When I tried your link is says it was removed by user.

Sorry, a hijack here....but can you link to this please.

I could find nothing on either Currclick nor on the publisher's website that indicated such a restrictive copyright. Since it is NOT the standard copyright I firmly believe that it is one that should be PLAINLY and CLEARLY spelled out. I would write to Currclick (because the "conditions" section of the publisher's website specifically says that you should contact Currclick with any issues you have with their product). I would tell them that you find it unfair for them to not disclose such a condition that is so completely opposite their other product's and the general copyrights for educational material. And request a refund. I would also let them know that if they refuse, then you will contact your credit card company and file a dispute. I have successfully had my credit card company side with me when products have arrived and are substantially different from the "norm" and there was nothing to indicate this difference on the sales pages. Or...I would tell them straight out that if they refuse to refund your money then you will use the product for all of your children. And honestly....what are they going to do? It's nearly impossible and unheard of to resell ebooks, so you weren't going to resell it anyway I'm sure.......and since they did not give you the option to know this restriction before purchase, you will use it as you would any other product that you have downloaded from currclick. In fact, this irritates me so much, I think that I will write currclick and tell them what I have learned here and how much it concerns me. What is in my wishlist right now that may also contain such unusual copyrights? Maybe I should rethink purchasing ebooks that I can't read the copyright first, like I would be able to do with a brick and motar purchase. Yep...off to do that now. I'll let ya know if I hear anything back.

Yes, they do give gas to adults.....unfortunately OUR insurance doesn't cover it when it's not "medically necessary" or whatever there phrasing for it is. My dentist fought with them on my behalf. I get so agitated when I'm in the dental chair, cry, etc....he is truly worried about me, lol. When the insurance wouldn't agree to pay he offered it to me at cost, which was about half, but it was still quite expensive, but well worth it because I actually went through with the procedure. I just wish I had taken care of my teeth earlier in my life to not have all this potential pain ahead of me. But, I only went to the dentist when absolutely necessary. My kids, on the other hand, amazingly almost "enjoy" going to the dentist every 6 months. This office has a special dentist that does kids and he is just wonderful with them. Wish they'd let me see him. Do what it takes to get the work done....believe me, losing half a tooth is really bad.

Your post just radiates with the love and pride you feel for your husband! Might I suggest printing it and presenting it to him this Sunday for Father's Day. And ENJOY your seats at your daughter's performance. And tell her to "break a leg" as they say in the dance world for good luck! I so agree with others that Grandma shouldn't be given your seats. That said, however, what are the chances that you would be able to exchange your IL's seats to a place where three seats are together.....at least that would resolve the problem of Grandma (or one of the ILs) having to sit alone. THey may not be the best of seats, but at least they'd be together. I have to wonder if Grandma is the one that decided she didn't want to go to the dress rehersal, or if this decision was made for her? I don't have a back problem, but I still don't like to sit through dance recitals with hours of students I don't know just to see my child, or a friends child on stage for 5 minutes. I typically volunteer to be in the back on performance night and enjoy the performance during dress reherasal because then I only have to sit through one or two numbers before the one I want to see! I can't imagine sitting in those uncomfortable auditorium seats with a bad back! Perhaps DH could call and talk directly to Grandma to let her know her choices, and how the dress rehearsal will be just as wonderful, but much shorter than the regular performance.

My guess is that she knew that such a statement would raise the guilt level in you. Yeah to you for being diplomatic....me, I'd have phrased it more like, hey, you know those freeways work two ways.....you and your SMALL family could come here and visit with my LARGE family anytime you'd like. She knows that she can press your buttons and that eventually you'll come to her, so why should she bother with the packing, driving, putting her home life on hold while she's gone, living in someone else's home....when instead she can make you feel guilty enough that YOU do all that work and come to her. Yep...grow that backbone! :grouphug: And in the meantime if you've got a moment or two for a book......read Toxic Inlaws. Yours don't sound like they're the worst in the Hive, but they definitely are not a healthy relationship for you or your family. While the book's premise is that toxic inlaws can cause a wedge in a marriage, and it sounds like that isn't the case since your husband wants nothing to do with his mom/sis......it's still a very good read about people who manipulate your life and pretty much how to make boundaries. I think it would be quite easily adaptable to your situation. Good luck.

