Ooooo! Very Nice! :blushing: You won't tell anyone I said that...will you? I have a reputation, after all........ Thanks for posting.

It sounds like a lovely gift. Although I wouldn't give it as a give (atheist here), I honestly and sincerely think you should post a link to where you bought this gift, if possible. I'm sure that there are many here that would like this as a potential gift for friends/family members of theirs. Please post. *needs a "sincere" smiley*

Some days, I'm not absolutely positive that I could handle any emergency! :tongue_smilie: 1) In our state (Iowa) 12yo can stay home alone, and 13yo can babysit others. Are there state guidelines you can look to for reassurance? 2) Depends upon the teen. Some 10yo I would trust to be alone in the house after dark. Some 25yo I would NOT trust alone with my house (and kids) after dark. 3) Do you live in a "safe neighborhood"? I know that is a subjective question, and it is no absolute guarantee that nothing will happen, but it is something to consider. For example, we lock our doors every night, but if we forget, it's not a very big deal in our town. 4) Between now and the midnight performance, can you practice by going out to dinner at 10pm , or even out for some late shopping from 8-10pm?

:iagree: My parents bought a sapphire (birthstone) ring for my sister. She still wears it.

Which keyboard? We have a Casio LK-100. We are very happy with it for what it does now. http://www.amazon.com/Casio-Lighted-Keyboard-Premium-Accessories/dp/B000KVRQ60 Advantages: --We bought it for $100 from Target; the price was right. --A keyboard fits in our house (rather than a piano). --Dd4 does not need a full size keyboard. --If we need to upgrade, we can justify it because we only paid $100 for this one. --Keys that light up. Disadvantages: --There is no "piano"or "forte" for this keyboard. It doesn't matter how hard or soft dd plays the keys, they all sound the same volume (as per adjustment by the volume control). Dd understands the difference between piano and forte, but she cannot put it into practice on this keyboard. If you want this as a feature, you will have to pay more. Can young children learn to play the piano? I think it depends upon the child. Dd started at age 4 with overpriced group lessons at the downtown music center. Advantages: She wanted to go because she had "friends" (classmates) there. The teacher was incredibly knowledgeable, and VERY good with little kids. Disadvantages: --$14 for a 45minutes GROUP lesson in Iowa. This is NOT NYC! --Not a single classmate had a piano or keyboard in their home, so dd was the only one arriving at class prepared to move on to the next lesson. --Teacher was not well prepared. We tried a summer of overpriced ($20/lesson) private lessons, but, again, the teacher was always late, etc. So now I teach dd at home. She can play 29 songs. She will be 5 in December. We are using: My First Piano Adventures http://pianoadventures.com/myfirst/materials.html We use the Lesson Book A, the Writing Book A, and I just added the Christmas Book A. You also need to know: 1) I set a timer for 15 minutes and "practice" with dd every day. Some of this time is games. Some of this time is playing songs we have done in the past. When I feel she has mastered a song, we move on to the next one. We are usually working on several songs at the same time. At this age, you probably need to commit to sitting with her daily for practice. 2) Dd gets paid 25c/day for practicing piano. It started out as, "Hey, if I'm paying $xx for lessons, paying her a quarter to practice so we get the most out of lessons is a drop in the bucket!" We have continued this even with me teaching her.

:iagree: We cut up food into the size of a pony bead for starters, although our 10mo now gnaws off larger pieces of banana, pear, cracker, etc. Baby feeds herself with a pincer grasp for the stuff we still cut up. We never did rice cereal either. It seemed so processed to me, but I know it is the right choice for many other parents. And it is okay to delay solids; especially if baby is getting a healthy amount of breastmilk! Most of the first year (until 12 months) is all experimental eating anyway. If baby takes 2 bites, that's awesome! If not....no worries as long as baby is a good nurser. I know that you and your doctor will monitor baby's growth and development to ensure baby is getting what they need. The research I have read says that delaying solids can also delay chances of food allergies by giving baby a better chance to outgrow sensitivities. I don't know from personal experience; it's just what I have read. I also know that feeding child foods they may be sensitive to can be detrimental to baby's growth and development. Dd1's best friend went 9 months with a milk allergy that the pediatrician suspected but did not share with the parents. Once a secondary pediatrician diagnosed Baby E, she grew 4 inches in the next 6 months!

