I read and loved her books. I wish I had been wise enough to glean this wisdom from her writing. Kudos to you. And take a note you moms of young ones! I peaked too early.

I have 3 kids. I fully expect they will find something to be bitter about. It's human nature. Doesn't everyone think about their childhoods and determine what they want to change in how they raise their own kids? I did. I think that is how progress is made.

#whichkeens?

4,870

I agree. My former employers did this when hiring post-docs.

I feel for all of you, and it is a comfort to know that there are some of you who understand the situation that my family faces. And I've said it before, I am so thankful for the folks on here who explained this mess to me early in the process. PinkyandtheBrains, I am very sorry you face financial hardship. I do recognize your position is much worse than mine. However, I've been where you are and scratched and clawed to get out of that situation. Now when things are going well financially if I was to choose to pay what colleges demand I too could find myself homeless. It would take mortgaging my home, emptying savings and investments and spend 1/3 of what we earn for the next eight years, at which time my husband would be near retirement. It is as if the system wants us all to be penniless. State schools for my kids and that alone may cost $270,000.

I'm interested in answers as I only know enough to understand the question. Just enough to be dangerous!

I'm bumping for you. Here is what my daughter and I came up with: Boysie, who slept in the kitchen, heard the door shut and came to the living room. Remove the appositive phrase: Boysie heard the door shut and came to the living room. Then changed it to this: Boysie heard the sound of the door being shut and came to the living room. So, if we added the implied words, then it seems like being shut is acting as an adjective modifying door, so it is a participial phrase. So, I think we had the same conclusion you had.

Hear, Hear!

Wonderful! I look forward to trying it, thanks for the post. I wish there were more cozies. Remember Rosemary and Thyme?

More info. about Robert Gentry, hth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_V._Gentry http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/po-halos/gentry.html

I vote for Crackle. You have a beautiful voice.

I appreciated her work. When my children were very little, I used AG to self educate. Later, my children used her products. My oldest, who had some struggles,was particularly helped by using AG. Condolences to the family.

I will check out those Wii games, thanks for the suggestions! My son also play games on Steam (he is now 15) I don't love the harsh language, but oh well. I will look up Hearthstone. Thanks!

I will look those games up. We also like hiking, but I never think of it as an activity to do with other teens, maybe we will try that. Thanks for your suggestions!

Your son sounds like mine. He also finds his games on Steam and plays online. I can only hope that the people he plays with are a positive group. Thanks for responding! I will consider the XBOX 360.

You were reading that correctly! Hmm, popular music, good idea. My two daughters are in to music, but my son hasn't shown much interest. Thanks so much for answering!

Congratulations! I'm probably too discouraged to be inspired, but you look great and healthy!

We have an old playstation and wii. What console system is "cool" now? Any thoughts on fun computer games - one of my kids prefers computer games. Any thoughts on console games that are fun? What do you and your kids enjoy playing? We need something new to play with friends.

Here is an example of a cap: Roth IRA Income Limits for Married Filers (Joint) If you file as married filing joint or as a qualifying widow(er) your income must be less than$181,000 to contribute up to the limit. If your income falls between$181,000 and $191,000 you cannot contribute up to the limit. Your contribution is reduced. If your income exceeds $191,000 you cannot contribute to a Roth IRA. Once you reach the lowest level of what is considered upper middle class, tax benefits go poof!

From the article: Let's take a look at how this asset protection allowance works. Let's assume that the oldest parent is 57 years old, which would entitle a couple to an allowance of $49,300. This would allow the parents to shield up to that amount of their non-retirement assets, including 529 plan holdings. $49,300. I know that so many boardies have a terribly difficult time getting dinner on the table. But honestly, $49k is probably less than any financial adviser would suggest having in an emergency fund. We are all being told that to survive retirement we are going to need $2 million or so, so to me allowing us to shelter $49k is not generous. And I know that retirement accounts are protected, but there are many, many restrictions (caps and such) that make retirement accounts unattractive or simply unavailable. For instance often the funds offered by employers in 401k's have ridiculously high fees.

I read this to my husband. His immediate response was, "And this is who we will be giving our life savings too."

Yes, I have changed my views on many things over the years. For many years it felt almost painful, I was changing so quickly.I would rarely assert anything with absolute confidence as that felt like a foolish thing to do. At 50, the rate of change has slowed, I'm pretty sure about the core ideas in my life. I find it fascinating watching people change.

I realize this is tangential. But this is a very significant problem in the workplace: http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024241588_microsoftsuitxml.html

I should be giving my husband a massage or trying to re-learn logarithms, but instead I am concerned about ticking people off on forums!