At least for us,having a child evaluated was easy and free via the ps system. When we moved to MS, my youngest was 2 1/2, and I noticed that whenever she talked, adults would look at me to "translate". I could understand her fine, but thats a red flag.When she was 3, I called the school and they did a bunch of tests on her development and speech. It was great- we knew where she was on all sorts of stuff, like fine motor skills, etc, not just speech. Her speech was fine, by the way, she just talked really fast and well...we were in the deep South! I would not hesitate to recommend the ps for services like this if you think your child might need them. Addressing it early is easier, and far cheaper than when they "age out" unless they are in ps. And it can't *hurt* anything to have a child evaluated- no one is going to force you into speech therapy if you don't want.

We had friends over to trick or treat, and had a blast! I love, love, love our neighborhood- we have friends from Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Kenya, England, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was really really fun to tricvk or treat with them all this year, then have friends over until 1:30 this morning! They just left!!! Halloween is so fun!

Headless cheerleader and Sleeping Beauty! My oldest was Harry Potter for 4 years straight...this is a nice (?) change!

Well, to be honest, you are both punishing the wrong culprit here: the dog. DH didn't fix the dog, didn't keep up on its shots, and now when something bad happens, wants to boot the dog. Your DH is the human here, with all the reasoning of one, and he ought to have known better. An unfixed dog is a trouble dog, period. You can't neglect to do what you ought to to keep your dog happy and healthy and then blame said dog. But the cat is outta the bag now. Dogs fought, dog bit. I have a zero tolerance policy for dogs that bite. He will need to be rehomed, ASAP. Personally, it would have happened the day of the fight, around here, DH home or not. But your DH is to blame for his dog getting rehomed, not the dog. I don't see the point of getting rid of the other dog too, in this situation, if it never bit anyone. If Dh had fixed his dog in the first place, the fight probably wouldn't have happened. It does seem odd to have "his dog/my dog" but I don't know your situation.In our house, all pets are "ours". (Like all money, LOL!) I would try to find a no kill shelter or rescue for the dog- if you want help finding one in your area, pm me. I see no reason to get rid of the other dog, too, and personally it sounds like DH is doing it out of spite. That doesn't bode well.

Well, technically I'm in Northern Virginia- just a bit from DC. So I went with Mid-Atlantic. Not south, because we moved here from Mississippi, and I was ever-so-relieved to be outta the south at last. Until someone pointed out that Virginia *is* the south. I'm still in denial though. (I'm originally from the PNW, anyway, and moving to Asia in a few months, so we're not really "from" anywhere at all!)

Oh my gosh, that is so stinkin cute!!! I love the "Pope mobile" photo on your blog, too.:D

1) What's for breakfast at your house? WHatever they can find- leftover pumpkin muffins from Starbucks this am. 2) What kind of car do you drive? Honda Odyssey...so cliche, I know. 3) What's your weather today? Chilly and overcast- in the low 50's I guess. 4) Are your toenails painted? If so, what color? Badly chipped hot pink, haven't done 'em since September! 5) Read any good books lately? What was it? Yes, I read Neverwhere by...somebody. Fantasy book, very good.I should go look up the author, but I'm too lazy. 6) Is your bed made? Of course! 7) What's for dinner? Margarita Pork Chops 8) Name something your dc have done today that made you smile. They took a bath together in order ot play Littlest Pet Shops Get Swimming Lessons- they were in there for 2 hours!!I love it when they play well together. 9) What color is your bathroom rug? Red, but nothign else is. Clashes badly- we're in the middle of a bedroom/bath makeover and have only some stuff. So the curtains don't match, the rug doesn't match, the towels don't...its scary. 10) Who's your favorite artist? All the pre-Raphaelites, but especially Waterhouse. 11) What's your favorite morning beverage? Coffee. I measure consumption by the pot, not cup. 12) Do you have any toys from when you were a child? Some Breyer horses, all missing one or more legs! 13) Do you collect anything? glass paperwieghts,homeless animals, scrapbooking supplies 14) Are you looking forward to the holidays? (whichever days you celebrate) Not so much- going to the inlaws. 15) What are you wearing today? Jeans and a long sleeve white t shirt.

I"m also an advocate of hands-off birthing, but not where Strep B is concerned. I lost a baby to Strep B. I am not sure about why a c-section would be necessary though, usually the protocol is antibiotics during labor to prevent infection. Or antibiotics now, if her water has broken, and get the baby delivered. I am thinking if she has a fever than the infection they reference is something else, as Strep B usually causes no symptoms for the mother. In that case, a c-section would be necessary, because infection with ruptured membranes is bad. I am not a dr or midwife though, so I don't really know, these are just my semi-educated guesses on what is going on.

:w00t: You suck. My heart is racing! I should have known better!

:tongue_smilie:This is why my girls wear Crocs almost exclusively. We have lined Crocs for winter, Mary-jane Crocs for dressy, and regualr ol Crocs for every day. MY oldest DD is a total disaster, coordination-wise, and heels+ her would be disastrous! The heeled sandals in toddler sandals just kill me. WHY?!!

When the Bible says to not add to it in Revelation (and in Deuteronomy) then why believe that Joseph Smith had a new revelation from God to begin with? __________________ I am not LDS, but I did live in SLC for a while and have many LDS friends. This question always makes me giggle when asked by Protestants. The verse also says not to take away, and ya'll are missing some books in your Bibles. Just saying. ;)

I'd love to know what the Native Americans felt about the Colonial American's sense of "entitlement". Wasn't it pretty much, we're entitled to everything? :lol:

As if asking her to say thank you to JEsus for something was this punishment I had given her. :lol: Is it wrong this just cracked me up??? Keep plugging away, they will get older and it will get easier, I promise!

I have this bookmarked in my (09-10) school year folder. I want to read a review too! I am planning to use the Hakim Story of Science book(s) with it, we'll be doing Ancients that year.

I've never shot an Uzi, but I have fired similar type automatic weapons. They all have a tendency to travel up from the recoil, when firing you have to adjust for that. An 8 year old with no experience is *NOT* this weapons intended user! I can see him pulliung the trigger, the rounds firing, the muzzle coming up (because thats what they do) and shooting him in the head.

I have never... voted Republican eaten cat been hospitalized been to North Dakota given DD a bottle But I *have*... eaten dog voted Green been tattoo'd and been to Boston in the fall!

We love this science! I spread out the 2 volumes into 3 years, and I dearly wish they had more levels available. The kids loved the experiments, and I loved how they always pertained directly to what they were learning. So often it seems like the labs and studies in science books are completely unrelated, or don't work, or require too many expensive materials. Simple, fun, effective. We didn't get the recommended books for the course, just books on whatever topic we were studying. It is a little light, like for a 4th grader as my oldest was last year, but I am not overly concerned with deep science study in the elementary years. I approach it more as an overview, introduction. We're doing just random unit studies for science this year (the girls wanted to do Marine Biology, and there is none save Apologia which is not right for us) and I miss REAL science *so* much!!

I don't feel the least little bit guilty. I do feel a *smidge* guilty sending them to the inlaws and staying home alone, but not so guilty I don't do it once a year.:lol:

Soph, you rock! Thanks so much!

I"m not organized enough this morning to write any kind of coherent "paper". But, I do think legalizing prostitution might have some benefits. As it stands now, being illegal, prostitutes who are abused or attacked have no legal recourse for fear of being arrested themselves. It introduces an unsavory, often violent, gang element- pimps, trafficing, etc. The women can't escape from these situations because they are afraid of being arrested themselves. Regulating (and highly taxing!) prostitution could provide women with safe places to uh...ply their trade. I believe in Nevada they are certified and tested for health issues by the health department, thats a plus from a public health standpoint. Its the "oldest profession", it isn't going away, so legalizing it and regualting it makes sense. On the other hand, I am not sure I would like a neighborhood of those window-shopping type brothels (ala Amsterdam or Korea) springing up. But the protection of the law for the women who are prostitutes would be worth it, to me. I think leaving it to the voters is a good idea. The people who live in that community will have to decide if that is something they want.

My dog lives "on a farm with lots of room to run" or so my kids think. __________________ LOL! I had to pick "other", because our dog doesn't live in the yard at all. She goes outside a total of 1 hour a day, in 2 minute potty breaks and 1 30-45 minute walk at night for excercise. Otherwise, she's indoors only. She'd make a great apartment dog. She's a black Lab.

Cami, do you realize that you're in Boston in the fall? __________________ YES!! I've even made up a family song, entitled "The (our last names) Who Do Everything", because now I can add the line "...and we've even been to Boston in the fall!" To clear some stuff up, we're in Boston on vacation, none of us live here. I'm in Virginia, the inlaws in question are in Illinois. Closest we've ever been for a meet is the one in Indiana, and I called, checked, explained that we really needed a firm committment due to meet fees, etc. There was *no* misunderstanding here, folks. DH is going to talk to them- I truly just cannot. I'll lose it. Its been a day though and no talking, no news. Just everyone acting like nothing happened. Thats what they do, and it drives me batty! I am 100% sure that I will be the b!tch who threw a fit and caused MIL and FIL to miss the concert to everyone back home if they go to the meet. But the other choice is DD is crushed they don't come, so I can handle that. I am kind of a b!tch, actually, LOL, or at least I'm getting a-w-f-u-l-l-y close. DH is upset as well, but wants to have a nice visit. And there have been no opportunities away from the kids to talk to them, so it isn't his fault. Tonight after the kids and the inlaws were in bed we talked, and he did his own ranting about MIL on the phone to the cousins 4 times today. Our DD's were sitting behind her all day in the car, but she hardly spoke to them. I honestly hadn't noticed, but DH did and he was mad. I feel somewhat validated that it isn't just That Crazy Democrat Catholic From The Pacific Northwest who notices these things.:D At least my parents tend to be equal opportunity flakes. They got us all out of the house, and have been merrily traveling since. They forget birthdays, don't visit, and are quite self-absorbed, but its equal, so it doesn't bother me nearly as much. Thats just how my parents *are*- flakes! I can tell them so, and they will admit it, sheepishly. I will say that when they are here, they are *here*, all the way. They play, they laugh, they interact and enjoy the girls. The inlaws only do that with the one set of cousins, and that hurts. I adore my SIL, the favorite, actually, and that makes it tougher- I don't want to jeapordize the relationship I have with her. It isn't her fault at all. Thanks for letting me vent. I hope they come to the meet. We'll be moving overseas for 3 years in the spring, so opportunities to see the girls, period, are limited. I just wish they would care.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! We're in Boston with the inlaws. That alone can be...trying. But here's the kicker, that is causing me to see red. DD does competitive rhythmic gymnastics. No one from the family has ever seen her compete, because they live far away.Well, this year the competition schedule came out, and there was a meet in Indiana- driving distance for DH's family. The coach didn't really want to go to that one, its early in the season, far away from here, etc. But I begged her to, because DH's parents and sister said they would come. I know what that would mean to DD. I told them we needed to know, for sure, that they would come. They said they would (of course weather issues and sickness might change plans, but that was it.) I told the coach, and the whole team is signed up to go to this meet, specifically because we wanted to go so the inlaws could see DD. Well...tonight at dinner, MIL is on the phone with SIL. The one who was also coming to the meet with the cousins. It appears she has concert tickets, and got some for MIL and FIL, for the same weekend. SO now MIL announces that she "isn't sure they can go." WTFP????(That stands for What The Flying Pete, by the way.) DD is crushed. She was right there at the table when MIL got off the phone and announced this to us. I was so upset I took DD to the car and we waited for them out there. Now MIL is ignoring the whole thing and playing happy-happy. Of course this one thing makes me angry, but its more than that. For years now, they have been "punishing" the kids for DH and my choices. They are anti-hsing. I am pretty sure MIL thinks I should be working full time. They are extremely dissapointed DH became a Catholic 4 years ago. it just goes on and on- we don't do things their way, and they take it out by snubbing the kids. Maybe not intentionally, but by forever comparing our kids to the cousins (who are hellions, by the way, but seem to get passes for being public schooled Protestants or something!) and buying (and then talking about) school gifts and clothes for the ps cousins, going to all of their dance, etc classes and recitals, on and on. I'm sick of it, and I'm crushed for the kids. They know they are a dissapointment/feel the dissaproval from their grandparents, but it isn't their fault! They aren't old enough to really get that though, just to get the "we don't measure up" feeling. Thanks for listening to my novel. I'm really mad, and sad. And I have no idea how long after we get back from Boston they are staying.:glare:Lucky me.

Democracy can be messy. But, I'm not keen on the alternatives myself. So no, I do *not* think a test is in order.

MY mom had a cat with a thyroid problem. He weighed 30 pounds!! They thought it was just gluttony, but he needed medication. He never did lose much weight, despite the meds and a special diet, though. My first thought was: that's a girl kitty who is pregnant! But if you had him neutered, I guess not, LOL. Worms do distend their bellies, but don't add weight, I wouldn't think. Maybe he's stealing the other cats food? Or just going to be reeeaaallllly big? My adult cats are 8-10 pounds!