Your public library might have loads of MP3 books to download. We do that all the time. Also, if you have a computer, it's possible to listen thru that if yours has speakers. The library may require software to download audiobooks (mine uses Overdrive and it is a decent program - it didn't want to install extra toolbars or search tools or anything on my computer). If you think you'll use your local library, I would check on their site to see what players are compatible with their download system. We've gone thru 3 mp3 players for Thing 2 because DH buys inexpensive ones that aren't compatible (there are inexpensive ones that ARE compatible, but he's managed to avoid those :glare:). Thing 1 has a Sansa Clip and Thing 2 now has an older ipod Nano that DH bought on ebay.

Re: Columbus. My initial thought on why he would change his mission from "Bringin' back the riches!" to "Spreading thine holy Word" would be salesmanship or knowing his audience. Not everyone would be okay with just enlarging coffers. They may have also needed a "humanitarian" aspect to the trip. You know, like "woohoo! Monsanto is giving seeds to poor African nations!" but we'll tell shareholders that it's to tap another market that will dependent on our seeds only. On one hand - increasing market share. On the other, humanitarian.

The only non-evolutionary thing I was ever told by someone about dinosaurs was that carbon dating is inaccurate because of the Great Flood. I made it to adulthood before realizing that many people believe in a Young Earth. Until that time I really thought EVERYONE believed in Old Earth and that the Biblical creation story was allegorical/not a literal 7 days or whatever.

Is getting the desk that attaches to the Expedit a choice? I have that, and while it limits somewhat the access to the cubbies directly under it, I CAN get at them, and just use them for less popular items.

In print: The 19th Wife Audio: 40-Love

Phoenix meets several of your requirements in general. I know there are pockets of ethnic diversity, like so many major cities. Much of the populace are transplants - I think I can count on one hand the number of people I know socially who were actually raised here. However, despite being politically and social conservative in general, there are pockets of liberalness (as one might expect in a diverse populace - not everyone agrees with the people in power). I agree with the PP who mention that ethnically diverse does not equal non-racist. Different people see the legislation and enforcement here differently, so you'd definitely have to investigate that in depth for your family.

A friend and I were talking about this basic idea the other day. It may be an element of "Waiting for Superman" since she had just seen it (but I haven't yet). She talked about how in some of these profoundly struggling areas with high drop out rates, they're basically becoming self-perpetuating islands. I learn some basic academics, but drop out at 15 when I get pregnant. My daughter learns some, and I can help her a little, but she also drops out at 15. Her daughter learns less (and has even less help at home with a mom with several young children and a grandparent who might be some help, but she's also busy parenting and trying to work to feed what is possibly an extended family all living at home). Now that's 3 generations who have dropped out, and probably haven't moved far from the same school district. Add in other factors like being in "Food deserts" and it's easier to see how quickly things can change for the worse.

Do they taste at all like coffee? I do NOT like coffee, but I may be willing to give these a try. With the 4 hours of sleep I got last night, getting one of those might help me power thru the late afternoon.

Let me see if I got this correct: You've been invited to a birthday party for a child. You haven't let the host know if you'll be there or not. Your host is trying to plan for the correct number of guests and asks you to commit to going or not. You feel under pressure because you aren't sure if you can afford a gift for the child. You tell the host you won't be attending. The host is upset that you're not attending and complains to her husband who complains to your husband. A. When is the party? B. My husband might get upset if I decided that we couldn't attend a family party without checking with him first - maybe he'd go without me and take the kids if I didn't want to go. Maybe he has some ideas for low or no cost gifts. C. Did you tell your husband that you're not attending because you don't have a gift to bring? I can understand the host wanting some firm decision on your attendance if she needs to order particular things. Even if she's throwing a party different from how she's doing it, it's HER EVENT and she wants certain things for it and a firm headcount. This isn't an unreasonable request. Think of the number of threads we have here about people who don't RSVP to parties. I'm sure there are other parts to this family and the problem, but on this one issue, I don't think it's a huge deal.

Are they flying as unaccompanied minors? At one point there was a way for those meeting minors to get a pass to the gate. Have you asked UA about that?

I read print books and listen to audiobook. My audiobooks have to be "candy" because realistically I can't give it 100% of my attention all the time. I listen to them while making dinner and also giving half an ear to child behavior, etc. I read some heavier stuff in print books, but really - I don't feel guilty AT ALL about reading months and months of fluff. At one point I read my way thru all the UK/Irish chick lit I could find. I'd find one author and read everything she'd written and then check out the "blurbs" on the back of the book to see who'd endorsed it or if a review said "If you love ABC, you'll definitely love this author!" and then I'd go find everything by ABC. Yeah, my brain isn't doing any heavy lifting, but I don't care. FWIW, I tried to read Hemingway once. I majored in Spanish in college. I did a semester in Spain. I figured I'd love For Whom the Bell Tolls. I read about 5 pages. I couldn't stand his writing style. I know he's one of those GREAT authors, but ugh. No thanks. I figure life's too short to read books I don't like. Also, I don't care if my kids read "twaddle." My older son is a reluctant reader, so as long as he's reading, I'm okay with it. He read a lot of Calvin and Hobbes - which has some good vocabulary, honestly. He's reading more chapter books now and I'm happy.

Cornish pasties? Roast beef and yorkshire pudding? http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizworld/food.html

Oh, there definitely ARE expensive rooms. They might not be big, but you can stay at El Tovar in a suite for up to $444/night. So you can definitely spend some serious cash up there. http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/What-to-Know-428.html

If you're interested in the origins of the KJV, National Geographic magazine did an article on it. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/12/king-james-bible/nicolson-text At the end of the article there's mention that the author of the article also wrote a book about the men who wrote the KJV. I found the article interesting, and will now go back to lurking because I have no opinion on different versions of the Bible (well, I have some opinions on that one they were doing to look like a magazine...)

