So, I will tell my children my opinion and my reasonsing when it differs from their dad's. But I also explain to them that Dad has a right to his opinion and that no human being is perfect. I encourage them to have both respect and compassion for people--including their Dad--who have opinions that are different from theirs and to take the time to think these things through and come to their own conclusions. So far, they've always agreed with me.

* Cell phone purchased by us before she went away to school. It's used only to communicate with us. * Laptop computer purchased by us. The current one is her second because the previous one had outlived its usefulness. She does use it for e-mail and games, but its primary purpose is for school. * iPod Nano, a gift from us this Christmas. Previously, she had inherited her dad's old mp3 player, which had much less storage and required actual batteries. * Digital camera, a gift from us last Christmas. * (Not sure this one counts) Karaoke machine, a gift from us this Christmas. We thought it would be fun in the dorm. I think that's it.

I've been thinking about you guys, and I'm so glad to hear she's home!

Well, we're vegans, so my input may be of limited use to you. But one of our favorite meals is pita with hummus and couscous and veggies. I finely chop celery and green onions, and we put those in the pita with a shmear of hummus and a dollop of couscous. I usually serve some sliced fruit and maybe baby carrots on the side. Another use for couscous is to serve it with a "tangine." I make a vegetarian one that we like very much. It includes carrots, bell peppers, garlic, ginger, assorted spices, chickpeas and diced tomatoes. It's quite yummy.

I'm now using a Sanyo combination rice cooker/slow cooker. It has a metal, titanium-lined insert. I know some folks have concerns about metals, too, but I felt pretty okay about titanium. I also sent e-mails to the manufacturers of many slow cookers asking about lead content. Most of them either did not respond at all or gave me the same kind of statement we got from Hamilton Beach. Calphalon sent me the following statement: We sincerely appreciate your interest in our products. All Calphalon cookware is free from hazardous materials, such as lead. Calphalon has a rigorous quality system used to ensure the safety of every product that we sell. All suppliers with whom we partner are subjected to detailed on-site audits and inspections to verify that appropriate materials and manufacturing methods are being used in the construction of our components and products. Additionally we require certification by outside laboratories of all materials used in the manufacture of our products. Our supplier partners are required to provide products that meet all U.S. government regulations and safety standards. We also actively verify the compliance of parts and products, both at the supplier and at Calphalon. So, that might be a good option. I know, too, that All-Clad is marketing a new "deluxe" slow cooker through Williams Sonoma that has an insert made of anodized aluminum. It's very expensive, and, again, many people have concerns about aluminum cookware. My understanding, though, is that the anodizing process minimizes any leaching. I just couldn't bring myself to pay $300 for this one.

That's when my daughter's college classes resume. So, at the moment my plan is to deposit her back in her dorm on either Saturday or early Sunday (depending on how much time she wants to settle in before classes start), then drive back and be ready to start here on Monday. We ended our first semester very behind in some subjects, though. So, before we can really start, I have to sit down with all the books and my original plans and figure out how to redistribute everything to get it done on time.

I posted my first "weekly" report since October. (Sigh.) I do have good intentions of getting back on track for the second semester. In the meantime, anyone who is interested can check out the update here: http://tweakedacademy.blogspot.com/

First of all, I think I would probably call the customer service number and explain your situation. It is just barely possible that the same publisher offers other magazines and might let you change the subscription to something else someone in your house might like. Then, I would go ahead and purchase a subscription for my daughter to a magazine that would be appropriate and fun for her. She shouldn't go gift-less because the giver was clueless. As to your other question: We run into this sort of thing a lot. We've made lots of choices for our family that aren't exactly mainstream, and my kids have received gifts that really didn't work for us. I usually try not to make a big deal about it with the giver and to use it as a teachable moment for my kids. But I also work really hard not to do the same thing to other people. So, while I won't buy something I find truly objectionable, I do try to come up with gifts that I think the child will enjoy that don't make me gag. For example, we're vegan/pacifist-leaning/liberal-religious/fairly-conservative-about-what-the-kids-watch-and-read folks. We don't have a gaming system. So, when my son gets invited to birthday parties for boys whose entire wish list consists of violent or pop-culture video games, we're always somewhat at a loss. But, no, I don't think it's acceptable to impose my values on another family. And it would certainly not be a kindness to the child to knowingly purchase something that he won't enjoy. What we usually try to do is to identify some underlying interest or topic and then select a book or craft kit or something like that to tie in with that. We seem to have been pretty successful so far and have always gotten nice comments about our gifts.

