Cheap Thrills

It doesn’t take much to give kids their kicks does it? You can throw all the money in the world at them and they see straight through it. It’s the simple things that hold a special place in their memories like spending quality time with mum or dad.

This is something a working parent knows all too well. A mother’s guilt never wanes and doubly-so when she returns to work.

This week many schools were celebrating their 100^th day of the year and some acknowledged it by encouraging their children to bring creations encompassing 100 items. Some brought 100 shells, some brought jars of 100 coloured lollies, another brought a house made from 100 ice block sticks, one father sat down with his son the night before and screwed 100 screws into a hat. As it happened, his son woke up sick the next day so his labour went to waste. Which was probably just as well because, in hindsight, although the pirate hat looked impressive with 100 spikes sticking up out of the top, he admitted it could possibly have been a hazard to other kids.

Then there was the mum who sat down with her children and helped them dip 100 pieces of macaroni into various shades of food colouring before helping them glue the coloured pasta to form the letters of their names.

Wait on – that was me last year. Now what did I do this year? Oh that’s right - nothing.

Luckily Master Eight (along with countless others) had the brain wave to bring in one of his loom band creations but otherwise my kids showed up empty-handed.

But children are also very forgiving, which perhaps further adds to the guilt, and, I think I inadvertently made up for it later in the week by, uh, not doing anything much.

While doing the housework I decided to swap the couch and chairs around. When the kids came bounding in later that day it was like all their Christmases had come at once.

“Oh my god – everything’s different. You’re the best mum ever!” one declared as I stood there perplexed.

“This is one of the best days of my life!” pronounced the other jumping around on the furniture.

Good grief, life can’t be very fun at my house if this is what excites them, I thought.

However, the second day something similar happened.

I’m obviously not too flash at multi-tasking these days as I was trying to kill too many birds with one stone by running the bath while cooking dinner and making the lunches and got distracted helping one with their homework. Next minute, I remembered the bath and found it almost filled to the top with boiling hot water.

By the time I cooled it down it was very deep indeed and, while I was thinking of my power bill and cold shower later that night, the kids couldn’t wait to get in. 

“This is the second best day of my life!” shrieked Master Five, his delighted face just barely visible above the bubbles.

“Why, what was the first?” I asked.

“Going to Rainbow’s End.”

Ok, so obviously an over-filled bath can’t compete with the thrill of a log flume ride but it’s interesting to note it comes a close second.

While I’m not trying to advocate sacrificing quality family time over such mishaps, it was still humbling to see the simplicity behind their joy. I suspect that actually giving some of my time by just sitting with them and doing not much of anything would also be up there for them.

And as I stood shivering under my cold shower later that night I wondered if I should’ve made a start by jumping in that hot, deep bath. It had sure looked inviting.

Holiday Kaos

I suspect loom bands and the release of the Lego Movie on dvd has been many a parent and guardian’s saving grace these wet holidays.

If you don’t know what loom bands are yet – where have you been? Most parents, grand parents and teachers will be well-familiar with the tiny, simple multi-coloured rubber bands which somehow have the ability to keep even pre-schoolers occupied for hours.

Really, I mean who needs a babysitter when you’ve got loom bands? What’s more, they’re as cheap as chips.

Despite how it sounds, I’m not on some sort of commission for advertising them but I’m just wondering why no one brought them out sooner?

It’s surprising how even the boys get stuck right into the jewellery-making business and Master Five today was adorned with five loom bands up each arm plus a necklace.

After making a trip up to the Happy Save shop first thing each morning to re-stock their supplies, and then a subsequent dvd and supermarket stop, they were all set up for the day so I could work from home. It actually worked and, apart from stopping to fix snacks and meals, and admire their creations, I remained mostly uninterrupted. 

Likewise the Lego Movie craze hasn’t yet died down and kids are still getting round singing the catchy theme song “Everything is awesome” at the tops of their lungs. Some bright spark at the local dvd store also decided to print out Lego Movie colouring competitions for everyone who hired the movie which kept them occupied for nearly a whole day as well.

The first week of the holidays went relatively smoothly as we were away half the week and the kids were at their grandparent’s for most of the rest. It was over the weekend, when the above-mentioned shops were shut and I was ankle-deep in mess that I began to panic as to how I would occupy them for the second week while I worked.

The dining table had been converted into a hut, which, once dismantled revealed everything under the sun that had been dragged from all rooms of the house (to make it look like a real home of course), the lounge was strewn with cut up pieces of paper and pens and the kitchen was littered in the remains of breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was at this point I decided to change my motto to: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and embrace the chaos.

So with the combination of this new attitude, the loom bands and dvds, I managed to achieve some work. However, for a cleanliness freak like me, living in a sloth-hole was no easy feat. By the end of the third day I spat the dummy and went on a cleaning spree. One can only take so much of squished raisons and all manner of other food particles -along with the multiple loom bands - underfoot, mud the length of the house and I won’t mention what had been walked all over the toilet floor.

So I went from being cruisy, “embrace it” mum, which the kids liked, back to the jump-down-their-poor-throats for dropping crumbs mum.

At the same time as I was undertaking my frantic clean-a-thon, I was dealing with a nit outbreak, sick child and blocked sink so work took a back seat after that. Still, I am grateful for the time those tiny bands provided, plus I am now fashionably all decked out in colourful rubber jewellery.

Annie

“The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun …”

Actually I have no idea if it will be sunny tomorrow but I’ve decided to share in Annie’s optimism that the school holidays will grant us some good weather.

Otherwise it will be dvds all round.

I highly doubt the Annie dvd will be available though on the tail of the wonderful musical in Auckland last week. It was grand.

With the opening of the first scene I was disappointed – it sounded like the voices had been pre-recorded and the actresses were merely miming. But no, it was just our young home-grown Auckland ‘orphans’ giving the rest of the international cast a run for their money with their perfected and well-delivered accents.

When Annie belted out Tomorrow in the opening scene with such slow and controlled clarity it sent shivers down the spine.

I took part in my first musical show through the Whangarei Theatre Company several years ago and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had.

It was Miss Five’s debut into the musical world (as an audience) and I kept casting glances her way.

“Mum are they real?” she asked, seconds into the show.

And then Sandy, the dog ran out.

“Is he real too?” she wanted to know.

In the lead up to the show she’d been watching the movie and reading my childhood glossy-page hardback Annie book. She knew the storyline inside-out so it was a little confusing when a blond (as opposed a red-head) Miss Hannigan drunkenly stumbled onto the stage. Likewise, with other changes that needed to be made to adapt to the stage version but once we got used to these, Miss Hannigan, in particular, became quite likeable.

Then there were the stage show additions such as Miss Hannigan’s line: “Gee, what is it about that Annie girl – next they’ll be making a musical about her!” which drew much laughter.

Although his appearances were few and far between, compared with the film, Sandy was the star of the show and the last to make his curtain call. Molly, the cute-as-a-button seven-year-old actress orphan was also a little star.

Other highlights were renditions of Hard Knock Life, You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile and the dancing.

Annie paraphernalia was flying off the shelves at the interval and after the show and I would say there will be a few little girls flaunting the Ronald McDonald-look-a-like wigs this week.

There will, no doubt, be a number of wanna-be actresses signing up at their local drama schools or theatres too.

I’m not sure if it had that effect on my shy little girl but I’m determined to work on her.