Well, my dd9 loves spa parties. What about letting the girls make their own body scrubs using turbinado sugar and olive oil or jojoba oil? One of my dd's favorite games is to have several bottles of nail polish in wild colors and play spin the bottle. The girls take turns spinning a bottle of nail polish and whomever the tip is pointing at has to paint either a fingernail or toenail that color. They keep going until each girl has everyone of their fingernails &/or toenails covered.

I agree with waxing, but please go to an esthetician or a salon that has someone experienced doing it. There are many different types of waxes and most experienced technicians will have at least one for sensitive skin on hand. Also be sure to mention her reaction to aloe as most use a soothing lotion that contain aloe in it at the end of the wax.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I cried for you just reading this. Prayers definitely being sent up for you.

I'm pretty sure the 2nd edition would be better for that age group. MOH is actually written for the grades 4-8, so it is pretty adaptable. We are going to be using Vol. I and Vol. II next year for a World History HS credit for my ds. There is also a yahoo group with tons of ideas on how to beef it up. HTH some.

My son has had the combo of oily plus flakes a year ago. The one thing I really see missing is use of a toner. This is what helps balance out the ph of the skin and should be applied prior to the moisturizer. How much water does she drink? Increasing water helped my son battle the oily plus flakes.

Does she use a moisturizer on a regular basis? If her skin is oily, she still needs to use a moisturizer or her skin will become even oilier. She can also alternate between the salicylic acid and a regular face wash. Another option is to find a moisturizing cleanser that contains salicylic acid and stay away from any cleansers that have alcohol in it as it will dry her out as well.

What kind of cleanser are you using? I recommend using one that contains salicylic acid. Also, a toner containing colloidal silver as that has natural antibiotic properties. Unfortunately, blackheads are hereditary. There are a few things that you can do diet wise that also affect blackheads. Limiting caffeine, dairy products, carbohydrates and fats will help the blackheads.

I saw that HSBC is having a special on The Learnables Foreign Language. Is anyone familiar with this program? I am considering it for my ds who will be in 9th grade next year. Thanks.

Our co-op used MOH this year and it has worked really well. Vol I covers ancients. From what I understand the 2nd edition is meatier than the 1st edition.

This really doesn't have anything to do with her workload, but more the Naval Academy aspect. Have you looked into the US Navy Sea Cadet Corp? My ds13 will be going to bootcamp this summer for this. It is a program that is very similar to the reserves in that they are there one weekend out of the month and at least 2 weeks in the summer for training. They have a wide range of areas the kids can "specialize" in. While my son is not interested in going to the Naval Academy, he is interested in going to West Point, and this program is very much endorsed by those at the Academies. Just wanted to throw this out there.

When my ds13 took a paragraph writing class last year, we paid $100/per semester along with a $20 supply fee for the year. They met every Thursday for 16 weeks each semester. If you signed up for the class you were obligated to pay and you were committed for the entire year.

:iagree:

Definitely try a tinted moisturizer. As a side note, if you have a favorite moisturizer that works great for your skin, you can make your own by mixing in a little of mineral foundation that matches your skin tone. It is light and nourishes the skin. I prefer a tinted moisturizer with just a little bronzer on the cheeks and sometimes across the eyes. The one thing I never leave home without wearing is mascara though. Lip gloss is good for a natural glisten to your lips.

Thank you so much! I have looked over some of the stories and found some that I have never heard of, but that I know my kids will enjoy.

I would call and just tell them what you are capable of paying each month. With medical bills, they are usually willing to work with what you offer. There have been times when all we could afford was 5-10% of the bill each month and they were just happy to be paid something instead of not being paid.

My dd9 was diagnosed this past October with Hashimoto's and has hyperthyroidism as a result. She takes an extremely low does of Synthroid, not the generic, and has responded very well. Within the first 6 weeks, her TSH dropped into the lower range of normal. I will say that at first if she missed a dose, she would be cranky the next day, but doesn't have any issues if she happens to miss a dose here or there. We took her to a pediatric endocrinologist. She is incredibly thorough. Our pediatrician was not very comfortable treating this.

The instructor used a variety of curriculums with Writing for 100 Days by Arquilevich and Writeshop serving as the framework for the assignments. I will try to get my hands on ds's notebook and see if there are any references on the Skills sheets she used for the grammar.

My favorite uses spinach, strawberries, pecans or walnuts, goat cheese, any vinaigrette dressing and topped with grilled chicken that was marinated in a balsalmic vinaigrette.

My daughter is totally driving me up a wall.:banghead: What is it with putting math she knows in front of her using a different program that makes her act like she knows nothing?:banghead: And then, she looks at me and tells me she is doing it to get under my skin.:toetap05: Okay, I feel better now.

My ds 13 took a Paragraph Writing class at our co-op last year. It was for 7th-9th graders. Their teacher really focused on perfecting the paragraph and being able to write them using the different writing styles. Towards the end, they were able to write beautiful 5 paragraph essays. She also included daily skills worksheets covering basic grammar for the kids to be done each week prior to class. This year, the co-op is offering a Composition class for those that have completed the Paragraph Writing class last year and is for 8th-10th graders. My son is not participating in that class, so I'm not familiar with what is being covered.

My ds13 has recently joined the Sea Cadets. He is absolutely loving the program and can't wait for the next month to come around so he can go for his weekend. I don't have any experience with the Civil Air, though. My son would definitely recommend the Sea Cadets to anyone interested, and often does to those he wants to be interested. LOL.

I would definitely be making a doctor's visit soon. Several people have already mentioned mono, but another issue I would have the doctor check is her thyroid. My daughter had several of the issues you decribed and she ended up having thyroid issues.

Here is what my current 8th grader is using. Latin - Taking through a local co-op Math - TT Algebra 1 as a review. He did Algebra last year Science - Apologia General Science at a local co-op; Apologia Physical Science on his own History - MOH III; AAH Vol 1 intertwined with MOH; Basic Military History Grammar - R & S English 7 Literature - Reading various books and then doing discussion questions Writing - He took a wonderful Paragraph Writing class at co-op last year so we are applying those techniques to his history and science Bible - reading through the book of Daniel and summarizing each chapter

I used it while taking anti-depressants for a couple of years without any issue. But, I do agree with finding one without phytoestrogens added to it. I used to buy mine at a local health food store as it was the purest I have seen. One thing I learned through trying a couple was that you want the USP progesterone to be within the top 3 ingredients of the product, or you are getting a more "watered" down version.

My son is interested in designing different prototypes, so I am looking into a 3D software for him. I am completely clueless about any of this. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!