If she does need to study before she takes the test, I would encourage her to start at a slightly lower level than she needs to for confidence building. She might be surprised at what she does know though. I feel that a high school education has been somewhat watered down even since I graduated.

The inexpensive tracfones don't have cameras. I think all or most phones have texting ability though. You may want texting because it works better if there are low bars or other problems with connectivity. It was more likely to work after Katrina than voice.

Personally I am more worried about a hospital causing something to go wrong than needing a hospital because something went wrong naturally. Have you considered the risks of the hospital aside from unnecessary interventions such as nosocomial infection (you or your baby) and medical error? One of my best friends has spent her entire life in a wheelchair due to a nosocomial infection she contracted shortly after birth. America's infant and maternal mortality rates are abysmal. Personally I would feel much safer at home than in a hospital.(There are no birth centers in my area.) An additional plus is that the rates of postpartum depression are much lower in mothers who homebirth.

I would say that it would be incredibily difficult to try to guess the puppy's ancestry at this point because he is just too young. How old is the puppy?At that age black and tan dachshunds can look very similiar to that also. You can't really tell the length of the coat or the final shape of the body head and face yet. We have a Belgian Malnois(82 lbs.) that is very timid and a dachshund/pomerainian mix(8 lbs.) that is both the smallest and by far the most agressive of our 5 dogs. If you adopt the puppy I would carry him around as much as possible for about the first week or more to encourage him to bond to you.

One time I left my dd in the car in the driveway with all the windows rolled down because it was the safest place for her at that instant in time. I don't remember exactly how, I think it involved a keychain that could be separated into two parts but I managed to lock us out of the house. She was definitely safer in the car with the windows down while I was breaking a window, unlocking it, climbing into the house and retrieving the house keys. I think common sense about the situation should prevail.

Have you considered discussing it with your regular doctor in relation to the issues he is familiar with so that it is in your medical record as an ongoing problem? Another thought would be to research information about spontaneous shoulder dislocations in people with significant atrophy and take the information with you if you have to go to the ER. Hopefully it doesn't get bad enough to have to go to the hospital. :grouphug:

Aren't there some science books in the Life of Fred series?

I do not allow my dd to go up slides period. It does not matter whether they are indoors or outdoors. I definitely do not allow shrieking indoors, either.

I am from the south and I have never liked or understood(I can intellectually interpret it but emotionally I don't get it) Faulkner.

My daughter was less than a year old when Hurricane Katrina came through. She has said things since that strongly indicate to me that she has fairly detailed memories of the aftermath. I definitely fall into the he will remember this camp. Incidents like this and the attitude behind them are a major part of why I homeschool. I do not want people like those who made this decision to have access to my child.

I just cleared an ear/sinus infection with colloidal silver sprayed up my nose. If I forgot to take it the congestion reminded me rather quickly.

I would separate the dogs for a period of time and work on Griffin being aware that the you and your children are dominant. Then I would only allow the two dogs to be together with very strict supervision. Be prepared to separate them immediately if a fight starts. I would also look into working with a trainer if possible. It seems unusual for a male to be fighting with a female. Has there been a recent disruption in the household? We had three miniature dachshunds when my daughter was born and they snapped at each other and fought occaisionally for about a month before things settled back down. I would say that getting the male fixed would be more likely to help if he was fighting with another male. Actually in my experience intact males seem to be more protective and less jealous of female dogs.

I would probably inform the parents because there is always the unlikely possibility that they could inadvertently call someone who is a pediphile or mentally unbalanced in some other dangerous maner with tragic consequences. Since the phone number is displayed on caller id that can be used to find the address and it is simply not good to broadcast that there are children home alone or relatively unsupervised at a given address.

One thing to remember is to start small and manageable and to gradually increase your knowledge and investment in preparedness. I reccomended the Sharon Astyk sites because while there is alot of information there you can look at it in relatively manageable bites. The fact the she is a homeschooling mother is a nice bonus.

These two sites have a great deal of information on the subject: http://sharonastyk.com/ http://scienceblogs.com/casaubonsbook/ There is also a great deal of information on the Mother Earth News site.

I would feel his leg very gently and if he yelps when you touch any spot you know where he is hurt. If he yelps it may be a good idea to take him to the vet depending on his personality(does he yelp over relatively minor thing or not). Also be prepared that he may try to bite when you are checking him. I know it seems a little mean but I have seen vets determine where a dog is injured and/or how bad by how they react to touch.

My mother did not allow me to have pierced ears until I was at least 16 and I ended up waiting until I was in my 20s. I don't know if I will make my dd wait that long but she has not even asked yet and she is 6. I never wear earrings anymore(too lazy) so I am not sure they are on her radar yet. I am inclined to make her wait until at least her teens.

One product that I did not know about until recently that may help as well is natural progesterone cream. I would start with that since it is not as radical of a lifestyle adjustment.

I used to have major problems like this. Endometriosis and ovariancysts were eventually diagnosed. I had to have emergency surgery for the cysts. Afterwards, I discovered that I was fine as long as I avoided caffine (even chocolate, yes I know but you eventually get used to carob) and all animal products produced by industrial agriculture. I can eat fish and shellfish freely, even farmed fish. I can also eat organic products freely. Except organic chocolate I have not tried it and after the withdrawel I went through after quitting chocolate I am too scared to try.

The cake is beautiful. I used to really dislike Barbie then Bratz came out and she didn't seem so bad any more. :glare:

There is an article on shade produce gardening in the current issue of Mother Earth News. Also have you looked into permaculture? I just started Gaia's Garden but I think that that can involve building a garden around trees. I would not remove the tree.

One piece of advice if you will have a female dog that will go "in season" is to crate train her now while she is young. That way when she is "in" she can spend more time in her crate which she will probably prefer up to a point.

:lurk5:

One thought is a bookbag or backpack to hold the art supplies.

Another site with multiple articles is Mother Earth News.