A few people have asked me for more information regarding the accessibility at G's school. I'll try to sum it up here.

First of all, when I first met the principal (Mr Powell) a few years ago, I asked him if there was an elevator. When he said there wasn't, I asked how I would get to the second floor. He said, "Oh, I dunno, we'll put you on a forklift and put you through the window, or something".

When G was in 1st grade, I was a very active member of the parent run art program (and still am). The art class was located in the portable outside of the main building, which had about 3 steps to get in. I asked him if we could get a ramp and he said sure, but he drug his feet and drug his feet. Finally, I told him that one of the other parents, Shanta, was just going to bump me up and down the stairs. He freaked out and said we couldn't do that because he was afraid that Shanta would hurt her back. I basically said, "well, too bad, you've had plenty of time to get a ramp here and I, as well as the woman in charge of the art program, have reminded you numerous times". He said, "Well, okay, but as far as I'm concerned, I have no idea how you are getting in and out." A year later, the ramp was built. Edited to add that he told me I should park on the blacktop behind the building where no one is supposed to park because kids walk there. I told him I wasn't comfortable with that. Duh.

Parking became a problem for me when G was in 2nd grade because they changed some things during the summer between 1st and 2nd grade. I asked Mr Powell if we could get a disabled parking spot and he said sure. Once again he drug his feet and drug his feet. I reminded him numerous times and each time he apologized and said he forgot. One day, I was getting out of my car and I got stuck in the mud and almost fell out of my chair. A parent happen to be walking by and they helped me and then later told Mr. Powell about it. It wasn't until a parent complained and he realized that I could have been injured that he called someone about getting a sign.

Last fall I asked him what we were going to do about G's classroom being on the 2nd floor the next year. Since there isn't money for an elevator, we decided that the only thing to do would be to move her classroom to the main level. He continued to gripe and complain about it, as if moving a classroom to the main level was a huge ordeal. Then, about a month before school ended last spring, he decided to check to make sure he legally had to move the classroom for me. Jerk. How about just doing the right thing instead of doing what he has to do?

Now this year, 4 days after school started, he decided to lock all of the doors until the bell rang at 8:00. For the past many, many years, the doors were left unlocked since about 6:30, and people slowly trickled in between 7:45 and 8:00. So now that the doors were locked, everyone came in at once and since the only wheelchair accessible entrance to the building is at the back of the school, I had to go in and fight everyone going in the opposite direction. This is especially hard considering I'm dealing with a bunch of elementary kids who don't look where they are going. I told Mr Powell that this wasn't working for me and his solution was that when I got to school, I needed to call the secretary on my cell phone and then the secretary would call the teacher in the classroom closest to the wheelchair accessible door, and then that teacher would come open the door for me a few minutes before 8:00. I thought that was a pretty crappy deal, but I went with it. It didn't work. That teacher was often not in her classroom. I told Mr Powell that his brilliant idea wasn't working (I didn't say "brilliant" to him). After much discussion, he decided that the janitor would unlock the door at 7:55 and if I was there, I could get in. However, if I wasn't there waiting at exactly 7:55, the door would remain locked until 8:00. At this point, I had enough, and I started corresponding with him via email so that I had it all on paper. I told him that this needed to be resolved by the next morning and if it wasn't, I was going to have to involve his supervisor. Next morning, the door was unlocked and I haven't had any problems since.

None of these things should have been an issue to begin with, and he made a huge issue out of each and every one. And it's not like I'm asking a lot. If I had it my way, there would be wheelchair acessible access to the front door, so that I could go in just like everyone else. There would be an elevator so that I could get to the 2nd floor, just like everyone else. I know this world wasn't built for those of us in wheelchairs, but geez, in all of the above issues, it didn't take much at all to make me happy.

I don't know a single parent who thinks this guy is doing his job. Oh, and guess how much he makes? $125,000 yearly! A group of us have discussed getting him moved or fired of whatever it is they do with with the doofuses.

(It isn't fair of me to call him a jerk, because he's actually nice. He's just clueless.)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1541732.html
I think this is SO cool!

Anyone willing to give me a piggy back ride to the top? I'd like to take a nap on its belly. -Shannon

See that long thing behind Gillian? Guess what it is.



