My heart broke for this girl too; we pulled our kids from school in part b/c of bullying/bad behavior from the other kids. I remember when my son was in kindergarten there was a long display down one hallway about the school not tolerating bullying and then he would walk into his class and be bullied. He asked me once "isn't that bullying? Why can they do that when the sign says they can't?" I came to pick him up from school one day to see him getting hit with his own backpack by two other boys in his class... through superhuman efforts I didn't flatten the kids involved but I did make them cry with fear. My daughter's whole kindergarten year she wanted to wear pink dresses and she had always been a complete tomboy. :confused: We later found out that the ringleader of the girl bullies liked pink dresses. And if she didn't like what you were wearing she wouldn't let any of the other girls talk to you that day. brother. Our small town school was run by the offspring of cliques of days gone by. Their kids would become teachers and get hired by the parents on onward and onward. It was cliques upon cliques and if you weren't in the clique your kid would have no protection from the school authorities. BS. I had a trigger finger for homeschooling-I was bullied and really abused as a kid by other kids and I wasn't going to let my kids get ruined by it. It changes who you are... and I liked my kids too much to let that happen to them. I know not everyone can make the same choices that we did but sometimes I want to scream when I hear these stories about how kids were treated so terribly by the kids and the schools and the parents sent them there every day. First thing I would do is pull them out. so sad...

I don't think coffee is bad for you..? Google the health benefits of it and enjoy your coffee without guilt!

You have a door peeker too! :D Mine used to be terrified of people when I first got him... now we can barely keep him out of the house! Like the grulla! and I love Jeaux-we had a Nat. Show Horse for a few years and he was a lot of fun. Jeaux is beautiful, love his color and face.

simka you're beautiful! so's that horse! I like the prom picture-I would expect nothing less from a truly horse crazy girl...

Thanks, that pony is our little Welsh/Belgian cross! LOL I bought the pony at the auction and she turned out to be pregnant... found out after the fact that the people that dropped her off also dropped off a year old Belgian stud colt. :glare: She's turned out to be one of the greatest little horses we've had! We love our horses and our mountains... we've dabbled in other horse activities but those are the biggies for us, two of our favorite things!

I have complained for years that when I'm sick my work is still waiting for me when I get better! I actually feel a little better knowing that it's not just me and my family that does this... :001_huh:

Great pictures, everyone-jumping pictures are always so striking! Nice horses and good form, beautiful facilities! Our horses are our mountain buddies and we've each had our riding horses for five years each-we're very attached and close to our horses... definitely part of the family and I love to see that with other kids too!

A few more, my daughter and her wonderful mare, my son and his speckled horse, my viewfinder from the saddle and then again panhandling at the screen door for Cracklin' Oat Bran (his favorite thing ever) HUH, not sure why those came out sideways! They aren't on my computer... I've spent way too much time looking through pictures now so I don't have time to figure out how to fix them! ETA obviously b/c they are vertical pictures, hmm, sorry about that!

Aw thank her for us! :) We love to ride in the mountains, we have a lot of fun, DH and the kids have pine cone fights and race sometimes and play "pass the stick"!

All you jumpers! We don't compete in anything.. we ride in the mountains mostly. My daughter's horse is Arabian and she's the prettiest tidiest little english horse you ever saw! My computer isn't cooperating very well this morning, I'll see if I can dig up a picture...

I agree that using the word "bullying" here is a stretch. These are boys-acting like boys. Bruises, bites, whatever... they fought. It sounds to me like your son over-reacted, maybe he had been getting increasingly annoyed or there is more history here but to be honest, it doesn't change my opinion. He over-reacted and he threw the first punch. He is under your control, the other kid isn't. I'd have a talk with him about controlling his temper and not being the first one to throw down. In real life you get to defend yourself if you're attacked but you're not supposed to start a physical altercation. and no, getting a dodgeball ball thrown at you doesn't count as an attack in my book. The other kid needs a lecture about fighting dirty but that's not your job. :)

She needs her Grandma Card revoked! I divorced my inlaws several years ago, it's been the best thing ever for my life and marriage. I just seceded from that side of the family, DH and kids still see them when they want. Peace descended over the little valley. :)

:iagree: I'm part of the 15% here, apparently! Sailormom you offered excellent perspective. I have a kid much like the OP's and rather than make excuses for his behavior and backtrack on my initial assessments, I am always interested in presenting him with MORE reality! Strangely enough, he rises to the occasion when he gets an increased dose of reality...I do believe it's good for him! :D

Jennifer Aniston has a long face, I think.. and her hair is famous! I think it would look good, those sideswept bangs/side part help to frame the forehead...

What is all the product making your hair do? Is it layered, one length, angled forward or back? all one length or a bob, what is the present style? Growing bangs out is a good change! Choppy layers will break up fine hair.. my best buddy has very very fine hair and she has it in a sideswept layered bob...she can either leave it to air dry, then scrunch with product of some sort, or really style it, or get a little clippie and stick the bangs up and not even think about it. let's see if my picture works...similar hairstyle

It wouldn't enter my mind to expect someone else to pay for my falling down... gads no wonder everything costs so much! Insurance companies are apparently running this whole show. crazy.

