Thanks, ya'll !

 

 

Current Mood : Tired but perking up a bit.

Current Image Notes : Here's ‘toddler Tiana', yesterday's new acquisition. Isn't she adorable ? Her hair is so much fun - I made the little Leia-like bun on the left in about five seconds by simply brushing her curls over my fingers. On the right, her out-of-box hair. She comes with a cute little crown and a pretty green crown-and-frog themed hairbrush.

 

Thanks, everyone - your messages helped me make a bit of sense out of yesterday, and I really, really appreciate it. While I'm still dizzy and confused, maybe I'm not quite as selfish as I thought, that the dolls and play satisfied a need for all of us. Forgot to mention that Beloved Hubby's newest tattoo machine arrived, so we all had something new, just for ourselves. And I think we needed that, separately and together. And ‘Operation' was fun, even if Dearest Son's driving me nuts with its ‘new, improved' sound effects today.  We've already picked out our next game, Scrabble's "Slam" card deck. Surprisingly, a deck of cards is nearly as much as the ‘Operation' game.

 

And I have another confession. I just wasn't bonding with ‘Aramina', the Barbie and the Three Musketeers doll I got Saturday. It was very sweet of Dearest Son to pick her out for me, but between the big dress, the blue-green painted legs, and the unremarkable face, it just wasn't happening. I kinda knew when I didn't debox her right away, like I did with Princess Tiana. She went back to TRU when I got little-girl Tiana, a doll I really wanted. I'd have snagged her Saturday, but they were in an entry display instead of over in the DPrincess section. Heck, the fashion doll version was in with the Barbie dolls, not with the DPs either. What can I say, our TRU tries...

 

After numerous phone calls and three messages since Tuesday, we finally got an appointment for Dearest Son at the nurse-practitioner's office. So he was home today, since it was right after lunch, and with a note, it'd be an excused absence for a whole day, and he needed some rest. After having some trouble reading the old glass thermometer, we bought a digital one, but never duplicated the 101-degree reading Dearest had at school. In fact, his temp never got above 99-even. Still, he's been coughing for weeks, and while the cough syrup helps, it should be gone by now. So should the congestion in his chest. Time for medical intervention.

 

I should have known, this happens nearly every year about this time - sinus infection. Which is also why the cough medicine worked on the symptoms but didn't resolve the illness. We got a prescription and a note for school, and were on our way. With Uncle gone from us, and Grandmother fading, Dearest's home for the weekend, so I'll have a bit of fun tomorrow, while he's at school. I'm hoping that Brenda has some great new finds I can trade her for ! If not, it can always wait ‘til next month.

 

Right now, though, it's pouring down rain. (sigh) Don't think I'm gonna hit any yard sales tomorrow. They've probably been washed away !

I may have overdone the 'play every day' thing...

 

Current Mood : Mad scientist-y. And very tired.

Current Image Notes : Here's a 'Then and Now' Barbie head on a 'Glam' Fashionista body. I like it !

 

Today was even worse than I thought it'd be. Dearest Son's meeting was a mental minefield, one of our ill senior family members is no longer with us, I'm dizzy and nauseous, and despite it all, I'm happy because I got two new dolls. Goss, I am so self-centered...

 

Dearest's meeting wasn't good. Basically, it's pretty apparent that Teacher resents every extra minute she has to spend with him, and she's pretty much given up. I know that he's an extra challenge, but watching her weave her head back and forth on her neck like a hypnotic cobra while she defended herself against nothing - truly, all I'd said was an apology for being late (they'd moved the start time, but AGAIN forgot to tell me) - pretty much told me that Beloved Hubby's conclusion was correct. I also found out he'd been given a multitude of tests, and he's not doing well this year. I think I know part of the reason why. And why his spelling words are actually easier than the ones he had in first grade. (sigh)

 

I came home upset, and Beloved set up an appointment to speak with the principal, who wasn't at the meeting. And he confirmed that Teacher did, in fact, lie to us about not getting permission for the field trip. Teacher'd spoken to the principal with her concerns two days before, but she didn't know that Teacher never bothered to contact us until just before departure - and the crap about ‘no time for permission slips' was just that, crap. He also said I'd been ambushed and put on the defensive about today's meeting, where again, we were the last to be notified about changes. Principal was unaware of the details, but said she'd make sure that future decisions would include us, and in a timely fashion. First time for everything this year, I thought.

