to start spiking it. HUH??

I am not really sure where that came from. Scott wears his a little spiky in the front but the Mud Puddle decided he wanted his spiked all over. This is the same kid that won’t let me part his hair on the side and wants it combed forward all the time. Spiky is the opposite of brushed forward in my estimation.

So Saturday before karate I gave him bad boy spikes and he LOVED it. It also made him look about seven years old. We get to karate and he has to show all the instructors and some of the other kids his hair. He was SO proud of it!

We stopped at the drugstore and bought him his own ‘product’ (God help me) and a spritz bottle so I can wet his hair down a little better.

Every morning this week I have gone through the five minute process of sticking his hair up and then spraying the crap out of it with cheap hairspray.

When I pick him up after school his hair has fallen and one little bit is half sticking up. I am not sure what exactly he does during the day to cause his hair to fall because I shellac the stuffing out of it, but it is pretty funny to see.
I am not sure if this is a phase or if he is going to be hair obsessed for the rest of his life.

The bad news for me is this cuts into MY hair fixing time so I have been less than well coiffed this week. I didn’t need any less help in the fixing department, at this rate I am going to better off putting a paper bag over my head – or better yet start a really good hat collection.

School Daze

I recently had one of the most bizarre experiences of my mommy life. I had to register the Mud Puddle for Kindergarten.

Now, at first blush this sounds like a rather benign activity. I mean really? How hard can it be? Thousands of five year olds start kindergarten every year here so I thought it must be a cake walk. Like so much else – I was sorely mistaken.

Registration was due to start at 6 p.m. on a Monday night at the elementary school the Mud Puddle will be attending. I had called ahead to make sure I had all the proper paperwork (immunization record, proof residency, birth certificate, etc) and planned to get there a bit early in case there was paperwork to fill out.

I rolled up to the school at about 5-5:15 and there were an awful lot of cars in the parking lot. I assumed kids were still there (after school program) or there was some meeting going on. Not so much. All the cars? Future Kindergarten parents.
I go inside and the gym is packed. I have to take a number (I was 62) and get my paperwork copied. All the time feeling like I am having an out of body experience. Where in the heck did all these parents come from and how the heck did they get here so early?

This was not a line for Jimmy Buffet tickets, nor had Elvis recently returned from the great beyond and was planning a concert tour. IT IS PUBLIC KINDERGARTEN. Guess what? Everyone gets a spot.
So why were these parents queued up so early? Well the catch is that kindergarten in Nash is half day. So half the kids go to morning and half go to afternoon. Same teachers, same curriculum just different sessions. Apparently EVERYONE wants morning. Why? I have no clue.

So I sat waiting for the registration to start (they didn’t start processing people until 6, I heard through the grape vine that people had been arriving at 2:30). I finally got my turn in line at about 7:30. That gave me plenty of time to think about why people have to have morning kindergarten (afternoon naps? Other kids in school?) and nothing I could come up with made enough sense or matter to justify showing up nearly 4 hours early to register.

The women at the head of the line I have dubbed the Mommy Mafia. I don’t mean to generalize or stereotype (yeah right) but these clearly were women with time on their hands. Well coiffed, nails done, matching trendy purses and super stylish jeans. They were traveling in a pack, all carrying some form of Starbucks coffee cup and either talking on or holding cell phones. I am sure they have the same or similar SUVs and coordinate their Pilates classes together.
THESE are the people that can show up at 2:30 on a Monday afternoon to register for Kindergarten. Regular working moms can’t leave work for something like that (and I really would not have wanted to show up to the school at 2:30 and just sit around, I have things to do!!).

I called a mommy friend to see if she was experiencing a similar situation at her elementary school and she was. On that cold winter’s night all over Nash, parents were sitting on folding chairs in the gym waiting to hand off paperwork to start their little ones down the public education road.

The kicker to all of this? We don’t find out until June whether he is in the morning or afternoon session. All that time spent and there is still a chance you don’t’ get what you want. The Mud Puddle will be at his current daycare the rest of the day and they can pick him up and drop him off so it shouldn’t make too much difference either way. I kind of hope for the afternoon- feels kind of rebellious!