But I hated it. I dreaded getting ready for it, I dreaded parking my car and getting my kid out in the rain to go inside… I hated being there in a big open room where we had to sit in a little circle with all the other moms and dads, singing out loud and rubbing sandpaper blocks together.

I especially hated rubbing sandpaper blocks together. 

I actually disliked all those mommy and me type classes. Every single one of them. The guided play was so freakin’ weird. Everyone sits in a group with their child sitting in their lap, the instructor then tells you how to play along with your kid, what songs to sing, what beat to clap to… just all sorts of ridiculous stuff that I can seriously do on my own without ten other parents sitting across from me judging me on my singing voice and rhythm style.

I know what you’re thinking: Oh those people don’t care about you– they’re just there to play with their own children and have a good time. 

Bullshit. You know how I know this? Because I was TOTALLY judging them. That dad can’t sing. That lady needs new highlights. Shouldn’t that little boy be walking better than that. Oh wow, my daughter knows way more words than that kid. 

Hey, those classes are like an hour long. I can only sing about the mouse going up and down the clock so many times before I go insane– you can’t blame me if my mind wandered a bit.I am just saying if I was thinking things about them, then they were thinking things about me. And, that just sucks. The idea that we are all sitting there comparing parenting points and seeing who’s the best is my least favorite kind of parenting. 

I am not saying I didn’t like getting out and having my kid play with other kids, I LOVED those activities like gymnastics, etc. I loved watching her interact with other kids, getting to know them, and just seeing all that cool social stuff click in their little minds. The only problem is, how the heck can they do that with their parents sitting on top of them trying to show them proper jingle bell ringing techniques?

Which is what I think the root of my problem is with these kinds of classes.. it’s TOO structured for play with parents and their kids. I taught children for crying out loud, I don’t need some crazy lady in a flower skirt telling me how to interact with them. I just wanted my kid to interact with other children, and to have a good time. Those classes so aren’t about having a good time. They’re about taking your money because you feel like you should be doing that stuff with your child.

So, I want to know– what thing do you hate that you’re supposed to love?

She’s six. What on earth does she need an expensive piece of technology for? She’s just going to lose it. Kids don’t need to be connected every hour of every minute.

Look, I know the reasons for not buying them are there and they’re all good reasons. In fact, my knee jerk reaction is there’s no way she needs a phone.

But then, when I start thinking about it, well… I think I’ve changed my mind.

We don’t have a home phone. We haven’t for several years, and I love it. I love that telemarketers don’t call me, I love that I don’t have to field phone calls for my husband, and I love that there’s only one phone number to get  a hold of me. Because of this, I always have my phone with me, and it’s rare for me to miss a call. What I am trying to say here is, I plan to never ever have a home phone again. If she wants to call her friends, then she has to use my phone or her father’s phone. We both keep things like work email, important contacts, etc. on our phones. She could accidentally post to Facebook or Twitter– or even call someone I just don’t really want to talk to right then. Plus (and yes I am aware this is totally selfish) — if I am having a conversation with a friend via text or chat, etc. then I don’t really want to give her my phone so she can chat with her grandpa for twenty minutes in the middle of it.

I don’t want a phone my daughter can take to her friend’s house or to school. I basically want a replacement for the home phone for her to be able to use. If she wants to talk to her friends or family, I want her to be able to do that without having to pry me or my hubs away from our phone. And, for $9.99 a month added to our family plan, it’s WAY cheaper than getting a landline! The phones I am looking at to get her are free when you add them to your plan– so we are really just out the extra ten dollars a month for this.

My daughter has had my old iPhone for years. (Which I can’t just add calling to, because they require you to also add a $15 data plan, and I see no need for that.)  It doesn’t have a calling plan on it, and it basically works like an iTouch. She can play games on it, it has WiFi, and she even has a free texting program she uses to communicate with her grandparents. But the texting is a bit cumbersome–she uses one of those free to text programs. It’s filled with ads, it takes forever to load, and it’s just, in general difficult to use.

But I think the texting for her is a GREAT thing. I love the idea that she can send her grandparents little messages of love when she’s missing them, and that they could reply back when they have a free minute. We live about an hour away from all her grandparents, and really anything that makes her feel more connected to them is important to me. We already have unlimited texting on our plan, so adding it to her phone wouldn’t be any extra cost to us.

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that I got this message either:

Dude, as a mom… you just can’t beat that. So, does my six year old need a cell phone? Well, I am starting to think that she does.

Well, I was all over it this week. Sure, the little slumber party my daughter had didn’t hurt… but as long as I USE the polish, it counts!

It’s just so pretty, and you can do so much stuff with it, and any time your mood changes, you can change out the colors, and… and… and…

Well, now I feel like I am just making excuses for myself.

The thing that really gets me about nail polish is– how much can you really have? I mean, there are only SO MANY colors, right? I can’t possibly own– say over a hundred bottles… that would be insane. Wouldn’t it?

“Where would I keep it all,” you ask?

Oh, you know… on my nail polish shelf…

Yeah, that’s an actual shelf in my office. it holds nothing but nail polish. (Side: I’ve actually been thinking of getting some of those stair step things you can buy for spice racks so that I can see all the colors at once. I wonder if I am crafty enough to just make one?)

Here’s the sad part… I haven’t actually USED all that nail polish. There are some in there that I’ve never even opened! How sad is that… all those adorable little colors, lonely and unused.

So, I think you know what I have to do… don’t you?

Oh yeah, that’s right… I have to use it ALL.

EVERY SINGLE COLOR.

Wow, I erased that THREE TIMES after typing it. I am scared.

The rules are simple. I have to use them all at least once–I am allowed to re-use colors, but ONLY in the event I am currently wearing a new color somewhere. If I am given nail polish for any reason I can add it to my collection… but I am NOT ALLOWED TO buy more until I have used each and every polish on that shelf! ( And for the record, my skittle nails TOTALLY count as using five polishes at one time to start off this little adventure of mine!)

Hold me.