And They Lived Happily...

It has now been a week and (part of) a day since the delightful social worker took our little guests off to live with their aunt and uncle.  It went Very smoothly.  We had talked to the kids a lot about what was going to happen, and they had met and gotten on well with their relatives, so there was no anxiety.  Quite a different transition from the way they dumped those screaming, hysterical (filthy, hungry) kids on our doorstep six months ago and took off so fast they left rubber on the drive. (Okay, possibly the rubber is an exaggeration, but otherwise accurate.)  The only awkward moment was when the social worker asked our kids, standing on the porch, if they would miss the kids. Silence.  Incredulous looks.  Then Travis, so my kid, comes out with a completely lame "Uh, yeah.  We'll miss 'em." Sure we will.
And to wrap up this story forever, the social worker dropped by yesterday (for the Last Time) to drop off a sweatshirt we had accidentally packed with Speedy's things and pick up a Special Olympics trophy he'd left.  We chatted for a minute or two, and she says the kids are doing Beautifully in their new home.  Aunt and Uncle love them, they love Aunt and Uncle, Aunt and Uncle remember to feed, bathe, put to bed, etc., so all is blissful.  The end.

And now back to Me.

The past week was pretty rough.  Katie was sick with a fever over the weekend, and by Monday I was feeling pretty limp.  Co-op was Tuesday, thanks to the holiday weekend and some members of our group having things to do, and I dragged myself in and didn't breathe on anyone.  Only Travis had read The Lady or the Tiger in preparation for writing class, but I hardly pouted at all.  By Tuesday night I was Really sick.  Wednesday, somewhat better, but still not great.  Thursday I was definitely improved, and by Friday I was mostly recovered and able to fully appreciate how far behind the kids can get in a week where I'm not keeping up to speed on my nagging.  Sigh.  So we have some catching up to do this weekend.  In addition, with the distractions/stress of the past six months we have let some attitudes and behaviors slide which now need to be addressed and worked on.  Not just mine (when did I last do Latin?), but also both kids.  Ed, as usual, is perfect. Onward!

We have been studying some good stuff lately.  Travis is less intimidated than I am by the Larson's Algebra book and of course we have the darling Dana Mosely to show us the way.  Katie is finally starting Singapore 4A.  Alright there.  We studied James Madison, the War of 1812, William Wilberforce, and William Wordsworth this week.  All good stuff.  And in science, both kids studied air pressure.  The best experiments (meaning, the ones that Worked) were the ones illustrating Bernoulli's Principle, although watching Travis trying to get a siphon to work was pretty darn funny.

Now that's my kind of science experiment! Cut a strip of paper and blow over the top of it.  And it flies Up.  Just like the book says it will!  But Why?  That is the science-y part!

At first I didn't get what was Bernoulli-ish about this one.  I mean, of Course the ball goes Up -- the air is blowing it.  But it turns out that the clever bit is that it doesn't fly off across the room.  Because the pressure is lower right under the ball, but higher off to the sides.  So it Wants to sit on top of that low pressure place...
except when it doesn't!

Of course, with Travis and a blow dryer, it isn't going to be about science for long...

 That's okay.  While he is checking out his hair, Katie gets a turn with the ball trick.

Logic this week is Genetic Fallacies (and don't forget to study for the unit Test on Monday, Travis!), and Travis found this lively little gem to illustrate the type...

And the cats doze on...