I got roped into being a Room Mom once. Never again. It was my oldest’s Pre-K class, and I was working part-time back then, so I figured I should give it a whirl. I’ve managed people and led programs; how hard could it be? Bahahaha! Let me just tell you that the one (and only) time I went to the classroom to “help” the teacher prep some craft materials, I cut my hand open with a pair of scissors.

I tried to wrangle volunteers for this booth and that activity, not to mention the contributions for the various holiday parties and field trips. I love being a parent, but dealing with other people’s kids (and their parents & grandparents) is not a trait that is inherent in me. So, I thank the teachers and bless the Room Moms for being willing to deal with the rest of us, because I can vouch that it isn’t a walk in the park.

That said, I just have a couple of favors to ask. First of all, please, please, pretty please – tell me which teacher you are representing when you send an email. Signing your email “Caleb’s mom” is not helpful to me. Telling me that you are looking for food items for next week’s party is not enough information.

Caleb* may be an only child, but I’ve got three schools and five teachers (not to mention the individual class teachers at the intermediate school who send emails specific to science, music, homeroom, etc.) to keep track of! If I’m going to remember which party I signed up to bring chili and which one I signed up to bring boxes of raisins (you don’t want those mixed up, I’m pretty sure), I need to know which school/teacher/child I’m committed to.

The same goes for flyers. I went to a lot of effort to find the perfect cubbie-table with storage space for everyone’s backpacks and individual (labeled!) baskets on top of the table to stash take-home papers. It’s a beautiful system … when it works. (Don’t get me started on the individual coat hooks — WHY no one can seem to find a jacket in the mornings is beyond me!) Anyway, when the cubbie & basket system doesn’t work, papers get pulled from folders and placed on the nearest flat surface, leaving me to fish through the stack and try to figure out whose is whose. I may find a flyer reminding me that book orders are due on Friday. Ok, great – which school? Which class? Or, how about the ones about field trips? Please sign & return the bottom half of the flyer … after you ask all five children who is going to that field trip to try to narrow it down.

Paperwork is my nemesis; I admit that much. I need to transfer the information to my Outlook calendar, email a reminder to myself or even call and leave myself a voice mail on my work phone so that I can remember (don’t laugh – I’ve done it!). I try to stay organized and get the boys to keep their stuff organized, but I could use a hand. Vague emails and unspecific flyers have been two of the most difficult things to overcome this semester.

Now that we have [almost!] a full semester under our belts with all five kiddos in big-kid school, I’m hopeful that the spring term will be a little more manageable. Pray for us, please.

*Caleb was just a name that popped into my head. No offense intended to anyone with a child named Caleb!

I like to shop early for Christmas; in fact, if I can finish by the end of September, I’m golden. I tried Black Friday once — and only once. We were living in the Dallas area at the time, and I went to Garden Ridge Pottery in Plano at a godawful hour of the morning. It was pandemonium! I felt claustrophobic, anxious and out of sorts. I know a lot of people enjoy the adventure that is bargain-shopping, but when I factored in the value of my time and effort, I figured saving a few bucks on a wishlist item at 3am is akin to saving a few cents on gasoline by driving an extra mile down the road to a cheaper gas station. It’s just not worth it to me.

That said, I still like a bargain as much as the next person. I just like to catch bargains on a whim, so I tend to pick up Christmas gifts at back-to-school sales in August and end-of-season sales in September. It’s a great system, and it has saved me a lot of money over the years. The only problem is that when I get around to digging boxes out from The Hiding Place, I surprise myself with the purchases that I stashed there a few months ago!

It all works out in the wash; everyone gets approximately the same number of gifts, but it puts a kink in my organizing. I really thought I was on top of things this year — I made a spreadsheet of wrapped, unwrapped (ie, Santa) and stocking goodies. Then, I pulled the boxes down from hiding and remembered a few small items that weren’t on my list (granted, we’re talking about books and puzzles sorts of gifts … it’s not like I bought and iPad and forgot about it!).

I think we’ll have a good Christmas, as far as presents go, but I’m especially excited about getting the boys involved in the gift-giving more this year. We tallied the results from the coin contest, and No. 5 won! We’re planning to use the money to buy shoes for Buckner International’s orphan ministry, as well as gifts for a family from our church’s angel tree. If the scheduling works out as planned, we’ll also get to deliver the gifts to the family, so that will be a neat experience for the boys.

I’m back at work today, but I miss my post-op daily nap. On a positive note, four different people told me that I look sassy, cute, chic and skinny! Wow – this outfit is definitely a keeper! 😉 Those kind of compliments certainly put a spring in my otherwise lethargic steps.

Last night, No. 4 asked me, “When are we going on another field trip?” Thinking that he was talking about school and their recent jaunt to the pumpkin patch, I said that I didn’t know, but I’m sure his class had something planned pretty soon.

He said, “No, I mean when are we going on a field trip where we get to miss school and go on an airplane?”

Ha! He was referring to our adventure to San Francisco last month for the Army family program. I gently burst his bubble and told him that those kinds of trips are a special treat that we won’t get to do very often, but wasn’t it a blessing that we got to go twice already? Deflated a bit, he agreed that it was a lot of fun.

We’ll certainly try to take a family vacation at some point each year, but more than likely, it won’t be on an airplane or during a school day. 🙂