You Too Can Have One

I HATE school fundraisers.  Yes.  I had to start out with that because, well, I thought it important for you to know.

Today is the day our elementary school fundraiser was due.  Now, I DO have to give Beanie credit because the first day of the fundraiser she hit the streets and came home with 16 items purchased and over $200 in "stuff".  So you think...good for her right?  Well, yes and no.  She's 9 and she has been completely fished in by the "crap" they offer up for hitting certain levels (or selling a certain number of items).  She needed 25 items for this:

Beanie's uncle added 2 more items this weekend.  Which means what?  It means that I now had 7 items I needed to buy (at 9pm last night) so she could get her prize.  OH...and this is only ONE of the awesomeness prizes that she'll be getting.  Since she hit 15 items, she'll bring home a box of Chocolate chunk cookie dough, because, you know, I don't EVER make chocolate chip cookies.  So, we're looking at a limo ride, a box of cookie dough AND (yes, it keeps getting better) her choice of a skinit (for a cell phone which she doesn't have), giggling key chains (in 5 fun animal shapes that, NO, she won't get her choice, they'll pick one for her and she will undoubtedly trigger the giggle incessantly until it mysteriously vanishes), a voice changer (like I need to hear her voice and it NOT be her voice) or an apple shaped speaker with light (???).  Ohhhh...which will she choose.

Last year's prize, which currently resides in a closet because I can't bring myself to actually throw it away, given how much I had to pay in crappy merchandise so she could get her prize, was one of these:

Jealous?

How I wish they would just do what the JrHS is doing.  Given that these kids have fundraisers for drama, sports, choir, etc, the JrHS has just asked the parents to chip in $20/kid.  I couldn't get my checkbook out fast enough.

I'm just hoping that this year, I actually GET my Real Simple magazine.  The one I ordered (and PAID for) last year and never got.  That, and I'm looking forward to the "gourmet" pretzels I bought at Beanie's request.  And paid over $3/pretzel for.  Yes, I AM nuts.