I Think...

...that this little girl...

...is going through a growth spurt. She is eating tons, and anyone who knows her knows that that is definitely not the norm.

This is my new favorite picture of Sadie. I love the freckles...

Here are 2 more of my favorites. My sister, Angie, took pictures for us last weekend. I am so blessed to have her in my family. She does a great job, and all I have to do is babysit her kids once in a while. Great trade :)

Here is a picture of the whole family. You can tell she's a great photographer because she got a decent picture of this group.

And here's the boy. He's growing way too fast, too. Someone told him the other day that he will be taller than me in about two years. Seriously? He's only 8...well, almost 9, but still. He's not supposed to be taller than me until he's about 17.

I guess they can't stay little forever, but I sure do wish things would slow down some. Can't believe that 3rd grade is almost half way over.

Here are my other favorites of the little man...

I guess I better just enjoy every moment I have left of them at this age...

Yes, I Did It.

And I'm not going to apologize. Although I do get angry at stores who put out their Christmas items and decor in August and at people who put their Christmas lights up (and turn them on) before Thanksgiving, I did change the music on my blog to Christmas music.

I LOVE Christmas music. It is so peaceful and nostalgic. I could listen to this music year round. And I'm already in the Christmas mood this year. Maybe it's because I've already started checking out the Black Friday ads and formulating my preliminary plan for that day. Maybe it's because every store I go in has their Christmas stuff out. Maybe it's because last night at Sadie's choir practice, they gave us a cd with the songs they'll be singing at Christmas Eve mass. Who knows. But I've longing to listen to these songs, and I've decided that only listening to this wonderful music from Thanksgiving to Christmas is just not enough. So now you're stuck listening to it also (or at least when you visit my blog).

Or, really, I guess you're not required to listen. If you're not in the Christmas mood yet, or if you just feel it is unfair to Thanksgiving to already be anticipating Christmas, or if you just don't like my choice in music, then feel free to pause the music. But, you're missing out.

Carpooling

This year, we are carpooling to school with another family. You see, because we have chosen to attend a private school, we don't actually live in close proximity to our school. At the end of last year, one of my friends mentioned that she was going to have to find someone else to carpool with because the family she was carpooling with had decided to send their child to public school. I quickly volunteered, thinking it would be fun and have some perks, like save me some time and a little gas. I never could have imagined how many other ways carpooling would change things.

First of all, the biggest perk is that Amy always picks up the kids in the mornings, and I always pick them up after school. This means that on the days that I'm not going into work, I can just stay in my pajamas and only have to worry about getting the kids ready in the morning. And, on the mornings I am going to work, I don't have to make sure that we're all ready to leave by 7:15 so that I can get to work on time. I don't know how I lucked into this arrangement, but you can bet that I won't be complaining any time soon.

The kid we pick up in the afternoons is in Aaron's class, AND she's a she. Wow! Talk about getting an entirely different perspective of life in the 3rd grade. I love actually getting some details about what happens during the day. And, now I tend to get the WHOLE story when Aaron tries to just tell me the parts he wants me to know. For instance, today Aaron mentioned that some of the boys were "talking behind his back." First, I didn't realize 3rd graders knew what that was, but apparently they do. When I questioned Aaron what it was about, HIS version of the story went like this:

"On our way to the cafeteria to hear about the new AR program, Maizy was behind me and I let her cut because she wanted to. One of the guys noticed and told all the other guys."

After Aaron's version of the story, Macy gives the real reason for the gossip. It wasn't just that Aaron had let someone cut in line and the people behind him were upset. Macy informed Aaron that "everybody thinks you and Maizy like each other. That's what they were talking about. But you guys are just friends."

It was all I could do not to peek back at Aaron's face after Macy announced what people were thinking. Aaron would NEVER admit to "liking" any girl, and I really wonder if he was blushing or grinning. But I refrained. Instead, I simply took the opportunity to teach Aaron a valuable life lesson.

My comment: "So now you know that girls are nothing but trouble."