he'll appreciate it when he's 15

So, I've been a little busy for blogging. I added another history class to the mix since the boy has wanted to start the ancient history curriculum that the girl is finishing (and then moving on to medieval history as of tomorrow). And I'm talking *classes*. I invited other members of our homeschool group to come for a couple of reasons.

The first happened gradually as one other family started coming over for history and a playdate. What I noticed was that having someone else involved made me more accountable for setting a time and having a 'class' every week. We really started making progress and getting through the curriculum better than when the girl and I would do the projects and read the books whenever we could fit them in. Making the space *every* week made a real difference.

The second reason was to help the boy get 'meshed' with his peers the way the girl has. His social skills are still developing and I thought that a regular class and playdate that was focused on *him* for a change would help with that. And it has.

So we have one class of four 8-9 year old girls that have been plowing through the fall of Rome *(We finish tomorrow---YAY!)* and another group of six, (5 boys from 5-8 and one 8 yr old girl) that are just getting into ancient Egypt. *Yes, that means that we're going to do Chicken Hotep again. With a more regular schedule, am thinking that we'll do a better job as embalmers, too.*

The classes are going great---all the kids seem to like them and I'm loving the chance to work with them. However, it's taking some extra time to get the associated crafts ready. (For example, I have to make this quick so the girl and I can make some 4 bean salad for our Roman feast tomorrow.) And the only downside, for those of you that know me well, is that I have to get the house in some semblance of order twice a week! (Oh, the horror...choke, gasp, wheeze and curse.)

Thus the neglect of the blog. Mea culpa.

However, what inspired me to blog tonight has nothing to do with the above. I made oven-'fried' chicken with crushed corn chips for supper tonight. The boy turned up his nose at my lovely red and blue crushed corn chip covered chef d'ouevre, so I invoked another house rule:

IF YOU WON'T EAT WHAT I COOK, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. AND YOU DAMN WELL BETTER CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF.

This led to the boy wondering around the house saying plaintively, "Nobody in this family will cut the cheese for me." and not understanding why I was laughing maniacally.

That's it for tonight. Have to go find the can opener for the girl and get this 4 bean salad done. Hope everyone is keeping warm and avoiding coronaries from snow shoveling.