I'm a little freaked out by the 11/12 answers too. My boy just turned 10 couple of weeks ago...maybe the stars aligned off-kilter back in 2003? ;) My DS8 is exactly like your K. He's very laid back and just-go-with-the-flow kind of kid. My DD, who is a young adult, was so very different than my boys. She's a 'people pleaser'. I was attributing DS10's behavior to birth order. He's technically a "middle child", but there are so many years between DD and DS10, that he's more like a 'first born'. He seems to have inherited all of the good AND bad traits that come with being a first AND middle child.

We just moved from the Ft. Myers/Cape Coral area to Kissimmee. :D

Not my type of show. It has zero appeal for me.

Depends on which grade DS10 is in. He is my challenging child. Head strong + Super smart = Exhausting. DS8 just wants to finish school as quickly as he can so he can go play. So he tends to concentrate and move through the required work. DS10 would rather reenact the Battle of Gettysburg in his head, using shadow puppets and pencil toppers instead of doing his work. Someone once told me that little boys are harder when they are little, but easier as teens. I pray she knew what she was talking about.

Bingo! He is/will be a feather in their cap. They will want to keep a chlid of that intellect. I completely relate to the OP wrt her reasons for putting him in this school. I have the same internal conversation on a daily basis regarding my DS10. And every January, when the Open Houses are announced, I truly consider putting him back in private school. The only reason I don't, is because I don't want to pass his unrelenting "chatter" onto an unsuspecting teacher, nor do I want to deal with the guilt. I think once the OP has the test results in hand, she will have better leverage to bump him up a grade. Unlike public schools, private schools are usually more willing to work with the parent (in MY experience).

I would assume that she meant to tell you herself, but Mom got to you before she did. I would choose to not be offended.

We stopped doing BJU Reading 4 about two weeks into the school year. It. was. booooooooring. I felt it was more important to instill a love of reading than to go through comprehension worksheets that were just as dry as the stories. Since I made the decision to "quit" a reading program, here's what we have done: 8 weeks of Evan-Moore Pockets: Non Fiction 3 weeks of A Christmas Carol, with Literature Guide. 2 weeks of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with Literature Guide 2 weeks of Where the Red Fern Grows, with Literature Guide (also did this unit with the audiobook.) We are starting Shiloh this week, and using this as a supplement. Since we will be starting this book while travelling, I also downloaded the audiobook, and as a special treat for my animal-loving boys, I'm giving them one of these before we start the book. ;) I also decided to incorporate some state history into this lesson, and bought a couple of books on the state of West Virginia (plus, Dh and his family is from there). I have other books in the wings so that we can continue throughout the year (Old Yeller - a request from DS10, and Holes - which I think they would find interesting). If there is a movie adaptation of the book, I allow them to watch the movie AFTER they've read the book. We discuss the differences between the book and the movie, and they write a short description in their reading journal on their comparisons. I'm pretty sure I have achieved my goal of instilling a love for reading, as they now look forward to it. Sometimes I have to slow them down so they don't get too far ahead. LOL ETA: I just noticed your DS is 9 years old. :) The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan is a HUGE hit with my almost-9 y/o DS, and DS10 just discovered Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer. These are two boys would gnash teeth and wail as soon as I would mention reading a book, and now they read on their own. :) I have also bought them the audiobooks, and that has been a big motivator in getting them to actually crack a book open and read along.

I am terrible with names as well. I'm worse with spelling their names. It seems everyone wants to spice up the traditional spellings of names. I have three nieces with common names; unusual spellings. I get it wrong every. single. time. I've taken to writing the word "sweetie" or "peanut" on their cards. It makes me feel terrible because my own name is not spelled in a common way (thanks Mom), and know how hurtful that can be when you are a child.

My heart breaks for you. No mother should ever have to attend her child's funeral. :( Your daughter's smile just radiates in those pictures. You can see the twinkle in her eyes in some of them as well. What a blessing you have given us. Thank you for sharing her with us.

I believe that it is! I had completely forgotten about that option! :) Again...spoiled library brat here. Never had to do that at our "old" library.

For the past few years I've read the numerous posts from parents stating how terrible their public library was. I always assumed it was due to the fact that most of the parents who post here are more voracious with their reading habits, and had higher expectations than "Joe Q Public". We recently moved from Southwest Florida to Central Florida. We are in a suburb (I think?), and for the most part, I love it here. It's peaceful. The people here are incredibly friendly. We saw wild turkeys in our back yard yesterday! I was excited to see that our public library was pretty close to us, and (bonus!) very close to a drive-thru Dunkin Donuts...hello iced coffee!! :) And then we went inside the library. And my heart sunk. I faked my enthusiasm for the place as I signed up for our new library cards. I was encouraging as my boys struggled to find ONE book for their research project (subjects: hound dog breeds, and sycamore trees). We left with a Spiderman comic collection book, and a book on Beagles (don't ask). All of us feeling deflated (ok, maybe it was just me that felt disappointed). Our new library here is awful. I have been spoiled. I was wrong. I get it now. I see that there are two other branches in our county. I'm going to check them out over the next few weeks. In the meantime, thank God for Amazon Prime.

