Last week

Starting on Monday (the 23rd):
m

m
(or maybe a couple of days before that)
m
When I went to Lethbridge on the weekend of the 20th to dip chocolates with my mom and Marie there was too much fondant and not enough time, so I brought 3 batches home to do myself. Monday morning I drove Jaclyn to seminary at 6:30am, came home and made lunches for the other kids, and by 7am I was rolling fondant. Carmen volunteered to stay home with me and help, which I totally took her up on. Carmen takes an interest and holds talent in all homemaking areas and I was glad all day to have her help me. We got all the chocolates finished by the time I had to pick up Steven and Chloe from school - I never could have done it by myself.
/
One thing now missing from our Mondays is horse riding lessons. I've been feeling sick/run-down for a month and I decided it was linked to my being maxed-out so we dropped riding and indoor soccer. Carmen is fine with it and I am grateful grateful that we have our Monday afternoons back. (Chloe is of course ecstatic to be out of indoor soccer.)
m
m
Tuesday:
m
Tuesday afternoon Steven made the senior boys basketball team. Two other eighth-graders made the team, but his best friends will be playing one more year of junior ball. The senior team means more travel and tournaments but no games on Thursdays so no conflicts with Carmen and Chloe's choir: Woo-hoo!
/
Tuesday night Jaclyn had a special opportunity to go with the Social Justice Club (I only found out she is in this club last week - she tells me Ken knew) from school to sort out Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes headed to 3rd world countries. She and the other students removed contraband items from boxes and she has some helpful hints about how to do a better Christmas box, which maybe she'll share in the comments?
/
/
Wednesday:
/
Jaclyn participated in the Grade 9 Open House at the high school. She spoke to the students interested in entering the AP Science and Math programs about the benefits she herself has experienced. I would have liked to have been there (Jaclyn wanting me there - not so much) but I went instead to parent-teacher interviews where I determined that the new "descriptive" report cards the school division wants to switch to are really the worst idea to ever hit report cards. Report cards with no grades. Come on! Steven's science teacher forgot to record a percentage grade on the current "hybrid" report card and I can tell you that the report card meant nothing until the teacher filled in that blank.
/ /
Thursday:
/

Carmen is directly below the suit of armor
/
Ken stayed home in the morning, trying to burn up some holiday time. (He did it again this morning but there is no way he is going to get all his holidays used by the end of the year - I know, rough problem to have, but the extra vacation time came with the high price of pay cuts, how envious are you now?) Anyhow, he didn't stay home long enough to come to the 5th Grade Medevil Feast and Reader's Theatre, but I had a highly enjoyable time. Carmen has a confidence and dramatic flair that made 'Reader #5' a pivotal role.
/
Thursday night I went to the worst continuing education class ever. The speaker informed us at the beginning that she was no expert, and then went on to prove it. What waste of 3 hours and $50.
/
/
Friday:
/
Friday started out with the zipper on Jaclyn's winter boots breaking leaving her trapped in a boot that wasn't done up, but also wouldn't come off. I freed her and told her that her next boots are going to be zipper free, because this is 2 years in a row she has needed new boots due to zipper breakage.
/
Friday night was dubbed *Fabulous Friday* by the Relief Society (think: Super Saturday). The laurels were invited so Jaclyn brought her knitting and came with me. I was prepared to make all my Christmas cards, but when I opened the prints I'd ordered online through Walmart they were TERRIBLE! For a moment I considered using them anyways, but the color was so off I just couldn't. I left Jaclyn at the church, went home to put the photo on a CD, took the terrible prints back to Walmart where I got excellent customer service and my money back, but not better prints. I then took my photo CD to London Drugs, where I should have gone in the first place, and returned to the church. I enjoyed the dinner and program, but I was still mildly frustrated by my lack of productivity darn it. Jaclyn played a Christmas medley piece on the piano during the program, but with no project to work on we didn't stay any longer, so we went boot shopping. And then to see New Moon which was, um, entertaining. For both of us. At least the couple sitting next to us were also laughing and we didn't make anyone mad.
/
Saturday:
/
I made the cards. Jaclyn went on her first date (it's been a big week for her, yes?). Steven played hockey. Carmen, Chloe, and I ran the indoor track at the YMCA with a little friend and her mom. Chloe ran 4km with no walking, but Carmen needs new shoes. Maybe I'll get around to that today. After all, we don't have riding lessons.