02 February 2010

Seriously???

This week is Catholic Schools Week, the annual celebration of Catholic education that involves lots of activities and events and whatnot. The whatnot is going to kill me.

Tomorrow? Here's what I need to coordinate. This is AFTER attending the K-4th grade pizza night fundraiser tonight and BEFORE attending the 5th-8th grade pizza night fundraiser tomorrow night. In between:

My 2nd grader has an Ancestor project due tomorrow. We started it way ahead of time. And then left it alone, so she must finish it tonight. I am her subject, so I'm pretty involved.

Tomorrow is Stuffed Animal Day. I don't even want to get started on my real opinion of Stuffed Animal Day. I'll just say it drives me bonkers.

Tomorrow is the Multicultural Pot Luck. This means FOUR dishes, for FOUR class potlucks. And I can't convince the kids to let me throw four heads of cabbage in their back packs and call it a day.

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school, which Kindergarten celebrates by having each child bring in 100 somethings to share, which of course the Kindergartner is supposed to be in charge of counting, what with her new-found counting skills and all. This will be painstaking. She can do it. I will go grey in the process.

My 5th grader is carting around the "pretend baby" he is supposed to be caring for 24/7, along with the "baby's" shoe box house. It's anyone's guess if he'll actually be able to find his "baby" when we need to leave for school; if yesterday morning is any indication, we'll turn the house upside down in great angst and upheaval because we think we put the baby through the laundry.

OK, so let's recap. I worked all day long. We've got one art class this afternoon and one basketball practice. We've got the pizza night fundraiser. I somehow must shop for whatever half-assed excuse of a contribution I come up with for the Multicultural potluck. I must throw together said half-assed excuse. We have to finish the 2nd grade project. Have everyone else do their homework. Get the Kindergartner to count out 100 goodies.

And then, tomorrow morning, I must leave the house with:

4 stuffed animals.
4 potluck dishes.
100 goodies.
One completed ancestor project
One late assignment that was due today, but our printer futzed out, which reminds me, throw a trip to Staples for new printer cartridges into this evening.
One box and "baby" for the 5th grader.
The usual four backpacks and lunch boxes.
AND the five kids.

Let's hope that, unlike this morning, we have access to our garage. This morning, after our three-year old completely jammed our locked garage door, rendering it un-openable, we were separated from our clean school uniform laundry for about 20 panicked minutes, way too close to departure time for comfort. We only gained access to said unforms by going through the garden gate, REMOVING a window from our back garage door and essentially breaking in. And then gathering the clean laundry and walking back through the garden gate, around the house, and back in the front door. It was nutty. And dramatic. And supremely annoying.

For those of you who might see me at pizza night, you'll find no need to question why I am weeping into my beer.

My minivan isn't big enough for the next 24 hours and all of the sudden I have an overwhelming desire to homeschool my kids. And now, to accomplish before Pizza Night: bank, staples, grocery store, art class pick-up.

Oh yeah, Kelly, I need that hermitage.

* * *

5 comments:

Sandy said...

We feel your pain. So far (and we just have one kiddo in Catholic school) we are into this week for 24 muffins, carpooling to the local radio sttion so they could sing on air, Mass with the Bishop tomorrow (50 icy miles away) and exactly 4.75 for pizza afterwards. They are also doing class projects for the school auction (our main fundraiser) and needed a relevant inspirational family quote and oh, thank goodness, we're not baptist and that our pizza nights include beer to cry into....love the bit about breaking into your own house. Perfect.

And I'll Raise You 5 said...

sandy, thank goodness pizza night includes beer, indeed! Yup, CSW: Fun for the whole family. :)

Anonymous said...

You may have the numbers but I am doing all the same things with a few less players. The breaking in for laundry needs to go in the book and I am on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what your people bring to the pot-luck...we found German cookies, deep in the bowels of CVS, I am quite sure no child will want to eat these but they are imported!! Stuffed animals at the ready and don't forget E's special Valentine, field trip forms and money for Haiti. Miss you but find comfort that you are stewing over the same issues!
xoxo Lor

Kerri said...

I can't even imagine doing all you have to do, getting it done this week. I almost wept with joy that I didn't have a kindergartner this week when I saw them with their baggies of 100 goodies, stuffed animals, book fair envelopes, and potluck dishes-one could barely get through the hall to get a late slip (sorry, Laura, Team Blonde didn't make it on time). We had to skip the pizza night, since Hannah was puking from too much multi culture yesterday.
Chin up, Monica..the end is near.
I'm about to crawl into the monkey baby box for a nice long nap....hey, it's cleaner than my house.

Homemaker Man said...

At least you don't have to come up with diner on pizza night?

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