Mommy Brain

It’s been a while since I did an update post – and things are always crazy-busy, so here’s the bullet-points version:

~ It’s gotten cold here – we’re running the furnace in the mornings. I’m ready for fall, but praying that we don’t have record snowfall like last winter.

~ Project health makeover is going well. Kevin told me he can see my weight loss in my face. My jeans are loose, too.

~ Michelle is back from England, and I’m loving our weekly chatfests again.

~ I’m going to participate in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year. Wish me luck. I’m trying to talk Natalie and Noah into joining me.

~ I’m also going to take part in the 24-Hour Read-a-thon. Michelle’s taking the boys for a sleepover, and I’m hoping Natalie will be invited somewhere, too.

~ My sister Debra and her ex-husband – who divorced a few months ago – are in counseling and working toward reconciliation. This makes me very happy.

~ I talked to my youngest sister, Marni, on the phone today for an hour and a half. She lives in St. Louis – clear across the country. I miss her. I miss all three of my sisters, and I’m very glad that we’re all getting together in June.

~ I’ve decided that Natalie’s hatred of her history curriculum is not her fault, but the curriculum’s, so am considering a change. (Any ideas? She’s in 7th grade, studying American history from the Civil War through modern times. I’m considering The Story of US.)

~ Speaking of Natalie, it looks like she’ll be braces-free by Christmas, after 2 and a half years.

Well, I think that catches you up. Here are the links:

~ Cursive writing may be a fading skill

~ Buckets comic: Politics through the ages

~ Pictures that make you say ‘wow’: Photographers get up close and personal with wildlife

~ 20 centuries of church history in 4 minutes and 17 seconds

~ “Your Navel Never Lacks Blended Grape Juice”: A More Biblical Study on Alleged “Wine”

~ Confessions of a homeschooler

~ Why Roman Polanski can rot in jail for all I care

~ ‘Whatever’ so totally tops most annoying word poll

On Books and Movies lately:

~ Book Review: Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
~ Book recommendations from a non-blogger #4 – Rod (Dad)
~ Book Review: The Magicians by Lev Grossman
~ Literary Road Trip: Author Lorie Ann Grover
~ Book Review: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
~ Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
~ Book recommendations from a non-blogger #3 – Teresa (Mom)
~ Book Review: Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
~ Book Review: Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
~ Book recommendations from a non-blogger #2 – Marni (my sister)
~ Literary Road Trip: Author Dia Calhoun
~ Book Review: The Promised World by Lisa Tucker
~ Book Review: The Purloined Boy by Mortimus Clay
~ Book Review: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Patrick Swayze, 1952-2009

(This post is part of the 2,996 project, a memorial for the victims of 9/11.)

Lynn Catherine Goodchild was a passenger on United Flight 175, the plane that crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. She was traveling with her boyfriend, Shawn Nassaney, who also was killed.

Ms. Goodchild was beloved by her family and friends, who have created a memorial web site where people can leave their thoughts and memories of her.

Lynn Goodchild was a victim on September 11th. She was a person, with family left behind. It has been eight years, and time seems to dull our remembrance of the horror of that day. We think of the victims in terms of numbers. But they all had names, families, and people to mourn them.

(I’m re-posting this memorial from 2006. I was assigned Mr. Moroney’s name for the 2,996 project, a memorial for the victims of 9/11.)

Dennis G. Moroney of Eastchester, New York was 39 on September 11, 2001. He was working at the WTC as Senior Vice President of Cantor Fitzgerald when the twin towers came down.

Mr. Moroney grew up in Freehold, New Jersey with his parents, Thomas and Joan Moroney, and his six brothers. He graduated Manhattan College in 1984 and became a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald in 1998.

More important than his resume, however, is the family he left behind: his wife of 16 years, Nancy, and his children, Elizabeth and Timothy.

In 2002, Nancy spoke of her husband. The things that stand out in her mind are his sweetness, his charm, and his sense of humor.

Mr. Moroney loved to run and could often be seen jogging around his neighborhood. He also enjoyed golf and swimming, and coached Eastchester Youth Soccer’s crew team.

Wow – it’s been a while since I’ve done a links post! We have finished up our school year, but nothing seems to be slowing down. This happens every June – I forget that June includes friends’ birthdays, Noah’s birthday, Father’s Day, and Vacation Bible School! It should slow down in July, right? Except of course, there’s Independence Day, and my sister’s visit from the coast, and Dad’s birthday, and Natalie singing at Rendezvous, and….. Can anyone relate?

