Thorburn Family

After much discussion with “the masses” (ha) who read this blog, it seems important to say…*I know* I am no poet.  And *I know you know* I am no poet.  

And, thank God Almighty that we have English tutors for homeschooling high school writing in this house..I managed to teach my children the basics of various kinds of poetry, owing any success to utilizing well-written curriculums.  THIS is the problem with having a blog and “bearing your soul” and all your “family-isms” (I know you’ll have a cow over THAT word.. )… when you have a lot of home-educating friends (or WRITER/EDITOR friends.. hi Jean..) who KNOW EVERYTHING.  I am so glad you all know so much in the area of poetry and synta… what was it??.. and the rest.. whatever it was.. LOL.. I get it, and I know it, and I don’t care (ok, well.. I don’t know it).  

So here’s for the record that I know that you know that I don’t know, and I don’t care, and I am all set to be “cute,” which I have been called 4 times today so far. 

Speaking of education.. today was our first day of school…the first year in my life that I have homeschooled five children.   Went quite well.   Little things need to be tweaked, the kinds of things you can only know by actually doing it, no matter the amount of careful planning ahead of time. However, the tweaks are quite pleasantly minimal.  Maybe I am actually getting to be a decent scheduler/coordinator, after doing this umpteem b’zillion years now (it seems…LOL).   Which is good, since we have established the fact that I am no poet (all you nazi-poet-knowers).:^]    

Our first Jammy Ride.  It will not be the last!!!  Kisses and jammies and sleep-tights.. lights off.. half of them asleep…and 45 minutes later… The lights went on.  The music is playing!!  The engine is revving…. and Dad and Mom yell, “Jammy Ride!!”  Here we go.. get in the van…no, don’t change out of your pajamas…..  (Lydia.. “Mom, don’t you think you guys could have done this in the daytime?? LOL… sensible child.. where did she come from??? LOL)….  Out into the rain, buckle everyone in.. “I think I know where we are going,” says one.. “nope.. we passed it… “  LOL…  Well, this first Jammy Ride was to McDonalds for sundaes.  Great conversation and lots of laughs.   Then back to bed.   A tradition has begun.  You never know when the next JAMMY RIDE will be!!!!!  Thanks, Nancy Wilson, for the idea!    (Nancy’s blog is http://femina.reformedblogs.com and Jammy Rides are under the Child Rearing section) 

Well, today Valerie had an extensive conversation with Steven Tyler at the Claremont Pet Center.   Valerie was buying crickets to feed her lizards, “Spring,” and “Pearl.”   Steven Tyler, lead singer of the legend band Aerosmith….. was buying a pet carrier.  He was quite talkative and engaging.  He has good teeth.  Of course, Valerie did not know him from a bag of beans until Rich told her later (and at first she thought he might be a GIRL.. ), but they had a pleasant conversation nonetheless.    Since one of Anna’s favorite songs is “Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”….she’s been known to sing it to Rich (scary, but true..)….well, we had to post this event to live in the permanent records of web-land.   So, there it is.  You cannot know how badly I wish I could embed the Aerosmith song “Dude Looks Like A Lady” into this post.   I heard it’s bad blog etiquette to embed songs like that, and I don’t think it is a good song (just that refrain!!  so appropriate!), and I don’t know how to do that anyway at this point.. so hey, that settles it.  :^)  

I am actually taller than my Mom but I was crouching down :^)