Classical music

My writing elsewhere: I've got another post up over at HSLDA. This one is about classical music, and I was really proud of how those pictures came out. I even found a sunny day to take them. :-)

Bonus exclusive picture of Kate for my blog readers. She liked the maracas better.

All the great stories, part B

So here's the lineup. Vader came first, and he's sitting back there, all caped and Vaderly. Luke is kind of falling over, going, "Awkward!" Hawkeye has his elbows out to maximize personal space. "Not too close, bro." And Frodo's down there at the end, going all, "I'm really happy to be over here far away from Vader. I'd scoot further, but there's a sword in my way."

Shakespeare is standing at the end looking supercilious. I don't know why he won't sit, either. Probably his pantaloons get in the way.

All the great stories

We have an eclectic group of action figures, which is my own fault. But it makes me extremely happy when Meg plays with them all together.

"Okay, Vader comes first cause he's the lord. Then comes his son Luke, and then Hawkeye, 'cause he's Luke's friend. Then Frodo. Then comes the gear. Shakespeare, you know where he's gonna stand? At the end! How come this Shakespeare doesn't sit down?" Meg

Egypt

I like the Macbeth poster in the background.

Here are some pictures from school the past few days. Having a Playmobil sphinx set adds a lot to the ambiance.

Meg's and my genuine Thutmosid-style bezel ring!

I wrote her cartouche on it. We figured it out using only the phonetic hieroglyphs, not messing with the ideograms and whatnot. The letters read, "MEG."

More bloggage over at HSLDA

My next post is up at the HSLDA blog. I feel like there should be a contest for who can spot the most cultural elements/references in this one. Prize: virtual Awesome Points.

Overheard at our house:

"Where's the Phantom Tollbooth? It was hiding under Tim Keller!" Jonathan

Breaking dishes

It is my experience that when I'm about to have a move or major life change, God gives me a bit of a kick out the door by breaking dishes. I have no explanation for this. My motto for college graduation was, "the grace and the coffee will be sufficient," followed closely by, "and He will break my dishes until I let them go." So over the years, I've learned to hold dishes loosely. Also, I kind of rejoice at their demise, because it means (probably) good things coming.


In the last three days, we've broken a framed picture, a china mug from our honeymoon in Scotland, and my thrift store rose china serving bowl. Smashed to smithereens. :-D

Jonathan wanted me to add this story, too... so yesterday I spent HOURS helping Meg clean up her room. We finally finished just about bedtime, and I called Jonathan in to admire the clean. He fell on his knees in the middle of the room, proclaiming, "I AM NOT WORTHY!" and on cue, a framed treasure map and a dinosaur postcard fluttered to the floor, and something else thumped down from inside the closet. Apparently he really wasn't worthy of the clean, or wasn't good for it, or something. It was a great moment.

New post up at HSLDA blog

My new post is up! This one is about math and Octonauts.

February was too much with us, late and soon

February was one of those months that seriously just wouldn't die. It started with that groundhog seeing his shadow, which was inexcusable. We spent about half the month sick -- I was pretty much positive I would never get to church again -- and it kept snowing and being mostly in the single digits. I am extremely tired of my winter clothes. Kate outgrew all hers. Since we were sick, we hardly got any school done, which meant we were stuck in ancient Mesopotamia for January and the entire month of February. I don't mind Sumer, Akkad, and the rest, because people have awesome names like "Enheduanna" and "Sin-Leqqi-Uninni," but it was getting old. As late as Saturday, which, you may remember, was February 28th, I was still telling people it was going to be February FOREVER.

I'm pleased to report that it's March. And, we started Ancient Egypt today! Woohoo!

I hadn't quite meant to start Meg with stories about Thutmose III, but that's what Jonathan wanted to tell her this morning, so I ran with it.

I started things off by playing "Walk Like an Egyptian" really loudly and repeatedly. I'm not sure about most of the lyrics, but pretty much all you can hear is "oo-way-oo-way" and "Walk like an Egyptian," which won't scar any tender psyches. We colored maps of Egypt, discussed Thutmose's reign and strategy at the Battle of Megiddo, and looked at his cartouches, his statues, his wives' jewelry, and, by Meg's request, his mummy. I've also started a new Ancient History pinboard. I've got big plans for copying some of those Thutmosid bezel rings and maybe we'll make Meg a full costume to go with it, white dress, collar, headdress, the works.

I have high hopes it might be spring again, ever.