Skull and crossbones erasers that stack on a pencil. Metallic pencils, gel pens, a notebook with black paper. A really cool cube timer to replace ye olde kitchen timer. A pack of cell phone "bling" to decorate a pink calculator. A rubber band ball. Giant paper clips. Wow, that list does seem frivolous. But it was fun. Now I'm eyeballing the lego pencil holder! Last year we found a lego desk calendar - but it's since been disassembled and the pieces are in the greater lego collection.

Oh, that is beyond horrible. I am so sorry. :grouphug: And so grateful that your son is okay, and is still here! We don't scout, because we've heard horror stories about local troops and allergies (among other things), and as a matter of fact - we're in VA. Not that this attitude is only in VA, it's probably rampant everywhere, but I was surprised to see the camp you've been discussing is in VA, too. That kind of attitude is archaic (considering the numbers of kids with LTFAs), ignorant and cruel. I am so, so deeply sorry that you went through this. May I suggest that in addition to writing a letter to scouts, that you also reach out to FARE? (Wait, it is FARE now, right? Not FAAN? You know who I mean, right?) ....They may be able to assist the scouts in getting some better training, since clearly the training they received is inadequate. Perhaps a letter or a phone call from an advocacy group would help the BSA see that they might have killed someone this summer, and probably many summers. I suspect the only reason they haven't yet is that most of us, like you, are vigilant about sending food with our kids, sending a parent, or not sending our kids. Aaaaarrrghhh! I am SO upset for you. In fact, I wonder if a frank conversation with someone at FARE or FAAN might lead to an article or two that would light a fire under the BSA's behind on this? Laughing at a parent's valid concerns is inexcusable. If you need help reaching out to them, I'd be glad to help. So, so sorry that you went through this, but again, so very glad that your son is okay!

:grouphug: This is how I've handled the competitive family members in my life. Not to say it's the best way, just that it's what at least one other person tried. We can't change other people's actions, but we can change the way we react to them. I *know* that my family member will act this way, so I plan on it, and try to minimize the ammunition I give to her.

My guy's only 9.5 so he's younger than your age range, but he has lots of friends that are girls, and I don't see that changing. I always had guy friends. Many of them are long-term friendships that have lasted my life. I don't think it has to be a slippery slope.

DS had one, and we tried everything. The thing that finally worked was soaking it, roughing it up with a pumice, then using tea tree oil twice a day and covering it with an OTC wart pad. It was gone within days. Tea tree oil rocks.

That made me laugh! Wooden blocks (I like Haba - love the colors and the paint doesn't chip), cardboard stacking boxes, pipe cleaners (fold the sharp edges over tightly) to put into a strainer, HWOT wooden pieces for making letter shapes, sets of color matching cards etc (I print on card stock and laminate), shape sorter, lauri toys, infantino puzzles (we bought a big box full for $14 - it has 2 piece puzzles up to more complicated ones), large lacing beads (they are like big wooden blocks, peg board type toys to put large beads on (they have counting type toys, I can't think what these are called). If you check Amazon for Haba toys for that age, you might find more ideas.

Wondering here, too. What are you binding? I freecycled a comb binder a few years ago (it never got enough use). Recently I have eyed the ProClicks, but wondered what exactly I would bind! What are you binding? Do your kids prefer to write in things you've bound? Please share. :)

We are - sort of. :) We school year round, but we've just finished a break. And tomorrow is the first day of PS here, so it seemed like as good a day as any to start back. DS has a basket of goodies waiting for him, and he's planning to bake a cake to celebrate after school. Win for me! ... I do feel a bit bad because he asked if I'd decorate the house a bit, just for fun (the kid loves a party), and this is the first year I didn't plan that kind of stuff. Oops. So I am decorating his desk instead.

Beautiful!

We rarely buy new, and we are a serious Apple family. Refurbished is the way to go. Everything arrives looking new, new packaging, etc. Same excellent warranty. We've got refurbed laptops, ipads, ipods, etc. No problems. The stock changes pretty quickly so if they don't have exactly what you want, just keep checking back till they have the one you want. :)

We rarely buy new, and we are a serious Apple family. Refurbished is the way to go. Everything arrives looking new, new packaging, etc. Same excellent warranty. We've got refurbed laptops, ipads, ipods, etc. No problems. The stock changes pretty quickly so if they don't have exactly what you want, just keep checking back till they have the one you want. :)

Singing it again. :)

Thanks.

I have not kept up with this case, but am curious: what does the birthmother have to say about all of this?

I agree with that 6 foot privacy fence. ASAP. FWIW, we have a 6 foot privacy fence and still deal with the neighbor's wildlife habitat. It sounds snarky to say that, I know, but really - her weeds actually grow up taller than the 6 foot fence. She can't open her back gate due to vines, and her deck is covered in the vines, too. It really is like nothing I've ever seen. The worst part is that the vines are a mix of English Ivy out of control, VA Creeper, and Poison Ivy. They grow through our fence, invading our yard all summer. DH is so allergic to them that he ends up at the doc's each year getting shots to get the rash under control. It is truly miserable. We've offered to hire someone to do the yardwork for her but she refuses. She has issues. :(

Our experience was similar. I think these can be good for kids who like coloring and pasting, but for those of us with "maker" kids ... a more substantial project is more appealing.