I personally would never purchase an item that I could only print once. I use ebooks occasionally and am constantly reprinting pages that got messed up or lost. Personally I prefer the print copy only because ebooks are seldom priced competitively when I consider resale. And so if I have multiple children I have to save that paper copy from child number 1 for three years until child number 2 is ready for it. Ummm, I don't think so...that's why I have a recycle box. Or what if both children want to do the work the same year....now they have to share a text. Yeah, that's not gonna work. If publishers are concerned about ebooks being passed around or whatever, they need to look into security for that, but telling me how often I can use their product is unacceptable. And I'm gonna take a wild guess here that the ebook version is about the same price as the print version. Ummm, no thanks. At least with a print version I can resell it, or keep it on a shelf for future use. Can you either post what company this is.....or at least PM me. I'm not one to read fine print and want to be sure to note what the company is so as not to even consider their products.

Scary premonition: The local school boards are going to realize that none of the students are paying attention in class....between texting, twittering and checking Facebook on their internet contected phones, the teacher is talking to a class full of "top of the heads" and isn't certain any of his students have eyes. SO.....said teacher decides to stay home and conduct his class via Twitter and Facebook, leaving Texting for the students to send him the answers to the weekly quiz. Graduation ceremony's likewise will now be held via Facebook, thereby making it possible for each student's 10,000 favorite people to attend. Parents have taken notice and are requesting that their bosses let them stay home and twitter their work day. This has resulted in a lessening demand on the day care industry and made those poor souls who have to commute have less traffic to contend with. The local police department is trying to figure out how their officers can use Twitter and Facebook to arrest several on their "Most Wanted" list. Unfortunately, the police do not want to have to actually leave their home to make the arrest, so the viability of a virtual jail system is being considered by City Council. :tongue_smilie:

If your SIL isn't obligated to visit you, why would you be obligated to see her? Release the guilt. In fact, take a page from her email. Next time they request to see you, if you're simply not available, say so. If they're offended, the problem is theirs. Perhaps your not being available every single time will also encourage them to come to you. If not, that too is their choice. Perhaps consider it this way......it's 20 years in the future....you are now the Grandmother. Would you demand/expect your children to do what you're doing now?? Of course not. You hope that you'll be the type of Grandmother that makes them want to come and see you often (kinda like the adopted grandma you DO want to see). Other people do NOT make us become "doormats".....we ALLOW ourselves to feel that way. It's your fault you feel that way (said with a loving hug)....and so it needs to be your actions to stop feeling that way. Release the guilt (mantra). Enjoy your time in Santa Fe with adopted Grandma! Those are the kinds of days you need more of.

First I'd talk with DH and hope that he sees that this is NOT a good idea for your sanity (or his, since you'll have to vent somewhere). If that doesn't work, then I'd email MIL with a link to discounts for local nearby hotels and oh so politely tell her that since you recall her disconcertion at the idea of spending a weekend with you and so you worked hard to help her save some money on a hotel that would be quiet and more to her standards. Sweely. of course. Frankly, I'll pray for you that your DH sees the light like mine did.....MIL tried several times to invite herself over for many weeks long visits (after all she'd be flying a long distance, she would remind me, so staying short times was too expensive). After the first time being a near death experience....lol.....DH has flat out told her no. She's welcome to come and stay at a hotel for up to 7 days period. After 7 days, we will resume our life as normal which of course means she won't be able to keep up and thus won't want to be here. Like someone else said, you can tolerate anything for a week (with enough wine and chocolate at least). Longer than that is beyond heroic. Praying you have a wise and wonderful husband. :grouphug:

At Harkins and AMC (family member has worked at both in the offices).....the theatres pay a royalty each time the show is played. I can't remember the "break even" point exactly, but it's pretty low....so when there is large handful of people they have broken even from ticket sales to pay for that showing of the movie. Obviously when the theatre is much fuller then they ARE making a profit. In other words, the theatre pays the same royalty whether there are 20 people in the theatre or 200. The concession stands are therefore pure profit....of course it has to pay for that huge building, the massive electricity bill to keep it temperature controlled, employees, ads in the newspapers, etc etc. They typically get all those huge posters and props and such for free (ok, not free-free, but because they are showing that movie 'x' number of times it's a promo they receive). We very seldom go to the movies anymore (except when said family member gives us free passes, lol). The price, even for the discounted matinee without food just doesn't make sense to us for most movies. By the time we've paid for everyone to go, we could have waited a month or two and bought the DVD. And then watched it a thousand times and made our own dollar worth of popcorn each time. And not had to deal with the idiots behind us who don't want to watch the movie, but want to carry on a conversation, lol. The exception is when it's the type of movie where it would just be spectacular to see on that huge screen.....but there haven't been many of those lately. Star Trek is one we'd like to see on the big screen, but I've heard conflicting reports about the age appropriateness, so we'll have to wait, borrow it from the library for parental viewing first. If it's good, we'll buy it. If not, I saved myself a LOT of money and headache. Of course, our family doesn't have cable TV either, so I guess you could say we aren't exactly Hollywood's favorite fans. We do own a LOT of DVDs though. The movie theatre industry has been struggling for years......video rental companies started creeping into their profits 20+ years ago. Of course those were VHS and not great quality, so the movies were still popular.....DVDs made that less so.....big HD TVs have hurt it even more, and I understand this Blue Ray technology is vastly superior even over HD TV.....and therefore the reasons for going to the movie theatre are less and less. If you have a 52" screen in your living room, well it's smaller than the theatre, but heavens not by much, lol. Of course, you'll always have those that must be the first to see a movie....or teens where movies are a date night staple. And, compared to some other "date night" entertainment, a movie could be a bargain. Since I'm no longer a teen, thank heavens, and I don't usually even want to see 75% of the movies out, I don't worry about not being able to converse about the latest movie and stars. In fact, I hardly recognize any of the folks on the tabloids at the grocery check out, lol. I'm old. Unfortunately the small family owned theatres are almost all gone around here.....pushed out by the massive 50plex. I still remember taking each of my children, in turn, to their first theatre movie at our little town's family owned theatre. If you told them it was the child's first time, they got to sit in a special red seat section (dead center of the theatre) and got a free box of popcorn. It made them feel so special. Of course, now-a-days you probably couldn't do that anymore because it would be everyone's "first time". I still remember joking with my husband when that theatre closed down that we couldn't have any more kids because I wouldn't be able to savor that tradition. Hmmm, and we haven't had any more kids.

Are you so sure? If you're embarassed about it and hiding it.....well, chances are those around you may be doing the same thing. And besides.....why should you feel ashamed. It's not like you're slacking off and watching TV and eating bonbons while the maid does all the work. You sound like you are working your buns off at other things and the deep cleaning isn't where you choose to spend your time. I'm sure that if you were to cut back on homeschooling, or do a few less Usborne home parties, or have a private birthday party than you'd have lots of time available to do the cleaning. Oh wait....you work hard so that you have that choice, that option, to do what you want with the money you earn. (Tongue firmly in cheek of course). Some people spend their money on fancy restaurants....some on the latest techno gadget.....some on getting their kids into the "right" private school.....some on a new car every other year.....some on clothing and the latest fashion....and some on the conveniences that make life easier for us, like a cleaning woman. And some of us only dream of being able to do any those things....and realize that if we were willing to give up some of our free time and run a business of our own, we too might be able to do that.....but I value my free time to just sit around and do nothing productive more than I want a cleaning woman...or a new car...or dinner out. It's all about choices....and you made your choice based on what you deem best for your family (hmmm, sounds like the speech we all give about why we homeschool). Be proud of the hard work you put in to do so. Oh...and don't forget that you are also helping to support another family......the family of your cleaning woman. I'm sure she is extremely grateful to you for this opportunity. So add that to your list of good deeds!

