Snort. :D More re: the piriformis. It is a pear shaped muscle that assists in extension of the leg (it crosses the backside of the hip joint). Often when a person is having this kind of pain, in the variety of presentation seen within individual anatomy, the nerve compartment (containing nerve and blood supply) passes by this muscle in an unusual way and the muscle/nerve connection becomes irritated to the point that it won't recover on it's own. IME, ibuprofen and/or turmeric and ginger (or Zyflamend or Phenocaine -- herbal antiinflammatory preps) to drop the baseline inflammation is the first step. If he's had this for less than two weeks, the focus should be on the inflammation and getting it down. Ice would help as well (even though this is a deep muscle). If he's had this before or it's been longer than two weeks with this episode, I would look for a good massage therapist trained in deeper work or a physical therapist trained in sports massage and ask them to look for a trigger point. If he's got sort of a "wad" of injured tissue there, it can be helped to move out immediately with direct pressure. And then, if you suspect that this will reoccur or has something to do with his overall structure or position at work or a long commute -- things which are likely to help it be a reoccuring injury, then I would go directly to a chiropractor and tell him that you've been helped (hopefully) with soft tissue work and now you need to address the structural issues. YMMV, yadda yadda. Bill -- I wonder if your friend didn't have a piriformis that grew up around the nerve compartment? Hmm.

Word.

Maybe look at Healing ADD by Dr. Amen? He includes tables of descriptions for everything from exercise to meds to supplements. LOTS of helpful info.

Tomato-staking comes to mind. :)

Given the above, my personal experience, and what I've observed in close friends and family dealing with similar things in their kids -- You need to know that the sooner you act, the sooner you can move on. The one thing I hear over and over from parents who've gotten their kids evaluated and then followed up with whatever help they need is that they wish they'd done it sooner. They look back and see the weeks, months, years, that they were slogging along, doing their darndest and then some, and can compare that to the difference in their children after they've gotten help -- the parents often feel as though they lost time there in the middle. I'm sure it won't be easy to tease out the best or most appropriate resources in your area, but the payoff is life-altering. Be of good courage. :grouphug:

Hugs to you. Our issues are not nearly as dramatic and concerning as yours and I've had my tail in a twizzle over this. Blessings as you head through this flu season.

I love a well-earned convergence of good things. :)

Voted.

ROFL!

An older family member used to serve them, baby ones, in cream of msg/mushroom soup. Delish! But I like 'em with a teeny bit of butter, salt, pepper, and a little onion powder. I think the key is cooking them at a simmer, in a thin layer, in a skillet or saute pan, with not quite enough water to cover, until done. Brussels are similarly lovely done that way -- with a little butter (1-2T for several servings) and season salt. Slurp. Off topic -- do you think so many people hate veggies because they've only ever had badly cooked ones? A dear friend actually serves pots of boiled broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, and zuchinni. She puts quite a bit of butter on, and no wonder -- they're smoosh! My dad refers to his mom's method of veggie prep as them having been "cooked into submission." Our pastor used the same terminology to explain his mother's use of a pressure cooker. :001_huh: Roasted Asparagus is in my top ten favorite foods, with other roasted or barely cooked veggies close behind. So admittedly, my vantage point is weird. :D

Good. grief. :001_huh:

I went searching for the last discussion about the Sabbath, but ran into this thread instead. A few things I feel compelled to point out. As far as I know, those giant billboards posted around certain college towns (TN isn't the only location), are paid for by some off-shoot group, one that regularly leaves SDA communities cringing. (One might think of this in the same terms as the LDS off-shoots around the four corners area.) Many of the beliefs listed in this thread about SDAs are somewhat erroneous, probably as a result of personal experience within a particular church group or sort of subset of SDAs. One end of the practicing spectrum is likely to refuse to wear make-up or jewelry, in some cases won't pay taxes, read fiction, or eat any kind of dessert, and will probably be vegan. The other is as opposite from the first as you can imagine any group of people to be. More information as to particular beliefs. Hope that helps some. :) Anyone else know where that other thread on the Sabbath went? IIRC, it had some great stuff in it.

