What a crazy week!

Long time, no blog. This has been a FULL week. 

On Monday, I went to my new school, got the key to my office :), and took a tour of the building.  I CAN NOT express in words how much I love my principal, the people I've met so far, and the idea of being the K - 2 counselor.

No words.  Honestly.

I'm nervous, but I think it's a "healthy" nervous.  I feel so supported already and was met with a thousand "We're so excited you're here!"s.

...................

On Wednesday, I met to discuss decorations for Vacation Bible School.  Thrilled to help out and NOT be in charge.  Sometimes it's fabulous to be an Indian rather than the Chief. 

Am I right?

On Wednesday, I also got an email that Caroline had been selected to receive the Principal's Proclamation Award for the last 9 weeks.  So proud of her!!!  She's a great kid!

....................

On Thursday, I got an email from Jack's teacher that he has qualified for Math Rocks.  Math Rocks is a pull-out Math program in which, essentially, students can complete college math (depending on their intended majors) before they leave high school. 

High School Honors Algebra and Honors Geometry are completed by 8th grade. 

The University of Texas at Dallas developed this program.  And they offer dual credit to these kids starting in 9th grade.

Math Rocks is for incoming 4th and 5th graders, but they will invite incoming 3rd graders, like Jack, into the program if they are more than 3 standard deviations above the district mean on their Math MAP scores.

(I read "blah blah blah" when I read that last sentence, but in reality, it means Jack is in the top 0.3% of 3rd graders in Plano ISD when it comes to Math.)

He was SO EXCITED to qualify.  We were excited for him!!!

The catch?  He has to transfer schools.  From Barksdale to Brinker. 

Brinker is a FANTASTIC school five minutes away from us.  But my sweet Jack doesn't like change.  Who would really want to switch schools halfway thru elementary school??

So then the internal angst starts for me as his mom....  Should I force him to transfer and seize this opportunity?  Does it really matter if he's challenged and accomplishes all he's capable of accomplishing at such a young age?

And then I thought of Shelton.

A private school for students with learning differences. I know of at least 3 families who, without hesitation, pulled their children from their home schools to give them an opportunity for an education more tailored for them.

So yes.  Jason and I have decided to have Jack transfer schools.   This is an educational opportunity we don't want him to forfeit.

And school is his sport. 

Parents don't hesitate to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on private coaches and special equipment for students who show athletic promise.  Why should I hesitate to allow Jack to be pushed (for FREE) to his full potential when he's showing academic promise?

................

Next year will be a big year for all of us.

I will be working full time.  I will miss Meet the Teacher and Open House for my kids.

My kids will be at 2 different elementary schools. 

Jason will have to step up in a BIG way to make all of the logistics work.  (And he's willing and able to do just that!)

We have hired a babysitter to help every afternoon after school.  I've NEVER been away when the kids are home from school.  Big difference!

..................

But can I tell you.... AGAIN... that I'm excited?!

I'm excited that we're all growing up as a family.  We're taking chances and seizing opportunities that we've worked for.

I'm relinquishing control to Jason and our babysitter....  (That's not easy to do, by the way!)... but is healthy for me and positive for Jason. 

He deserves the chance to be "fun dad".  And the dad that is here when they're sick.  The dad that volunteers for field trips and the first one to find out about report card grades.

He's willingly handed all of that over to me for 10 years.  But I'm not so sure he really understands what he's been missing while he's worked VERY hard to provide for us. 

Now-- we share responsibilities like never before. 

I help provide.  He helps with the kids.  And I think he's going to appreciate what I've been through the last decade a lot more...but he's going to LOVE those kids in a new way too.  I'm excited for him!!

And I'm excited for me!! I'm earning more than ever before! I'm going to be doing something I love! I'm going to respect what Jason's been doing for the last decade like never before.

BIG changes for the McGlamerys are ahead!!

But change is not always bad. :)

our annual birthday boy dinner

 

Thanks,  Mom and Dad, for taking us to another AMAZING dinner.  This time at Nick and Sam's.

Such a great night! As always.

 

 

 

 

 

Playing on the driveway

It's always good to be home!

Cards to Jason from the girls

Sarah even included money. :)

Today's challenge: iFLY

Today is Jason's birthday.  **HAPPY BIRTHDAY!**

 I asked him last week if he'd be willing to take the day off so we could spend it together and go to iFLY as his birthday present.

He had a gift card he had never used.  And I am trying new things.  Seemed perfect to me.

iFLY is an indoor skydiving place.  I hate heights... won't climb on a ladder...  won't look down over our railing when I'm upstairs in the house.... I hold onto the railings all the way up when riding an escalator.  I hate small planes.  You get the idea.  This idea was a major thing for me!!

