my favorite kind of awards show

2nd trimester report cards were posted online a couple of weeks ago.  man, gone are the days when you'd take home that envelope with the report card printed on yellow cardstock folded in half, where the teacher would painstakingly handwrite all of the grades and comments on each student's card.  we'd have to take it home, show it to our parents, have them sign it and return it within a few days to prove that they'd seen it.  even the old lady's report cards were printed out and mailed home.  technology, man.

anyway, since i'd already seen her grades i knew i'd get the email the following week telling me that she was going to be a recipient at the awards assembly.  they always notify parents so that they can make arrangements to be there if they're able to, which is nice.  and it just so happened that the hub's schedule, which seemingly changes every hour, allowed him to slide in towards the end.  this worked out perfectly, because for some reason they decided to do things in some odd order - they started with the oldest kids (5th graders for this assembly) and worked their way down.

she gave me the biggest grin when she came in with her class and saw me sitting in the second row.

i was pretty proud of myself for getting it right this time, because i usually pick the wrong side to sit on.  and even better, the teacher was standing on the opposite end which meant that i'd get a great picture of my kid since she's always the last one called.  you know how it goes when your last name is at the end of the alphabet.

except that of course, i was wrong.  the teacher decided to switch things up and called them up in reverse alphabetical order.  GAH.

that's okay though.  it didn't make the award any less awesome - principal's list two trimesters in a row!  all that hard work and pushing and homework and grumbling and groaning paid off.  she was pretty darn proud of herself when the assembly was over and we were able to go and give her a great big hug.

and isn't everything even better when you're with your friends?

super proud of these girls and their hard work.  and it's so hard to believe that the year is so close to being over.  seems like the first day of school wasn't all that long ago.

and now i need to start planning out summer.  yikes.

hard work pays off

the third grade has been rather...challenging.  it's a huge difference from last year, where it seemed like they were doing a whole lot of reviewing of what they'd already learned and adding on just a little to that.  the homework is a lot more difficult and mind-numbing, although thankfully it isn't excessive.  it does require a good amount of explaining and discussing, and quite a bit more writing is involved.  i know this is a good thing, and she's definitely learning a lot this year.  it does feel like homework for parents as well as the kids, and as i struggle with it every week with her, i totally give all the props to the parents who are juggling full-time work schedules along with all this stuff.  i don't know how i'd do it if i were dead tired from working an 8-hour day plus commuting back and forth.

and yet, as the first trimester of the year came to an end, all that hard work that she'd done paid off.  yesterday was the awards assembly, and i was beyond proud to watch her walk up and accept her certificate for making the principal's list - straight As, baby!

she's the kind of kid who flips out if she misses a question and gets marked off a point or two.  i was going through her folder the other evening and came across a math test that she'd scored a 99% on.  and when i told her "hey, good job on your math test!" she looked at me like i'd sprouted a second head and said "why are you saying that?"  i pointed at it and she said "but i didn't get 100%.  that's not a good job."

good gracious.

and in other news

amongst all of the excitement and emotions of the last few days, i haven't had the chance to show off my girls' newest accomplishments.

remember the bean and her upcoming stint as the face of the holiday nest baby shop? well, the website has been updated, and her little face is now featured on the homepage. look:

whee! i love it.

and as for the teen? well, THE report card finally came:

and inside the envelope was a note that invited her to join the school's honor society. we're not too sure what exactly that entails, but she's going to find out. there's a meeting this afternoon after school, and despite her protests of "mooooom, i bet that thing's full of all the losers!" she'll be attending. i asked her to go and see what it's all about, and to give it a chance. i mean, come on - maybe it WILL have some nerds in it, but at the same time, it might end up being a portal to new friends and getting involved in some activities. did you have something like this in middle school? i don't remember, but then again, my grades weren't all that great. heh.

and last night, there was a meeting in the library to discuss the 8th grade trip to washington, d.c. over spring break. at first, she was all "but that'll totally eat up my whole spring break, mom!" but then we learned that they leave the friday before vacation and return on tuesday evening. she'd still have at least half of the week left to screw around.

the trip sounds really cool - they get to see all of the major attractions over the course of four days. they'll have a privately chartered bus, a tour guide, admission to all attractions, airfare, hotel rooms (4 students to a room, with the chaperones in separate rooms - she dug that idea), and all meals for one price. and it's a hell of a deal. shit, i want to go!

anyway, there are 40 openings, and applications are due next friday. once they receive all of the applications, they'll pluck out all of the incomplete applications, weed out the ones who don't qualify (they've got to have a GPA of at least 2.5 - psh, the teen qualifies, no problem), and then choose them randomly. yikes. i really hope she gets in, because now she's excited at the prospect of going. we'll find out the week before thanksgiving break.

yay for my two beautiful, smart daughters!