 

Want a laugh ? Teacher made absolutely sure we got his delayed Thursday folder today. Because tomorrow's photo day. And we don't wanna miss that ! What if we didn't have an order form ?! Horrors ! We might miss out on yet another money-making opportunity for the school, and get more blurry, hurried images that we paid for in advance and can't return. Who'd want to miss out on all that ?

 

So I left the meeting feeling pretty low. I'd already done the grocery run and found the ‘Glam' Fashionista Barbie, and swapped her outsized head for the one on the ‘Then and Now' Barbie I got from Target a few weeks ago. That's her, in today's image. It's funny how it's very nearly the same head, even the same makeup, but Glam's is noticeably larger. I put the unused Glam head on the belly-button body and added her to the Flea Market trade bag. I like TaN's sidelong glance and smaller head with the updated body much better, and have no use for the Glam head on the belly-button body. I also got the two Pilot dolls in the same space and selected one. I'll probably pull one more doll for the trade bag, to make it an even 20. I'd been happy with my Franken-dolly, but today wasn't quite done with turning into ash yet.

 

We found out this afternoon that Uncle went into a coma Monday, and slipped from it later that day. The service is tomorrow, but the burial will be in another state. I'm not even sure if I can go to the service, since shortly after lunch, Dearest's school called. He had a fever, so he may be home tomorrow. We also found out that Grandmother is off all medication now, and is pretty much stuck in bed until her time comes. This I do not understand, since we know she's been in pain for some time, so... it's not our decision to make, but I still don't understand it.

 

So, with all this going on, what do we do ? Since Beloved was home when the school called, we picked him up, and went to TRU. Got a copy of ‘Operation' for game night, and I snagged the toddler Tiana. You'll see her photos soon - her hair is a delight to play with. And she's very pretty. With the Tiana I bought this weekend, we got a special gift, a pretend Snow White baking set. A bit too feminine for Dearest, he wasn't interested, so I put it away for Toys for Tots' bins later.

 

Came home, Beloved went back to work, and I made a simple snack plate for Dearest, and put him on the sofa. Deboxed Tiana, and played for a little bit while he napped. With everything going on - death, illness, bills, education, fear, confusion, and despair - I noticed that Tiana's shoes had crowns on the toes and frogs on the soles, and her hair is wonderful. I managed to get the Glam earrings into TaN's smaller earholes, and tried to swap bodies with other dolls, but the ivory skin tone for ‘My Melody' and ‘Hello Kitty' dolls don't match any of the Fashionista's. I brushed hair, swapped clothes, found shoes, and took photos.

 

I played.

 

Then, when Beloved came home, we played more. Together. ‘Operation' now makes more obnoxious sounds beyond the buzz, the game now doesn't involve cards or play money, and Dearest is surprisingly dexterous with those tweezers. I ‘read' a coloring book to him tonight, making up voices and comments for a book with no words. Anakin is convinced that he's better looking than Obi-Wan, but Obi thinks his arms are his best feature and his lightsaber is bigger, and Yoda can still kick everyone's Jedi butt. And if you rub three battle-droids together, you might have enough intelligence to turn on a vacuum cleaner, and clone soldiers love to pose for family pictures. Or Heismann trophies.

 

Maybe I'm as selfish as I think I am, maybe I'm doing everything wrong. But I hope that our son knows that, no matter what his teacher thinks or what the school does, we're on his side. Always. And that life always goes on.

Tiana in purple...

 

Current Mood : Rainy

 

It was still raining when Dearest Son got on the bus, but we had a brief few hours of daylight this afternoon. So I gathered the Nerf projectiles and ran a deposit to the bank. I barely got Molly-car back in the garage before it sprinkled a bit then stopped. I'll be so glad when monsoon season is over. Had a raging sinus headache this morning, and only a nap dulled it somewhat.

 

Tiana has a fortune for you ! It says, "Tomorrow your creative side will shine for th with exceptiona ideas." I hope that for you all week !

 

Got quite a bit done. Washed dishes, patched one of my shirts, cleaned off my desk and filed a few dozen papers, harvested more Nerf, and ran some Fray-Check along the completely raw edges of Tiana's ‘lily pad' dress. I know I shouldn't expect more from Mattel, but a complete cheap-out on the back and an unfinished hem just screams at me.

 

Tomorrow's gonna be busy, too. Soon as Dearest's on the bus, I'm gonna run up and do the grocery shopping. Then, we have his IEP meeting at 10am, and what's next is up to Beloved Hubby. If he can't come to the meeting, I'll probably hit a thrift or two. If he can, we may go to lunch together. So I wanna keep my options open.