For child #1: Morning sickness ended once I learned to (1) eat in small portions, especially before getting out of bed in the morning and (2) avoid ALL forms of fast food and junk food. Even later in the pregnancy, and after months of no vomiting, I suffered dire consequences for sharing a sandwich from Wendy's with Loverboy. Child #1 craved greens: spinach, kale, swiss chard, collards. How the heck do you cook those things? I learned. Child #2: I was nauseous the ENTIRE PREGNANCY. I nearly threw up the "anti-nausea" drugs on the C-section surgery table. Saltines and ginger should have calmed my stomach, but still made me vomit. The THOUGHT of taking any sort of pills (including pregnancy vitamins) made me yarp...so the doctors finally put me on Flintstones chewables. Gum worked, but I had to have it handy at all times. Even while chewing gum, I would start to hurl, so I would have to hustle to put extra gum in my mouth to beat the nausea before natural consequences ensued. My record is 11 pieces of gum in my mouth. The good news: My nausea suddenly disappeared near the end of last November. :D

I agree with the posters that point out that it is not in the nature of toddlers to sit for ANYTHING! This has worked for me with kids that take forever to eat. I don't know if it will work with your toddler. You need a stack of picture books from the library or your bookshelves. When you are done eating, sit with your kids (who are still eating) and read to them. Hold up two books, and let your 5yo pick which one to read. The 3yo gets to pick the next book (out of a choice of two). Then you get to choose a book. Repeat. If, during the child's turn, the child is insistent on a specific book different from the two you are holding up, read the book your child requests. It's not worth the battle. Every time you need to turn the page, pause and remind everyone that it is time to take one bite. If you notice everyone chewing throughout your reading of that page, then don't sweat it. If the kids have NOT had a bite within the last page or two, pause until everyone takes a bite before you turn the page. I don't know if this will work for your family or not, but I hope you find what works for you.

1):iagree: 2) Can you organize workboxes or work folders for your kids to work independently when you are not available? Do a search of the hive for threads on this. 3) If you work with your older, and the 7yo needs a break, set a timer for how much she can play before returning to work. 4) Create busy boxes to keep your 2yo entertained some of the time. Previous parents have created 5 boxes (M-T-W-R-F), with different treasure in each box. Stringing wood beads, wood puzzles, and special coloring books are things that may be in a specific box that only comes out at school time. Again, do a hive search for ways to entertain toddlers while doing school work. Then, make it clear that when the toddler sleeps or is doing his special boxes, EVERYONE WORKS!

Have you ever heard someone say in frustration, "Math is like a foreign language for me!!!" Well, yes, it is. And these words are the vocabulary of that foreign language. With missing vocabulary, any language would be frustrating. As your children grow, they may need these words at the higher levels of math. With the kids I have homeschooled, I review the less common words (subtrahend, addend) a few times, then drop it. As a college level tutor, I met many frustrated students who did not know these words (numerator, denominator, reciprocal, function, vector, etc). They were shocked to learn the simple concept behind the big, scary vocabulary word. The most important things for the student to learn is 1) there IS a specific it word for that "thingy." :D 2) the big, fancy word really means something pretty straightforward 3) how to re-find this word if they need it.

Spend some time in the back yard playing with the dog.....or the kids.

