Do you have a Costco nearby? They have all kinds of yummy dips, like spinach-artichoke, cheesy-bean dips, etc. that can be warmed up and are really good. Buy a couple tubs of those, heat them up, put them in a pretty dish, and mark this off of your list of things that are stressing you out! Good luck!

The one that drives me crazy is when my son is telling me a story, or something that happened, and ends it with "soooo . . . yeah." He's only 11 so we're just starting to get into it.

A little background, ds, age 9 was diagnosed with dyslexia, processing issues, and working memory issues earlier this spring. Yesterday, he started with IM (loved it!), and CogMed at home. This morning, he woke up at 7:15, just begging to do CogMed right away. Because we don't have any video games of any kind at our house, he thinks he has died and gone to heaven with CogMed. So fun - he loves the RoboRacing at the end! Also, he starts with his Barton tutor this afternoon and is excited - we met her yesterday and her name is Begonia. Like the flower. Super nice, energetic, and will be a lot of fun to be with. YEA! I'm just so happy because his diagnosis took about 3 months to figure out even where to go to get tested, and then waiting for the end of the school year (and baseball season here) before starting with everything. He'll be going to the clinic every day, either for IM or tutoring (luckily, it's only about 5 miles away), and then we'll do CogMed every day at home for the next several weeks. In the fall, we'll stop with the Barton tutor and pick up where he left off at home. I know it's just the second day, but it's such a good feeling to actually be *doing* something about all of this, instead of just having that nagging feeling that something's not quite right, but not knowing how to fix it. Hooray for all of our special needs kids who are working hard to overcome what they're dealing with!

Oh, I *really* feel your pain! Our house went under contract late last week and we have until next Wednesday to be out. So, I basically have 2.5 weeks to pack and move our family of 6. Of course, we don't have a house to go to yet, because who sells their house and has two and a half weeks to be out? Apparantly, we do! Anyway, I'm thankful for my very generous mom and her large basement with a full kitchen, and extremely grateful to have sold our house that has been on the market for 8 months. It's a problem and stress I'm so thankful to be having! My current goal: 10-15 boxes per day + several loads either to the garbage or the DI (our local equivalent of Goodwill).

Also, when being rescued by the good guy, don't take time to embrace and kiss. Just get out of there and show your gratitude later when you are safely away!

Thanks for your responses - this is exactly what I was looking for!

I've done three halfs, and each time have followed the training plan in the book, "Marathoning for Mortals" by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield. They have 4 different training plans each for a half and a full marathon, depending on whether you are mostly walking, running, or a combination of both. I do the run/walk, which is 4 minutes of running, followed by 1 minute of walking. This year, I am hoping to do a half running entirely. Anyway, it's a 14 week program that starts out with going out for 35 minutes and a 3 mile long run, then builds up to 50 minutes with 10 miles being the longest run before the race. Dh has used it many times, also, and it has worked well for us. Good luck! I usually do my running early in the mornings before DH has left for work, and then go for the long runs early on Saturday mornings while dh is home and before the soccer games start!

I'm wondering if these can be used together, or would that just be confusing? My 9 yo ds is just finishing 3rd grade at the ps, and was diagnosed with dyslexia and other cognitive issues about a month ago. He is starting with a Barton tutor next week, which he will be doing twice a week over the summer (along with CogMed and IM). He reads reasonably well (not very fluent), but his spelling is just horrific. I'm thinking ahead to next school year, during which I'm thinking of pulling him out during reading class to continue daily tutoring with Barton (from me). I've read good things about AAS, too, which would seem to help him. Assuming he gets through Barton Level 1 and possibly Level 2 this summer, would it be confusing to do AAS during the school year as we progress through Barton Level 3+? I don't know enough about the individual programs to know. Thanks!

I'm so glad that he's going to start therapy this summer - that is wonderful news!