What do you think it is?
It's not a log.
It's not a fake dinosaur bone.
It is a real bone.
It was found in California about 30 years ago.
It's longer than Gillian.
It's the lower jaw bone of a gray whale! Pretty cool, I think. The grandfather of a teacher at G's school found a dead gray whale rotting on the California coast. I have no idea how the smell didn't make him pass out, but he went in there and dug out the jaw bone. He has the upper jaw bone as well, but the teacher only brought this one to school.

I did it, I did it! I won the battle with G's principal. I'm quite proud of myself for not allowing this 6'4" man in an authoritative postion to walk all over me. I even got through the entire battle without my voice becoming shaky and/or crying!

I was also quite proud of myself when he tried to get me in his office this morning, and I simply said no.

But, he still sucks. Hopefully from here on out he won't suck so badly.

The end. (I hope) -Shannon

Just a quick update on the principal at Gillian's school. He still sucks. -Shannon

Get your free undies here! http://www.fsisolutions.com/hanes/default.aspx

This hammer is boring.

I've been watching it all day and it hasn't done anything. -Shannon

You should have been there! I'm sorry we didn't send out any invitations, but it was great! I got married to Gus today! This isn't very common, but Gus is a dog.

The happy bride and groom.


This is me putting on Gus' collar. You see, in a dog and human wedding, the human gives the dog a collar, and the dog gives the human any kind of jewelry except a ring. Gus gave me those beads I'm wearing around my neck.

The kiss.

Me and my best friend Trudy.

Sara and I.

Coco and I.

Crap, crap, crappity crap crap. This is my least favorite time of the year. The days are getting shorter, the gray skies and rain are back, I have to get up early, doors and windows need to stay closed, green things turn brown...

While I'm at it, the principal at Gillian's school Sucks. This is the 3rd year I've been there and I'm still fighting him about accessibility issues.

There. I feel slightly better. -Shannon

She's just so darn cute! 

Look at those big feet! 

I'm just doing this for fun. Will someone please comment on Coco? I'm getting tired of these no comments! -Gillian

Such a cute little Coco! I finally convinced my mom to get her, but I think she's happy about it. Yes, I know what you are all thinking, we have too many pets, but wait till you hear how many pets the guy at the pet store has! He has 7 snakes, 2 frogs, 3 cats, 2 dogs, and some fish, and he couldn't even remember all of them. Back to Coco. When you think of all the pets we have, just think, our rabbit would probably be some snakes dinner because it was on sale for only $9.99. Plus what's one more little bunny when you already have 8 other pets? And we love them all so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much. The guy at the pet store said Coco wasn't the friendliest rabbit, but I didn't believe him when I held her and pet her. She's never bitten me except for one little nip when I was doing my homework and she wanted to play. It didn't even leave a mark. She's so beautiful and soft. So those of you who are looking for a pet, get a rabbit! -Gillian

I don't know why we didn't get a rabbit sooner! They are sweet and quiet and soft and cute and they don't stink.

Isn't she absolutely adorable? As some of you know, I've been wanting to take a pet to the Children's Hospital to visit the patients. First it was going to be Gus, but I don't think he would like it. Then it was going to be Trudy, but when she gets really excited, she barks. Now I'm thinking it's going to be our new rabbit.  

Gillian calls her CoCo, but I'm not sure about that name yet.

I have raised a juvenile delinquent.

Mike turned 16 on Thursday. Thursday evening he asked me if he could take my car out for a drive. I told him no, because cats aren't allowed to drive. He whined, "But I'm 16!". I said, "I know Mike, but you're a cat, and cats are not allowed to drive". He pouted a bit, but seemed to get over it. Then Friday night, he asked again. Again, I had to tell him that he was a cat, and cats are not allowed to drive.

Early this morning, at 3:47am, there was a knock on my front door. "Jehovah's Witnesses at this hour?", I said to Gus. I opened the door and much to my surprise, it was a police officer holding Mike by his scruff. He said, "This your cat ma'am?" I tried to say, "Why no Mr. Officer, I've never seen that cat before in my entire life", but instead out came the words, "Yes, he's my cat". The officer proceeded to tell me that he was caught driving my car, and as we all know, cats are not allowed to drive. He also informed me that 22 other cats were in the car when he pulled Mike over, and that they made a bit of a mess. A bit of a mess? You should see my car! Catnip and cat puke is EVERYWHERE.

