Archive for July, 2008
July 12, 2008 @ 8:44 am | Filed under: Family, Photos
Gosh it’s nice to have my big girls back.
They were so excited to see that our pumpkin turned orange while they were gone.
And that I didn’t totally kill the flowers, even if the nasturtiums did get a little crisped while my waterers were away.
However, Rilla has strong opinions about who owns Beanie’s baby now. Possession is nine-tenths of the law and all that.
Ditto Rose’s umbrella.
Perhaps if she moves fast enough, Rose won’t notice she’s got it.
Hiding is another good tactic. What umbrella? Nobody here but us…um…mushrooms. Yeah.
July 12, 2008 @ 4:55 am | Filed under: Family
Me: Ja-ane!
Jane: Coming!
Me: Hey, will you grab my tea on your way? It’s on the counter.
Jane arrives, hands me my iced tea.
Me: Thanks. That’s all I wanted.
Jane: (blinks)
July 12, 2008 @ 4:01 am | Filed under: Links
- Washington Times - McCain adviser talks of ‘mental recession’ - I take it back–a 2nd link to Wash Times in one week. Phil Gramm says we’re a nation of whiners and fears about the economy are all in our heads/ the media’s fault. HT: Red Cardigan
- EzraKlein Archive | The American Prospect - “Folks are, rightfully, worried about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which are tanking so rapidly that there’s talk of a federal bailout.”
- StumbleVideo - Beautiful Minds: Stephen Wiltshire - Amazing artist draws stunningly accurate aerial view of Rome after viewing only once by helicopter. HT: the Grimms.
July 11, 2008 @ 9:24 am | Filed under: California homeschooling
Word has it that a juvenile court judge has terminated the court’s jurisdiction over the two children involved in the In re Rachel L case that made the news last spring. As you’ll recall, the children’s court-appointed attorneys had petitioned the court to require the homeschooled children to be enrolled in public school. A lower court denied the request, but the appellate court overturned the decision with a sweeping statement about the legality of homeschooling in CA without a teacher’s credential. The court later vacated that ruling and re-heard arguments for the case last month. We’ve all been waiting with bated breath for the new ruling to come down.
But this new development, the result of a July 10 hearing, may render that ruling unnecessary. An HSLDA alert indicates that Mr. L’s attorneys
“will move to dismiss the petition pending in the court of appeal on the ground that the petition is now moot. In other words, the children are no longer under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Therefore, any decision by the appellate court based on the two-year-old petition could not be enforced against the L children.”
Should be interesting to see what happens next!
(Please note that my quoting HSLDA does not indicate an endorsement of that organization. The alert popped up in my news reader. I am not a supporter of HSLDA.)
July 11, 2008 @ 6:36 am | Filed under: Family, Photos, Pregnancy
Some days you’re just too tired to make it all the way onto the sofa.
(Or, apparently, to wash your feet.)
This photo could be called “Like Mother, Like Daughter,” because the fatigue displayed by my lass here matches exactly how I’ve been feeling lately. Utterly wiped out. Which is to say: the pregnancy is proceeding exactly as it should. 
I’m 15+ weeks now, so I should be climbing out of the nausea soon. SOON, you hear me?
One of these days, I might even be up to giving Rilla a bath.
Scott’s in charge of baths around here. You can blame those dirty feet on him. After all, who’s the one who let the child run around barefoot in the yard all morning?
Oh, right, that was me. (Technically: that was I. Doesn’t the correct grammar sound awfully stilted in this case? What is one to do?)
Except for the occasional bouts of violent nausea, it’s been quite a mellow week around here. Possibly a little too mellow for a couple of my big girls, after the fabulously exciting week they had with my parents and sisters and niece in Colorado. But they haven’t complained, probably because they are so relieved to have missed the massive cleaning out of their closet I undertook while they were away. Let’s just say it was a good thing for all concerned that I tackled that job while they were in another state.
I need to tackle my in-box next. It has moved from embarrassing to downright shameful. If I owe you a reply, please know that I’m working on it. Trouble is, I need to be upright to type. Rassafrassin’ laptop battery gets too hot for me to recline with the computer on my lap. Especially with someone trying to, you know, develop organs and limbs and things in the vicinity of my middle. And these days, the vertical position simply does not agree with me.
Fortunately, experience has taught me that one can remain a decent mother while sprawling on the couch for much of the day. No, really. I’ve already read the boy’s beloved Octopus Book aloud six times this morning. (Then dad got up and mom became chopped liver. Who can blame the kid? I’d rather hang out with Scott too.) So I’m sitting up for a while, balancing the laptop on the arm of the couch. It’s 7:30 a.m. and all four of my daughters are still asleep. Smart girls.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go over to Herding Turtles and feast my eyes on Sarah’s beautiful new baby some more. Have you ever seen anything more scrumptious? I’ll take one of those, please.
July 11, 2008 @ 4:03 am | Filed under: Links
- Westfield Comics: What Does a Comic Book Editor Do? - "Dick Giordano once told me that he thought that editing comic books is one of the most difficult editing jobs in existence. Not only do you have to be good at knowing everything that a good prose or text editor knows, you also have to understand art and
- Celebrity neighbors Begley, Nye carry eco-grudge - Yahoo! News - Bill Nye and Ed Begley are having a friendly showdown to see whose carbon footprint can be smallest.
July 10, 2008 @ 4:01 am | Filed under: Links
- the scent of green bananas: and now for a different kind of fish food. - Well, that's one way to get rid of your dry skin. :::shudder:::
- Senate approves wiretap bill pushed by Hatch - Salt Lake Tribune - I am sick about this.
July 9, 2008 @ 4:00 pm | Filed under: Links
- Cabaret Brewed Chocolate - Questions & Answers - "And contrary to some popular belief, cocoa beans contain only small amounts of caffeine. Instead, they are very high in theobromine, a cousin of caffiene with significantly different effects. Theobromine is a gentler, longer-lasting stimulant that lacks
- Foster child denied shot at new liver - 07/08/2008 - MiamiHerald.com -
July 8, 2008 @ 7:09 pm | Filed under: Links
- Washington Times - “Want some torture with your peanuts?” by Aviation Security - This may be the only time you will ever see me link to the Washington Times. Creepiest thing I've read in a year of creepy news. HT: Daily KOS.
July 5, 2008 @ 6:34 am | Filed under: Family
Dear Big Sister,
Don’t worry—I’m taking very good care of your monkeys while you’re away.
Love,
Rilla
P.S. I can’t promise you’ll be getting them back.
)
