Some things I want to mention:

We had Ethan and Chloe's parent/teacher conferences. They are both nice, caring children. (who have snowed their teachers! Yes!) They're doing fine. The best news I got was that Chloe has tested out of Title reading (the "special" reading program) and is reading at her grade level! yayyyyyy!!!!  Her math scores were good, too. This is the first year she was to take the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning--our little piece of No Child Left Behind standardized testing hell)  and I was worried for her.  The WASL has been replaced by a new test, but I'm not familiar with it yet. I'm hoping for a huge revamp of No Child soon. No one should have to pass a standardized test to graduate from high school if his/her grades and body of work show he/she is qualified. I have friends who would have struggled with that in spite of being successful and productive adults.


So, the kids are alright. :-) They DO save the drama for their mama, apparently. I can't think of any other song lyrics or cliches right now, so I guess I'm done with that part. :-)

Preschool is a typical slice of frustrating, amusing, frenzied awesome that comes with 3 and 4 year olds. Gods I love 'em. We're talking about farms right now, and we made papier mache chicks. Take 5 3- year- olds of varying levels of ability and attention spans, sit them down, and instruct them to dip colored tissue paper squares in liquid laundry starch and apply it evenly over  the entire surface of a small balloon. Go on, I dare you! ;-) Crazy times. Becky is one determined teacher. The table has been starched into submission and is ready to be pressed. It's going to be sooo much fun cleaning all that stuff off on Tuesday.  There was no point to doing it Thurs. because those balloons were still dripping at the end of the day.  But the older class finished theirs and darn they're cute. :-) Googly eyes, feather wings, paper beaks, and pipe cleaner feet. 

Our numbers are low, though. Cross your fingers that we find some more  mommies who are untroubled by the economic downturn and want to send their children to preschool. Please.

In other news, I saw our community theater's production of The Full Monty Thursday night with a friend. It was soooooo funny, and those guys were so brave. My companion grabbed my hands at one point because I was clapping extra long and hard at the end of a scene in which two of the men realize they are heading towards being more than friends. I turned to her and said "I'm applauding the bravery, it's a heck of a lot harder to be gay in this valley than to take your clothes of onstage." I was glad they left that scene in, and the one in which the same two gentlemen hold hands at a funeral and the lead, who was commenting about "fairies" in earlier numbers,  says "Good! Good for them!"  Indeed.

Anyway, the whole thing was mostly so funny I laughed myself into a near coughing fit a few times. I was so glad I went. I was also glad I didn't personally know any of the main actors. if my friend Jake had been in it, for instance, it would have maybe been awkward. Soooo, Jakey, whom I've known since you were 10, I saw you naked last night. Awesome job!!!" So, Jake, thanks for giving that production a miss. :-)
You would have rocked it, but yeah. :-)

Ok, back to the crickets who usually live here.