I've had my hearing checked multiple times over the past several years....but they always tell me I'm fine. But I don't feel fine. I avoid watching movies if there is no subtitle/captioning available....being able to read along what's being said is the only way for me to enjoy a show anymore....otherwise I either don't know what's happening or I ruin it for those around me by saying "What did he say" repeatedly. I seldom go to movie theatres because of this....well, ok, plus the ridiculous cost but that's another story. One theatre in our area has recently started showing movies with closed captioning.....it's limited to certain time(s) but it may make me able to return to some movies that are best viewed on a big screen. The only time I really don't like the words on the bottom of the screen are news reports.....the captioning tends to have quite a lag time.....and so it can be disconcerting to be reading one news report and have the pictures be of something completely different, lol. But.....it's better than not knowing what was said at all.

Also remember, that depending on the extent of your exercising you could be building muscle to replace the fat. And since muscle weighs more than the fat did, it's actually possible to be eating right and exercising like a crazed woman and GAIN weight. Depressing, because we are so atuned to the scale being the be-all of losing weight and it's not. Like everything else the scale is a single indicator to a complex equation. Some questions to ask yourself to see if your actions (both food and exercise wise) are having a positive effect other than the scale: How are your clothes fitting? Are your pants a bit loser, that blouse doesn't stretch across your chest, you can sit more comfortably in that dress, etc. How do you FEEL: Do you still wheeze going quickly up the steps at the library/mall, whereever? Do you find yourself with the stamina to do things that you didn't do as well before? Do you find yourself doing more phsyical things with your kids (sometimes this one takes some thinking, because you may not have taken note of the fact that now on the playground you do more than just push the kids in the swing and watch them....do you chase them around a little, do you get on the jungle jim with them, whatever). How does your skin look and feel? Changing horrible eating habits will show marked improvement in the elasticity and condition of your skin, and make you feel brighter, more vibrant. If you were already eating well and just made a few changes, this may not be as apparent. For me, my skin looked years and years younger and no more blemishes. And softer than I remember it ever feeling. Also, measure inches.....it's best to have done this from the beginning to see the changes.....but measure chest, waist, thighs (each), behind, and each forearm. As you lose weight you'll see the inches come down for waist, behind and possibly chest....but don't be surprised to see your thighs and forearms increase.....but the fat/skin won't be jiggly any more it will be firmer but possibly larger. And realize that all experts suggest weighing yourself weekly, not daily, but concede that if you MUST weigh yourself daily do it ONCE per day, at the same time everyday. Most of us choose to do it immediately upon waking still in PJs or less (after going to the bathroom of course, as ever ounce counts). The other recommendation is to chart your weight loss on a graph (a great project for the kids, lol). This will show you the normal fluxuations that occur. Most of all, just hang in there.....you seem to have great willpower to do your exercising even when you don't want to and that is saying a LOT. One last suggestion.....since you apparently dislike forced/regimented exercise, see if you can't incorporate some exercise into your day in other ways so that you don't have to do the "stand here and exercise" routine. I hate having to take time out to get on the stepper or treadmill, even with a good audiobook or TV show to entertain me. But I have found that going outside and chasing the kids around playing ball or tag or whatever is more enjoyable and gets the heart pumping. Park your car at the farthest parking stall from the door on errands. We now walk the 1/2 mile or so to the park instead of driving. Go up stairs instead of using the elevator/escalator. Carry in the heavy stuff instead of having hubby do it, lol. Good luck! It's not easy, but it is SOOO worth it in the end. Keep the goal in sight and don't let the bumps in the road block you from seeing your goals.

