Ok, totally off topic, but... every time I see this thread pop up again on the front page, the subject line makes me think of the "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful" commercials. Were those L'Oreal???? It's driving me batty now, lol. For what it's worth, I don't care much for BP either, but the illustrations are just so darn cute. Pooh has never been a hit here either. I actually donated all our cute BP books to the library so that someone who might actually enjoy them could actually enjoy them.

I agree that Jean is on target. Silly stuff can be fun. Truthfully, most of the other parents probably feel silly too and are probably too tied up in worrying about themselves to really notice what you are doing. Your ds probably gets a kick out of seeing mom be silly too, kwim? So, even if you're reserved, you could just decide to let your hair down & enjoy. It's really just a few minutes out of your lifetime. Oh, and a few Mike's beforehand would probably up your enjoyment factor immensely. :D

Man, I hope your dd doesn't used marked bills or she'll be onto you in a flash! ;) It will be fine, lol! Congrats on her tooth. BTW, you & your dd might like the book Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World. (Our library carries it.) Next time, you may not even need to find a dollar because she may be tossing her tooth on the roof instead, lol! (A caveat about the book -- we love it & enjoyed reading the different traditions. But, if you don't want your kids to start thinking that the tooth fairy is not universal, this may not be the book for you.)

Just say "No"! :lol: And, um, if they don't accept that, well, um, maybe your old war injury, yeah that's the ticket, your old war injury prevents you from any type of dance style movement while in the vicinity of a classroom full of other parents..... Or I guess you could suddenly (in your desire to jump right up and dance) get too enthusiastic & spill your hot coffee all over yourself. Which would necessitate a trip to the ladies room to clean yourself up, which would provide you with an exit strategy. I feel sympathetic. I most likely would not dance & I definitely would not sing. Although, maybe I would if the teacher was really trying to force me -- she might just get the punishment she would deserve by hearing me sing. ;)

:grouphug: Hang in there. You've been through a lot. You deserve to whine. And, as an optimist, I'm sure you'll feel better & happier very soon. But, that still doesn't diminish the need to vent once in awhile. The folks in that group were behaving horribly (and that's putting it nicely). No wonder you feel hurt & offended by their actions. And, no, you do not sound materialistic. You want to get some nice things for your dd -- I think that's a natural inclination for a parent. Give yourself a big hug. Give yourself permission to whine. And to cry. And to vent. Then, do something nice for yourself, even if it's something as simple as googling for funny quotes & giving yourself a laugh. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Sounds like a great definition to me. I think that pretty often myself in the gridlock around here. So, I have to concur w/ your dc. :D and :lol:

I missed that on NPR today. That sounds so cool. My ds would love it -- wish we had the funds too. He didn't like Jr. Lego League as much as I thought he would. He thought it was too restrictive when he really wanted to use his imagination & own ideas even more. Tinkering school sounds like a perfect environment for him.

Both. I have the cds for SOTW 1 & 2. I need to get the others. The first time around, I read SOTW out loud. I used the cds as an extra, listening in the car & such. My dd loves to listen to cds while she plays in her room. It can be music or dialogue or whatever. I recently put the SOTW cds we have in her room (cleaning off our school shelves) & it turns out that she's been listening to all the ancients cds again. LOL. We're going to start ancients again in the fall. By the time we get around to starting, she will have already gone through all the ancients cds. A few days ago, she was already bringing up things she heard on the cd. Cds work for her. We discuss lots of stuff. But, she gets a ton of information out of listening to things while she plays. It seems too easy, lol, but she has learned so much. That's why I got things like a lot of the Classics for Kids cds, Opera for Kids, Geography Songs, Lyrical Life Science, etc.... I don't dictate what she listens to or when -- the cds are all in her room & she listens to what she wants to. The amount of knowledge she has gained from this amazes me. So, I definitely vote for the cds. We still discuss plenty, even if I'm not the one doing the reading. :001_smile:

I love the idea of having a big white board, but we don't really have the space for one. I'm still trying to figure out how to rearrange so that I can fit one in somewhere. We do have a little one (9" x 12") that I bought from Miller Pads & Paper at a homeschool convention one time. I keep it in the storage box w/ our MUS manipulatives. I use it mostly when helping dc w/ math problems. Sometimes dd likes to use it for doing her problems. Somehow it all seems more appealing than using scratch paper. We love our little board so much that I just picked up another one at the last convention I went to. That way, both dc will have one to use.