Again, though, I truly don't think this is an either/or thing. My kids both have a variety of tech-y stuff, as I said above. For the most part, we consider electronics tools, not toys, and we do have rules about how these goodies may and may not be used. But we definitely have them. Nonetheless, both of my kids are big readers, especially my son. He reads tons more books than pretty much any other kid roughly his age that we know. For Christmas, he got 16 books, because we just kept thinking of things we knew he'd love to read. And today, he spent about three hours in the backyard bulding things with PVC and the garden hose. His big outing of the day was a trip to Home Depot with Dad for more pieces to build with. So, I don't think it's fair to assume that kids who have access to tech-y stuff will necessarily scorn more "traditional" pursuits.

I had my daughter at 30 and my son at 34. I had minor health concerns with both pregnancies. (I have a weird blood pressure problem that seems to kick up when I'm pregnant.) And we had a small scare with my son when the AFP tests came back wonky . . . twice. Each time, I was officially classified as a high risk for delivery, but all went smoothly. I delivered both without drugs or major medical intervention and had big, healthy babies. I don't think 29 is old at all, and the odds are very high that both you and the potential baby will do just great.

I read My Antonia a few months ago and enjoyed it very much. And Joy in the Morning (well, actually anything by Betty Smith) was one of my very favorite books when I was a teenager. I read and re-read that one to the point that lines from it pop into my head now and then to this day. Other books I finally got around to reading this past year: The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins So Big, Edna Ferber The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck I'd recommend all of those. I'm currently trying to finish Main Street (Sinclair Lewis), but I'm finding it sort of depressing and just can't seem to focus on it. I keep lists in my planner of books I want to read, because otherwise I can't remember what to look for when I hit the library or bookstore.

I'll play. Are we going to do some kind of weekly check-in or updates on our progress?

Well, as I said, I actually spent quite a number of hours researching this a couple of months ago. The fact is that many (perhaps most?) brands of crock pots with earthenware inserts may contain some lead. It's not something that gets added intentionally by manufacturers, as I understand it, but something that may occur naturally in the materials used. There are government standards for what constitutes an "acceptable" amount of lead in such products, but many people find those standards less that reassuring. If you read carefully the information on most of the manufacturer's websites--or contact them and ask the question directly--most of them will tell you that their products are within the governmental standards. But that does not mean they are free of lead. In fact, like Hamilton Beach, many of these statements have been re-written to very carefully NOT say the products are free of lead. It's interesting, and causes concern--not hysteria--for many people. I don't know how you tested your cookers, but it is my understanding that the kinds of tests generally sold for home use may well not be sensitive enough to pick up on the small amounts found in some units. It also matters how you test, especially when it comes to temperature. ANd it is my understanding that the amount of lead--or whether there is any present at all--may vary not only from model to model but from unit to individual unit. So, yours may be fine, but it doesn't mean that mine is, even if we have the exact same model. For me, I just couldn't in good conscience continue to use my crock pot, knowing that there was a possiblity that something toxic could be leaching. I know I cannot protect my family from every environmental danger in the world. For example, we have Christmas lights all over our house, complete with lead in the power cords, probably. I've read up on that issue, too, and have chosen to minimize how much the kids handle the cords and to make sure they wash their hands thoroughly afterward. In this case, though, it just felt wrong to me to knowingly take this risk when it was avoidable simply by switching to an different unit.

