:: Don’t you hate when you are having a great week, and by great week, I mean you haven’t yelled at your kids, and BAM…it’s all over.  I have a certain child who refuses to actually concentrate while in school and his stupid errors are making his A’s turn into B’s.  I can’t take it.  He is on the equivalent of lock-down right now.  He made a grade so low the other day, I am embarrassed for him.  And it’s not because he doesn’t understand, it’s because he’s generally talking.  A friend confided that her son brought home a 60, but it was due to a three day absence with a high fever and he had returned to school to several tests.  My son, well, he got sent to the hall to complete his classwork.  I am at a loss.  He really just doesn’t care, which is kind of scary seeing as I’ve already been down that road before this child.

:: Don’t I sound like a psycho mom worrying about grades in elementary school?  If I were homeschooling, I bet I wouldn’t be like this.

:: Maybe I’ve been off of movies too long, but I can’t say I’m super impressed with any movies I’ve seen lately.  I think I’m mostly disappointed with The Master.  I love Paul Thomas Anderson.  Love.  And Amy Adams, please, she is amazing, one of my favorite actors and I know one day she will win an Oscar.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman?  Words aren’t enough.  But this movie?  I don’t even care enough to try and figure it out.  That’s how bad it was.  I liked Lincoln, and despite the amazing performance of DDL, I would never watch it again.  I started The Impossible, but frankly, have no interest in that either.  Personally, I think I need to ditch Oscar contenders and watch movies that truly interest me now.

:: Next week, a friend and I are hosting a Mardi Gras party for Baby Hulk’s class.  We’re having king cake, giving a short talk, making a mask and reading a story.  We had several to choose from because my friend’s mother-in-law sends a book every year for Mardi Gras.  How inspired!  The in-laws are from New Orleans so Mardi Gras is pretty important to them, and they want to make sure their grandkids know about it.  Being a lover of children’s books, clearly, I love this idea, but even more, I love how this MIL is passing on family culture.  It’s like my dad taking the kids to donate bikes and gifts at Christmas or a grandmother who bakes with their grandkids.  Some things are so simple and yet so perfect.  Of course, I am now trying to figure out what kind of stories my parents can buy the kids in order to pass along our heritage!

:: SO…last week Squirt was going to Galveston to celebrate a friend’s birthday.  He told me to call the mother on Thursday.  During said call, I was informed that there was indeed a beach house where the party was located, that about 10 boys and girls would be attending this party and that they would ALL BE SPENDING THE NIGHT IN THE SAME ROOM.  You know, just all sleeping on the floor together.  I paused for about five seconds and immediately responded with “well, that’s totally inappropriate.”  We went back and forth, this mom and I, over how stupid/inappropriate/irresponsible  (me) this was to place teenage boys and girls in the same sleeping quarters.  She just said “you do whatever makes you comfortable.”  Comfort wasn’t the point, appropriateness was.  And she never understood.  I mean, her daughter’s boyfriend was there as well.  To me, she may as well have said they would be drinking under her supervision.  We ended with me telling her I would defer to Lance’s decision so long as different sleeping arrangements were made.  Oh, and she had to bring him home early due to going to mass.  I could not believe this parent.  Me, the liberal, was more clued in than her.  And they say liberals have no morals.

After my talk with her, I immediately spoke to Squirt about the issue.  He didn’t even act mortified by my comments, (as I mistakenly assumed he would.)  He said he completely understood my problem with the situation and if dad said no, he would deal with it.