I’ve actually done a few fun things since I last posted. On Friday, my sister came over and we took all the kids to the pool. After we splashed around for an hour or so, the clouds rolled in and the thunder and lightning chased us home. After the rain passed, Kim and I sat in the driveway drinking beer and watching the kids ride their bikes and scooters. And my sister had just enough beer that she thought it would be a great idea to ride Mallory’s bike. I know it’s unfair of me to mention all of this without including a picture, but I haven’t retrieved the picture from my phone yet. It’s coming, don’t you worry. And later that night, one of my dearest friends, John, stopped by for a few hours and we bullshitted with him. He’s known Kim and me forever, although he hadn’t seen Kim in probably fifteen years, so that was lots of fun, catching up.

On Saturday, Paul decided we needed a Family Fun Day, so we headed down to Larkspur for the Colorado Renaissance Festival. That was pretty fun. I have to say, though – it’s set up lame. Especially if you have kids. The bathrooms are few and far between, and they’re RUSTIC to say the least. The food vendors are set up in such a way that you need to plan to stand in half a dozen different lines – Paul stood in line once to buy us all sodas, then stood in another line to get fries, and then in a third line to get us some bratwursts. And the picnic tables are just thrown around, willy nilly, all over the hillside – so you can expect to be sitting at a table that’s literally on a slope, so much that you can’t even set down your (non-lidded, of course) cup of Pepsi. I was annoyed by all of it. I think the kids are a bit young, yet, to appreciate it – although they did enjoy riding an elephant! I know they want to keep it “authentic” and rustic, but for those admission prices, I would appreciate at least a few modern day conveniences. Would it kill them to level ONE area, put some rustic-looking shade canopies over it, and throw some picnic tables under it? Seriously? I’ll be sitting over there with my kids, while everyone else trips on tree roots and gets tangled up in their long skirts and cups of mead. Also? Hundreds and hundreds of cars parked in rows in a field. No waymarkers whatsoever. Wouldst though kindly directeth me to thy Chevy Tahoe? Huzzah!

So, here were are. Tuesday. The kids are doing a fine job of picking up the study so we can head over to the park. And they’re starting to complain about wanting food, so I guess I should go make lunch. Off we go!

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• June 15, 2009 — Yay, global warming!
• June 2, 2009 — Introspection on this rainy day!
• April 20, 2009 — I’m stalking you, Tokyo Joes!
• April 17, 2009 — And now I’m drinking my dinner.
• April 12, 2009 — Terror at Chik-fil-A!

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• May 6, 2009 — Spring Cleaning! (Sucks!)
• October 2, 2008 — Just trying to catch my own ass, here.

I love year round school. Really, I do. I love that my kids don’t get sick of being at home for three months at a stretch in the summertime, and I love having breaks during months where most kids are still at school. It makes for fun outings, when we can go somewhere like the zoo and not trip over a thousand other kids, like the craziness that occurs during spring break or the first couple weeks of summer. But sometimes, the school year really seems to drag on! My kids finally had their kindergarten graduation last Thursday, after what felt like the longest school year in history!

My kids started kindergarten last July, the week after Independence Day (aka the 4th of July!) and finished up on June 17th. Of course, they had lots of “track off” breaks throughout the year, but still – that’s a whole YEAR in school! I really think they went longer than necessary, because we started in another school, on a different track. The track they are on now didn’t begin kindergarten until the end of July, so I think they went for several weeks longer than their classmates. And now that they’re out “for summer,” I keep feeling like we have the whole summer stretching out ahead of us, but that isn’t the case at all. They start 1st grade at the end of July! The break is only five weeks. So, yeah. We’d better get it in gear and head to the pool at once!

I’m sure I’ll be ready for them to go back. Having a pair of 5-year-olds and a pair of 4-year-olds at home is a lot of work. And I am REALLY missing Kayley right now – she went to camp on Saturday for a month, and I spent pretty much the entire weekend trying to keep Pablo out of Paul’s way, while he used power tools. Pablo wants nothing more than to be right beside Paul whenever he’s at home, but right now, Paul is building ….(drumroll, please…) a massive DJ booth that matches the other stuff in our beautifully finished basement. That’s the curse of buying a house with a finished basement full of custom cabinetry. You can’t just throw some shelves up on the wall from Target! It has to blend in, which means Paul is spending lots of quality time in the garage, pretending to be a carpenter. And he can’t really watch Pablo while he’s using a table saw, y’know? Makes it hard for me to get anything done. Glad daddy’s back at work today!

Well. It’s 9:40 already. I guess I’d better get these kids organized if we’re going to do anything fun at all today. Summer’s waiting!

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• June 30, 2008 — We heart summertime.
• June 27, 2008 — I’m such a mean mother.
• June 20, 2008 — I’ve figured out the equation.
• June 8, 2008 — Slaving away!
• June 5, 2008 — Late for the party.

