Anybody got a pencil I can borrow?

Will these do?
The boys have an
entire drawer
devoted just to
pencils.Do you
think Ryan's teacher
would notice if I spray
painted them all yellow?

School starts in 11 days. For Eric, 12 days. I have issues with the boys' school right now. For instance, why does kindergarten have to start a day later than the rest of the grades? I'll start to complain and some Issaquah person will explain to me about the Wednesday half days and why they are so valuable to the teachers blah blah blah...I don't care. And what is worse, my kindergartner won't care when I try to explain why Ryan is going to school a day earlier than he is. I also don't care about their excellent reasons for why Kindergarten Orientation must be on Ryan's first day of school, at 8:30 in the morning because for me it means trying to find childcare for Eric at 8:30 on a Wednesday morning on Ryan's first day of school.

I'm sure the boys' school has a darn good reason for breaking up curriculum night into 2 nights this year, but again, for me, don't really care. Because now Mike and I have go to Curriculum Night both nights, deal with childcare both nights....and don't even get me started on the fact that school starts in 11 days, 12 days, whatever, and we don't know who the boys' teachers are, I don't know if Eric is in morning or afternoon kindergarten, and we don't know their bus route yet. All of which would be helpful in answering Ryan's incessant questions about his 3rd grade teacher and my boss's questions about whether or not I can work on Friday afternoons.

So perhaps I shouldn't feel so bad that things at Knitting Queen central are just as behind. I have not purchased school supplies yet (and I will be going to one store this year. One. I gave up trying to find white glue stick from their 13 year old supply list back when Ryan was in 1st grade. That purple glue stick works just as well, there is nothing wrong with it, and I will say it to the teacher's face if I have to. And unless Eric's teacher is planning to clean MY painted walls with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, I fail to see how this will aid in his education. This item was not on Ryan's kindergarten school supply list and yet he still learned to read. Go figure. Ryan's list has him bringing 5 dozen pencils. FIVE DOZEN. For each child. The class needs 110 dozen pencils? Really? Ryan's 3rd grade class will go through 1,320 pencils? Are they disposable? Is the 3rd grade from Briarwood Elementary supplying pencils for the rest of the school? Will Ryan received a failing grade in P. E if he only brings 4 dozen? Is the teacher worried about a world wide pencil shortage? These lists get more ridiculous each year).

I still have to buy Eric pants, they both need shoes and a winter coat, and haircuts. And I just can't be worried about funding Ryan's on-line school lunch money account yet, since he is still eating at home until September 3rd, so I wish they would quit sending me reminders that his account is low. Of course it's low. THERE IS NO SCHOOL RIGHT NOW. I'll fund his school lunch account when you start to feed him lunch. Until then, lay off and put your efforts into raising money for pencils or some other worthy cause.

There. I think I got it all out of my system. I do like their school. Very much. The staff is great, I adore the principal, the class sizes are manageable. All of the important things at the school are good. The reasons I love their school are all still very much there. They just really need to get this pencil inventory thing figured out so that Ryan Keene isn't single handedly supplying pencils for the entire student body, staff, and the high school down the street.

Ah yes, things here at Knitting Queen Headquarters are blissfully happy. We're not sick of each other at all. It's just a little slice of heaven here, under the piles of laundry, legos, and half-drawn pictures of Spiderman strewn all over the floor. And kitchen table. And the stairs. And like Pavlov's dog, each time I pick up my knitting needles I hear "mommy can you.... [fill in the blank]".

Just 4 hours until I go to work. A child free, laundry free, lego free, cat litter free environment where we have just 5 pencils in a handy little cup next to the register and somehow we're all still able to go on.