Brief Update

We've been on the East Coast visiting DH's and my relatives for the past few weeks. It's been fun but a bit chaotic, hence the lack of blog updates.

Miss Scarlett's 25 year old uncle, who makes a good living as an IT administrator, has helped her to create her own blog. She blogs at "Balderdash and Things Like That". I tried to set her up as a separate author but got an error message (and this was after my brother had left so I didn't have the tech support, LOL!) So if you see my name on a post that appears to have been written by a 7 1/2 year old girl, that's why :-)

Thank Goodness for Blogging

I'm a voracious reader and typically read 2-3 dozen books per year. It can be difficult at times for me to remember exactly which books I have read vs. which ones I've only heard about. On occasion, I've requested a book through the inter-library loan program only to discover I've already read it.

I almost did this again just now, but then I had this nagging suspicion I'd read the book in question. Sure enough, a quick check of my blog revealed that I had. Not even 6 months ago!

Is this a sign of getting old(er) or just that all this homebuying & moving nonsense has taken its toll on me?

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

I'm off this afternoon to visit my folks back East. DH couldn't come because he just started his new job a month ago. My mother-in-law is gracious enough to fly back with me in August and then stay for a few days to visit. But on the way out it'll be just me and the three kids on the plane, yikes! Thank goodness it's a non-stop flight.

C'mon Google, Fix the Blogger "Scheduled Posts" Function Already!

They've known about the issue for weeks, and a fix was promised by yesterday. I've got a couple of posts in limbo land and it's too big a pain to rewrite them into new posts.

Introducing Miss Scarlet, Rusty, and Princess Persimmon

Ever since I found out last summer we were expecting another girl, I've been thinking that I really need to come up with some blog nicknames for my kids.

My nom de plume was chosen back several years ago when I joined the Babycenter.com website. I'd originally wanted "Cardinal Girl" after my college's mascot, but it was already taken so I settled on "Crimson Girl" in honor of the university where my DH was doing his graduate work at the time. I later changed it to "Crimson Wife" after I got accused of falsely pretending to be an alumna of that school during a BBS thread that got rather heated. I wasn't but decided to change my username just to clarify things.

When I started this blog, I decided to keep it anonymous to protect my family's privacy. Since I'd been using the CW username on Babycenter for so long, I thought it made sense to blog under the same one.

For my kids' noms de blog I've decided to stick with the shades of red theme. Perhaps a bit on the cutesy side but I really couldn't come up with anything I liked better.

My oldest is going to be Miss Scarlet. She shares a number of personality traits with Scarlett O'Hara- vivaciousness, stubbornness, spunkiness -so it seemed appropriate.

My DS is going to be Rusty. His hair is rust-colored plus he's really into mechanical stuff.

My new baby girl is going to be Princess Persimmon or Princess P for short. DH's nickname for her IRL is Princess Poop-n-stuff. But persimmon is so much nicer, don't you agree? The ancient Greeks considered it the "fruit of the gods".

Off on Vacation!

I'm leaving in a couple of hours to travel to Colorado for my cousin's wedding on Friday and then next week I'll be heading to New England to visit family. I'm not taking my laptop so I probably won't be posting much until I get back on the 23rd.

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

We've been having trouble with our internet service since Saturday and after numerous unsuccessful calls to tech support, DH finally got so fed up that he decided to switch from cable to DSL. So until we get that up & running, I'll be on hiatus...

Happy 1st Blogiversary to Me!

Well, it's officially been one year since I began this blog. Over 14,000 visitors is a respectable total for a niche blog in its first year I think :-)

Comments Now Open to Bloggers on Other Platforms

While I'm still disallowing anonymous commenting, I have turned on the OpenID function so that bloggers on platforms supporting the OpenID format such as WordPress or TypeKey can comment. It was never my intention to restrict commenting to only those with a Blogger account- I just wanted to keep people accountable for what they wrote!

Hey, Thanks "Thursday Thirteen"!

Confession time: I didn't even realize that I'd been featured as the newbie TT'er this week until someone mentioned it in the comments. I must've scrolled right past it obliviously...

Do You Need Grad School to Read This Blog?