We had some time to kill before our flight so we watched the instructors for a while doing their thing.

Bad idea. 

Jason said the color drained from my face.  I knew he was right because my fingers and toes went cold and numb.  Just watching.

I almost had tears in my eyes-- I'll admit it-- and said, "Jason, I don't want to do it."

He told me I didn't have to but that I'd be perfectly safe.

We met our instructor, Andrew, who took us through the training video.  He tried to crack jokes, and I laughed politely.  But he took one look at me and said, "You look really nervous."

Ummm, YES!!!!  What gave it away?  The trembling?  The ashen color of my face? The look of dread in my eyes?

Jason told him that this was a really big deal for me to be there, doing this.

We suited up and headed into the chamber where you sit on a bench and wait your turn.  I said I wanted to go first.  I did NOT want to watch any more people do this thing before I did it.

Andrew motioned for me to go to the door of the wind tunnel, fall in, and he'd catch me.  I told him, "no".  Still terrified!!

He showed me what he wanted me to do, and I made myself get off the bench.  One of the hardest things I've ever done was getting off that bench and walking to the door.

But then I flew!! :)

We had two flights and the video below is of the second flight.   At the end he made me stand on the cables and walk to the door instead of flying me to the door, like they usually do. 

Being able to walk on the cables is difficult... As you'll see, the wind was blowing at 105 mph, and I couldn't get my bearings.  I look like I messed in my pants. But I promise I didn't. :)

Watch until the end because my reaction once I'm in the hallway sums up the way I felt perfectly!!

JULIE-- FLIGHT #2

I am SO GLAD I did it!!! I think I'm still on an adrenaline high three hours later.  Might look like nothing but fun to you, but it was a majorly big breakthrough for me.

WOO HOO!!

And since it's Jason's big day, here's the birthday boy's flight.  He loved it!!! He couldn't get enough.

JASON-- FLIGHT #2

What a day!

Daddy/daughter date night

Caroline's turn to go out with Jason.  She chose to bowl as well. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes a Dad has to prove to his scared 5 year old that bad guys can't break in by coming down the chimney.

#irrationalbedtimefears

Jason

Jason worked at the office until 1:30 AM Friday night/Saturday morning.   He went to visit his family at the farm all day Saturday. Then he went back to the office Sunday morning and worked til almost 7:00 PM. After the kids went to bed, he worked from home til 3:00 this morning.

He has a big project in which he plays an integral role. It is at a standstill until he finishes his part. So he's pushing to get it done.

And, even though it means I work harder when he's not here, I love watching him work so hard.  I always pray that his employer will notice and appreciate how important he is to the company.

But I also appreciate that he puts work on hold for all recitals,  soccer games, school programs, choir performances,  and open houses.  The kids will never take a backseat to his job.

Today he has the firm's annual meeting.  Every one will fly into Dallas because the principal office is here.  And today Jason will be recognized for 15 years of service to the company.

I'm so thankful for his job. I'm thankful that he hasn't jumped ship and has kept plugging along, providing for the family. And I'm grateful that he remembers to keep it all in perspective... that ultimately being present for the kids, being home for dinner when  possible, etc is what's important.

A big "thank you" to Jason... and Google

Embarrassingly enough, I have had to Google cover letters and resumes.  I'm not cutting and pasting some template.  I'm confident with my writing ability.  I just need the frame for how it's all supposed to look. 

I have a resume on file for my current job, but it's pitiful.  I had not put together a resume since 2000.  I wrote some stuff down and turned it in to my boss who graciously accepted the mess.

I have to get serious about this stuff now.  A stranger will not be as gracious. I'm grateful to Google.

And I'm thankful for Jason proofreading everything and wisely saying, "Your wording is amazing.  It sounds great!"

:)

Honest?  Who knows.

Helpful?  Only if he's being honest.

Smart?  Absolutely!

;)

And I'm glad I don't actually have to write the word "resume" on my resume.  Because I can't figure out how to do that accent mark over the "e".  I'm aware it looks like the verb "resume".  :/

To the office with Dad

Jason started taking Sarah to the office when she was 4 years old.

His building is pretty dead this week so it isn't a problem to have kids in his office.

When Jack turned 4, he started going. Then Caroline. 

They love it. Jason has a typewriter for some reason. He has a desktop computer they can use while he works on the laptop. They usually call me at least once from his work phone.  They go into the Galleria for lunch and see the giant Christmas tree and watch the ice skaters.

This is a day they look forward to all year.  A Christmas tradition.

