I don't think this is weird at all. I *know* that I'll have more children, my family just isn't done. But I know with certainty that I will always have a special relationship with my DD. Not that I'll love her more, but I'm a single parent and it has just been her and I for 4.5 years now, and will be just us for a number of years more. Plus in a sense we are growing up together, since I was just 20 when I had her. Plus, like you, DD is just like me. Looks like me, acts like me, all the same interests I had as a child, even has the same health problems I had when I was younger! :tongue_smilie:

DD LOVES, LOVES the library. We have gone once or twice a week since she was a year old. She knows that if she acts up, we leave, so that's enough to keep her in control. With that said... I only have one!! :D In your position, I'd definitely use a leash or stroller. I don't know if a smaller library would necessarily be any better, because there is still a lot to get into. But like another poster said, definitely check into online services. Even though my DD loves the library so much I still try to put all or most of the books I want out of the adult section on hold so we can spend the entire time in the children's section. Makes things so much easier!!

I love reading all these stories! Really amazing. But I did NOT know with my DD. I wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant on my own. I have endometriosis and severe scarring all around my uterus, fallopian tubes, intestines, etc.etc. One day I was at work and got a little dizzy. I thought maybe I was getting my period (I have blood sugar issues, and when I'm about to start my blood sugar bottoms out), then I realized I hadn't HAD a period in at least 8 months. I happened to work next to a CVS and called my best friend. I said "I haven't had a period in 8 months, but I really don't want to waste the money on a test, what do you think?" She told me to take a test, so I did. Turns out, I was 4.5 months pregnant!! While I was pregnant I just KNEW I was having a boy. Even though at my first ultrasound they told me she was 95% a girl, then in the last week of my pregnancy I had 3 ultrasounds because of complications. I was still determined that I was having a boy. So much so that during the c-section, as soon as they pulled her out, I said "Is it a boy?" The doctor laughed at me and said NO! I'm happy to have my girl, but I still want a boy. lol. The funny thing is DD LOVES all things boy. Racing, cars, football... she is just like me. :D

I have hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds!) of pictures... but they are all still on one of my computers! I had never gotten them backed up or printed. Then my computer crashed. :glare: I ended up paying 600 dollars to get someone to come get my pictures and school documents off the crashed hard drive. I still don't have the pictures printed, but they are stored online now, and I keep documents in Google documents as well. I need to start getting them printed up. I love looking at old pictures. I have many pictures of my grandparents and parents, and HUNDREDS of pictures of me. I always just assumed that my daughter would like to look eventually also, and if not... well then I don't know what I'll do with all these pictures! :tongue_smilie:

Is anyone is waiting impatiently for the sales? I know I am!! We are starting to run out of the (massive piles of) stuff I bought last year and it's definitely time. I love these sales. 19 cent boxes of crayons... 10 cent packages of paper... I stock up for both of us! :D

I am actually doing exactly what I need to be doing right now.. planning out the next 12 weeks of school. Luckily I get to lurk on the WTM boards while I do that, since I'm occasionally looking for information here too. :D

My 4.5 year old DD has one and loves it. Especially since I keep it put up and only bring it out for special times (long car rides, doctors visit waits, etc.) Depending on what your daughters are into, I'd check the game selection first. I'm not sure how many games are marketed for older girls. My daughter loves the racing games and other boy-stuff, so we don't have ANY girl games! (Oh wait, one... My little pony that has been played ONCE!)

Keep him in confined places to make sure he isn't going anywhere else, but often animals won't eat, drink, or go potty for the first couple hours in a new place, so that could be it also.

:grouphug: I feel your pain. I'm also a single mother and have always wanted a big family. I definitely have baby fever (both of my best friends have had babies in the last 6 months!) but for me it is way more than that. I never wanted DD to be an only child. I plan to adopt eventually (older children, probably a sibling group), but since I'll be in school for another... 8 years... it is a long way off! Love and marriage? Who in the world has time for that???? There has been some blips on the radar, but I can barely keep up with my school work, my daughter's school work, clean house and friendships!

I was addicted to Dr. Pepper. It was bad. Real bad. :D Then I started taking Topamax for migraines and couldn't drink ANYTHING carbonated. All carbonated drinks taste flat to me. It was a pretty effective way of getting off soda! Obviously I'd never suggest taking medication to get off soda, but it worked for me. :lol:

I think a large scale war involving Israel has been inevitable since the creation of the state after WWII. That's all I have to say about that right now, because it is an intensely complex situation, and both sides are very passionate about their beliefs. I don't think there is an easy answer at this point.

:iagree:I have mild to moderate hearing loss, and on top of that almost always have ear infections which makes it even harder for me to hear. I have a really hard time speaking to people with accents, whether on the phone or in person, since I tend to read lips a lot to catch what I'm missing. You didn't say anything about race, so I don't see how that could be racist.

I spent close to 800 (I think that is what I estimated in the other post!) on my daughter this year for extras. Not too much, but when you are living on less than 12K a year, it is a significant amount. My DD does dance and soccer, both things she adores, and I'm not willing to give them up. I do what I can to get by. I sell outgrown clothes and toys when I can and use the income from that. Some months my parents help out. Sometimes I've been down to turning in change at coinstar to pay monthly tuition for dance or sign up for soccer. Pretty rough, but this is the life I committed to when I decided to go back to school to *eventually* make our life better. I don't want my daughter to give up her activities for it though, especially since she only does two and I feel like they are very beneficial for her.