Last weekend I headed to Michelle’s Friday night for Mom’s movie night – we watched Last Chance Harvey, which was very good. Saturday I did some chores around the house, and then Sunday Michelle and I visited the local Episocopal church. It was a wonderfully reverent service, but not a church for a family with children. There were only sixteen people in the service – including Michelle and I and the priest and the organist! Not sure if I’ll be able to try a new church this Sunday or not, since Kevin is thinking of taking Noah on an overnight fishing trip Saturday night, and I usually don’t take the kids with me on the first visit to a new church.

We spent this week at the park, mostly. I’ve been working on getting as much lesson-planning done as I possibly can, since I won’t have my curriculum until the beginning of August. I also wrote up the kids’ end-of-year reviews and packed away the years’ work and records and assessment results away into storage, making room on the shelves for the new stuff.

Last night, all four kids were at various sleepovers. It’s amazing how quiet this house is with no kids in it! The two oldest boys came home while I was at Michelle’s picking Josiah up this afternoon, and I come home to two boys completely conked out on the couch. They slept until 6 pm! Turns out they stayed up until 4 am and then woke up at 8. They played on a zipline, jumped on a trampoline, caught snakes and tadpoles in the pond, and played X-Box. A thoroughly boy-style slumber party.

Tomorrow morning, Josiah has a Tae Kwon Do promotion, trying for his yellow belt. My only other plans for the weekend are to get caught up on laundry before we run out of things to wear.

Here’s what’s been going on at Books and Movies lately:

~ My favorite memoirs, part two
~ Book Review: Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
~ Book Review: The Sense of Paper by Taylor Holden
~ Book Review: Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton
~ Book Review: Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
~ Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman
~ My favorite contemporary fiction, part one
~ My favorite contemporary fiction, part two

Other links:

~ Short film: Validation, starring TJ Thyne from Bones.

~ Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program – if your kids read eight books this summer, they get a coupon for a free paperback.

~ 100 Best Movie Lines in 200 Seconds.

~ My Friend Amy is giving away a copy of Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn.

~ If you ever watched Saved By the Bell, you must watch this. (Go ahead, I won’t tell anyone.)

~ The theater major (read: geek) in me will be watching Chess in Concert on PBS this Wednesday. Starring Josh Groban and Idina Menzel!

~ The theater major in me is very sad to read that WSU is cutting their Department of Theater and Music. (This is where I attended, but didn’t quite graduate.)

~ NY Times: The Case for Working With Your Hands.

~ Is Anyone Minding the Store at the Federal Reserve?

~ Will Higher Education Be the Next Bubble to Burst?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Happy May Day! Anyone else remember leaving flowers on people’s porches as a kid?

I did my update post yesterday, so I’ll get right to the links.

~ Tired of hearing about Swine Flu and the economy? Check out this news recap.

~ A list of 10 famous homeschooled people you can pull out next time someone questions your educational choices.

~ Upsidedown Bee: If I Had Been Eve.

~ Review of Leonardo’s Swans by Karen Essex.

~ My favorite historical fiction.

~ Review of 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson.

~ Review of The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne.

~ Review of Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich.

~ Review of Pretties by Scott Westerfeld.

~ Monday’s Movie Review: Duplicity.

~ Review of The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.

What a week! We’re on Spring Break this week, which has translated into more reading time than normal – but not as much as I would have liked. We’re also working on a refinance on our house, which has taken time gathering paperwork and talking on the phone. Then two days ago, I was notified that Today.com is no longer paying their bloggers per post. Not that I was making a lot anyway – $1 per post – but was always told that if I built my traffic up, that amount would go up. Well, I increased my traffic by 500%, but they cut me anyway – and when I logged onto the forum to see what was up, I discovered it wasn’t only me.

Kevin has been working on his own domain and web hosting, though, so I’ve moved to his domain, and he has customized my template for me. Books and Movies is the new home – and that’s where I will do my book blogging and some movie talk. This blog will continue as my personal blog where I will write about my life, parenting, homeschooling, DVD reviews, and links of interest – as well as whatever else pops into this brain.

Anyway, starting a new blog from scratch – and moving all links, sidebar info, etc. – as well as notifying everyone of the change because Today.com won’t let me post a link re-directing my readers – has taken a ton of time this week. I’m glad it’s pretty much done.

We were planning to take the kids to the lake to go bike riding and practice archery, but it’s been raining all day. Tomorrow’s supposed to be nicer, so we’ll try again. The kids have been enjoying days with no schoolwork, afternoons at the park or indoor pool, and extra gaming time. They’re not happy that spring break is only one week, though, and it’s back to normal on Monday. Only two months till summer break!

