The year after Jane was diagnosed with leukemia, our friend Josiah rode in a bike marathon to raise funds for cancer research. The two of them, Josiah and Jane, were interviewed by The New York Times. I found the clipping, with a crushingly adorable photo of Jane looking starstruck by Her Hero Josiah, when I was packing for the move. I had forgotten all about it; it seems a lifetime ago. I stared at the grainy photo, wondering if the money Josiah raised had helped save some other little girl’s life.

This month, a Bonny Glen reader is going the distance for the same worthy cause. Lawrie writes:

I will be running the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, TN on April 28 to raise money for the Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society through the Team in Training program. My goal is to  raise $3,600. The easiest way to donate is at the website I’ve set up at http://www.active.com/donate/tntenc/tntencLGibson. If anyone would prefer to write a check, they can email me for my address at
lcgibson@gmail.com. All donations are tax deductible.

Lawrie is about halfway to her goal, with a little over three weeks to go before the big event. Wish her luck, and chip in for a worthy cause if you can!

We found it. Searched every box in the garage—again. It wasn’t in any of them. And then, and then…what’s that little box shoved to the back, under a shelf? Don’t remember opening that one…

Hoorah!

Today is the feast day of my confirmation name saint, St. Brigid of Ireland, patron saint of scholars, poets, babies, blacksmiths, milkmaids, and midwives. I admire St. Brigid for her kindness, her merry spirit, her love of scholarship, her generosity to the poor and sick, her feistiness—and this quote:

"I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings.
I would like to be watching Heaven’s family drinking it through all eternity."

A great lake of beer—now that’s what I call a prayer!

Yesterday’s IEP meeting went very well, and I was going to tell you all about it during quiet time today, but there WAS no quiet time. Because we went out this morning, and Wonderboy threw up in the van on the way home. And Rose got a bad splinter stuck in her palm. And I’m still doing laundry to clean up from the massive nosebleed my poor boy incurred yesterday when he face-planted on concrete as we left the aforementioned IEP meeting. Also, he has diarrhea.

Oy.

But I did learn some interesting things, and I’m happy with the outcome of the meeting, and I’ll try to write about it this weekend. When, you know, Scott is home to help clean up the bodily fluids my children cannot seem to keep inside their sweet little bodies.

Am I the first blogger to report a non-alcohol related vomiting incident in 2007? Our poor Beanie started the New Year off with a bang. As in, the bang of our bedroom door hitting the wall at 4:30 a.m. as she entered to tell us her tummy hurt. Cue Steve Martin’s Parenthood:

Father: "Do you feel like throwing up?"

Daughter: "Okay." (Retches on father.)

Woo woo woo!

Homeschooling blogger PHAT Mommy will be a special guest on tomorrow’s BlogTalkRadio show. The topic, hosted by Kristen Chase of Motherhood Uncensored and The Mom Trap, is:

School Your Children Well: We’re talking about tot yoga, college-prep
preschool, homeschooling v public school… Featuring Alex Elliot,
PhatMommy and Pundit Mom.

Shannon, aka PHAT Mommy, is also the blogger behind Homeschool Hacks. She and the other guests will be answering phone questions, so if you’d like to call in, just click the BlogTalkRadio link above for info. The program begins at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday night, and the homeschooling segment should start around 10:30.

"Mommy, I love you as much as a unicorn."

If the Santa Anas are blowing, you’ll want to ditch your jack-o-lantern as soon as Halloween is over. No chilly, pumpkin-preserving, procrastination-permitting East Coast days here, baby.

(Yes, that’s a slime trail of pumpkin juice oozing across the stoop. Gack.)

Not to mention mothers. It’s because of posts like this one.

So tonight we went trick-or-treating, just like last year. This year,
Annika only made it to 5 houses before she announced that she was ready
to return home. But the other two girls, Frankie and our neighbor,
Sabrina, were just getting started. So I pulled Annika along in the
wagon while Sabrina and Frankie ran ahead to ring doorbells. Annika and
I talked about pumpkins and spiders and bats. We talked about what her
costume will be next year. And while I was getting ready to feel sorry
for her that she was missing out on trick-or-treating, I realized that this
was the celebration for her. Riding along in a wagon, bundled up in a
lovely new hand-me-down coat from Sabrina, her hair sprayed green and a
witch’s hat perched on top of her new coat’s hood.

This is the celebration. Amen to that, Moreena.