Okay. How about this rant?

(I'm waiting for universal agreement, you know.)

What about when you're in a program, doing a craft, everybody's doing the same craft. And you're almost the only person who actually lets the kids do the project themselves.

Instead, not only are other people assisting their kids... and doing major parts (like drawing the faces and whatnot) for their kids... but you hear repeated comments of the vein of "Here, I'll let you do this part" and "No, you can't use that color, you have to use this one" and "Your lollypop has to have swirls like Miss April's does - see?"

By the last one, I always want to jump up and interject that just because you don't have a creative bone in your body, there's no need to inflict that on your innocent children.

In fact, I might just mention to April that she should be firmer that her example piece is just a suggestion and does not need to be religiously followed.

(I say I let the kids do the work themselves (though I do control Evangeline's glue, because she still will put it in her mouth), but even that wasn't enough for Angelique. She now refuses to sit next to me and will only come to me for help after trying and failing to do something critical several times. I try to view this as a positive development, but really, I feel snubbed.)

Edit: It'd irritate me anyway, you should know - but it *really* irritates me now that I see Angelique really developing her creativity. Like, they did scarecrows. I "let her" do it herself (unlike just about EVERYBODY ELSE THERE). Surprise, hers didn't look as "good as" theirs - but it was the only one with a backstory of "He's crying, because he's sad that he hasn't scared any crows yet". The only one without a smile, in fact. Or when we all did our candy corn, she crumpled up the tissue paper before gluing it on. And people go up to her and say how creative it is, but they don't seem to get that their kid could (and would) do it too, if only they were allowed to, and it makes me sad.

(Talking about art, today Angelique drew a picture of a pumpkin and what was apparently a ghost. I told her how to spell BOO and demonstrated a B for her ("I know how to do a o already, Connie!"), but she wrote the word all by herself, including an exclamation point, after I explained it meant shouting. Accordingly, the B only looks like a B if you know that's what it's supposed to be and kinda squint, but it's the same thing. What, am I going to save this picture for the rest of her life so I can say with pride "I drew that for her when she was only four"? What does she learn that way?)

Today, Angelique looked at a container of oatmeal

Which we *always* call oatmeal, which I'd even believed, not having looked closely, said oatmeal - and said she'd like some "oats". Because that's what the container says, and she can totally read, and she's really holding out on us.

God only knows why.

She does a good act, but I am not fooled.

In other news, I don't have my phone yet, must run downstairs and get it, but Jenn - 'dul can't take the kids to the store at 5:30. Michelle isn't taking them out until 4, and I wanted to stop by Kahn's party (seriously, her name is either Kahn or Khan, can't remember) at 6.

Happy Halloween!

Total count:

81 children in costumes
10 babies
15 children sans costumes

Next year, I'll have some big sized toys for the babies and anybody who requests, and raisins for the kids who think they're too cool to wear their mask, or even *have* a mask.

Switched off with Michele for a while - she took the kids out in her neighborhood, then I took them all around the block here while she handed out our candy. It was so different from going out when I was a kid, a completely different type of neighborhood.

And do you know what the kids were most excited about? The juice. One house near us (like living in a fishbowl - the people there like to have big displays in their windows instead of curtains. They don't ever have mess or even walk around naked, presumably because of this) gave a thing of juice to the baby - and the bigger ones wanted juice too! And then they all wanted to open their juice RIGHT THEN (we didn't have that problem with candy) and when they got home they wanted Michele to examine the juice RIGHT THEN so they could open it RIGHT THEN, and Angelique said it was the best part later.

Next year, I might buy juice too. Clearly, it's what kids like.

Okay.

ELISE HAS HER PERIOD

(She said I could post this and she doesn't really fucking care. She's reading over my shoulder, so if I say anything she really objects to me sharing, I'll stop. She told me to say anything, so here's the truth: Elise is a poopyhead. Yes, really.)

So, to recap: Elise is growing up. Awwwwwww.

Update: When asked if she's happy, she said "sure".

Edit: Edited because even as she didn't object, I really didn't intend to keep that long message up that long. I'd've edited sooner, but she was playing on myspace.

Okay.

So how much fabric would I buy, to make one pad?

Assume it's quite large ( TMI-ish )

and that it has enough liners in it for a very heavy day. I can estimate down from that, but it's hard to estimate up.

So how much flannel for the top, and something waterproof for the bottom, and what's good and cheap and how much of whatever-it-is for the middle?

And all these patterns want me to serge. Can I serge with a sewing machine? Can I get by without serging? What *is* serging?

My mother goes through books with a pencil to mark errors.

But this is a large one, and no pencil could suffice.

I'm reading a mystery, the New Year's Eve Murder by Leslie Meier. Our main character is in NYC (not a spoiler - none of this is) and she's taking the 1 down to the boat. And she can't get off, because she (say it with me) Must Be In One Of The First Five Cars. How she missed the big signs and the announcements for the past six stops, I don't know, but she's been a little preoccupied. This is a murder mystery, after all. I giggled, because this is true to life. There always is somebody who just doesn't get it, and how many times, how many times have I gotten on the train quick, just to hang by the doors so next stop I could make a bid for the conductor's car?

So she goes back up to Rector, and is "surprised to find herself in front of a quaint little church".

Well, aside from the fact that I'd hardly call Trinity Church "quaint" (it was once the tallest building in... I'm told the country, but I don't know, and it's still very impressive when viewed from below) - the 1 doesn't let you off in front of the Church. That's the N. The 1 lets you off a block away, still on Rector, but the American Stock Exchange is in between you and it, and so are a number of very questionable establishments, and you're right by the best store ever to buy gyros in (well, maybe not anymore).

And, for that matter, the N, when you get off, doesn't show you the church either. It shows you a huge wall. If you climb up the stairs, then you're in the graveyard, and then you see the church, but the church is well above street level - somewhere around the second story. In fact, there's a bridge from there to another building across the street. If you're going to get off a train, turn around, and be surprised at the "quaint little church" with the "memorial to Alexander Hamilton" (which you *definitely* have to be on the other side of the church to see!), you'd have to get off at the Wall Street station of the 4/5. The children from the preschool run around in the graveyard there, that would've been an interesting thing for our protagonist to observe!