. . . screen time in general (TV, DVDs, computer games) all get treated more or less the same way. They are available and allowed only with permission and when everything else is done. So, the day's schoolwork must be done and any chores or jobs I've asked for must be completed before any screeen time is allowed. Screen time is also the first thing to go when problems arise and discipline is required.

My son made me a nice, big cozy fleece throw, because I've been complaining about being cold in the evenings. My daughter (with help from Dad and one of his crafty friends) made me a set of "drama masks" with casts of her own face. They're mounted on a velvet background. Just so incredibly cool! My husband ordered a personalized plate for my new car and also made nice, big donations to two arts organizations we love. I think those were my favorites, along with the fact that my husband seemed fairly pleased with the gifts we did for him.

I'll pass on the kind words to my daughter.

And our kids definitely have less in the way of techie stuff than most of their friends. They each have a laptop, used mostly for school. My husband recently replaced our daughter's Dell with a Mac, and I'm sort of irritable about it, because she's much more interested in the computer than us most of the time. She does need a computer for school, though, and the other one had outlived its usefulness. So, I'll get over it. (And I'm sure she'll be better about it once the novelty wears off.) They do both play some games on their computers, but my son has pretty strict rules about what he plays and often goes weeks without having time or permission to do that. Neither of them is allowed to take the laptop into their bedrooms. And they have no TVs in their rooms, either. We all have iPods or mp3 players. My daughter got a new one for Christmas, because she had inherited the first one my husband bought well over two years ago. It had much less storage space and required batteries. Music--specifically Broadway stuff--is a huge passion of hers and may well be her career. Having a convenient way to store and listen to music is a big deal for her. My son got a little Sansa clip model last year and rarely uses it. I use mine mostly for audiobooks and radio podcasts. It saves my sanity on long car trips and allows me to block out the noise when I'm waiting for my son at his dance school. The other techie gifts for the kids this year were a RoboQuad for my son and a karaoke machine for my daughter. (Again with the music. She and her friends in the dorm love to sing together, so we got two mics and went heavy on show tunes.) That was it, unless you count the sewing machine. (I don't, because it's a tool, not a toy.) My son also got a ton of books and, probably his favorite gift of the year, a big construction set his dad assembled for him (plastic piping of various lengths, different types of connectors, etc.). Other than the iPod, I think my daughter's favorite gift was the photo book I made for her. The do both have cell phones, and have since they were 8 and 10. Again, though, they are tools, not toys. We got to a point at which I was leaving one or both of them places for periods of time, and I really needed to be able to contact them or have them contact me. And now, with our daughter away at college most of the year, the cell phone is our primary method of keeping in touch. Neither of them uses their phones to chat or text with friends. Most of the time, my son doesn't even take his phone with him unless I make him do so. We have no game system (other than my husband's old PS2, which hasn't been hooked up for two years) and no handhelds. In fact, I'm always a bit bemused and frustrated when I'm backstage at my son's dance and theatre stuff, because pretty much ALL the boys (and many of the girls) bring a DS or some other such gadget to amuse them. My son doesn't have one and isn't getting one. He usually brings a book (which he can't read because of the noise of the other kids shouting about their games) and sometimes a card or board game (which he can't talk anyone into playing because they're busy with the electronics). Eh. I don't know. I sometimes get sad that it feels like so much of our lives is taken up with electronics. But, for us at least, these are mostly objects that are truly useful in some way and, in the case of iPods, for example, just replace an earlier thing. I had a stereo in my room when I was a kid and a transistor radio with earphones. Now my own children have iPods. The new things are smaller and more convenient, but they serve pretty much the same function.

I "lost" my husband to WoW about three years ago. And, no, I have no intention of playing with him. I have a life.

