The Queen's Rambles

We had a very successful first day of school in these parts, even if it did begin with utter panic. I was surprised when we got the bus schedule and it said the new time was 8:24. I couldn’t even begin to guess how the bus was going to get to school on time, much less let the free/reduced lunch kids have time for breakfast. I thought it must have some magical Knight Bus properties that I wasn’t aware of and thanked my lucky stars for the extra 15 minutes.

That all came crashing down at 8:11, when the bus rumbled by. The whole neighborhood went flying out the doors with clothes half-buttoned, no name tags for the lower elementary kids, and shoes in hand. The bus driver had no idea that we were told the bus came at 8:24 and he was just as confused as me about how he would be able to get to school in time. There is no magic button.

I hosted a Mommies and Muffins breakfast as a special back-to-school thing. I had seven moms and ten toddlers in my teeny-tiny townhouse. Somehow it all worked and we all sat around my super small living room while the kids rolled around. This was a MOMS Club event so it could have drawn in a crowd that I didn’t totally love, but somehow it ended up being all moms that I really, truly enjoy spending time with. Fun morning!

Elsa, my little shy darling, was not impressed. She will play with kids when we are out and about but she hates company. She went to the basement and refused to come upstairs. Our Wii-mote is missing so she couldn’t get a show for herself. When I checked on her she was happily watching Food Network. Goofball.

Yesterday Erik watched Cupcake Wars and then decided he could create his own cupcake creation. I decided to let go of control and let him do it. I hate letting go of control.

Surprisingly, his recipe turned out pretty good. The cupcakes had a slightly strange texture and didn’t really rise properly but were not terrible. I was disappointed because it meant that Erik was justified in his own brain with his thoughts of cupcake cooking grandeur. Of course, the kid can whip up a batch of brownies almost entirely on his own so it is not like he is a completely inexperienced baker.

The frosting was another story–it completely flopped. Mwahahahaaha. Should have listened to your mother, kid!

Still tasty, but very soupy. We tried to inject them into the cupcakes and that was a big fail.

My mom never ever ever would have let me do something like that, so I always feel like I’m doing something weird when I let him experiment like that. Like I shouldn’t let him fail and I shouldn’t let him waste food. But then I breathe and tell myself that even though it is food, it is cheaper than crappy plastic toys that he plays with for three minutes and ignores. At least he is learning some practical real world skills when I let him cook his crazy recipes.

But back to the first day of school! I think it went well. Erik was happy and bubbly when he came home and was even eager to do his homework (filling out a poster about himself and decorating it). I know it was just the first day high, but I am hoping things continue on a good path.

In other good news, a friend brought me a printer she no longer wanted because it didn’t have wi-fi. All because I threw a fit on FB. I guess FB is good for something! I went and bought ink for it today and Mike is getting it set up. I may be able to get some work done without pulling my hair out. How does a person without a job have so much crap to print? I need to start making to-do lists again. Not simple ones either, but a whole big chart with my tasks divided up. I am doing three things for the PTA, getting Campfire rolling again, and still heavily involved in MOMS Club. It’s getting to be a lot. I am excited about Campfire. We went to a training this weekend and learned a lot of really great stuff. They are re-branding and rolling out national ads in the next few weeks. If you were ever considering Campfire, now is the time to join! I highly recommend contacting your state council even if you don’t think they have clubs in your area. They generally don’t advertise the small family clubs.

And now I am going to go watch Grimm and enjoy the rest of my evening!