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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

A video of Loryn



Shelby recorded this one day (and sang vocals). Not great quality, but you can tell how much Loryn enjoys dancing.

You can also see (aha! There's proof!) that Shelby just adores Loryn.

First Day of Kindergarten

Here I sit at the upstairs computer, drinking Chai with honey, and knowing that I should wake Loryn up. I don't want to, though. I want to put this off, somehow. Is she ready for this? Am I?

But, it's a big day, and one we signed up for, so I will wake her up, and help her dress, and help her "bwush teef" and all that stuff. We'll get to school at 8:40 or so, and her teacher and classmates will meet us outside the office.

Dave has to be at work today at 8:00, so he'll miss this. He had a hard time leaving today, I think. He whispered to Loryn as she slept, and kissed her twice.

She looks so little, still, when she's sleeping. Her diaper and little nursing face make look about two years old, instead of five! But you should have seen her, last night, running around her classroom during Open House. Such a big girl!

I really like her teacher. (Yes, it feels weird that Loryn has a "teacher").

Seven kids, one main teacher, two assistants, a speech therapist and an Autism program supervisor. Still feeling pretty optimistic about it.

I'll post pics later.

I'm going to wake her now.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Rufus: LIVE!







sigh
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007:
Rufus Wainwright, LIVE, in Charlottesville, VA.

To quote little Ash, it was "my best day ever". LOTS of kewl things happened on that day (I'll post more about that stuff later...lots to tell, and I'm trying to get my shit together so we can get on the road to see my 'rents, in Danville).

Rufus, in concert, was the icing on the cake, for me. Deliciously sweet, beautiful, gay icing. And my wonderfully sweet, darling husband was able to snag 6th row seats.

These pics aren't from MY show (they caught me with my camera right outside the venue), but it's the same get-up that he wore in C'ville.







This was taken during his opener, Release the Stars. It had to be Release the Stars...I remember that little flick of the wrist on his forehead.


He came out for his encore in a pink fuzzy bathrobe and performed Hallelujah (aided by sis Lucy), and a couple of other faves. THEN, here comes this:








Black tights? Check.

Black heels? Check.

Red lipstick and dangly diamond jewelry? Check.

Off with the robe, fellas...Come on Get Happy (By Miss Judy Garland, of course)!





Video of another show, just in case you're interested:



The CAT's IN the bag!

Here in Virginia, the homeschool statute requires homeschooling families to provide proof of progress by August 1 following the school year in which the child(ren) has received home instruction. Here's the legal yada, yada, yada, courtesy of the best homeschooling resource, The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers (forget HEAV, ya'll):

The Home Instruction Statute (§22.1-254.1 C) requires parents to provide "evidence of progress" at the end of the school year. Parents may either submit:

(i) A composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test
(ii) An evaluation or assessment which the division superintendent determines to indicate that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress



Ever since we began our homeschooling journey (WOW, we're going into our 6th year!), I have chosen to order the CAT test for the girls. Lots of VA homeschoolers rely on the CAT for various reasons:

1. The company we order from (Seton Home Study) is located in Virginia, thus making the turnaround mailing time pretty johnny-on-the-spot. This is especially important for chronic procrastinators (like you-know-who). The folks at Seton will even fax or email results to you. (A very convenient bonus, again, for those procrastinators out there...you know who you are)! Ahem.

2. The CAT is cheap: $25 for the CAT-E Survey, which covers Math and English for grades K thru 12.

3. Some homeschoolers are anti-testing, period, and prefer to have an "evaluation" of their child's progress. I, on the other hand, have never felt comfortable with this other person (whom my girls might or might not know), evaluating (read: JUDGING) what my kids know, or what they are capable of. Really...who knows all the amazing thoughts and ideas my girls have, better than I, their ever-loving Mama?

4. CAT testing is fairly stress-free. I simply explain to the girls (who do not take tests during our "school year", usually), that this dumb test is just one little BS hoop that we must jump through, so that we can keep on learning in freedom, at home, together. Since Seton sells the test year-round, some families order way early and simply work on the test in little bite-sized chunks, so that the kiddos (and maybe the parents, too) can take their time, and sort of ease into the test process. For kids who've never taken a test before, this can be very helpful in relieving some of that anxiety.

These pics of the girls are pretty cute. They look so...I don't know...FOCUSED? As you can see, even little Lolo got in on the act. Whatever SHE is doing, she looks just as serious and focused as Shelby and Tori!













I don't have a pic of Ash taking her test, simply because I sat with her, gently encouraging her and letting her take her own sweet time. This was her 2nd year taking the CAT, and since she has those fine-motor delays that make filling in those damn holes so aggravating, I figured snapping a pic might royally piss her off!