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• June 10, 2009 — I’m crabby on the internets today.
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• July 28, 2008 — I feel so unloved.
• July 8, 2008 — I hate technical shit!
• June 23, 2008 — Housecleaning at the Home Improvement Blog

Oh, this made me laugh and laugh and laugh. God bless the taggers!

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• December 9, 2008 — I haven’t heard of THIS Sonic flavor…

Not only that, but you keep dropping fucking tornadoes out of the sky! Last Sunday, a tornado actually skated through the outdoor mall where my children and I spend lots and lots of time. I saw on the news that my beloved Tokyo Joes is now OKYO JOES, and it looked like lots of trees had been sheared right off. Here’s Red Brick Pizza – glad I wasn’t there!

Pablo’s teachers were, though! We saw one of his teachers being interviewed on the news about the tornado, and the other one told us she’d been shopping at TJ Maxx and they ushered everyone into the bathrooms when the tornado came. She said her car was completely beat up from the hail. I can’t even imagine how bad it was 2 miles away at the mall, when these were falling on us here:

Paul took these pictures from our driveway, while I cowered in the basement with my frightened children:

Kayley and I visited Bed Bath & Beyond on Friday and noticed the D was missing from the sign, the cart corral was completely flattened, and the manager very bitterly described finding his car flipped upside down in the parking lot. But I was surprised to find that after only a week, almost all the stores have been reopened and the place looks almost completely cleaned up.

So, yeah, we GET IT. You’re in charge, Mother Nature. Just like those commercials from when I was a kid: “You don’t mess with Mother Nature!” Enough with the tornadoes already! Every DAY last week, we had rotten storms in the afternoon. Thursday, my kids had to duck and cover for AN HOUR in their classrooms! My kids are starting to roll their eyes and say, “Not again!” every time that ominous sounding siren starts to wail. I haven’t had my sprinklers on since MAY. And I have mushrooms growing in my yard!

As a Colorado native, I don’t get to say this very often, so I’m going to savor this moment: WE DON’T NEED THE MOISTURE. Give us a full day of sunshine! My kids want to go to the pool! Enough is enough, you crazy bitch! Let us have some seasonal temperatures! Pretty please?

Possibly Related

• June 30, 2009 — OMG! Eight days since I last blogged?
• April 27, 2009 — But…it’s almost May?
• April 20, 2009 — I’m stalking you, Tokyo Joes!
• April 17, 2009 — And now I’m drinking my dinner.
• April 12, 2009 — Terror at Chik-fil-A!

Here’s what’s been bugging me. And, if you’re someone who does any of this, please don’t feel like I’m singling you out – I’m not at all. This isn’t a passive aggressive attempt to let someone know I’m annoyed with them. Just my own bitchiness. Okay, here we go. In random order: Things Annoying Me On The Internet!

• RSS feeds that only show you a snippet of the post. Why even bother having a feed, really? If your post is amazing, hilarious, and entertains me, I WILL CLICK THROUGH AND COMMENT ON IT. I promise. But I don’t like feeling like I HAVE TO click through, just to read what you have to say.
• Lengthy posts, which go into dramatic detail about how someone’s been wronged by someone else – with absolutely no detail at all about the situation itself or the parties involved. Especially when these posts are a regular feature. I want to support you, I do, but I have no idea if someone killed your relative or just cut you off in traffic.
• Posts which invoke the LOLCATS style of writing. I just find myself annoyed by this NOW, but it didn’t bother me a couple of years ago. Maybe it’s played out. Maybe I’m played out. I’m not sure.
• Updates on Twitter that don’t make sense. I mean, I know there’s a story there. You just aren’t effectively conveying it in 160 characters. Nice try, though! Just…write a blog post. Then link to it on Twitter. I’ll go read it! I will!
• Pairing Twitter and Facebook, so that every single Tweet updates on Facebook as well. I used to do this, and it annoyed ME to see MY OWN crap all over my Facebook page. It annoys me more to see other people’s stuff. Not that you aren’t awesome and cool, but it’s two separate audiences, in a lot of cases. If we’re friends on both places, I don’t really want to read that update twice. And if we’re friends on FB only, I’m not interested in your “retweet” when it appears on Facebook. I can’t click on your @so-and-so and see who they are from Facebook. And you’re probably talking about something that your Facebook friends don’t even care about. If you’re doing this, consider using the Selective Twitter app for Facebook. You just need to add “#fb” to the end of your Tweet, and it will appear on Facebook. Otherwise, it just stays on Twitter.
• Blog content which is comprised only of Flickr photos, Yelp reviews, memes using Mr. Linky, plugs for contests, sponsored content, and your Twitter feed. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things. But, please: celebrate this medium! Write a heartfelt, actual post once in awhile. Share some of your true self. Your readership will love you for it.

Again, wanted to state for the record: I’m not singling out ANYONE, either obviously, or passive aggressively. This isn’t about you. It’s about everyone. And I love everyone! I’m just crabby today, and wanted to put it out there!

