Mommy Brain

Jonathan turned 9 yesterday (long birth story post here), so we will have Mom and Dad and Don and Michelle and their boys over for a party tonight, including Jonathan’s dessert of choice: brownies with vanilla ice cream and chocolate magic shell topping. Which sounds wonderful, and wouldn’t be a problem if I hadn’t given up sugar the day after Labor Day. Sigh. Thank God for Dreyer’s Slow Churned No Sugar Added Fudge Tracks.

Saturday, we have an archery tournament and a potluck at the park. Sunday, church and another Seahawks game. I’m trying hard to hold on to my optimism.

We have gotten into a good school schedule and things seem to be rolling along quite smoothly. The kids are really enjoying Living Learning Books Science: Chemistry. We made atoms out of playdough this week. Our read-alouds have been especially wonderful, including Tales from Shakespeare by Tina Packer, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, and Peril and Peace: Tales from the Ancient Church by Brandon and Mindy Withrow.

We finished Prima Latina this week. Jonathan and Josiah will be taking a break from Latin for a year or two, while Natalie, Noah, and I begin Latina Christiana I and Ludere Latin. I even got my own copy of the workbooks. Am I a geek to be really excited about that fact?

~ Speaking of things to get totally excited about, Alexander McCall Smith, author of 44 Scotland Street is writing a new serialized novel called Corduroy Mansions, and you can read it for free at The Telegraph.

~ Stephanie Kallos, who wrote Broken for You, one of my favorite books this year, has a new novel coming out in January, called Sing Them Home.

~ In Defense of the Best Show on Television: bet you can’t guess what it is!

~ Books. Lists. Life. posted a video on the election by Craig Ferguson. And, in case you’re wondering, I have decided that I will be voting on November 4th. I’ve also decided who I’ll be voting for, but I haven’t decided whether I want to share and open up that whole can of worms. Still pondering that one.

~ The Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) will be opening up nominations for the 2008 awards on October 1st.

~ Remember Free Rice, the vocabulary game? They have different categories now: languages, chemistry, art, geography.

~ J. Kaye at J. Kaye’s Book Blog is giving away a copy of Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen.

~ Redlady’s Reading Room is giving away a copy of The Professors’ Wives’ Club by Joanne Rendell.

~ To Know the Season - a beautiful post from Tonia at Study in Brown.