Our doc is heavy into supplements, these are the ones we use for the supplements you listed (we take a ton more!): I took B-12 methylcobalamin for years as an injectable. Yes, I did daily shots. :) But they worked great. You can have it compounded at a special pharmacy so it contains no preservatives. With sublingual, you don't have the pokes, though. We use Nordic Naturals for Omega-3s, etc. Great company. Thorne Basic Detox Nutrients for our multi - even DS takes these, just half the dose of an adult. No help on Vit D - mine is an Rx. Hope you find products that work well for you!

I have struggled with this, too. Many moons ago, before DS, we had a library. Every wall was covered in floor to ceiling bookshelves. The overflow was housed in different rooms, every room had its own set of bookshelves. Then came DS, and we converted the library room to his room. The books in his room went into boxes, which went into storage. I could not bear to part with them. Our shelves in the other rooms bulged and groaned. After 7 years or so, I realized that very rarely did I go out and get a book from storage! ...That's what sparked the change. I slowly started purging books, and can't tell you how much lighter I feel! A few thoughts that helped me... I read them here, but have no idea who said them originally... I will paraphrase the ideas that helped most: - I have a huge set of bookshelves, rooms full of books. Any time I want to read a book not easily in reach, I go to my personal book storage system ... the library. Seriously. This helped me. I realized that so many of the books I hang onto are a the library. I don't have to own them. In fact, I donated many of my books to the library, where they are now living happily, and probably are read more often. - Going through a shelf or a box, I would pick up each book and think about my emotional response. Does it make me feel happy? Does it make me feel guilty (haven't read it, intend to reread it but haven't, etc). Any guilt means it goes in the donate box. If it makes me feel happy - am I going to reread it in the next year? If so, it goes in the reread stack, if not - donate box. - I have/had a gigantic collection from my mentor/best friend who passed away. She was a prof in my field, and I have/had many of the books she collected getting her PhD, etc. I finally managed to release many of those books by reminding myself that she is not in the books (or the many other items from her that are in my home!). Her memory is in my heart. The books I'm not actively using are going out of date in my storage. Time to release. - Initial cost - yes, there was one, but how much is all that square footage in our home worth? What do we pay for that square footage? I've completely released the "initial cost" argument this way. Once the shelves started clearing out and I could find what I wanted, the freedom was priceless. - Giving specific collections to people I know will appreciate them makes me smile. :) I've freecycled a lot of books. - I don't try to sell them. That would be overwhelming. I sort them by box, and let the boxes go. If someone else sells them, well, that may be what they need to do... And that's okay with me. Once I've given them away, they belong to someone else. I'm sure I could think of more random thoughts that inspired me over the years - I tend to hang onto the thoughts that make it work for me, to release things, and sort of keep repeating them as I purge. Hope some of this gives you some inspiration about where to start! -

Next door neighbor is agoraphobic (diagnosed). When we moved in she was managing this fairly well, and seemed... not normal but not overly odd. 10 years later she is much more extreme - her world keeps shrinking. Her car died several years ago and she let it sit in her driveway until the HOA insisted she get rid of it. She donated it. We worried about her not having a way to get around, so we gave her (for $1) DSS's old car. Again, she let that one sit till it died, and donated it. She depends on friends and neighbors for groceries and meds - we drive her or pick them up. She prefers delivery, now. Her yard is a jungle. We call it the wildlife habitat.

We have a mix of colors - lots and lots of colors. :) Love color. Love them all. Drinking espresso from a turquoise cup at the moment. Yum. Color makes it taste better. We bought dinner sets to get started, and added extra pieces. Some big serving pieces are nice. I love the butter dish, too.

:grouphug:

That would depend on state law. Different states = different laws regarding time to change minds once papers are signed. (Or are you saying that there is a law to that effect re: this case?)

How cool! What great role model for your kids! You want to learn something new... Do it! High five!

Oops. iPhone typing. Tried to edit typos and quoted myself! Going to find an IV of espresso now and hook myself up!

This is from the CDC page on Shingles. I tried to say it up thread but bungled, maybe due to lack of caffeine: "Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another. However, the virus that causes shingles, the varicella zoster virus, can be spread from a person with active shingles to a person who has never had chickenpox. In such cases, the person exposed to the virus might develop chickenpox, but they would not develop shingles. The virus is spread through direct contact with fluid from the rash blisters, not through sneezing, coughing or casual contact." So if you've had CP, you're always at risk for shingles to some degree, but coming into contact with someone with shingles isn't going to up your risk. Unless, of course, the caffeine still hasn't kicked in and I'm totally misunderstanding. Always possible. :) I sure hope no one gets sick! Sending you all healthy vibes.