If you have very hard water, you probably do want to filter it first. Also - some cats are just horrible about drinking enough for some reason. We had to get our kitty a drinking fountain. Really helped :) Here is the one we got: http://www.amazon.com/Drinkwell-Platinum-Pet-Fountain-168oz/dp/B000L3XYZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444152534&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+drinking+fountain

If you can, go get it checked. There are autoimmune causes for that as well as nerve issues. Hope it is something simple :)

In my limited experience, the schools my sons looked at only required one or the other. The benefit of taking both is really that some kids are better at SAT or better at the ACT and only by taking the practice exams can you really know which they will do better at. The tests really are rather different.

Also - keep in mind it is the lab processes, the scientific processes behind the labs, that are more important than the labs themselves. Well - to a point of course :) I would keep a lab component (of come kind - with or without dissections) in any high school science class if possible - not just for college admissions, but for the 'real' science behind them.

LOL- reading the title of the thread, "time" popped into my head :) Reading books aloud - a lot of them, above their reading levels. Reading good literature. Giving them a solid foundation in math, history, and science.

Starship Troopers was a horrible movie, but it's an excellent book :)

Is your K'er 4? I am not advocating against anything anyone is saying here... but my recommendation is to take a break for a while. Some kids are simply not ready until they are closer to 6 or 7 - look into how Waldorf schools handle it. I'd just do a lot of reading aloud and playing - make it fun - with letters. Just - exposure without any pressure or goals. The big thing is to keep it fun. If she gets frustrated now it will only make it harder later. My dyslexic son could barely read until 3rd grade and now he is an avid reader and reads multiple books a week. He loves it. I know a lot of people whose kids were behind in reading until 2nd or 3rd grade and then shot up all of the sudden because their brains were finally ready.

My son liked Math-U-See up until pre-algebra - then we floundered around for a while. We did LoF for a while, supplemented with extra practice on the concept he would be working on. We then went on to Foerster Algebra 1 without an issue.

OK - this is going to sound ridiculous, but seriously.... I wear jeans a lot that absolutely will not fit if I add any weight. So - the minute I start going up at all I notice and adjust. Great way to kinda pay attention without needing a scale :)

I LOVE the wood tile. I would want it over the laminate. Good idea on avoiding the dated look. We went with more of a classic approach when we re-did our house as well, and everyone raved over it, so obviously it works. We're renting it out now that we're not there, but we get offers to buy all the time.

I love seeing my husband in his Mess Dress :) We probably do a formal between 1 and 4 times a year depending on the year. The last 2 years our Dining Outs have been of the combat variety - so costumes, water guns, mud... not formal :) But we've been on many cruises with formal nights and always dress up. We are skipping the Air Force Ball next weekend, though, because it isn't something we care about. We stick to squadron functions...

I voted "depends", but I think I may have been being more squishy on the actual issue than I should have been... I am okay with fudging grade level by a tiny bit to be able to go on a field trip or participate in a summer camp type thing with no competition involved - but only if the child's maturity level won't interfere with the activity. Bumping a kid UP not down in a competition may be ok, but I'm not ok with it if there is deception involved.

Oh boy... First, (((hugs))). So - in 1st grade we had my son tested by the school and were told low IQ, he was performing at appropriate levels, etc. Needed to be in Special Ed, why was I homeschooling etc. He had severe speech problems that we eventually realized had been misdiagnosed for years, which I'm sure negatively affected his scores. YEARS later, at an independent neuropsychological exam, that was all debunked. The doctor also told me homeschooling was the best thing I had done for my son. My son is now in full time college classes a year early. I've been told by so many people the only way he made it like this is because of the intense one-on-one personalized instruction I gave him. We care about our kids way more than anyone in the school system. We know our kids better and can provide something no school can. It is a LOT of work, you will second guess your decisions constantly and worry incessantly. You won't know until they are about 16 or 17 if what you are doing is really working. Teachers, friends and family members will make you doubt everything you're doing. But.... I firmly believe that a dedicated parent homeschooling is the BEST thing possible for a kid who is a 'square peg' and has LD's. Hang in there and believe in yourself and your kids.

We dealt with it once. Just one of my sons and I since we had been sharing a hair brush on a trip. We used a microscope on a nit since I had never actually seen a nit before - really obvious what it was. I didn't have any problems getting rid of them immediately, but we were ridiculously vigilant for about 2 weeks :)

Obviously this is just my experience, but I thought I'd share it as an FYI... Our DS was tested by the PS at the same age. Very similar problems. The PS testing was so far off it wasn't even funny. They said he didn't have any LD's, just a low IQ and was working at his ability level, so he wasn't eligible for any special services, just a full time Special Ed class. We knew they were way off since he was already beating us at board games, totally comprehended books way over grade level, etc. He was/is dyscalculiac, dyslexic, and has dysgraphia - none of which they caught. All of which I figured out for myself and then had confirmed when he finally had a neuropsychological exam many years later. Look into those Dys's I listed. But.... don't be surprised if they do not agree with you and chose not to do much about it.