Elementary: spelling capitalization punctuation noun/predicate noun/verb agreement.....I run, he runs, etc pluralizing homonyms (rains/reins/reigns, know/no) word types (nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, articles) helping verbs/linking verbs writing paragraghs, what is the main idea? outlining (4-5th grade) writing a simple report (5 paragraphs) note taking Middle school: all of the above, plus diagramming MEMORIZING all helping verbs and linking verbs; testing was to write them from memory in a finite amount of time MEMORIZING long lists of over a hundred prepositions; testing was to write as many as I could remember from memory in a finite amount of time. High School: Strunk and White, not that I understood its importance at the time Papers with 3+ sources beyond encyclopedia Footnotes How to write the references at the end of a paper Finding resources and magazine articles in the olden days before computer searches...using big reference books at the public library.

I am not babysitting anyone else's kids any more, so disposable income is down. It's a fair trade to not have to deal with other people's drama. As a consequence, this year we will have more practical gifts for Christmas. Also, everyone in our family (except me) has birthdays within 33 days of Christmas, so some stuff may be moved around. dd4: new gymnastics leotard....but it will be very pretty and soft next level of piano books...but she may need them before then barrettes for hair character plate...the old one broke dinosaur game (already in my stash) some other stuff probably in the stash dd10months: cloth diapers and covers...she moves up to the next size in January toddler "ride-on" toy (sister's old one) character plate pull toy with ducks that quacks some other stuff form my stash Loverboy: the expensive programmable legos (doubles as homeschooling) coveralls? other science stuff

Loverboy leaving for work while I was pregnant with dd4, and he said, "I love you BOTH!"

:bigear:

I would set a timer, and I would have the CHILD hold the timer. Then I would do the work so dc would understand that it CAN be done within a finite amount of time. Usually the task is math facts. I expect the children that I work with (once they know most of their addition facts) to go through a set of flash cards in 3 minutes. This obviously takes practice, and this is not achieved overnight. Every time I begin this with a child, there is much grumbling for the first several days. Then I give the child the time for 3 minutes, and I flip through the cards as fast as I can. This is usually 2.5 minutes. The complaining stops. The child realizes that 1) it can be done. 2) it can be done within 3 minutes. 3) it is only 3 minutes out of their day. ----------------------------------------------------- Another trick I use is to "race" the child at a task. "Who will win? Will you finish Task X first? Or will I change the baby's diaper and move the laundry along first?" --------------------------------------- Some parents set a time period for Task X. If Task X is not finished within that time period, then it becomes HOMEWORK, and the child must move onto the next subject of schoolwork. Any HOMEWORK must be done before Privilege X is allowed (tv, computer games, legos, etc).

:iagree:No one knows everything, and even the best teachers miss some stuff. Thank you for humbly sharing your experiences. This tells those of us coming up behind you (children aged 4yo and 10mo) to know that others have been through this, and there are solutions. I hope to be as wise as you are, and not panic.

:iagree: because I am at the pre-homeschooling stage. We do stuff...but technically dd4 will not be K eligible for 11 more months. Many, many :grouphug: to you.

Dd4 knew quite a few signs as a toddler. She was a late talker (at 26 months, and we even had her evaluated by professionals on recommendation by an outreach worker and by our pediatrician). One sign she made up was "washrag." We used "all done" (hands up in the air waving), and she would also hold up one hand, and point to the palm with the other hand. This was "washrag." I had found it worked well to bring dd a hot washrag to hold/wash her own face while I cleaned off the high chair tray. It also made it easier to wipe her face (with a secondary hot washrag) since she had soaked the worst off while I cleaned the tray. She also taught signs to Daddy. One night, Mommy was out for the evening. Dd and Daddy were playing with her little plastic animals. Daddy knew the signs for nearly all of the animals, but the only sign he didn't recognize was dd making an L with one hand and pushing it flat across her other palm. Since they were only playing with half-a-dozen animals, and Daddy knew the other signs, he deduced correctly that this was "lizard." It is cute! Enjoy this time.

