tifi

I sometimes feel that’s what my kids are thinking, lol. This morning, I was having a conversation with Bebe about the money I had given him for new sneakers.

B: “Mommy, what’s that house on the back of this one?”

M: “That’s the White House.”

B: “Cory in the House lives there.”

M: “Only on tv, in real life, Obama and his family live there.”

B: “Why does Obama have two houses?”

M: “Because when he became president, he had to move to Washington, D.C.”

B: “Who’s this guy on the front?”

M: “Andrew Jackson, a former president.”

B: “Mommy, what happens if I turn the money like this?”

M: “It will still be $25.”

B: “No mommy, it makes an X shape.”

M: “Oh.” (Duh, lol).

I guess it’s really not a great idea to start blogging again when you have have different family members visiting all month. Anyway, here’s what my mom brought with her:

• Kitchen curtains (and they’ve gone back with her) I much prefer my piece of gingham fabric that I have been promising will get sewn up into curtains when I feel the urge.
• Sheets for both younger kids. No, there’s not a sheet shortage around these parts.
• More khaki shorts for ZB. I think we’re at 9 pairs now. All from Grandma.
• New cutlery b/c the amount/style I had wasn’t acceptable.
• I’m pretty sure she snuck some new clothes into their closets while I wasn’t looking.
• A juicer. She actually bought this here. I don’t remember the last time I used a juicer.
• I had almost no plastic in my kitchen, finally! And then…Grandma showed up with melamine plates, bowls, and cups. *sigh*
• A front door mat (also purchased while she was here). I didn’t have one b/c 1)I don’t want a mat that has “welcome” written on it. People might get the wrong idea, namely that I like them and want them to come in and 2)every one I’ve seen so far has been ugly. I miss my gnome.

Things she took back to New York:

• Pretty much everything I had in my bag of donations for the DAV thift shop. “Mama (my grandmother) could give this to someone in St. Lucia!” Ok Mom, take it!
• She might’ve taken some recycling since our bin is full. Seriously.
• Some sneakers I was going to my cousin that ended up not fitting.
• Some Christmas ribbon she bought at a yard sale. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my use Christmas ribbon.

And with that, I’m off to do some weeding! Happy Saturday!

I blogged about this once a few years ago: my mom sends these care packages that make no sense to anyone besides the two of us. If a box was stolen and opened, the thief would think…”wtf?”. Take the last box she sent: it contained pants hangers, a shower curtain, and bathmats (among other things). We moved into a new place about 2 weeks ago and my mom came to visit last weekend…

As I’ve said before, I am willing to wait for what I truly want rather than just having random crap. My mom knows this and thinks I’m odd. So, my upstairs bathroom is very basic. Little cheapie shower curtain and bathmats b/c I can’t afford the ones I really want, but haven’t found a good substitute yet. Knowing this, she still went out and bought a curtain and mats…and you know what? I actually like them! A rare occurence since I’m a difficult person to shop for b/c I’m a pita particular.

Anyway, having said all this, I present to you a short list of Things My Mom Has Sent In A Box:

•  Raisins
• Cocoa butter
• Toilet bowl cleaner
• Girlie’s snowsuit from when she was 2 (I asked her to keep it at her house)
• The entire dollar section at Target at any given moment
• Guava Jelly (which is not actually jelly)
• Cough Medicine
• Parenting magazine article
• Magazines from Brooklyn and St. Lucia
• Laundry I accidentally left her place. Washed and folded.

I know she does this b/c I’ve never lived close by as an adult and b/c well, she’s my mom. And good moms give their kids what they need when they can…even if those kids are grown up with families of their own and a pita particular.

Girlie:”Mommy, what do you want for Christmas?”

Me:”I want us to be in our own home, just the 5 of us, all together and alone.”

Girlie: “No Mommy, it has to be something that comes in a box.”

Oh.

Parent/Teacher conferences were last night. Ruby is having some trouble with her letter spacing, so her teacher suggested an activity that she could do at home. She was giving us some related materials and before she handed them to me, she asked if Ruby had any books to read at home. W.T.F does that mean? I was so stunned, it didn’t even occur to me at the time to ask her what she meant. It could’ve been an innocent question: there is a reading log for pizza points program which we don’t participate in b/c I think it’s ridiculous to reward children for something as simple as reading…and with food no less. Can we say “future food issues”? So, maybe she thought we didn’t participate b/c we have no books (but damn, the public library is two blocks from the school!) But it could’ve also been a race related question.

Yes, I always have to take it there. I’m a black woman, and that’s how it goes. The school my children now attend is less diverse in every way than their last one. It’s one of the best rated schools in a well rated district. At our last school, I would make small gifts for the holidays and special days for their teachers b/c I wanted to. At the new school, I got a letter informing me of the teacher’s birth date and her likes (which included Nordstrom) and dislikes. I was also asked in the letter if I’d like to contribute to a Nordstrom’s gift card for the teacher. Um, no, but if Ruby wants, she can make a card! Maybe I should send a letter with my likes and dislikes to the room moms…hey, I like Nordie’s, too!

