Pipes and Pipsqueaks

It's Nutmeg's last day to be 2. In a way I mourn it because it's amazing for a 2-year-old to be talking in paragraphs and reading a couple of words (NO, her name), but by 3 the variations even out somewhat from one kid to another. Well, I'll just have to watch and see what kind of amazing 4- and 5-year-old type things she starts doing now.

Speaking of which, the "differentiation teacher" at the gradeschool Nutmeg will attend in 2 years finally called me back. Remember back when I was trying to decide between one district and another? I left her a message back then. It seems like such ancient history to me now that I was totally confused about who she was. You're calling from WHERE? The PRESCHOOL? No? She was nice and quite helpful, though, so hopefully Nutmeg will like her, if she's still there in 2 years.

But the big news today: We got plumbers and a sewer guy over to our prospective new home. The part of the sewer that goes underground and connects to the city is FINE. This is a relief because that would be big bucks to fix. What does need replacing: The part of the sewer pipe in the bsaement, and some of the water pipes feeding into our house. The quote we got for both jobs comes in at under $7,000. This is a relief. We will present this to the sellers and hopefully they will give us some money to help defray this. If nothing else, I do think they should pay for the sewer pipe, because, come on, you sold me a house with sewage leaking out? Or if not exactly leaking then held back with flimsy patches that could give and spew forth at any moment?

And back to the pipsqueak: These are our choices for preschool in the fall:

1) The $5k+ Montessori school
2) The parks system, either Spanish immersion or the one down the block from our new house
3) The YMCA
4) A Spanish immersion program at a school that teaches both foreign languages and music

My only leanings so far are that I don't think I like #4, just based on the brochures they sent me. I did like #1, but it costs about twice as much as the others. If the Y is nice, it would be hella convenient because i could put the Filbert in the free daycare at the same time and have 2 hours to myself. Dang, that sounds pretty good. They have a rock climbing wall, too. But as much as my personal happiness means to me, I guess educational quality has to have some tiny factor in the decision as well. To that end, I've been trying to get the people in charge of programs 2 and 3 to call me back so I can visit them. #4, we are scheduled to try a sample music and movement class there with the school director next week. It was supposed to be today, but the Nutmeg was sick yesterday and now sounds like she is hacking up a lung, even though she's acting much better.