OP you say you threaten to take away treats, DO YOU? If you don't follow through you're teaching them to ignore you. Their job right now is to do what you say, in appropriate measures for their ages you need to enforce that. Honestly, you sound like you're wimping out. You have rewards in place and are busying yourself with charts and systems and mom dollars but a fat pup will not work for treats. Their bosses some day will not let them work for rewards when they want to. The real world sounds a whole lot tougher than your household. You sound like you are trying to weedle them into doing what you want. How's that working? I have found, through animals and kids, that the reward system works best with a consequence system. YMMV Granted I think we are coming from different planets... but you sound like you are trying to bribe them to obey with rewards and they have your number.

As long as they are still playing with toys, watching tv, playing games, eating yummy things for dinner and enjoying their lives you have not yet begun to fight. You are cheerful and yet, you pull privileges and perqs when their obligations aren't done. Put a smile on your face and put the dots close together for them. Do this right now or "else" right now. Is your DH behind you 100%? are YOU behind you 100%? If not, you need to find your footing. overpeople-my kids did the same thing a few times, when the Law came crashing down and I pulled their fun stuff and we really got down to business they were happier. Don't do lists, checklists, stickers, ect. Bring that in when they can work for themselves a bit. Right now just practise telling them what to do and them listening. It takes a lot of energy-don't get paper and systems involved. Don't let yourself get mad. Not done with your room by 5? dang, sorry for you but you're in here for the rest of the night, no tv, no toys, brussel sprouts (or any least liked meal) for dinner. Sucks to be you, kiddo. Hope tomorrow is better! signed, Mean Mom of Responsible Hard Working Kids

It can last much longer than you really want to endure. :( I've seen cats be completely non-responsive and recover with fluids but you're right, she's elderly and odds are good that you aren't really going to be buying that much time. If you're reconciled that this may be the end and you don't really want to take heroic measures, I would take her in and just request that she be put to sleep. No harm, no foul. And no long lingering exit to deal with for anyone. I'm sorry. :(

My family is from that area, parents live near there now and went to college in LC- It is hot desert but I think you are probably aware of that! There are some places to hike and get out though, it's not totally desolate. I don't think LC has quite the crime that Albuquerque or even Deming might have, certainly not nearly like El Paso! White Sands would at least be off that drug highway a bit. We looked at moving to LC a few years ago-I'd plan on keeping the kids pretty close and being particular. There are some really great people there but there is an undercurrent too. Homeschooling is different than just throwing them in the public school and losing touch with them so I don't think it would worry me too much on a temporary basis.

lowcarbfriends.com and this lady is a pro: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/

Leapforce is legit but can be a challenge I think... I took the tests and passed but never followed up due to a life change here.

Our family has four RCA MP3's... I had a Sansa and it broke! LOL We have a Pearl and I forget what the others are... none cost more than $40. The cheapest on which I think was the Pearl was about $25 and I've taken it on camping trips and to the gym and road trips and everywhere and it is a champ. Never breaks, easy on the single AAA battery, and despite a slightly clunky operation methods it's been worth every penny I spent on it. It's the size of a thumb drive. I've had it for two years-never a problem. I think there's a website, anythingbutipod? that reviews other MP3's...

Ah-I hear you on the cost! You make sugardine: iodine and sugar, mixed together to a paste. Since her wound is raw I would thin the iodine with sterile water to a medium/light tea color then mix with the sugar then wrap it up. http://www.holistichorse.com/Herbs/sugardine.html You can also wash or rinse the wound with saline and wrap it with a dry wrap. My favorite inexpensive bandaging material is panty liners and duct tape or vet wrap. The sugardine will inhibit infection but it can slow healing; saline is a great wound wash for the already disinfected wound that has been kept clean. You make the call, maybe keep it wrapped for a few days then start letting it dry more and more. If there is an abscess you can soak her foot in epsom salts to draw it out also-since the wound returned that could be a possibility? Or maybe she just tweaked it twice? Works really well on thrush for horses which is why you'll see so many horse references on a google search. I'd try to leave her foot dry and open as much as you can also, it will heal faster dry and clean but to keep the infection risk down to nil I would wrap it when you're not there watching her. If you want systemic abx you can buy penicillin and give her shots-costs about $8 but you have to be ok with giving a dog a shot. My dogs have never minded it, they don't even feel the needle. It's a much bigger hassle but enormously cheaper. I can PM you the dosage if you ever decide to go that route.

Neosporin can't cure an infection that is already there and it can only do a marginal job of preventing infection. A better preventative wound pack is sugardine, iodine and sugar mixed into a paste then applied and wrapped over the sore. Do you know what caused the sore? I would be pretty hesitant to take any chances with an oddball sore on her one good back leg right now. You've put so much into her recovery already-it's worth the visit to ensure all is going well.