I usually have to with DS10, because he's like I am….and will read non-stop until he finishes a book. If I don't stop him, we'd never get any of the other topics done. :) I do always give a warning…as in….you need to stop at the end of this chapter so we can do XYZ….but you can go back to reading later this afternoon.

Have you tried a ritual? There's a website called Ritual Well that might offer inspiration. http://www.ritualwell.org I haven't pursued the site for whatever troubles you, but perhaps make sure you are alone…light a candle…center yourself…and make a heart out of clay…. write your sin on it or just make a scar…. then read/write yourself a letter of healing/forgiveness. The letter can be from God or Jesus or whomever you are comfortable with. If you have trouble with what to write, pretend you are writing it to a dear friend or a child of yours who has grown up and made the same mistake (but address it to you.) So for an example…perhaps something like this? "My Beloved Daughter Yourname I am so saddened to realize that your heart is still troubled by XYZ. My precious daughter, don't you know that I knew about this when I saved you? That knowing about this did not make me love you any less? That I was with you when this happened, and I will always be with you? That I was able to use this to bring us closer together? Oh precious one, please let my Spirit come and cleanse you of this. Be at peace and love yourself as much as I love you. Oh daughter, I love you. Do not fret. With love, Your Heavenly Father." At the end…either symbolically rub out the scar/word….or bury it….or burn the letter. (Something.) You could also make a heart out of paper and burn it at the end. As it's Valentine's Day, I bet you could find some crystal hearts at the Dollar Store to symbolize your new cleansed heart. Take a healing bath…with rose petals or something….and forgive yourself. I'm sorry you still struggle. Forgiving others is often easier than forgiving ourselves. :)

I would be shocked if that was true….especially for somebody starting mid-year.

Oh that was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. Even I (who can't run to save my life) was inspired. :) :) There might be a local running club for kids. Where I used to live there used to be a sneaker store that was for "real" athletes/marathoners/triathletes/etc...and they had all the info for local clubs.

Horrific? Really? With all the abuses women face around the world (including in this country), I find horrific a bit much. FGM, horrific. Child marriages, rapes, incest? Definitely horrific. The rate of child abuse in many countries including our own? Horrific. The fact that 10,000 kids are killed or injured in the US each and every year from guns? Horrific. Perhaps because it's a Muslim country, one naturally assumes the worst? Anyway, so, being Muslim, I've seen a lot on this article in many different papers. I can say that the State will provide a wet nurse for women who cannot nurse. So, that's an aspect that's not being reported--and one that i think is really positive. Of course, it harkens back to the Prophet's life…but it has other implications in Muslim society (which may be why the State is providing one..for records.) Anybody nursed by the same woman is viewed as a milk sibling, so cannot marry. Similarly, a woman would not need to cover in front of her "milk" children. Still, the whole mandated law thing is troubling, especially the "power" given to the husband to sue the wive. I love the idea of the state offering wet nurses. I love the idea of more people breastfeeding. I don't love the idea of punishing women who choose not to. I wish they had approached this in a different way…by offering lactation consultants, and wet nurses…but as this is the UAE, there may also be a class thing at play. (Just as wealthy women here used to feel nursing was beneath them.) I think it will be interesting to see what research comes forth out of the UAE if this really goes forward. I'd also love to know the lactation rates before the law, as among most Muslims I know, breastfeeding and extended nursing is the norm. Was there such a low rate that extreme measures were thought necessary? Edited…did a quick google search…yup, high as expected, but drop after 4 months. "Interestingly, he notes, breastfeeding rates at birth in the UAE range from an impressive 80 to 95 percent, but drop to 20 percent after four months. (U.S. women, by comparison, start out with similar rates, dropping down to 49 percent at six months.) The timing of the drop coincides with when many women return to work. Also in the UAE, he says, “Breastfeeding in public is frowned upon there, frankly, like it is here.†At the same time—even though the UAE has been criticized for not going far enough with laws to protect women (marital rape is not recognized, for example)—there is legislation allowing women to take time out of their workdays to breastfeed. And, notes an American expat in Abu Dhabi and nursing mom to a 2-and-a-half year old (who wishes to remain anonymous due to being a public figure), “There are way more ‘breastfeeding rooms’ available here than in the U.S., every mall has one, and they are often really comfortable. Suffice it to say,†she tells Yahoo Shine, “it's a breastfeeding-friendly country.â€" http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/breastfeeding-now-mandatory-in-united-arab-emirates--does-the-law-go-too-far-205738039.html

Well, my husband would eat it…but I would not. He seems to have an iron stomach, and thinks that Americans are way too sensitive about expiration dates, refrigeration, etc. (He's a doctor too…scary.)

Extremely important value in such a religiously misinformed society…where people make assumptions about people of other faiths that are not grounded in fact. Do you really think that churches are going teach about Hinduism, Islam, or even Catholicism…other than ways to convert them or to pray for those "poor lost souls" in the 10/40 window? A secular non-proselytizing, non-blaming agenda is the only way to address such things. There are far too many Americans who believe that Hindus worship multiple Gods (they don't, all are aspects of one Absolute God, Brahman), or that Muslims are commanded to kill them, or a whole host of other things.

Actually it just wasn't beaten up. A Sikh man was killed. It's also postulated that the Sikh temple shooting was a mistaken identity thing. (Not that targeting Muslims would have been OK either.)