Yeah, if I could just wean myself away from this board I'd have a couple hours every day. But I love it too much. AND...don't forget that SWB has often said that their homeschooling day does NOT look like what is in her books. She (or hubby/mom) don't do it all as far as homeschooling. Not that that helps me since I too don't do it all, but hey it sounds good. I think she's just one of those people that can fit 25 hours into a day. I know many people like that, and have a definitely love/hate relationship about it, lol.

Large white board and different color markers (with a piece of velcro on the each marker and the other end of the velcro around the edge of the white board.) And an old washcloth to wipe it off. We used to put a shower curtain under the toddler's car seat to prevent stains from food, crayons that get left in the hot car, markers, and whatever else they could (literally) throw at the seat. This is perfect in case the 3yo decides to drop/throw the marker it won't do harm. Audio books and the real book as well, so the kids can follow along (just be sure the audio is unabridged). Really really great for beginning readers (though I'll guess OPs 9yo already reads well, and the 3yo may not be ready yet, lol). They follow along with the audio book and gain the confidence to tackle harder chapter books. (OT, but same with putting the closed captioning on the TV....they see the words that are being spoken and it helps click, at least did for all of mine, lol). Pipe cleaners are fun and easy to pick up....and reuseable trip after trip.

The Voyagers?

Honestly.....once you cut out the bad sugars completely from your diet, and get your body off that addiction, when you start adding them back in you'll find that your taste buds have changed and that ice cream that you used to crave now tastes too sweet, perhaps even sickenly sweet after just a few bites. I was lucky in that I had learned to notice the taste of the food I was eating, to really notice it......and so I didn't slip back into my bad habits much. Many people will stop eating sugar or whatever other food they deem responsible for their weight gain only until they lose the weight, and then slowly, isidiously, the bad habits trickle back in....and what do you know, suddenly you need to do it all over again because you gained back the weight and have the bad habits all over again. I eat sweets mostly when to do otherwise would hurt someone's feelings......if that makes sense, lol. When invited to dinner or a birthday party, I don't refuse dessert.....I simply take a very small piece and eat a few bites so that the celebration part of the occasion doesn't focus on my family's new way of eating. I know it sounds like I must have great will power to be sitting next to a full size sheet cake and say I only want a one inch square of it, lol....but honestly, it's only willpower if you don't have your body off it's addiction to this type of sugar. I worry occasionally that I might slip down that slippery slope and become addicted again, but the taste of those kinds of sweets is simply not a turn on like it used to be. Oh, I still have a square of good quality chocolate probably more often than any other sweet....but I can easily stop at one square, where in my "old days" of bad eating it would have taken 3 burly wrestlers in a failed attempt to keep me from eating the whole bar, and starting another bar, lol. I truly believe that people don't realize how sugar affects them.....how addicted they have become, in the same way that the drug addict needs their cocaine or heroin fix, people "need" sugar. That's why I said if you really want to make less bad sugar a way of life, as opposed to resisiting it to lose your excess weight and then giving yourself permission to have it again (which we all know means you'll likely gain that weight back)....you have to commit whole hog. It is truly a life changing event though, and one that my only regret is that I didn't do it 20 years ago instead of spending those 20 years with serious health issues, lugging around these extra people worth of pounds, never feeling