Most of my currents have come from Stitch Fix, and they are brands that I never see anywhere else to duplicate. I have some Lands End staples that are good, though. Most things I have gotten from there (especially swimsuits) have been great. Least favorites are anything from a big box store. Somehow that all seems to feel and look great for about 3 washings and then stretches in weird ways (even dried flat).

The first time I wore one like that, I was like . . . What in the world??? Lol It's actually easier than it seems, once you get used to it. I much prefer the kind that actually unsnap, but I'm not sure that Spanx brand has those; I haven't had one in a long time.

I like Spanx, BUT use a size bigger than would be usual. That way, I get smoothing benefits, without all the aforementioned problems. Everything looks better when lightly smoothed, but not squished. That said, I only use it on rare occasions, especially in summer when it just adds to the heat. I don't buy cheap, flimsy materials with zero structure anymore. It doesn't have to stand up by itself or anything, but it makes such a difference to be heavy enough to skim *over* wrinkles and rolls instead of getting folded into them. Sadly, I no longer find much at inexpensive price points. I have done much better having fewer items of better quality. That's ok with me, though, because I'm not really "into" clothes anyway.

Oklahoma. It can be used either way here. I most frequently hear it referring to a potted plant, and the other simply as "pot" (or "weed") with no "plant" added on. But I have heard people say "pot plant" when referring to the actual plant, as opposed to the product. You just go by the context to know which one people mean.

Yes, all generic 18" doll clothes and accessories (at least, all I have seen, at Hobby Lobby, WM, Target, Ebay, etc) work on them all. We've gotten a number of things from winter sales. Our first 18" doll came from Goodwill; she was in perfect shape except for her hair. Don't even ask how long I spent untangling it. By the end I wished I'd just spent $25 at Target! Lol Dd went through several years of dolls as a special interest (ASD1), but even after that interest gradually faded and was replaced by another, she still enjoys them. They've held up well. The matching clothes are so cute! By the time I was aware of them, dd was beginning to phase out and I didn't get any.

Five times.

American Girl - style dolls (we have just the cheaper ones, Our Generation, or something like that, from Target. Walmart also has a line. We mix and match accessories. Our play kitchen items have gotten a lot of use at all ages up through now, the more "real" looking, the better. We have a large number of farm figurines and props. Cattle, sheep, pigs, tractors, trucks, trailers, barns, hay and baler . . . on and on. Dd8 wasn't yet into art supplies at 5. Ds7 still isn't much. Dress up bin with a variety of clothes and props is used almost daily.

So, are any keepsakes we have from this period historical artifacts now? 😫😂

I just can't get over the fact that a time that I clearly remember is being called "historical" . . . that word should be reserved for times I wasn't alive, or at the very least, times I was too young to remember! 😐 Reminds me of the first time I heard the radio refer to songs, that I remember the release of, as "classics". I don't even know how to feel. 😂 Dh (almost a decade my junior) will have a field day with the jokes. P.s. The jokes are a mutual thing. Despite his youth, he acts like an old man and people often think we're the same age.

No. My friends from that time period weren't from school; I wasn't close with anyone in school. I used to be fb friends with a couple people, but I'm not on fb anymore. I occasionally see someone in the grocery store or something, and exchange greetings, maybe chat a minute. We're friendly (and some are quite nice people) but they are more acquaintances I was trapped with for a few years, not close friends.

In general, I like the NOW and Solaray brands. Thorne and Emerald are excellent brands. They are considerably more expensive, though, so I don't choose them for everything.

lol To the first: A big grin, "Oh, old school, all right." ETA: "All right" as in, yay for old school. Just realized that reads differently than it sounded. And to the second: A long, pained sigh, "Yeah, I don't know why they haven't switched here; you've got to be careful with D50." I gather this is on the long list of things that should be changed around here.

Here is what my Paramedic/Firefighter says, "Well, most people don't just collapse from low blood sugar and pass out. They get dizzy; they're still awake and conscious. For example, one time at a child's birthday party, woman was talking out of her head, dizzy, etc. I looked at her fingers and saw she had marks indicating she checked her blood sugar regularly. Then, it turned out someone knew she was diabetic. I rubbed cake icing on her gums. You could do something like this as long as they are awake and can maintain their airway. Be aware, though, that some newer medics feel you should not put anything in someone's mouth like that. They want to start an IV and push D50 (Dextrose 50%) on people. But all the old school use either glucotrol or some other oral sugar they can find. Again, this is if the person is awake. If you want the story to be dramatic, though, and she has completely passed out, you'd examine her right there. When you find the bracelet and the glucogon, you'd do that and then call 911. If the person is completely passed out, using glucogon will take some time to work (15-30 minutes at best)." ETA: I did not check my spelling on anything, I just typed what it sounded like he said. I may have spelled something wrong.