At our last school, we saw faces of all colors and had families from different socio-economic backgrounds. At our current school, the parking lot is filled with luxury cars and the occassional brown face peeks out in the halls among a sea of white ones. I know there are plenty of parents who would love for their children to attend such a “good” school, but that doesn’t make it perfect. The classes are large IMO, which means children like Ruby (who is quite meek in public) tend to not get noticed as much. A classmate bothered her for some time without the teacher noticing Ruby putting her hand up to complain. I finally spoke to the teacher in person and emailed her and Ruby was moved. Her teacher knows few personal details about Ruby and was in fact, surprised to learn that Ruby has an older brother who attends the school. How messed up is that?

If I don’t like it…why don’t I pull them out? Homeschool or private school? I can afford neither one of those options at present as I actually have to work now. In any event, doing either one of those things would not fix public schools for all the other optionless families.

It makes me a bit sad that so far her experience isn’t shaping up to be that great. Part of it is that she really misses our little neighborhood school: she had her best friend since age two across the hall, and teachers who knew her long before she ever entered their classrooms. I don’t think any place will ever come close to her beloved and now idealized Texas Elementary.

I’m still miffed about the books thing though. I mean, what was she thinking when she asked if we had books in our home. Wait, maybe she wasn’t thinking. That makes more sense to me. Thankfully, all this “drama” has taken place mostly in my head, with a little told to my mom (who wasn’t angry enough for my liking, she was busy making phonecalls for Obama), and now some on the page. The kids aren’t aware of this at all, and I’m going to be hopeful that Ruby’s teach doesn’t treat her like some type of bookless ragamuffin (though bookless ragamuffins deserve equal education, whatever their parents might decide that is)…and that we make it through the year without other ridiculous comments that cause me to rant on my blog!

So one thing about moving to a new place is that you have to find all new “spots”. Everything from your supermarket to your hair salon changes. I’ve been searching for the perfect aesthetician to wax my brows since I got here.

The first time we came to visit, I went to a place (JCP) the next town over. When the receptionist asked who wanted to do my brows, the stylists all excuses. So I was nervous when the receptionist said she would do them. Long story short, she did a fabulous job.

The next time I had to get my brows done, it was “Meet the Teacher” night at the kids’ school. I didn’t have a lot of time, and so I went to a JCP much closer to home. I got to chatting with the stylist and found out he was from a neighboring island. We chatted a bit about home while he did my brows. It wasn’t until I got to the car that I realized he had dropped wax in my hair. I marched back into the salon furious. It is extremely difficult to get beeswax out of natural Black hair. He started apologizing up and down and wanted to wash my hair to fix the problem. 1)I didn’t have the time and 2)that would’ve ruined my ‘do. Yea, I’m vain like that. He semi tried to fix the problem with some gunky spray or whatever, but in the end, I did most of the work myself, ugh.

That brings me to tonight. There’s a little rinky dink salon next to the supermarket and I started thinking…

• bread
• soy milk
• eyebrows

Hehe. So, I popped in, and even though the brow waxer’s brows were a little thin (a serious fear of mine, over-waxing/plucking), I decided to give it a go. Problem is, she decided to change my natural browline somewhat and add more space between my brows. I feel like Bert. Ruby* says I’m scary and the hub can’t see what the problem is. The problem is, I can fit three fingers in the space between my eyebrows now! And I have to wait until they grow back in to do something about it, ugh! I guess I’ll be going back to JCP in the neighboring town from now on. When you find someone who offers quality service, stick with them!

*Girlie, now also known as Ruby. Story later.

Yesterday was field day which is always a blast.

School mom: “Your daughter is so cute, she looks like a dollbaby!”

Appropriate response: “Aw, thanks!” :-D

My response: *chuckle chuckle* “Yea, well, you know, it’s funny you should say that, b/c there is actually a doll with a name similar to hers, and so I bought her that doll b/c of the name similarity, and everything, and now she plays with it in the tub, and the others, she named after her friends, and, and, and…”

School mom: “….huh, interesting!” *runs away*

Overheard on the playground this morning:

Kindy girl 1: “…Jesus got shot, and went to heaven.”

Kindy girl 2: “Nuh uh, Jesus was nailed on the cross and then he died!”

Arguments about religion start pretty young, eh? By second grade, I bet they’re debating the merits of presidential candidates. 

Bebe wanted to hear some music today. He wanted to listen to his favorite group: They Might Be The New York Giants. I hope you’re enjoying your Saturday. My red velvet cake is calling, I have to go answer.

The kids picked their own outfits for picture day last week. Girlie pulled out a sweater dress as her choice which I told her she couldn’t wear since it was too warm for that. She said, “Well, you should’ve put all my winter dresses away then!”. The nerve.