Well, I've been decluttering for awhile now, so I'd vote for donating it. (But, I can't talk -- I haven't donated mine yet either. I do have a dd & plan to open it up & let her try it on, just for fun. Then maybe I'd donate it.) You have photos & great memories, right? This group takes used wedding dresses: http://bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/ But, it looks like currently, they want ones from 2000 or newer.

Well, you could be the evil one like me... who gave a copy to my nephew. So, it's sil's & bil's problem. Bwa-ha-ha! ;) Actually, dd has the Daring book (and sweet-talked dad into giving her his Swiss Army Knife). No big problems yet. And ds will get the Dangerous book when he's just a little older. They are very cool books, imo.

My chocolate description: You are sophisticated, modern, and high class. Your taste is refined, but you are not picky. You are often the first to try something new. You are down to earth and lovable. A true friend, you're very tolerant and understanding. In fact, your friends' biggest problem is that they don't like each other! You love working, making deals, and succeeding. You like to be a part of the action. You feel lost when you're bored. There's little more fulfilling that your career.

You might also look for "butterfly" or "angel" wings. You could always add more glitter or something if they're not completely the way you want them to look. Kwim? Ask friends if they have some you could borrow. Look into costume shops that dance places use. Craigslist maybe? Oops. After rereading your original post, it seems like you may be looking for more than one pair, plus it would be something you would need to have for keeps, rather than just borrowing. Maybe Wal-Mart or KMart? Seems like I've seen 'dress up' sections in the toy areas there.

LOL. Ok, everyone, I know many of you are in the same boat ;)! But, I was hoping that some of the super-organized types on the board would give me a swift kick in the fanny & tell me to get the stuff out of there. You know, those of you who cull your belongings ruthlessly and have a place for everything and everything in it's place.... And, thanks summer, comments like yours do help make the transition easier! I think I can. I think I can.....

Hey, did you happen to be at the Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta? Can you imagine if this apt. tower is the same set-up? If you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, you might not find your way there easily, nor return easily to your room! LOL.

Wow. That's neat. Thanks for sharing the link. I would think (hope) it moves slowly. I guess it would give you the option to have different views out your windows all the time. Which is pretty neat. If it's done slowly enough, I'm not sure you'd feel the movement (or not much). That said, I don't think I'd want to live in a moving building. But, it might be fun to visit. :001_smile:

I've been working on cleaning out our house for a long time now. Slowly, but surely, I've gotten rid of loads & loads of stuff. The empty (or emptier) spaces are nice. I love the look of minimalism, lol. But, now the time has come to face my office. And, it's filled w/ loads & loads of books -- mostly curriculum, all those extra 'supplemental' reading type books, and so on. The problem is, I have so much stuff that I find it hard to find what we do want to use. And, the rest are languishing on the shelves anyway (instead of being used like I had originally planned). I've started by laying out all our books that we will be using for our upcoming school year. Now, everything else on the shelves is the 'extra' -- maybe to be used a different year, maybe just as a fun supplement, things to perhaps save for the younger child, etc.... How do I decide what to get rid of? Do I get rid of it? Ack. It makes me start to panic to look at ALL THIS STUFF. And, really, I like a lot of it. But, realistically, will I use all of it? (Probably not.) Please help motivate me! :D Please tell me how great it will be. I know I just need a nuge (ok, a huge shove) in the right direction. LOL. (And once the books are culled, I'll have to clean out all the papers. I don't even want to go there. It's a scary place.) Thanks!

Could you get her a drawing book of some sort to go along w/ having her sketch? That way, she'd have direction (not necessarily just the vague instruction to sketch something) & instructions coming from elsewhere (book, not you). And, to maybe get her to warm to the idea, could you go w/ 2 books -- maybe one that is fun (manga or cartoon style dwg -- or anything that could be fun, a little out of the ordinary, ...), and one that is more focused on developing specific art/drawing talents? Alternate assignments weekly between the books. At age 10, hormones may be starting to play a part in all the dramatics too. No advice there, though... Don't know if any of those ideas would work, but they may be worth a try.

The characters from the American Girls historical series? I know I saw Kit mentioned here already... Kit Addy Josephina Felicity Kirstin Molly Kaya (am I forgetting any?) Also, piping up for Pippi! :D

Sad story. I did want to mention that for those of you who are runners or walkers & go out alone w/out carrying id, here's a tip I read long ago (in case you end up ill or needing medical assistance) -- put a return address label in the back of your shirt, near where the tag in your shirt normally is. Morbid, I know, but I figured I would mention it.

There are also some ideas for art lessons tied to ancients at Paula's Archives.

I haven't totally made up my mind on a Spanish curriculum, but am very interested in Espanol Para Chicos & Grandes. It is probably what I will end up buying for us. There is also a new program, Spanish for Children, by Classical Academic Press. You may want to check those samples too. I'm planning on supplementing with The Fun Spanish.

I also read "The Glass Castle" & really enjoyed it. Glad to know that "The Devil in the White City" is also good -- it's been on my 'to read' list. Here are a few I recommend: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction) -- fascinating & very well-told. Currently reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert & am really enjoying it. It's a fun, joyful book, imo. Light, quick reading too. Because it's told in many very short chapters, it's an easy one to read when you're really busy -- you can pick it up & read a few pages, then put it back down until you have another 5 minutes to read again later. :001_smile: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie -- I recommend this one a lot. I totally loved it & find it to be a lovely gem of a book. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King -- neat twist on traditional Sherlock Holmes. And, you don't necessarily have to be a Sherlock Holmes fan to enjoy it either. I read "The Pillars of the Earth" and thought it was so-so. I think it really depends on the style of writing you like or not....

:crying: My heart is breaking for you. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Agree w/ the no changing table thing -- we hardly ever used ours. I ended up buying disposable bed protection pads (like you would use for incontinent adults), generic brand at the drugstore. Those were my diaper changing pads & they're easy to carry along w/ you too. After one or a few uses, just toss. We had a big sponge type thing that we used for propping the babies in when we bathed them in the kitchen sink. Got it at Babies R Us & it was super handy, esp. w/ a slippery, wet baby. Love, love, love baby sleep sacks. They stay covered up, but can't get tangled up in them. I recommend sleep sacks to everyone who has a baby or toddler. Good advice I got once & it applies from babies through childhood. For a sick or bed-wetting child (or whenever you may be changing sheets & pads in the middle of your already sleep-deprived night), make the bed w/ 2 layers. Mattress pad, fitted sheet, another mattress pad, another fitted sheet. That way, you can just rip off the top 2 layers & the bed is already made. Hmmm, if I remember anything else, I'll post again. LOL.

Same here. We have lots of used books & use the library often. I will wipe off a book cover if it feels grimy and avoid books that smell like mold or smoke, but I do those things because of sensory reasons rather than 'germ avoidance' reasons. :001_smile:

If you cover fire safety, here's a fun thing we did when my dc were little. I cut 'flames' out of orange felt, then we would stick them all over dc's clothing (a sweater or sweatpant type material seems to 'stick' the best w/ felt). Then, they practiced 'stop, drop, and roll' until all the flames were off (put out). They thought it was fun. Hopefully it was memorable too (if the knowledge is ever unfortunately needed). Actually, thanks for a reminder about covering safety. I may pull out stuff we have & do another round of 'safety' review.

Belgium (dh is Belgian). Though your Spanish wouldn't help you much there, lol. I loved Spain when I visited it. My sil (dh's sis) & her dh (who is Spanish) lived in Spain for awhile. Prior to that, both had lived in the US for many years. These are both people who are from Europe & were raised there (through high school), so they were definitely used to the cultural differences. But, after being in the US for so many years, even they had a hard transition being in Spain. One of the big things they talked about was the lack of 'service' (getting a phone line, getting things like furniture delivered, etc...) compared to here. Nothing was 'easy' or resolved w/ one phone call, or one service visit, or.... It's not like it was a huge deal & they enjoyed their time in Spain (and her dh's family is still all there, so they even had relatives around), but rather that the differences led to lots of constant, small irritations, I suppose. I've heard similar comments about much of western Europe in general (even from my in-laws, who maintain an apt. in Belgium even though they live here). Figured I'd mention it for what it's worth. I'd actually love to live in the Dolomite Mtns. in northern Italy. Dh would happily move to Canada because he loves cold weather.

Paula's Archive has a list of movies to go along with history studies. Perhaps it would give you some ideas? http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/movies.htm

Can't believe nobody has posted a button up the nose story, lol. My sister put one up her nose when we were kids. I still remember we were at the mall, my mom was trying on clothes & my sister was messing around on the floor. She told me she got a button up her nose & I promptly told on her (tattling being one of those older sister duties and all, lol ;)). Mom took her to the ER & we sat around forever because by the time they looked at her, her sinues were totally swollen around the button & they didn't want to damage her nose. So, then we had to wait for the ENT who was on call to show up. He got his really long tweezers & it was out very quickly. I also remember he had an entire drawer filled with lollipops in the supply cabinet. So, I scored too. :D My sister has always insisted that she got the button in her nose because she was trying to smell it. Though I have questioned her repeatedly over the years, she has still never been able to answer... Did the button have a smell? And, did the button get up your nose because you inhaled so strongly that it got sucked out of your fingers & up your nose; or, did you stuff it up your nose in order to better smell it? Alas, I think I will never know the answers to those questions. Ah, the mysteries of life, eh? (Thankfully, neither of my kids has ever stuck anything up their nose... at least not to my knowledge.) And, whoa, a lego in the nose? That takes some talent! Glad everyone's nose stories have had a happy ending! :001_smile:

Personally, I'd probably use it. If you open it & it tastes or smells funny, I'd toss, but otherwise, I'd assume it's still ok. I wouldn't let it sit much longer before using & I'd try to use it quickly after opening.

You need to see the "Get Smart" movie. There's a scene in there where he's going through a laser sensor field & has something crawling on him. Yet, he can't react (or not much) or he'll be cut to smithereens by the lasers. Uh... except... come to think of it... you might not find it so funny, huh? ;) Here's to the Nerves of Steel award for you! :cheers2:

My 9yo dd tried reading one of these because her friend absolutely loves the series & has read all the Warriors books. My dd just couldn't get into the story. She tried one but didn't care for it. (However, dd is a voracious reader & loves/has read entire series such as: Redwall, Harry Potter, Little House on the Prairie, etc....) So, the Warriors series wasn't a hit here.

You cannot miss the waffles. There are waffle stands everywhere & I can guarantee I've never been in a city that smells better. Brussels smells heavenly because of those waffle stands! :D Seconding Bruges/Brugge -- it's so lovely. If we ever moved to Belgium, I'd pick Brugge in a heartbeat. (And Brugge has a lot of waffle stands too. ;))