earrings!

Jonathan already crammed 40 hours of work into this week, so he had today off! We took the kids into Downtown Denver to walk up and down the 16th Street Mall and ride the tram. While we were walking, we passed a Claire's Boutique. We asked Blue if she wanted to get her ears pierced. She said, "Yes," so we took her inside and she chose some pretty little blue earrings. (Blue loves the color blue.  Now you see the origin of this nickname!)


She was so amazing. My daughter is much braver than me. She jumped a little when they pierced her ears and that was it. No tears. Nothing.

After it was over, I picked her up out of the chair and held her and she said, quietly, "I don't want my earrings anymore. I want to take them out." I asked if her ears hurt and she nodded. We bought some children's Motrin at a nearby Rite-Aid and gave her a little bit of it but by then she seemed completely fine.

Then we went to McDonalds and got them both a strawberry sundae to celebrate:

Riding the tram:

funk and soul music

So we went to see this kick-ass band, Funkiphino, play at the Englewood Civic Center tonight. It was so much fun. The weather was gorgeous--cloudy and crisp--and I brought enough food for about ... oh, I don't know ... a billion people.

Blue and Lion danced and jumped and even attempted what looked like break-dancing. They made everyone around us smile. There was a stall behind us selling Chinese food and the dudes working there got such a kick out of the kids' dance moves that they brought them over some fortune cookies.

I hope I never forget the sight of my children dancing, holding hands and laughing hysterically to the song "Lady Marmalade." I hope I never forget it because Jonathan and I forgot to bring a camera.

Good times. Good times.

no school

Well, the answer is "No." No, Blue cannot go to the preschool that is right beside our apartment complex next year because they are not accepting any more students. Grrrrrr...

I tried to contact the school as soon as we moved in but the office had just closed for the summer. They opened again this week and I called twice and left messages without any response and then walked over to the school and was told I needed to contact the school district. So I called them twice and left messages and again got no reply so yesterday Jonathan drove over to the school district office and was told Blue's name will be put on a waiting list. So basically, if someone moves between now and the end of the month ... maybe? I say maybe because we have no idea how long the waiting list even is. She could even conceivably be admitted mid-year if a vacancy comes up, so we'll see...

I am really frustrated by this. I mean, I was afraid this would happen and I am so irritated with myself for not contacting the school while I was still in Virginia. Because I was researching preschools in Aurora, and I saw that this one was near our apartment complex (I didn't realize that it was within walking distance, though, or I would definitely have called) but at the time we weren't sure if we wanted to continue sending her to a Catholic preschool or what.

So today I signed her up for swimming lessons every Tuesday and dance classes every Friday and I'm looking for a third activity for her. Just so she can interact with other children her age and practice following directions and get to do something physical to burn off some of her energy and so she (and I) can make some friends. And, you know, learn to swim and dance, too.

I am planning to take her to storytime at the library, but I don't know if I could count on the same children being there every week, so I want to find just one more activity to enroll her in. Soccer doesn't start until the spring. There's gymnastics, but in my head gymnastics and dance for a 4 year-old are basically the same thing. I mean, how much can a child that age do? Maybe something musical? Or an art class?

I am trying to look at this positively. I mean, some kids don't even go to preschool at all. And this way, she'll make potentially three times as many friends... But I am secretly very frustrated.

So there you have it. The situation.

Anyway.

Tonight there is a free funk and soul music concert in the park. Funk and soul. Awesome. So I went shopping with the kids today to buy Blue some new ballet shoes and a new bathingsuit and a picnic dinner for us to bring to the concert. It is beautiful out today--very cool and breezy--so we may actually get to wear pants and jackets to the concert! YAY! I am just loving the weather here. I just wilt when it is hot out.

She's gone.

