Mine doesn't feel aggressive. He thinks that is odd and if your friends dh feels that way then maybe something is wrong with him.

I don't think age or looks has anything to do with it. There is no way I would allow my child to speak to me in that manner. It is a 2-way street and I think some tough love might be in order. No respect = No dinner, laundry, car rides, TV, computer...get the idea? Whether you are his/her mother or a complete stranger, they owe you courtesy and respect. You deserve that.:grouphug:

I'd check out Explode the Code-just start at a more advanced level.

Ours had problems with urinary crystals and one had a full-fledged blockage (scary) so we can't feed anything but canned and it has to have meat or meat by products in the first 5 ingredients. The vet wants us to keep them off any dry and no grain or syrup/gravy. Canned is a little stinky and more expensive but a side benefit is that they poop less since they are able to use the increased protein content.

For kitty health it is best to use clay litter or wheat. Clumping can be dangerous to their digestive system and lungs. Try using baking soda in a thin layer under the litter and scooping frequently. I scoop into a ziplock gallon bag so that between scoops the smell is contained. I use a thin layer of litter and after scooping, I wipe with an alcohol wipe. The box stays in our laundry room.

1/2 price is a great deal! We love LOF!

Yep! I think it is a Water Bug. Check out this link: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://freelearners.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/giant-water-bug.jpg&imgrefurl=http://freelearners.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/giant-water-bug/&h=1920&w=2560&sz=240&tbnid=EeyOQ6HdS1d0JM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bbug&usg=__7EhC98rIOVBwns7W_QZ7dqj1OB0=&ei=1xqTSuu0AaCqtgf89JlW&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=2&ct=image

That looks like a Water Bug. I've seen those before but that one looks pretty big!

What I've been finding is that now pre-alg texts seem to be full-scale reviews of math skills up to that point with emphasis on decimals and fractions. If that is the case and you think the child doesn't need that then I'd skip. In our case, I remembered doing pre-alg as a child and actually being introduced to algebra so I knew there were books out there that did not spend time on review. If you can snag one, the Dolciani Pre-Algebra book (older versions) is a pre-alg book that doesn't spend time on review of math skills and is a great pre-alg text. So my advice, if you need serious review then do another year of that. If not, find a text that actually teaches the intro algebra concepts.

We're listening to Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. It is fantastic! My girls are 11 and 12 and they love it. It is novel but teaches philosophy too. :001_smile:

I have very detailed plans. I have a notebook of weekly plan sheets (a year or more) that I use to plot out beginning and ending dates of curriculum and breaks and vacations. Every week I take the weekly plan sheet for that week and using a spreadsheet program break it down to assignments for each day of the week. Each child has their own weekly schedule with assignment broken down daily. We have a cart that has bins for the subject areas and these hold the texts and paperwork the kids will use during the week. We stick to the schedule really well. If we get off it, then I re-do it so that we will get back on track. My schedule is such a comfort to me. It is one of the reasons I don't worry about yearly review. I know that sticking to the plan ensures we cover everything we need to and no frantic last minute test prep.

I had to do it regularly on an old dog we had. The fluid you describe sounds like anal gland secretion. So it sounds like you did a good job. I've never done it on a cat (thankfully). I think it would be easier to do it if you wrapped the cat (except for the rear region) with a large towel and secure her between your legs. If you wear a surgical glove and put lubricant on it then things should go a lot easier. Go slow and talk calmly to the animal. Keep your thumb on the outside and use index finger to massge (looking for a telltale bump about the size of a pebble). Gently massage firmly and somewhat squeeze with index and thumb. Don't ever force though in case it could be impacted. Take it slow and the animal will relax and the gland should empty. Then just give the animal a quick clean up. My old dog was so relieved when we did this. Poor thing was just too old to manage it normally and over $60 for vet visits for a 10 min expression every 3 weeks made us decide to learn this unusual task. The more you do it, the easier and faster you get at it. :001_smile:

Oh gross gross gross! Yeeek!!! Oh man! Who would put their hand so close to that scary monster??!! The real scary part of finding a huge, frightening spider is going in to get weaponry and then coming back to get it and finding it is gone. Where did it go? When is it going to come out of lurking and pounce?? Shudder!

A personal chef that would make interesting No Sugar/No Flour breakfast, lunch and dinners.

I get a lot of ideas from these boards and am often prompted to buy. Fortunately, the way I do the schedule lets me make sure I find time to use the curriculum. Eventually it gets in the schedule and gets done unless we find it to be something we don't like (doesn't happen much). Example-I just bought Harmony Arts because it works with MS Artistic Pursuits. I've had the AP since my son was in middle school and wanted to use it for the girls but hadn't worked it in. Harmony Arts has a schedule that helped me work in AP and classical music so it is all on the schedule now....another curriculum off the shelf. Having a rough master schedule for the year has been soooo helpful.

It goes in spurts. I can gauge my WTM use by the way my Amazon bill and curriculum expense goes up and down.:lol:

Classical Writing for me too. I love what it does but it is intense and I have to really gear up for it.

I got mine today! It looks great and so easy to implement and I am starting next week. I'm so glad someone made this easy for me-fine art and classical music. I am so happy!

I'm with the others, just use what you can and discard the rest. I wouldn't say anything negative to the giver. She may not have any idea that they were so bad. Some folks might not really get that clothes with stains that bad aren't such a great item to pass on. I'd just smile and tell her it was thoughtful but make it clear you have enough to last a long time...just in case she decides to give you more. ;)

I'll be moving on! I have so many cool things I want to do after hsing. I want to get some fun hobbies and learn new things. :D

Unfortunate but true. ;)

Our version of 'workboxes' also uses a To-Do list. The way I use the boxes is to put the texts and work in the boxes and the kids look at the to-do list and go to their boxes for the work. My boxes are labled: Language arts, Math, science etc. I don't use a box for every task. There are less boxes that way. When I set up my system, there was no "work box system". This is just how I mesh boxes and to-do list to make our work easier to manage. Hope this helps! :001_smile:

Yes. This exactly. We are probably going to be in this situation very soon as well. Some folks just need a fire lit under them and unfortunately being nice and patient just doesn't work. Attorneys can get the ball rolling.

We're heavy into the grammar teaching and I think it has helped a lot with sentence structure and the annual testing. My college son has always been complimented on his writing and we spent more time on grammar than on writing. IMO, to get a good basis for writing, a student should have a firm grasp of the grammar rules. He comes home with stories about how horrible the writing is from some of the other college students and it mainly comes down to sentence structure and agreement issues.

We school year round and give time off at holidays and vacations. I don't have a set schedule for time off other than holidays. We do lighter weeks during Halloween, Thanksgiving and weeks off at Christmas and annual testing. During the year we take a couple of weeks off for vacation and some days for trips. All in all, it is spaced out enough that it naturally prevents burn-out.