 

For now though, my headache's coming back, and I am so blessed sleepy...

 

A celebration of lazy...

 

Current Mood : Laziness incarnate, that's me. 

 

 

It was still raining this morning, so Beloved Hubby was home today. And, after getting Dearest Son off to school, I did the ultimate lazy thing - and went back to bed. I can't believe how much ( or how well !) I slept !

                       

The rest of the day wasn't much of an improvement. We mostly sat around and watched TV. I'm still not sure where the day went, since before I knew it, it was time for Bus Watch, and Dearest was home. And I'm about ready to go back to bed.

 

I'm thinking of getting a ‘Glam' Fashionista next week. Not because I really want that particular doll or outfit, but because her skin tone matches my "Then and Now" Barbie, and I'd love to have another fully-articulated doll, since playing with Miss Sassy has been a lot of fun. Might as well give TaN the most up-to-date body !

 

I'm also considering adding the Princess and the Frog toddler Tiana doll. From the photos I've seen, she looks much like the Playmates "Little Disney Princess" dolls, but Tiana's from Mattel. According to TRU.com, there's one at our local store, so I may have to swing by and check ‘em out. If Mal-Wart doesn't have her, that is !

 

Here's the $11. 'basic' Tiana - she redresses beautifully ! Her box is amazing, the trellis is a design of frogs and lily pads, with hidden Mickey Mouse heads. In fact, we used it as a quick primer to product marketing and design packaging for Dearest. Like his momma, he loves studying how things are designed and packaged for sale.

 

Well, not much to blog on today, except my extreme laziness. Hope your day was more productive !

 

 

Here's my fully-customized pretty green girl !

Current Mood : Wheee !

 

Rain began around 1am this morning, luckily, I'd tucked Molly-car into the garage in time. I'll be so glad when we get her stuck window fixed.

 

Another busy doll-day. With the all-day rain, it was good to stay indoors and play ! There's Nerf bullets all underfoot, but that's OK - there's also tons of doll stuff there, too.

 

Went through the doll clothes I scored Friday. I already had many pieces - they were part of a four-outfit Fashion Fever set I bought back in April '07. I'm glad my photos get date-stamped. That means I can customize these ! Already removed the lace belt from the denim Capri pants, and I'm gonna take some ribbon off a blouse that's already a bit busy without it and the bow.

 

I was mostly digging through them to re-dress The Princess and The Frog's Princess Tiana - deboxed her today. Used a gentle fingernail to scrape most of the glittery eye shadow off. No idea why nearly every Mattel doll made these days has huge glitter-flake eye makeup, it's annoying. Powdered glitter is available and it's just as shiny, and less obvious and out of scale. Redressed her in a pretty purple party dress from Friday's lot, and posed her seated. Very lovely doll, with a gorgeous darker skin tone. She has your standard non-twist-waist belly-button body, so she can cross her legs almost naturally. I love her bright smile ! Shame the ‘lily pad' design of her dress is front-only. I hate it when Mattel cheaps out, too.

 

I was super-careful with her deboxing, and soon had the plastic front removed, and the head cushion cardboard taken out. Took a few photos with Pilot Barbie in Tiana's box shell, and doctored it a bit in PaintShopPro - now it looks like Pilot is standing in front of a cardboard display / photo op for the movie. May have to post that photo later... and if I wanna do a series of images, doctor the box itself, instead of the resultant images.

 

Rest of the day, we just goofed off. What a nice weekend !

 

New Doll Saturday !

 

Current Mood : Overwhelmed with new dolls !

 

Busy day, doll-wise. Forgot to mention that yesterday, I took Halloween Kayla's - the green Kelly -  hair down, since the little bun looked awfully formal for a kid. Boy, was her hair a mess ! Must've been a million different lengths, part brown and mostly black, part of it had that awful ‘cotton candy' texture, and all of it was crunchy with starch. Brushing it and even washing it still left it unmanageable. So I boil-permed it this morning, and cut it. You'll get to see the finished version tomorrow. I like her much better now !

 

Beloved Hubby decided he wanted to have a backyard Nerf war, so we were off to TRU. Dearest Son found a TRU-exclusive Clone Wars ship he fell in love with, and we got two rapid-fire Nerf guns that are tons of fun to play with - and they're even easy to reload. We've been shooting darn near everything all day !