Have you looked at elemental science? I haven't looked at the physics course yet, but I've looked at the biology and Intro to Science for K (which we are planning to use this year) and really like the look of them. It would be a spine, and you would have to get extra stuff, but it seems like a great program. It has experiments, extra readings, narrations, vocabulary, etc. http://www.elementalscience.com/physics.html

I don't think I'd set a curfew on my 18 year old, as long as they could get in the house without disturbing anyone and didn't expect me to be driving them around. I do agree that he should still tell you where he'll be, who he is with, and what time he'll be home. I'm 24 with a child, and when I come home to my parents I still tell them where I'll be and what time I'll be home! Just out of respect, because I know my parents worry about me. (Also because if we are here and I'm out it means they are babysitting and need that information anyway... :D)

I first got my license at 16... then had it renewed at 21 and they never asked about an updated height/weight, so I didn't correct them (of course that was 6 months after I had my daughter!). I haven't renewed it since, so my license still says what I weighed at 16. :D Other than that, I can't lie because I don't know what I weigh. If someone asks (and who would be that rude... oh that's right, my mother!) I just say I don't know.

Well, I've been out of school since May 22nd, and we took the last couple weeks off of schooling also so I can plan and get ready, and I am SO GLAD to be starting back next week. I'm used to devoting so much time to schoolwork (hers and mine) and when I don't have that I feel... lost. lol. I forgot how to entertain myself.

The last year of dance for my DD. (4.5 years old and her very first year, will only get more expensive from here as she wants to join the performance squad and competition team. ugh). Tuition: $360 ($40 a month for 9 months) Ballet shoes: $30 (had to buy from the studio) Tutus and tights: approximately $50. Recital uniform: $100 Pictures: $50 Recital tickets: $30 ($10 a piece for me and my parents) DVD of recital: $35 Total of $655 for 9 months of dance. She also plays soccer. $45 for outdoor fall season through the county $100 for winter indoor season through soccer clinic $145 for soccer this year. Next year she'll be doing dance, which will be more since she's doing two dances in the recital (same tuition costs, but two pairs of shoes, two outfits, more pictures..) We are also doing an additional session of soccer because she really loves it. So outdoor, winter and spring. ($245). That'll put me over $1000 for one child, one year of activities. Both of which are activities she really loves though so it's worth it. (OH. I forgot cleats, indoor soccer shoes, shinguards, socks, and uniforms for soccer. So another.... $130?)

This doesn't really explain the "why" but when I see two negatives I see them in my head coming together to make a positive. -(-3), one negative slides around to make +. Hm. I have no idea where that came from, but it works for me. I like the idea of using a sentence with a double negative to explain it.

:bigear: I wish I knew. I'm looking for kindergarten resources. I was thinking of doing a chronological study of the Bible, but I'm not really sure how to go about it. I've looked at the Seton program, but it includes a LOT of coloring books... well... DD HATES coloring! That would never work for us.

I did notice that they didn't show the little boy "stumbling". They asked him a multiplication problem.. did he need a few quick seconds to come up with the answer or did he flat out not know? Huge difference. I still need a few seconds to figure out the answer to most multiplication problems!!! I did kind of think the part about the museum was a little more appropriate. The mother's point is that her children can learn this way... but just after visiting the museum the boy hadn't learned anything? Even my 4.5 year old can usually come up with something close to educational. Even something like "about clouds" would have satisfied me.

The quizzing hasn't started yet with my daughter, but I do see that family members pay close attention to what she can and can't do. When the questions start coming, I'll just quiz their children and see how they feel about it!! Maybe this could work for you. :D When the children get a wrong answer, make sure to bring up to the parents (later, when said children are out of earshot) how little Johnny didn't know blahblahblah, and this is proof that public schooling doesn't work. Then when they argue about how they just haven't learned it yet, or any other reason they come up with, point out that the same excuses can be applied to homeschooled children!

3-5 times a year. DD loves going to the movies and it's a really special treat for her. Plus it's just her and I, so we can go for about 25 dollars. We would go more, but between prices and what I find "appropriate", we are limited to 3-5. I always check Common Sense Media reviews first.

Oh wow. Just one more thing to add to the ever increasing list of Improbable Events that I'm Extremely Afraid of Happening. (Long list, long title! :D) Will be praying for the people of Guatemala. That sinkhole is just... scary. It doesn't even look like a sinkhole, just a huge hole to nothingness.

:( I was scared to open this thread when I read the title! Don't beat yourself up. I'm sure all dog owners have made mistakes. My dogs have gotten into chocolate muffins, we have had to call poison control because they ate a pain pill, various emergency vet visits... We have two huge, (90+ pounds and 120+ pounds!) spoiled, bad doggies. I can say I've never left them outside... but only because they are so attached to me that it is immediately noticable when they are out! Plus they scratch and bark at the door to be let back in and get quite persistant. :D