Alison

My heart is very heavy tonight. I have been reading the blog, To the Moon, for a while now. It is by a beautiful young woman named Alison, a young military wife. Who found out she has stage 4 cancer. I began reading her husband's (amazingly beautiful and eloquent) blog, Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and he has been writing for both of them lately. His post tonight is not so good. The prognosis sounds grim and I am just so sad.

Sad. What a lame word. I just ...

Here I am, enjoying gorgeous evening breezes, nursing a sore butt from a wonderful bike ride last night with my husband and children, and there they are... Alison and Thomas. In my head and in my heart all the time. Going through this ... this severing from each other. I know I have never met them, but if you've read their blog (and I know some of you have and are as affected by their situation as I am) you understand. They are so young. So beautiful. So nice. So in love.

It's horrible. If you pray, please pray for them. And for her family. Just pray.

bicycle!

So Jonathan took us all to Super Target this morning and bought me a bicycle!

It is a pink Schwinn, and it is still out in the car because I have had an upset stomach today. I think it is because I have been wearing my glasses all day to see if that will drive my headache away, and (as anyone who has ever worn glasses in the history of the world can testify) glasses make you feel like total crap when you first start wearing them. Walking in them is weird; I feel like the ground beneath my feet is a billion miles away. So I have been lying around all day feeling crummy (what else is new?) and let's just say that trying out the various bikes in Target was ... interesting.

First is the fact that I seriously have not been on a bike (I'm not counting stationary bikes) in about 20 years. Seriously.

Second. Everyone in Colorado (except me, so far) rides bikes. Again, seriously. Every other car out here has a bike rack on the back. And the ones that don't have a bike rack have some sort of water device like a canoe or kayak strapped to their roof instead. No foolin.' And all of these bike-riders were in the bike aisle of Super Target this morning.

Third. I have a feeling my ass looks huge while sitting on a bike.


So I felt like a total jackass, "riding" each bike with one foot firmly on the ground (sort of like a big skateboard with a seat on it) up and down the bike aisle in SuperTarget. Especially since my glasses were making me feel dizzy and there were all of these uberhelpful fellow customers making suggestions. Like that, yes, I was supposed to be so high up off the ground. And that my legs should be fully extended while pedaling (impossible, by the way, with one foot on the ground). And finally, that maybe I did need a smaller bike.

I chose a pink bike. Because "pink is my signature color." But I wasn't even sure if that was a wise decision because I don't necessarily want to be such a focal point while I am out riding. But, then I figured, it's a pink bike. Not exactly the kind of bike a serious biker would be riding, and let's face it, I am not going to be some speed racer or anything.

And I chose a black helmet, so there.

Anyway, isn't it pretty?

could you keep it down out there?

I have a headache. Of monstrous strength.

I have had a headache since Sunday night. We went up to Rocky Mountain State Park, as you could see any time you checked my blog all week, and I was wondering if I had altitude sickness. Because I had a cup of coffee that morning, some coffee at IHOP (where Jonny took us all for pancakes), and then a humongous Coke for lunch. Bad. I have been drinking water like crazy since we arrived out here. Except for Sunday. And I paid the price.

So for the rest of the week, I have been drinking insane amounts of water to make up for the lapse in judgment. And I still have a headache. But I have been waking up several times each night to pee. So now I am wondering if I need to dust off my old bifocals that I haven't worn in for ever and start actually wearing them...

On a more cheerful note, my gorgeous fabric arrived for my chairs, but now poor Jonny has to try to find the staple-gun that is packed away in one of our storage units! So it may be a while before I can get that little project finished.

Jonathan and I watched Lars and the Real Girl last night and it is now one of my all-time favorite movies. It wasn't at all what I was expecting it to be. It's actually very sweet. I highly recommend it, if you haven't seen it already.


And lastly, I may be getting a bike! I know, right? But Jonathan is getting his old mountain bike fixed up and he bought a trailer off of craigslist to pull the kids around in. So now that just leaves me. And no way do I want to be stuck at home while my whole family is out riding around! This is the bike I like:

What do you think?