 

I found that the Princess and the Frog dolls are out ! Target had a DPrincess set out last month with a Princess Tiana included, but it was $60. for all seven dolls. Not a bad value, but not what I wanted. For a while, it was the only way to obtain Tiana. Now TRU has the same doll on her own, and she was only $12. So I snagged one. Very pretty ! Dearest Son picked out one of the Barbie and the Three Musketeers dolls from a stand-alone display and handed it to me, saying he wanted me to have one from the ads. Yes, there's at least one Barbie ad during Clone Wars every day.  Beloved thought it was cute, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it's the very one of the four I'd have picked out, so she came home, too.

 

It was ‘Moxie Girls' day there, too, so I got stickers, a ‘fortune teller' folding sheet, and Dearest got candy. Even if I don't like the dolls, I always like doll stickers !

 

And once home, there was a box on the porch. The return address was unfamiliar, so I thought it was more product testing, a sample this time. Nope. This was Dearest's Pink Ticket prize - a doll ! She's today's image. A pretty princess that I'm saying is dressed well for this month's costume theme, Halloween.  He said I could have her, since he got a new Clone ship to play with. I think I'll display her for a while, since I already have two to debox !

 

We spent the rest of the day firing and dodging Nerf, napping, and watching Monsters vs. Aliens, which was kinda cute. The 3-D Bob's Big Break featurette gave Beloved a roaring headache. But for Dearest, who'd never seen 3-D glasses before, it was an amazement.

 

Haven't deboxed either of the dolls yet, since it's been a kinda busy day. Not sure who's gonna get opened first, Tiana or Musketeer Aramina, who says she's a poet and an adventurer on her box. Wanna take pictures first, so it'll probably be tomorrow. Those clear plastic box faces bounce flash around somethin' fierce.

Yard Sale Fun Friday !

 

Current Mood : Sleepy, fat, and happy !

Spent on dolls and Barbie etc. : $5.25

Spent on kid shoes for the My Size girls : $2.

Spent on toys for Dearest Son : $1.

Spent on a small stuffed star with brown eyes : 10c

Current Image Notes : Here's a scan of the back of my new green girl's box. Now you know what the whole line looks like, and what 'Kayla' looks like with her little scar. Mattel seems to be scar-obsessed - look at that poor kitty drawing on the side ! 

 

Since Dearest Son will be with us this weekend - Beloved Hubby's grandmother isn't doing well - so I adjusted my plans a bit. I'd intended to stay in and sew, but instead went out for a bit, and hit five yard sales. Only bought stuff at two, but one was a fantastic haul !

 

Among lots of toys, I found a Winnie-the-Pooh photo storage box with Barbies and clothes inside. There was some sort of baglike thing under it, and that had the price - $5. The sellers told me that the ‘bag' was actually a doll tent, and it was included. Intriguing, since one of the few doll things I don't have is a tent. Had the plastic 70s one as a kid, though. They held the lot for me while I looked around a bit more. That was it for the doll stuff, although there were many more goodies ! The Deluxe Spirograph looked like fun, and seemed complete with box, so for 75c, that came along, too. A neat Cars vehicle storage/racetrack also looked near-new, so it, and a neat Barbie makeup bag was added to my pile - 25c each. To finish things off, I found a small pillow-like star with brown eyes. Turned out to be a NeoPets Happy Meal toy, very cute, for a dime. Wheee !

 

The other three sales didn't have much, and the final got me two pair of toddler shoes for the My Size girls for a buck each - pink ballerina bow flats, and cute white sandals. Like they don't already have more shoes than me !

 

Once home - with the lunch special at the Chinese place I like ! - I went through the doll goodies. Wow, what a haul ! I retuned the Pooh box to the sellers to sell again, not being much on the silly old bear, so they bagged it all for me. That box had been packed fulla goodies. Brought home three nearly-new Barbie dolls, 30 items of clothing, 5 pair of shoes, a single pink glitter pump, four purses, a makeup case, two suitcases, three teacups, a teapot, a plate, a ‘book', two ‘cd' boxes, a compact, a water bottle, flowers, a brush, the tent, and two matching slumber bags.

 

Of the dolls, I already know one blonde is going with the Flea Market group. I found that she's a Fashion Fever - most of her clothes were in the box, too - with a blue butterfly tattoo on her left cheek. Not sure about the Pilot Barbie. I already have one, and this one's pink hair streaks washed out, so I doubt I'll keep both Pilots. The Raquelle brunette will probably stay. They're both fantastic dolls - just wish I could get Raquelle's hair color on the Pilot doll's head, in her style !