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• July 8, 2008 — I hate technical shit!
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• April 27, 2009 — But…it’s almost May?
• April 25, 2009 — Printer Manufacturers: Get Earth Friendly!

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• April 6, 2009 — Something sweet for ya…
• October 23, 2008 — I’m LAME.
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• September 23, 2008 — I’m like the white rabbit.
• November 17, 2007 — Just another typical day.

Some of you know that Kayley’s been battling alopecia, and has been having a super rough time of things. A friend of mine from high school, Tony, works at an upscale salon in downtown Denver and agreed to work a little hair magic with Kayley to try to make things right. And he did such an outstanding job! I’m going to give him an amazing review on Yelp, too, but for now, here’s a plug. Need a fantastic stylist, who has decades of experience, and is a true artist with haircolor? Go see Anthony at Henry’s Salon. You won’t be disappointed. Tell him Laura and Kayley sent you!

It’s been 100% Kayley Perma-grin around here since last night. I’m sure today at school, all her little friends are oohing and ahhing over her awesomely purple hair. And, bonus, I’ve just been named Coolest Mom Ever. Yay! Seeing Kayley with a smile on her face again is the best part.

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• November 14, 2008 — It’s snowing!
• November 7, 2008 — Haircuts and Physicals!
• October 26, 2008 — She looks better in it than I did!
• October 22, 2008 — OMG, I have to go through this with 4 more kids??

I’m feeling splendid, even though the rain is BEATING DOWN on my house right now, preventing me from venturing out to Costco. (Maybe I should be thanking the rain! Costco is not that much fun. But neither is being out of lunchbox snacks and salad greens.) I’m feeling pretty marvelous because it seems like a lot of things in my little world are coming together. I think this calls for a bulleted list!

• I may have found a church home for us where they’ll welcome Pablo with open arms. We tried a place on Sunday and the kids loved it. Pablo had one tiny issue, but the teacher there seemed positive that he could succeed and really enjoy being there with some precautions put into place. I’m optimistic that things may actually work out where this is concerned. I always crave more order and structure for my children, particularly for Pablo, and I think Sunday school would benefit all of them tremendously. Also, I think the whole, “We are all God’s children, and everyone is special and wonderful” atmosphere of, y’know, CHURCH, will be a good thing. Pablo’s had to deal with so much unkindness from people due to his disability, which SUCKS ASS. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this might be a really good thing.
• I’ve gotten back in touch with a friend of mine on Facebook who was a huge, major part of my life for many years. We “survived” small town life together, moved up to Denver together, and leaned on each other for years before going off and living our lives. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him for TEN YEARS until last week, and now we’ve been spending lots of time catching up. It makes me sad that we were absent from each other’s lives for so long, but I’m thrilled to be catching up now, and each time we have a little chat on Facebook, it brightens my whole day. There’s absolutely nothing like old friends, who have seen you at your best and worst, and who  knew you when you were going through puberty! Love. It.
• My husband and I are moving forward with major improvements to our house! It’s gorgeous as it is, but we’re really trying to make it our own. On the horizon: building a custom bed for the kids, additional built-in storage in the basement for our plethora of toys and games, and…::drumroll:: extending our DECK and putting a roof on it so we can spend more time enjoying our amazing backyard! I’m so grateful to have married that crazy enginerd, who meticulously designs things, agonizing over every minute detail that no one else would even notice. It’s going to be cool.
• Pablo is doing fantastic! We started a fish oil regimen a few weeks ago, and I really think it’s benefiting him. He’s all but stopped hitting himself, and the vocal tics have dropped off completely. We’ve had a few minor issues, but we’re starting to realize (duh) that Pablo is growing and maturing, and wants more than anything to just be a regular kid. It seems like whenever we have a huge blowup or tantrum, it’s because the kids around him are doing something he wants to do. Like line up and walk into school without having his aide grab him by the hand. Little things. He’s really blossoming, and we’re really enjoying him. Those weeks of hell always seem to result in big breakthroughs for him!
• Although I haven’t addressed it here or anywhere online, Kayley has been dealing with a huge healthl issue which has really affected her. I’ve been worried to death about her. A few days ago, we finally figured out the problem, and we’re on our way to a solution. She is positive and happy and optimistic that it’s all going to work out fine. She has been such a big, brave girl and I am just SO proud of her right now. Things aren’t 100% rosy, but where this area is concerned, it’s all good. 

And, it’s JUNE! How can it be June? It’s 55 degrees outside. I packed up all the winter clothes last week! We’re ready for summer weather, pretty please. The kids are graduating from kindergarten on the 18th and we’d like to eventually visit the beautiful pool in our neighborhood. So, get your act together, Mother Nature!

Possibly Related

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• November 5, 2008 — Uh oh!
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• June 28, 2008 — Old friends are the best, part 2.