I wish my computer had smell-o-vision right now. :lol: I'd love to be able to smell all these scents that everyone is mentioning. I've heard Flowerbomb mentioned a few times too. I think I need to seek out a sample. I'm so curious now....

I remember sitting in the kiddie bicycle seat on the back of my dad's bike, gripping onto the little handles, afraid I was going to fall off the edge. That's because he was standing, holding the bike (not riding at that moment) and we were on the big island of Hawaii, overlooking some of the volcano craters. I'm sure, in reality, he wasn't that close to the edge of the crater, but I can remember the feeling of the bike being tilted a little & being scared that I was going to fall. I was a very young 2yo. My mom is astounded that I remember this because I was so young. Guess fear will do that to you! :D (And, no, I'm not really scared of heights or anything because of it.) After that, I have lots & lots of memories, starting from when I was about 3yo.

You are not alone! I don't like to cook. When dh & I got married, all our friends & family figured we'd probably starve, lol. I held out longer & dh finally learned to cook. :D (I figured he had the better family genes for it anyway -- his dad is a fabulous cook who does gourmet dishes for fun on the weekends & his brother is an awesome cook too. I'm just helping dh carry on his family line.) Now my ds loves to cook too. He's only 7, but he's already getting pretty skilled (after learning from dad). We do eat sandwiches for dinner some. Dh actually prefers that (grew up eating big lunches & light dinners), though it's hard to convince the kids because they love a hot, home-cooked meal. I can cook pasta. That's fairly quick & easy. We don't do take-out food a lot (trying to eat healthier), though we will sometimes get a pizza for dinner.

:lol: Hey, now there's a good review for the phonics program you were using! :D That reminds me of the time when dd was about 3 or 4. She was sitting in the playroom doing something. Dh & I suddenly hear her say, "Sh*t!" Our mouths dropped open & I went in there. She was working on gluing a little craft together. I asked her what she just said. She said, "Sh*t" again. I asked why she said it & she said she was having a hard time getting the pieces to stay together the way she wanted them. LOLOL. I had to keep a straight face while telling her that her word was not a nice thing to say & not to use it. But, at least she used it correctly, lol. ;) We rarely ever swear but both dh & I were very sure to monitor ourselves after that.

I totally know what you are saying, Doran (and Spy Car)! I think the 3 of us must hold similar viewpoints. As for using the word "absolute".... Quite a few years ago, dh & a friend & I were having a discussion on beliefs about various things, etc.... I basically ended up saying that I feel there are no (or very few) absolutes in the world -- we could always learn more, or not know everything, and therefore, nothing we know is absolute. Dh (at that time) seemed to think that was a rather depressing way of looking at the world. The conversation turned to the sun rising every day, right? (As in, the Earth rotating & facing the sun every day, even if we don't 'see' it.) For dh & friend, that was an 'absolute' -- it has always happened & will continue to always happen. For me, well, I don't know all of past history, nor do I know the future. I can't say that the sun will always rise, kwim? Hence dh's classification of my views being depressing. I don't think that's depressing -- it's just that I don't know. In all probability, yes, the sun will rise. I expect it probably always will, at least during my lifetime. But, that does not mean that it actually will. So, that was my long-winded way to say... I have beliefs & opinions on things, based on what I currently know, but I am open for those things to change. I guess that in many areas of life (not necessarily talking about religion here), I could term myself 'agnostic' (without knowledge). I think humans in general will always have a vast body of unknown knowledge. As such, that's why I tend to think of things as gray rather than black & white. Don't know if I'm veering too off-topic or not or just blathering on, but figured I would continue chiming in.... LOL.

