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mara williams
on Jun 18 2013 - 06:00 AM
Hey, manchild, mama says: clean your room, wash the dishes, don't drink and drive.
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Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
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Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
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Is there anything more fun than construction paper and glue?
I'll never forget first grade when I handed out Valentines to my classmates in Mrs. Anderson's class. I'm sure they were something paper with Barbie or Care Bears on them. They could have been Strawberry Shortcake. I really liked her. I don't remember, actually. Nor do I remember any of the other Valentines the other kids handed out. Heck, I don't even know if this was first grade or third. I've had a lot of wine since then.
What I do remember, however, are Heidi Pruett's Valentines. In fact, despite the fuzziness in the other areas of my life, I remember her Valentine clearly: a white paper doilie with a red construction paper heart inside, and a handwritten note in the middle. "Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Heidi".
Wait. Was it Heidi Pruett? Or Beth Anthony?
It doesn't matter. It was the Valentine that made the impact. And we all know that no first or third or whatever grader in the world would think of a handmade project like that, much less actually make twenty of them. And the handwriting? Way too perfect for a child's hand. It wasn't Heidi or Beth or whoever it was that wrote it.
It was her mom.
Her mom was That Mom. You know who I'm talking about. I'm talking about That Mom, who handmakes all of her child's Valentines. That Mom, who decorates a special box for her child. The mom who puts a Valentine in her child's lunchbox and who shows up at the classroom party to help out. That Mom always brings treats made in her own kitchen, and she always brings a gift for the teacher.
That Mom has way too much time on her hands. This is what I always thought. Who has time to handmake stuff? Seriously? Who has time to bake? Don't these people work? And maybe they don't work, but it's not like there are expendable hours in the day to do these things. Who does she think she is, showing us all up like that?
This is what I used to think. I used to, of course, until I became That Mom.
I don't know what happened! One day I was a super busy mom with no time for extracurriculars, and the next day...
Oh, who am I kidding. I've always been like this. I can't help myself. I love scissors, I love glue! I love how construction paper smells and how it feels when my scissors cut into it. I love getting glue on my fingertips and then peeling it off and tricking my kids into thinking it's my skin.
And glitter! I love glitter!
Marc and I have handmade his Valentines ever since he was a toddler at Montessori school. Well, back then I had more time. The tradition stays, though. Our Valentines are far from elaborate and only take a fraction of the time it would take to make a white paper doilie with red paper heart type of Valentine. But still, we do it. This year's masterpiece was a piece of paper of one color with a heart cut out of the middle placed over a piece of paper with another color. It took us all of thirty minutes, really, but they were ours. And I've always felt a certain strangeness at passing out commercial Valentines. I'm not knocking on anyone who does, of course, but it just feels like we're passing out ads for toys or movies or television shows.
I also made his Valentine box. How could I not? We had the perfect box! We had silvery wapping paper and leftover hearts! How could I not, honestly?
As for the treats, we always opt for veggies. They'll get plenty of cake and candy without our help, and the class always finishes off the veggie tray. Of course, I'm That Mom, so I'm not going to buy a veggie tray from the store. I'm going to buy veggies, cut them up, and put them on a tray. Then I'm going to bring some hummus because ranch dressing is gross and kids need more chickpeas in their lives.
What? I dunno. But I do know kids love hummus. And I also know that Marc's teacher loved the red flowering plant we gave her as a Valentine's gift.
Now, I'm not trying to brag like I'm some kind of Supermom who does everything. This is purely financial, people. I wonder if it's the same case for other That Moms? Honestly, I already have the construction paper and glue laying around. A box of Valentines costs money. And have you seen the price of veggie trays at the store? I spent a fourth of that on my own veggies. That Mom's not rich. Oh, and I bought the Valentine plant for his teacher at Aldi. Don't tell. It was practically free.
I'm not trying to show anyone up, here. People are busy. I'm not as busy, and I like to do that stuff, so why not? And anyway, for every That Mom in the world, there's always That Other Mom. In fact, in the middle of the party, That Other Mom came in to drop off hand dipped chocolate pretzels with sprinkles, some for every child in the class, and every other fourth grade class as well. Another Other Mom brought gifts for her child's teacher, every other teacher in the fourth grade, and all the special class teachers.
Talk about time on your hands!
How about you? Are you That Mom? That Other Mom? Do you want to be That Mom but don't have time? Or does the smell of glue make you want to run in the other direction?
Most importantly, did you have a good Valentine's Day? Happy Valentine's Day, Mom2Mom moms! Much love to you from the Engholm-Mitchell-Thomas home!
Bragger :) I am the other mom, the one who buys the box of superhero cards, maybe a bag of Hershey's kisses and then a couple of packages of cookies from the store. This comes from being craft-challenged in general and just being way too busy. The kids are all in middle and high school now, so if they want to pass out Valentine's to their friends they are on their own and big Sis was more than happy to take them shopping for supplies! Happy Valentine's (post) to you too!Val, I love that you are That Mom. It usually depends on what year and what holiday, but I have been both kinds of moms. Last year, my youngest and I made her Valentines, with a little help from Michael's, and I baked heart cutout sugar cookies for her pre school class. This year, not so much! Hope your Valentine's Day was terrific!I used to try to be that mom as much as I could when DS was in grade school. I did send him to school with the superhero of the year Valentines but I would bake cookies and help with the games for the class parties. I really didn't mind when he hit middle school and the class parties stopped. So now I am the mom that doesn't get involved with any school activities. The little bit that I have in the last 5 years always makes me wish I hadn't.Ohmygosh, I'm THAT Mom! I love all that artsy-fartsy stuff! My DSs never wanted to make homemade Valentines (they loved the super hero of the day), but I'm That Mom who was helping at the holiday parties and went on the field trips. Hey, I wanted to see the KC Ballet do the Nutcracker, too! And see A Christmas Carol at the MO Rep! And go on the hay rides, etc. etc. etc. When they got to high school, I was a "Mom judge" at debate/forensics tourneys, ran the hospitality room (more than once, and literally wrote the "how-to-do-this" manual), judged at Job Olympics at JCCC for special needs kids from 5 counties (and I should get off my soap box now). The bottom line is: I had a blast! I'd do it all again in a heartbeat! Sure, it was time consuming, but I made time to do these things because I loved doing them. I'm not looking for a gold star or anything, but it's nice to realize there are others who are That Mom, and like it as much as me!
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