Kid and Caboodle

I asked A.J. yesterday what he wanted for lunch since he’s started summer camp and has to bring his food rather than buy it from a cafeteria. He listed a number of items, including smoked salmon (!) and cookies.

This is what went with him to camp this morning:

1 small container of smoked salmon
1/2 ham-and-cheese sandwich
1 small container of Pringles potato chips
1 fruit roll-up
1 small container of pineapple chunks
1 small package of Oreos

These are all foods he likes and requested, with the exception of the sandwich, which I threw in to make sure he had enough protein. Despite my efforts, this is what came home:

1 small container of smoked salmon
1/2 ham-and-cheese sandwich
1/2 small container of Pringles potato chips
1 small container of pineapple chunks
1 small package of Oreos

Basically, he ate the fruit roll-up and half the container of potato chips. I am very frustrated.

It’s funny how much I use routines to anchor myself in time. I’ve been confused much of this afternoon about what day it is because we’ve been doing our normal Sunday routines; Chris did the laundry, I was on call for work, and A.J. did his homework. It almost feels like tomorrow is an extra day off!

I have no idea who the original Sally Foster was/is, but I really hate having to help A.J. sell her stuff every fall to raise money for the school. There is only so much wrapping paper and candy a person can handle! This year’s fundraising campaign is even more obnoxious because people are being asked to buy $20 gift cards rather than getting items directly. How many items do you think cost exactly $10 or $20 so someone can use up all the money in a gift card? That’s right — zero. Very clever.

In addition to this gift card campaign, the school is asking kids to sell “Hallmark Entertainment” books of coupons for local stores and restaurants. Each book costs $30. I suppose if you eat out a lot — and remember to carry your coupons with you — it’s a good deal. Personally, I’m not a coupon-clipping kind of person.

I’m not much of a fundraising one, either. Life was so much simpler before A.J. started public school ….

This month it seems Chris and I have been taking turns with A.J. getting sick. First I got something that started off like a flu, then became a really bad cold. I was sick throughout the weekend of September 11 and too sick to go to work the following two days. The following week, A.J. came down with a bug that kept him out of school for three days and required Chris and me to juggle our work schedules (he ended up caring for A.J. two days, and I took one). After A.J. went back to school, Chris got sick, and he is still a bit under the weather. Then two days ago I started getting muscle aches again, and yesterday I woke up with a sore throat and a massive fever that turned out to be strep throat. Now A.J. is claiming he doesn’t feel quite right. Sigh.

Chris: A.J., eat over your plate!

A.J: Ok.

Chris: No, eat over YOUR plate!

We’re now going on Day 5 of our unexpected winter vacation, thanks to the roughly two feet of snow that hit the D.C. area last weekend. So far my neighborhood has not seen any sign of a plow.

Cul-de-sac, two days after the storm

A.J. has been spending most of his waking hours playing Webkinz, which is something like The Sims or Second Life for stuffed toys. Each Webkinz toy come with a computer code that, when registered, creates an avatar on the Webkinz site. On the site, Webkinz owners can feed, bathe and dress their Webkinz; read electronic books; or “cook.” The site also has a virtual economy; players can work at different jobs, answer trivia questions and surveys, or play arcade games to earn “Kinzcash” to spend on pet food, furniture, toys, room decorations, classes, spa visits, vacations and “home renovations.”

A.J. pondering a move in Link'd (Connect Four equivalent in Webkinz)

The site is actually quite engaging, which is a mixed blessing. My son certainly has been entertained the past few days, but he hasn’t really wanted to do anything else. He also wants me to play as well. (I bought myself two Webkinz so my son would have someone to interact with on the site.)

I also have mixed feelings about how the Webkinz manufacturers have used the site to encourage future purchases. Access to the Webkinz site expires after a year, and the only way to renew is to buy another Webkinz and register its avatar code. Clever!

In between Webkinz sessions, I have managed to do a few useful things in the real world, but it has been hard to stay focused. Hopefully I’ll do better today. Chris has been doing a much better job than I have of being productive; not only has he shoveled a lot of snow and done laundry, but he has been assembling some shelving units. Good husband!

We’re expecting at least six more inches of snow this afternoon and tomorrow … wow. Guess we’ll be having a few more days of family bonding time!

My son, A.J., during a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park in 2009

Back then, I never had to take off work to attend a school play or worry about how to occupy a 7-year-old during a two-month summer break from school. I never had to scramble at 5 a.m. to negotiate child care because snow closed local schools but not my office.

I used to be able to spend my evenings socializing with friends or relaxing at home rather than reviewing my son’s homework. I used to sleep as late as I liked on the weekends rather than getting up before 8 a.m. to feed my son and drive him to extracurricular activities. I used to be able to go on vacation whenever my husband and I liked rather than being tied to our son’s school schedule.

Life was simpler back then, and sometimes I really miss those days. But most of the time I appreciate the wonders of having brought someone into the world and watching him grow into his own person. I love seeing my son’s mischievous smile and answering his questions on everything from biology and weather to the rules of the road and the budget deficit. I like how he sings in the shower and hugs me at bedtime.

Despite all the scheduling challenges, I enjoy being a parent. And work is going well, too!

This post is part of the Fem 2.0 Blog Carnival on Work-Life hosted by About Working Moms.

Chris has been doing more than his fair share of parenting the last few days. On Saturday, I had to work all day to get out a lot of information about the situation in Haiti, including articles, texts, a podcast transcript and a photo gallery. I started my work day about 9:15 a.m., after making breakfast for everyone and getting cleaned up, and didn’t finish until about 10:30 p.m. Poor Chris not only had to take A.J. to his taekwondo and Chinese classes, but he also had to spend a few hours in the library trying to find information about a relatively obscure spider for a project A.J. has due next week. (He didn’t find anything useful in the library; we’re looking for good Internet resources now.) Chris didn’t get any break at all on Saturday; he also had to prepare dinner, a task I normally perform, and get A.J. to bed without any help. I really hope I don’t have to work again next weekend!

Tonight Chris also helped out a lot. He got home as A.J. and I were starting to get frustrated with each other over some homework that is fairly simple but that has to be turned in tomorrow. A.J. kept saying he didn’t know the answers and wanted me to tell him what to do. I refused. Chris took over the situation, delaying his own dinner, to work with A.J. After dinner, he again stepped in, helping A.J. bathe himself instead of having me handle that part of the evening ritual.

I’m really lucky to have Chris. I wonder how single parents manage?

I’m enjoying a few hours of time to myself this morning because Chris volunteered to take A.J. to his Saturday classes in return for my packing away the Christmas ornaments. Deal! So, while Chris is braving the cold and driving around town, I’m lingering over breakfast before tackling the tree and other housework. Hopefully I’ll have enough spare time to finish off a few blog entries for work and another site, too.

Good husband!