 

Dearest loved both toys I got him. I tried out the Deluxe Spirograph - just to make sure it works, of course ! - and found it vastly superior to the one I played with as a kid. Back then, pins held the loose ‘frames' to paper while the gears drew the design inside and outside of it. And it always, always slipped, at least for me. Usually at the very end of an especially nice design. This one is a lot more limited - there's only three ‘frames' with seven gears - but it's easier to use, and doesn't involve pins and cardboard. It's a lot more stable, and doesn't slide at all.

 

He played off and on with both while we waited for the Clone Wars : Rise of the Bounty Hunters debut episode. Beloved and I agreed, it was much more violent, with several on-camera scenes of torture, than the previous series. He commented the only thing missing was blood - and then, there was a preview of the next episode. Yup, blood. Just ‘cause it's green doesn't mean it isn't still a bit intense for kids. I'm not at all enthusiastic about the rest of the season.

Jupiter Star POWER !! Oh, and Happy October !

 

Current Mood : Pleasantly tired

 

I was kinda proud of me yesterday, for not buying any of the neat-o (if not exactly cheap-o) fabric remnants I saw while shopping. It really was tempting, but sheesh, I got too much already, and I've barely sewn a seam all year. I have fabric I haven't even put away yet, so let's just forget about more right now.

 

It was so cute, seeing Dearest Son ‘fly' both Clone Wars spaceships, one in each hand, all over the house last night. Beloved Hubby got hugs and kisses for the surprise. I got some too, for the figure. Hate to tell him this, but there's no surprises today. Probably won't be another until next week, or later. But I know now he can handle it.

 

Today, I carved a few off the ‘to do' list. I've had one of those stepstool toolboxes for about 15 years - asked for it for Christmas when they first came out, and still use it. It's outside, though, because while there's nothing particularly icky in there, it smells bad every time we open it. Plus, it makes a nice seat during the twice-daily Bus Watch. Today, I brought it in and got several small jobs done. Lightbulb in Dearest's closet's been out for months, but is now fixed. And I got the silver star basket from Friday's flea market hung on the Wall of Stars outside the Lab.

 

Speaking of that room, I'm loving my new fan, and I'm reworking the cases. Two in particular were bothering me every time I saw ‘em. The hard plastic one with the ‘error' blonde version of Carousel Dreams Barbie is next to the very narrow Quick Curl Boutique one, and the empty space makes it look too close to the corner, and off balance. I also wanted to shift ‘em around, because I'm deciding if I want just one more case. A Ken one.

 

So far, the only thing I want is that it be about $15. to $20., shipping included, and that it not have ‘and Barbie' on it. If I'm gonna squeeze space for a Ken case, it's gonna be only that, a Ken case. Otherwise, I'd just get a ‘Barbie and Midge' one. Haven't decided yet which style or color I prefer - that probably won't matter. It doesn't need to be perfect, since it's mostly wall décor, so we'll see what blows my way.

 

That done, I moved along to some other minor eyesore / irritants. Stored the craft supplies that'd been cluttering up the floor, got the next raft of donations (mostly outgrown clothes from Dearest's back-to-school closet clean-out) ready to go, re-filed the books that were piled by my side of the bed. I let Beloved Hubby take care of the books on his side - his pile is bigger than mine ! Still have to find a space for all those Madame Alexander volumes I got from last week's yard sale. And I swapped out my tiny DPrincess trash can that got filled nearly every two hours in the living room for the larger, but rarely used, plain trash can from the bedroom. Dearest wants to decorate it with stickers - fine with me ! And I got the stepstool toolbox back outside in time for afternoon Bus Watch. Wheee !

 

I'm also, stupid as it is, collecting another free-letter-a-day machine embroidery alphabet. After the last two - going at the same time, from two different sites - I said I wouldn't do it again, especially after subscribing to that one alphabet site for a month. But I fell in love with one anyway, it's sort of Art Deco meets a bit of appliqué. So far, I've gotten all four days' worth, and hope I remember to get the rest for the next three weeks and a day. I'd have just bought it, the site normally offers the new ones for $5., all letters included. But I didn't see this one until the freebies began, and while I love it, $15. is a bit too much for something I can probably snag for free. So, here we go again.

