Happy Birthday Too You!

Today is Desta's 12th birthday.

Happy Birthday Desta!!!!

more to come,
Abbat

The Top Things You Might Not Know About Desta

1. Her favorite "American" song right now is Karma Chameleon.
   
2. Her favorite "American" food is Pizza (she likes sausage or plain cheese)
   
3. She spent much of last week caring for a stray cat which she named Caramel. She built a bed for it on our front porch out of a milk create and blanket. Caramel now has a permanent home with a friend of our neighbor
   
4. Approximately 75% of her wardrobe is pink.
   
5. The people from my office got together and gave Desta a Target Gift Card, with it she purchased:
   
   
   
   • A Remote Control Car (She was disappointed that these did not come in pink)
     
   • A Pair of Pink Sunglasses
     
   • A Denim Skirt
     
   • A Pair of Pink Sneakers
     
   • A Pair of Pink Sandals
     
   • A Pair of Jeans With "Sparkelys" On The Pockets
     
   • A 5-in-1 Kids Card Game
     
   • Beaded Ponytail Holders for Ramona
     
   • A Spiderman Hat for Efram
     
   • The Film "The Goonies" for Enat
     
   • Some Unrevealed Object for Me.
     
   
   
6. She loves the PBS Kids Website
   
7. When She saw the pet pampering aisle at Target she said, "America is funny."
   
8. She has her first Girlscout meeting tomorrow.
   
9. I'm teaching her to play chess, and she's getting pretty good (she almost beat me yesterday!)
   
10. She eats more peanut butter than anyone I've ever known.
    

Things are going pretty well these days. Desta is getting involved with some activities and finally getting some "big kid" friends. She started Drama Camp this morning. Even though she had told us she wanted to do it, she was a bit apprehensive about it this morning. I heard her tell Enat, "Mamma, my English no is good enough." Enat told her that she was sure she would be just fine. I think she was also nervous about spending the whole day away from us. She ended up having a wonderful time though, and is excited about going back tomorrow.

It appears rumors are going around that we have pulled out of the People article, and we indeed have. People wanted to come for Desta's birthday party, and we wanted to be sure of her feelings before we gave them the ok to come. So we talked to Desta some more about it, and now that her english is better, she was able to understand what the People article was about. We had tried our best to explain it before, but communicating about such a specialized topic was kind of difficult. We were finally able to explain what a magazine is, and who would be reading it. We made sure she understood that we wanted to do the article ONLY if SHE wanted to do it. She told us that she wanted us to decide. My experience has been that she says, "You decide." when she either doesn't understand something or is afraid to make the wrong decision. Otherwise she is VERY decisive. So Enat and I decided that since she would not give us a definite that we would err on the side of caution. We didn't feel right about People continuing to spend money producing the article while we waited for a decision.

In the end I think giving her the opportunity to make this decision was still the best way to go about the situation. By and large I think that children are far more capable than we (adults) give them credit for. People did ask today if we are willing to keep the option open, but we haven't responded yet. I don't think we are willing, but Enat and I haven't had a chance to discuss it yet.

On the "It's A Small World" side of life, Desta had a pleasant surprise the other day. We've become friends with a nearby family who is in the process of adopting several children from Ethiopia. They have 2 kids Desta's age already, and Enat has gone to visit with the kids during the day from time to time. Well, this family just recently got referral photos for their children and were showing them to Enat and Desta. Desta saw the photo and excitedly said, "She is my friend!!!"

Apparently during her stay at the adoption agency's home she became friends with one of the girls that this family is adoptiong. So two girls randomly thrown together in Addis Ababa are going to end up living in the same American town. We're exited for Desta to have some Ethiopian friends. We're doing our best to help her keep her culture, but it will really be great for her to have peers who are going through the same things she is.

More To Come,
Abbat

The End

I have recently been informed by several people that I am being badmouthed throughout cyberspace for things that I have said on this blog about my experiences adjusting to having Desta in my life and that our completely anonymous postings about Desta are violating her privacy.

I don't think that posting non-identifying information about my child is a violation of her privacy and I don't think that my posts have indicated anything more than one person's experience of adopting an older, HIV+ child. However, at this point in my life I don't need to spend time worrying that my words are going to be used against my family, so I am done.

