I care and here is one reason why: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/us_military_obesity_a_matter_o.html here's another: http://www.winfieldcourier.com/articles/2010/12/11/opinion/wnh_weekend_check-up/doc4d036f3bdb2a2872946068.txt and there are countless other reasons why I care. However, I care on a macro level, I'm not going to be eyeing every morsel you feed your child but do I think what people are feeding their children is a huge issue, YES. We in the US and many other countries have a huge problem that is directly related to food consumption. Do I understand that many people are shopping at not ideal grocery stores, with little money and have time constraints, absolutely, in fact I have similar problems however I think that it would behoove everybody if we all cared just a little bit more. Maybe we can't have perfect food but we can make better choices, we can make good eating a priority and advocate for better food. I'm an idealist on issues that seem important to me and this one does. It just isn't a good idea to have a society where many decide that it's ok to feed our kids junk because it's easy or quick or blindly use the excuse it's all I can afford (unless it truly is because let's face it sometimes it is hard to find "good" food on a budget, yeh, I've tried, it's harder than the books/commentators let on, sometimes it's down right impossible and I get that) So in short, I care what you are feeding your kid but I care more how advertisers for complete junk target kids, how lobbies for things like corn syrup try to change the name to sidestep the negative but pretty honest critiques the product has gotten, etc etc etc. I think more support among parents and less judgment would be helpful.

On the what percentage of income do average American's pay out in taxes I found this article helpful. (I am not trying for a political bent, just trying to find actual numbers that are presented in a way that makes sense to my brain that is confused by the tax code) this only applies to federal taxes so the percentage of income paid out will go up but perhaps a different amoutn based on particular state the person resides in etc. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/how-much-americans-actually-pay-in-taxes/ I am not concerned about my personal income taxes, most of my income comes from the business that I own so I have a meeting with my accountant next week to figure out a plan for potential changes. If you own your own business it is eye-opening IME to see exactly how much is paid in taxes. I had no idea until I actually started dealing with it on a level larger than personal income tax forms how complex and crazy the tax system is in the US.

Thanks guys! I am back to feeling sane, test ordered...whew!

Do you recall what actual test or test service etc you used? I am trying to figure out the quickest way to get her tested so I can worry about this less. I do check all state standards etc and I know she is at grade level but clearly I am the worst homeschool parent ever! (forgetting major things like this is so not my normal mode of operation...can I just claim that I have been so busy figuring out how to teach her it didn't occur to me to give additional testing? probably not...)

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Ok, so the testing requirements for homeschooled kids. How exactly does this work? We travel a ton and I literally just realized that I have never had my daughter formally tested. UGH and YIKES, what was I thinking? What is the best way to meet testing requirements? We are registered with the school district where we own our house. I am researching frantically but I would love to hear how other people are doing this. I'm going to have nightmares about needing to hire an attorney to defend myself...I hate it when I miss major things in life, how the heck did I miss this?

Why do they always tell me to give up lattes instead of giving up wine? My wine is more expensive. (now listen up, I'm not saying wine should be banned but let's face it, wine costs more than my lattes and nobody mentions that.) When I was completely broke, I had no wine ever and never saw the inside of a Starbucks unless my mom was taking me out, so the latte savings weren't really adding up. Neither were all of those savings on haircuts, color, spa days etc. The experience of being broke has made me thankful for Starbucks for the rest of my life and I am not kidding. A daily latte that I could afford was a strong motivator in figuring out a way to make more money and in the end that is the only thing I could do, at some point there just isn't a way to save more money because there isn't enough money in the first place.

In a country where nobody responds to a complaint about a barking dog would they really respond to a complaint about a dead dog? (I love dogs, totally almost completely kidding but really I know how I get when I am at the end of my rope and I have never been at the end of my rope in country without good hairspray. Ok, technically I don't use hairspray so I substituted lattes for hairspray and I almost cried myself.)

The Mariott idea is what my husband gets every year, if the actual hotel isn't in the budget he gets the same gift. I have never had a complaint. This way I know that he will like at least one of his presents and he has often said that I can forgo other presents and just give more of this particular one. Plus, it's cheap and fits every budget! :D This year he is also getting camera gear, more gear and I'm doing all accountant meetings the entire year, including phone calls, by myself, because he hates them more than anything and inevitably we have way too many meetings with them!

I like "designer" handbags, well in reality I like nice leather, well made, cute, potentially trendy but a trend that will return infinitely, and I would love a closet full. I do spend a decent amount of money on my bags and they last forever even with rough usage. I also love that leather is cleanable and if it's dark it's pretty much stain proof. I have no problem spending money on the bags when I can afford it and I am really happy that other people do so. I am completely obsessed (well not completely but at least some of my free thought time. :)) with couture bags and the craftsmanship that goes into some of them. If I had the cash, I would buy tons and use them constantly. I use my bags in a hardcore fashion and usually have at least three staple packed bags going at a time, one for work, one for personal, one for going out kidless even if going out is just to the library. (just switch the wallet, phone and keys) I personally don't buy synthetic bags for knock-offs and I don't really care about the label per se but buying a vintage handmade hermes bag is completely on my dream list! I understand if the bag isn't in your budget, heck they aren't in mine, but I totally relate to buying them. And now I am in love with Saddleback Leather, sturdy and functional but would still be cute with a jeans/boot outfit...hmm....Christmas list for next year? :D

I am so happy to see so many other 9-10 girls who love playmobil! That is my daughter's number one gift request. For other toy items in this age group a few ideas that I have on dd list are physical toys, skateboards, a gibbon slackline, rollerblades, a bocce ball set, etc; kit type toys, basic physics sets, make your own perfume/soap sets, and a balancing building set, erector sets; games, Catan expansion packs are big news here; my daughter still likes her AG dolls; dress up, she doesn't do traditional dress up the same way she did when she was younger but a few really nice actually "fancy dress" style costumes and masks are much used along with anything Harry Potter related and she loves stage make-up; craft type activities of all kinds. This is a hard age for me to come up with toys also, it seems like dd still wants to play but there is a dearth of ideas for this age and things seem to either be little kid or teen with little in between.

We are studying basic constellations and my daughter has interest in using starts/glow paint to make a mural on her ceiling. She wants them to be in proper positions etc. Is there an easy method for doing this? I am willing to buy stencils, way to project etc but so far I can only find pieces, e.g. stencils of one constellation. I would like to have a "map" or instructions so we can place them in roughly the proper places without spending insane amounts of time. Ideas?

If you are looking for a baby boy doll, Corolle makes several options that are cute. My daughter did love her bitty twins and even now when she is age 9 they are well taken care of and kept in a special container that I am not to refer to as a "storage container" but as their "little room." :D

I am not the best in math and we have a tutor set up for my daughter but for now I am on my own. So here is the question she has: What is a good way to figure out the following type of problem A group of numbers like 3,4, 7, 11, 17 arrange the numbers into two groups so that the sum of the numbers in each group is equal. 3+ 7 +11= 21 and 4+17= 21 Now she can figure these sorts of problems out by a few trial and error type methods a bit of logical thought but there has to be a better way to figure this out right? I don't ever recall knowing this but frankly I likely wouldn't remember. Google searches reveal nothing because my search terms are too broad, the book doesn't tell us...ugh. Is this the proper forum for questions like this? If someone has an easy answer I also would like a math program that emphasizes learning how to figure out problems like this. We are using Math Mammoth at the moment to get my daughter up to speed on a few basic math concepts etc.

I think some basic tools, a lot of wood from the clearance area of Home Depot, screws, nails and wood glue would be a great start. Does he want kits or to just go try to build stuff? Maybe you could introduce tools slowly and as he gains confidence introduce ones that may be more dangerous? At seven I would feel pretty comfortable with my child working independently with hammers, pliers, hand drills, some powered drills, etc with supervision on hand saws and an observational role in terms of more powerful equipment. I second the idea of a good vice. I am always amazed at what my 9 year old not super building orientated daughter comes up with when she uses her work area. My 3 year old is much more inclined to go crazy with tools so he got a "real" tool set for his birthday with proper tools, many in smaller sizes. (we are saving the saw for a couple of years but he is pretty adept with hammers and basic uses of the tools) I am super excited to hear ideas on this subject!

