hangin' with the kiddies

and it didn't take long to realize that they're all so way cooler than i ever was (which isn't hard to begin with).

yesterday was the kid's 6th grade pool party/BBQ in the park. of course, i didn't know a thing about it until the day BEFORE. her BFF's mom calls me and says "hey, are you going to help out at the BBQ tomorrow?" not only did i make the scooby doo noise, but the face as well. so i called the school secretary and volunteered my services like a good mom. the park, 10am, help set up, check.

i'm still in that fabulous lazy in-between-awake-and asleep stage, thinking about thinking about getting up to pee, and the phone rings. loudly. opening one eye tells me it's the ungodly hour of 7am, and i make like one of the three blind mice and fumble around to make the ringing stop.

kid: "mom, what are you doing today? did my teacher talk to you?" (it's her dad's week)
me: [silent groan] "um, no. i haven't heard from her."
kid: "she wanted to know if you could be one of the chaperones at the pool today."
me: "oh! sure, i can do it. what time do i need to be at the school?"
kid: "8:20."
me: (at this point, i paste a plastic smile on my face so that i can at least sound more cheerful than i am) "i'll be there. see you then!"

in a nutshell, it was fun watching the boys trying to impress the girls as they did flips off the high diving board, and the girls moaning in agony when they realized that they couldn't cover their bathing suits with t-shirts in the pool. i was amused to note that, unlike me and my friends at that age, these girls weren't shy about busting out a two-piece. i ran around from 8:20 till 2:30, sweated like a pig all day long and wasn't about to mortify the kid by joining them in the water. at the BBQ, after all the kids and teachers were happily munching away, i snuck to the table and ate two hot dogs, a bag of chips, a can of soda, and a handful of brownie bites. obviously, i was freakin' STARVING. i haven't touched hot dogs in months and the smell of them usually grosses me the hell out.

here's a few pictures i was *allowed* to take:



i ended my day with a yoga class in an effort to relax, a trip to the mall for a birthday present, and then a maniacal tour of no less than three grocery stores looking for some more of those damn brownie bites. and because i have the greatest luck in all the land, i couldn't find them anywhere. i was too tired and it was too hot to bake 'em, so i ended up settling for some reasonable facsimile. not as good, but it satisfied the craving. they topped off my oh-so-healthy dinner of spaghetti-o's (with meatballs, so there was some kind of protein), half of a PB&J (with grape jelly, so there's my fruit), and a glass of milk (calci-yum!).

oh, and before i left for the day, i snapped this week's belly pic:

phew. i was so exhausted when i finally got home, i gave the dog a half-assed petting session and flopped on the bed. poor molly, she just wanted some love.

the end.