Are you near a university? We didn't have insurance that would cover speech therapy, either, but found a great speech therapy option through our local university. We went to the clinic run by the masters-degree-seeking students, who had to have a certain amount of clinical hours before getting a degree. They were supervised by licensed speech therapists, and were absolutely wonderful. Their cost was about 1/3 of what other private therapists were charging. Good Luck!!!!

My house has been up for sale for nearly 8 months now. It's been a total roller-coaster with offers (yea!) that have fallen through (dang!), etc. Last night we accepted an offer that is solid, without them needing to sell their house, for a price we are happy with. The only "problem" is that they want to close in three weeks. So I have three weeks to find somewhere to move my family, not sure where just yet. But I have to say, I am SO grateful to have this problem! I have been praying for 8 months to have this problem! YEA! (We're probably headed to my mom's basement, at least for a few weeks, until we can find a house we're excited about). It's going to be a crazy few weeks, getting everything ready, but again, it's craziness I'm so grateful to be having.

I'm ready to order, but want to make sure I get the right one! There's a few on Amazon, including one with My Math Lab, and a bunch of paperbacks, and hardbacks. Does it matter which edition? Thanks for any help!

This topic is very current with me, as I was told in January that three of my four cowboys would need to start orthodontia within the next 6 months. We shopped around, found an ortho that we felt most comfortable with, and started. All three need the two-phase treatment, so they are all currently in a palate expander, and the first set of braces go on in about a week. DH and I are self-employed, so we have no insurance or flex plan to draw from on this (our health insurance doesn't cover any ortho). For us, it was $600 to start each child, then $200 a month each, for a year. That will cover the first phase. So we spaced the kids out each month, paying $600 a month to start, and now are at $600 a month for the next year. It's painful, but was very necessary as they had a lot of issues! We have cut back the budget in a lot of areas to pay for this, including canceling our family vacation we had planned. As DH and I joke, our Christmas letter next year will say, "we have been no where, and done nothing in 2009, because we have three kids in braces all at the same time!"

Honestly, I would just like a day off. Just one day where I can sleep in, not nag people to do what they are supposed to be doing, not be in charge of getting people to lessons, practices, or games, not be responsible for feeding, cleaning, or checking people's homework, worrying about everything, schedules, etc. I think I would sleep in, go running, go to a cute little neighborhood cafe, and then come home and curl up on the couch and read for the rest of the day. It will never happen, but sometimes in the middle of the chaos of having 4 boys within 5 years, it's nice to think about. I'll probably get chocolates instead (which is almost as good!)

I'm Suzanne, living in Utah with dh and four boys, ages 11, 9, 7, and 6. I've been a mostly lurker, occasional poster here for about 5 years. I count WTM in my top five books that have completely changed my life, either through my thinking or my actions (or both!). We're currently afterschooling, but do a pretty thorough homeschool schedule in the summers. My kids have all decided they want to be either dentists or doctors, so we focus a lot on the math and science, but also cover writing, grammar, and German.

I am very concerned about this, as my sister lives in Mexico City, with her dh, and three children, ages 9, 7, and 4. All schools, museums, and public gathering places have been closed until further notice, and masks are being passed out. Also, they have been told to avoid hospitals unless it's an emergency. She has cancelled all her weekend plans, including going to church, having people over for dinner tonight, and basically leaving her apartment at all. Her son has a somewhat compromised immune system right now and she just doesn't want to risk anything. We are following this very closely around here!

I'll call one on myself: when my first ds was a newborn, dh was in graduate school and we really knew no-one. Closest family was like 700 miles away, etc. So I'm starting to learn how to nurse the first time, having let-down, and was shocked to realize that there is more than one exit. I was expecting one steady stream and was really stunned by the multi-directional spray.

Danielle, I'm not sure what precautions are recommended, but my sister did tell me that they are passing out masks to people on the buses and the subway. Also, she just got back from the SuperRama and all the employees were wearing masks (like surgeon's masks). She has cancelled all her plans, including going to church, for the weekend and not having anyone come to her home for deliveries or whatnot, because her son is just getting over the stomach flu and she feels their immune systems are not very strong right now.