healthy, never having energy. When I think of all the things I could have been doing with my kids if I'd had the energy, I just want to cry. Those 20 years of health problems have left me with physical issues that no amount of proper eating will ever change, so I still can't do all the physical things with my kids that I wish for......but I try to focus on now instead of then, because I can't change it all. Xylitol is a good substitute but there are very very few foods available with it....and those are quite expensive. And you aren't helping your addiction to sugar.....your body will still crave sweet. For now Xylitol is toted as being good for you......but so was Splenda a few years ago before it started getting it's bad rep...and so were the other sugar subs before it. Xylitol has a bit more probablity that it won't be found to be as bad health wise for you as sugar subs....but it will ALWAYS still feed your addiction to sweet things. And since it's not widely available, you will be vulnerable to feeding your addiction with sugar when Xylitol is not available. It doesn't change your taste buds. Something to try.....next time you make your favorite recipe of chocolate chip cookies, use only 1/2 the amount of sugar called for.....and see if your family even notices. If you don't tell them, I can almost guarantee they won't notice, but you'll know how much less sugar they're eating. Same with most any dessert. While it's a nice start, it's only a drop in the bucket of their sugar intake though, so it won't make a huge difference with just one food. We make oatmeal raisin cookies now instead of chocolate chip....and use about 1/3 of the normal sugar called for, and guests never notice, and typically rave about the cookies. Oh....hey, one thing I didn't mention, because I've always cooked most things from scratch.....if you truly want off sugar, you WILL have to cook from scratch and not buy many things you're used to.....because there is sugar everywhere. Look at your ketchup's sugar content (and it's NOT natural sugar from the tomato)....same with probably 3/4 of the commercial salad dressings out there....tons of added sugar, and if you think you're making a healthy choice by choosing something labeled "low fat"....check again.....you are getting less fat maybe, but more, lots more, sugar. I know some may be groaning and saying you don't have time to cook from scratch, you need your frozen dinners and packaged meals....but honestly, most of the dinners I make take me less than 30 minutes of actual prep time....about the same time as many package meals. At first it takes some extra time, same as learning anything new...but once you get the hang of it, it's no more time consuming than ordering a pizza and waiting for it to arrive. Planning ahead makes all the difference. And hey, as homeschoolers don't we LOVE to plan, lol.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree on this I think.....I can tell you that there is no way that I could have eaten Raisin Bran or other types of sugary cereal instead of fruits (and lots of them, including berries which are high in natural sugars) and brought myself back from the abyss of diabetes (the doctors required me to sign AMA because I refused to let them start insulin), lost over 100 pounds, and restored my health not to mention my skin (which looks and feels human for the first time in decades). Eating that crap is what got me where I was in the first place....because I grew up believing that a calorie was a calorie, and ate what I wanted just kept the number within the "rules". I was never a big eater....but I also never ate the healthy stuff, so keeping the calorie count was easy...typically no "meals" just lots of small snacks. And I nearly died because of it. I guess OP is gonna have to do some research on her own and decide which of us she agrees with (or form a third opinion, lol)...because I'll never be convinced that all sugars are created equal. If that were the case I'd celebrate with a 3 musketeers floating in Ben & Jerry and chase it down with a Cherry Coke. :lol: And still have some calories to spare.

