Hello again..

Now that we have all survived the flu (despite a flu shot), maybe we can get back to normal again - and maybe keep up on the posts every now and then.

Ben has finally made friends with kids that actually live 4 minutes away as opposed to 40 minutes in traffic. The friends ride his bus and one is very nice and the kind of kid one is pleased to have around, and the other has some honesty and integrity issues. Ah well... Ben also has a new hobby, Warhammer, which is a model and strategy game. He and Nate build and paint the models together and then one of us gets talked into driving him down to the game shop so he can play his army against others. Nate sits and has a croissant at la Madeline, but I window shop in Rice Village. Ben is still struggling with organizing his schoolwork, and is learning some very tough lessons...causing Kim to relive her Dostoevsky fiasco from high school.

Nate's bout with the flu seemed to cause a major setback with his iron levels. He is finally getting back on track. No word yet what will happen with his job.

Kim is deep in the middle of life science, and currently has the following in residence in the lab: 1 snake, 3 lizards, 3 crayfish, 12 antlions, 50 praying mantids, 2 more mantid egg cases, innumberable guppies, fire ants to feed the ant lions, a cactus, and frogs, toads, salamanders on order. Now my biggest fear is that the exterminator will show up! The children are really benefitting from having some great hands-on experiences with living creatures. The collaborative is winding down, and science fair is in 2 weeks! I really can't wait for spring break!Our grant looks like it will be funded, so I'll be teaching after school science camp and summer science enrichment. (My last day of school will be July 3rd - and I report back on August 11)