 

After my guys are in bed - I know Beloved'll sack out early, he had a very long day all week ! - I'm gonna have some quality time in the Lab. It's still a bit of a mess in there, and if I clean it today, I can sew tomorrow ! I have so many new ideas, I can't wait !

I got another new doll. OK, now enough's enough !

 

Current Mood : New doll happy !

Spent on dolls :  $6.47

Spent on Lab atmosphere improvement : $5.40

Had to put yesterday behind us, because, like Michelle pointed out, if we make too big a deal out of it, Dearest Son may be the one who suffers most. So, I'm taking the rest of the week to do absolutely nothing about it. Monday I'm going to unemotionally gather facts - what are the regulations concerning field trips ? what is the standard when it comes to excluding potential ‘problem' situations ?  - and mention it quietly during Dearest's next IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting, a week from today. I'm not gonna shout or demand anything, just seek a clarification of the situation from those involved and not directly so - and an assurance that things will not be handled so ham-handedly if there is a next time.

 

So. We move on. With a few extra bucks in the family pocket, I got to go shopping ! Dearest has been most patient these last couple of low-to-no funds weeks, so Beloved Hubby and I agreed, and I left early to go get the spaceship he most wants - one we saw at Target Monday. They only had one then, so I was there about ten minutes after they opened. And...now they had three ! Snagged one, and decided to look about the also-restocked figures display...ah ! Of course - on the last row, in the very back, there she is. The Ahsoka figure he really wanted that they didn't have Monday. I'd promised I'd look at Mal-Wart during my next shopping trip, and here she was ! I gave him Ahsoka when he got home from school, and stashed the starship, so Beloved can give it to him later tonight.

 

Since they had his most-wanted, I thought I'd go ahead and check the Halloween section once more - bingo ! There was now an abundance of Kelly dolls, even the green ones. Scar and all, she was still cute, and there was a chance that I could erase it... so she went into the basket with Ahsoka and a starship.

 

While in the neighborhood, I checked out Hobby Lobby, since there was a 40% off coupon and 99c McCall's patterns this week. I'd found a neat pattern set for the sewing room - box covers, machine covers, ironing board covers, an apron, etc. - but the McC's site didn't show the backside of the envelope. I knew I didn't really need an ironing board cover, especially now that, while trying to see McC 2723, I found a tutorial for making my own here -> http://roadyjane.blogspot.com/2009/08/out-with-nasty.html . But I still wanted to see it in person, so I did. And politely returned it to the correct slot when I knew I didn't need it. Most of what the pattern covered, you could free-hand yerself, easily.

 

There was a raft of new ‘dress forms', but I didn't buy. I don't really call it a dress form when it has arms (complete with fingernails) and legs (in shoes and hosiery), even if the head has been replaced with a curly metal rack of hooks. Fell in love with two, but one was three feet high and $35. (only $21. with the coupon, but still...) and the other is also plenty big, and every last one in that style was scraped or damaged. If I bought it, I'd have to paint it. Maybe later.

 

And I visited Big Lots, like a sucker, because they never have the dolls advertised in their sales papers. Well, they actually did have a few this time - last year's Holiday Barbie, in her tinfoil cupcake dress, and the ‘Happy Birthday Angel' doll, and a few My Scene Candy Glams, but nothing I really wanted. Besides, I already had a new doll, waiting in the car.

 

I also checked out fans. I had a choice of two, partially marked down, but still rather expensive. Since they were both out of the box, I plugged them in. Nope. Neither worked. Outlet did, fans didn't. That's OK, I wasn't much on the purplish pink color of the cheaper one. So, off to the thrift (washout) and groceries.

 

Spun around the Halloween section for a bit. Then I remembered - they had a vintage-lookin' fan I liked this Spring. $35. was a bit much for it, but maybe it was on sale. No such luck, but they did have Sunbeam oscillating desk fans for $8. Tossed a green one into the cart, since the Lab is still stifling these days, and double-checked the price at a scanner. Five bucks ? Even better !

 

Came home and heated up a can of ‘beef and potatoes' soup. Finally, something I can eat without picking through every spoonful. Oh, s#it. Mushrooms. Never liked mushrooms, there's a good chance I'm allergic - the one time I ate one by accident, my throat closed up and I had a severe asthma attack. So now I really avoid ‘em. Oh, well.

