That's Major Spande to you

Today was a big day, at least by our standards. As most of you know, Ellie turns 2 on Monday. She has a number of friends from playgroup who are also turning two this week, and one of them, Charlie, is two today. His mom and I had decided to have a joint birthday party for the kids, and since Saturday is a better day than Monday, we had it today. It was basically a biggish play date with two birthday cakes (so each kid could blow out candles). It went well, and Ellie has been singing the Happy Birthday song all day. That was nice, and it was at Charlie's house, so that was even better (less cleanup on our part).

Tonight we had a dinner party at our place, five adults and 3 kids in addition to our family. It was a great success - good food, good conversation, and the kids all had a great time. Mostly new folks, and we all get along well. It is always good to know that the people who we'll be working and playing with for the next few years are good folks.

The best part of the day, however, came as we were just heading over to Charlie's house for the party. We had gotten everybody loaded in the car, and Jen noticed that she had just missed a call from the DCM (the number two guy at the Embassy). She's been working on this report on the AIDS situation here, and she thought there was some problem that needed urgent attention. So we pause in the driveway while she calls him back. All of a sudden Sinen runs to our car to tell us that there is an important phone call inside. I go in, and it is the Embassy calling to say that the DCM needs to talk to Jennifer. Uh oh. I tell them she is calling him back on his cell, and go back to the car. She has the biggest grin on her face as she is talking to him, and I quickly realize what the call is about. She got promoted! This was the first time she was eligible for promotion, and it is a very big deal that every time the Department has been able to do something good for her - tenure first, now promotion to FS-03 - it has done so.

For those of you who don't know the details of the Foreign Service rank system, an FS-03 is the equivalent of a GS-12 or GS-13, and is the same level as an Army Major. There is a modest salary increase that comes with this, but the big thing is that it means people are recognizing that she is doing a fantastic job. The DCM was very impressed that she got tenure and promotion the first time she was reviewed by the relevant commitees. I wasn't shocked, but it is still nice to know that people are paying attention.