Now that DrummerBoy is employed by a certain local bookstore, pulling espresso shots and creating caffeinated concoctions of delight, I have adopted a corner of the café as my home away from home. What better place to grade papers than next to the original To Kill a Mockingbird poster? Add a grande-1-sweet-n-low-latte and life is pretty good! Did you know the store’s bag is a literary treasure trove? How many of these can you identify:

1. Happy families are all alike…

2. Call me Ishmael…

3. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife…

4. Now is the winter of our discontent…

5. If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it…

6. It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done…

7. Tell of the storm-tossed man, O Muse…

8. Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a dark wood…

9. All children, except one, grow up…

10. Curiouser and curiouser…

(Answers in the comments)

Things you should know: All five kids’ names start with the letter K. Yes we did that on purpose. No I don’t remember why. Both married kids have spouses whose names begin with J. Not to confuse matters. None of the pets’ names start with J or K, although they are all related to chocolate. There will be a quiz later.

The Urban Cowboy – husband, best friend, keeper of my sanity, leader of the whole gang. I thought there was hope for reforming him when he succumbed to bass weejuns during our early years. Nope. The boots are back. (And truth be told, that’s just fine with me.) He shined up the dress pair and wore them to walk our daughter down the aisle.

KaleoGuy & Mrs.KG – Oldest son and his wife. He’s on staff at a local church (I’ll bet you can figure which one). I like to think of them as HUPpies: Hip Urban Professionals.

KK and Mr.J – Oldest daughter and her husband. Aren’t newlyweds just the cutest things? She’s now a college graduate, working and waiting for the first “real job” while her husband finishes up school and works hard on the retail circuit himself. (I’m still getting used to calling her by her new last name.)

DrummerBoy – He’s 17, he’s in a band, he’s a barista. I was never ever this cool.

KritterKeeper – She’s 15. She cares for pets, kids, and music. She has an amazing collection of random t-shirts.

KakeAce – She’s 13. She’s wicked on the volleyball court but a sweet thing in the kitchen. You should see her bake!

That just leaves me. But enough about me

The Top Ten Reasons Why Homeschool Moms Make Enthusiastic Jeopardy! Contestants:

10. We’re used to single-issue questions. Once you’ve answered “But what about socialization?” a gazillion times, “What’s Alex Trebek really like?” is a piece of cake!
9. Forget Brahm’s lullabye, we rock our babies to “The Song of the US Presidents”.
8. Because our favorite answer to any question (besides “Because I’m the mom that’s why) is “Let’s look it up!”
7. Once you’ve herded 80+ people through a tour of the BlueBell Ice Cream factory, you understand the need for following directions. Answer in the form of a question? No problem!
6. Announcing a desire to appear on Jeopardy! is a lot like telling folks you want to homeschool. They immediately respond with “Oh I could NEVER do that!”
5. Homeschoolers have competed in the National Spelling Bee and the Geography Bee. Why should the kids have all the fun?

4. Random categories of questions don’t scare us. Not when we’re used to diagramming a sentence, analyzing Shakespeare, and sounding out c-a-t in the space of 5 minutes.
3. We’re curriculum junkies. If there is a game or book or puzzle to make learning fun, we probably own it and have used it to study with.
2. After deciphering standardized test scores, wagering strategy doesn’t seem quite so intimidating.
1. We’re motivated. “If I win, I can buy more books!”

Redecorating is almost complete! PREP students: take a look at your class’s page up above. Friends and family: stay tuned for recipes, Jeopardy! updates, and more.