According to the Gunning-Fox index algorithm, it would take at least 17 years of formal education to understand the content of this blog. I'm taking that with a grain of salt, as I've only had 15 1/2 years myself (I finished college a semester early because of Advanced Placement exam credits).

I do assume a fairly intelligent audience, someone who could read & understand say an article from The New York Times. Most of the people in my social circle IRL are college graduates and a good portion do have advanced degrees, but I also know some very bright individuals who did not follow the conventional educational path.

(HT: Notes from a Homeschooling Mom)

Call for 2007 Homeschool Blog Awards Nominations

You've got until next Saturday, Nov. 17th to nominate your 23 favorite homeschooling blogs for the 2007 Homeschool Blog Awards.

I'm Back!

Confession time: I've actually had the computer back for a few weeks but have been suffering from writer's block. But it's been over a month since my last post so I really need to start blogging again!

Computer's in the Shop :-(

Our laptop's power supply input is loose and we can't recharge the battery until it's fixed. The good news is that the machine is still covered by warranty. The bad news is that we have to send it to Lenovo for repair. So I'll only have very limited 'net access & will be on a blogging hiatus until we get it back :-(

The "Sancti-Mommy" of Silicon Valley Strikes Again!

As many of you are aware, presidential hopeful John Edwards' wife Elizabeth has decided to homeschool their two youngest children on the campaign trail. Elizabeth's own mother, who is a certified teacher, is helping out with the homeschooling but Elizabeth is still playing a direct role in her children's education.

Although I'm not a fan of John Edwards as a politician, I applaud the Edwards family for this courageous decision! I hope that they continue to homeschool their children after the 2008 election.

Anyways, Rebecca over at the "Silicon Valley Moms" blog, wrote a very nasty "holier-than-thou" piece about Elizabeth Edwards. Here's a choice excerpt (emphasis mine):

"Take your kids home. Get off the campaign trail. Your husband is not going to be the candidate, and he is not going to be president. He is not ahead in the polls. He is not going to make it. We need a Democratic in office desperately, and you are harming that chance by going around saying negative things about the TOP candidates and splitting the vote. Worst of all, you are forcing your young children, who should be in school to ride in buses and talk to the press when they obviously don't want to. This election is NOT ABOUT THEM. They deserve some peace, not time with nannies and campaign-trail daycare providers, since, as the Times article describes, you don't have time to see them when you are busy campaigning too.

Do I sound callous? Perhaps. I am truly, seriously, sorry that you are sick and that you are dying. But let this be your parting gift to the world: give your children some actual QUALITY time with you, which they are not having on the bus or in senatorial-aide-nannycare. Help give your children a next new Democratic president, who is NOT going to be your husband."

Apparently, Mrs. Edwards saw the post and discussed it on Good Morning America. As a result of the firestorm the post ignited, Rebecca has very weaselly taken it down and replaced it with a tamer version you can read here.

When I first came across this debate today, my first thought was that this is not the first time that a battle in the so-called "mommy wars" has resulted from a post at the "SV Moms" blog. I remembered that about a year ago there was another nasty "holier-than-thou" post criticizing moms who choose to forgo some or all immunizations for their children. The author was a yuppie executive who was whining about how her SIX WEEK vacation to Hawaii might be ruined by the fact that her son was exposed to chicken pox:

"I am a better person than you, Non-Vaccinating Hippy Mommy. I vaccinated both my children from every disease where vaccinations exist because I don't want my children to get diseases, and, importantly, I don't want them to give them to other people's children. Because maybe, just maybe, other people's children will get sick during the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take almost two months off work"

Boo-fricking-hoo, poor you! You can just hear the entitlement oozing out of every one of her pores. I'm supposed to place *MY* child's health and well-being at risk so that *SHE* can take a SIX WEEK long luxury vacation that 99% of us moms could never afford. Sorry, ain't gonna happen you rich witch!

It was no surprise then, when I discovered that the rich yuppie executive bashing different vaccination choices is the same sanctimonious Rebecca bashing Mrs. Edwards for homeschooling. I know it's not Christian to hate someone, but I'm finding it *REALLY* difficult to feel charitably towards the "Sancti-Mommy of Silicon Valley". She bashes the size of the Edwards house (which I agree is absurdly large) when she goes on ridiculously long luxury vacations to exotic tropical islands herself. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Just shut your piehole and go back to your yuppie executive job...

