Humpday dance

Sorry for the grumpy tone in yesterday's post. I was tired. Picture day went pretty predictably. We all overslept, and Claire went to school with dried lollipop drool in her hair. When the time came to pose, she refused. Being asked to perform for a stranger while lots of people look on is a perfect storm of things Claire doesn't like and it's a guaranteed formula for disappointment. Her teachers said that in the end, they think they got a smile. I'll scan and post the proofs when they come in.

We have gotten at least eight hours of sleep the past two nights, yet this morning I woke up feeling like a zombie and couldn't shake it. There was no time to make coffee and I'm still on the outs with Coke so I struggled through the morning. I wanted to nap during the kids' afternoon nap but I had too much work to do so I made half a pot of coffee and that helped. Running later this afternoon helped too -- so counterintuitive, but working out really is a great energy boost.

I think I have finally persuaded Matt to join the gym too. It seems like he should just be able to run outside at home (our treadmill's not hooked up here), and he did that some when the weather was warmer and the daylight lasted longer, but it's hard to have a consistent schedule. When he gets home, the kids jump with joy -- Evan bounces -- and squeeze his knees and want to play, and that doesn't exactly inspire him to head out for a run.

Ideally, he'll take his gym clothes to the office, leave work a few minutes early, get in a good workout  at the gym and still be home with plenty of time to hang out with the kids before they go to bed. On Saturdays we can all go together, which will be a good bonus day (we usually skip weekend workouts), and Claire's already looking forward to swim dates with him, too. I can't handle two tiny non-swimmers on my own, but with Matt there we could play with both kids in the pool.

This opens up even more reasons for me to love the gym, including: a) We can revive our racquetball rivalry; b)We can lounge in the hot tub together; c) We can do CrossFit workouts together. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Say cheese

Tomorrow's picture day at preschool. This is just one more opportunity for me to be the bad mom who refuses to shell out, but I don't care. I am constantly amazed how many hidden expenses come with kids in school. Not that they're all bad, not at all -- but they could add up if you let them. Birthday gifts, classroom parties, book fairs, gifts for the teachers, fingerpaintings that you can pay to have plastered on anything imaginable ... it's a little more than I expected for a 2-year-old.

Once a month there's a school spirit day when all the kids are supposed to wear their school T-shirt if they have one. I didn't buy one for Evan, but I caved for Claire because I didn't want her to be the only one in her class not wearing one. Bad reasoning? Maybe -- probably -- but for $10 I didn't get philosophical about it.

It's only going to get worse. The parties will get more elaborate and the peer pressure will get more intense. Yearbooks, sports uniforms, musical instruments, field trips, brand awareness and more will get thrown into the mix. We'll be asked to sell random raffle tickets and overpriced cookie dough and wrapping paper no one wants to buy. Oh my.

And just like that, I'm glad it's only picture day tomorrow.