Easter grass presence and constant driving loop

I have been missing the simplicity of my life as it was a few weeks ago.  Ah, life before pesky pieces of fake Easter basket grass started popping up EVERYWHERE.  Some years I avoid the grass all-together, but the jelly beans look so lonely (and unappetizing - not that this would deter my bunch) floating around in the bottom of an old dusty Easter basket.  This year I caved.

 

The price I pay for filling Easter baskets with annoying plastic grass- it continues to be a constant presence in our lives.  Although I'm guessing I'm the only one bothered by it.

Now I'm spying lone grass strands stuck in the bottom of the broom or in plain sight in the middle of the living room floor.  It's as if each strand is sending me a message:  'Ha!  Still here.  Catch me, catch me, if you can.'  But the grass knows, I can't.  I swear the damn stuff multiplies.  

But with the arrival of the month of May, a new challenge makes Easter grass stragglers look as uninteresting as plain flavored jelly beans (please leave me a comment if you have to search high and low at the store for the traditional jelly beans vs the jazzy flavored variety).  We signed four kids up for a basketball clinic about 20 minutes away.  Now when I'm not collecting renegade grass strands, I'm driving to basketball clinics - or plotting our next driving route.

The clinic is scheduled for Monday and Wednesday nights.  Irish dancing classes are also Monday and Wednesday nights.  Conveniently, basketball is located en-route to the Irish dancing studio.  It also helps that two kids attend one clinic.  Then the other two buddy up for the clinic immediately following the first session.  

Envelope.  I even gave Curly a symbolic bow.

Regardless of how sensible that sounds, my brain hurt Sunday night.  Before I went to bed I tried to map out who was going to leave the house when on Monday afternoon for the first basketball practice.  

Who needed to have dinner packed in a thermos?  Who would be stuck sitting waiting at dancing or in the car while we looped up to dancing class before returning home for the next run?  How many trips would this night involve?  Maybe I shouldn't have tried to figure it out at the end of the day.  I wasn't at my freshest.  (Let's blame Easter grass for making me so frazzled).

It's the first time ever that I felt it was necessary to draw a picture.  I grabbed a junk mail envelope off the counter and drew Curly and Reggie.  Below them, I sketched jotted down Tank and Mini's initials.  Then with a series of arrows I tried to decide who would be heading to dancing straight from basketball.  

Monday morning I remembered to text the piano teacher, who literally sends me a text each week ten minutes before Curly's lesson to let me know she is running late.  Why bother?  Anyway, I wanted her to  know that Curly was going to need to leave right at 4:00.  A tardy teacher wouldn't work this week.

Reggie's buddy is also doing the basketball drill thing, so his mom offered to drive Reg and Curly to basketball with her son at 4:00.  That was huge, since Coach and I were planning three round trips in addition to what would've been the initial drop off trip.  I love a mom who doesn't shy away from a carpool, unlike my nutty neighbor Mary Ann.  

Despite all of my stick figure drawing and head scratching, I ended up sticking around at Tank and Mini's basketball after darting out for a bit to drop Curly at dancing.  Choosing to wait for the second group at basketball eliminated one round trip.  My epiphany meant an easier night for Coach.  

A hungry Reggie lost out because he was stranded at the gym with me, and I hadn't packed him a thermos for dinner.  Fortunately, the kid can never get enough basketball - observing or participating.  Plus, I sweetened the deal by treating him to a McDonald's sundae.  

As confusing as it was, I would rather configure driving routes as opposed to chasing down those damn sneaky pieces of plastic grass.  If my kids really want to see me come unglued, they could horde the grass at Easter and plant it around the house in random places.

Let me know in my comments if you are you still finding this shit in your house, or is it just me?