Actually, Hamilton Beach has stopped saying that their crock pots are free of lead. In response to customer inquiries, they have changed the wording on their website. http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/faqs/slow-cookers.php Here's the applicable quote: Hamilton Beach specifications applicable to all slow cookers and their components (including the earthenware crocks) prohibits the product from containing any measurable amounts of lead. Furthermore, the factories that manufacture the earthenware crocks for Hamilton Beach are certified ceramic production facilities whose ceramic ware is deemed to satisfy FDA heavy metal requirements. Hamilton Beach takes all reasonable steps to ensure that the earthenware crocks accompanying our slow cookers provide safe and satisfactory service to our consumers. It used to say they were completely lead free. I have recently spent many, many hours researching this issue and requesting information from a bunch of manufacturers. The only one who responded to me in a meaningful and straightforward (as in, saying up front there is no lead) was Calphalon. However, it took them so long to get back to me that I had gone a different direction. I ended up purchasing a rice cooker/slow cooker combo made by Sanyo. It has a metal liner, which I know concerns some people, too. I chose this one, though, because the liner is coated with titanium, which pretty much every source I read seems to say is safe. As my husband said, if they use it for joint replacements and so on, I'm not going to worry about cooking my soup in it. It's quite different from a traditional crock pot, because it seals completely. So, it loses no liquid. I'm having to adjust my recipes to account for this, but otherwise, I like it very much.

I just thought some folks might enjoy listening to/seeing the video from my daughter's performance at our church service last night. The song she's singing is an original, written by our church's music director, who is playing the piano on this video. He forgot the ending they had rehearsed, so that part is just a bit ragged. But I think they did a very nice job. Here's the link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=458707985683216268 Happy Holidays to one and all!

My daughter completely loves the iPod Nano my husband bought for her. I knew she'd like it and be happy, but, apparently it is EXACTLY the model and color she had her eye on. She is beyond thrilled. She was also very touched by the photo book I made for her. She can't wait to get back to school and show it to everyone. And she was so happy with her stocking full of goodies from Basin that she went off to soak in a warm tub right after we finished with the presents. My son was much more thrilled than I expected with the sewing machine. He has made two attempts to get me to sit and work with him on it this very afternoon. His other really big hit was the plastic-pipe construction kit my husband made for him. He's spent at least two hours in the backyard experimenting and already has a list of pieces he wants to add. A surprise "miss" for my son was Roboquad. My husband became concerned that there wasn't enough for our son to play with on Christmas day and so went and bought this thing that my son had wanted for some time. When it came down to only that and the sewing machine remaining under the tree for him, I told my husband to save the Roboquad for last. I knew that the sewing machine would actually get more use, but I expected the Roboquad to have a much bigger wow factor. Surprisingly, though, he was over the moon about the sewing machine and only mildly excited about the Roboquad. He played with the robot for about 10 minutes, and it is now sitting quietly under the tree while he does other things. And (breathing a huge sigh of relief) my husband seemed enthusiastically happy with pretty much everything I did for him, especially the robe and the copies of the kids' photo books. All in all, a pretty successful Christmas so far. Edited to add: Oh, and I think my favorite present was one addressed to the family. My husband made nice, large donations to two local arts organizations in the family's name. This has been a tough year for such groups, and I know those dollars will be very much appreciated. We're an artsy family, so it's nice and warm and fuzzy to know we helped.

Pretty much the same here. We do start putting out just a few small things once the tree is up, usually just one or two every other night. But we reserve the majority for after the kids go to be on Christmas eve. We've already filled the stockings and are just finishing wrapping the last two gifts. (Thank goodness!) I still have two small tasks to finish before I can go to sleep, but I need my husband out of the way first. I hope everyone has a lovely holiday!