Ahh, you want an actual cash reminder? Because I mentioned marbles as a way to keep track of the times you walk instead of drive. If you don't want to deal with keeping money in the house, you could do the thermometer style thing. Ahead of time, figure out the gas mileage of your car and the average price per gallon. Also note the typical distance you'll go. Then you'll know the price per location (is it 50c to the library? $1.25 to the grocery store? whatever). You can keep change and add it to a jar, or you could do a substitution (one marble for every 25c?) in a jar if you want something visual. Figure out some smaller goals (does it take $5 for a new book each from the second hand store?) and some bigger ones ($40 for a month of piano, $75 for a year of zoo membership) and make a list that's kept near the jar/poster whatever. If you do a thermometer thing, I'd probably do the markings at $1 per line, especially if you have young children. THey may need the more frequent changes in progress. Unless all of your journeys will be more like $3 each, and then I'd bump it to $3 or $5.

Something simple would be marbles in a jar (we do this for chores) or stickers on a graph. Do you have a wagon? While you're working on bike lessons, you could do some walking and use the wagon to haul things. I've also known people who keep the bike trailer (where toddlers ride) even after the children are too big for it because it can serve as a place to carry groceries or books.

Well, sugar is part of nature ;) With the "organic" label i can so far know that I'm avoiding HFCS.

You could've also said "she WILL be reading more. we've met this goal you set and now we're setting other goals for her summer reading." Our library does a gameboard style thing and each spot is "one book, 50 pages or 20 minutes." My kids bang thru those. I've stopped using the one at the city library because the prizes are tiny stuffed animals or rubber ducks (keychain size) and you get about 4 over the course of the gameboard. The county library does similar "along the way" prizes, but you get a BOOK at the end. Same with Barnes and Noble - a book at the end (but for a bookseller, their choices are pretty limited; the county library's list is MUCH larger).

I missed the OP, but from replies I'm guessing this is about being useful around the house? My kids can do many things around the house (they're nearly 9 and 11.5). They may not do them to an adult level of efficiency, but I'm rolling with FlyLady's "housework done poorly still blesses your family" since I'm not a fabulous housekeeper myself. That said, I've had people at the hockey rink praise Thing 2 for pulling his own bag (it has WHEELS! Why shouldn't he??). Oh, and they both pack their own gear and know that if they get to the rink without something it means they're not playing. I have a cousin with a 12 year old son who can't make (or isn't allowed to make?) his own sandwiches. SANDWICHES. My mom has a friend with a 16 year old grandson. I hear all about how The Boy will yell and yell and yell for his mother to make him a sandwich or other food. "So she says she just makes it for him so he'll be quiet about it already. Plus then she doesn't have to clean up a huge mess in the kitchen." I've started phrasing it as "Life Skills." These kids need to learn how to do things now so they can someday live somewhere else! :tongue_smilie:

I was thinking of that frog in a pot of water analogy. Yours is definitely a nicer way to put it.

Is there a chance that Elder thinks that more time at church will cure your chronic condition? That you'll be surrounded by prayer and everything? It's possible he has no idea about the very real difference between "getting a little uncomfortable sitting in a church pew" (which is usually resolved by position-switching, standing up and moving, etc) and Fibromyalgia. And it's really not his business to know your medical history, but it may be hard for him to understand. My definition of "won't sleep well in a sleeping bag on a gym floor" is WAY different from yours because I'm not dealing with chronic pain. Of course, he may also just be a boundary-violating jerk. I agree with most of what elfgivas said, except that I don't think it's worth explaining why YOU think Elder is being aggressive. I sort of fear that if you don't name his reason, he may think you're putting words in his mouth, or jumping to conclusions or whatever. It may create an extra wall that you don't need in the discussion. I would start by speaking with JUST the head pastor, explaining that you're having some issues with Elder and you need his support/input/whatever. AT that meeting you can explain that you're willing to meet with Pastor and Elder (with Pastor mediating?), but Pastor shouldn't go into a 3 way meeting without knowing the basics of the situation first.

http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-CP

I haven't shopped for them (but I'm considering it because the crayola ones have been making me nuts with their poor sharpening), but I know some people purchase them at Joann's or Michaels with the 40% off coupons.

I've had so many thoughts while reading this thread: "Sex is dirty, do it with your husband." The Madonna/Whore complex (not the singer) Sex is only for procreation (and its many rabbit trails, including the idea that no one should need artificial birth control because only sluts want to have sex and not create a baby) I DO think that having an understanding of human anatomy is an important thing for our children to learn as part of making them adults - they need to learn the parts of the body and how they work. They need to be taught that certain things are just a fact of life, and not dirty or shameful (wet dreams are okay, men should be able to buy tampons, etc). Also, I think there are many men who are socialized to think their sex urges are "dirty," particularly homosexual men.

Pardon me while I play Captain Obvious for a moment :) Check your DMV website and see what paperwork they require. If they're going to need stuff you don't have, you can save yourself the DMV adventure. In AZ, you'd have to have 3 pieces of non-photo ID (or two pieces if you have one with a picture). If my kids didn't have passports, I'm not sure what I'd use. The list here: http://mvd.azdot.gov/mvd/formsandpub/viewPDF.asp?lngProductKey=1410&lngFormInfoKey=1410 makes me think that maybe I could use our health insurance card because the kids are named on it. I feel like they need more things to get a non-driver ID card than they needed to get a passport!