Happy Friday!

The kids just got home from school and are chilling out eating some smoothie popsicles.  This is actually one of my favorite times of the day!

Right now, Jasmine is playing Harry Potter Clue with some neighborhood kids.  I LOVE that we have neighborhood kids nearby now.  Sure we've had kids in the neighborhood but for some of them aren't allowed to just go out and play without it being a formal playdate or without one of their own parents being present.  I love those friendships too but the type of playing that happens spontaneously by kids just knocking on other kids' doors is the best.  I send the kids out into the neighborhood but they have to be in pairs at least and they can't cross certain busy streets.

Kassidy and Abby are watching Martha Speaks.  I actually really like that show.  As much as I try to watch it with them for some after-school snuggling, I nearly always fall asleep.  I feel pretty meh about everything else on PBS in the afternoon.  Wild Kratts is o.k.

They all received report cards today and they all kicked butt as usual.  Such smarties!

I've just finished my own homework for the week.  My goal is to always have my weekends free of any homework or studying.  I've busted my butt all week at school this week.  My history teacher is nuts.  She lectured on how "Columbus is vilified by modern historians".  Really, teacher?!!  Her reasoning was basically that the native people were already declining in population and also that he wasn't responsible for millions of deaths, only something like 800,000 and even that is pushing it.  She spoke nothing of the raping and pillaging of the native communities.  No mention of the massive numbers of suicides due to people living in such poor slave conditions under his authority that they would rather die.  You know, they were already on their way out so Columbus was just doing them a favor.  I asked her if the Columbus Is Vilified powerpoint presentation would be on the test and she said that yes it was.  So we're being quizzed on her unbelievable, ignorant opinions.  Later, she told us that hammers kill more people than guns every year.  I'm going to ask her for a source on that next week.  She might be Elisabeth Hasselbeck's clone!  Despite all this, I'm staying in her class because she doesn't assign busy work or even weekly homework.  She might be loony but as long as I show up for the tests, I'll do well.

Typing all that out made me tired and annoyed.