~ I know most of you have already seen Susan Boyle’s amazing performance on Britain’s Got Talent, but I had to post it anyway. I can’t watch it without tearing up!

~ China’s “one child” policy – and the resultant selective abortion of girl babies – has resulted in a 32 million surplus of males under the age of 20. 32 million extra boys and men!

~ Proof that the world of mommy blogs is pretty amazing and full of wonderful people.

~ The Weird Homeschooler: Myth or Fact?

~ Mel Gibson’s wife files for divorce after 28 years and seven children.

~ Check out the cast of the film adaptation of New Moon.

First of all, thanks to everyone who prayed for Carol’s new grandbaby, Noah. He is home from the hospital and doing better, though still on antibiotics.

Any big plans for your weekend? I’m taking the kids to see a theater production of Winnie the Pooh on Saturday. That’s our biggest plan for the weekend, and that’s just fine with me. Oh, and I need to watch the premiere of LOST that I recorded and still haven’t had time to watch.

Here are some links to help you be lazy this weekend:

~ There is still time to enter to win a copy of Questions from Little Hearts in my giveaway.

~ Any fans of ER out there? Looks like Dr. Doug Ross – a.k.a. George Clooney – is heading back for a cameo for this final season.

~ So, Natalie and I have my mom hooked on the Twilight series. She’s almost finished with book three. We were discussing the casting of Volturi vampire Jane in the upcoming New Moon film, and the two names we thought of were Kristin Chenoweth and Dakota Fanning. Maybe we should work in Hollywood casting!

~ This study just proves that life is not fair: Women less able to suppress hunger than men.

~ New Baby Blues comic: When Life Attacks.

At Books and Movies lately:

~ If you could invite six people – anyone, alive or dead – to dinner, who would you invite? Here’s my answer.

~ Essay Reading Challenge: Chicago by Rudyard Kipling.

~ Essay Reading Challenge: The Aeroplanes at Brescia by Franz Kafka.

~ Monday’s Movie: Son of Rambow.

~ My thoughts on the first half of Wuthering Heights.

How was your week? Ours was busy, but good. Natalie started voice lessons on Monday. After being initially very nervous, she loved it, and can’t wait to go back next week.

All of the kids are finishing up Archery. There’s one more class next Thursday, then a tournament on Saturday. (With Jonathan’s birthday party/game blowout slumber party on Friday. Busy weekend.)

That’s next weekend, though. This weekend will be relatively quiet. We’re going to Michelle’s for a playdate this afternoon. After dinner tonight, we’ll go cheery Nan’s best friend Caitie on at her soccer game.

Tomorrow – library sale! Woo hoo!

Sunday, hopefully the Seahawks will play like an NFL team, unlike last Sunday. ‘Nuff said.

~ Bembo’s Zoo – Hat tip: Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer. Beautifully done and creative.

~ Win The Liar’s Diary at J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

~ Go, Jordin Sparks! How wonderful to see a young woman unashamed to stand for purity. And what kind of disgusting man shames the Jonas Brothers for desiring to save themselves for marriage?

~ If you, like me, get giddy at the idea of a new notebook just waiting to be written in, check this out.

~ This teacher sure has a story to share with his students.

~ Someone has actually created a blog that lists all the books that only exist inside other books – The Invisible Library.

At Books and Movies this week:

~ Review of The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent.

~ “Waiting On” Wednesday.

~ Review of The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall.

~ The Sunday Salon.

(I’m re-posting this memorial from 2006. I was assigned Mr. Moroney’s name for the 2,996 project, which blogged about each victim of 9/11.)

Dennis G. Moroney of Eastchester, New York was 39 on September 11, 2001. He was working at the WTC as Senior Vice President of Cantor Fitzgerald when the twin towers came down.

Mr. Moroney grew up in Freehold, New Jersey with his parents, Thomas and Joan Moroney, and his six brothers. He graduated Manhattan College in 1984 and became a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald in 1998.

More important than his resume, however, is the family he left behind: his wife of 16 years, Nancy, and his children, Elizabeth and Timothy.

In 2002, Nancy spoke of her husband. The things that stand out in her mind are his sweetness, his charm, and his sense of humor.

Mr. Moroney loved to run and could often be seen jogging around his neighborhood. He also enjoyed golf and swimming, and coached Eastchester Youth Soccer’s crew team.

Dennis Moroney was a victim on September 11th. He was a person, with family left behind. It has been five years, and time seems to dull our remembrance of the horror of that day. We think of the victims in terms of numbers. But they all had names, families, and people to mourn them.