Grayson's book arrived this morning! This is always exciting! Even though I've spent months looking at these pages over and over and over, it's still fun to have the actual artifact in hand. I love making Grayson's book each year. It's kind of a let-down when it's all done and I'm not working on it anymore. Though in just a few months, I can get started on next year's book. If you'd like to see the 2010 book, you can flip through it here. If you're one of the people who will be scoring a book for Christmas, you'll just spoil your surprise that way, but please yourself....


Today was Grayson's last day of school for two weeks! I went to "help" with the class party this afternoon. I had to redeem myself, because I missed the Halloween party. It was at 2:00 and I showed up at 2:30... just after school was over for the day. What was I thinking? I couldn't tell you.

So this time I was determined to do it right. I brought some little giveaways for all the kids, and I contributed $5 to the chips and queso the PTA moms were ordering. I even arrived half an hour early, to help set up. But there was nobody there. There was precious little there in the form of snacks, too. Just a single plate of cookies and a cooler of drinks. I peeked into the classroom next to ours, and the moms there were bustling around, setting goodies on plates on the tables they had decorated with red tablecloths. Every kid had a little gift at his or her place, and a pile of treats.

Our room was pathetic.

So I rushed out to Homeland and bought a cookie-cake with a cute snowman on it and rushed back just in time. The other moms were there, and they had set out holiday plates, doled out the chips, queso and cookies... and I realized that my cute cookie cake would have to be cut and I had no knife... AND there was no way there was enough to go around for a class of 30 kids.

So I gave it to the teacher. She was pleased.

Sigh. Well, at least I tried. I will never make homeroom mother, that's for sure.

The party was a smashing success, if a 4th grade classroom party can be said to be so. The kids played a game, transfering M&Ms from one cup to another using a straw. The PTA moms had provided prizes (including really loud, really annoying whistles, which even I know better than to hand out to a room full of 4th graders on sugar). And my little giveaways got added to the prize stack, which was fine... they were actually just leftovers I'd cadged from a Sonic event at the museum anyway.

So school is out for two weeks and tomorrow G goes to see his dad because his grandma is in town for a few days. I will be spending the weekend getting ready for the Big Solstice Bash coming up on Tuesday. Oh, and knitting. I'll be doing a lot of knitting. More on knitting later.