But the sugars from the banana are natual sugars. THe sugar in the cereal is added and his body will react different.......it will feed his need for more sugar throughout the day...his addicition, if you will. The banana will not, nor does the cereal have the other nutrients that a banana has, including fiber which is likely to fill him up for longer than the cereal will. Using your analogy: A Snickers candy bar has 32.4g net carbs.....so you'd be saying he may as well have the Snickers bar instead of the Raisin Bran and be ahead 4.5g net carbs? Or half the Snickers (16.2) instead of a banana (21.2) and be ahead 5g? It's very important to differentiate the kind of sugar.....candy bar or sweetened cereal sugar is much worse for you than the naturally occuring sugars in fruits. Otherwise, we'd all be eating chocolate every morning and calling it healthier than Raisin Bran! If only that would work. :tongue_smilie:

You have to be patient with your body while it adjusts.....but eventually you will not even remember the sugar taste....and in fact at some point you'll be visiting someone's home and they'll serve you coffee with sugar and you will GAG at how overly sweet it tastes to you. But....it does take time.....for some people a few days for others it can be weeks. A lot of it depends on your current "addiction" but also on whether you ease into it or go whole hog. I recommend committing to it whole hog, because if you body gets just a little sugar it's not going to forget as easily. It's not fun, it takes committment and will power, but the end result is WELL worth the effort. I don't want to tell you to delay starting, but make sure that before you begin you don't have anything that would be difficult to get through the first week.....such as dinner with hubby's boss or a tea party with friends (yep, both of those in my first week!!). Committ to one week without any kind of added sugar, promising yourself that if after a week you can't handle it you can have some sugar......you'll find yourself so proud of the progress you made by then you won't want to have any. Enlist the help of everyone in the household, asking them to police you (kindly but firmly) and be sure to stock the house with plenty of alternatives. I absolutely adore strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, etc....but it was late winter and were soooo expensive....but I stocked my refrigerator with them anyway and whenever the sugar craving was strong, I'd eat as many berries as I wanted. At the end of that week I didn't want to give up my berries, lol....but the cost made that easier. And sugar was much easier to resist. Somedays it's still a will power issue, but it's easier everyday as I learn choices and remind myself how nice it is to feel good about my body. If at all possible, buy your fruits and veggies from a farm or farmer's market....they are soooo much sweeter and stronger flavor than the store bought stuff. And of course if you love the food you're eating you'll not want to resort to the quick and easy sugary stuff instead. Good luck. Ain't easy, but worth it. I've lost an entire young person in weight, and still have another to go!

Our library has just that....you put each book/dvd/cd onto a conveyor belt it scans the book, moves it into the back of the machine (inside the library) and actually sorts the item into a bucket as to which library it needs to be returned to (our library has 14 branches and you can return things to any of them, and put holds on from any of them). Sounds great right? Ummmm, most of the time. But we now keep our receipts for a few weeks, lol. We returned a whole bag of stuff, got our receipt and thought we were done. THe following week when I checked our account to see what was due back that week, every single one of those were still listed as checked out and many were overdue! Thankfully we found the receipt on the floor of the car, lol......and took it in to prove we'd returned them. Apparently the computer had a problem of some kind that day and they're had to restore it....and you guessed it, the restoration was from before we (and hundreds of other families) returned their books. The staff was scrambling for weeks locating books that had been returned. What a nightmare for a million dollar (literally) technology that was supposed to help! And according to the newspaper's report on this (yep, it hit the newspaper so many people were affected and angry), it wasn't the first time it had happened, and staff said it won't be the last! The other library systems we use don't have this, so you are at the mercy of dumping your books into a bin and hoping they get checked in. I'm not thrilled about it and notice that every summer it gets worse......hmmm, think there's a connection between teen volunteers who don't want to be there and books not getting checked in properly? Our courts regularly dole out volunteer work for teens in minor trouble with the law....and the library is quick to take the "free" labor, especially now with the cutbacks. One of my kids volunteers in the winter while most kids are in school....you have to reapply each semester for a position and last three summers he doesn't get selected in summer, because they have to give the kids who need the hours for court priority. Sad. To the OP, as others have said, definitely ask them to check for the book. If they still don't find it, request an explanation for the charges.....our libraries all charge an extra fee for the work involved in purchasing and processing a replacement. There is actually quite a bit of work involved before a new book arrives on your shelf. But, $20 is a bit high for such a fee, unless it's because they also charged you late fees for a certain amount of time (ours are all 2 weeks) before they bill you. Our libraries will all allow you to purchase your own copy, but ask before you do this as some of our libraries have requirements (same edition, i.e. library binding vs what your local Barnes & Noble may have....some will accept used in very good shape, others require brand new, etc.). Typically you can find it cheaper than they can purchase it since they can't bargain shop on the Internet but have to go through a clearing house that charges full price. Whatever you do, don't let this go without either resolving it or paying for it......a neighbor decided she wasn't going to pay for a book she knew she'd returned.....just stopped using that library card (used the kids' card instead)......and they sent her account to collection! Apparently it went on her credit report for 7 years too. Yikes! I would not want to explain to my husband that we didn't a car loan because of an outstanding library fine, lol.