We are a family of geeks, and we love the show! There was hope that dd would get the illusive "popular" gene from Loverboy's side of the family, but it is becoming apparent that dd4 is too enamoured with bugs, telescopes, rocks, etc, to be able to deny her nerdy relations (us). She can identify a black widow spider (from watching Nature), and she knows the sound a dikdik makes when it runs away. (It whistles; info from My Big Backyard magazine). Maybe as a teen, the baby will rebel and become a rock star.:D

Well, for starters, (#1) I sure hope my kids don't go for 8 years of public school without a lunch. btdt, and was told it was my fault. (That would be #2). I hope my kids learn how to take responsibility for THEIR PART. Not the whole thing, and not the part that is the adults' responsibility. For example, if my kid missed lunch, on a certain level, it would be natural consequences for her choices. If she missed several lunches...yeah, same thing. But 8 years???? Where were the adults? #3 I hope my kids can come to me when they are afraid, and I can help them with it; rather than being in trouble for bothering mom and dad for having a bad dream, sad thoughts, or being afraid of the dark between the hours of 9pm and 7am. In the meantime, we co-sleep. #4 Violence: We don't hit in our home, and we don't spank in our home. But when I was growing up, spanking was a punishment. The couple of times my brother blackened my eyes (for practicing piano) or broke a tooth of mine (he slammed me into the car because he wanted to sit in the front seat), it was implied that it was my fault. #5 I tell my kids that it is my job to help them, if I can. I remember specific instances when my parents would not come when I called, even though 10 minutes earlier, they assured me they would help with specific job Z....I just needed to call after I finished the X and Y part. #6 No religion, as opposed to 3 or 4 days of church events every week. Of course, Loverboy is Mormon, and I am not opposed to my children learning bible stories in context. But I am not the believer my parents are. #7 I try to help my kids navigate the world of adults and children, and I step in when I see unfairness or unhappiness. This is so totally opposite from my parents' style of parenting. There are too many examples to list. #8 Better sex ed. I'm 41 and I'm still waiting for "the sex talk" from my parents. Thank goodness I had a library card as a tween/teen! Ultimately, many difficult things for me as a child stem from my inability to go to my parents for help/comfort/support/problem-solving/intervention/information/etc. It is an ongoing thread throughout my childhood. If I fail at everything else as a parent, I hope that my children will know that they can come to me for help and support in any situation, and I will do my best to help them and not condemn them. (This is hard, because we all mirror our parents at times). I remove my ego, and hope if they cannot come to me, they will go to their dad, a teacher, a doctor, or a friend's parent to get the help and support they need if I fail in this area as a parent. I'm so lucky that I have Loverboy as a co-parent, who has a healthier paradigm of how this is supposed to work. Some days, I really feel out of my depth on these issues.

Tomato Pie. It is NOT a quiche. It has no eggs. A friend posted the recipe on her fb page, and Loverboy brought home a bunch of tomatoes from a co-worker. It's cooking right now. :)

It is not recommended that purchased tadpoles be released as frogs. Of course, the tadpoles I have purchased in the past have all been BULLFROGS, which are an invasive species in Iowa. I do not know if there are different rules for your part of the country, but you might want to make a telephone inquiry to the company selling the tadpoles or to your local university amphibian-scientist before making a commitment to buy. We have not been successful in getting the tadpoles to full frog level. I think that I need to start feeding/offering crickets or other live food as soon as their legs appear. My frogs always die before they lose their tails. (Once was because I improperly cleaned the tank, I'm pretty sure....) Poor little guys. :sad: If you have a source for tadpoles from a local pond, that is an option, too. We have also had luck with Ladybug larvae.

:iagree::grouphug::grouphug:

We have 3, and they are all mine! Two are from the kittens from my vet's farm, and my third is a former "lab cat." He has tattoos in his ears from his days of being "quality assurance" for a company that made vaccinations and medications for "companion animals." (Don't fret. He was allowed to run free in a room the size of our current livingroom with 8-12 other cats and lots and lots of toys. The vet overseeing their care would send her techs in to hang out and socialize with the cats whenever they had paperwork to do.) I thought the catlady formula was always 6+cats. I had always thought that I was halfway there when Loverboy met me, but I guess I was already a crazy cat lady at that time!