I liked this just because it illustrated what a couple of us were saying earlier, not because I'm glad it happened, just to be clear. I kind of didn't know whether to laugh, like, or sad, because I can so easily imagine this happening to us with the right combination of kids' traits! I don't know what I would have said. 😳😬😂

That's a good point. @PeterPan your jet may be flying under the radar.

@Lecka that is all very helpful as I think about weaving things together. Thank you!

Yeah, that makes sense. I'm just beginning to wrap my mind around the whole language picture. I finally sat down and outlined all 3 books of the Mindwings autism series for myself, because as many times as I read it, I just was not getting it organized in my head. That helped immensely - there is a lot of the same information repeated in different ways in those books. Anyway, I just jumped into narrative because I had it, and now need to figure out where her weak areas are in the other language components. I may well be jumping ahead. But both kids love stories and I was thinking I'd gradually layer in components . . . grand plans, haha. So much to learn.

I've been working through one of the MindWings SGM analysis samples with dd8. We've been retelling Owl Moon. Ds7 joins us for a reading and discussion, and then they separately retell with me. I have been a bit startled at the difference in what they come up with. Ds, who is just humoring me for a moment before dashing back out to arrange a bird funeral, spits out stuff like, "As she walked toward the dark forest, her feet sank in the snow like an anchor," with no more than a second's pause. For dd, it takes extensive discussion for, "She could taste cold air." Small sample size, I know, and dd's language disorder is mild, but it is definitely true here that without language issues, it's mostly just absorbed. This was true for me as well. I am reminded of how I used to sit in class, marveling at people who just could. not. get it. Are they just not paying attention? Why won't they just spit it out??? I'm so glad I wasn't the sort to tease or say anything, as I feel bad enough now realizing they simply *couldn't* get it with the broad, general instruction. It takes explicit, incremental instruction and they weren't getting anything like that.

Possibly he did the first thing just for fun or whatever, realized it annoyed her, and then began pushing?

This is what I have in mind. If I imagine a child with the curiousity of my son and the impulse control issues of my daughter, this behavior would be right in line with that. On one hand, you'd think she would have seen the lack of impulse control in other areas as well. On the other, I don't find that people in general are that good about recognizing any part of ADHD except extreme hyperactivity. So I still think this is possible. I've been thinking more about it this morning, and still, the two things that stand out to me are the butt pinching and not doing it when dad is around.

All taken together, it does seem a bit much; however, a lot may depend on family culture and specifics. My 7 year old is extremely curious about bodies, both male and female, and has been for a while. We are also a family that is not conservative at all when it comes to being fully clothed or not. (In my FOO, this gradually changed as kids got older, and the same is happening here). I've also always been very open in talking to the kids, my son isn't hesitant to ask anything. He has asked some very pointed questions and likes to know exactly how things work and look. Sometimes I just have to tell him that something isn't appropriate. I could see a very curious kid, who wasn't given the opportunity to have questions answered, trying to satisfy his curiousity by peeking. If there are some social thinking challenges as well, it may need to be explicitly taught what is appropriate or not with this new person. The pinching of the butt, I'm having a hard time finding a logical reason for. Eta: Forgot to say, also the fact that he seems to know not to do it when dad is around, that could go either way. Maybe instinctively knows it's inappropriate, maybe Dad's very strict and he just knows no playing around, maybe a lot of things. Like I said, all taken together, it does sound like, at the very least, it is something that needs to be explored. So, yes, I'd be concerned in that there's something that needs my attention. Without knowing any other context, though, I wouldn't assume it means something is seriously wrong. Eta again: I re-read . . . in what time frame did all this occur? All in one visit of a couple days? It's a lot to happen in such a short time, if so.

Same. When I was in school, if we needed a bandaid or something like that, the school secretary had a few first aid supplies at her desk. Anyone who was sick would sit in her office until someone picked them up.

No.

The size may have been the reason I chose the Trubind.

I use a Trubind I got on sale several years ago. At the time, I think the other options were comb binding, which I hate, and seems like maybe the Proclick was relatively new and had a con I didn't like, though I can't remember what. I actually do remove the coils to add papers and reuse coils. If you bend the ends just a bit, it's both not easy for the coil to slide out accidentally and easy enough to slide it out on purpose. Or you can cut them a tad long the first time. So if I need to add papers, I just uncoil it and recoil it. That said, I don't find I need to do it that often.