Daddy's lap

When Sarah was 5,  she sat on Jason's lap, and with sad eyes,  he asked, "How many more years of this do you think I'll have?"

She's 9 1/2 now. 

The answer is: You'll have as many of these moments as you'll give her.

Big Hero 6 at iPic

Killing time before the movie. 

Then we are off to see The Big Guy next door.

The restaurant is open

Sarah had this idea to open a restaurant, use our fancy china, and serve Jason and me a romantic dinner.

 

First Caroline and she set the stage.... Rearranged living room furniture.  (Please note the bread and olive oil with balsamic vinegar to dip it in.  She got the idea from California Pizza Kitchen.) :)

 

 

Fancy glasses and plates.  Waiting for us to order...

 

  

The menu....

She wrote 2 so Jason and I could have our own.

 

 

 

Sarah called Jason at work, and said, "Is this Mr. McGlamery?  I understand that you have reservations at our restaurant tonight.  What time will you be arriving?"

 

He came home right at 6:30.  I met him on the driveway so we could walk into the restaurant together.

Caroline sat us immediately. 

 

 

We had a lovely salad with our bread.  Sure, it was a bagged salad, but Sarah did it herself. :)

 

 

She also made homemade lasagna....

 

 

(Our waiter, Jack, graciously agreed to take our picture while we ate....)

 

 

And our desserts were homemade cake with homemade icing and homemade snickerdoodles.

 

I emphasize "homemade" because Sarah cooked ALL DAY.  It was precious how hard she worked to make this special.

 

 

Jack and Caroline did everything that they could to serve and make us happy.  Whatever role Sarah assigned, they performed without any arguing.  They whispered while Jason and I talked and ate and waited for us to be finished before they had dinner.

 

So... of course, I offered to give them the same fine dining experience with fancy plates and glasses.  :)

 

 

It was a fun night.

 

A lot of work.

 

A lot of dirty dishes.

 

But this kind of thought into giving us a special dinner melts my heart. :)

 

 

Prayers please ... thanks, friends! :)

July is a big month for our family. It's all health-related.

(1) My mom is donating her kidney to her cousin, Wynette.

I don't know if you know your mom's cousin, but I love the Kents! I babysat Wynette's kids when I was a senior in high school. The same kids I babysat were in my wedding. They live in Highland Park so it wasn't a far drive for us to keep up with them through the years.

Wynette is in her late 50s or early 60s. She lost her dad to a degenerative kidney disease. She was born with the same kidney disease and opted to adopt her children so she wouldn't pass it down to anyone else.

Now she has 10% functioning of her kidneys, and she's in dire need of a transplant.

Unfortunately no one matched. Except my mom.

(There was someone else who was acceptable, but my mom matched like a sibling.)

There is a BIG transition between-- "I think it's a great idea to see if you're a match to save Wynette's life." and "Oh. You're a match?? Seriously? Crap. Hang on. Let me process this." We've all had to go on that journey in our own ways and on our own timeline.

Mom's cousin needs a kidney, like, yesterday... so this process of approval and setting a transplant date was FAST.

But we're all on board and SO proud of Mom. Mom doesn't advertise the donation. She's not telling a lot of people about it. She downplays EVERYTHING. (I don't understand how we're related.)

Her transplant date was set for July 8.

Then Wynette got pneumonia. So they've backed it up a couple of weeks.

THE PRAYERS:
1) That Wynette will get well soon! And that she won't be discouraged as she waits!
2) That the surgery will happen in July!
3) That it will be successful!
4) That recovery will be fast and easy for mom and Wynette!

..............................

(2) Jason is having eye surgery. His right eye has some type of muscle weakness that causes it to cross when it gets tired. There's a name for it. Don't ask me what it's called. But they'll basically go in and release the muscle, from what I understand.

It's a fairly routine surgery. But still... whenever you're messing with someone's eyes, there's a cause for concern. (Even though almost everyone in my family has had LASIK surgery successfully, we still worry about eye stuff.)

Also, I've noticed that Caroline's right eye does the same thing from time to time. I'll ask her if she's intending to cross it. She's not. :/

PRAYERS:
1) That Jason's surgery will go well. (The date has not been set yet.)
2) That his recovery will go well.
3) That we'll know what to do about Caroline if hers crosses as well.

...............................

(3) My dad is also having surgery on his retina. He had problems in one eye a couple of years ago and had an operation. The recovery was less than fun, but I think the procedure was successful. At least, I've never heard him complain. Now his other retina is detaching... at least I think that's the issue. Gosh. There's so much going on; it's hard to keep it straight.

