We recently went on a tour of the Getty center (Southern California) and while there our docent explained to us he had been assigned a big project. He was put in charge of researching what different museums all over the US offer the growing homeschool community vs. what their needs are and to then put one together at the Getty. He asked for my input regarding my own community. He said his researched showed some groups want the tours to be family oriented while others run more like a school program. Number of kids/adults, ages, information given, etc was in question. Our hour long tour was considered a “story time†where he walked us through 4 pieces of art, each from different artist, each produced approx. 120 years part but each telling the same story of the Roman myth following Jupiter. He interjected what was going on in history at the time of the paintings to explain the representational differences from each artist. The kids & parents were in awe the entire time. At the end of the tour, he spent 20 minutes in the floor with the kids. He gave them each crayons & white cardstock & asked them to draw what the “next scene†would be in the story. It was a fabulous tour! My question to you- what would YOU want/need from such a museum program? Thanks for your input!!;)

Rainbow has converstaion cards. They are questions to ask a kid & questions to ask a parent. They are fun to use around the table. I've googled "dinner time questions" and have found A LOT of fun questions. I printed them up, cut them out and put them in a jar. We pass the jar around & take turn asking questions. We also ask random things, like "name 3 trees" the person that answers may ask the next person to "name 3 types of dogs"..... There are 6 of us around the table and 9 times out of 10 the meal ends in crazy laughter.

:iagree::iagree:

Interstate theatres are $1.25 per movie w/ $1 popcorn & $1 hotdogs. We take in drinks from home. There are 6 of us, it is VERY rare we go to the actual theatre. Check out the site & see if there is one near you! http://www.interstate-theatres.com/index.asp There are theatres all over the US!

I love Usborne books! Thanks for the info! I actually ordered them & on the first page, it says it is the perfect book for those who do not know what to do with their art supplies! thanks!

Thanks for these links! Both look like a GREAT resource! Can't wait to check them out!

I'm looking for an art book, one that will help up use a variety of supplies. (Paint, eyeballs, noodles, etc) We have tons of supplies & although the kids are great at just making "stuff" they are wanting to make actual projects. What is your favorite young elementary art book and/or website? Thanks~!! Corby

This is sooo our family. I can call out nerd, turbo & catfish dinner is ready & somehow they know to whom I am referring! My son, a jr has at 13, asked us to stop calling him jr & call him by his given name & my 10 yr old asked dad to stop yelling GO BUG at the baseball field. hummm... don't like it when they get old. :glare:

Honestly, no. However.. just be there. At first, in this kind of loss, she will get a lot of outside help & attention. I know for me, what ment the most looking back was getting a card from a dear friend about 6 months after the loss. She wrote a sweet note about the person I'd lost- she gave me a story along w/ telling me how that person inpacted her life. I am glad she waited the 6 months, I was dealing w/ different emotions at that point & wasn't overwhelmed w/ the loss in the same way. Her 18 yr old would get a lot out of a letter, expressing maybe a story from her childhood about her dad. I'm sry your friend has to go through this...

Amy I was addicted w/o a doubt to diet coke and after a 30lb weight loss decided the soda had to go. i stoppd buying it and increased my tea intake. I craved it, literally for over two weeks. It was the bubbles I was craving. First I stopped buying it, the when I noticed the craving coming on, i'd walk around the block & breath deep. If it got real bad, i'd eat something sweet (not salty) like fruit. It took a while but the cravings went away. I may have a diet coke every few months now & although I like the bubbles till, it really takes like I'm drinking chemicals. Also.. if I have a diet coke for 2-3 days in a row, the cravings come back. This is the same way I kicked smoking in my 20's and carbs a few times. On the flip side, I kicked the weight loss up a bit & lost another 12 lbs. You can do it!!

A few months back, I kicked the diet coke habit & jumped two feet into the tea world. I was going to post this AND... be aware that the tannins in tea counteracts the body's ability to absorb iron. Being anemic, I can not drink tea w/in four hrs of eating a meal filled w/ iron. and I was trying to be healthy----- ha ha

I have a great friend from high school who is applying to the police department. He used me as a reference as we have been friends for 25+ years and am one of the few females he knows that he hasn't dated. Now I am curious, if I am called on, what may I be asked? Anyone know? Thanks for any insite! :)

A family I use to be very close with, an exes famiy, lost Grandma the day before Thanksgiving. The funeral is Monday and for a few reasons I will not be attending the service. I would like to send flowers to mom but have no idea where to order them from. HELP!! thanks!!

Ok heres the scoop on my finances, ha. Like the others mentioned, walmart, target, even big 5 BAM boards are cheap & not worth it if your child is a skater. However, if your older son isn't into the skate thing & just wants a cheap board, I'd still skip Target & Walmart & got to a sports store, They will have name brand names but generic decks for less. GIRL brand are best for street. We just picked up a board alone for $55ish. This is my sons third set up so we went w/ cool looking trucks, cheap skateshop wheels, personalize tape & upgraded barrings (for speed!). At the skate shop this customized was $110. His ramp board is Industry & the cost was about the same. If you have a VANS skateshop near & are members, you'll save 20% on the set up. & skatepark time. Personality I know my son perfers me taking him & he picking out the details b/c then he gets to customize it.

