Easy to Please

I wish I was as easy to please as my kids. The elementary school had their annual Fall Festival/fundraiser. I usually shy away from these kinds of events, but I've been feeling cabin feverish, without Joe around. In an effort to ward off nagging, and disappointment, I decided to give the kids an appointed amount of money. If they would do their chores, without fighting or whining, they would each get $5. Winter and Ginger ended up only getting $4, after being docked for fighting.

Once we got to the junior high parking lot, they had to buy some tickets to be able to do the activities. When I asked for $5 and 2x $4 worth of tickets, I got a little bit of an annoyed/confused look from the helping moms. All the cool kids get to buy $5 wads of tickets. I distributed the tickets, determined NOT to be the one to tell them what they could and couldn't spend them on. They wanted to spend 8 tickets ($2) on a tiny thing of cotton candy? or 4 tickets to go down a blow-up slide ONCE? Fine. I wouldn't have. But the kids were happy as clams. Winter lost track of one of her tickets, and the only thing she could get from me was "sorry, I dont' have any more money". (which was planned of course). They excitedly threw bean bags in cans, went "fishing", and picked out candy and so-called prizes. I wouldn't give a penny for those Sonic toys.

The one thing that irked me most about this whole thing, was that their teachers wanted the kids to "donate" $5 so they could rent the bounce houses. So, you want me to pay $5 to rent it, and then come and spend another $2 to let my kids jump on it?? I think my $13 donation was plenty for 1 night. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for helping the school raise money, but I'd rather they don't use the money to rent huge bounce houses, and instead buy some art supplies with it! Neither of my kids have ever come home with any art. What's wrong with that picture?