What type of scents do you like? Florals? Citrus? Etc...? I like very clean smelling ones. My absolute favorite is Bulgari's White Tea. I also love Shi (Alfred Sung), Cabotine (Gres), and Knowing (Estee Lauder). I mostly live in Bulgari's White Tea or Shi. Years ago, I loved the Salvador Dali scent that was out. Does anyone remember that one? Mainly, I buy in a dept. store or online, though I've found Cabotine in TJ Maxx pretty often. Does anyone have a men's scent to recommend? I love Cool Water for my dh, but he thinks it's a little strong. I love the really clean, fresh smelling scents.

Once, when we were kids, my sister & I slept in the king size bed w/ my mom when my dad was out of town. Mom said we were both asleep (had been a long time) & she was sitting up reading. She said that suddenly, I sat upright & looked toward my sister & said in a mean voice, "Well, say something." And my sister very sleepily said, "What do you want me to say?" Me: "Anything." My sis: "Ok." Apparently, at that point, I laid back down grumbling. I have no recollection of this & neither does my sister. My mom said it would have freaked her out had she not already been awake herself. LOL. When I was in 3rd-5th grades, my best friend was a sleep walker & talker. I spent the night w/ her almost every weekend & she did all sorts of nutty stuff. One time, I woke because she was leaping up & down on the bed screaming, "There's a snake in the bed! There's a snake in the bed!" We had been out to see "Raiders of the Lost Ark" that night, lol. She never believed her parents & me on that one. I still laugh about some of the stuff she did.

Now *that's* a great idea!!!! That would look so cool! P.S. I think you're looking for 'base plates'...

:lol: Too funny. Guess she must love cigarette ads, huh? ;) That reminds me of a funny story. Many years ago, a lady I worked with was a smoker. She talked about how her son (I think around 7 or 8yo at the time) was trying to get her to quit smoking & such, esp. because they teach about the dangers of smoking in school. The schools refer to smoking as a drug. So, she attended some school assembly at her ds' school. There was a policeman visiting as a speaker & he said something about not doing drugs. And, apparently, her son piped up really loudly in front of the entire school, "My mom does drugs!" (aka, cigarettes). She says she wishes the floor could have swallowed her.

I just went & bought a Prismacolor set at Michael's. In case you are planning to buy Prismacolor too, there is currently a $10 rebate going on: http://www.prismacolor.com/sanford/consumer/prismacolor/rebate/rebate.jhtml :001_smile:

Well, I think you can never tell. Genetics can be a funny thing. I have a friend whose biological kids look nothing like her & she's had people who thought her kids were adopted, even though it is not the case. Another friend I have who is adopted often got things like 'oh, you & your brother look so much alike', etc... even though they were both adopted & came from different sets of parents. Instead of asking about her daughter directly, I would have asked if she had special ties to Guate. since she was selling things to raise funds, etc..., while mentioning your own special memories of the place. Just my 2 cents...

After pondering a bit more, I have a little more to say, lol.... Although I consider myself to be very open-minded & willing to entertain change for myself based on what I hear, there is something that I tend to be pretty firm about -- I get a little irritated at people who are *not* open-minded to hearing something different than what they believe, not willing to consider other ideas, or change. So, in that respect, I'm just as firm in my stance as the attitudes that bug me, lol! Does that make sense? Another area where I'm firm in my belief: I firmly believe that there is no international task force that has dictated that there is one, and only one, good & proper way to hold a pencil. And, even if there is a task force, they do not have the knowledge or power to declare it so. It's one of my pet peeve issues. I really don't think any arguments to the contrary will convince me otherwise. :D Just pointing out my own hypocritical faults in this line of reasoning.... (And, no, I'm not trying to change this into a goofy or silly thread w/ these comments.)

