PT conferences: Sarah

Tonight I went in for parent/teacher conferences. Sarah is doing well, and we mostly discussed her transition to middle school next year. I am worried that it will be a bit of a shock to her system... she's SO excited about the change, but I know she doesn't realize how different things will be. One example, as we drove past the middle school:

Sarah: "Where is the playground?"
Mom: "Middle school doesn't have a playground. There are fields for soccer, tennis, and baseball, but no playground equipment."
Sarah: "How can they swing at recess?" (Sarah swings every day)
Mom: "They don't have recess at middle school, honey."
long silence.
Sarah: "When do they swing?"
Mom: "They don't swing."
long, long silence.
Sarah: "Can I still swing at the park?"
Mom, relieved that she has come up with a solution: "Yes, of course!"

Since I don't have the best memories of middle school (does anyone?), I'm worried for her. But, I'm not doing her any favors by protecting her - it's better that she learns how to deal with things while she's still at home. I keep chanting that mantra - hopefully soon I'll believe it!

Cookie Factory

Our basement was overrun with Girl Scout cookies for a while as Madilyn and Grandpa organized a cookie-sorting party to prepare the orders for delivery. Sarah was also on-hand to offer some support.

My omission of one packing ticket caused quite a bit of commotion... "There's an extra box of Thin Mints!", but hey... I knew where it belonged. Not my fault they're not mind readers...

Anyway, I should be grateful that Madilyn started slowly this year, and only sold 118 boxes. She's so excited by the whole selling thing that next year, who knows how it will go! She gave me a year to get the system down.

Again, thanks to all who helped out!

They Made It

Well, Grandma & Grandpa braved the lake-effect snow, and made it to our house on Monday night. The kids are SO excited... and so is Mom. FREE babysitting!!

Released...sort of

The day that I have been longing for finally came today... Gary was released from the Bishopric!! Yeah! But wait. He was called as ward clerk, and has the same meeting schedule as... you guessed it... the Bishopric. So, he still leaves at 6 am on Sundays, and doesn't get home until after 3 pm.

Two happy side notes, though... he no longer has to call people to give talks, so maybe people will actually start answering their phones when they see our last name on their caller ID... and he gets to sit with us during Sacrament meeting. When he was released, Madilyn turned to me and whispered "Does this mean that Daddy will actually sit with us at church?" She started bouncing with happiness when I replied "Yes."

So now HE can be the human jungle gym during church!

A+ work

So my husband is so NOT one to toot his own horn, but I figured since his family reads this blog, I'll post it for everyone to see...

He had his performance appraisal, and got rated a 5 (out of 5). This is 3M's equivalent of a big, fat, gold star on his forehead. He was grumpy because the year he finally earned a rating that would net him a big, fat pay raise was the year that 3M cancelled ALL raises... but we both agreed that with the economy the way it is, the job security that comes with being a top performer is way more important.

Hurray for Gary!

Happy Birthday to Me

The night before my birthday, Madilyn asked to borrow my camera. Here is the result:

I love these kids!

Just a wagon, after all

So, last night, all my car delusions were put to rest. Gary and I were watching our favorite show, Chuck. The storyline involved Chuck and his spy partner/handler Sarah taking up residence in the suburbs as a typical, normal (read boring) married couple, living the good life on a cul-de-sac. Chuck is shown driving "home", and when they cut to a wide shot, I saw it... he was driving a 2008 Saab 9-3 SportCombi! My car! (except his was blue, not white).

Apparently, the car that I thought was cool is just a suburban cliche. Sigh. My sister-in-law was right... it IS just a station wagon. At least it's FAST.