The Bake Sale mania at my kids' public school has made me a maniac. There is just no other word for it. Maniac.
Cue '80s Flashdance flashback, but with mom jeans, rage and cupcakes.
My kids' public school has had three bake sales in May. They have all been held right outside the front door of the school, so there's no way for a bake sale Grinch like myself to avoid it.
The first bake sale was at the beginning of May. At the time, I thought of it as the only bake sale and not just the first of many, so I not only let my kids buy something, I baked something for it, too. Yes, I was being "that mom" for once. It felt good.
I haven't baked something for a bake sale in years, ever since I became thoroughly convinced bake sales are not the fundraising answer in the age of childhood obesity. Why not sell fruit kabobs? Or hand-made wallets out of duct tape? Used books even would be a perfectly acceptable alternative, even if they don't exactly have a kid-friendly WOW factor.
But I wanted my kids to feel like they were part of the group, I wanted to give up my bake sale Grinch ways. I tried to not be complain-y about the choice to offer baked goods in lieu of healthier -- and yet, still festive! -- options. What kid doesn't want a Clementine festooned with a clown face drawn with edible marker?
Anyway, you can image my surprise when a mere ten days later, there was another bake sale in front of the kids' school. Again, I felt compelled to let my kids buy something. I was being "that mom" again, but this time, it didn't feel nearly as good.
Sure, I was unhappy. But I was still not a bake sale maniac.
And then came yesterday. A note came home announcing there would be a bake sale at school today.
Yes, that's right -- the third bake sale this month!
And who was holding it? Not even the school. The bake sale was to benefit the local Girl Scout Troop.
And I lost it.
That bake sale is the one that made me a maniac.
Is it not enough those cookie-pushers had already shown-up at my front door when my kids were home -- and worse, my softie of a husband -- resulting in us purchasing FIVE boxes of Girl Scout cookies? (We don't need to look into who did the majority of the eating, we just don't.)
I'm sorry, but if you need to have a bake sale in addition to your cookie conglomerate... it's time to find another fundraising answer.
This post originally here in a slightly different version: http://randomhandprints.blogspot.com/2012/05/bake-sale-mania-mom-maniac.html