Mommys and Muffins Day

That's her teacher in the background in the pink shirt at the desk.
Mommy's little Picasso
Me+my hand-crafted tiara+this girl=happy!
**This event was actually held back in March but I have neglected to put the pix on the blog for some reason. Whoopsie

I have a hobby that I haven't told you all about. It's part hobby, part personal interest, part missed my calling in life all rolled into one. I really enjoy observing people and their interactions with one another. A stellar opportunity for this occurred at Ella's pre-school when she had her Mommy and Muffins Day. The gist of the day went something like this. You have a bunch of pre-kindergarten kids who invite their Mommies to visit their pre-school and participate in some pre-school activities with them. Hanging around with a large group of pre-K'ers wouldn't usually be my idea of a fun time but I looked forward to this event because I would have an opportunity to meet Ella's friends and their Moms. I don't often go to the pre-school because of scheduling issues with my work so sometimes I feel out of the loop in that area of the kids' lives.

All of the Mom's and their kids gathered in their rooms for a little makeup lesson (read into that that the Moms brought in their bags of makeup, a nude (or semi-nude) canvas aka their face, and let their 5 year old have a go at putting on their makeup.). Some of the kids did better than others. The kids had a BLAST doing this. Who knew that something so simple could bring such joy to the little cuties?

*

Anyhoos, this is where the observation of interaction comes in.

*

Some Mommies and their kids had such fun. It was a great experience getting some quality one-on-on time with their kid. There were no distractions, no other kids pulling at you wanting attention, just a great opportunity to be together. I would say this was the majority of the Moms.

I felt bad for the one little girl because her Mommy continually sent text messages and used her Blackberry the entire time they were there. Seriously, THE ENTIRE TIME. I kept thinking that she would feel bad at some point that she was completely not paying attention to her child. This Mom talked to the other Mommies, some of the other little girls, but very rarely actually interacted with her own kid. One of the little boys in class had a sub-optimal experience with his Mommy, also, in that I never saw them spontaneously interact with one another. They would talk to each other long enough to do whatever the teacher told them to do. Otherwise, they looked like they were on a blind date. A bad blind date where were lots of awkward silences and talk of the weather and how the Tribe was doing this year.

*

I guess I'll stop complaining about the other Mommys seeing as I'm so, ehem, perfect.

*

We did other things that day, too, including eating some of the aforementioned muffins. We also got to go on a stage one-by-one with our kids while the teacher read nice things that our children said about us. What did Ella have to say about me?

*

"My Mom is great. I love it when she crafts with me."