A good chunk of our Saturday morning was spent doing this:

I know it's not even October yet, but it will be on Wednesday, and what better time to decorate the house for Halloween than on a weekend? And, as L. pointed out the other day, waiting until next weekend would mean the decorations would go up a whole three days AFTER October 1--sacrilege! [more]

I've always loved keeping fish and fish tanks (in stark contrast to eating them--I've always hated the taste of fish). When I was growing up, we had a 30-gallon tank for the longest time, right up until I first met Scott, actually. I loved the idea of that little cosmos in a glass box--the fish swimming around and going about their business while we watched from the outside. I always thought that our fish had distinct personalities, even--though I think this was because as a child I read too many books about animals who could talk. [more]

Yesterday was the fall equinox and also the start of Take Your Child Outside Week. I honestly had never heard of this week until I was talking with my colleague and friend, who mentioned that there's an entire week devoted to trying to expose kids to exercise, the outdoors, and activities that would get them off the couch and out into the fresh air--and that our very state initiated this a year ago. [more]

When my husband and I were graduate students living in upstate New York, we used to do many exciting and interesting things like: stay up late, sleep in, and eat out at restaurants that didn't automatically provide you with coloring books and crayons when they saw you coming. We would eat out maybe once every two weeks or so. It's ironic that back then, when we were poor, struggling graduate students, we actually had more "disposable" income than we do now, when each paycheck is all accounted for down to the last nickel. [more]

On Friday, L. had a substitute teacher in his class, and he came home with the entire Periodic Table of Elements transcribed onto a couple pieces of notebook paper.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, my heart leaping in excitement over this evidence of real learning. "Did you learn about this already in third grade?" [more]