Day Two Of School
August 26, 2009
Internet, I am going to tell you a secret. Something that will make you feel much better about your parenting today.
I sent my child to school today in his pajamas.
Not on purpose.
He had clothes laid out to wear. A cute new vans t-shirt and some shorts. Somehow he never put them on. And I never noticed. Until we were standing at the bus stop and I saw the bus rounding the corner. I looked over at my kids to make my mental note about what they are wearing. (Am I the only one who does this? So that in case they go missing I will be able to tell the police what they have on?)
What should I do, I briefly, oh so very briefly, asked myself.
Then I let him get on the bus.
In all fairness his pajamas were elastic waist shorts and a t-shirt that is on the small side and relegated to the “play” clothes pile. So it isn’t like he was getting on the bus in footie pajamas. But still. They were rumpled and mismatched. Day two of school, already a parenting FAIL.
So I baked a cake. I am trying to skew his memories. Hopefully they will remember me as being a much more adept mother than I really was. They don’t have to know that the cake came from a mix. Just like my son will never know that one day in third grade he went to school in his pajamas.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
I’m sure he knew he still had his pajamas on, he was just so relaxed and happy in himself that it didn’t bother him. I think that is an amazing reflextion on your parenting. Most kids would feel so insecure that even the idea of accidentally going to school in their pajamas would give them nightmares.
August 26th, 2009 at 6:08 pmI’m sure his teacher clucked her tongue, shook her head and said “Oh, those crazy homeschool folk. So much to learn.”
August 26th, 2009 at 6:09 pmHe’s already got one leg up on college… That’s all I ever went to class in… And footies made you one of the REALLY cool kids
August 26th, 2009 at 6:34 pmOh my gosh that is HILARIOUS! All the other kids probably think you are the coolest mom in the world to let him come to school in something that was comfortable.
August 26th, 2009 at 6:38 pmAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Ahem, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
August 26th, 2009 at 6:48 pmDear Chris,
I live in Australia and have been following your adventures for a couple of years now. I have to laugh at the latest comments on the school experience. Sometimes I wonder who has to do more work, my baby or me?? Good luck keeping up with the ENDLESSS notes, the cheques, the school excursions, the fundraisers, the book clubs, the school dances and….the homework.
August 26th, 2009 at 6:48 pmDownunder Cathy
Just a word to the wise… beware the actual school ‘pajama day.’ Last year on ‘pj day’ I sent my son to school in such uncool pajamas that he called me from the office and hid in the boy’s bathroom until I showed up with regular clothes. He was in 6th grade. His pajama, bathrobe, slipper ensemble would have been fine the year before, in elementary school, but egads! not in middle school. I still haven’t lived that day down, the day I said ‘you look fine’ and sent him off in a mortifyingly embarrassing uncool pajama outfit.
August 26th, 2009 at 6:55 pmHey! Just like homeschooling!
August 26th, 2009 at 6:59 pmthis is awesome in so many ways.
August 26th, 2009 at 6:59 pmUntil he reads this and heads off to therapy.
He will probably think that his mom was SO cool that she let him go to school in his PJs.
You rock.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:02 pmMy kids would proclaim that an “epic failure”. I say nonsense, it could always be much worse. Hide the real clothes back in his drawer and tell him he is crazy if he mentions it , because he absolutely did NOT wear those clothes to bed last night he’s just hallucinating from being so tired. LOL
August 26th, 2009 at 7:05 pmI totally sent my son to school in his pajamas on purpose. In kindergarten he dilly dallied getting ready every day and I kept threatening to take him in his pajamas..finally I did. And they were not cute shorts and a shit. He never dilly dallied again.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:06 pmYou know, unless he reads this blog one day.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:07 pmOh, whatever, all the college kids at the school around the corner go to class everyday in their jammies. He’s just very, very advanced for his age.
