They told me it was required by the ACA. But I imagine this would be an opportune time for medical centers to insert their own "requirements", and be able to get away with it, since confusion is reigning supreme in health care these days. Who would know the difference? But the woman I spoke with last night said it was part of the ACA. We have group coverage through my husband's employer.

The form was for everyone because it is valid for three years. So, as the woman I spoke with tonight explained it, if we were to lose our health coverage for any reason, we would be contacted. Don't know how they would know if we lost our coverage, but I guess somehow they would. LOL

As far as I know (and we have private health insurance, so I really haven't paid attention), Utah does not have its own exchange.

The admitting clerk did know enough about it to mention that it was being used for marketing purposes, and I knew I wasn't interested in more marketers calling my house. And that's really the reason I brought this up. Forms are changing on an almost daily basis now, and patients need to be aware of what they have in front of them (and usually it's a PILE of forms if you're going into a hospital), and what they're signing. Just double check so that you are sure you know what you are giving the hospital permission to do. That's all. I wasn't really debating the ACA, just giving folks a heads up, because this one caught me by surprise. :)

Ok, I called the hospital to find out more info. It is being used to market health insurance through the exchange if you don't have adequate coverage. You are giving representatives permission to view your information and then call and offer you a health plan based on the info that they have. I don't where the clerk came up with attorneys. LOL At any rate, you can refuse to have exchange representatives phone you by not signing the form.

Davis Hospital in Utah. It's a brand new form, apparently they just started using it on the 25th of this month. The clerk explained that you are giving permission (exempting yourself from HIPPA) with your signature. I've never heard of it, and I work in health care, but new information is coming in every. stinking. day. We had to sign it on three separate occasions between Saturday night and Monday morning, because my son needed three separate doses of IV antibiotics, and so we had three different visits. I couldn't find any info online either, so that's why I'm asking. The hospital kept the form with our records, so I don't know its official name.

My son had to spend some time in the ER getting IV antibiotics because he tried to break up a cat fight this weekend...and ended up looking like a mountain lion attacked his arm. LOL Lesson learned. Anyway...we were presented with a form that stated that our signature gave the government permission to market our information to attorneys who could then contact us about our medical issues for the next THREE YEARS. What the heck??? The clerk said that this is part of the ACA, and they began implementing it on the 25th of this month. We wrote "refuse" across the signature line, because the last thing I need is lots of phone calls from ambulance chasers. Anyone else heard of this or know anything about it? Whatever you do, be careful what you sign.

Nope, not any longer.

He'll be fine. Germs are everywhere....especially the ones that spread the stomach flu. Vomiting in or near a pool in no way increases your son's risk for a stomach virus. I've been puked on regularly by sick kids when I work in the peds' office, and I've never once gotten the stomach flu from it...nor have my own children. The only way people get sick from swimming pools is when fecal matter is expelled in the pool (and I don't mean to freak you out, but that happens WAY more than someone vomiting in pool). If your pool doesn't have a UV filtration system, then the public is at risk. With a UV filtration system, the risk is minimal. We had an outbreak here in Utah about six or seven years ago of crypto...it was a lovely summer. I've never seen so many prescriptions written for Alinia before or since. LOL All the pools here now have the more sophisticated filtration system installed. A kid vomiting outside of the pool poses absolutely no risk at all for your son.

Well, it's very normal for young children to have and talk to imaginary friends. Some of them have very elaborate back stories when you question the child about them. Your son has a ready-made imaginary friend with a great back story...and I'm sure it's comforting to him on some level, as it no doubt was to your father. That's my non-paranormal, very ordinary explanation. If it's something beyond that...I don't know. Personally, I'm not into the whole "ghost" thing...except in fun (and I will play along with that, especially at the historical village I volunteer at, which is the "most haunted place" in Utah, but that's part of our schtick), but that's just me. If your son feels like this is his twin that he's speaking with, I wouldn't say anything to the contrary. Like I said, imaginary friends are a normal stage of development for a lot of children.

Well, Kaya is 1764, Felicity is 1774, and Caroline is 1812. Is that what you mean?

She is welcome to attend church activities with the youth without being LDS, if you're interested in that. I'm the Young Women's president in my ward, and I have a neighbor girl who comes to our weekly activities, just because she wants to meet other girls her age, and do fun activities (we had a stylist come last week, and show the girls how to fix their hair for their hair type, and do cute styles on them). This girl does not attend any Sunday services, but she loves hanging out with us and she loves the other girls. There is a religious component to some of our weekly activities, but the leaders can inform you ahead of time if you'd rather not have her attend those. This week we're hosting a Halloween carnival for the younger kiddos in the ward, and it's all about fun. Our teens are in charge of the booths and activities, and it's kept them very busy! LOL Contact your local ward, and ask for the phone number of the Young Women's president is you're really interested in doing this.

We're doing Civil War, too. My son loves "Two Miserable Presidents". It's great for explaining the whole war to kids. Also, "Mr. Lincoln's High Tech War". The "Addy" books from American Girl are great for helping to understand what is was like to be a child and a slave.

We loved it, and I am REALLY seeing the benefits now that my son is in seventh grade. Knowing all the definitions has made it so much easier for him in writing essays, and particularly in studying Latin and other foreign languages. It is well worth the time you will spend doing all that memorization in first or second grade for the payoff you will get down the road!

Ok, I replied to your post on the other board, but here are more details. For the large volumes, I would do my yearly planning by deciding which units I wanted to focus on. I would balance a history heavy unit with a science heavy unit to round things out. So, for example, I might start the year with the "Early Settlers" unit, and then do "Weather". Just a note: you will take more time to complete a unit than the outline suggests. I always doubled it. So, if the book outline says four weeks, I allowed for six to eight. My kids loved doing the activities, and we always spent lots of time exploring our topic with them. Also, Konos units are organized by character traits: Attentiveness, Obedience, Trust, Courage, etc. If you feel your child needs to focus on a particular trait, then you might want to do all of the units under that particular character trait. I just skipped around and did what we were interested in, but I had a friend who did it by traits. Either way works. When I had chosen my units for the year, I then moved to step two...the actual planning. To begin, I simply went through the unit and circled the activities I wanted to do with a pencil (yes, I write in my volumes). The I headed for the library with my volume and my blank teacher planner. I saw what books my library had available for the unit I was working on, and wrote those in my planner. I always scheduled a read-aloud and other non-fiction books on a daily basis. Then I looked at the activities I had circled and scheduled them in. If the activities were fairly simple, I would schedule three or four for an afternoon. If it was a big, giant activity (drawing a map of the U.S.A. on the driveway with chalk and filling in the states, or making candles, or constructing a medieval castle out of appliance boxes), then I saved it for Friday. Friday was our big activity day...and the kids looked forward to it all week. Field trips were also on Fridays, unless for some reason, it needed to be scheduled on another day (because of museum hours, dates for an exhibit, etc.). Next, I made notes in the planner for what supplies, movies, etc. I would need for each week. If I had to have sidewalk chalk, tin pie plates, coffee filters, paint, or any number of other goodies, I wrote it down...even if the supplies were already in my house (and most were). I would gather the supplies needed for the week on the Saturday before and have them at the ready, so I didn't spend the morning searching through the house for hydrogen peroxide or something like that. And that's it!! It's really not hard. Once I'd made my master plan, I just went over it on a weekly basis to make sure I had my supplies and then went to the library to check out the books/videos I would need. It's really very easy and very do-able. Only choose the activities you want to do...there are WAY too many to choose from, and Jessica doesn't expect that you will do them all. If you want an even easier way to do Konos, check out: www.homeschoolmentor.com Jessica will help you (and other moms who sign up for the semester) teach a Konos unit from the original volumes. It's so amazing...she holds your hand through it, gives you your supply lists and assignments for the week, gives you teaching tips, and SO MUCH MORE. It's a great way to start using Konos.

We absolutely LOVE Konos!! My kids love it. And they thank me often for teaching them with it. It was truly a gift to our homeschool. Dig out those volumes and USE them. You will not regret it. My kids actually enjoyed school, and they retained so much with Konos. Jessica is a gifted teacher and I learned so much from those volumes. If you want more specific info...ask away. Lots of Konos users will be happy to help.

You know the best rule for hiring a personal injury attorney, right? You can barely stand being in the same room with the person.

The Preamble to the Constitution Parts of the Declaration of Independence The Bill of Rights The Gettysburg Address Franklin Roosevelt's speech after the bombing of Pearl Harbor Parts of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech I know there are others...I'll have to check. I've found memorization to be a GREAT skill for kids to develop. My kids can memorize almost anything in a matter of minutes now. And the only way to develop it is to do it.

You don't have to have a license. You work under the umbrella of an established travel agency. You take an online course from Disney for your Disney designation. You need to find your own clientele and do your own advertising. Some agencies provide a lot of support...some don't. Some agencies are more legitimate than others. The commission level varies as well. The agency takes their cut and then you get a percentage of what's left over. You don't get any travel discounts until you become certified through IATA. In order to do that, you need to make a certain amount of money in commissions for six consecutive months (if I'm remembering correctly), then you start seeing travel discounts for yourself. Some agencies also require you to make a certain of number of trips to Disney resorts. Some require that you have already done so. One agency I checked into wanted all agents to have traveled to WDW, Disneyland, taken a Disney cruise and have visited Aulani....within the past two years. Do lots and lots of research before you sign anything!!

Research, research, research, before you start. I looked into several different companies about six months ago, but my life was too busy to devote the time necessary. Maybe later on...when I'm finished with homeschooling. It's a big committment, and you probably won't see any returns from it for six months to a year. You only get paid when the vacation is taken, not booked, so there is a lot of lag time. And cancellations. LOL

It's the Kringla Bakery. We love their sandwiches...and school bread!! Or a cloudberry horn. Here's the menu and pricing: http://allears.net/menu/menu_k.htm

It's a Lousy Job??? LMHO...sorry, that was just off the top of my head. I'll think about it some more.

No, not if I was on a tight budget. There are other great places in World Showcase. If you're looking specifically for a sit-down in World Showcase, I'd do Les Chefs de France or Via Napoli before Le Cellier. For counter service, I'd go to the bakery in Norway. We love it there!

I live in Utah, and I've never even heard of this. Maybe I should watch the news now and then. Nah...I'm tired of man's inhumanity to man.

Your children are still young...they will get sick repeatedly until their immune systems are more mature. In any given winter, expect 2-3 colds, an ear infection, a throat infection and a stomach bug. They will pass them around to each other, and it will feel like everybody is ALWAYS sick. It's the nature of the beast. The illnesses will decrease significantly by age 10. Overuse of hand sanitizer, antibacterial soaps, etc., actually contributes to the likelihood of more illness in your family. The only thing that strengthens the immune system is exposure to illness and the body learning to overcome them by manufacturing antibodies against them (in a child with a normally functioning immune system). The more exposure to germs and viruses you have, the less ill you will be...eventually. Or as my grandmother used to say, "Every kid has to eat their pound of dirt." It is true.