long week

Wow, has it really been a week since I last wrote here? What's been happening?? Alot. Second week of school & let me tell you a little about that situation. Remember in the Spring how our then school was giving me the run around about Feefer going to kindergarten there? And how Lib didn't have a spot in the ECE (Early Childhood Education) class because 27 neighborhood kids had applied for 21 spots...and neighborhood gets preference over siblings (according to that particular school). Although the principal assured me that the most important thing is to "keep our Cory families together" when I spoke to her with another mom who is notorious for her vociferous nature, such was not the case when I spoke to the principal by my lonesome. Every time I went to the office to check on Fi's status, I was told by said office staff that "we haven't heard anything." And so it was all Spring until I called at the beginning of August when the school office staff returned to work. The first thing the woman said to me was, "You did fill out a choice form, didn't you?" and then, "I don't know what happened. I'll have to investigate." and then, "We haven't touched the waitlist yet." First of all, what?!?! Did I fill out a choice form? OMG. Have I not been to visit the office nearly weekly for 3 months? And besides that, have we not been a family at this school for 5 years???? This is the same office staff who did not code our kids as being siblings so that we weren't put at the top of the waitlist (because siblings have preference over neighborhood for all other grades except ECE). This is the same office staff who us has seen us at the school, or in the office almost weekly, if not more often, FOR FIVE EFFEN YEARS!!! The littles have been born & grown up going to this school, if only to participate in their big sister's events. It's THEIR school. It's what they know. Funny how I used to think this was such a good school -the next best thing to private school. Hmmmm, apparently the elitist attitude is getting out of hand.

Cut to the week before school starts...I'm scrambling, calling schools anywhere close to our house, trying to get the girls enrolled at one school. See, Maddie could have stayed for 5th grade at our former school, but I was having a heck of a time finding a school that had room in both kindergarten AND ECE. I was literally looking at having to go to three separate schools!!!! Craziness. We were on the waitlist at two other schools (ever since I started to feel the sting of exclusion in the Spring at Cory). Hadn't heard from either one yet. I left a message for one school. Physically drove to the other. Filled out the paperwork then & there for Lib to go to all day ECE (it's what was available). Talked Maddie (didn't take too much persuasion) into transferring to the new school & filled out her paperwork -done deal. Finally, I had to make an appointment to have Feefer tested for the "advanced kindergarten" program they offer because it was her only shot at going to the same school as her sisters (it was the only kindergarten class they still had room in...there are only 6(?) elementary schools that offer A.K. in Denver Public Schools). She went for the test on the Friday before school started. We had our fingers crossed all weekend because we never heard anything on the Friday.

Monday morning on the drive to drop off Maddie at the new school, I listened to a voice mail from the woman at the testing center. YES! Fiona did indeed test into the advanced kindergarten program!!!! I was driving, yelling, pumping my fist in celebration. Maddie told me I was embarrassing. It was -squeeeee- a good moment. (smile smile smile) Dropped Maddie off, picked up paperwork for Feefer, filled out the paperwork at home & drove back to the school to drop off Feefer for her first day!!!! It was faaaaabulous!

We had only to wait for Lib's paperwork to be processed. And that's another story. But, get this. In the woman's voicemail from the DPS offices, she mentioned that Fi would probably be at Cory that afternoon for kindergarten, but that she really wanted to place her in the advanced K class. ???!!!!! What???!!! Really? How interesting that Cory NEVER once called to tell me one word about whether or not Fi got into Cory. Oh there's more, but I'll save that for another day. I've got to hit the sack...morning comes all too early now.

1st days of school

"gawd, mom, don't take my picture" translation: you're embarrassing me


~Yes! Finally, I get to go back to school!!!~


"Not yet, mom!" -as she continues to climb these every chance she gets


"NOW you can take my picture"

more Newton Faulkner

Get thee to this show...and buy this CD...it's ALL good

this girl turns 20 this evening

Newton Faulkner is my new crush

Caught this guy opening for Calexico on Friday night at The Fox in Boulder. Freaking amazing talent!!! DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES....

cause for celebration!

I swear we've had the driest house in the city of Denver. Everytime it's rained somewhere else, we just watched the clouds roll in & then back out over our house with nary a drop to savor. Yesterday we stopped at the library, spur of the moment. While I was helping Lib, Fi runs up to me & excitedly exclaims, "It's raining! It's raining! Come look!" Yes, it was raining -Sideways! Fiona observed. For about 3 minutes. Then it was gone. Sadly, I wondered if that was all it would be, just a tease. And did any of it even get to my house? Moments later, as I was helping Lib check out, Fi comes running in from outside where she & Mad had been waiting. She was soaked. "Mom it's raining so hard now! You have to see!" She was very concerned about her books getting wet. Maddie had also retreated inside & was showing Fi how to put the books under her shirt so they wouldn't get wet on the run to the car. And run we did.

In the car, Maddie suggests we watch the news for an announcement of a flash flood. As soon as we pulled out of the library parking lot, a fire truck & an ambulance drove by...and stopped at a house down the block, causing us to detour on back streets instead. Lib wondered aloud, "Maybe their house is flooded. I hope our house isn't flooded." Fiona, just a little less anxious than Maddie at the same age, states "I don't like today. I think this is bad. Rain is bad." Trying to alleviate their fears I told them that no, rain is very good, that it takes alot more rain than this to make a flood. That our garden & grass & trees NEED rain. We drove the rest of the way in anticipation of what we would find at our own house, talking about how rain is a good thing. I told them they could play outside in the rain, in the puddles, if there were any. Fi decided that no, she didn't want to do that, she wanted to stay in the house (where it's safe, I assume, from floods).

And YES! it was indeed raining at our house too (8 blocks away -good thing I hadn't driven home first & walked to the library, as I had momentarily considered after picking Maddie up at her friend Marie's house.)

The girls were ecstatic! All fear of rain & floods dissipated as soon as they stepped out of the car. They didn't even bother coming inside -other than Fi to retrieve a couple umbrellas for the occasion -you can see she was the only fan of the accessory yesterday.

Fi looked up at the sky & declared, "I think God is happy that it's raining too!" I agree. From Maddie's expression, you can see that the rain was good for the soul -especially for she of the water baby ilk. It's been so dry lately...fixing to be the driest summer in history here. My garden has not been happy. But this morning, ahhhh...I can only imagine what it would be like to live in a wetter climate, how my garden would thrive...someday....












"Look! the house is leaking!" (the downspout was apparantly clogged & water was running over from the top)


And just as quickly as it started, it was over. The road was soon dry & we had only wet clothes (and happy plants) to attest to the day's excitement

ren fest fun 2

yes, there is something free at the ren fest...and the girls loved it; they could have easily spent an hour on this ride.

cute flick

Had a GNO -well really, a GNI (Girls' Night In)- last night when G went to Vail. We always have a blast. One thing missing...Snick! We painted nails and ate popcorn while watching



After we ate nearly 2 lbs of blueberries & watched Shear Genius then Project Runway. We finally called it a night @ 1 a.m. with everyone having a "sleep over" in my bed.

(Someone invite G to go out some night so we can have another GNI -sooner, rather than later! ;P)

ren fest fun

little pony happiness