Grown up kids

In which we went for a drive to Hoki and the kids chose books from the second hand book shop (I got some for Brighid that I had loved as well - Noel Streatfield's Thursday's Child, Black Beauty the abridged version and some more Enid Blyton) and then we went to a cafe and the kids read their books and/or played with the toy box and they were fantastically behaved. Oh wow. Parenting kids who are getting bigger definitely has perks. Yeah I know I've jinxed it now, but it was still a great afternoon yesterday.

She is happy again, and soon we'll have those hollows round her eyes gone. The jersey, for knitters out there, was knitted by my Mum.

Spiderman comic.

Today was also fabulous. In addition to going to work, taking Fionn to the nurse, visiting my elderly cousin, making lunches and dinner and watching agog as Fionn pulled out his homework for the first time in nine weeks (his laxness and mine, not the teacher's), I also baked rhubarb and ginger cake, mended Fionn's pjs, took in the back of my Japanese print dress (sounds flash but actually $15 on sale at Postie Plus last year) to give it a bit more shape and slashed my nine year old Laura Ashley dress to change the neck and hem lines. That's what I can do with a weekend of sleep and time with Favourite Handyman and the wonderful joy of healthy children.

They need people for Fionn's school PTA. I don't want to do it. Comments on PTAs and moral obligations?

Comments

Christopher in Auckland said…
Can't comment on PTA, but would love to know the rhubarb and ginger cake recipe!!
joe said…
Don't do it.
Sandra said…
Rhubarb cake recipe here:
http://lettersfromwetville.blogspot.com/2010/07/rhubarb-cake.html

This time I added some finely grated fresh ginger as well.
Frances said…
Me and another mum friend went along to our school's PTA meeting once... we found a small group of about 4 other women, plus a teacher. They were ECSTATIC that we had come along, as the group was getting so small.

Anyway, 3 years on, me and my friend basically run the PTA (e.g. chairperson and secretary). We've slowly built it up to about 6 others. It's a pain that it's so small, as any fundraisers/events we have it's ALWAYS us to have to organise and run them. Can be exhausting.

Anyway, it's up to you. I like being on the PTA but don't like that the group is so small so that I end up having to do so much. The main reason I do it is that the kids LOVE that I organise things like the disco and sausage sizzles, etc, they are SO proud of me! :-)
Ruth said…
When I was on PTA and School Committee (many years ago, pre BOTs) I made several good friends and learned useful skills.
Unknown said…
I'm on our board of trustees... so I miss out on the PTA. It is a sad fact of life that your school will depend on the fundraising that the PTA does. If you want your son's school to have those extras that they should have, then the PTA needs your support. I would try to dodge the issue until you have both kids at school, and then join.
Corrine said…
Woops,
That last message was from me. My son was on the computer.
Corrine
applepip said…
I've always avoided PTA just as I did kindy committee, so no comment on moral obligation here.

That really is a gorgeous pic of Brighid. You can see in the sparkly eyes she has been unwell, but the smile is magic and I love the red handknit. So relieved for you to have healthy children again. I have copied your rehydration recipe for our own rainy days. Thanks for sharing.
Sandra said…
Thank you everyone. Very interesting. Fionn's school has one annual fundraiser - the school gala. Although there are a million things attached to it, I love it how that is all, no more requests after it. I always give them things in the lead up and help on the day and am happy to do that still. I know that I really don't have any heart for the actual organisation of it and would therefore be rather useless. I also know that it would be a tiny team like your experience Cesca. Good idea about waiting until I have both kids at the same school Corrine.

I did try going for the first two years and then I realised I was not going because I was too busy to get to the meetings (always clashed with FH's work stuff) let alone committing to doing stuff outside the meeting. So now I don't even try. No doubt the door sill always be open...
Christy said…
sorry to read about brighids illness, and very glad she is getting better. sounds like you are doing a fabulous job dealing with it all. she looks beautiful in that photo.

re pta i do believe that we should help make our kids education the best it can be, i'm on board like corrine cause i like to have the overall picture (and i'm nosy) but otherwise i don't think i would put my hand up for continual fundraising if that is what the PTA is. but it can also be about helping with other useful stuff like welcoming new families, coordinating parent help and school working bees, runnning second hand uniform shop (if you have). i help out with the school's vege gardens when we are not so busy, i'm happier doing that than selling raffle tickets :) and like cesca the kids are at the age when they love to see me at school being involved.
Sandra said…
Thanks for your thoughts Christy. Our PTA seems to be entirely about fund raising which I think is okay, just that I don't think my strengths lie in organising a gala. FH is on the board at the High School and I think it is too much time away from our kids if I go on the board at the primary school as well. I have helped with gardening things at the school before but I didn't have the time that it needed as the school wasn't very committed to the garden idea (there was one but on the worst south facing deeply shadowed site possible). So we had two years of garden related activites and I organised for them to get some money when the recycling group disbanded.

At kindy I tended to choose non-institutional ways of helping and I'm leaning towards the same approach at primary school.

Raffle tickets - our town seems to run on raffles! I do an hour on the table every year before the gala and also for the annual kindy raffle. I was naughty and didn't sign up for the rugby league raffle table roster, but when we are given a book of tickets (in addition to the supermarket table roster in the case of kindy and league), we buy them all as I refuse to ask friends to buy tickets. I'm pleased there is no fundraising for martial arts or for swimming lessons. Phew. Raffle free kiddie activities.

Now I'm waffling a LOT.
Helen said…
NAH. don't do it. help out with the gala or something, do short sharp helpy things, not the long commitment. that's my advice. Have found you after searching for gardening blogs. Where are all the gardening blogs?? I grew up in Greymouth, now resident in Wellington. Nice to meet you!
Sandra said…
Hello Pixie. Nice to meet you too. There are some cool gardening blogs but not nearly enough of them. I shall link to some soon. Not now though, because right now I need to either perform some gardening magic or experiment with how much silverbeet I could sneak into cheese muffins for lunch.
body lift said…
This is looking like very nice images. Really your kids are very cute and they are grown very well. I happy to see them happy.

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