Things have been a little “rough” around here lately and last week I think I went 3 days without combing my girls hair. On the bright side, we didn’t actually leave the house any of those days. I’m a parenting rock star.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:15 pmI hope that’s grounds for a “fail” or I have completely flunked parenthood and I’ve got 21 years into this thing !!
August 26th, 2009 at 7:17 pmNice one. I took Lael out for an early dismissal to attend my work picnic. Third day of school….Fail!
August 26th, 2009 at 7:25 pmYour post reminded me of something I read recently. A police officer was talking about how everyone has cell phones with cameras nowadays. He said parents should snap a picture of their children when they leave the house each morning and then just delete it when your children are back home safe that evening. That way if something were to happen, you would have a recent picture of your child and would know exactly what they are wearing when they left the house. I thought it was a good idea. Now to actually remember to do it.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:27 pmI thought I was sooo ahead of the game this year. I had myself a binder to organize all of the paperwork for each of my children–you know, the reams and reams they send home at the beginning of school–and come hell or high water, I was going to be the most organized, on-top-of-it mom ever.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:29 pmYeah, you know the road to hell that’s paved with good intentions? I’m on the paving crew…
Today was picture day for my 5th grader. I missed it. He went to school in a stained t-shirt and then came home and told me I forgot to send in picture money. Three weeks in and I’ve failed already. Yes, I am totally THAT mom. He saw no problem with his outfit. Good thing they have a retake day. I’ll be inking that date in on my calendar. Now if only I remember to LOOK at the calendar!
I’ve taken the kids to swim practice with out swimsuits, to the movies with out shoes, and once while backing out of the drive and making a joke about “everyone have pants on?” heard, “Yep, yep, yep. Um. I don’t”.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:33 pmUm, YUM! What kind of cake is that?? Looks delicious. Mostly just because of its lovely shape, but is that icing on the bottom?? can you send me a piece in the mail please!
August 26th, 2009 at 7:37 pmI now love you more than ever!
August 26th, 2009 at 7:42 pmThanking you so much for sharing this! It reminds me that I am not the only one who is struggling with getting kids out of the house each day. Luckily (unfortunately) we have uniforms, so I can’t do the pyjama trick. It would happen if we didn’t though!
August 26th, 2009 at 7:43 pmSounds to me like you’re just preparing him for college. I was in pj’s (or something like it) about half the time I was in class.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:48 pmBoy 2 once went to school in clothing that he had worn, slept in and then wore again the next day. And I just blew it off as …surely he changed, his clothing must just be similar because he does tend to wear the same kinds of clothing and colors… But when I asked him? Nope. Same clothing. Worn twice because it “wasn’t too dirty”. Lovely.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:00 pmcookies on day one and cake on day 2 who cares what he wore to school. you are a GREAT mom. Keep up the great work
August 26th, 2009 at 8:26 pmI don’t judge, you seem like a very nice mother, but I wouldn’t be too hopeful. My mother sent me to school in some seriously awful clothes (we were poor and she made a lot of my clothes herself) and I can clearly remember being teased about wearing my pyjamas to school when they weren’t even pyjamas. They were just ugly-ass clothes. The cake might make up for it, but he’s probably more likely to remember the pyjama-wearing in the long run. But maybe kids today are different from when I was in grade school 20 years ago. Here’s hoping.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pmThat’s pretty funny!
August 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pmOoh, that cake looks yummy!! Would you mind sharing the recipe?
August 26th, 2009 at 8:47 pmNot a fail, you are preparing him for college/university.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:54 pmI just read a helpful hint that every morning you should take your kids’ pictures on your cell phone and then you’ll have a record of what they’re wearing and you can delete it the next day when they’re wearing something else. You have a lot of kids though so I don’t know if they’ll fit in one cell phone picture.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:56 pmchris!!!!
its DAY TWO.
rotf
gee, I wonder what will happen by the winter holidays???? !!!
