one of *those* parents

my friend marty, a schoolteacher in dallas, recently accused me of being one of *those* parents. and well, time to face facts: i probably am.

i applied to switch boo to a new magnet school today. this school is changing from a middle school to K-8, with focuses (focii?) on arts and science & technology. i spoke with the vice principal today, toured the space, asked about the curriculum and library, and asked about the plans for the program in following years. there are some very interesting interdisciplinary and interage programs, plus a partnership with Portland State University for science instruction.

frankly, there are two compelling reasons to make the switch: the school that he's enrolled in as his 'neighborhood school' is pretty far from home - more than twice the distance from this school. it's also (albeit improving) "strong" school with an emphasis on reading. that sounds nice, but the snarky side of me suspects that schools focus on reading when the parents of their students aren't doing it at home. not a problem for a librarian's kid, eh?

the veep also told me about afterschool enrichment programs, such as music, dance, art and additonal science sessions. this is a plus, as i had already been researching music and language classes for him. (he wants to learn spanish. no, hindi. no, spanish, no, hindi.)

soooo.... yep, marty, i'm one of *them*. i might even put the kid in a one-week afternoon soccer camp next week, making me a *soccer mom*. it's a program with british coaches, though, so do i technically qualify as a footie mum?

and in the not-quite-breaking-news department: second ultrasound today confirms it's a girl. wheeee! however, boodad and i finally figured out what the boy name would have been. and no, there will be no #3 to try it out.