Non-Toxic for us!

Back in February we made a choice for our family that was hard and long needed. We decided that the best thing for our family would be to drop out of Cub scouts. We had been part of the same pack for four years, I was a leader for four years, I was a committee member for four years, we only had 9 months to go before Alex would have earned the highest honor in Cub scouts, the Arrow of Light.

BUT...

In our den there were three boys who bullied Alex every single day. I had talked to their parents multiple times about it, but they ignored the problem. These boys would bully my own kid right in front of me while I was trying to led a den meeting. Screw that! I was wasting my time trying to help and teach kids who treated my kid like crap, I don't think so! I also was running the entire den solo since none of my parents would step up to the plate to help me. Which means that I was planning and tracking achievements for 12 boys every single week. And paying for them many times too.

The pack leaders were also problems, one of the bullying kids was theirs, I still think they were doing something shifty with the pack funds. Things never added up.

So in February, we quit. No notice. No pleasantries. Just quit. I literally boxed up all the Cub Scout crap I had, which was a car load, and dumped it off at the den leaders house. It felt GREAT!!

It was so freeing to finally have our Thursday nights back. We were able to put Alex back into Tae Kwon Do full time. Most important, the bullying completely stopped because we weren't around those ass hats. We haven't missed Cub Scouts at all.

Fast forward to today, I went into Alex's school to drop off his forgotten hat and water for field day. The wife of the pack leader and mother to one of the bullies works in the front office. She was abrupt and rude. I just walked away thinking that I am so glad my family isn't around that TOXIC bull crap anymore.

I went home happy, she got to stay there being a bitch. Sounds like a fair exchange to me. :)

Hockey for the pre-birthday bash!

This evening we went to a Rampage game with a bunch of friends and our kids. There was crazy amounts of chips and hot dogs and soda. There is jumbo tron time for everyone including all of us moms doing the Animal House dance, you know the one with a Little bit softer Now, a Little Bit Louder now.

Shout Animal House

I swear all that was involved to get us to do that dance was nachos with super jalapenos and diet Coke.

It was a fun time had by all, and the boys were crazy hockey monkeys.

Good times.

Life is still good.

24 hours to go...

By this time tomorrow night, I will be done with a big stress in my life, our cub scout banquet. I just finished up the centerpiece that I had to make, and if I say so myself, it turned out pretty good. Our banquet theme is Magic, so I went with wands shooting flowers, magic doves, and floating magician hands all set in a black top hat. With some blue and gold tossed in for the cub scout theme.

This banquet has brought out the worse in two prima donna mothers, who both want everything in this banquet to be perfect for only their sons. *sigh* A handful of us other mothers are totally going to hit up the margaritas once this night is done, and we are done with those mothers for good. Thank god for a light at the end of the tunnel.

Letter of the day is P.

Alex won fourth place in his Pack's Pinewood Derby today. Not bad considering this is a Mommy made car. Woo Hoo for me and a hack saw! Proud of him.

A perfect follow-up is a ham and brie quiche, especially for a slightly upset tummy. Yum comfort food wrapped in pie crust. Perfect for them.
And then hours of knitting, My So Called Scarf has been languishing on my needles since the day after Christmas and I am jamming through to finish it up. One skein caked, one skein knit. Progress for me.

Call me Crazy cause I was and am

So I had this wild crazy idea last week to have all the boys from our Cub Scout den over for a Christmas party/meeting. We would do activities that would knock out some achievements as well as keep them busy and make holiday gifts at the same time.

And then I thought, Well this could give parents prime time to go shopping without the kids and if they have siblings that need to come bring them too! (Uh-Oh)

And then I thought, hmmmm I better have some help with this,and luckily my friend Misty said sure. ( Thank God for Misty)

And tonight we wrangled 23 BOYS all the under the age of 9 for 2 hours. We make cookie gift jars, painted sugar cookies, had hot chocolate, had holiday balloon wars and watched Santa Claus 3. ( I love the TV as a babysitter sometimes)

And bless them to high heaven, two moms stayed after and cleaned my kitchen for me. Because seriously it was a mess. I had three big messes tonight, all of my doing.

1. I dropped the candy tray full of 6 bags of candies from the top the fridge.
2. I dropped the bowl full of two melted sticks of butter on the kitchen floor 5 minutes before people where due to arrive.
3. I didn't think, again, and put the lid on the HUGE pot of Hot Chocolate I made and it overflowed, looking just like a pot of barfing poop.

