at the beginning of the school year (August or so), Wal-Mart has nice laminated 4'x5' world maps and U.S. maps which are quite inexpensive (about $12 or so). We have been using these and they have been working well.

Singapore Math. I love this more and more each year.

Someone using my playtex gloves (for handwashing dishes) and getting water inside of them. That is all.

And I spent most of my life in Tampa, FL. Sorry to say but my body is much happier in less humid areas of the country.

We have a lot of family in Albuquerque. One of our favorite road trips is to Santa Fe, where they have a fabulous children's museum, restaurants, and parks. We like to picnic at Jemez Springs. In Albuquerque there are so many things to do. We love the Aquarium. It is small but one of the best in the country. Have fun - Albuquerque is a blast.

We have had so much snow that I am just dreaming of being at the beach with lots of Coppertone (love that smell) and Hawaiian Tropic, a bikini, and a drink with a little umbrella in it. When it gets too hot, take a swim in the ocean (an ocean minus the sharks and jellyfish) and flop back down on the beach with a good book. That would be heaven to me right now, as the snow falls and the icicles get larger.

As in, too much of it, and we all have cabin fever. Big time.

That age is so difficult. I have already blown it a few times with my own 13yo dd. The good things are that: a) you *will* make up b) someday when they are past that age they will make you so proud. c) at least you can learn from this for the rest of the kids. d) sleeping on it will make it seem a lot better tomorrow. Our roughest years were when our son was 15-16. His brain seemed to take a hike during those years. He is such a different person now (at 24). More disturbing to me is that your husband is not stepping in when needed. The adolescent attitude stuff is to be expected; the husband not being a role model is not. When we get caught up in little kid needs (there are so many) we can so easily forget the needs of our older children. Can you try to get away with him, just the two of you, on some task that you can work on together? A final thought: Please try to keep your sense of humor during this trying time. I know it is probably the furthest thing from your mind. I think it is what got us through those awful years. Our son would lie in wait in a closet or behind a door sometimes up to half an hour in order to jump out, scare me and make me wet my pants. He still snickers about it to this day.

The plan was to have a snack-type supper followed by playing some Wii games, then some board games and ending up with a family movie. We got through the supper, and I quickly cleaned up and started the dishwasher while the Wii games started. Then we had a power outage! We had a nice fire going and we lit candles. It was too dark to play games or read, so we listened to oldies on the radio and talked. Now, for the next family night the children want - a power outage. LOL.

I don't think they would kill off Hurley, he's too popular. Besides, I agree with the others - that was a normal sized coffin - he wouldn't fit. I listen to the Jay & Jack "lost podcast" and they interviewed a couple of the writers last week. The only thing they would say for sure is that the show is not simply someone's dream. Jack isn't going to wake up at the end of the series after having dreamed the whole thing. They wanted to put to rest those types of rumors. They also promised *lots* of remaining plot twists and turns. I am so bummed that we only have a little more to go this season.

if it was a Toyota. I am biased because of experience - every time we have an American car it has cost major bucks and then *died*. But our Toyotas just keep on and on; we take good care of them and they last for ages. So no, I would not invest in the Astro. Sorry you are in that situation.

I bought the entire series of Richard Maybury books and was quite impressed with the first books. They provide a very clear portrait of how the economy works and would not hesitate to use them. I did not like the last couple of books in the series (too political, conspiracy-theory). I prefer the economists Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams. The book "Basic Economics" by Sowell is excellent. I regularly read columns by Sowell and Williams on townhall.com and have often thought that their archived columns on that site could be a course in ecomonics in itself -- or at least some very interesting dinnertime discussions. The columns are short and to the point.

The lessons were too "something" - maybe too "public-schooly"? Anyway I decided I preferred the living books approach. I also had some technical problems because of the Vista operating system on my computer. Some things would not print properly.

I buy many volumes from thrift stores, etc. Our library is very limited, i.e., very small selection and only open half days during the week. So I prefer to buy the book, and keep it if I love it. If I don't love it, I will "trade" it for credit at a used bookstore or donate it back to the thrift shop where I bought it. Sometimes I will buy better volumes of my most loved books.

Spetzels and pork roast. It is delicious, and we usually only make it around the holidays when we have a lot of guests.

"Hold on to your Kids - Why Parents Need to Matter More than Peers" by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate -- this book is fascinating. One of the best I have read this year. "John Paul the Great" - by Peggy Noonan -- just started this one; I love Noonan's writing in the Wall Street Journal so I am bound to like this book. "The Secret Garden" by Francis Hodgson Burnett -- my daughters are dying for winter to be over so they can plant their own garden. As a result of this book my 7yo dd has taken up the skipping rope. On audio this month I am two thirds of the way through "Miles Gone By" by William F. Buckley, Jr. It is an autobiography of a man who I have admired and now miss (R.I.P.). I love hearing it read by Buckley himself.

I am going to try this out next month - I have birthdays coming up - lots of 'em. It is always so hard to decide and then to make "the cake" -- each year they want to top the one from the year before. We have done a pyramid, a VW Bug, "miniatures", tiki party cupcakes, Elmo's hot tub, Go away, Big Green Monster, etc... and my cakes always end up with tons of extra frosting (think "plaster") to mold and shape them. This frosting method does look like fun - thanks again for the recipe!

They are beautiful! Is that fondant frosting? You are so talented - and I bet they loved it.

the beautiful flowers and the haunting desert scenes. I also have a great fondness for antique botanical drawings. There are many, many other artists that I love - Degas, Mary Cassat, Renoir, Kandinsky, Wyeth. Too many to name. I was fortunate to be able to see many original works when I was younger and traveled quite a bit. My parents also made it a point to take me to many museums when I was young.

with the exception of money, measurement units, a few things like that. I have used both because they did not have the US edition when I first started using it. I *much* prefer the US edition. If you want to get any "extra" I would get the home instructor's manual which, beginning in level 3, is very useful. We also use the challenging word problems that go with each level and use them a level behind the one we are on, just for review.

Jin and Sun had only been married for two months. He was getting the toy panda for a business associate. Flash back, flash forward, it is so confusing!

will "let it all hang out" with the family. He would not do that in school. It's just the way it is. For what it's worth, my highly emotional 2nd grader tried PS for a couple months earlier this past fall. She kept her emotions in check all day at school and then would fall apart each evening. I pulled her out when we realized that PS was getting the best of her and we were getting the worst.

just for a little over an hour! I was in a near panic (It's the only show I ever watch) and luckily got to watch it this morning on the abc website. This episode is going to have me thinking all day.

some kind of breakdown! I can believe he yelled and carried on but hard to believe he pushed you. Yikes. I feel sorry for the office staff, having to put up with him. Be thankful that he showed his true colors before he got his hands on Doug. Zowee. So sorry you have to deal with this.

schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun: A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.