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November 30, 2006
It's Only a Model
We spent exactly one day in D.C. Actually, it wasn't even a whole day. With such limited time, we let the boys pick what to see.
They were in unanimous agreement.
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A Thousand Words
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November 27, 2006
Antigione
One problem homeschooling parents sometimes have is a lack of comparison material. I know that it doesn't matter how well my son writes at age 10 compared with a typical public school 10 year old. But still, I occasionally wonder how he measures up. If your kids go to public school you might well find me trying to surreptitiously examine their textbooks out of the corner of my eye, or letting my glance linger a bit overlong on the homework they've left out on the table. I'm curious, and I have to grab my comparison data whenever it presents itself.
But now, thanks to Christie's, I have the ultimate writing benchmark. Now, every time I worry about my middle schooler's writing, I'll know where to turn.
Frankly, I'm not certain which is scarier - the writing, or the remarkable restraint on the part of her teacher.
Update: M-MV has more on celebrities writing badly. But ... they're celebrities. Don't we think they can do anything? Look how much Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan are worth, and all my kids can do is write in complete sentences.
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November 21, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving!
We're off on a road trip to D.C. for the holiday.
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November 20, 2006
The Dangers of Breastfeeding
Because Mother Nature made bottles for a reason. Now you know.
Won't somebody, please, think of the children?
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November 19, 2006
Dumbest Decision Ever?
New Line dumps Peter Jackson as director of the theoretical Hobbit movie.
Lawsuit or not, this has got to be a really, really dumb move. It would take a great deal of convincing to get me to see "The Hobbit" directed by someone else. And a LOTR prequel? I know there's Tolkien material for one, but ... I'm scared.
In better news, IMDB lists that in the upcoming The Golden Compass movie, Nicole Kidman really and truly has been cast as Mrs. Coulter. I was rooting for that casting - she'll be perfect. Now, if we can only get them to cast Nathan Fillion as Lee Scoresby ...
(Hat Tip to Mark.)
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November 17, 2006
Poetry Friday
Lament for Polyhymnia
The cold, grey air of morning is still,
Silent.
O Muse, where is your voice?
You do not purr to wakefulness under my caress.
Though I stroke your sleek body,
And plead,
You withhold your tongue.
You won't even reboot.
O Fruit of My Desire,
Will you restore to me the Lady of my Delight
Even though my AppleCare has run out?
Polyhymnia is the name of my iPod. May she rest in peace. She's dead, Jim.
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November 16, 2006
Houston, We Have a Problem
People warned me about this when we moved here. However, I didn't have this problem in Canada, or in Chicago, so I didn't pay them much heed.
I NEED THE SUN!
When it's dark, I am not productive. When it's dark, I can't do chores, or stick to a normal schedule.
It is Dark. Here. Every. Day.
It is dark, and it is wet. It is cloudy and rainy more days than not. Cold? Cold is not a problem. But this? The kids can't go out. I can't function. And it's only November. School is working, but only by the skin of my teeth.
Who can save my sanity? What do I do, short of moving?
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November 15, 2006
These Are My Feet
... in Connor's shoes.
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November 13, 2006
'Cause When We Die, We All Go to Egypt
Understand that we've been reading a great deal about mummies. But first, let me stab you through the heart with how terribly sweet my fourth child is.
The other day Lachlan found a picture of my grandparents, and asked who they were. Then he asked if they were dead.
"Yes, honey," I said. "They're dead."
"Oh, that's so sad!" he sniffed. "They're dead, and I didn't even get to hug them!"
When you recover from that ...
Tonight we read another book about mummies. Later he found the picture again.
"Mom, your grandma and grandpa are dead, and I didn't get to kiss them! That's so sad!"
"Yes, honey, that is sad."
"So, are they in Egypt now?"
Clearly we have some 'splainin' to do.
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November 12, 2006
Opening the Box
Pandora's box, that is.
If you love music, and haven't tried Pandora yet, well, click on the link. It's free, so you have no excuse. It doesn't waste your money, just your time; and you were going to spend that rating the songs in your iTunes database anyway, now, weren't you?
Pandora is an internet radio station that works to find music that you like. You tell it what you like, it plays representative songs; you tell it whether you liked the track or not, and it finds you other music based on those preferences. I've got my station schizophrenic enough that it'll play me something from, say, "On Through the Night" (though I admit I have to giggle through half this album), then move onto a little Sweet (thanks, Mom!) and follow that up with Amon Duul.
Which is just how I like it.
Plus, Pandora has done a pretty consistently good job of finding new bands I like. Worst, they provide a convenient iTunes link right there on the page, so that when I do like something I can buy it. Instant musical gratification - the fulfillment of many of my teenage dreams!
I can't get their html generators to work, but you can access my stations from this link.
Posted by lynx at 7:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 11, 2006
Still Here
Thanks to all of you who keep checking in here. So far I'm not convinced that Michigan is any better for us, health-wise, than Texas. However, we were healthy in Chicago. I think the answer is clear, don't you?
We're visiting relatives and friends for the holidays, but I think all of my relatives and friends had better stop to consider: Do you REALLY want us in your homes?
Connor has strep. Again. We still get great looks from the receptionists and nurses when we take him in:
Nurse: And what are we seeing you for today?
Me: He has strep.
Nurse: Oh, what are his symptoms?
Me: He's tired, and he talks funny.
Nurse: Ah ... any fever, sore throat?
Me: No.
The nurse thinks "riiiiiiiight," and does the test to humor me. And he always tests positive.
School has become a matter of "Who's sick today?"
But Connor has his drugs, and the rest of us are recovering. I'm going to go clean my house to very loud music, and put lots of positive mental energy towards next week being better.
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November 6, 2006
The Obligatory Halloween Picture
That's a soldier, a Borg, Captain Jack, and Buzz Lightyear. In case you needed help. The Borg costume was an entirely homemade affair. You couldn't tell? Oh, you're too kind.
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November 3, 2006
Because We Needed a Little Adventure
We all have big, scary watchwords that loom up in our worst parenting fears. One of mine is "meningitis."
It's so much of a scary word for me that I used to drive Jeff nuts every time one of our kids had a fever. If the fever was high, I was likely to hysterically order him to the nearest ER with the sick child - him, because I'm a coward. (And the one time I took the sick baby to the doctor, the doctor sent me to the ER because he thought it was meningitis.)
Time has passed and I've gotten much better at being calm and waiting. Really, I have. But when Aidan had headaches last night that were so bad he woke up crying, I worried. When they were no better this morning, and he had a high fever, and he started vomiting, I packed them off to urgent care. Still, I kept my cool and went on with the rest of the kids. Until Jeff called to tell me they wanted to transport Aidan to the hospital for a lumbar puncture.
I had psyched myself up to think that we weren't looking at a case of the scary word, and everything would be fine. So much for positive thinking. I went to my room and cried, making sure no kids could hear me. Then I was able to come out and play Competent Mommy for the rest of the day, while I walked around with a phone in my hand, waiting every moment for it to ring. The other kids somehow got the message that they should just run off and play today. I cleaned. You wouldn't believe how clean my kitchen and downstairs floors are.
In the middle of all this, my next-door neighbor dropped by to mention that huge amounts of water were gushing out of the side of my house. I was waiting to hear about Aidan; the amount of mental energy it took to give a damn about water gushing from anywhere was staggering. Okay, we have a handyman to deal with these things. But I couldn't find the number. Jeff had the number, but it didn't work. Hmm. His office number was disconnected. Hmm again. I called information to get his home number, and information wouldn't work. And that is when I was sure I was losing my mind. In the end I found the right valve and stopped the water, though I don't know why or how it was gushing in the first place. If this were a Miyazaki movie, I'd call it symbolism.
Aidan, meanwhile, had an exciting day. He rode in an ambulance. He "got" to have his spine punctured. He spent eight hours at the hospital, hooked up to an IV. (Jeff knew how sick Aidan was when he made a Borg joke about being hooked up to the IV, and Aidan didn't laugh.) In the end, he doesn't have meningitis. It's just a virus. (Although with this kid "just a virus" is starting to take on a whole new meaning. The last time he had a virus it ended in purple spots and arthritis symptoms for six weeeks.) Jeff, of course, had an exciting day too. All in all, it's really more excitement than we care for, so if we could have the next few days off, that would be just great.
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November 1, 2006
Home Again
I'm back, and I had a fantastic time.
We spent a day in Memphis, touring Sun Studios and the Gibson Guitar factory.
The next day we drove to Little Rock, and checked into our hotel just as Journey were checking out. Our seats for the show were fantastic - front row just in front of Jonathan Cain's piano/Phil Collen's microphone. The show was better than the one Jeff and I saw in July (mainly because Journey's new singer has settled in now).
Tuesday we drove back to Memphis, I hopped on a plane, and we drove through the worst traffic I've ever seen to get back home just in time for trick-or-treating and a family viewing of Plan 9 From Outer Space.
I needed the break. I had a blast. I might post a more detailed review on a different site - there's not often a lot of crossover between the classical educators and the rock fans.
Now back to my real life ...
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