Let me try that link once again: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/24/swine.flu/index.html

My sister lives in Mexico City and just called to tell me the Mexican government has closed all schools, museums, public places, etc. in Mexico City due to a big outbreak of the swine flu. About 60 people have died and close to 1,000 have been infected. Apparantly it has also crossed the border and cases have been found in California and Texas. Here's a link to an article from CNN: (Sorry, I'm not sure if I'm linking this right, so I'll type it out, too.)URL="http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/24/swine.flu/index.html#cnnSTCText'>http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/24/swine.flu/index.html#cnnSTCText"]http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/24/swine.flu/index.html#cnnSTCText[/url]http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/24/swine.flu/index.html#cnnSTCText My sister just called to let us know, and then hung up to head to the store to stock up on supplies. They don't know how long things will be closed.

WOW! As a mom who is new to all of this (officially as of yesterday), this was very insightful and helpful. Thanks Laurie4b! Suzanne

What are some books or other resources you would recommend to someone new to this? My DS, age 9 was tested about 2 weeks ago and we got the results yesterday: moderate dyslexia along with some processing issues. We feel really good about the center where we went, and will be following most of their recommendations regarding tutoring, Interactive Metronome therapy, CogMed, etc. The diagnosis is actually a huge relief to me, because it validates a lot of the gnawing gut feelings I've had, and gives us a starting point to move forward from. I found a book at the library called Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, and stayed up until 2:30 this morning reading it. It was extremely helpful and I liked its tone of "this is a brain wiring function that can be improved somewhat with extensive (and intensive) intervention. Many academically successful individuals have dyslexia - surgeons, attorneys, writers, etc." What other books or resources have you come across to help you understand what you can / should do when your child is dealing with dyslexia? Thanks for your help - I think I'll be frequenting these boards a lot more. Mostly lurking, but occasionally posting and soaking up your wealth of knowledge and information!

I knew that the hive mind, minds immeasurably wiser than mine, could help me! Thank you so so so much! While I am not the sharpest tack when it comes to logic, if any of you are in need of a good recipe for something, I am your go-to girl! Suzanne

OK, this is a shameless request for help with DS's 5th grade homework. This assignment, and too many more like them, are why we are homeschooling again starting in the fall. Actually, I like that the teacher is doing logic, but with everything else she is giving right now, we don't have the time to work this one out, and it's due Wednesday. Normally I am not the kind of mom that would ask for help like this, but with 15 other logic problems in tonight's homework, this is the one that I'm too tired to wrap my head around. Here's the question: The book fair is here, and many wonderful books are available! Several genres are represented, including fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction. One class was surveyed to determine the most popular genre for that class. From the clues, determine how many people were in the class and which genre was most popular. *Everyone in the class bought at least one book. *14 people bought only one book *Only 3 people bought all three genres *7 people bought fantasy books but not non-fiction or historical fiction *4 people bought fantasy and non-fiction but not historical fiction *14 people did not buy historical fiction *13 people did not buy non-fiction *8 people did not buy fantasy books How many people were in the class? What was the most popular genre? At first blush, my answer would be 21 in the class, with fantasy as the most popular. What are your thoughts? Thank you so much for any insight or help anyone can provide! Suzanne

We call it Cowboy Caviar and it's really easy to make: 2 T. red wine vinegar 1 1/2 t. olive oil 1 1/2 t. Tobasco (or to taste) 1 clove garlic, minced 1/8 t. pepper 1 firm ripe avacado 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas 1 -2 c. frozen corn 2/3 c. chopped cilantro 2/3 c. thinly sliced green onions 8 ounces Roma tomatos, coarsely chopped salt to taste Mix the vinegar, oil, Tobasco, garlic and pepper in a bowl. Cut the avocado into 1/2 inch cubes and add to vinegar mix, mixing gently. Drain and rinse the peas, add with corn to vinegar mix, and also the cilantro, green onion, and tomatos. Mix gently, add salt to taste. YUM!