Well, sadly I think this IS the new socialization. And since I didn't like the old one full of peer pressure and cliques and everything else, I certainly don't like this one either....and chalk it up to reason number 1,248,293 that I am glad we homeschool. I was told by my teacher friend that a fellow teacher was disciplined when the principal walked into her classroom while her students were taking a test and she was texting....apparently it wasn't the texting that got her in trouble (???), it ws the fact that she didn't even look up or acknowledge the principal when he came in. She was written up for a safety violation!!! And this teacher friend of mine says that many of the teachers use their cell phone internet or their class computer internet while the kids are doing quiet work/testing. Since I routinely get emails from my MIL (a teacher) during school hours, I have to save I believe she's right. I believe that observing my behavior/habits teaches my children as much as our formal lessons, so it certainly seems that teachers texting/interneting/emailing during classroom time would lead the kids to believe it's acceptable. According to that same teacher friend.....the smart teachers collect the phones before tests, otherwise, kids will text others asking for answers....including kids in "study hall" who can look up the correct answer and text it back to the kid taking the test! She actually joked and compared it to that TV quiz show "who wants to be a millionaire" where you get "life lines" to call and ask a friend to help you. Yeah, that's the kind of socializing I want my kids involved in. Not. As for the boys not looking up and seeing the OPs pretty daughter.....that's scary and seems to hold up the theory that people who are addicted to computer games often lose complete interest in normal life behaviors such as even eating...and yes, se* is on that list.....the food part actually becoming life threatening for some gaming addicts as they don't eat for days on end. Or, maybe because these teen boys are so techno-addicted, they simply haven't matured enough to the point of being interested in girls. Of course, I'd probably be a bit happy about their lack of interest....as they don't sound like my first choice of dating material for my daughters, lol...and if they're not interested, I wouldn't have to worry that my daughter would be!

Well, unfortunately unless you tell them that by text they'll never hear you. I watched the movie Wall-E last weekend and I have to say that I found the scenes with the people floating on those machines very disturbing. They were so out of touch with the world around them. And I can easily see a major portion of society becoming very similiar to this....and in my lifetime (and I'm old, lol....I remember rotary phones...still have one actually, lol). ConnieB....proud to say my phone is set to ignore texts....they end up in cyberspace somewhere and I don't even know they exist.

We've had both Boma and WHispering Canyon and hands down I'd go for Boma. Even though the food is served buffet style (vs table service at WC) the quality of the food is much better at Boma. THey do have quite a few "unusual" foods which are always fun to try (and delicious!!), but they also have the standards so picky or non-adventurous eaters will be completely satisfied as well. Their pastry selections even had me (a non-pastry eater) drooling. Whispering Canyon was best for lunch and dinner, in my opinion.....and the antics happen much more during those meals than at breakfast. The food choices were pretty standard, but the quality was really only average. Now...I know you said you tried for character meals....but are you aware of one of the lesser known characters meals, which tends to be a little easier to get reservations: Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club features Goofy, Minnie and Donald in beachwear, very good buffet breakfast. If you're going to be there for a weekend, check out the Garden Grove Cafe in the Swan Resort.....it is excellent food and because it's not on the dining plan it's also one of the easiest character meals to get into, lol. Characters are Chip and Dale and usually one of the Fab5. The weekday breakfast doesn't have any characters, but the food is excellent and typically you can even do a walk in with little or not waiting. Their made-to-order omlets are excellent (they'll also do just eggs if you don't want it as an omlet), and I had some of the freshest fruit I've ever had in winter there! The last thing I'd say is if you really had your heart set on a character meal......call or show up at your hoped for time and sometimes they will be able to accomodate you. Having a 9 or 9:20 reservation somewhere else means that you could show up at 8am, hope they can seat you, and if not, then head over to your other reservation anyway. I can't tell you how many times we got into restaurants where the night before they were still telling me no openings just by showing up, smiling nicely and being willing to wait sometimes half an hour. This didn't work at the Castle only worked once at Chef Mickeys, but we did it twice at 1900 Park Fare and too many times to mention at Ohanas. Since your friend is staying at Contemperary, have her stop at Chef Mickey's before leaving the hotel that morning to see if there is any chance. She could always cell phone you to come there instead of the other place you choose. Whatever you do, remember that you're at WDW and I'm not....so you're already doing better than me and a zillion other people, lol. I miss WDW. :tongue_smilie: