I found out last night, so I knew it before you but...The person asked about us going to see it together in such a matter-of-fact way, that it was obvious she thought I knew about the movie. I didn't.

Be prepared to use an entire day to get from Orlando to the Keys, and another day to get back if you're flying in and out of Orlando Airport. It's a 7-8 hour drive one way. And if you go, QValencia already listed the must-sees. Also be sure to go to the "end of U.S. 1" marker. My main recommendation would be to visit a state park or nature preserve. Any one will do. Blue Springs is not far and depending on when in winter you're there, you might get to see manatees. They come for the warmer waters of the springs. Why a park or preserve? So you can see Real Florida. Real Florida has nothing to do with theme parks. Real Florida is absolutely beautiful.

When dss was living alone and attending firefighter school, he used his crock pot often. Now, he already knew how to cook, but a crock pot can help inexperienced cooks too. He made a lot of beef stew, beef and cabbage soup, and various bean soups (with or without added meat). When he could get a roast (pork or beef) on sale, he'd put it in the crock pot, shred it when it was cooked, and would get several meals out of it. Since your young friend has a crock pot, I'd recommend he make use of it. The good thing is, if he's a meat lover he can get cheaper cuts and they'll come out nice and tender in the crock pot. While the meals they listed are low cost, it's from 2008. I think one could still eat those meals cheaply, but maybe not as cheaply as 3 years ago.

You all have been busy making some lovely things. Alas, I haven't done any crafting this month. I've been busy doing holiday decluttering. I love the owl and monster hats. Would like to make a twirly dress for my niece's 3-1/2 yo dd, and the quilted placemats for me. Actually I wouldn't mind several sets of those placemats for different seasons.

Our pets have their own dishes, but I still don't think it's gross. Washed by hand or in the dishwasher, the hot water temperature is the same, so I'd be okay with either method.

Hope you all have a great time! Our homeschool group is going (just going in together to get the group rate) in December. Ds, the Lego nut, is really looking forward to it.

The only co-ops I've run/been in have been informal, so I can't help much with start up of a formal co-op. But I think the first thing would be to find out how many would be interested. I know you said you think there's interest, but do you know? Do you have a general idea of numbers? If your support group has an email list, facebook page, or some other way of communicating other than in person or individually, I'd suggest asking (or setting up a poll if you have a yahoogroup). I'm sure others with more experience will chime in with more suggestions, but that's where I'd start. Once you know how many would actually be interested, you can start thinking of what classes you need, finding a venue, etc.

That drives me crazy! Then I get, "They're clean. I didn't wear them out anywhere". Like all it takes for clothes to need washing is to wear them out in public.

Yup. October is the end of the rainy season. Sometimes a cold front will bring rain in November or December, but it's the start of the dry season.

I know there's disagreement among experts whether or not ADD is on the autism spectrum, but I swear there's overlap. (One of ds' best and oldest friends is aspie, and his mom and I have had interesting conversations.) Clothing sensitivity seems to be one of those overlap areas. It's frustrating finding clothes when we need to be aware of tags, seams, waistbands, etc. Tagless shirts rank among the greatest ideas ever. I feel your pain. Teens can be brutal and none of us want our teens to be the target of their peers.

I rarely wear closed shoes when I leave the house, so I'm not going to wear them in the house. Even my dressy shoes are dressy sandals. This is Florida. I do have to wear something at home because the tile floors are are hard on my back if I'm barefoot. So, I always wear shoes but not closed shoes (and certainly not lace up). I get dressed in "house clothes". They're comfortable enough to wear around the house, but not embarrassing if the doorbell rings. I make my hair presentable, and put on some tinted moisturizer (like a PP, I've had to run and put on a bra at times, but I really hate wearing one at home). If I'm going to do heavy cleaning, I don't get myself fixed up. I get too sweaty when I'm vacuuming and mopping to wear something decent, only to have to throw it in the hamper when I finish cleaning. I want my good clothes clean for wearing outside the house. When I finish the heavy cleaning, I take a shower. I take what I need from Flylady and other home organization/cleaning websites, just like I do with homeschool curriculum. None of them fit my life perfectly so I use what I can from different ones. With Flylady, her "get dressed and wear closed shoes" doesn't fit my life.

Hmmm. Okay, thinking about the OP, she did say 30 days from now. It's pretty unlikely we'll get freezing temps in late Nov.- early Dec. We could get some cold weather, but usually it's only Floridians who consider it cold. Pack layers for that time period. Bring long pants, long sleeve shirts, light jackets. Bring closed shoes. Also bring warm weather clothes. It will most likely be in the mid-70's daytime and 50's at night. Sunny. Low humidity. Beautiful. (You picked a good time in terms of weather.) If we do get a cold front, it will probably bring rain and slightly cooler temps. Freezes at that time are rare.