Not sure if it's a real curriculum, but my local library just started this program. There's a bunch of good resources on the site. I like this list. http://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/books-your-child-should-hear-before-kindergarten/

DH is Egyptian and what happens in Egypt is that when it's time for religion…the kids go off to their religion's classes. So, Muslims have instruction in Islam. Copts have instructions in Christianity. And back before the whole Suez Canal crisis, Jews had instruction in Judaism. Of course, there's no accommodations made for atheists, pagans, Bahais, or even denominations of Christianity which is not Coptic. But that's how they handle it. The problem is that there really is very little instruction in the beliefs of other faiths. So while you might have friends of different faiths, you may still believe whatever rumors/misconceptions that are popular to believe about said faith. In the private secular school I went to in the States, in sixth grade, we studied five major religions over the course of a year. We had a book on Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. It was very well done (from what I remember), and I don't remember any parents objecting…but then again, this was back in the late 70s…before the Religious Right were very involved in schools/education. (They had just really mobilized over Carter.) I have numerous Hindu and Muslim friends who have attended Catholic schools. It has not harmed their faiths at all, as far as I can tell. I would venture to say that it actually made it stronger, while giving them a better education in Catholic theology than many Catholics have. :) (At least those who didn't attend Catholic schools.) For public schools, we need to respect the whole no official religion…but i do feel that there needs to be a lot more comparative religious education taught…ideally with books written by people who practice those faiths.

My two younger kids who go to B&M school do. Typically they have to collect 100 of something, but this year they dressed up like they were 100 years old. It was a lot of fun. We also figured out what year they would have been born in…and then kind of researched life back then. (Did this with my 10 year old too, who home schools.)

No! Will totally check it out. All of my kids love Bill Nye. I was so happy to find so many of his videos on YouTube. I'd buy the boxed set, if they had it…but can't seem to find it. He also has questions/etc. on his website, which is cool. Oh, forgot to add that Calvert's Writing Fun (think that's what it's called) totally worked for my son to learn cursive at the beginning of 4th. It's the type of program that can be re-used quite easily. Also, Typing Island has been fun for typing and the Youth Digital Mod Design 1 has been a complete, utter success!! We've also really enjoyed the Galore Park Jr. stuff--English and Science.

Make coffee filter flowers. Take coffee filters, have kids draw on them with washable markers….drop water on them with a dropper…and then use pipe cleaners for stems. Plan your own Olympics. Build a fort. Go outside anyways. :)

I loved Colbert and the eagle in matching outfits…but when he split open his head like a pistachio, it kind of grossed me out. :D

We're doing 4th grade this year. Our hits have been: Math in Mammoth BraveWriter's Partnership Writing program Child's History of the World + Horrible Histories (people, not animation) on YouTube Bill Nye the Science Guy videos

I got bored with the game, but watched commercials elsewhere. Budweiser ones…both the puppy and the hero welcome were great. Hero made me tear up. Loved the Jaguar commercial…although to me, Jags aren't as snazzy these days. Now they look like every other car. They used to be more unique/stylish. Loved the Cheerios commercial. Glad my kids never saw a similar commercial or we'd have three dogs by now. :p Liked the Chevy commercial with the bull. Doritos time machine was great. The Tebow one was funny. Loved the Coke America The Beautiful commercial. This didn't make it (no $$$, should've done kickstarter), but it's a great commercial from the various National Congress of American Indians...http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/heres-an-ad-about-rskins-that-its-makers-dont-have-the-money-to-show-during-sundays-superbowl/#.UuyIRoAz2zs.facebook

We have lots of charters here in Florida. As far as I can tell, they are not controversial as they come under the local school district. They do provide bus services, and reduced/free lunches as well. Follow the district calendar. Use the state standardized test.

The weird thing is that there was a rumor yesterday or Friday that he had died, and his publicist denied it. I know that he's really dead now, but suspicious me wonders if somebody sold him some bad heroin, or was with him when he died, and started the rumor. Very sad. Very talented actor, who had been sober for 20+ years.

I don't know if we'll be watching because of the sexuality in some of the commercials. (Yes, you call roll eyes if necessary). But we might. We always do nuked Ro-Tel and Velveeta Cheese and chips. Easy peasy. Usually pizza or a submarine sandwich or some sort…but I'm thinking of doing BBQ chicken sliders today because I'm pretty sure I have all of the ingredients. And some sort of sweet like brownies or cupcakes.

We wanted a latex mattress, but couldn't afford a solely latex one, so bought the Night Therapy "Better than Latex" one at Sam's Club. We love it so much that we upgraded the kids to the same mattresses (although thinner, I think they got an 8" or 9").

LOL…no, in Michigan. It kills me how things that were written in stone for us have changed.

Thanks! I saw a blurb on this, but wanted to watch the whole thing.

Just was coming to post that. Good for her.

In the schools my kids have attended, they do not have those choices. Parents fill out a form at the beginning of the school year on what they're allowed to buy. The only way they can buy something that is off the list is with a note from home. On a side note, I went to a private school (K-12) where we did not have the choice to bring lunch. Everybody had to eat the horrific school lunch. We ate family style. One person at the table served as a waiter. I (and many of my friends) would have killed for a PB&J, apple, and milk. It was some of the most horrible Aramark food imaginable. Of course, now the school has a private chef, salad bar, and the kids have choices. Not back then. When one got to upper school, you could sign out to go out to lunch once per week.

I seem to remember that champagne cakes had champagne in them, but didn't taste any different. Kind of like 7-up cakes, Coca cola cakes, etc. I would make a lightly flavored almond cake. I've made this recipe before, and it's easy and delicious. (Of course, ignore the frosting.) http://allrecipes.com/recipe/white-texas-sheet-cake-2/detail.aspx Maybe make her a cupcake and send it? No idea. Honestly, if I had somebody generous enough to make me a cake, I'd have very few requests. Perhaps give her a couple of combos that you've done before that have worked well, and let her choose. That's what most bakeries do. OK…checked all recipes and yes, it's what I suspected. Champagne in the recipe. :) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Champagne-Cake-With-Buttercream-Icing/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=champagne%20cake&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe