House of Estrogen

Are you the Girl Scout Cookie guy?

Proper Cookie Mom etiquette dictates that before picking up additional cookies at the warehouse, you first send out an email to all other Cookie Moms in the area offering to take a troop to troop transfer of cookies instead. While it is certainly easier to just retrieve one big load from the warehouse, this method provides some relief to the poor troop that has sold out of all their Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs and is left with nothing but a dining room full of Thanks-a-Lots and Daisy Go Rounds that aren't budging. Since I needed to pick up cookies yesterday for our booths this weekend, I sent out the requisite email first. The first responder was a Cookie Dad. There aren't too many of those in the world... lots of unofficial Cookie Dads like J.C., but real, true, certified Cookie Dads are a rare breed. He and I agreed on a drop-off time at my office. He mentioned in passing that he works for the cable company and drives a cable truck. As I was driving into work, I came upon a cable truck parked away from any buildings which looked like an odd parking spot for a cable guy who might have been called in for maintenance. I was approaching the truck quickly and couldn't immediately remember the name of the Cookie Dad I was supposed to be meeting a bit later. As I got near the truck, I yelled out, "Hey! Are you the Girl Scout Cookie guy??"  Fortunately, he laughed and said that he was. We conducted the transfer there in the parking lot and both went on our ways. It occurred to me later that had this man NOT been "the Girl Scout Cookie guy", it would have been a very strange question to ask a total stranger... not sure what sort of look or response I might have received in that scenario!

Morning Workout

 

 

Simple Woman's Daybook, February 23

 

 

For Today...

Outside my window... it is cold and dark.

I am thinking... that Elise is only 6 boxes shy of her cookie selling goal of 300 boxes. Surely she'll reach that this weekend selling at one last booth.

I am thankful for... powerful pain meds and muscle relaxants that got me through a bad spell of muscle spasms in my neck and shoulder this week.

From the kitchen... something besides sandwiches or else my husband may run away and never come back!

I am wearing... Levi's, a conference t-shirt, a fleece vest, fleece socks, and Birks.

I am creating... vacation plans - trying to figure out what to do when Elise tracks out again in May.

I am going... to bed soon.

I am reading... To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Parenting, Inc. by Pamela Paul. Maybe I should just stop answering this one until I've finished a book.

I am hoping... that Nina's upcoming tubes surgery goes well. This is our fourth round of ear tubes with her, and hopefully the last.

I am hearing... a quiet house. All the children are sleeping.

Around the house... Cheerios and Kix. How does Addie manage to distribute those all over the house?

One of my favorite things... Edy's Thin Mint and Samoa ice cream flavors... yum! You can only get them this time of year. You would think I couldn't stand the thought of bringing anything else related to Girl Scout cookies into the house, but I can't resist the Edy's special edition flavors!

A few plans for the rest of the week....  possibly go to a book club meeting to discuss To Kill a Mockingbird (which I won't have finished by then, but at least I've read it before and seen the movie, so there won't be any surprises), pick up another van load of cookies at the warehouse, deliver cookies with Elise, sell cookies at a cookie booth with Elise, and maybe even read more than two pages of a book.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... 

     

To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Dance Party

The girls had an impromptu High School Musical 3 Dance Party out on the porch this evening. I knew Nina would clam up and stop dancing if she saw me with a camera, so I had to film this inconspicuously. The lighting is bad, but the dance moves are priceless!

My Favorite Girl Scout Cookie

Simple Woman's Daybook, February 16

 

 

For Today...

Outside my window... it is chilly, but sunny. The daffodils are starting to bloom, and the cherry trees are gorgeous explosions of pink, so I know spring is on its way!

I am thinking... how is it possible that EVERY member of my family (parents included) went to bed before 8:00 last night, and we all slept until after 7:00 this morning? I knew I was tired last night, but I never imagined I actually needed 11 hours of sleep!

I am thankful for... my husband who apparently LOVES anything involving counting, sorting, balancing, and Excel spreadsheets. He has pretty much taken over all the behind the scenes cookie paperwork, and I love him for this! He couldn't have given me a better Valentine's gift than all the beautifully balanced spreadsheets he created (although to his credit, he did send me flowers too!). He is Cookie Dad extrordinaire!

From the kitchen... uncertainty there. I had plans to go out with friends tonight for a birthday dinner, but whether or not I go out depends on how Nina feels today. Her day yesterday was spent vomiting and feeling rotten with a high fever. So far today is better, so maybe I can escape with my friends, leaving J.C. alone to figure out "From the kitchen...".

I am wearing... Christmas PJ's and cozy, wooly socks my mom knit.

I am creating... Girl Scout cookie spreadsheets (OK... technically J.C. is creating them. Who am I kidding? I'm just editing them.)

I am going... to Starbuck's if Nina feels up to it. Mamma needs some coffee.

I am reading... To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Parenting, Inc. by Pamela Paul. Yes, those are the same books I've been reading the past umpteen weeks, and you'll continue to see those for the next few weeks. I usually manage about 3 pages at a time before I fall asleep or Addie rips the book out of my hands. Reading is slow going around here.

I am hoping... for spring to get here quickly and stay!

I am hearing... some hammering and sawing outside, not sure what that's about.

Around the house... empty cookie cases, full cookie cases, posters for cookie booths, receipts from cookie transfers, cookie order forms, cookie money envelopes, you get the idea.

One of my favorite things... Addie's new Air Force One toy that we gave her for Valentine's Day. It is my picture share below. How cute is that?

A few plans for the rest of the week....  wipe down the house with Clorox, so nobody else gets Nina's stomach bug. Pick up another van full of cookies from the warehouse tomorrow.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... 

  

To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook.

D-Day

Today was D-Day... Girl Scout cookie delivery day. When you think of Girl Scout cookies, you probably get a vision in your head of a chocolatey Thin Mint, the cute little Brownie who knocked on your door last month to take your order, or perhaps the cookie booth you saw this afternoon in front of Wal-Mart. What you likely aren't picturing is the journey those cookies took to get to your doorstep. This was my first year involved in D-Day, and it was a sight to behold.

I arrived at my assigned time to the designated school parking lot which is the staging area for lining up. Timeslots for each troop are about 3 minutes apart. A steady stream of minivans and SUV's snaked down the road into this parking lot where we were lined up according to troop and time slot. As cookie mom, I was at the head of the line with my other five vehicles behind me. We waited until we were given the green light to proceed to the fire station across the street.

Our parade of minivans then began the procession to the fire station where we were directed to a bay. I got out of my car with my trusty blue card listing my cookie order. I walked through this bay which was wall to wall cookies stacked 10 cases high with the exception of two narrow landing strips through the middle, so I could approve the case counts - 64 Caramel Delights, check. 101 Thin Mints, Check. 45 Peanut Butter Patties, check., and on down the line I went. Once I had approved all 329 cases, all six of our vehicles pulled into the bay. Volunteers quickly got to work, three at each car - two to load, and one inside the van arranging cases. We had six vans completely loaded and ready to go within just a couple minutes.

Next stop, my garage.

Here are the before and after pictures:

 

and a few from unloading

 

 

 

Then the rest of my day was spent counting, re-counting, sorting cookies, and greeting troop members arriving to pick up their orders. It was all a bit overwhelming... streamlined and organized for the most part, with bits of chaos thrown in to keep me on my toes.

So, next time you bite into a Tagalong or find yourself polishing off an entire box of Thin Mints in one sitting, take a moment to think about the journey of the cookies and the poor weary Cookie Mom at the other end of the line.

And if you don't hear from me for a few days, send out a search team. I'm probably buried under two tons of Thin Mints!

Delight in Life

Sheer joy... I can't think of a better way to describe Nina's afternoon. She started out watering the tulips that are beginning to emerge near our mailbox and then must have concluded that watering herself would be more fun. J.C. and I just sat, watched, smiled, and laughed. She was having a ball! Must be nice to be five and not have a care in the world!

   

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Not So Mysterious Mystery Reader

Elise's teacher invites a "mystery reader" to come read to the class a couple times per week. The kids are given clues for a few days prior to help them guess who the reader will be - "The mystery reader is a parent", "The mystery reader loves Mexican food", or maybe "The mystery reader drives a white car." The kids get a kick out of trying to guess the identity of the mystery reader.

I was signed up to be the mystery reader today. As I was looking for a particular book last night, I asked J.C. for help and absentmindly yelled down the hall, "I need it because I'm the mystery reader tomorrow in Elise's class!"  Doh! Brilliant, I tell ya! Elise leapt out of the bathroom with a huge grin on her face, "You're the mystery reader tomorrow? I know who the mystery reader is! I can't believe I know who the mystery reader is!"

I hoped that by some twist of fate she would forget, but this morning at breakfast, she announced, "I don't know how I'll keep it a secret that you're the mystery reader!" Uh yeah, fat chance.

As I walked into her classroom, I was met with a chorus of, "Elise told us you were going to be the mystery reader." Nice. Clearly I'm a complete failure at the "mystery" part of the job, but at least the kids liked the books, so I think I did OK with the "reader" requirement. If you're looking for a good book for 5-8 year olds, these were both big hits today during my "reader" gig (I don't think I can really claim the title "mystery reader" any more): Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink and Bean Thirteen.