I just don't know what to do with that boy. I feed him, clean up after him, and provide a face for him to sleep on at night. This is the thanks I get.

Here he is, just waking up from sleeping all day, and still wearing his party hat.  

Gillian's first day of school went well. She likes her teacher and many of her friends are in her class. Her teacher is Mr. Reardon, and her class is a mix of 3rd and 4th graders. There are 29 kids in her class. For the first time ever, she will have homework every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. She is irritated by my questions, so that's pretty much all I know. -Shannon

What happens after rolling on a dead beaver? Bath. When I was with the dogs at the river this morning, Miss Trudy found a dead beaver. She promptly threw herself down on it and rolled and rolled, getting nice and stinky. One of the other dog moms wanted to see if she smelled bad, so she stuck her nose right into Trudy's back and took a big sniff. She quickly stood back, waved her hand in front of her face, and exclaimed, "Phew!" Less than 10 seconds later, she went for another big sniff. Again, she had the same reaction and she commented on how disgusting Trudy smelled. It smelled so bad the first time, that she had to do it again! And then, less than a minute later, she said she had to try one more time, and she stuck her nose right into Trudy's fur and took another big sniff. It was so funny. I'm still giggling.

Today is Gillian's first day of 3rd grade! She had a bit of a tummy ache, probably because she was a little nervous, but not one tear was shed!  

As I was leaving her classroom, I stopped in the doorway to wave goodbye but she was too busy laughing and chatting with her friends. Quite a difference from first day of K, 1st, and 2nd grade! 

Every year, the day after Labor Day, Clackamas County Aquatic Park closes it's doors to human swimmers, and opens it up to dogs. They have to drain and clean the pool once a year anyway, so the day before the cleaning, it's for the dogs.

That's Gus closest to the camera. 

Happy Gus. 

Although people weren't allowed in the pool, the dogs weren't the only ones to get wet.

They give us raffle tickets on our way in, and they give 3 prizes. We won the biggest prize which was a basket of treats, toys, a clock, a card, a dog scarf, doggie cologne, and a gift certificate for a free dog wash! Last year we won a free pass to this year, and 2 big boxes of dog treats. Strange. Now I can't say I've never won anything. 

Yup, once the excitement of seeing the animals wears off, I feel guilty. A couple hours of fun, and then a lifetime of guilt. Sigh.

I keep thinking about that poor alligator that was forced to pass out for our entertainment. And not just once, but twice. Although I don't know for sure, I would think that it would be unhealthy for one's heart and brain to repeatedly pass out. The reptile guy said that placing your hand over their eyes causes their blood pressure to drop so much that they pass out. It passes out, the audience roars with laughter, he gives the alligator a shake to wake it up, and then he makes the alligator pass out again, and the audience roars even louder. -Shannon

Once again, Shannon contributes to the exploitation of wild animals (remembering the West Coast Game Park Safari and feeling horribly guilty)... On the other hand, it is educational.
We went to OMSI today http://www.omsi.edu/. Every Labor Day weekend, they have a big reptile/amphibian show. People in the area bring in their pets snakes and frogs, etc. The Reptile Man http://www.reptileman.com/home.html gave us an entertaining show. We saw cobras, rattlesnakes, boas, geckos, lizards, alligators, frogs, toads... Our favorite was the red-eyed tree frog. We didn't get a picture of it though because the batteries in the camera died. -Shannon and Gillian

This is me touching a really big snake. -Gillian 

This is me and a snake. All the snakes I touched were soft on the top and even softer on the bottom. I think they said this was corn snake. -Gillian 

The Reptile Man did a show. This is a big bullfrog. -Gillian 

This is an alligator that he made pass out by pushing gently on it's eyelids. -Gillian 

I think he said this is related to the Komodo Dragon. -Gillian 

Bedhead Trudy. 

This is me and the raccoon at 9:30 last night. -Gillian (I will always make sure there is glass between them! -Shannon)

This a tiny kitten some friends of ours found. They took it to a no-kill cat shelter. It needs to be bottle fed.