It doesn’t work.

Mornings have been stressful around around here lately between my 4 year old fighting every outfit I put together for her, she is really picky about socks so we go through about three pairs each morning trying to find the perfect pair, she’s been having to poop right before we walk out the door to go to school, and I haven’t been feeling so hot for a little over a week.

This morning was no different.  My daughter cried about her outfit, she had to poop right before we were going to leave then to add salt to the wound, my husband told me that we needed to drop money off at my son’s school for his school photograph – ASAP.  What? What?

So I was running around like a mad woman, trying to get my 4 year old ready for school, fix her breakfast, fix her lunch for school, fix her hair, then I find out about the school pictures.  I had to hunt down a check and make a decision on which photographs we wanted to keep..which I absolutely suck at – decision making.

Finally, I get through all of that.  My daughter is dressed.  Her lunch is packed.  She’s going to eat breakfast in the car.  Then she has to go to the bathroom again.

That’s when I remembered that my husband and I agreed that maybe she shouldn’t go to school because she ran a mild fever last night, has been coughing, and having this ‘poop issue’.  But all that was going through my head was that if she stays home..

• She’s going to sit in front of the TV all day while I work, which I HATE
• She’s going to want my attention (all day) and I have a ton of work to do
• She’d be happier at school

So, we get in the car, I tell her that she doesn’t have to go to school, we go to my son’s school to drop off the photographs and check, then I say “don’t you think you’d have more fun at school than at home today?”.  She looks at me with her sweet little eyes and says “Yes, Mommy.. I think you’re right”. Huh, did I hear that right? She agreed to go to school?

Hooray! She’s going to school!

I can get some work done?  I hit the gas pedal like nobody’s business (her school is across the street from my son’s school so I probably got up to 25 MPH), parked the car, got her out, and my daughter said “look mommy, it’s the mayor!”.  I looked up and saw a man dressed in a suit, carrying a bible.  My daughter goes to a pre-k inside a church so I didn’t think anything of it.  But I also noticed that there weren’t ANY other cars around. Strange for being just a few minutes late to school.  There are usually a few stragglers in the parking lot at 9:15.  The “Mayor” asked me if my daughter goes to the preschool there and I said Yes.  He said “Oh, I’m so sorry, there’s no school today.  No one told you?”  Are you freakin’ kidding me.. is what I do not say out loud.

My daughter looked at me very sadly and we walked back to the car.  At that moment I realized that I was going to have to come up with things for her to do while I worked.

That’s about when she stepped on the Wilton Chocolate and Easter Candy Molds on the floor in the car.  Ding! Ding! Ding! We have something to do! Thank goodness the molds didn’t break!

She did really great for about an hour (watching TV) then broke down and asked me to play with her for about 20 minutes straight until I broke down and said OK.   I reached a comfortable stopping point with work and got the Wilton’s chocolate candy and molds out and we got to work. She LOVED making chocolate candies and it’s such a quick, easy, and mess-free project that I think we’ll make chocolates for every holiday now.  I just hope someone eats them!

What Easter traditions do you have?  Do you have a favorite chocolate candy recipe? Do you put Oreos or other goodies, in your chocolate candies?

Have you ever taken your child to preschool only to find that it was closed?  What did you do?