We have been struck and I have been reduced to a tenuous dial-up connection. Neither my brilliant husband nor the nerds at SBC seem to be able to figure out the problem. So that explains my absence.

The good news: lots of accomplishments. School is off to a rocking start, I'm studying the Bible, the house is clean. Yes, perhaps I was spending a bit to much time here.

I'm not sure how often I will get back, what with my total lack of patience for dial-up, my newfound productivity, and well, just busy with school and life. But I'll try to update again soon.

Donna, stranger things have happened ;)!

Okay, so I talked about Math, now here are our plans for LA.

Beginning with spelling, we're changing this year. We started out with Spelling Workout and it just seemed very disjointed to me. I felt like we'd be done with a lesson, but nothing had stuck. So we're switching to Spelling Power. I purchased it at the convention in May, and when Luke saw it he wanted to do it. So we actually did a few lessons at the end of the school year, and it seemed to be excellent. Probably better for Luke's personality anyway. I'm sure I'll have to revisit our spelling approach with Peyton, though my gut tells me she's going to be a natural speller.

On to reading. For Peyton, we'll continue Phonics Pathways, and move to readers a bit more challenging than Bob Books (she has them mostly memorized at this point anyway). For Luke, he will basically have 30 minutes of reading time each day in readers slightly below his level. This is tricky for me. I have Little Bear and Frog and Toad books scheduled for our first week, but I think they will be too easy for him? This kid goes in jumps and starts, I'll tell ya. He knew all letters and their corresponding sounds before he turned three. Then it took 2 1/2 yrs before he read 3 letter words. Then, all of a sudden, in the past six months, he's reading everything! I'm hoping a consistent habit of reading is all that he needs at this point. My concern is that he is a non-fiction lover - dinosaurs, minerals, astronomy, volcanos etc. But he mastered the content of the books on these topics at his reading level long ago. The books that he could actually learn something from are too challenging for him to read at this point. I'm hoping he'll sit still for the readers.

Grammar. We'll continue with First Language Lessons. We're somewhere in the 60's, so I'll probably do a bit more than 3 lessons per week (or skip some lessons), so we can finish it this year. It's a bit repetitive for Luke, and Peyton will start at the beginning again next year anyway, so I think that will be just fine.

Handwriting. Luke will be doing copywork each day. I've been working to plan out what he will copy. Quotes from our reading, Bible verses, etc. I'm switching Peyton to Italic handwriting from HWOT. She loves to make things pretty, and hasn't done much HWOT at this point, so I feel okay making the switch. Luke, however has done over 2 years of HWOT, so I feel like it would be mean to change things on him at this point.

So, that's the plan for Language Arts. Do you see any holes in the program? If so please let me know!

Sunday afternoon. We go to late service at church and then our weekly Meal at a Restaurant for lunch. Since lunch is late, Bud and I don't usually eat dinner on Sunday, but throw something frozen together for the kids and lay around like beached whales. Yes, this is the stuff family traditions are made of.

Well, this Sunday, as Bud and I contemplated repositioning our digesting carcasses, the neighbors rang. "Can Luke and Peyton spend the night at our house?" Thirty minutes later, the kids are off to the neighbors' with sleeping bags and pillows in hand, and Bud and I have an entire afternoon and evening to occupy ourselves. Alone. In our own home.

We just looked at eachother in confusion, as we just didn't know how to handle the situation. We've been out together before while the kids stayed home with a sitter, but we haven't had the house to ourselves since August 12, 1998.

We finally pulled ourselves together and went straight to the...Hey, quit that, you dirty-minded thing you. We went to the internet of course! We logged onto Royal Caribbean and planned all our excursions for the cruise we are taking in September. They will include a stargazing schooner sail with an astronomer to teach us a few things and point out some constellations; a snorkeling excursion; swimming with stingrays; the beach of course; and a trip to Xcaret in Mexico. Yes.

So now we were cooking. We headed to Blockbuster and picked up Gosford Park, then to Market Street for wine and cheese. Back home, the movie was okay, the wine and cheese excellent. Then we slipped into our swimsuits jumped in the pool for a late night swim and then a soak in the hot tub.

We slept soundly, uninterrupted, till about 9 o'clock Monday morning.

I really love my kids, and I love having them around. But those few hours of time with just Bud, at home, being together, were spectacular. I enjoyed his company so much, and I think the feeling was mutual. Twelve years later, I'm really glad I married that guy!

Donna asked who you have met in real life via internet connections. I commented on her blog about a few folks I've met:

PaulaW and I have met because someone on the WTM boards asked what husbands did for work, and her husband's work looked awfully similar to Bud's. So I pointed it out to Bud, and he said to contact her. I did, and now Bud and Paula's husband work together a bit (they both own their own businesses and have coordinated their efforts to a certain extent). She is awesome and handles 5 boys like a dream. Totally calm, cool and collected. Her husband rules, and he even came over and did the electrical work when we did the buildout to get the store started. Come to think of it, I think we owe them dinner.

I met Jess in OK and her four kids a while back while they were in Dallas to see her travelling DH (who is travelling no more, Amen!). We had a fun visit while our kids played together and My Gym. She is a sweetheart who knows the right way to think about life. Happy Birthday to Jess!

I met Janet, sister of Donna, while she and her husband were in Dallas for business. We visited over Starbucks coffee and had a wonderful time. She is as sweet in real life as all her blog comments would suggest.

And I met Dy about a month or so ago while she and Zorak were driving through with the kids to a family wedding. We met at a playground and snacked and visited. Zorak was kind enough to corral the kids so Dy and I could chit chat in the shade. It was very fun, and Luke and Peyton frequently ask about "those boys from Alabama."

It's unlikely that I'll see many of these guys again (except PaulaW at dinner) because they live so far away. But I feel like I know them now, and when I see their blogs or message board posts, I feel like I'm catching up with an old friend. I'm lucky indeed.

Well, today I got even luckier:

I met (L to R) Teresa in TX, myself, PaulaW, LisaK, Robin in DFW and Peekaboo (kneeling with two of her wee ones).


Me again, Stephanie in TX and Robin in DFW


And Lisa, PaulaW, LisaK (standing with her little one) and Theodwyn

Stephanie in TX had Suzy (Susie?) with her, who is an occasional poster on TWTM, but she declined the photo op. She was a kick in the pants! The cool thing - they all live nearby! So cool. There were a lot of little ones there who had a great time, too. I can't wait to meet again in September.