He'll get it fixed at a time that works with Mom's transplant schedule.

PRAYERS:
1) That Dad's surgery will go well. (The date has not been set yet.)
2) That his recovery will be easy!

Redneck reasoning ;)

What do you if you want to hang lights on an awning over the pool?

You sink a ladder in the pool, of course, and get busy!

Worked like a charm.

Jason's FORTY

He didn't want to do anything special for his BIG day. 

We're still planning on going to Chicago in June to celebrate our anniversary/his birthday.  But yesterday was kind of a day like any other. 

Except that he crossed a pretty major threshold into a different age bracket. ;)

We ate dinner at Babe's in Frisco.

And we set a cake on fire. :)

 

Happy birthday, Jason!!  Even though you didn't want anything special for your birthday, we'll celebrate in Chicago.

xoxo

My weekend in pics

Do you ever have days that you wouldn't relive even if someone paid you A LOT of money??

Those kinds of days comprised the majority of my last 2 weeks.

But then the weekend came.  And it was a different kind of crazy.

Jason and Sarah went to the deer lease.

Saturday morning I had coffee for a few minutes on our patio.  Some of my only peaceful moments. ;)

I took Jack and Caroline swimming at the local rec center.

Jack was diagnosed with strep throat on Thursday and, although he's not contagious anymore, he has to take antibiotics for ten days.  I'm terrible at remembering this stuff!

Reese hung out on our furniture one night.  She's my SHADOW, and I let her get away with a lot of things that I shouldn't. ... if she'll just be still. ;)

Jack played with Reese.  She's great at catching a tennis ball in the air. 

I did laundry.  (This is minus 2 additional loads I had to do.)  Don't save ALL the laundry for the weekend.  It's a mistake.

I finished up my homework.  I'm almost finished for the semester.  I have my finals and then I have a 2 week break before my summer session starts.

My trusty sidekick, hanging out while I study.

Caroline asked the lady at Snip Its to cut bangs.  Never walk away from the barber chair when  you have an outspoken 4 year old.

Here's Reese again.  I would hate for her to give me any space. ;)

But, gosh, I love her.

And so does Caroline. 

They're buddies. :)

 

 

 

The weekend may not have been as restful as I was hoping, but it was good.  And now I just need to persevere a few more weeks, and summer will be here! :)

Spring Break Day 8

Ok, so the awesome weather didn't last. 

It rained off and on Saturday at the farm, but we didn't let that stop us from having a good time.  The kids had "Farm ADD".  I'm not sure that that's a documented condition, but it should be. 

Farm ADD: (n) A condition characterized by bouncing from one fun farm activity to the next. Symptoms include exhausted adults and hyper children.

The kids checked on the animals.

Then they fished at the tank. 

 



Not to be outdone by Sarah's driving lesson with Ken, Jack wanted his turn behind the golf cart wheel.  He's a terrifying driver and was quickly demoted (by me) to the Power Wheels Jeep.

 



Gran took the kids to the feed store, and she let each of them pick out one chick.

 



Sarah's is the yellow chick named "Jessica".  Caroline's is the black chick named "Sarah".  And the brown chick is Jack's.  He named it "Ralph".

 



 

After getting the chicks, the kids went back to fishing.  Jason caught a catfish with Sarah's pole but then turned the pole over to Jack so he could feel what it felt like to have a fish on your hook. They, of course, cut it loose and set it free.

 



Caroline wanted to feed the horses. 

 



A little hay in the red bucket....

 



 

Walking over....

 

To put a little hay in the green bucket.

 



Feeding some hay straight from her hand.

 



Then Gran came out with some carrots.

 



 

 Over a year ago Jason bought Jack a BB gun. Jack wanted nothing to do with it.  Finally he's taken an interest in it so Jason gave him some lessons on gun safety and shooting a BB gun.

 

The girls drove around away from the target practice. (I don't know if you can see it, but Bud-- the lab mix-- is in the cart as well.) 

 



 

Praise God! Jack shot a target.  I really wanted him to feel like he could do this.  He may never be the hunter that Jason is, but I didn't want him to feel like he wasn't good at it.

 

 

I really haven't felt 100% since about Wednesday, so when we got home from the farm, I went to Care Now.  TWO HOURS LATER-- they were really busy-- I found out I have strep.

 

So this was my end to Spring Break Day 8. 

We had an incredible time this weekend with Gran and Ken.  The farm is more fun for the kids every time.  They're better eaters-- for the most part.  They're more independent.  They enjoy being outside more.  They're not afraid of the dogs anymore. 

They were so sad to leave.  Next time we'll definitely have to stay longer!