I hope that people have gained some appreciation of HIV adoption from our blog. I hope that more people will consider giving an HIV+ child a home. I hope that more people will consider sponsoring an HIV+ child. AHOPE is doing amazing work. I have been there three times and can say with complete confidence that they are a worthwhile organization.

Abbat may or may not choose to continue this blog. That's completely up to him.

The last thing I would like to say is that I have been been made aware of the fact that there is an imposter Enat posting on other people's blogs. I have, in the past, posted as Enat at other adoption blogs and linked back to this blog. There is no way at this point that I can verify which posts using the name Enat are authentic and which are not. Henceforth, any post purporting to be posted by Enat is a fake.

Bonding

Apparently I have a lot to say today!

I thought that I would address the subject of bonding with an older child. Keep in mind that this is just my experience, so others might have different ideas on the subject.

When we brought Efram home, bonding was easy. He was one year old. We rocked in the rocking chair A LOT. We co-slept. We played peek-a-boo and I bathed him and I sang him thousands of lullabies.

Maybe Desta would love to be rocked. Perhaps we could co-sleep. It's possible that peek-a-boo would be a real hit with her. But somehow these things didn't feel natural to me, based on her age and size (she's about 1 1/2 inches shorter than I am). So I had to find alternative ways to bond.

I think my biggest bonding strategy has been lots of physical contact. As often as I can, I give Desta's cheek a kiss or squeeze or shoulder or hug her or snuggles up next to her when we sit down. I lie on the couch with me feet casually draped over her legs. I put my arm around her so that she can lean her head against my shoulder. It really helps (me) to overcome any awkwardness at having someone I am still getting to know around.

Another strategy is to smile at her a lot. I also stick out my tongue, make faces, and laugh with her. I use exaggerated facial expressions to illustrate what I am saying. I use very simple jokes and word play to lighten the mood and get her giggling (anyone who knows her will vouch for the fact that she has a completely delightful, infectious giggle). I tease her gently (and she responds in kind). I smile more. I smile often. I try to start and end every verbal interaction with a smile.

Something else that seems to bring us together is playing card and board games. Before Desta arrived Abbat and I went shopping for some simply board and card games that could be played even by a child with limited English. We have several versions of Uno, Blink (a speed game), Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, several versions of Memory, and more. Frequently throughout the day Desta will invite me or I will invite her to play a game together. Sometimes we play very competitively. Sometimes we try to change the rules to make the game very silly. Sometimes the game hardly gets noticed as we just chat together. But having those games available has really helped Desta and me interact in a casual and fun manner.

We also enjoy reading together. I started reading to Desta two days after she got home. In the beginning I think she just liked to sit next to me, but it was clear she wasn't paying attention (and little wonder, as she probably understood next to nothing of what I was reading). However, as time has gone on, she has come to really look forward to, and even request, reading time together. She has started to pick out her own books at the library and seems to be able to follow the general idea of the stories we read. Reading is something I *LOVE* to do and have done in huge amounts with Ramona and Efram since both of their arrivals. If I had to pick one "mom talent" that I posses, it would be that I read to my kids. I *love* that Desta and I can share reading together, and I hope that, as her English grows ever more proficient, we can really explore the world through books together.

The other big thing that I can think of that I do to bond with her is, as mentioned in a previous post, watch Little House on the Prairie together. I am not a big fan of tv. I have one show that I like to watch, but as it's not a show that I feel is appropriate for children, I rarely watch it as it's usually on when the kids are up. If we have the tv on in our house, it's usually football or Formula One racing. However, Desta is a big fan of tv. One of the "issues" we had to negotiate when she first got here is how much tv she was going to watch. She would have preferred to watch tv all day. That would not have worked for the rest of us. I talked to several friends about the shows that their kids watch, and one day stumbled across Little House. I loved this show when I was a kid, so I put an episode on for Desta. She was instantly captivated by it. I'm not sure she completely understands it (she seems to have some trouble understanding that the characters are not actually real people and that the show portrays people approximately 150 years ago), but she loves it. Most nights I sit down next to her on the couch and we watch Little House together. She asks lots of questions and we snuggle together. It seems like a companionable way to end our day together.

I love my daughter, as any of you who have read the blog over the last year-plus have probably gathered. But being able to spend time with my daughter in the above-described ways has really helped us move our relationship from a lovely and heartwarming idea to a real friendship. It's been a lot of fun to get to know and like Desta.

Check back,
Enat

We love Injera!

Desta wanted to have injera for dinner tonight. However, we are planning to meet my father at a park late this afternoon and dinner plans seemed fuzzy. When I waffled on committing to injera for dinner, Desta told me, "Is ok, Momma, I make injera!" She wanted me OUT of the kitchen so that she could surprise me with the injera when it was finished.

Ok, I am used to having a four year old and a three year old, whom I would never leave alone in the kitchen with a hot skillet. But, like the day when I was talking to my mother on the phone and told Desta that she could not ride her bike because I could not be out there with her and my normally cautious mother told me, "Well, she IS almost 12 years old!" this was a time when I had to take a deep breath and say to myself, "Well, she IS old enough to make injera." I have had to run in once to adjust the temperature of the stove because the oil in the pan was exploding every time she poured on the batter, but so far things seem to be progressing well!

Probably about the time I get used to having an "older child," Desta won't be a child anymore!

Check back,
Enat

Little Name on the Prairie

Desta has become a real fan of Little House on the Prairie. Almost every night we snuggle on the couch together and watch an episode.

Let's pretend for a moment that Abbat's name is John Doe. Desta's name is Desta John Doe (in Ethiopia, a child's surname is the father's first name, so the Ethiopian courts give adopted kids their father's first name as a middle name). We were planning to change Desta's middle name from "John" to her Ethiopian surname, which we will pretend is Abraham; thus she would be Desta Abraham Doe (in Ethiopia her name was "Desta Abraham"). However, Desta had told us that she wanted to keep the name Desta John Doe, so we said "Sure." It's her name, after all.

Well, now Desta has decided that she wants to be called Mary after Mary in Little House. She has told me several times, "Momma, you no call me Desta. You call me Mary." Fine by me. When I was young I read a book about a little girl named Merry and for several months had my mother call me Merry. Desta can be called whatever she likes; it's her name. However, I am having a very hard time remembering to call her Mary (after all, I have known her as Desta for nearly two years), and on the rare occasions that I DO remember to call her Mary, she doesn't respond to it (after all, she has known herself as Desta for nearly 12 years). Last night, while watching Little House, Desta turned to me and said accusingly, "You no call me Mary!" I explained to her that it was hard for me to remember but I would try harder. Then she said, "My front name Desta. My next name Mary. My end name Doe." We said, "You want to change your name from Desta John to Desta Mary?" She said yes.

Ok, fine by me. We have to apply for an Ohio birth certificate for Desta anyway, so it should be as simple as filling out the certificate with her new name, Desta Mary Doe!

Check back,
Enat

Continuing On

First of all, those who seem convinced that I am more interested in being an idealist than in being a loving mom will be pleased to know that I located and purchased some non-toxic nail polish for Desta. She chose pink with silver sparkles in it. I even *gasp* let Ramona and Efram wear some. :)

Second, over the weekend we had the opportunity to spend time on both Saturday and Sunday with groups of Ethiopians here in our city. On Saturday we went to a St. Gabriel Day celebration at the local Greek Orthodox Church. The service was long and in Amharic, so we came only for the last hour of it. It was lovely, with lots of chanting and singing, and the women were dressed beautifully in their traditional clothes. After the service, we stayed on for injera and wat and the opportunity to talk with lots of people. Desta seemed a bit shy around the Ethiopians and seemed somewhat reluctant to speak Amharic although she clearly understood what they were saying.

At that event, we were told that a local church hosts a Protestant (which Desta is) Ethiopian service on Sunday afternoon. We asked Desta whether she would like to attend that, and she said yes. Abbat stayed home with Ramona and Efram, who were getting colds, and I took Desta to the service. It was very small because, apparently, several of the families were out of town, but the five women there were very welcoming and kind, and it turned out that there were four little Ethiopian girls there for Desta to play with. She and the girls played in another room while I attended the service. There was more beautiful singing and much heartfelt prayer. I listened closely and was able to catch a few scattered words of Amharic.

I exhanged phone numbers with several of the women, who promised to invite us over for injera and also to take me to a neighboring city that has an Ethiopian grocery. Several of the women told me that while Desta clearly remembers and understands Amharic, she is on the verge of losing the ability to actually speak it. Abbat and I are very concerned that Desta might lose her Amharic, not the least of the reasons being that her siblings back in Ethiopia do not speak English, and if she loses her Amharic, she will not be able to speak with them. Also, Desta will eventually grow up and (probably) leave our home for one of her own. We want Desta, if she desires, to be able to mix with the Ethiopian community and be able to speak Amharic with them. Additionally, I have heard (but cannot confirm through personal experience) that when people lose their primary language, they lose access to many of the memories stored in that language. It would break my heart if that happened to Desta. She has recently been telling me a lot about her life in Ethiopia, both in the orphanage and with her birth family. I have been writing them down in a Word file, and eventually I would like to prepare a beautiful journal of these stories that I can give to her to help her remember her life before us.

Abbat and I have redoubled our commitment to learning Amharic, if for no other reason than to *try* to help Desta retain hers.

Desta has been here for nine weeks. Overall I think that things are going well. Desta is a vibrant girl with a large personality and opinions of her own! She laughs easily and often and her sense of humor seems to mesh very well the the family's. We are a family that lightheartedly teases one another in an affectionate way, and Desta has jumped right into that. She seems to enjoy playing with Ramona and Efram, although they certainly squabble like siblings do! Desta has developed some hobbies around our house and has enjoyed assisting me with our household chores. Although she is generally a very pleasant girl, she is certainly a champion sulker when she does not get her way. I have heard from many people that Ethiopian kids in general seem to pout very well! Desta seems to have accepted the fact that I am not a make-up mom (although she did chase me around the store with a lipstick today) and I am honing my ability to identify things that appeal to those of us of a more girly nature. I located a denim mini-skirt at my local Target that was adorned with pink and orange sequined flowers which was quite a hit with Desta (it was for her, not for me!). On a recent trip to buy a new pair of sandals (for me, not for her), I chose a shocking pink pair in large part because I knew that Desta would love them. Her reaction when I got home was worth it: "Oh, Momma, PINK!" complete with her hands pressed to her cheeks in ecstasy.

Here is another of Zelda's questions:

"3)On the family front, I know you said you had some relatives who were less than supportive of this adoption. Have they come around, or at least shown signs of being more educated about HIV?"

Fortunately, everything is going well on the family front. All of the relatives who showed the most reluctance at having Desta join the family have met her and have seemed to be comfortable around her. Whether they have really come around or are merely terrific actors is information I am not privvy to, but things look good on the family front.

Oh, and a funny story. Recently I learned the Amharic words "beka," "endegene," and "lejutch" (pardon my butchering of the transliterations), which mean, respectively, "enough," "more," and "children." While at the swimming pool the other day, I pointed to Desta, Ramona, and Efram and asked, "Beka lejutch or endegene lejutch?" Desta answered, "Beka letjutch." Then she thought for a moment and said, "No, endegene lejutch. Two girls, one boy. We need more boy." I laughed and said, "Ok, we'll get another boy." Desta said, "But we don't have room." I answered, "Sure we do. If we get another boy, he and Efram can share a room and you and Ramona can share a room!" Desta looked shocked and then said firmly, "No, BEKA children!"

Check back,
Enat

Zelda's Next Question

Here is Zelda's next question and my answer.

"2) How is theater camp going? I remember that when discussing your decision to homeschool, you had mentioned your concern that Desta might be much more sheltered from certain things than American girls her age. Has that been an issue? Has she made friends her age?"

Theater camp is not until August. When Desta arrived, she told us that she wanted to play soccer, take an art class, and do theater. Because both family time and money are issues for us, we talked to her about picking one thing (at least for now) and seeing how that works out. She chose theater. (Shortly before I brought Desta home, three American actors visited AHOPE and helped the children produce and perform what they called a "drama," which they performed publicly somewhere in Addis; for some reason I think it was at the National Theater, but I may be wrong.) I looked into several theater programs. Most of the summer programs had already started, but an arts center near where we live was having a week-long, full-day theater camp for 9-11 year olds that I thought we be perfect for Desta. I asked her whether she wanted to do it and she said yes, although she was concerned that her English wasn't good enough to perform. So, she will go to the camp next month. Yesterday, when we were downtown at the farmer's market, we stopped in at the local independent theater to inquire about their classes. They have some very good classes offered during the school year. Desta was overwhelmed by the size of the theater and told me she doesn't want to do classes there. I told her that was fine but that I was taking the information anyway, both in case she changed her mind and because Efram and Ramona might enjoy theater classes.

Another interest of Desta's is photography. In our city we have a photography institute that is well-respected, and I can't help thinking that it would be awesome if Desta grew up to be a photographer. I believe that the same arts center that holds the theater camp also has photography classes, so perhaps photography is another interest we can nurture. I played soccer for 8 years (year-round: community soccer in the fall, indoor soccer in the winter, and select (or traveling) soccer in the spring) and I was also involved in theater from 7th-12th grades. In my very humble and generalized opinion, the theater/artsy people were more "broad-minded" than the soccer players (again, I realize that this is a generalization based on a sample size of n=1), so I am secretly hoping that Desta's interest in the arts remains strong. I also think that the arts are more likely to lead to a career than soccer is (although of course she could always become a soccer club's PR person or general manager or something if she never made it as a pro soccer player), and considering that Desta will be college age in just six short years, I can't help but think about how we can help her plan for and pursue her goals for her adult life.

Regarding the sheltering issue, this was put into bold relief for us the other evening as we were sitting on our front porch, eating lemonade popsicles and playing Blink (a card game Ramona gave me for my birthday). Two young girls, roughly Desta's age, were riding their bikes up and down the block. Abbat asked me, "Where did those girls come from? I've never seen them before?" I replied that I had noticed one of them riding her bike around our block for several days now. As the girls continued to ride up and down our street, we caught snatches of their conversation. Two things we heard were, "Tom is SO HOT!" and "This is the most important party of our lives, so we have to look HOT!" Abbat and I laughed about these things but it underscored to us how different Desta seems to us. She does seem less "mature" in terms of the types of interests she has versus what typical American 11/12 year olds are interested in. She doesn't know who Britney Spears or Brad Pitt are. Her favorite tv show is Little House on the Prairie. She likes to watch Disney Princess movies. She just comes across as less "savvy" than many of the 11/12 year old girls I know (which aren't many, I admit) and the way I was at her age. And that's completely fine with me. I am in no hurry for her to grow up. She just got here and I love that she still wants to hold my hand and isn't embarrased about being hugged or kissed by her parents. I am not going to try to keep her a little girl forever but neither am I going to encourage her to start acting like a young woman as soon as possible.

Desta went to a bible school run by one of my closest friends last week and she really enjoyed it. On the first day she came home and told me that she had a new friend. She told me all about her and said that this girl's birthday was the same month as hers and that they both liked pizza and spaghetti! On the last day of camp I introduced myself to the girl's mom and told her that Desta had been very excited that she and her friend had birthdays in the same month. I was surprised to find that this girl will be turning 10 when Desta turns 12. But when I thought more about it, I realized that I wasn't that surprised, because Desta does, in some ways, seem more like a 9 or 10 year old than a 12 year old.

Desta has had the opportunity to socialize with a wide range of kids. Our homeschool group has kids of all ages, and some of my close friends have kids in the 7-11 age range, both boys and girls. Desta has enjoyed spending time with all these kids and doesn't seem concerned about making sure the kids are her exact age. (She did, however, complain that she was the only girl in Sunday School the other day; apparently many of the kids who are normally in that class were away on some church trip. That was Desta's first day attending Sunday School, and she was very worried that there would never be any other girls.) Desta's "best" friends, if she has any, are a sibling set aged 13 and 10 who are the kids of a family in our Ethiopia adoptive families group (the children are not Ethiopian). They are extremely nice kids, and Desta has been able to play with them on several occasions. She asks frequently when we will see them again, but due to differing vacation schedules we haven't been able to see them for a few weeks. She also met an 11 year old girl at a birthday party whom she seemed to bond with pretty quickly, so we are working on getting together with that girl. It is interesting watching Desta build up her social circle. I'm looking forward to her having (and going to) sleep-overs!

Oh, and one more thing. Desta may join the Girl Scouts in the fall. I talked with a nice, smallish troup in the spring, before Desta joined us, and they were excited about having Desta as a member.