My DS10 is a talker as well. Constantly. He hums as well. All. Day. Long. It makes the entire family crazy. BUT, I believe the 'craziness' we were all feeling is because of ME. I would get irritated and ask DS to stop, then Dh would follow up and ask him to stop, then DS8 would pipe in, and of course, this only made things worse. I read a story one day about a mom who had lost her young son to a terminal illness. She described his pre-illness days much like what my son's days are like now. As she wrote of her longing to be able to hear one of her son's long-winded rambles about nothing at all, it hit me squarely in the heart. From that day forward I vowed to listen. I vowed not to let the small stuff irritate me. I'm not saying it solved my irritation of hearing his noises and stories all day long, but rather, I realized what the alternatives were, and I try very hard not to let my irritation show. I feign interest as needed, and talk MORE with him.

:seeya: Welcome!

They both have iPods.

Sort of. It's a mist similar to what a nebulizer puts out. The most accurate description would be to compare it to what fog machines emit.

We use BJU as a basic guide. I supplement a LOT. We start each chapter with a movie from Bill Nye, I order in various experiments and games to go along with each chapter. ETA: I just googled Evan-Moor's Daily Science for Grades 4-6, and I really like the look of that!

We smoked in our office at work until the mid-90s (Florida). I wonder if the "No Smoking" sign is for those using ecigs? I can't imagine anyone would light up an actual cigarette inside of a store these days.

Our DS has always dreamed of going to Kennedy Space Center. So, for his 10th birthday yesterday, we took him. I was exhilerated by the exhibits. My DS was in his element. My younger DS sat, fascinated, through every exhibit. We ended up upgrading our one day pass to an annual pass as we left. As I was downloading all of the photos I took of our day, I also saw the pictures I took of our cow eye dissection earlier in the week. The joy on my boys' faces as they identified the parts of an actual eye... ...and that's when it hit me. We really ARE a family of nerds. And it's so AWESOME! :D Are you a family of nerds as well? Share your nerdiness here!

My dad is probably the most mild-mannered, laid-back, liberal parent you would ever meet. I left home when my brother was 14. However, my dad, brother, and stepmom told me a story about when my brother was 16, and he was going through a phase that included pushing every possible button my dad had. That included disrespecting my stepmom. The one and only time my father EVER got physical with my brother was when he acted like he was going to hit her. My dad jumped OVER a couch, grabbed my brother by his shirt, pinned him to the floor, and told him that if he ever acted that way again, he would take him out. My brother changed his attitude real quick. My dad and brother are VERY close, and they laugh about it today. I don't think the father in the OP needs counseling or condemnation for what he did.

Extended version of the Clydesdales commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPG7PcI67dE

I would quote you Mommy22, but I *get* what you are saying. ;)

LOVED that one! :) ETA: Just saw the 'senior' Taco Bell commercial. LOL!!

My team hasn't seen a Super Bowl since the mid 1980s (Miami Dolphins). LOL I'm cheering for the Ravens because they beat the Patriots. My family are hockey fans though...so we watch the Super Bowl for tradition more than anything. P.S. Our NHL team won their game today! :D

I dread phone calls as well - making and receiving them. It's like the people on the other line are speaking in a foreign language...it's so hard for me to understand/hear what they are saying. I get anxious on the interstate. Specifically, driving next to an 18-wheeler (which is really silly because they drive better than most car drivers). I have to distract myself from watching when we're on the interstate. A recent heart-pounder, irrational fear that came from out of nowhere...ferris wheels. I'm not scared for ME...I'm terrified one of my boys (daredevils) will try to look over too much and fall out. Irrational, but I can't help it.

This conversation took place a few weeks ago: Ty: Mom, when were you born? Me: October 1970 Ty: Whoa.... Cam: Yeah, Mom was born in the 1900s!! Me: The last HALF of the 1900s!! That doesn't mean I'm OLD! Fast-forward to today. Cam: Mom, did they have electricity when you were a little girl? Mom: Yes, of course they did. Cam: Did they have Wii? Mom: Well, I remember we had an Atari when I was a little girl. I used to play 'Pong' on it with my brother. Cam: What is 'Pong'?! Mom: 'Pong' was a little bit like tennis. You had to hit this little white dot with a stick back to the other stick on the other side of the screen. We didn't really play a lot of video games when I was little. We played outside. *me, smiling* Cam: Wow...what did you do when it rained? Mom: I read really cool books. Cam: Aren't you glad you don't live in the 1900s anymore? Isn't funny how kids perceive your childhood? My kids are gobsmacked that we didn't have a computer in our house when we were growing up. It cracks me up.