In an effort, dear reader, to blog so we may be ships passing in the day, as I call out to you from the helm.

I apologize for not posting about it yesterday. September 24 is National Punctuation Day. I have a copy of The Teacher’s Calendar checked out from the library–I love it! I’ve blogged before about Eats, Shoots & Leaves (I think) and this website has some fun gaffes listed in addition to their information and edutainment resources.

Much to my dismay, I botched our entries into the Arizona State Fair. I registered on time but missed the day to actually drop off projects. At this point I plan to submit them to the Spring 2008 Maricopa County Fair, assuming they have similar entry categories. I know one that we saw last year at the MCF was an art project made entirely of recycled materials. The children really liked looking at those pieces.

Today we’re off to Athletes in Training for PE–later this week we’re going to the Phoenix Symphony for Schools. ”American Day” with the LDS homeschool group is also this week. Families and students are sharing information about all things American (people, inventions, events, geography, etc.) to be followed by some good old fashioned dancing and apple pie. We’ll present facts about American Money: how it’s made, what’s on the bills and coins, and how the system works. Duncan chose to talk about the Federal Reserve after Alan Greenspan appeared on The Daily Show  =) 

I’m still tinkering with a new schedule, finding more and more activities that I’ve overlooked. Regular library trips, piano lessons, general errand running….Praise the Lord for drive-up ATMs and windows so I don’t have to go inside the bank or the pharmacy or the dry cleaners!! I haven’t tried out grocery store delivery because I don’t think they will work with the coupons I use, but I’m keeping an open mind!! At least the new laundry days are working out so far.

Hi ho hi ho hi ho!

And you didn’t even know he was gone…

Duncan went to “the largest people trap ever built by a mouse” with his birthday twin, her Dad & Grandma and another friend who has a September birthday. They left Thursday afternon and he returned home around o’dark thirty this morning, full of exciting stories that he’ll elaborate on more after he catches up on sleep this afternoon.

I hope to have some pics soon!

Our doctor brought forth on this continent a new son, conceived in Love, and dedicated to promoting the proposition that all men are created equal.

…We have come to dedicate a portion of the blog to this boy and his life. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

/

Hmmm, wonder where he got the idea for his birthday breakfast….

Happy Birthday Duncan!

There’s a mighty storm a brewin’ here in the hive. The good news is the odds are in our favor to escape that virus scientists think may be causing collapsing colony disease–we’re moving too fast for it to catch up!

Seriously, it’s amazing how much busier each year is than the last, and Anya’s impact is less than you might think.

We have more regularly scheduled out of the house times, such as cub scouts, brownie scouts, daisy scouts, ballet classes, speech therapy, activity days, Athletes in Training PE class…(tennis lessons start next month). We also have the usual assortment of field trips, support group meetings, and family outings that demand careful calendaring this year.

People have been asking me for years, “How do you do it?” Now I wonder how public school families do it?? No wonder so many articles appear with tips for squeezing in family time during the week! I have to revamp the housework schedule, bring it into harmony with our current situation. For example, we’re not home for very long on Tuesdays, so Elena & Emma Catharine need to switch laundry to a different day.

One new cool tool I’m using this year is the Scholastic News. I remember reading SN back in elementary school so it’s exciting to have subscriptions for my children. Ohhh, the memories… Teacher editions and posters come in the weekly packets as well, so I can make extra copies of the suggested worksheets for everyone. The posters are going to be part of the lamination order I put in tomorrow.

If time allows, I’ll write about some of our September projects later this week. We are busy busy busy bees, we are!

Can you believe we’ve come from this

to this

                                                                  to this? 

Click to enjoy Ephraim’s birthday photo album (regrettably lacking in the captions & titles department).  He starts his weekly speech therapy sessions on Monday.

In replying to my previous post, I started thinking about what makes an online discussion good or worthwhile. I realized that what I like or dislike about them is probably very different from what others think and I’d like to hear from you.

Do you have favorite blogs or forums? If so, which one(s)?

Do you participate often, sometimes, mostly lurk, or lurk completely? 

Are there places or features you avoid like the plague?

What do you find enjoyable or irritating about online interactions?