 

Grabbed the can of Goof Off and a cotton swab, and deboxed green Halloween Kelly. Nice packing job, for once. Only a single clear elastic anchored her to the box liner, and it was easy to remove it and her. Flattened the solvent-laden end of the swab, to make it more precise and not likely to drip, and slowly, carefully rubbed the stitches away. Much like erasing them, really. Rinsed the spot several times with water on the other end. So now mine does not have a head injury. And she's all kindsa fun to play with. Here's her issue outfit, for today's image - stay tuned for her Halloween costume, tomorrow. I used the other side of the paint kit I got from Dollar Tree yesterday as her backdrop. 

 

The fan works great, and the green looks nice in the Lab, if kinda plastic-y cheap. Maybe now I'll enjoy being in there again. Once it got hot in there, I couldn't stand it, and I hated to keep borrowing the non-oscillating fan from Dearest's room. He hates fans that move. Kept the box, since I'll probably only use it for a few weeks before I need to store it. May as well use the box it came in ! Or make a bag for it...Hmmmm.....

Educational follies...either my son's teacher kidnapped the class, or she's lying to us. Oh, what fun...

 

Current Mood : Miffed

Current Image Notes : And here's 'Miss Sassy' with a book I've wanted for a long time. Even the poster is still there ! Can't wait to try the patterns !

Spent on DPrincess junk at Dollar Tree : $2.08 

 

I'm trying really hard to not get upset about today, but it's not going well. Got a call from Dearest Son's teacher this morning. The class - maybe the whole third grade, I'm not sure - was about to leave for a field trip to Local Hospital. Teacher thought that the noise and alarms and such would be too much on Dearest, so he would remain at school, with the resource teacher.

 

WHAT ? This was the first I'd heard of any bloody field trip ! And calling me as they're walking out the door is rather insulting, I think. If I'd have known Dearest was gonna sit around from 11pm ‘til day's end, I'd have just kept him home - and why wasn't I consulted on this earlier ? By the time we were informed it was a done deal, and I don't think that was an accident. There was no permission slip, no volunteer sheet, nothing.

 

So I stormed my big butt up to the school. I was ready to pull Dearest home, so at least he wasn't staring at walls for four hours. I was about to burst, but instead, I tried hard to maintain my temper, I didn't want to go off on the undeserving. After speaking with Mr. P., the resource teacher (i.e., ‘special needs coordinator'), I found that Son'd been left with some catch-up work, but he thought I'd been informed much earlier. I didn't go off on him, explained that I appreciated Teacher's thoughtfulness and consideration of Dearest's temperament, but I really did not appreciate being left so far out of the decision loop about the whole thing. That, he understood.

 

Dearest himself was blasé about the whole deal. He was having fun, had already completed most of the worksheets, and was drawing. A couple other kids (all boys, hmmm) were there, and they were talking Clone Wars, so for him, this was no punishment or loss of fun. By now, I wasn't sure what was best for him, so I asked what he wanted. Dearest said he wanted to stay, he'd finish his work better, and since it was a no-homework day, he'd have more time to play at home. Mr. P said it'd be no problem, but he understood that my word was law here, so it was up to me if Son stayed or left.

 

I decided Dearest was right about the work pages, and he stayed. Ironically, I ran into Teacher in the hallway, who told me that she'd sent no permission slips home with anyone. Huh ? No, since she wasn't sure when the trip was, there hadn't been time. Sadly, I don't believe this. I sincerely doubt any teacher can just haul a class - or a whole grade - out for the afternoon, off the school campus, using school system transportation, without informing anybody's parents. I even noticed a couple kids looking at her and each other in confusion when she said it. I may be misreading the classmates, but I really doubt her story. As Beloved Hubby put it when I relayed the whole story to him, it's more likely that she decided she didn't want to deal with Dearest's potential issues, and arranged it so she wouldn't have to, and by the time we knew about it, nothing else could be done. I hate to attribute to malice that which can be easily explained by stupidity, but at this point, I don't know what else to believe.

 

Sheesh. I felt so bad for Dearest, I wanted to whisk him away to Toys R Us and let him have whatever he wanted, to make up for it. But he was enjoying the afternoon already, so I amended it to a visit to Dollar Tree after school instead. Still not quite sure what to do about the teacher end of this stinkin' pile. I hadn't yet returned my ‘volunteer for school stuff' sheet - after this, I may return it blank, or just not at all. I don't really feel that I'm part of the school when our son gets treated like this, and I'm not even informed, much less included, until it's far too late.