. . . trying to finish up various things. I've discovered in the last couple of years that it's much harder to get things done when your kids are older. First of all, they keep me busy running around to their holiday activities and performances. And also, they don't go to bed as early! Anyway, last night I helped my daughter finish her gift for her brother. For the last several years, she's personalized a nutcracker to match his current interests. Since I've yet to find a source for unfinished nutcrackers, this entails buying the least elaborate one we can find, stripping it of its stuff and then building it back up to match her vision. This year, she turned it into a choir boy dressed in vestments like the ones my son's choir wears. Since choir boys rarely have mustaches, this meant we had to sand off the face and repaint that, even. We made robes and changed its hair and gave it a little notebook with a miniature copy of the sheet music for one of my son's favorite choir songs. It's really cute, but it's been a long process. We finally finished it about 1:00 this morning. After that, I stayed up by myself to re-do the t-shirt that will be the top for my daughter's pajamas. I also finished the "sock" I crocheted for her new iPod. For my son, I sewed the frog applique on his new robe. I also did some wrapping before I fell into bed about 4:00. Over the last few days, I've sewn appliques on robes for my husband and my daughter, painted the t-shirt for my son's pajamas, made one of those microwave heating pads for my husband, overseen the kids' projects for their dad, and helped my son make his gift for his sister (a printout of her name in Egyptian hieroglyphs put in a wooden frame into which he burned her name). Today, I have to alter the bottoms for my son's pajamas. I copped out and bought the pants for both kids this year, but I couldn't find anything in the right color/fabric in my son's size. I ended up buying a men's small, which I will have to take up and perhaps in. And, ooops, I didn't quite finish the iPod sock: I still have to sew on the velcro. At some point today, I have to make a run to the Indian grocery for samosas for tomorrow's dinner. My husband is out right now doing some mysterious errand on behalf of our daughter and also picking up the last candy for the kids' stockings. I'm trying to decide whether I have the energy to bake cookies for the stone soup supper tonight at church. (Probably not.) Other than that, we're just hanging around the house today until about 3:00. Then we have to leave, because our daughter has to be at church at 4:00 to do the final rehearsals for the concert and her solo. We'll hear the kids' concert, join in the supper, attend the service and then head for home, stopping to drive slowly through a neighborhood with really great lights on the way. Edited to add: Oh yeah, and we still have some wrapping to finish for the kids. My husband did some last night, but conked out before he could finish.

. . . we do more of it, more quickly. And we supplement a lot. As someone else said, we've always done all three types of acceleration: wider, deeper and faster. So, for example, when my son was 6, we used a lot of off-the-bookstore-shelf workbooks as spines for math, English and science. (He always liked that format.) However, we bought materials intended for at least a couple of grades ahead (mostly 3rd grade stuff that year). I guess that qualifies as "faster." He also worked through more than one book for each subject. For example, he did six math workbooks that year, which was probably about twice what would have been a normal amount of work. In addition to the basic 3rd grade skills, he did extra practice on fractions and multiplication/division. He also did two geometry workbooks and some problem solving. I think that's both "wider" and "deeper." Math-wise, he also used a couple of different educational/enrichment software programs. For science, he used workbooks as a base but also attended monthly classes at our local nature preserve AND a different monthly science program for homeschoolers through Camp Fire AND did monthly projects for a science/nature club AND watched tons of videos on subjects that interested him AND did field trips (about one a month) and projects and supplemental reading. We followed more or less the same pattern with most subjects. And we also did more subjects than is probably typical for that age. In addition to the basics (reading, math, science, history), we started Latin and did quite a lot of arts exploration (music appreciation, theatre, dance, visual arts, etc.). He's 10 now, and we've continued more or less the same approach, substituting more challenging materials for the workbooks. (You can see what we're doing this year in my signature line.) We're starting to talk, though, about streamlining a bit for next year. He has reached a stage at which it seems to make more sense to go for more depth and more challenge in fewer subjects. So, he'll be cutting back to two foreign languages and doing less doubling up (only history with geography integrated, for example, instead of a full history curriculum and outside geography course). I'd say your best bet is to follow your child's lead in terms of what kind of acceleration works best.

This is funny, because I remember seeing those when I was a kid but not for many, many years. I just assumed that flocked trees were a thing of the past, but I wonder if it's a regional thing? I grew up in California but started moving east when I was 19.