Ps - were they all ok>? met some friends ect?? hope so…
August 26th, 2009 at 8:56 pmIt’s alright. I got to the gym in my sleeping clothes all the time…mainly because I sleep in yoga pants and t-shirts, and I can literally roll outta bed, wash up and go to the gym in my building. But shhh…
As long as your son doesn’t go around bragging about going to school in his pajamas, it’ll be fine.
If he does, you get to keep the cake for yourself.
Win-win situation! ;p
August 26th, 2009 at 8:57 pmehhh…not as bad as letting him wear the same clothes two or three days in a row. (I was a teacher before I was a SAHM) and not nearly as bad as the underpants revealing jeans and shorts I had to intervene with on my FIRST graders. Shorts and a t-shirt, whatev, bet no one noticed.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:17 pmHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
August 26th, 2009 at 9:26 pmThat’s the best story EVER! I just wish you had pictures!
Mmmm, cake.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:30 pmWhich begs the question…clean undies the night before? I often become the undie police to insure fresh ones daily. Good luck!
Chris says: Yes, he showers at night. So he was all clean. Just in pjs.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:34 pmThat is really funny (Ha Ha Ha) really funny, I have not done that yet. I only have two going out the door right now, not six.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:02 pmThat is so funny! But I’m not laughing that hard, I know my day is coming soon!
August 26th, 2009 at 10:09 pmYou have seven kids. So cut yourself a break if one of them occasionally leaves the house in his PJ’s. I only have one child, and if he leaves the house CLEAN, then I feel like I’ve done my job.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:24 pmI pretty much lived in my pj my senior year of high school.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:41 pmMy son attempts to go to school in his pajamas (old gym shorts and random t-shirt) every day. He’s in 7th grade–still waiting for the day that he cares about what he looks like.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:47 pmNo worries…I actually try to somewhat coordinate my 2 girls clothing every day so that I can remember what they were wearing. Just in case the police need to know. Glad to know that I’m not the only one that does this sort of thing. My husband thinks I’m nuts. I know that I’m really just paranoid.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:47 pmChris - Did you at least get a pic of him coming home in his PJs?
August 26th, 2009 at 10:50 pmOh well, if going to school in pjs is the worst that happens, you’ve done well. Give yourself a break!
Even the teachers are moms/dads and have had it happen, I’m sure.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:00 pmI am not at all sure why, but i have been enjoying the HELL out of seeing your kids start school, their reaction to it, your reaction to it, etc.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:03 pmI have been a loyal blog reader for a good three years now and Chris, you just rock!
Hope you are feeling somewhat better.
Leeann
Oh, my. It probably won’t help to report that in college many a student has appeared in class wearing what can only be pajamas (or the most poorly fitted pants in history). He’s ahead of his time/
August 26th, 2009 at 11:20 pmI always find a reason to hit the frozen yogurt shop or starbucks on days when I lose it with my kids in hopes that is what they remember from the day not the yelling lunatic mom. Good to know I am not alone in trying to get them to remember the positive part of the day.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:24 pmMy mom still laughs about the day she accidentally wore her bedrooms slippers to school in 5th grade.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:07 amAt least he gave you good blog fodder ^^
Karen
August 27th, 2009 at 6:24 amI have only one child too. I remember when she was in first grade not having time to take out her braids. Her hair was a mess. When she got home that night she said the teacher had to cut out my rubber bands and said “Doesn’t your mom take time to brush your hair?” I still laugh about it. The nerve!
August 27th, 2009 at 8:08 amHe’ll remember the cake and smile. He’ll remember the Pj’s (maybe) and laugh. You are raising confident, together kids, and they are not going to be traumatized by one day in PJ’s…I mean, they weren’t exactly the fuzzy bunny kind
August 27th, 2009 at 8:12 amI make mental notes every morning also.
On the first day of school for us (4 weeks ago) my oldest son missed the bus and my younger son forgot his lunch box
both were my bad judgement, so there again Mother Of The Year is gone.
I’m with you on the bringing lunches thing. I have 3 children and can’t afford for them to by the crap that they serve at school. We always have bread, turkey and fruit, throw in some cookies or pretzels and you have lunch!
August 27th, 2009 at 8:19 amYou know what? Shit happens. In the grand scheme of things, this was a small one. I can’t tell you how many times my son has gone to school in his pajamas because of clothing struggles. His kindergarten and 1st grade teachers probably think he didn’t have clothes.
August 27th, 2009 at 8:29 amSo - in case your life with 7 kids was lacking in ’stories to tell’ … you now have the joy of school for new fodder!
And at least it wasn’t the 8th grader …
August 27th, 2009 at 8:32 amThanks for sharing that gem! Wish you could share the cake!!!
August 27th, 2009 at 8:45 amPJs to school? He’s totally ready for High School in our area.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:26 amThank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this! Now I can stop feeling guilty that I paraded my child around Target AND the grocery store before I noticed he was still in his PJ’s (again, like you they were little elastic boxer type shorts with a soccer t-shirt, but still!) Ahhh. Now I can cross that infraction off my list and start feeling guilty about something else!
August 27th, 2009 at 9:33 amI’ve often thought of sending my 3rd grader to school in her pajamas. It seems it would be easier than battling her to get up and get dressed in the morning.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:40 amElastic waist shorts and a t-shirt are just clothes used to sleep in, he’s fine. You’re fine. Heck you baked, you’re better than fine.
And boys with rumpled/mismatched clothes? Is that not what young boyhood is all about? If anyone asked you can always say Daddy dressed him.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:44 amIf that’s the worse thing that happened I would file that day under “A-Okay”. As a mother of 5 I have discovered that my standards have lowered and the sun still rose the next day!
August 27th, 2009 at 9:59 amI remember being on the playground, around 2nd or 3rd grade, and looking down and realizing that I had worn my shirt to bed that night before. Which meant that it was wrinkled, and also that I apparently had no concern for how I looked.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:21 amMy son was so happy when he stopped wearing standard superhero jammies and instead began wearing knit shorts and a t-shirt to bed. As a homeschooler he then theoretically never had to change clothes again. He’d go for days in the same shorts and t-shirt, and he’d get away with it as long as he didn’t spill any grape jam or chocolate milk on himself. He loved the days that he actually slipped out of the house without mom telling him to change clothes. Who needs extra outfits when you have one that serves all purposes so well?
August 27th, 2009 at 10:25 amLet’s see, I think third grade is a perfectly wonderful time to learn that we are responsible for dressing ourselves. I wouldn’t waste cycles on blaming myself, and I’ll bet (well, depending on how important fashion is to him) he doesn’t let this morning step pass him by again. Until perhaps he is 15 and wants to make a statement of some sort.
Makes for a great story though!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:27 amThat is hilarious!
I have five kids and don’t think I’ve pulled that one yet.
Yet……
August 27th, 2009 at 10:45 ami read your blog, i think you have it ‘together’ and then i read something like this and for whatever reason, i think you have it MORE together! bc these things happen and you are so confident you don’t seem to let them shake you up!
and i do it too. my two boys look so similar that i am often asked if they are twins (but they are 2.5 years apart). so i took to dressing them in the same colors so i can tell police, “he looks just like this one, but shorter / taller / wears glasses / isn’t wearing glasses”
August 27th, 2009 at 10:55 amIs it sad that my only thought at the end of this is: Wow, it must be nice to bake a cake and not have the damn thing sitting there on the counter, taunting you to snarf it down, for a week. It probably gets demolished within the hour they get home from school, doesn’t it?
THERE’S an argument in favor of more kids…
August 27th, 2009 at 10:55 amThe pajama thing, that’s just the norm at my school. I had a kid where Hugh Hefner satin bottoms once, on purpose, on a boy, in grade 6, no less. I still shake me head at that one.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:58 amDid he ever figure it out or care?
I hope this is the worse thing that happens to him this school year! I’m so glad those years are behind me…..
good luck with it..keep the goodies coming that is what they remember!
