All About Sadie

On Tuesday, Sadie got to do her All About Me Presentation at school. Taking advantage of my new work flexibility, I was able to take the entire day off Tuesday and switch to the night shift instead. This was sweet on a number of levels. First, it allowed me to drop Sadie off at school and then return to school for 20 minutes (!) for this presentation. When I was working my old schedule, it just wouldn't have made sense for me to take a full day off work so I could spend 20 minutes at Sadie's school. Second, I got to spend some alone time with Ella, which is all too rare. The school had sent a note home about the All About Me, and it said, "Siblings Welcome." The problem, folks, with having a reader is that you can't parcel out information at will anymore. As soon as Ella read this, she was lobbying to take the morning off school. This wouldn't seem like a big deal to most people, but this kid LOVES school and has been known to burst into tears when illness keeps her at home. I figured Ella would get as much out of attending the All About Me as she would out of attending school (it's not like she's struggling or anything), so off we went. She and I dropped Sadie at school and then had a little coffee date.

Of course, what I hadn't counted on was the fact that Ella's mere godlike presence in school would completely and totally usurp my own spectacular presence. Sadie was beside herself with excitement to have Ella in school with her. It was super cute. We got to see them play a game in music, then went back to the classroom for calendar and all that jazz. It's sort of a  moot point at this date in the game, but I gotta say: I picked a really awesome preschool for Sadie. It is really something.

Sadie presented her All About Me poster to her class and then Ella read Sadie's favorite book (Mommy in My Pocket, which I hadn't known was her favorite book, but given the number of books currently on loan from the library in any given week, it's really hard to keep tabs on that sort of thing). One of Sadie's classmates was astounded that Ella could read, which Ella found just this side of ridiculous since she is SEVEN. Duh. Actually, Ella just polished off the first Harry Potter last night, and though I can't speak to her comprehension of the book, I think it's fair to say that she is no ordinary seven-year-old when it comes to her mad reading skillz.

Anyhow, here is a quick rundown for those of you at home about Miss Sadie:

Likes: Ella, Moe, swimming, her "iPod" (I gave her a crappy little sandisk that I used to use for audio books, and that kid is in heaven. Too bad I am squandering the opportunity to get her off on the right foot musically by allowing her to listen to such songs as "My First Kiss," which includes the word "panties" among its lyrics. Man, I am a ROTTEN mother!).

Dislikes: Red ants (I found this hilarious because Sadie has a loathing of red ants that is really intense for a kid who has never actually encountered such a thing), smoke from cars (um, okay), and seaweed.

She weighs 34 pounds, is 40-odd inches tall, and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, though sometimes she will switch and say either librarian or editor.

I am used to seeing Sadie in Ella's rather considerable shadow (you should see how that self-possessed little one is rocking the school talent show practices!), and it was really cool to see Sadie as Sadie in school. Confident, self-possessed, cheerful, friendly. I always imagined she'd be rather shy at school, but she shines like the sun there.

Not to brag or anything, but I have truly remarkable children.