Weekend Update

I'm starting a knitting class today. I have no desire to learn to knit, but Kaylin wants to and doesn't want to go to class by herself. Who knows, maybe I'll actually like it and can make Duncan a new wardrobe of doggy sweaters for next winter. Or maybe I'll hate it and ask the teacher if she'll be offended if I read a book during class time :)

Logan started a winter baseball clinic this week. There were only a few other boys, but he loves it because it's baseball. I tried to talk him into trying soccer, lacrosse or wrestling, but he doesn't want to waste any of his precious free time on sports that aren't baseball or football. That's probably a really good thing at age 9. I've heard that lacrosse equipment is incredibly expensive so I'm glad he isn't taking it up at a time he'd need new stuff every year, but I think he'd love the game. Maybe when he's older.

Otherwise, things have been busy, but not terribly interesting. The kids are going into the dreaded 3rd quarter of school that's all about preparing to take the state tests required by No Child Left Behind. Thanks for nothin', George W. Bush! Last year all of Kaylin's "extras" such as art were dropped for the quarter to make more time for test preparation. Her grades dropped noticeably because she was so bored to be learning nothing new, just constantly drilled on test-taking. What a bunch of crap! This program is a MAJOR FAIL.

I've been birding every chance I get. I've actually been listing species to keep a count of the different birds I see. I'm going to attempt to keep a monthly and a yearly list so I can look back on what birds are around at different times, but I'm a terrible lister and it's a major chore for me to remember to record this stuff! I'm currently at 43 species. I was hoping for 50 in January, but I've got all the common birds and I'm just clueless where to find those last 7. I'm not good enough at picking out an odd type of sparrow or gull from a flock. I've been reading the Illinois birding boards and people keep posting finding 67 (or some crazy high number) different species in one day. They're the ones who spend hours with their spotting scopes picking the odd black-backed gull out of the group of thousands of ring-billed gulls. I'm not that crazy. Yet.