Didn't Heath Ledger have trouble sleeping? I seem to remember reading that around the time of his death. I've had sleepless nights that I couldn't attribute to anything in particular (stress, caffeine, menopause(lol) etc.), but I can't imagine what it would be like for insomnia to be your normal. I could almost see someone trying anything to get sleep. And the more money you have, the more things you can try, which of course can lead to increased likelihood of overdose. When ds was diagnosed with ADHD, one of the things his doctor and I talked about was his inability to fall asleep. It's not that he didn't need the sleep, but he couldn't fall asleep. The doctor said it's common in people with ADD because they have trouble shutting down their brains. He actually was able to sleep better once he was put on ADD meds (sounds contradictory, I know). Now he's a teenager, had been off his meds since June, and sleeps like a typical teenager. I'm quite relieved. I'd hate to see him go through life with difficulty sleeping.

Yay for Bravewriter! I was not sorry I spent the money on The Writer's Jungle. Ds hasn't done any of the classes due to the cost, but we've used The Arrow and Boomerang, and we try to follow the "Bravewriter Lifestyle".

Well, it wasn't on a whim. I looked it over for a few years but something held me back. Finding a math curriculum that's good for ds has always been a trouble spot. I thought I found it with Right Start. I though I found it with Life of Fred. It seems I finally found it with Teaching Textbooks. He actually said he likes it. I've never heard him use "like" and "math program" in the same sentence before TT.

Maybe you can look through everyone's clothes and make a list of what you'll bring depending on the forecast. If it's cold, we'll bring this, if it's nice, we'll bring that. Then when it gets close enough to know what the weather will be like, at least you won't be planning the wardrobe from scratch.

:grouphug:I'm so sorry. If you are able to do it, then go ahead. They will probably give you the dog in a bag. Sorry, I know that's hard to think about. You might want to bring a box along with you if you can't handle bringing him home in a bag. You can bury him in the bag, or put the bag in a box. As others stated, make sure the hole is deep enough to keep other animals away. If you have other pets who go outdoors, you might need to keep an eye on them for a month or so to make sure they don't find the spot. The house my family owned for 40 years (I sold it after my mom passed in 2008) has 4 dogs and 3 cats buried in the back yard. The house dh had when I met him, where we lived the first 8 years of our marriage, has a cat and a hamster buried in the backyard. The house we live in now has a dog, a cat, and a Leopard Gecko buried in the backyard. And all three houses are in suburban neighborhoods. It can be done if done properly.

:iagree:We've had freezes in December, and we've had record highs in December. The only thing predictable about December weather in central Florida is that it's unpredictable. :D You can wear shorts one day, and bundle up the next. Wait a while and see what the forecast will be when you get closer to your vacation time.

I get so frustrated trying to find an adult costume that doesn't try to tart me up (and that would NOT be a pretty sight :lol: ), that I usually just make my own.

We had the same problem when we bought our 2004 Sienna last year. The owner who traded it in lost the extra, so the dealer only had one. Dh, who is good at working deals, tried to talk them into giving us an extra, but didn't succeed. We still only have one. The dealer wants nearly $300 for a key and remote. You can get them online for much less. Check Amazon. I'm still trying to decide if that's the route we want to go. So far we're fine with one, but I'm always in fear of locking that one in the van.

:iagree:From your follow-up post, it looks like you'll be getting other opinions. It can be so hard to decide, especially with your dd being so young and still having some baby teeth. Although ds did still need braces (and he has about a year left to go), some of what his dentist thought would be problems, self-corrected as his permanent teeth came in. I'd be sure and ask whichever doctor you choose, what's cosmetic and what's medically necessary. That's not to say you shouldn't choose to fix the cosmetic issues, but I'd want to know exactly what I'm paying for. Good luck. I know from experience that it isn't easy.

This sounds like the best option to me. While I think it's wrong of them to offer PBJ as a snack knowing there's a child with an allergy, there's no guarantee they'll change their snack. It can't hurt to ask, but if they won't, then a safe compromise seems like the next best thing.

As others said, you can either register with your county as a homeschooler or register with an umbrella (technically a private) school. There are pros and cons to both. If you want to take advantage of anything the public school has to offer, such as classes or sports teams, then you need to register with the county. Umbrella school students aren't eligible to participate in public school activities. If you just want to do your own thing and keep the county out of your business, choose an umbrella school. Keep in mind that according to the state, an umbrella school is a private school. The umbrella school doesn't even have to report your name to the state, and a lot of people like that. As far as Florida is concerned, your children are private school students, not homeschoolers, if you register with an umbrella school. For everyday practical purposes though, it doesn't matter. Umbrella schools differ in what they require and what they provide. The cost varies widely based on how much they offer you. Find out what you want from an umbrella school, then choose one that meets your needs. Florida is a pretty easy state, no matter which option you choose. Not as easy as say, Texas, but among the states that have requirements it's considered easy.

:iagree:This would be my short answer to the question posed by the OP.

It sounds like you will need to give in and go with an exterminator. Here in Florida, fleas are a year round problem and anyone with pets has had to deal with them. Fleas can cause anemia in the pet and they carry diseases. What they can do is worse than a one-time pesticide application (or a few times if the fleas are really bad). The fleas you see on your pets are only a small percentage of the number of fleas actually there. Most of them spend their time off the pets and in your environment. When you treat, you need to treat your pet(s), the house, and the yard at or around the same time. It's the only way to get rid of them. Also, make sure the exterminator uses something that will prevent the young fleas from reaching adulthood, so they won't be able to lay eggs.