I think they all sound great. Since you're planning on only using Tadhgan as a middle name, I wouldn't worry about pronunciation although you will have to spell it for everyone no matter what. If you were using it as a first name, I would seriously consider a phonetic spelling so people would at least have a shot at the correct pronunciation. So many people I know have names where they are constantly having to tell people how to pronounce them properly like--- Ani - pronounced AH-nee and Mari - pronounced MAR-ee (not Mary and not Marie)

Does it have to be a sport? Is he into music? Would he be interested in theatre? A youth orchestra or youth theatre group might be a good way to meet other kids. Maybe a break from sports would the give the shoulder a shot at healing.

So does the Glee version make you happy (it is more of an homage) or mad? I remember when on Idol. That's when I knew she would win.

:iagree:

We're reading the books in order right now and I found The Magician's Nephew to be really uneven. I enjoyed the prequel aspect, but thought it was bumpy. We're reading The Horse and His Boy right now and my daughter is loving it. She was especially happy when Avaris showed up (yay---a girl!). The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is my all time favorite. Can't be beat.

I've used soap on mine for years and my stone is fine. Use a little soap. It won't hurt it.

When I was working out at the gym this morning, I saw on the news about the snake escape but there was no sound because you're supposed to listen with your headset. My workout partner (who is deathly afraid of snakes) kept saying, "Please let it not be the Detroit Zoo!" :tongue_smilie:

I absolutely thought Blindness was outstanding. It seriously is one of my top three favorites. I thought the concept of everyone going blind and the ramifications of that was so original and interesting. Then again, I thought The Road was an amazing book too. So as CA Mom said: :iagree: And I love that this forum is so diverse! :001_smile:

I didn't HATE it, but I brought it on a fun vacation and it was most definitely not a beach read. So depressing... Yeah...the Renesmee birth scene...I just know that's going to be all Alien in the movie when it comes out. Two books that I will never recommend are: A Reliable Wife --- just sex, sex, sex. Really over the top for no discernible reason. I blame it on the author living out his sordid fantasies through his characters. Push (AKA Precious) --- well written, but so disturbing. I couldn't get the graphic incest/abuse images out of my head.

:iagree: Natalie Portman said straight up that that was why the lesbian scene was in the movie: “Everyone was so worried about who was going to want to see this movie,†Natalie recalls to EW. “I remember them being like, ‘How do you get guys to a ballet movie? How do you get girls to a thriller?’ And the answer is a lesbian scene. Everyone wants to see that.â€

I had one friend change her name from Jennifer to Genevieve (she couldn't stand how common her first name was. Her parents were hurt, but got over it. They still call her Jennifer though.) and another friend who changed the pronunciation of her first name so it wouldn't rhyme with her married last name (e.g. imagine having the name Mary, marrying a guy with the last name Cherry, and then changing the pronunciation of Mary to Marie...that's pretty much what she did). No one seems to mind and the second friend tolerates me calling her by the original pronunciation because I have tried so hard to call her by the new and kept messing it up. Some friends of ours have a 5 year old that decided to go by her first name instead of her middle name which she had been called since birth. It's incredibly confusing since the parents don't mind her going by her first name, but still call her the middle name exclusively.

:iagree: It can get a little out of control if you start inviting all the out of towners. Mine was at my favorite local restaurant (it was a little bit dressy) with the wedding party, our parents, and one out of town aunt. My sister's included the groom's entire immediate family plus some additional members of our family who were performing music during the ceremony, but that was because his wealthy aunt offered to pay for everyone. My other sister had hers at a local pizza place. All were great. I don't think you have to do anything super fancy to make it nice.

No disrespect to Rod intended. :D He's not my fave, but I'd rather here him or even elevator music than the weirdness that they have playing in there.

Tina, thanks for sharing the transcripts. I got my paper catalog a couple of days ago and I thought not including the book descriptions and individual prices was a HUGE mistake. The catalog seems to be about the same thickness as last year's with less content. *sigh*

Detroit's airport has this tunnel that connects the main Delta terminal to the terminal for the commuter jets. It's dark in there with weird rainbow lights being shone on the walls...along with creepy chanting music. The first time I had to walk through it I looked at my dh and he looked a little horrified. And I said, "Well...this is different." I don't know why they couldn't have just made it a regular tunnel with Rod Stewart or some other Muzak playing in the background. ;)

Which one did you get? I'm planning on ordering the Life one. I'm really excited about getting it.

In Michigan, you don't have to go to school until you are 6. If you want to go to kindergarten, you have to be 5 by December 1st of that school year. I honestly don't know about preschool because I never checked into one.

Your post cracked me up! My daughter is loud ALL THE TIME. Over last weekend, she was trying to tell me something in the car while I was driving, but for some reason she was whispering. After asking her to repeat herself several times, I finally had to say, "You will never hear me say this again, but can you please speak louder." :lol:

I actually just sold off my whole cloth diaper stash on eBay this past week (my ds finally potty trained--- yay!), but I used Fuzzi Bunz on both kids and loved them. For me, they seriously were just as easy as a disposable. You just knocked off the poop into the toilet, shook out the insert into their hanging diaper bag, and dumped the diaper in. I did diaper laundry every other day and I would just turn the whole bag inside out into the washer, throw it in, and voila--- done! They held up well (I had 15-20 of each size---small, medium, and large) through two kids and I just sold them secondhand for around $200. They're definitely not the cheapest, but as far as convenience and quality go I thought they were fantastic. They've changed over the years because now they offer the one size fits all and the perfect size. We owned the equivalent of the perfect size ones they sell now. PM if you have any specific questions.

What is the specific problem she's having with reading? Fluency? We love an Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading here because it teaches phonics along with a few sight words. She can just pick up at the lesson where her dd is having trouble. I also find that doing read alouds at home and having the child read to you at bedtime works wonders. Everyone on the K-8 board seems to love All About Spelling for spelling. I'm planning on getting it myself once my dd finishes OPGTR.

My husband has been GF for 3 weeks to help him cope with some digestive issues (he's gluten sensitive, not celiac). He says he sees a definite improvement in his condition and he's hopeful it will get even better. We're talking about a man who has a major sweet tooth and is addicted to baked goods. You know it's working if he's talking about giving those things up permanently.

We love OPGTR here! My dd is on lesson 190 out of 231 now and she was seriously reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe today independently. My recommendation is to page through the book and pick up at a point where you think they might not know the material. Then go at an accelerated pace until you hit a lesson where they don't know it pat and then go at a one lesson a day pace. Keep having them practice reading to you and read aloud to them as well. I cannot rave enough about OPGTR!

:party: So glad you kept something down! One of my friends had this with her last two pregnancies and was on an IV in her house everyday. I remember celebrating with her the day she kept down a Teddy Graham. :001_huh: By the end of the first pregnancy, she was down to 120 pounds and she's 6'1". She looked skeletal. She hadn't planned on having any other children (she conceived the first via IVF) and then came miraculous #2 and the puking all over again. :grouphug: I hope things get better for you!

My daughter was 14 hours from beginning to end. I only had an epidural for the last 3 and I wish I would have taken it sooner because I think my labor would have been shorter. My son (2nd child) was induced and I had 7 hours of labor. Stupid me didn't take the epidural again until the last 1/2 hour and then he just slid out. Seriously, if I ever have a 3rd one, I'm calling for the epidural IMMEDIATELY. I think in my case it relaxes me and just lets the poor kid out.