Pre-K Perks and the SAHWM

I often wonder if working from home and hustling for freelance work is worth it, or if I should put on the ol' pantsuit and go back to work in the real world. But working from home, cutting those coupons and coming up with interesting ways to entertain the little ones while also educating them and meeting my deadlines has been some times of my life. Here's a few scenes from the past 30 days or so as we got ready for summer:

Downtown Grand pool day! All in a good day's work.

• Not a bad day at the office! We were given a cabana and lunch at the Downtown Grand's outdoor rooftop pool. Along with some great memories, I have story ideas for a few more publications!  

It's a little gem in the summer sun with great views and a good vibe. Aside from the pool, perfect for little ones who are still working on their water confidence, there was ping pong, bag toss, Foosball and other things to keep kids occupied. It's small enough you can keep an eye on your children and spacious enough that you don't feel crowded. The food was good and locals can get in for $5, which includes a free drink. I'm definitely planning on spending an afternoon under an umbrella lounging with some friends and their kids this summer!

• They found a bee struggling on the sidewalk. We love bees, but we do have a healthy respect for their stingers. The kids attempted to help him with this exchange:

J: Maybe we can take him in the house and help him.
M: Bees don't go in houses.
J: Why not?
M: Well, first they don't know how to cook.
J: Oh, yeah. But I don't either. (concerned look)

• Morgan has figured out that I work for the paper that she is proud to bring in from the driveway. She was reading it today with me as we drank our "coffee" (she gets juice and the classifieds), and asked if my name was in the paper today. I said no. "You need to work harder." Ouch. However, this was after a long discussion as to why they had to do their chores. Double ouch?

• Scene: Jack is working on his interview skills, apparently. Morgan has an imaginary friend, Stacey. It's Stacey's birthday, again. While driving to a play date, J and M had this exchange in the backseat:

J: "What does Stacey want for her birthday dinner?"
M: "She likes salad."
J: "Oh. What kind of salad?"
M: "Well, she likes it a little spicy, but not too spicy."
J: "Do you like spicy?"
M: "Not too spicy."
J: "Oh, that's OK. You'll do a good job."

And to close the interview:
J: "Look! Firetruck!"

I love them. I do feel bad for the white Ford truck behind us at each red light while I wrote this down on the back of a water bill envelope.

• Morgan was telling me she would spank Jack's butt if he got out of bed in the night to play. But Jack told her, "That's Daddy's job!" Morgan replied, "I want a job like that." Our little dictator.

•  J: "I don't want to learn about b and d! It's hard!" 

Me: "But bacon starts with b. And Darth Vader starts with D."
J: (Drying his tears) "Oh, yeah."
M: "And if you cry at school you'll get sent to the principal's office. (Stage whisper:) And Mommy is the principal."
J: (Long pause) "Does school have bacon?"
M: (Pats her brother's little face) "You can bring Darth Vader in your pocket if you want. Right, mommy?"
I truly have no idea what we are discussing at this point because I am thinking of how proud their papa will be over their priorities. Bacon and Star Wars. Cheers to teachers, because this takes a lot of patience! When it pays off, WOW. They start kindergarten in September. We're almost ready.

• We have "broken snifflers." (Their interpretation of our attempt at explaining why they had runny noses.) So I pulled out the cool crafts. Melted crowns + wax paper = window decorations! And scissor work, and patience, and more scissor work, then ditching those safety scissors for mommy's coupon scissors with the sharp edge. Much patience, indeed! Shwew, we made it through the craft with no Band-Aids! Although they tried. Any excuse to use the Princess and Cars Band-Aids.