Bingo Night

The kids' school has started having a Family Fun Bingo Night sponsored by the PTA. Last night was the second one. I think they were originally going to try to do it every month, but it ended up being so much work and so time-consuming so they decided every two months would be the most often they'd be able to do it. We missed the first one because the kids were in trouble and didn't fulfill their responsibilities here at home. They really wanted to go this time, and their rooms were clean (mostly), so off to Bingo Night we went after dropping my niece off with my sister and grabbing some McDonald's for dinner.

The President of the PTA was the one running the function and calling the Bingo numbers. Let me say that I totally respect her for all the hours I'm sure she puts in to get things done. But by the time we left (about 45 minutes before it was officially over), she was just about to get on my nerves. The combination of the pitch of her voice and the volume of the PA system in that room was not friendly to my ears. She was really easily distracted too. Every time someone would walk across the room (which is called the Multipurpose Room - it serves as the cafeteria and auditorium) from the kitchen to the hallway, she'd have to talk to them and thank them. I firmly believe in giving folks the recognition they deserve, but it would have made more sense (at least to me) to call them out and thank them all at once between games or something. Then she'd carry on sidebar conversations with the people at the front table. Oh well, there's my gripe about the whole thing. Got that over with.

Each of the kids won a prize. I won a game of Bingo and sent J to choose the prize. Then a little while later, A won a game. So she got to go pick a prize. J got a 100-piece Shrek puzzle. A got a cute ponytail holder with a heart charm hanging from it, and it also came with a lipgloss in a strawberry-shaped container that is on a keychain. She immediately attached it to her beltloop on her pants and said, "Look, it's on a keychain so I can keep it with me all the time!" Lovely!

They also had Fayetteville Fireantz hockey tickets for sale for $5 each. The kids said something to me about it when they reminded me about Bingo Night yesterday when they got home from school. They've been really interested in going to a hockey game, and we've been wanting to take them to one. So of course I got four tickets at that price last night. So we'll be going to a hockey game next Sunday.

We let the kids stay up a little later than usual last night since it was Friday. Oh - did I mention that yesterday was their last day of school for the third grading period? They're now out until April 10th. Yep, they're in year-round school, and I love it. I really like being able to spread our vacation out over the year instead of having to take it all over the summer when everybody else is taking their vacation. I also think it's better for the kids. They have more frequent breaks, which keeps them from getting burned out. Also, their summer break is only six weeks long, instead of three months, so they don't have to spend as much time at the beginning of the school year playing "catch up" and reviewing material from the year before. But I digress. In spite of going to bed a little later than usual, they were still up at 6 a.m. this morning. Ugh! So of course they were cranky and J was doing everything in his power to make his sister whine, and was being very successful at it. So after a late breakfast of yummy muffins, they're lying down for a nap. I'm not gonna put up with an entire day of fussing and whining simply because they're sleep deprived when that problem can be solved with a nap. And maybe my sanity will be preserved.

I was hoping for continued nice weather this weekend so we could ride some more. But it's supposed to be pretty chilly, and while I don't mind riding when it's in the low 50s, when it's windy like it is today, that's a little bit too cool to ride with the kids. Maybe tomorrow...it's supposed to be a bit warmer. Oh well, I guess I won't have an excuse not to continue with my spring cleaning today.