And after each mess, or while it was still messing, I would stand there and tell myself to slow down, I would take a deep breath, and then I would clean it up.

So in a nutshell here is my night:

• 23 little boys
• 1 fabulous helper
• 16 holiday balloons
• 23 cookie gift jars
• 6 dozen painted sugar cookies
• 3 mega messes
• 2 gifts under the tree as thanks
• 2 friends cleaning up with me
• ZERO stains on the carpets or couches
• one pair of tired feet.

Time for bed! And did mention the phone call I got from the school nurse, second one in less then a week. Alex got stung by a bee on his temple. *sigh* I am SO glad that we don't have any pictures that need taking any time soon. And I am SO glad that he is not allergic to bees.

The Fine line of Balance

Effort...

That is a big word for me Just enough effort to get by? Effort that goes above and beyond? Effort wasted and squandered on the wrong things? Varying degrees of effort are doled out for everything we decide to do.

Focus...

A second big word that should be expanded only to say Focus on my Family. With this loving focus, I have had to change the amount of effort put to outside obligations.

Tonight, one obligation and the expectations of a single one were lowered. When I was asked with big puppy dog eyes by my son to be his Den leader, I happily said yes, not really aware of the sheer amount of work put into running a den successfully. And I did suceed right out of the gates at having an awesome night planned for every den meeting and getting all my tigers accomplishing their requirments to advance. Simply because I want the best for my son, and if 13 other boys are effected by that, then more the better.

But with this new year and new focus, I have purposely let that obligation slide. I no longer spend 4-6 hours a week preparing for a den meeting. I pick a couple topics, cover them using what tools I can from the school, and get (when I can) some sort of cheap basic craft for the boys to use. I also wear a second hat for the Pack, that of awards coordinator, which is alot of work mostly in the planning and tracking stages, but alot of work still. But with the new focus, that obligation has been totally downsized in my life. No more special trips to the scout shop and council, I hit it up when I happen to be on that side of town which is only once a month. But I have planned that once a month trip to work around the due dates for those awards. I am just not strictly controlled by it anymore.

Well tonight, I had to set things straight with one single ambitious parent who has unfortuntely colored his sons view of the process with his disappointment. Nothing is as heart breaking as hearing a 6 year old say, "Why bother?". So I told him, back off unless you want to take over the job of it and stop influencing your sons enjoyment of the cub scouting process with your obsessive complusive tendencies. And he agreed, mostly because I called him on it and because he knows I won't stand for manipulation. *sigh* It made for a long, mentally draining night.

Once in the car, I shook it off, returned library books and gased up all the while explaing to Alex how the earth rotations on axis and why recycleing is so important.

My family is my focus and if outside events take me away from that, then they must go. Fortuntely, Casey and I agree that scouting is a great event for Alex, and so has my leadership position with the den. But as soon as I can find a capible parent, I am shucking off the mantle of awards and will once again enjoy the process with out disappointment coloring my vision.

Nose Bleeds or Bird's Eye?

We went to the Spurs game last night for Scout night. Let me tell you, our seats were WAY up there, to the point of nervousness on my part.
Happy guys.
Even More Happy Guys. These are my tigers.

Achievements

When I was little I was briefly in Girl Scouts, I loved it, but I mostly loved the snack tin which was a Folgers coffee can with a clown head screwed to the lid. I waited and waited for my turn to have the snack tin so I could deliever it to my troop with pride. I also have a vague memory of making gingerbread houses. Then in High School, my freshman year, my group of girlfriends and I started a small troop of Girl scouts, mostly so we could go off campus at lunchtime to have our "meetings". My friend Selena's mom was our tropp leader and she found so awesome things for us to do, like work the All Star game when it was held in San Diego, I got a awesome jersey for free. Then one time we took the train downtown and had lunch. But it was never really the whole enchilada expierence.

Last year as Alex finished Kindergarten, we decided to join Cub Scouts and at the time I was suckered into becoming a Tiger Cub Den leader, and it has been the best thing ever! It is so much fun having a common goal to work towards with Alex. I have 12 other 1st graders that I see every week and we work on monthly themes. These boys are the best, so happy and excited and PROUD! Tonight, my entire Den was awarded at least 7 awards each. AND we sold the most popcorn out of our entire pack so we get a pizza party. Alex, he earned three patches and six belt loops and 4 achievement beads. I am so proud of my tigers, especially my own.