I was grossed out so I threw them away immediately! I have since disposed of the pillows and covers. They were the cheap covers from WalMart that aren't paper, but close! There were tiny little holes in the "fabric". They seemed plugged with something. Oil? Everything is getting complete clean tomorrow.

I found little brown balls of something inside my pillowcase COVER this morning. I don't know how long they've been there. They are in between the plastic-ish backing and the top of the cover. I've Googled bedbugs (freaky!) and I don't think that's what they are. They are ONLY inside the layers of the pillowcase cover. Nothing on the pillow, or the pillowcase, or the bedding, or the mattress, or the bed frame. We have, however, had an issue with mold on our windows lately. We need new ones. So, the question is, can these things be mold? I plan to throw away both pillows, covers and all. Has anyone else experienced this?

He has to have PE to graduate and if he takes it at school he won't be able to take band. His mother wants him to continue with band because he doesn't play sports and he needs extra curriculars on his transcript. I did advise her to call the superintendent first. This whole thing was actually a suggestion by a school board member. Thanks!

Thanks!

A relative of mine would like to homeschool PE only (her child attends public high school). Any good recommended programs for junior year? Thanks in advance!

I am toying with the idea of having a day of encouragement for my local homeschool moms at a neighborhood church this summer. What would you like to see/cover/experience in a day like that? I would love to get a speaker, but have no idea how to locate one. ANY ideas are very appreciated! Thanks! Christine

Thank you!!!

My kids have regular winter boots from Kohls. They aren't cutting it. Who sells the best waterproof winter boots for kids? Thanks in advance!

Even though I always have the best of intentions, I NEVER utilize any materials that are MP3s, or PDFs for teaching. I purchase, download, begin to listen once, then abandon. I purchase, print, bind, begin to read, then never touch it again. If it isn't a real book in a traditional binding, forget about it. That just made my life easier.

I grew up in the NW suburbs. There are TONS of activities and people. We now live in the SW suburbs as it's more rural. The NW suburbs are quite built up. I spent lots of time as a kid in Woodfield Mall. I went there recently and felt like I was on another plant, it had changed so much.

I'm a Conservative Christian and I wouldn't be offended. I don't believe we should silence others' religious views just because we believe in something different. If a Satanic "prayer" was offered I'd think the person was a idiot, but that's not the same as being offended.

I am watching what happens with the Convention initiative. It is the reset button many people are looking for. I hadn't heard about California. I think it's too far gone to fix.

That is the funniest thing I've heard in a long, long time! And I mean funny.

My digital camera broke and I would like to replace it with a tablet. I will use it primarily for taking photos and videos, surfing the internet, and acquiring apps for my kids. I am a Prime member already, and those free Kindle books always intrigue me (although, I have Kindle for PC on my desktop and still don't read them!) Anyway, is it worth it to shell out the money for an iPad for these purposes? I like the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 because of its slightly smaller size than the full size iPad. Will I feel like an idiot holding up a full size iPad to take pictures and videos? I have also read that the Kindle has a better camera than the iPad. Any opinions are appreciated! (We don't have any Apple products-except for my kids' iPod Touches and I never do anything with them!)

I haven't read all the responses, but I have to say *I* have no desire to mimic Europe in any way. Particularly not anything economic.

I like Dr. Ben Carson's view. "We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. My mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and she asked God to give her wisdom. What could she do to get her young sons to understand the importance of developing their minds so that they control their own lives? God gave her the wisdom. At least in her opinion. My brother and I didn't think it was that wise. Turn off the TV, let us watch only two or three TV programs during the week. And with all that spare time read two books a piece from the Detroit Public Libraries and submit to her written book reports, which she couldn't read but we didn't know that. I just hated this. My friends were out having a good time. Her friends would criticize her. My mother didn't care. But after a while I actually began to enjoy reading those books. Because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere. I could be anybody. I could do anything. I began to read about people of great accomplishment. And as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you, and what happens to you in life, is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. It was incredibly liberating for me. Made all the difference.â€

Wealth building does not always equate to miserliness, just as being poor does not always equate to being lazy.

I disagree that agents who pursue FSBOs are generally inexperienced. The top sellers in our area have systems in place to generate revenue. One of them is always FSBOs because they are ripe for the picking.

That was an interesting read. I am always looking for ways to improve my lot in life. In my experience, good systems and productive habits have, indeed, improved my situation. They can do that for anyone. I don't waste time complaining about where I know I need to improve, or about what I perceive to be inequities in life. I concentrate on my goals. That's how I achieve them.

I was a RE Broker for 10 years. We looked at FSBOs as people who were fishing for an agent and just didn't know it yet. Best free leads you could ask for. If I were you, I'd search for a buyer for a few months, then if you come up empty, list with an agent that has been pursuing you aggressively. As hard as an agent will work to get your listing, that is generally how hard they will work to sell your home.

I hate holidays. They are nothing but work. Cleaning, cooking, schlepping to house after house with required dish and presents in tow, as well as tired children. For several years, I have wanted to do our big family gathering on a different day. We might get to do that this year. If not, does anyone have suggestions for pre-making all the food? I was going to get Boston Market for a change, and to make my life easier, but my brother and his wife are not happy. They claim I should make everything. I might consider that if I could have it all done beforehand. Some caveats: no ham (I don't like it) and no turkey (as we will have just had one for Thanksgiving). Any suggestions are very appreciated!

Thank you, Elizabeth. I do not think he has had evals done. I will ask today as we are going to their house for Thanksgiving. He really does appear to be making a valiant effort. It is not defiance, or stubbornness. So, I think the evaluation idea is a great one. Keep you posted!

I would be interested in reading it! I am always on the lookout for tweaks to what we do.

I sent the cashier (we are Facebook friends) a link to Better Late Than Early, as well as posted some John Holt quotes to my wall. I am not usually passive-aggressive, but I also am tired of having the same conversation over and over. To me, expecting mental development at a particular chronological age is the same as expecting physical development at a particular chronological age. It just won't happen until it's ready to happen. The cashier did say she thinks that developing skill at something like dance is different than academic ability. I don't believe it is. This person does have a radically different worldview and believes that dd just hasn't been "taught" making change enough. You can show a person something till the cows come home, but if they aren't ready, it won't stick. We've been over and over it. She just isn't ready. And humiliating her in front of other people certainly doesn't help. I wouldn't ever mind if the cashier showed her how she arrived at making change at every purchase. That's helpful. What she currently does is not. Thank you for all the comments and suggestions!

Thank you, anyway. He's very frustrated!