Does hubby WANT to go? Ironic I read this tonight. My sister & I go to Vegas for the shopping & country dancing twice a year without the hubbys. Next week hubby has to go for work & isn't looking forward to it. Some of his work crew are married, some single yet all men. I know they'll go out to eat, & probably go to a bar/grill to do it. I have NO fear of dh doing anything there that he doesn't do here. He may have a few beers, he may crack jokes w/ the boys, he may stay up to late walking the strip but he'll come back to me at the end of the week lonely, missing his bed & the arms in it, happy he is married & ready to be home and I will have enjoyed the quiet evenings alone. I personally don't see any difference between a husband going to vegas vs. any other town. If a man is the type to ________ (enter own situation there), he'll find it in any town he goes to. I am never suprised anymore w/ the stories dh tells me about the business men, married or single, he meets on the road.

aside from all that, I recommend you read the 5 Love Languages. It may explain your hubby :001_smile:

It may be to late but here ya go! I went to a halloween party this weekend. A mom baked a cake in a bundt pan, & covered it upsidedown in orange frosting. She took a ice cream cone, covered it in green frosting and stuck it upside down covering the hole. She piped the same green frosting down the sides a bit to look like the lines on a pumpkin. Totally cute, very easy, completely doable.

:iagree:We're a gun family and this is my thought as well. My very tiny 10 yr old has a hard time w/ a 9mm, I can't image him with an uzi. Sad all around...

dingdingdingding.. I'd say you win the prize. I can pin point when my 13 yr old started caring about his hair, clothing & shower... and her name is Darline. :glare:

OK so the article is old. Two years old- but.. this goes under the "DUH how stupid are you to try & act innocent". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-412195/Tesco-condemned-selling-pole-dancing-toy.html On a different note, Fresh & Easy is a new grocery store here in California. They tote organic & natural products sold at discountish prices. Today there were picketors passing out info about Tesco. They claim Tesco owns Fresh & Easy & is under investigation for pesticides found in baby food, breaking child labor laws & being hypocratic on their stands w/ the environment. Has anyone heard of any of these stores/cases?

Humm... I think if it were my dd, I'd explore everything else first (even diet & exercise can effect a womans monthly cycle). That being said, I was one of those who started the pill at 16. My headaches pre-pill were out of control, my cycle & cramping were keeping me out of school. Once I started the pill, my skin cleared up, my headaches were very under control, I had no cramping & my period was 2 days long. I went off the pill twice in my life, both times I conceived within 2 months. I have 4 children all together and now even with my tubes tied, I wish I could take the pill for the reasons above. Bottom line, I'd try other things first but not rule out the pill.

I have one like that and worst.. I was like that as a child. Believe me it hurts ALOT when people say "you talk to much" or "can you stop talking?" As an adult I've learned through ALOT of personal practice to SHUT UP. Heres the deal, for me, I have to say things out loud to process them, this is why thoughts come out jumbled sometimes. I and now I see it in my son, have to repeat things someone has told me for it to sink in my brain. This is a type of learning, and not a intelligence factor as school & keeping a 4.0 came easy for me. I tell my son: you do NOT have to say everything you think. (i tell him this over & over). We've gone over conversation tips, such as don't always have to have the last word & work on keeping the conversation on one subject (if what is on his tongue is different then the current subject, don't say it). If trying to think a thing through, instead of saying it out loud, write it down. Becoming a list person helped me to put it on paper and not outloud. THere are always the basics- don't talk during a movie, practice a quiet hour in the house (NO one talks for an hour) and if she is aware of her nonstop talking, have her practice 30 minutes at time, only speaking when being spoken to.(helps the mind realize the nonstop chatter is habit as well) Then hug her & tell her you love her lively personality :001_smile:

ohhh now that wasn't very nice!! Now I have to make it, then if I make it I"ll have to taste it. If I taste it & like it I have to hide it from the kids. Did you even give a second thought when you posted this that you were making me LIE to my innocent children!?!? Cool actually that this was posted. I was just telling dh that I accidentally purchased two costco sized boxes of saltines & the kids opened both. Now I know what to do with them!!!

:iagree: This is me. I've got a 12 & 9. They are constantly wrestling & grabbing each others arm/foot/fake love handles. I see it as bonding. Come on, They aren't going to cuddle during a movie but they will take turns punching each other.. lovingly of-course, all the while pick on each other. I use to get very upset and tell them to stop b/c it seemed like constant fighting. DH told me to leave them alone, they were being brothers. It took me witnessing my eldest sticking up for his younger brother in a group for me to see there were actually playing

I'd say I go both ways with this. As an ex-80's rocker chick married to a still loves rock & rock use to be long haired but now shaves his head guitar, bass & drum playing man- I'd say its fun. My ds, a drummer, 13 LOVES it. There is a steady stream of teenage boys at my house playing it. However, thought #1, some of the rocker girls, are rocker. Tight clothing, half cut shirts, unconservative hair/make up. #2) I guess it all depends on if you mind your 13 ds singing, "shes my cherry pie" along with aerosmith, ac/dc & metallica songs from the 80s. The words to the songs took on a whole new meaning when i heard my kids sing them. Final thought- we let them play. We let them invite their friends who parents are aware that we let them play. Just this week I was told by my 18 yr old her friends like coming over & my 13 ds said its cool to be the host house after his friend said he wishes his house could be open like ours. I know you didnt' ask but goal complete on this end- become the teenage hang out house.- Guitar Hero & Rock band approved (and no I don't approve everything to be the hang out house)