Off on Vacation!

I'm flying back East this afternoon to visit my parents and in-laws so I will not be posting much until the 22nd. I'm going to take a chance and turn the comment moderation function off. I've only had to reject a handful of comments so hopefully it'll be okay.

See you in a couple of weeks!

Who's Going to Be #5000?

I didn't start tracking the number of visitors until almost 2 months after I started blogging so I most likely have actually passed the 5,000 milestone already. I'm sure many of you are well past that number on your own blogs, but I think it's a pretty respectable number for 3 months on a relatively new blog :-)

Blogger Reflection Award

Blogger Reflection Award: this award should make an individual reflect upon five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and who have provided an example. In other words, five dear bloggers whom, when you reflect upon them, you are filled with a sense of pride and joy. . .of knowing them and being blessed by them

Alicia Van Hecke over at "Studeo" tagged me for a "Blogger Reflection" award the other day. This really means a lot to me because Alicia is one of the Catholic home educators whom I've found inspirational during this homeschooling journey. She is a contributor to the "Love 2 Learn" website, which is a fabulous resource for reviews of curriculum from a Catholic perspective.

There are so many fabulous blogs out there that it's hard to pick just 5 to tag but here are some I enjoy reading:

• Elena over at "My Domestic Church". Elena is a Catholic homeschooler and mom of 7. Somehow she finds the time to write wonderful posts about Catholicism, education, and family life.
  

• Kathy McKinney over at "Broken Homeschool". And no, it's not because she nominated me for a "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award, LOL! I honestly didn't realize she had until I went to her site to check whether she'd already gotten the "Blogger Reflection" one. I find Kathy to be inspirational because she shows a deep commitment to homeschooling her children in the face of challenging circumstances. So many people think they are not in a position to homeschool because they are single parents and/or hold outside employment but Kathy shows that is not true!
• Elisheva Levin over at "Ragamuffin Studies". Elisheva is another non-traditional homeschooler as she is currently pursuing her doctorate in special education, studying "twice-exceptional" students who are both intellectually gifted and affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. I find her inspirational for being able to juggle the demands of her own graduate school with homeschooling a 2E student.
  
• Kristine over at "MamaArcher's Blog". I don't always agree with her theological beliefs as she's an Evangelical Protestant but she often writes very insightfully about Christian parenting and homeschooling.
  
• MC Milker over at "The Not Quite Crunchy Parent". She's not a full-time homeschooler but what she does definitely falls into the category of "afterschooling". I enjoy reading her blog because she brings a refreshing “real-world” spin to natural parenting. Her tone is one of moderation, and she talks candidly about her struggles to do what she feels is best for her child within the confines of her limited budget and time.
  

Things That Make You Go "Hmmmm"....

I've seen a bunch of recommendations recently for the book Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin by Tracy Lee Simmons on Classical homeschooling websites & email lists. So I decided to borrow it from the library today.

As I turned to the table of contents, I was very excited to see that chapter 1 is entitled "Bent Twigs and Trees Inclined"! Imagine my surprise when on page 34, Mr. Simmons attributes the quote not to Virgil but to Alexander Pope:

"'Tis education forms the common mind. Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."

Alexander Pope lived roughly 17 centuries after Virgil. So either Pope ripped off Virgil or the quote was falsely attributed to Virgil. I was able to find the Bartlett's Quotations citation of Pope's quote: Moral Essays, Epistle I, line 149. By contrast, Bartlett's does not list the quote in their selection of Virgil's quotes. It's all over the 'net as being attributed to him, but none of them contain a full citation of where it supposedly came from.

I still like the quote no matter who originally said it, but perhaps a revision of my header is in order!

Rating Inflation?

I'm not so sure I agree with that rating. I do try to keep the language clean as a general policy, but certain of the topics I touch upon from time to time are not ones I'd personally consider to be appropriate for children. For example, in my post last week entitled "My $0.02 on the whole 'Bloggers Against Theocracy' Thing", I mentioned abortion, homosexuality, contraception, euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. If I were aiming for an all-ages audience in my blogging, I would not include references to these controversial adult issues.

If I were to label my blog, I would give it a "PG- Parental Guidance Suggested" for the occasional mature themes.