I have philosophy and literature degrees. (yeh not the sort of english degree where I know things like grammar...but I can read late into the night...) I also went to law school. I think your daughter should look at what she wants to do as a career and what she wants as a major independently to see if there is any overlap. What do most history majors I know do? Lawyer, teacher, librarian (double major) study abroad coordinator at a college, tutor.

I actually find the "cat" t-shirt so offensive it's funny. (well not really offensive exactly, except maybe to the excessive cake eating kid, but I don't think the shirt should be WORN anywhere ever, unless you are really, really trying to um...compliment your wife) I shold probably run away now... Why do people let their teenagers were sexually suggestive slogan shirts in public? I seriously am befuddled.

My dd is 9 and up to this point I have just been feeding her supplies and ideas for very free flowing writing projects. (Mostly things like writing her own comic books, random stories without me critiquing anything, practice poetry in the style of Mysterious Benedict Society characters, pretend laws and charters for the imaginary country she created with her friends etc etc) She does know some basic ideas of writing, poems, stanzas, paragraphs, sentences, basic punctuation, noun/verb/adj etc but I am not positive that she could articulate them fully. I am looking for ways to get deeper into grammar and writing. This thread has been really helpful.

Maybe The Magic Schoolbus Inside Ralphie? It focuses entirely on the illness aspect but I seem to recall it explaining basic germ principles fairly well in both text/pictures though it doesn't get into various types of germs. ETA: I see this was mentioned already! My daughter liked the plush doll germ/microbe toys for a while. (I found them a bit odd but loved that she named them regular human names, why hello there Fern AKA ebola)

Rose: I LOVE your dog! (dude seriously that is you in the morning? I think you have no cause for concern. did I just say dude? yikes.)

Well it doesn't show my real hair but it is recent. (It's funny how many of us are usually the ones holding the camera!)

Awesome! Adding you to my twitter account now, we may be there so it would be fun to follow along with your updates!

I would hope that's how a coach would handle the situation. (for both my son and daughter) Crying is fine, dealing with emotion is fine but in the middle of a game it is not fine (unless there is a physical injury of course) I understand that sometimes a kid may cry in the middle of a game for another reason but I would hope that all efforts would be made for them to stop crying immediately. (and I would hope that my child would be also trying to work at the not crying during baseball goal) I don't think the coach was mean at all and I don't really think the kids were helping by be coddling the boy. (there are other ways of showing support that I think would be more apropriate i.e. telling him to shake it off, get his head in the game etc. It was great that they were nice but seriously, sports aren't always fair, sometimes there are screw-ups and the goal is for kids to learn to keep their emotions in check at least temporarily) This isn't about "is it ok for guys to cry at movies, or when someone dies, etc etc" There are situations in life where crying is not ok, after striking out in baseball is one of those times. I don't really see this as a girl, boy issue, I don't want my daughter acting that way either. If you need to cry you cry after the game.

Not to sidetrack but isn't the french kissing etc in The Pocket Guide to Girls not the Daring Book for Girls? I think they are also by different authors, Bart King (?) and Mariam Peskowitz respectively. I also think that the Pocket Guide is intended (not that the intention will be followed obviously!) for a teen audience. My daughter does like the Daring book series but it is not at the top of her list. I think the Klutz book or even some of the American girl activity style books are good alternatives if you don't know the girl particularly well. We tend to go through those at a rapid pace!

Why is this book not available for general purchase? I am very curious to see it and determine if the program would be a good fit for my daughter. Is there a way to look at it before signing up for the entire program? For some reason having this book be available only if you are in the program is weird to me but I am really impressed by the parts of the program I have seen.