(Obviously I need to go fixate on something else, which I will, as soon as I finish this:) From Laurel: "We need to address the fact that homeschooling is not about KIDS or what is best for them; it's about PARENTS (usually but not only mothers) who are choosing what is best for THEMSELVES. I suspect strongly it is Mrs. O'Hehir who wants to spend long days at the art museum, or afternoons at the beach, and is trying frantically to find some way to defend doing this. If she simply quit her boring, low-paying, frustrating job and did these things all day, we'd call her a lazy slacker. But let her drag her kids along, and suddenly she's at the vanguard of hip "homeschooling" or "unschooling". Frankly, I think you guys are going down a wrong-headed path here. You should be addressing YOUR WIFE'S issues -- not your kid's adorable playlife -- and what she requires to have both a satisfying career and some reasonable input into your children's education. Maybe it's SHE who needs to go back to school and acquire some credentials in a field she is more excited about than "lefty politics"." Upon reflection, I think she's a troll.

Nodding along at the "lashing out" comments. I don't think there's really any (genuine) argument about dissatisfaction with career sometimes translating into a SAHM/D who happens to have chosen homeschooling to educate her/his child. I wonder too, if that can be said to be "bad." I heard a radio show discussion earlier this week that included a recent study that seems to indicate that the index of unhappiness/general dissatisfaction among women has risen since the height of the ERA movement. As you mentioned, this seems to be a result of a still horrendously imbalanced set of home-related responsibilities. My experience bears this out. I think the most damaging aspect of the tone which this particular woman took in her comment is that it stirs up the embers of the Mommy Wars. People defend their position when they feel attacked. People often perceive attack where there just isn't any. Allowing for the emotional overlay of personal experience and all the many pitfalls that provides, I think then we can look at her state of being: misinformed. It's bothersome, and to some degree irksome as I believe it represents a more widespread problem, that she has allowed such a great percentage of her opinion to be formed by things, which while certainly important to her personally, are only easily understood by folks who already have adamantly negative and likely equally biased/misinformed opinions about homeschooling. Her response to the article is in line with someone who percieves an impending attack, one which can really, actually threaten something she holds dear. (Or this could be *my* personal overlay...) And that part? I do not understand at all. If I were working to produce sociopaths, pickpockets, or liars, I could easily concede that the effect my educational choices has on her would be worth society looking into. That my fourth through ninth graders all diagram sentences, parse Latin, recognize red herrings for themselves, and read well above grade level? Not so much. This isn't so easy as public school classrooms = well-rounded citizens. What to do? Well... I believe that unless people are free to figure out for themselves how to manage their options, we all suffer. The Daycare/work vs. SAHMothering debate should not be the emotional bludgeon that it has been. The issue of homeschooling vs. public schooling should not be presented as one option sanctified, ergo another demonized. Even the "doing at all on your own" vs. "using a dangerous government charter school" discussion has veered far from supportable arguments at times. There are just too many variables for folks to judge each other this way. No one can know another's complete experience or all the pertinent details therein. It's our job as humans to be as well-informed and smart about our own choices as possible and then to slay the guilt monster quickly, so we can continue to be well-informed and smart, instead of tied down by the process of second guessing ourselves into a corner. Sorry. I got caught up there. Spun off into a little rant... :) Hope any part of it made sense -- seriously lacking in sleep here.

I believe it's the fructose in the syrup, same as the active ingredient in Emetrol. I bet the peach syrup tastes a heck of a lot better, too. :ack2: I'll be trying this next time -- thanks for the tip!

A couple of things jump out at me immediately. First, Laurel doesn't seem to recognize that her own education woefully failed her, as she read the original article with an agenda and seems in her writing to be lacking both substantive information and the ability to recognize logic when she encounters it. Second, she's jealous. My sweeping generalization for the day: Only people consumed with envy and possessing the aforementioned inability to read with a critical eye would arrive at her conclusions. She's ill-informed and has committed what is, in my book, the cardinal sin: she doesn't wish to become informed. To whit: "this is about ... young, white, highly-educated women..." What of the statistic that says the fastest growing group within the homeschooling community are families of color? "... who find themselves in early middle age at loose ends...frustrated by their careers, surprised to be bored by full-time work, drawn to motherhood and their own children yet at the same time shamed by this. They were raised to have CAREERS, not be boring SAHMs. So in order to justify what previous generations of women took for granted (staying home to raise small children), they must come up with something really big, really "special", really dramatic to justify quitting work -- HOMESCHOOLING." Sarcastic much? The lady doth protest too much. Poor Laurel.

