Art Museum

Yesterday we took our annual trip downtown! We rode the train (which, by the way, we found out they are about to open 4 new lines which we think will be HUGE for Denver- it's very exciting!), ate lunch at a yummy sandwich shop called DuckSoup, saw lots of interesting people dressed up for the International Anime Convention, walked through the Taste of Colorado which happened to be going on right in front of the museum, and then to the Art Museum.

The girls did great! I was kind-of surprised. They were so excited the whole time. They enjoyed looking at the art, and participating in several different activities at the museum. They were much more interested than last year, and each year I think it will just get better and better.

We ended the trip with a stop for ice-cream, and headed home. A total of 7 hours- wow! That is a long time of walking around with three small children in very crowded areas. But it was well worth it- we all had a great, albeit exhausting, time.

Here is Camille entertaining everybody on the train ride home with her killer dance moves:

Anger Management

At the encouragement of her Behavioral Therapist, I signed Claire up for an anger management class through our insurance. It is a four week class, and tonight was her first class.

The class is geared for 6-12 year olds. Expecting Claire to be the youngest, I was surprised that there were several other 6 year olds in the class. Apparently we are not the only parents dealing with an explosive child.

While I don't love the demeanor and teaching style of the leader of the class, the material is pretty good, and Claire and I were able to talk about some issues that she is having which was helpful. She also drew her picture of an Angry Monster:

I am grateful for this class. I think this is a class that Claire needs- as do we as parents. And I certainly don't want to minimize what we are going through with Claire- it is a tough road with this child. But, while sitting in the class, I realized that it could be A LOT worse. There was one boy who said he gets angry "when Caleb and Kevin tell me they are going to kill me with their dads sword" or "when the boys at recess threaten to kill me." Or the two kids who just sat in stony silence the entire class- just looking straight ahead with the angriest faces I have ever seen on such small children.

Hopefully this class will prove helpful. I am also reading a book called "The Explosive Child" which is really helpful. At least I do know that Claire knows that she is loved and that we will try and get her whatever help that she needs to figure out her feelings in an appropriate way. Most of the time she is happy, but when she is not- she is not! It's tough, but hopefully we can get it figured out and give her the tools that she needs to calm herself down and behave in acceptable ways even if she is angry.

The Invention

Audra and Claire LOVE inventing. In fact, sometimes when I am ready to start school they will yell from downstairs, "but mom- we're inventing!" They know that will get them out of school for another 15 minutes.

Anyway, this invention has been in the works for a few weeks. I am not quite sure what exactly it is supposed to do, but has something to do with hot dogs.

I finally bought some hot dogs so they could test out their invention.

The blow dryer was to slide the hot dog through the machine. I believe there was supposed to be some sort of condiment dispenser system but that got taken out due to lack of performance. So basically they just put the hot dog in, blew the blow dryer (which they originally wanted to have cook the hot dog, but we nixed that idea and had them pre-cooked), and then pushed it out the end onto the plate.

I don't think it worked as well as they had dreamed, but they didn't seem to mind. After all, isn't it the inventing that counts?

Sense of Humor

So I took Camille to see a Speech Therapist to be evaluated at the recommendation of her pediatrician. Turns out, she recommended speech therapy. No big deal, except one thing:

It is, of course, run through the school district.

Heavenly Father must have a great sense of humor. After all that I have done to release myself from the tentacles of this district, I am pulled back in. Obviously, I will do everything that I need to do to get Camille the help that she needs, even if it means going back to the district I hate. We may get some free pre-school out of it, so it won't be all bad.

I did find out some disturbing news, though. The district (in order to save money) is starting a new program where they put all of the Special Needs kids in the same classroom and there is little to no integration. They have greatly reduced the number of PERA's and Teacher Aides. So, even though Camille only needs a little bit of speech help, she may be put in a class with severely disabled students and no typical peers. It is frustrating simply from the standpoint that parents are (rightly) complaining that whether their kid needs a little help  or a lot, they simply aren't getting it. I am not sure if any of this is even legal, so I need to go to lots of meetings to sort everything out. I feel like I need to document how the district handles Camille and if she gets the help she needs or not.

Ironically, the therapist said, "Oh, it's good that you are in this county. They are generally really good about servicing Special Needs kids." Apparently, that is no longer the case. But I will let you know.

Fitting In

I've been doing a bit of introspection lately- something, by the way, that should be outlawed.

This was triggered by the fact that a new school board election is upon us. Oh, the frustration! I have really tried hard to not get so frustrated, and some days it works better than others, but now all the problems, all the lifestyle changes I have felt forced to make, all the bitterness- has resurfaced. I am thinking: "Do I get involved because I sincerely do want what is best for all kids, and I don't believe what is happening is best for kids, or do I step back because I have very intentionally removed myself and my kids from this toxic situation?"

But it's a little more than that. I am in this very weird place where I am a very-moderate-democrat-mormon-homeschooling-mom, a category that I have invented by and for myself. I'm OK doing things differently- that has pretty much been my MO my entire life. I have never followed the crowd or worried about fitting in. But I miss having some kind of a "tribe"- at least a small group of people who I can relate with and who can relate with me. I just don't really fit in with anybody right now, and it's weird. I'm trying to find my tribe, but it is proving more difficult than usual.

Thank goodness for Ben! For whatever reason, he totally gets me. He's OK with my crazy ideas, my passions, my weirdness, etc. I can talk to him about anything, and he's always on my side.

Last night we went on a date. Before the date we stopped at his parents house to drop the kids off, and we got into a football conversation with his mom, and the idea of an offensive lineman saying offensive things somehow came up. As a result of that conversation, I drew my first- and last- political cartoon. I don't even know if anybody else gets it, but Ben and I both think it is hilarious. See, I told you, he gets me. And if you get it, maybe you are part of my tribe, too;) Now, just move to Denver so we can hang out and I can feel slightly more normal!

Options!

Today the girls had their first day of Options, and I am SOOOOOO excited! As are the girls.

Well, they were a little nervous. But they got over it and ended up having a great time.

This program is as awesome as I had hoped! Of course, time will really tell, but I was incredibly impressed for the first day. Claire's class was a little small, about 7 kids, and Audra's class is a little bigger, about 15 kids. They stay with the same kids, and then rotate teachers- very similar to high school.

Unfortunately, Claire's karate teacher ended up not returning, so Claire had to sign up for a different elective. She chose CSI which is where they use reasoning and critical thinking skills to solve mysteries. She is the only girl in the class, and one of only two 1st graders, so we will see how this goes. Audra, however, is super excited for drama.

Finding their names on the Welcome Sign

The Piano Guys

For an early Birthday present, last Thursday Ben and I went to a concert at Red Rocks to see The Piano Guys!

My sister Melissa introduced me to these guys, and let me just say...they are AWESOME!!!!

We had such a wonderful time, even though we didn't get home until almost midnight (thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!!!). We are still recuperating a bit, but it was well worth it.

Also, a concert at Red Rocks. Wow. That is just incredible. I have to believe that as a performer, that must be the most amazing venue to play. It is so, so, so beautiful. Thankfully, the weather was unbelievably perfect. It was simply magical.

It was just a wonderful night. And, what a blessing to share it with my best friend. He wasn't so sure about The Piano Guys, but now he is a huge fan. We had such a wonderful time- I can't even describe it!

That's our friends who we went with, Karen and Rich, photobombing our picture.

If you don't know anything about The Piano Guys, they are an internet sensation out of St. George, Utah. Here's a taste (and, if you can go to a concert, GO!):