Another Slacker Mom Confession

I was numbering these confessions, but I lost count!!

Thankfully I am not alone - Chris is a mom of 7 (see her post "Little Ways I Fail") and she also neglects her kids from time to time.

Let me preface this with some excuses:
1. I have 4 bookbags and homework to check.
2. I don't check the 2 older kids' very much because Child #1 is responsible and brings what I need to know to me, and Child #2 has an assignment book that I sign on weeknights.
3. I don't check bookbags over the weekend. I ask the kids to empty out their stuff and by the time Sunday night rolls around and I have asked them repeatedly, I believe them when they say, "I don't have any homework." Because they usually don't have homework over the weekend.

USUALLY.

So I'm checking Child #2's assignment book and decide to empty out his 2-ton bookbag Monday night (last night). In it, I find a fluorescent green poster board and "Star of the Week" instructions paperclipped to it. Apparently Cy didn't think it was important to share with us that he is Star of the Week. THIS. WEEK. And that he was to fill this posterboard with pictures of himself and have it ready for class on Monday.

My bad.

Let me share this responsibility with my husband and my son. Is it fair that I shoulder the blame and shame all by myself?

Funny thing is, if it would have been any of my other children (who happen to all be girls, just sayin'), I would have heard about Star of the Week for two months prior. But Child #2 just didn't think it was important enough to make the weekend news. We were working outside all weekend on a yard brush clean-up project, and he had several occasions to share this information with us while hacking away at bushes, riding wagons of dead wood, cleaning the clubhouse, etc. But instead he went on and on about how excited he was for their classroom's 150th day party on Monday. In my defense, two days earlier I had counted out 150 Cheerios (well actually counted out 30 and multiplied that "handful" by 5) for their 150th Day Gorp...I did get that to school on time! Yay me!! But nope, being Star of the Week and having a special activity just for himself every day--including sharing his favorite book, favorite snack, hobbies, goals, lunch buddy--that didn't make the front page.

So there I am, sitting in bed with my husband after getting the kids to bed last night, scrambling to stick some old baby pictures and recent adventures on this posterboard. Mark knows which buttons to push and said, "I guess we have too many kids!" and "What kind of a mother are you?" while I wrote a big "I'm sorry" note to the teacher in Cy's assignment book.

Can I include the excuse that I was distracted by a sick kid and a computer crash (where we lost all of our documents and photographs from the last year)?

Sigh. It's just sad when you think of how awesome we could have made this poster. Oh well. My next post will be the short story I wrote with my son as the main character (that was one of the options for his Wednesday time). It's a great assignment, by the way....very creative, and an excellent way to boost the child's self esteem (everyone in class and the parents has to write about the Star of the Week, and she's going to compile it into a book). The kind of assignment I gave out in my teaching years pre-kids. When I was young, ambitious, and not so distracted.

This is Cy's hand holding a baby robin nest...its gnarled old tree was taken down during our project and relocated nearby...see! It's proof that we do spend time together!! (Even if it is destroying wildlife habitats. Deflecting the blame, it was Dad's idea.)