Brava, elizabeth. Well said.

I'm noticing that it's been revised. My copy is considerably older than that. :D If I'm ordering the revised student activity pages, do I need to have the newer version of the book, CDs, etc.?

:) Having been part of a local "search party" that tore apart a house and it's surrounding acre only to find a kid asleep behind a shelf, it's totally believable to me. Additionally, my little brother once crawled into a cabinet to hide while we were playing. My dad had been studying and thought we were in another area of the house, with that child napping in his bed. When my mom came home from work she tried to account for us all to no avail. It was at least three hours before he was found, not five feet from where my dad had been sitting. If a child were to hide, freaking out at getting in trouble for letting his dad's pet project loose when he'd been told not to touch it (and had gotten in trouble earlier in the day for something else), I can see how as the adrenaline abated he simply dropped off. It's not an uncommon response to stress. Hope the above makes sense.

unlikely that this event was anything remotely like a hoax. A curious comment made on a television show by a 6yo is just that: a curious comment. I cannot tell you how many crazy and completely inexplicable things have come out of the mouths of my kids at that age. I would hate to think that inopportune timing could wreak further havoc on this family. I also happen to think that this famliy is quite skilled at drumming up their own excitement. Most folks don't have equipment in their backyards that would allow a child to perform quite such spectacular mischief. Their parenting "style" leaves much to be desired, IMO. But let them be judged on those things if they are to be judged at all; not on the adrenaline-laden decisions made in the immediate aftermath of panic at the anticipation of something truly awful happening to one of their children.

I have planned as much as a semester at a time, down to supply details with reminder notes of what needed to be purchased the week before we took on the project. I have flown by the seat of my pants (illnesses, moves, family catastrophes, tree falling on the house) and just kept doing the next thing until the book is done. I've always "read ahead" in TWTM and take it with me when I know I'll be sitting somewhere by myself for more than five minutes (this happens maybe once every three to six months). Checking back into the philosophy and HS schedules/curriculum helps me to remember that there is a big picture plan: to get them up and out, as well-educated, well-spoken, thoughtful and functional citizens. I re-read certain portions of parenting books that support the part where I want them to be kind, self-possessed, strong Christians, loving toward their sibs. I currently have the next several weeks planned out, reaching into the second quarter of our school year. I much prefer this, with notes about supplies and scheduling in the margins. I have a notebook where the kids look for their assignments and then pages for checking off what's done (hat tip to mamalynx). This format is new for us, but it's been cool to implement in combination with workboxes. I'm finding that we're tracking better than we have some years. Of course, nobody's rushing to ER and there's not a tree on the house either. :D

In addition to the wise words above, I'd vote for the pop tart as culprit. My kids nosedive if they sit down to school without some kind of protein in them and would absolutely be circling the drain if they'd just eaten a pastry. I remember reading once that SWB gave her boys spoons full of PB: "disgusting, but it does the trick." My experience mirrors that. I also keep veggie sausage patties, cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and even protein bars and whey powder on hand for just this purpose. With carrot sticks and apples/pears/whatever on hand as well, they can keep themselves well-fueled for quite a stretch without interrupting the flow of a good day's work for a bigger meal prep. A big drink of water is also routine here -- even if the substances themselves didn't work, the rhythm and ritual of prepping for school helps them to adjust their little heads into the proper mode. HTH. :grouphug:

Our favorites have come from either America's Test Kitchens or The Cake Bible. The German Chocolate Cake from ATK is un-be-liev-able. Seriously great. And so are the Cake Bible ones. (Eyes rolling back in head at the thoughts...) I find that I'm not a fan of any other kind of cake, including most bakery ones now. I've become a cake snob. :001_huh: And my thighs thank me. :D

Worked at McD's through college, managing places in the summers. He worked at corporate level then for many years, and is now employed in an upper level law enforcement position. He's had a fantastic career and will probably go on to do other things -- opportunities afforded him because of his early and long history with a solid company. I have a feeling from you description that your son will land on his feet no matter what, but it sounds like McD's would be a better choice for him right now, especially if he's thinking about college classes. :grouphug:

Man, some people seem to need to earn a place in hell, regardless of their professed beliefs. What a thing to have done to a child. :glare: