1. Blog? What blog?
2. Emergency Rooms—If you have to take a 4-year-old for stitches after he drops a knife on his foot, I recommend Patient First. In and out with as little crying as possible. And no screaming. I did not scream even once. Spencer is doing fine. He likes the special treatment that comes with stitches, like getting to watch things on the iPhone.
3. School? What school?
4. Drought—For most of the summer we’ve had a drought, until we went to Myrtle Beach, which experienced a break in its drought for four of the five days we were there. It’s a good thing there were cousins around…they barely even noticed the rain.
5. Homeschooling—Truthfully, it’s never far from my mind. But this year I’m thinking less about curriculum and more about the teacher. What kind of teacher do my kids have? Is she worth following? What are her strengths and weaknesses? Will this be the year her major flaws are conquered so as to not mess up not only her students’ education, but ultimately, their lives? (And didn’t she used to be an English major?)
6. Bedtime—What does it say about family life when a child requests, “Please go to bed on time tonight, Mommy”? (See #5 about flaws.)
7. Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette—The kids cheered…actually cheered…when I made this dressing because last season we (ill-advisedly) let them watch Top Chef and now they know about such things. I think I could actually drink it straight but I resist because we’re trying to teach our yahoos some manners.
8. Red Velvet Cake—At a recent party for our nephew Chase, who loves good food, the kids tried red velvet cake for the first time. They too loved its tender crumb and carcinogenic red dye. But just a warning: if you drop red velvet cake crumbs on the floor and then step on them, the next child to happen upon them may scream, “Mommy! There’s blood all over the floor!” This can be unnerving, especially if one of the children still has stitches in his foot.
9. Technology—I like it. I spent some time with it this week, figuring things out all by myself. I even made a website. It made me feel closer to Ken, especially when my shoulders got tight and my mousing hand went numb.
10. Angry Birds is highly addictive. Sometimes I have to wrench the iPad out of Geneva’s hands just to get a chance to play it. (See #5 about flaws. Again.)
11. Conclusion—This is the part where Ken will tell me I need a conclusion. This is it.