I have the first gen surface and an ipad mini and I find myself reaching for the ipad. If I want to use a computer, I use my husband's desktop. The keyboard is really the deal breaker for me. I love the magnetic charger and screen/keyboard combo, though.

No, not a big thing like a school shooting. I think my kid would be an easy target for bullies, though.

Dealing with the school district when my autistic kiddo was in special needs preschool. I realized I didn't have it in me to be "that parent" and if I wanted my child to have any type of education at all, I would either have to be a squeaky wheel with the school district or do it myself.

I make breakfast most mornings, but if I'm pressed for time or out of eggs then my oldest makes oatmeal or cereal for himself and his younger brother.

I had a guy come to the back door once and stare at me through the door as I was changing a diaper. He could see I was dealing with a diaper full of poop and he just kept watching me and knocking away. Really creepy. Had no problem telling him to LEAVE NOW. Usually I'm super apologetic and just keep saying "no thanks" as I close the door.

I welcome it. Going to have silver braids and a sparkly chain for my glasses.

True, adorable is probably not the word...although when I was 12 and my baby sister was learning to talk, I *did* think it was cute to teach her to say "kiss my butt" and only to boys (because boys were annoying). I don't have a problem with my my kids saying "crappy" as they get older, but I'll never find it cute.

My son would argue me right to the Supreme Court if I tried to explain why we can say words in one environment but not another. Not worth it to me. It's either totally fine or totally not fine. I do have really little ones, though, and I don't think it's adorable for a 3 year old to say things like "crappy" so I try to keep that out of our vocab.

Plan something fun for your 10+1!!

I don't know what the right answer is, but I'd probably just give you, the parent, the spending money and encourage you to spend it on all the kids. I mean, I would be so thrilled, so, so, thrilled if this type of offer were extended to my son. If a Disney trip was put in front of me, I'd be fine with any monetary limits, or rules for what to pack, or even "E should bring *at least* this much spending money". As long as there were no unexpected expenses.

If it wasn't for our mailman pitching in, our car would have been stuck in a snowbank until it thawed out LOL We have a great local system. It's a little weird in some rural parts, where it's basically only open an hour (mail is sorted by 10:45 on Saturdays but they close some time before noon).

Throw something weird in there and see if you get a response :P

I hope he would. My husband and his friends/family members usually just make fun of each other and play video games. I see my husband proposing to the first woman who listens to him talk about something real. I have very young children and I don't want him raising them alone. I'm totally fine with him remarrying. Oh and he swears he wouldn't remarry and doesn't want me to remarry, either. I told him he can take out more life insurance and then we'll talk.

We use Seton Testing. You can probably do what you're suggesting but it will depend on your state's regulations.

My son really liked Taming of the Shrew, especially when we listened to it on CD. He listened to it multiple times per day when he was 7-ish.

Any color, usually an old minivan, though.

I used McRuffy K. It thought it was just the right scope, sequence, and price for a kindergartener. I use Elemental Science and it is a great program. I'm sure there are a few typos in the teaching manual but you don't really do more than scan it for instruction/ideas. They do not write the spines, they use DK/Usborne sources and Janice Van Cleve experiment/demonstration materials.

I do the same thing. But it's worth it for comfy shoes. Investment-wise, I'm sure you will still be wearing yours when your kids outgrow theirs. The last time I "bought myself shoes," I was helping my mom purchase something on Amazon and she insisted on buying the cute boots that had been sitting in my cart for two months.

Either are acceptable in my family. I think it would be polite to fake a coughing fit so that water could be offered to you. And I don't mean any offense, as I usually read Ellie's posts and nod along thinking "yes, I want to do things that way... some day, when I'm grown." I hope my post is taken in the happily irreverent way that it's meant.

I think my son spends about a half hour. He is doing the fifth grade program. I usually circle half of the problems. A subtopic is typically 2-3 pages, if it's longer than I split it into more than one lesson. There are concepts that come easily, where I will circle half the problems and he will fly through 10 pages in a day. Other concepts are more difficult, and I will assign all of the problems but only one page. There's cumulative review at the end of each chapter and that's mostly it. Each new book has review at the beginning, but her idea of review involves introducing new, more difficult concepts. I overlap chapters sometimes - especially when it's a topic he finds grueling, such as long division.

I know some really flakey 30 year old guys who don't have children... and I would still trust them not to take my kids somewhere without my permission. I am glad that you and your daughter are having an ongoing conversation about this.

I love the style.

My son is not mature. He can play out in the yard unsupervised and I trust him to watch the little ones. I just have to draw a line on the driveway and he will make sure no one puts a toe over it. To actually walk through the neighborhood alone? I sent him into the store to get milk and when it took too long, went in and discovered he was in the middle of the store, just looking around blankly. Right next to the milk. So we're just not there yet. I can send him into the library, though, so that will probably be his first solo trip :) And I'll probably send him with a cell phone and call ahead to the library. I'm not that free range, in case you can't tell.

It could be an ASD, but you'd need some solid evaluations to determine that. My son is autistic, diagnosed with Asperger's at age 2, and often comes across as ADHD because of his sensory issues and executive functioning. His psychologist basically said he can have an ADHD diagnosis if we need it but it's not exactly ADHD. He words things a little differently based on how much the parent freaks out about certain labels. There is a page on facebook called Autism Discussion Page, and the author, Bill Nason has some books that have recently been published. IMO he is the absolute best at explaining WHY children with autism behave the way they do, and how to help them with tough stuff. Here are his books http://www.amazon.com/Discussion-anxiety-behavior-parenting-strategies/dp/1849059950/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1J6GWRQXG3FGNMQ6F9J9and http://www.amazon.com/Discussion-anxiety-behavior-parenting-strategies/dp/1849059950/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1XM1REK8KPZGKSTY3KE4

Score for Charlotte Mason Education: 20 Score for Waldorf Education: 9 Score for Traditional Education: -11 Score for Unit Studies Education: 21 Score for Montessori Education: 16 Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: -3 Score for Unschooling: 8 Score for Classical Education: 12 It was interesting to take the quiz, since it made me think about my educational philosophy a bit more. I have a list of subjects for each day that I expect my son to complete, followed by chores and free time. I am happy to ditch the list any time he wants to go off on rabbit trails, but he doesn't do that on a regular basis.