August 27th, 2009 at 11:13 amHugs :0)
In my house that totally wouldn’t be a fail. My three-year-old flops and wails if I try to brush her hair, so I very seldom do it. A couple of times I’ve had to send her to school with her hair still in pigtails from the day before because I couldn’t get the rubber bands out. I’m sure her teachers think I’m just stellar!
But I read to her and hug her and feed her healthily and take her to the playground, so I don’t totally suck, right? I hope?
August 27th, 2009 at 11:54 amHa ha ha! Welcome to our world, Chris.
You’re going to fit in so well, you’ll be taking over by Day 4!
August 27th, 2009 at 12:04 pmLOL, that’s a good one.
Yeah, just tell him he’s starting a fashion trend…or that he’s already well prepared for college.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:42 pmThat very same day (our day one), I discovered only after my 4 year old got home at 5:30 that he hadn’t worn underwear to school/daycare. He claims he forgot (he’s supposed to NOT take off the clean underwear from the night before), but I’m not convinced. Then the next day I burned my 9 year old’s scrambled eggs so he had to go to school with not much in his stomach and I forgot to include a drink in his lunch. And I only have two. I’ve decided to embrace the parenting FAILs.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:08 pmOne day last year, I discovered that my 8 year old had worn 3, yes, 3 pairs of underwear to school that day. To this day, I have yet to figure out how he managed that one (neither has he, big surprise.) Most of us probably would have noticed that our pants were a little tight, but he is ultra-scrawny and probably just enjoyed the fact that his pants stayed up during gym.
Trish
August 27th, 2009 at 2:16 pmIt wasn’t be that bad if none of his siblings realized he was still in pjs!
August 27th, 2009 at 2:21 pmAh, all you do Chris - is make us all feel less a failure when our children (okay, my 9yo) took to sleeping in and wearing the same clothing to school — just for a day (or was it a month?) One of the reasons I no longer blog…all my failures are semi-secret.
August 27th, 2009 at 3:34 pmSending kids to school gives me parental anxiety like nothing else. Friends and neighbors know that, yes, we run things pretty close to empty but that overall our family is okay. People at the store can see me not beating the screaming child at the checkout and conclude that, yes, I have SOME parenting skills. But when you send a child off to school there are no contextual clues other than that t-shirt that they dripped toothpaste all over on their way out the door or whatever.
August 27th, 2009 at 3:46 pmTrish: 3 is better than zero!
August 27th, 2009 at 3:46 pm(or better than 1 pair on day 3)
HAHAHAHAAAA!!!!
At least he had shoes on… right?
August 27th, 2009 at 3:46 pmToo funny.
That is hilarious! Of course I would never do that!
August 27th, 2009 at 5:04 pmToo TOO funny!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:01 pmTwice this summer my son arrived at camp without a shirt. The first time they gave him one to wear the second I went home to get him one.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:08 amYou make me laugh so hard I’m crying. I had planned on bringing my older two to 1st day of school yesterday and helping settle in & doing a volunteer thing. My babysitter didn’t show up & I ended up tossing the littles in the car w/pjs & baggies of cereal. (Fortunately it wasn’t THEIR school). Some days are just like that. LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!!
August 28th, 2009 at 4:01 pmMy son wore two different kinds of athletic shoe to a Detroit Tigers game. We didn’t notice until oldest son pointed it out about 5 or 6 hours into our day.
Also, the unending forms and busywork (especially multiple emergency cards) make me want to homeschool my own kids (that and my growing feeling that kids are being treated more like cattle than students).
August 28th, 2009 at 4:10 pmMy friend started work early one morning last year and asked her husband to bring their daughter to school. He picked up her lunch box from the kitchen table and put it in her bag not realising that it was full of yesterdays food scraps and an empty juice box! The teacher must have wondered if they were going through hard times but luckily gave her a lend of some money for the school canteen. They are still trying to live it down!
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm