Monday, August 10, 2009

The Pool, A Fool and an Update on School

It's been so rainy here lately, I've been trying to get the kids up to the pool on any sunny day.

Friday was really nice, so we gathered up our pool gear and drove the .7 miles to our pool.

Surprisingly, it was not as crowded as I thought it would be, but there was one other small child and his mom in the baby pool area.

I was bummed because we usually have the baby pool to ourselves.

Oh well. It was just one other kid and his mom. I could deal.

While his mother chatted on her cell phone, her little shit kicked our beach towel into the pool. Luckily, I bring an extra, so I hung the soaking wet one over the fence and went to get a dry one from our bag.

Little Miss Chat on her cell phone then proceeded to give Demon Spawn a small bottle of something that looked like Sunny D (it was orange). Demon Spawn (aka Colin, or Collin, however they might have spelled it) then took his drink to the edge of the pool and dumped some in!

We'll call Little Miss Chat on her cell phone "The Fool" for the rest of this piece, because that's shorter.

The Fool did stand up and take the drink away from wibble Collin.

I didn't recognize her or her child and thinking they might be new members, I just stated (nicely) that food and beverage were not allowed in the pool areas.

When The Fool got off her cell, she asked me, "Do you work here or something?"

The conversation proceeded along like this:

ETW: No, but we've been members here for 5 years and the rules are clearly stated at the entrance of the pool. No food or beverage allowed in the pool areas.

The Fool: Well, he is not even yet 2 years old.

ETW: So? If he didn't have the drink in the pool area, he wouldn't have dumped it in the pool.

The Fool: I did take it away from him!

ETW: But, if he didn't have it in the first place, as the rules state, there wouldn't be an issue.

The Fool: Are you trying to tell me how to parent my child?

ETW: That has nothing to do with the RULES that are CLEARLY posted near the entrance of the pool.

The Fool: Well, I'm sure you've had things happen with your kids before.

ETW: (shrugs shoulders and turns away).

End Scene!

A bit later, Sissy and I went to get a soft pretzel with cheese, which is our little treat when we're at the pool. While we were sitting on our picnic table (outside of the POOL area), Sissy turned to me and said, "That kid is a pain in the butt."

Weeeeellll, when a 3 and a half year old points out that another child is a "pain in the butt", I think that speaks VOLUMES on ones' parenting skillz (as in, you don't got any!).

The Fool proceeded to have a few more smart assed remarks which I ignored. I just kept laughing and playing with Sissy.

I then watched her kid take a bite from a noodle (a foam floatie thing) and eat paint chips off the bottom of the pool. I kept my mouth shut. LOL.

Here's The Fool:



I had to take the picture on the sly and the best angle I could get was this. She's behind the red chair.

Then, I took out my Flip camera and got some video footage of Sissy playing. Of course, she and her Demon Spawn came back to the baby pool and while I tried to keep him out of the frame, he was obviously too stupid to keep his distance:



Word to the wise: be careful who you piss off. You might be their next blog!

And trust me, the only reason I mentioned the food/drink rule was because I was trying to be helpful. If I were new and someone told me something I didn't know, I would have thanked them for the info and moved to the appropriate area.

Unfortunately, some people think the rules just don't apply to them AT ALL.

In other news, while we were there on Friday, I had an opportunity to speak to a good friend (and our neighbor across the street)'s child. He will be going into 7th grade at the same middle school as Buddy, so I asked him a bunch of questions about things and he was very helpful.

What a sweetie. It's crazy when a 13 year old can calm my nerves more than anything else! He told me that there really isn't any "supply" list because this is public school and they can't expect the kids to bring supplies they may not be able to afford. So, we got Buddy a binder, some paper, erasers and a pencil sharpener for starters.

We'll have to see if there are any other requests after school starts. August 26! Eeek!

32 comments:

  1. Nothing drives me crazy faster than little hell-children, and their clueless parents. Especially when those parents don't make any attempts to PARENT.

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  2. I'm glad you spoke up and clued a bitch in! And LOL @ Sissy....she's mama's girl alright :)

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  3. and it no picnic at the dog park either. I take my Ginger to the park at least 2-3 times a week and there is always a dog fight. The rules state if your dog is aggressive, you must remove it from the park immediately. I have also witnessed other buttheads bring food into the dog park, thats just asking for trouble.

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  4. I personally think you should have grabber her and thrown her in the baby pool and had a full on brawl. I could see you kickin her butt and head slamming her on the bottom of the pool while Sissy used the camera to catch it all on film :)

    Hmmm.... I may be feeling sort of violent today....

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  5. Jeezz - nothing worse than some idiot parent who thinks her kid does nothing wrong.....

    Sissy's got more sense than that idiot "mother."

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  6. ron's idea of a poolside catfight gets my vote! i'd pay a good $5 to see that!

    she's a bitch, needs a beating, and i'm pretty sure you can throw a good punch if you needed to... so... go for it!

    and didn't YOU even say that you'd be fine once you figured out what you needed for school? :)

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  7. One of my MAIN pet peeves are persons who truly believe that the rules do not apply to them and/or their precious issue. *shudder*

    I cannot believe she asked you if you worked at the pool...that was so rude. It implied that working at the pool was somehow beneath her. Yet apparently she did not possess the required job skills, SUCH AS BEING ABLE TO READ THE POSTED POOL RULES. ARRRRGGGGGGGGG.

    I'm sorry that you had to deal with her, but I think that you handled her well. I, on the other hand, probably would've grabbed her cell phone, thrown it in the deep in, smiled and said, " Now maybe you'll watch your child." But maybe I need more estrogen replacement, who knows?

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  8. wow, that kid is gonna have a crappy life with the Fool as his momma! Way to go Sissy - love the young ones perspective! ;)

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  9. Love Sissy!!!

    And even through the red chair? That chick LOOKs like she doesn't think the rules apply to her.

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  10. 15 years from now, the fool will be trying to talking to the police officer, "doesn't your kid ever drink and drive and then do all sorts of other bad things? He's just a kid afterall." Assholes...kids who see parents ignore rules always end up to be kids who do the same...it's a shame...

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  11. Somehow that gal just looks spoiled, imo. Her kid will grow up a spoiled brat who will one day push her into the pool just to get the family money. (Deep set resentment for that time she almost let him drown at a pool while she yacked on her cell phone) Chickens roosting, oh yeah, lol!

    Jeeze, I might have to write a short story here ;-D

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  12. Last year I blogged about what I called Mommy Entitlement Syndrome or something close to that. I was telling about this woman who let her kids ride their bikes along a walking path that clearly states "NO BICYCLES" She did it cause she thinks the rules and laws don't apply to her. And because she indulges her kids in anything they want cause they're special.

    I got some hate mail for that. LOL

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  13. My pool adventures last week included watching an 8(ish) year old girl slap her Grandma, like 3 times!
    I just gaped at them. WTF?

    I'll tell ya, that's what you end up with when you spoil your kid rotten.

    It's a serious disservice to a child and it makes you look like a "Fool".

    Good for you for trying, some people don't know good advice when they hear it, but at least you tried.

    Throw her and her little Satan out of the pool, it'll be the talk of the facility!

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  14. DA - You got that, sistah!

    Elle - Unfortunately, I think my words fell on deaf ears...

    Shiny Rod - Apparently, there are "no rule following Fools" everywhere!

    Ron - Hee hee. I was trying to be as nice as possible. When I realized I was fighting a losing battle, I turned away. :-)

    Momma - I thought it was funny to hear a 3 year old state that he was a "pain in the butt". LOL.

    fattie20xl - I'm feeling MUCH better about the school thing!

    MEL - I should have said, No I don't work here, but I can get the manager if you'd like to take it up with her! :-)

    TGG - My girl got it goin' on!

    CuteElla - This one was obviously one who felt her shit didn't stink.

    Warren - Exactly!

    Carolyn - LOL!

    Jay - So far, no hate mail on this one. And, I totally agree with you!

    Powdergirl - We're nearing the end of the season, so I hope we don't see them ever again!

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  15. I would have told a lifeguard or the pool manager to speak to her. Let them take the guff.

    My son who is just a bit younger than Sissy and I were at Toys (backward)R Us the other day and made a stop at the train table. There was a couple there with little Logan, who did not want to leave. Mama proceeded to tell Logan, who was about 2 I'd guess, that "Mama knows that this is difficult to understand, and that he is disappointed that we must leave, but that Henry (the train) lives here, and Logan's Henry lives at home (and that we should go see him). The kid, of course, didn't budge an inch and continued to play. My 19-year-old daughter and I just turned to each other with looks of disbelief. It was classic.

    Here in poor folk Illinois, they put a list of supplies out at the Mart-of Wall. They try to get you to bring stuff like five boxes of kleenex and 3 containers of anti bacterial wipes, which I sort of resent supplying after I paid $100.00 for being allowed to let my kid use the books they loan her (on top of school taxes). Sometimes I accidentally forget to send those items anyway.

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  16. O.M.G. that was my little sister and her kid, just kidding, LOL!!!! My daughter went to the same public school as Buddy will be going to and adjusting to Middle School was the hardest thing for my daughter. I hate how they throw the 6th graders into middle school now, they are to young. I didn't care for that school at all and hope you have better luck than I did.

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  17. OMG I fucking hate people! I hadn't had a good dose of people-hating yet today (and here it is already after lunch). Thank you for that.

    When Dad was in ICU at one point when they thought he wasn't going to make it and he was hooked to a bazillion machines, there was a sign clearly posted saying "no cell phone use allowed in this area as it may interfere with the operation of necessary medical equipment" and some bitch was yakking it up like she was at a barn dance on her cell phone. I listened a minute, long enough to tell she wasn't delivering some pertinent heart-rending information to the family back home. She wasn't, so I said, "There's no cell phone use allowed in this area."

    She came at me like a tiger with a crab dangling from her tit. "And just who the fuck are you to tell me when and where I can use my phone."

    I just pointed to the sign and she said, "Well, I don't have to listen to you" and went on discussing something scintillating like what color to paint her birdbath.

    I just walked into ICU and had them call security. They didn't want to, but I pointed out that my dad was on one of those machines that cell phones might bother and if anything happened to him while they ignored that bitch, they'd see what a bitch really was.

    Then I went back out into the hallway to sit and sip my drink while I watched security throw a hissy-fit having bitch off the floor.

    :)

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  18. Glad you are getting some quality time at the pool. I just can't stand bitches like that....I come across them more and more these days...blech!

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  19. I think the fool was in the Chuck E Cheese parking lot parked next to me in Michigan on Saturday. Or one of her relatives.

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  20. I hate lazy parents! If you do not want to raise your children then don't fucking have them!

    At the bar i play volleyball at they had a sweet 16 birthday party last night. These kids were out of control hopped on soda and cake. One of them hit me in the back of the head with a volleyball. And did not even apologize. My Mom would have smacked me! ;)

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  21. Annoying people at the pool are the worst!! That lady sounds like an idiot. But at the same time I hate the pool "Narcs" too - as I am sometimes a rule-bender. I rarely get to go the pool now anyways with work during the week and my inherent desire to avoid the crowds there on the weekends.

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  22. "Do you work here?"

    Translation,

    "I do what I want unless someone of authority threatens me with a consequence if I do not. You do not have that power."

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  23. I used to deal with idiots like that when we belonged to a public pool. I would have gone to the management and had THEM tell her no food was allowed. But then, I'm chicken.

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  24. Even before I became a step parent I knew what type of parent I wanted to be. Now I know I made the right decision. Stupid mothers like that don't deserve kids. Obviously, the kid IS the parent.

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  25. good job .. and the women unfortunately earned her assigned name...

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  26. I hate dealing with parents like that... I will never understand what goes through their minds. I can't believe the kid kicked your towel into the pool... it would have taken all my strength not to kick the kid into the pool. I blame the mom more than the kid... so maybe I would kick the mom into the pool. Hmmm, I might be feeling a little violent today.

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  27. Karla - That's how it was at the elementary school (private), but apparently the public schools here can't request that sort of thing.

    SA LeAnn - I've only heard good things about it, but I agree that 6th grade is too young.

    BB - I thought about addressing the issue w/the manager on our way out (after they had left), but just kept my mouth shut.

    Gigi - What is it with people who get all defensive when people are just trying to be helpful?

    3C - They seem to be rampant!

    The Dish - Lazy and the feeling of Entitlement make a toxic mix!

    Karen - I get that. I didn't narc on her, I just imparted information that I felt she might not be aware of.

    Christine - You are so right on!

    Kenju - I've seen other people with food/beverage in the baby pool area, but they were responsible and I never said a word. This was so over the top, I had to confront it (and I was feeling all oat-y and stuff).

    JFab - He doesn't stand a chance.

    Jan - And, I was *trying* to be nice about it! She certainly is a fool!

    LL - You and me both. LOL. I just tried to remain calm for the kids' (hers and mine) sake.

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  28. I freaking LOVE IT!! You crack me up! What I would do to have done what you did the day I had issues with the child and the grandparents at the library. OH how I wanted to state how I felt. I can NOT stand people who ignore the rules. They are not teaching their children anything. OMG!!

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  29. She gives us natural born blonds a bad name.

    See, this is what happens when kids play games (i.e T-ball) where scores aren't kept and no one loses. They are ignorant of the reason for rules and grow up to be dumbasses.

    I'd have paid your Sissy $25 bucks to pee in that water in front of that woman. Just hang it off the side and let it fly!

    Or better yet -- the old Baby Ruth bar (a la Caddyshack!). Hee hee hee

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  30. Buzzardbilly - you are good people! You make me laugh every time!

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  31. Women like that make my eyebrow twitch. Obviously her spawn gets his lack of respect for others from her. Its sad, really, because while I have hated on some tots myself, it ultimately comes down to the parent who deserves the hate for thinking that as long as you feed a kid and wipe its ass that it will magically raise itself.

    Hopefully you can have your next pool visit be pain-in-the-butt-less :0)

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  32. Ehhhhhh! I hate those people.
    What a dumb bitch!

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