Check back,
Enat

Homeschooling

One of our commenters, Zelda, asked a series of interesting questions in one of her posts. Over the next however long amount of time, I will try to answer them. The first is about homeschooling. Zelda asked,

"1) Education. Have you started homeschooling yet? If so, how has that gone? On a related note, I remember you had mentioned earlier that AHOPE children have only been allowed at the local schools in the last couple years, and so you predicted that Desta's literacy (even in Amharic) might not be on par with other children her age. Have you found that to be the case? If so, has it presented special challenges with language learning and communication?"

Have we started homeschooling yet?

Yes. We are a homeschooling family, so we are homeschooling all the time. Learning happens constantly, and we don't necessarily designate a certain time of day as "homeschooling time" and all other times as "not-homeschooling times." Have we bought a curriuculum that we are spending X-amount of time on every day? No. First, I don't think that Desta's English (although it is good) is developed enough for formal academic work in English. Second, it's summer, so we are much more busy than we are when the weather is cooler. Third, I think that it's important for Desta to have as much time as possible to just get used to being a member of our family before she starts to feel any pressure to perform academically. Before Desta arrived, I figured I wouldn't do anything formal with her for about a year or so and just let her find her place in our family and community and follow her interests. However, Desta asked several time when she was going to go to school. I started off by explaining that it's summer here and most schools are not open. As her English got better, I explained to her that we are a homeschooling family and I explained that "homeschooling" means that you learn at home instead of at school. She didn't seem to really get that concept, but over several weeks we discussed it and then it seemed to click. Then I think that Desta thought that perhaps she was going to be the only child in America to be homeschooled. She asked me one day, "When Ramona going in school?" I told her that Ramona would not be going to school, as she would be homeschooled, too. Desta's mouth fell open in surprise, so I started to point out all the kids she knows who are homeschooled (which is the majority of kids we know, because most of the people we socialize with are homeschoolers and many of the families in our Ethiopia adoption group are homeschooling families). A few days later, Desta said, "I not going in school? I learn here at home?" and I said, "Well, is that what you want?" She thought about it a moment and said, "I think yes first. First, homeschool!"

I did go out an buy a phonics workbook, which we have been working through slowly, and we have been practicing reading from a book called The Reading Lesson that I bought for Ramona when she told me that she wanted to have "homeschool to learn how to read." (I do not insist that Ramona use the book regularly, btw. She gets it out a few times a week, spends a few minutes on it, and then goes on.) Desta enjoys it, although the effort makes her tired so we limit it to about 1/2 an hour at a time. I think some formal phonics instruction will be good for her because my (extremely limited) understanding of Amharic is that it does not use vowels. The vowel sounds are made by adding strokes to the consonant symbols. I have noticed that when Desta writes English, she will sound words out but leave out the vowels. For example, when she wrote the word drum she wrote "drm." It makes sense from an Amharic viewpoint. I have also noticed that she cannot yet distinguish between most vowel sounds (when prompted to add a vowel she almost invariably wants to add an A). She can't yet really hear the differences between /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. I am sure that will come in time.

At this point, I don't really plan to start anything very formal with Desta until about October. I have been looking into a literature-based American history program for 1st-3rd graders. It utilizes what many homeschoolers call "living books," real children's books, rather than textbooks, and because it is a 1st-3rd grade curriculum, the books are on an appropriate reading level for Desta. I figure that this curriculum will accomplish three things: 1) give Desta practice with her reading 2) give us "snuggle time" to read together 3) introduce her to American history, which will serve her well as an American. I will probably add some math and perhaps some grammar. But I intend to take it slowly and in a relaxed manner.

Btw, Desta's literacy in Aharic seems to be very strong. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding about Desta's previous education. The kids at AHOPE have only been in public school for (I think) two years, but prior to that they had school at AHOPE, so Desta was receiving an education even before the pyblic schools accepted the AHOPE kids.

This homeschooling journey with Desta will be another area where being the new parent of an older child will present new challenges and adjustments. I lean more toward what is, in the homeschooling arena, termed "unschooling," which is basically child-directed. I have no wish to get into a debate about correct homeschooling methods, but after watching Ramona grow and learn, I have become much less interested in a structured, "school-at-home" type of homeschooling than I used to be. Desta, however, has unique educational needs, and figuring out the best ways to meet them will require a lot of thought.

I am actually thinking of starting a homeschooling blog. I even have a name in mind for it. But, like adoption blogs, the world is saturated in homeschooling blogs (some of which I read regularly), so I don't know that I would have much unique to offer.

Check back,
Enat