I had seen it in a National Geographic book we have on the 50 States. Otherwise I wouldn't have known there was one already designed.

You're not alone-- there are designs out there, one has a circle of stars which looks kind of interesting. Most likely, they would just move them around a bit, and it would probably look something like this:

I agree, he probably IS fine. I also agree to get it checked out now to be sure. In my son's case, an absence of symptoms didn't mean anything--his murmur wasn't innocent and he needed surgery. I wouldn't worry, but I would see the specialist.

I think you should make an appt. now to get it checked out. They'll do an ultrasound and then you'll know for sure it's OK. When my son went for his 2-year well visit, the pediatrician heard a murmur. She was sure it was nothing, but sent us to the pediatric cardiologist just in case. Within two weeks he had a heart operation because he had a serious issue that needed to be repaired asap. Also, he had no symptoms whatsoever. He was extremely active at that age and showed no signs of having a health issue of any kind.

I love all these costume ideas! The Minecraft stuff, a Ghostbuster, Zombie sock monkey! These are great. Oh and Finn (the Human) who looks like this by the way: The one on the right is Jake (the dog). My son loves Adventure Time. My 11 year-old is going as a knight. When I was 11 or 12 I went as the Hanes underwear lady, Inspector 12.

I think people think the Cleavers are perfect because neither Ward nor June are alcoholics, Ward doesn't "work late" and come home wearing someone else's underwear, no one in the family is verbally or physically abused or abusive (as far as I remember--it's been awhile since I've seen the show), the parents are pretty patient and kind and show grace to their children, all needs are met and nothing all that terrible happens. There's not a third sibling that's been sent to reform school or anyone carrying a gun or strung out on drugs or anything. People use "leave it to beaver childhood" to mean a great childhood in a loving family and I think that makes sense. I'm sure lots of 1950s/early 1960s families were NOT like the Cleavers. But they are not robots or a Stepford family. I always liked Leave It to Beaver when I was a kid. Although my son has an aversion to black-and-white TV and movies, I should get a dvd from the library and try it.

Well, I watched it with the sound off, but it looks funny. I like it!

I think those movies were made just a short time before the PG-13 rating was added. I remember finding the TV version entertaining, with "Eat my socks!" and the like.

Ha! I'd never thought of that before! :lol: I always wondered if the parents bring all the luggage trolleys back through after the Hogwarts Express leaves or if they leave them on Platform 9 3/4. If Sirius could have escaped from Azkaban by simply turning into Padfoot, why did he stay there for 13 years? I also didn't get why the Death Eaters didn't have the skill. Rita Skeeter can turn into a beetle but Voldermort's army of dark wizards don't have that ability? It seems that would have been an easy way to enter Hogwarts, instead of depending on Draco to fix the Vanishing Cabinets.

Sounds good, I always like your posts! Looks like they'll be headed to SF, though I know, it's not over til it's over! (OK, they just scored again while I've been writing this!) I was kind of hoping for a Tiger/Cards rematch, but they did well playing a California team in '84...

Uh, what about the baseball game that's on right now?? I want to know where my Tigers will be on Wednesday! (Actually I'll mostly be watching the debate) Oh and Go Lions (I guess).

They don't really have time. School in France ends late, elementary schools either run from 8:30 to 4:30 or 9 to 5. Either way, they'll get home around 5 or later. They have a couple of hours before dinner (and they really need this downtime after such a long day at school) and maybe a half hour or so after dinner to wind down and then it's to bed to be up early for school the next day. French parents are also notorious for "helping" the children with their homework too much (as in, doing part or all of it for them). What the French president is saying isn't quite as ridiculous as it sounds. (eta: but, I don't 100% agree with his reasoning on this point and I really don't agree with all of his and his party's views on schooling) I don't think older high schoolers could prepare adequately for their exams without some homework, but homework could probably be safely done away with in the elementary and middle schools.

I've seen most kids and superhero movies from the last two years (my son is 11) and fewer "real" movies, but of the ones I've seen I really liked: Midnight in Paris The Descendants Moneyball The Artist The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

That works too. Thanks!

Are they doing the free shipping over $25 again this year?

Would that be a possibility at all? This just seems like an extreme case that I don't think the "lead her by the hand back to bed without a word" advice is a good idea.

While I think it's good to get professional advice about her hurting herself, I think the key is to not let it escalate to that, if you can. I would put a chair or mattress or something in her room and stay in there while she falls asleep. Hearing a parent yell "go to sleep" through the wall isn't exactly comforting, but your calm presence in the room might be. This isn't a kid who's just trying to stay up a little later or who only has a little bit of fear she could overcome by herself. For whatever reason, she has anxiety being in bed at night and I would look for ways to ease that. I don't think it's fair to expect her to "just go to sleep" any more than it's fair to expect a dyslexic child to "just read". It will take some time and effort on your part, but that has got to be better than having her be so upset for hours. eta: How did she do once she was on the couch? Did she feel more comfortable there?

I understand, I felt the same way, but I really don't think it can hurt to try a little Valerian root and see if you like it. I use Nature's Way and it says the dose is 3 capsules, so it's easy to take a smaller amount (I take two and that seems to suffice for me).

I like Valerian root. Melatonin seems to work faster for falling asleep, but Valerian root seems to work better for staying asleep.

Voted. That was very cool. What a sweet song and video they made.

I just wanted to say that we were that family growing up too, and I do think my grandparents had NPD (manifested in different ways). From a very young age, I knew that I had the good mom. I wouldn't have traded that for anything.

Yes it's like Cruella de Pimp or something. But what is really funny is when I looked back at that ad and noticed the Bavarian Boy outfit in one of the smaller photos.

The author of The Wordy Shipmates (Sarah Vowell) makes an amusing case that we learned more American history from The Brady Bunch than at school. She mentions both the Benedict Arnold and Thanksgiving episodes!

Also, ice cream eating contest and quiz show for kids! And who can forget the backyard family play?

Greg played baseball, thought he was going to go pro after meeting Don Drysdale.