Well, to a certain extent, I think everyone has times like that (when you want to hear a confirmation of what you already believe). Especially when you're ready to head out to a nice event & want to know if you look nice, lol! However, I like to think & hope that I am open-minded to other opinions & ideas. Often, I will hear things that I had never, ever thought of it in that way -- and I love having those a-ha moments where I get to see & learn a new way to see things. Times like that often expand my possibilities, give me new ways to see or experience things, and so on. The first memory I have of seeing something that had never occured to me: I was a very obedient, well-behaved child. My sister came along (5 yrs. younger than me) & I remember the day I saw her arguing back to my dad. LOL! It had never occured to me to even do that, kwim???? Not that I followed her example, but I didn't consider her right or wrong either. It was just different & opened my mind to a lot of possibilities that I had never even considered previously. I guess I'm one of the observer types who takes in loads of info & constantly processes it, adopting change as needed or wanted. Remember when Myers-Briggs personality types were all the rage (lol)? I love stuff like that. I can remember reading all the things about my type (INTJ) & there was a particular part that really resonated w/ me because I felt that it really expressed an often misunderstood part of me: "INTJs present a calm, decisive, and assured face to the world, though they may find it difficult to engage in social conversation. They usually don't directly express their most valued and valuable part: their creative insights. Instead, they translate them into logical decisions, opinions, and plans, which they often express clearly. Because of this, other sometimes experience INTJs as intractable, much to the surprise of the INTJ, who is very willing to change an opinion when new evidence emerges." I do think of myself that way -- totally willing to change my opinion on something when new evidence emerges. I guess I'm one of the 'gray' people who rarely sees things as black & white. I'm usually willing to consider different possibilities. In the end, I may or may not change my actual stance, but I always like pondering the possibilities, having my mind opened to things I may never have even considered or heard about previously, seeing if the change (or a variation of the change) might work for me & my life, then either altering what I do/say/think or continuing on my same path. Not sure any of that really helped your line of discussion, but those are my thoughts for now, lol.

LOL! Oh, I feel for the poor guy. I mean, it's just one measly m&m. They're so small anyway. I'd put an m&m on his plate tomorrow morning & tell him it's to celebrate the start of his preschool or something. :D (After all, haven't you ever heard Bill Cosby's routine about him feeding the kids cake for breakfast? An m&m is small potatoes by comparison.) My ds highly recommends a Dove chocolate as part of breakfast (and, yes, he's had a few).

The kids love for my mom to bake a cake & we usually just put plastic figures of whatever character or theme on top. (W/ saran wrap under the figures because I don't want to be scrubbing icing out of their toes forever, lol.) Do you have some Star Wars & Dora figurines on hand? Could you fashion a lightsaber for Dora & any of her pals? (Maybe a pipe cleaner...) Could there be a lightsaber battle on the cake? ;) Or, maybe a large round cake w/ half decorated to look like a Star Wars planet (think looking like a moon) w/ a character on top; Dora's half to look like half of the Earth w/ Dora on top? Large sheet cake divided in half (w/ icing) either vertically or diagonally, then decorate each side for the two different themes.

I googled too, lol. I think I saw the cake roll one you mentioned. It looks great. I have not made a cake like this, but I'm wondering if you could bake cake in loaf pans, then basically cut away cake until you have what looks like a cylinder (vs. doing cake rolls)? You could do the same for the handle part, just making it a little smaller for about 2/3 of it (where you would hold the lightsaber), w/ it widening out to be the same as the others (where the handle would attach to the lightsaber part). I'm guessing you might need 3 loaves for the lightsaber, 1 for the handle? Then, line them up & put on the icing. Good luck! BTW, on another thread from yesterday, I posted how we made our own lightsabers at my ds' party a few years ago. They were lots of fun. So, just in case that would be of interest, here you go: Star Wars lightsabers -- we made these a couple of years ago at my ds' birthday party. Used empty wrapping paper rolls, used oversized sheets of construction paper wrapped around long ways to create the color/lightsaber end, then covered the remaining part w/ foil to create the handle. (Used scotch tape to hold all this in place.) Wrapped black electrical tape around where the foil & paper met to make it look more authentic. Used round sticker dots (like you would use for pricing garage sale items) as 'buttons' on the handle. Some kids made a lightsaber like Darth Maul's, so it required 2 cardboard rolls taped together & put the color on the outside ends w/ foil in the middle. This is a great craft if you can gather up the materials you would need. (My mom had a big stash of empty wrapping paper rolls & I had all the other stuff on hand.) These were easy to make & the kids had a blast having lightsaber fights.