Son of a Martha Stewart!!

As if being a Mom is not stressful enough, add in the Holidays and let's just say Son of a Nutracker!! We always manage to get it all done so our kids have the magic of the season and think life is all rainbows and unicorns, even if we lose a bit of sanity during the process. So as if the Season could not get any more insane, enter the school announcements that have come home in my kids backpacks. Let me just say the Holiday cursing was in full swing! I have great respect for teachers, but what possibly could they be thinking when planning the Holiday Season in their classrooms. Obviously not about the fact that one of my kids is in their class and I am not Martha Stewart and cannot even pretend.

So as I am reading through the lists of instructions, projects, dates to remember and supplies that are needed to make all the magic happen I feel the stress rising in my chest. I am all for my kids having fun and enjoying the Holiday Season in school but why does that have to involve me? Whatever happened to some good group sing a long. So first my son's class sends home sign up lists for each parent to choose reading a book to the class or going in and doing a Holiday activity with the class. Are you kidding me? Of course, let me just throw an activity together no problem, get real. So I pick the book because I find it the lesser of two evils, because there really is no option to do nothing and have your kid be the only one whose parents did not want to participate. I already have enough mom guilt to make me lose sleep and I cannot afford to lose anymore sleep.  I am just grateful I had a choice because if I had to do an activity it would have been bringing in my Christmas cards that still are not done and the kids would have been putting on address labels and stamps. Then my daughter's teacher sent home a gingerbread man for the family to decorate together and send back in to be put on display. The instructions were to use anything around the house such as pipe cleaners, glitter, stickers, pom poms...good lord...of course let me just open up my craft closet, grab my hot glue gun and go crazy. Seriously, I know friends of mine that would find this whole process so fun, but my poor kids are stuck with me and my daughter looked at me in horror when I told her to cut one of his legs off and tell her teacher someone tried eating him. Then my son's class sent home instructions to create a party in a box with special snacks, drink and a special note from someone in the family (I hope my blind diabetic dog has been working on his note writing skills) and then wrap it in gift wrap so they can open it up like a present in class. I pray to God I send him in with the right box and he is not opening a box of wine in front of his classmates. I already get strange looks as it is around school functions, that's all I need to explain. This is just scratching the surface because I have not even mentioned Pajama day, and gingerbread festival day and Holiday book swap day. And my Super Hero cape is at the dry cleaners!! Thank God for Christmas cursing and special Mommy egg nog!