:iagree:

The kindle should not need to connect to your broadband. It uses 3G -- which is a kind of cell service. It should already be ON, but if you accidentally turned it off, go to the Menu & "turn wireless ON"

Forgive me if this is too frank. . . But. . . to be honest, IF my child was a) struggling/behind in math OR b) losing ground in math. . . & it sounds like you are saying your dd fits both a) & b) . . . THEN. . . I would absolutely be doing math daily year round. At least 5, if not 6, days every week (barring a handful of major holiDAYs and possibly 1-2 full holiWEEKs). . . So, if I were you, I'd be doing math, full-on, at least 30 min daily, if not twice daily. From now on. Also, if your dd does not have significant LD, then I would reassess your math choices b/c those gaps sound much too basic for a 10yo (even on holiday) unless there is some exceptional circumstance. FWIW, my kids do math year round despite being advanced in math. I just think it is the sensible approach for numerous reasons.

Awesome!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad it helped your dog!!! It has been a miracle for my Sweet Pea, too. Thanks for letting me know! It's great to know I made a difference for you and your dog! :party:

True enough. Fear biting can be worse than aggression biting b/c it can be harder to predict. . . And, of course, either kind of biting can do the same damage! Socialization is sooooo important with puppies!

Start GT first. Start CE at the same time or any time thereafter. . . I like a lesson a week, but you can accelerate easily to 2-3 lessons a week if you need to. Start Building Poems at the beginning or anytime soon thereafter. Do a few pages a day, once or twice a week (or more often if desired.) After finishing GT, start Practice Town (sentence a day) and also start Paragraph Town. I like doing a lesson a week in Paragraph Town, but you can compress that to 2-3 lessons a week if you must. (It is tasty stuff, so I think it would be ideal to take your time and explore it if possible) So, I think 25-30 weeks of schooling time is an EASY pace. . . allowing for 5-10 weeks to get through GT, then do the rest of them at one leson a week (20 lessons each in practice and paragraph town) HTH

I think it is OK for the 12-13 yos to feel like they are humoring people. . . they are preteens/teens and probably feel like that nearly every day, lol. I think most stuff should be geared towards the 10 yo, since that is the birthday kid. My 7 yo had her b'day party with 6-13 yos last fall at a local chuck-e-cheese type place (that has laser tag and other big kid stuff as well). That was my solution to the big age range. It went very well. . . Since it is summer, anything wet usually appeals to all kids. Can you get a monster slip-n-slide (you can make your own with plastic sheeting and a hose). . .and maybe some cans of shaving cream. . . and water balloon fights. . . Of course, if you have a pool, that would simplify things! Tug of war could work -- with ages mixed up. 3 legged races?

Our computer guy recommends this http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/ I uninstalled all our (paid for!) McAffee & Norton on about 12 - 15 computers at home and work and replace it with this. It is so superior that I was comfortable throwing away/uninstalling the already paid for multiyear subscription based software we had on many of the computers. According to our computer guy, it is effective and reliable. It also does NOT slow the computers down as McAffee and Norton did. I have been VERY happy with the improved performance on all the computers after the switch. Much faster and much fewer crashes/glitches. (For simplicity, uninstall all other antivirus before installing the new one.) As our computer guy maintains hundreds of computer networks. . . including our work one which we are 100% dependent on. . . I am comfortable relying on his judgment on this. (We do have a fancier antivirus on our work server but that is just b/c the free microsoft one will not install on a server running a server operating system.

Just turn up and go in. In some churches, it is part of the sunday school system to visit a number of other faith's churches at a certain age. It is totally fine. Respect their norms, don't take communion (unless you are sure you are welcome to do so), stand/sit/sing when you are supposed to. . . and you'll be fine. Put $20 in the basket.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1112 a helpful article from a reliable source.

Sounds fairly normal for such a young pup. Maybe 2 hours is more typical. . . I think you should get to 2 hours within a few days. It wouldn't hurt to have the vet run a urinalysis to check for a UTI, as they are not uncommon in pups. Make sure she gets plenty of water, as many UTIs in pups are related to being withheld water (often inadvertently as the pup knocks over the water dish).

Whooping cough is apparently much more common in (vaccinated) adults than one would have guessed. I had a bad, very lengthy, cough w/ cold last year. . . about 6 - 8 weeks of *severe* coughing. My BFF who is a hospitalist/pediatrician told me I had pertussis. I'd never have guessed. I guess she and other pediatricians/nurses get boosters regularly as a matter of course. She diagnosed me mostly based on the fact that my severe cough lasted so darn long.

You are in a tough spot! :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Chicago probably makes more sense if the salary would be similar and there is such a huge cost of living gap. Are you sure more affordable housing isn't available in either location, especially if you allow for a longer commute, particularly in Chicago? I would try to find a place, more likely Chicago, where you could find a doable home for all of you. Go smaller. . . Kids can bunk up. . . Declutter. . . Etc. I wouldn't split up the family. Nope. No way. If you can get away with a short sale and the bank will let you off the hook for the remainder, I would do that. (Talk to your atty and/or CPA to be sure you understand all the ramifications.) If you don't have major assets and can qualify for bankruptcy, I'd do a bankruptcy NOW while dh has a relatively low income b/c of the layoff if that is what you have to do to get out from under the mortgage. If there is a way to get out of it w/o the bankruptcy, then I'd do that. . . Honestly, there is no way I'd want to hold on to such a loss. I'd cut it now if at all possible. I think you are more likely to be able to convince the bank to let you off the hook now with the current economy/mortgage crisis than later when things might be different politically. I have never had to face that. . . It must be awful. . . If it were me, I'd so want to be free of it and just get rid of it. . .

Well, I would want him to have a discussion w/ the DR who RXes the Paxil to discuss how to manage the anxiety attacks. . . I have a history of lots of anxiety, and for me, the best thing ever was Xanax. The great thing about it is that you can keep a bottle handy and you KNOW that you can pop a pill and feel better right away (w/in 20 min) whenever you need to do that. For me, I could take a half a pill if I was freaking out and it was just enough to take the edge down so I could get to sleep and sleep soundly. Or a full pill if it was a serious stressful situation and I was not able for some reason to go to bed (i.e., DR visit). . . Or even TWO pills if I had to go to the dentist or some other catastrophe was imminent. LOL. I love that control of knowing that I can have instant anxiety relief and head off a melt down. The thing is, Xanax, b/c it is sooo darn handy, is also prone to abuse. I am not an addictive type person and was/am very prudent with the pills. I have had it on hand for 5 YEARS or so, but I never go through my whole 20 count bottle before it expires. So, maybe I take it a handful of times a year. My doctor trusts me and feels fine prescribing it. I know lots of doctors and people resist xanax and similar drugs b/c of that issue, but honestly, for me, it is the best thing ever. Just HAVING it, I believe, dramatically improved my management of anxiety b/c it puts me back in control. I rarely take it, but just knowing I CAN if/when I want reduces my anxiety level. And, boyoboy, do I love it for dental work!!!!! Personally, I think it is much healthier to take a psychotropic drug on occasion when I need it than to be on mind-altering drugs 24/7 year round. . . I don't know why so many DRs want to put us on long term meds when I think, often, a little help from Xanax (or the like) on occasion would be even more effective. . . HTH

My 7yo is doing biology. . . Writing is about 1 sentence a day. I haven't seen the other level you refer to, so can't help you there.

I like to butter my hands to compress them. . . It is so quick and easy, if a bit slimy. :)

Or, pick a big/good/"cookbook bible" and have the child pick a dish out of each section, one at a time. Learn that one, make it, move on. Joy of Cooking probably has 20 or so major sections. . . You could go into more detail easily by breaking the large sections into smaller ones (desserts: one pie, one cake, one custard, one. . .) Mmmmmm. How about cooking through a chocolate dessert cookbook? That'd get my dd13 excited! Joy is my GoTo book for basic cooking, so that's what I'd use.

Consumer math? For a kid who can do precalc? Ummm, why? How about 1/2 year of stats? It'd be a cake walk and useful at the same time. Or 1st semester calc at CC?

philosophy, logic, gov't, writing/speaking. . .

Yep. I skip 'em. Works just fine. If you're inclined to find a replacement, it's always very easy to pick from the plethora of great childrens history/geog/cultures/folktales books.

You wash down (& other) sleeping bags in the bathtub. . . and they're pretty persnickity in the way they are made . . . and do fine in the tub. . . After squishing and dripping as much water out as you can. . . then tumble dry with a couple clean tennis shoes (or notsoclean ones securely covered in old socks). . . to fluff it. Make sure to dry it ALL THE WAY on low heat. It'll take many hours.

#1 - no way b/c of health concerns #2 - feasible if the 3rd BR isn't makeorbreak #3 - my fave. Lights are very easy to fix. It sounds like the winner. Compromise is good for the soul.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: It can be considered either rude or at least inappropriate to bring food if someone has a meal planned. If she's made a simple cobbler and icecream . . . and you bring a fabulous cake that everyone raves about, that makes her look/feel bad. If you bring a coolwhip/pudding mold thing and she's serving chocolate molten cakes with homemade berry puree and home made whipped cream, well, you look like a hick. (I like all those desserts, so no insult intended!) Some people are very particular about their menu, theme, maybe dietary preferences (organic, vegetarian, no sugar, whatever) or maybe are trying to make sure that the entire meal is edible by a certain guest with restrictions (their 4 yo can't eat wheat and might throw a tantrum if he sees a dessert he can't have. . .) So, anyway. . . stick with a "hostess gift" that is NOT intended to be consumed at that event. . . unless directed otherwise or you know the hosts well enough to be flexible.

To be completely honest, it is completely likely that I would sneak out at night (in dark clothing and hat/mask/etc just in case he has a camera trained on the device . . . and not coming straight from my home but some circuitous route that would not be so obvious it was me. . . and definitely on a night he is not at home if possible) and I would vandalize said machine. If possible, I would damage it in such a way as to disable it permanently w/ as little obvious damage as possible, so that the owner wouldn't realize it for a long time. . . Crazy glue in various points? A blow torch? I would refuse to answer any questions about such vandalism. Personally, I would do this w/o dh's knowledge or participation. . . and wink/wink at him when/if the subject came up so that dh could plausibly deny any guilt/knowledge (why expose both of us to trouble? and dh is the breadwinner and the professional license holder with ethics rules, lol). . . My kids would not need to be aware of ANY of this, and I wouldn't make them aware of it until they were adults and had crazy neighbors of their own. I'd also put in a tall, solid, fence line, for sure. I'd MOVE ASAP if possible. ETA: yes, I know that is "wrong" and illegal. So what? So is speeding. ;) IMHO, it's the lesser of the possible evils. Worst case, I get caught and have to pony up for a replacement cost. . . and legal fees. . . and some tiny misdemeanor type conviction. WORST case and so very unlikely.

If you or the hosts drink alcohol, then wine +/- 6 (or 12 if you're big drinkers) nice beers is always good! If alcohol is a no-no, then a hostess gift is in order. . . So, a bouquet of flowers, or a nice plant, or a box of chocolates, or a fancy candle/soap kind of thing. . . google up "hostess gift" and I'm sure someone has better ideas. I always go with wine +/- beer. :)