About the legs....kids are incredibly flexible, and it is perfectly acceptable for their legs to be bent - or to touch the back of the seat. My DD rode RFing until 4 and she either sat pretzel-legged or sometimes she stretched them out. She never complained about it being uncomfortable. In fact she complained more about her legs dangling when we turned her around. At almost 8, she still misses RFing, and asks when we can 'turn her backwards' again.

As a former CPST, my children rode rear-facing until they were between three and four years old. We extended harness and booster,too, because in my CPST class we were taught that every step 'up' in carseats is a step down in safety. My almost 8 yr old DD is still in a 5 pt harness, and my 12 yr old DS is still in a booster (and probably will be for awhile, as he is small for his age.)

My son is amazing at the 'crane game.' No matter where we go , if you give him a dollar, he will ge4t something out of one of those things. We once went bowling with our friends, and there was a crane game at the bowling alley. That day he won a stuffed animal from the crane for every kid that was with our group (9 in all!) The bowling alley came and turned the machine off because he was depleting their stock. :lol:

Ours is here http://cityon-ahill.blogspot.com/p/our-timeline.html

I am NOT a fan of snakes...but I 'inherited' a corn snake as a classroom pet when I got my first teaching job. I was terrified to handle it at first, but it was actually a really nice little animal - very friendly, and didn't mind being held and 'petted' by 25+ kids - (and one slightly freaked out teacher.)

I chose to have a meltdown one day when the mail man appeared at our door with a package. Apparently our windows were open. :o Dh used to work from home when we lived in San Diego next to Miramar. There were times when the jets were flying that he had to hang up because they couldn't hear over all of the noise.

That thread was very helpful - thank you!

What all should be covered on a homeschool course syllabus? Many of the samples I am finding of syllabi online all have a lot of extra info that mostly pertains to a classroom setting. (attendance policies, dates for exams, etc.) Does anyone have a sample showing what a syllabus for a homeschool class would cover? Thanks!

I looked into it, but I decided not to when I was informed that the blood we would donate (from our child) would not be available for use by our family. They told me that the cord bank is run like a regular blood bank - the blood is to be used by who needs it most. If your child needs cord blood, then they would be eligible to receive it from the next available donor with that blood type, but you do not get to 'save' and use your own child's blood.

History/Bible/Lit: Notgrass Exploring World History (1 cr.) Language Arts: ACE English, Wordsmith, select Progeny Press guides, Word Roots, Vocab Cartoons (1 cr.) Math: TT Algebra 1 (1 cr.) Science: PAC Integrated Physics & Chemistry, Elements of Faith, plus an additional lab class (1 cr. + possibly another .5 for outside lab class depending on how much time it takes) Electives: The Learnables - Spanish 1 (1 cr.) Intro to Logic (per MFW plans) : Fallacy Detective, The Thinking Toolbox (1 cr.) Total Health (.5 cr.) P.E. (.5 cr.) violin lessons & string ensemble class (1 cr. for applied music for both classes) CLE Home Ec -(.5 cr.)

We had tiles just like those in our old house ( built in the 1950's) and yes, they did contain asbestos. We were told that we could lay stuff over them (wood, carpet, vinyl, laminate) but NOT to disturb them.

My DD is average and plans to go to college. She will probably start out at a 2 year version of a state school (A UW 'center' - which I know you will understand as I see you are in WI like me ;)), and then she hopes to transfer to a private Christian college once her general ed classes are out of the way. The UW centers seem to have just as much 'clout' as the 4 year state schools, but I have found that their entrance requirements (and their price) are not as steep as their 4 year counterparts.

Oooh - I love crunchy line-dried clothes and towels! They smell so good, and feel so fresh. I hate when winter hits and we have to start using our dryer again. (One word of caution...just make sure you don't have a lot of birds nearby - had to rewash a few loads at our old house :glare:)

Huggies for boys, Pampers for girls. ;)

Okay now I'm totally going to 'date' myself, but when I first saw him I thought he was Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran. :o

My Daughter's birthday is Christmas Eve, and so is her cousin's. We usually have a quiet immediate family celebration for DD on her birthday, and get together w/ extended family after the holidays are over in early January to celebrate their birthdays.

I voted for Dexter, but only because it was on the (very short) list of names that we had picked out for our own DS.

You know - I wonder if being from WI has something to do with it? Our local HS group here drills it into our heads pretty well that if you use a public virtual school you are NOT a homeschooler - and you are not welcome. I had a good friend that left the group when they found out she was using k12. :( Similarly - when I went to a motel meeting to check out the WI Virtual Academy, they also were adamant that we would not be homeschoolers - but that we would be official public schoolers, and that the parent of the student was only a 'learning coach' - not a teacher. :glare: (Because the students would have a 'real' teacher that they would speak to on a weekly basis) Yeah...we walked out of there pretty quickly :glare:

My daughter donated her hair last year to Pantene's Beautiful Length's program. (They only require 8") http://www.pantene.com/en-US/PanteneBeautifulLengths/Pages/default.aspx#1 I was very sad at first that she wanted to cut her long beautiful hair, but her selfless act of love for others really moved me. And one year later, her hair is already shoulder-length again. Having watched my own mother battle cancer - I can tell you that a really nice quality wig did SO much to boost her morale and self-esteem when she lost her hair to chemo. I say let her do it. I think that the lesson she will get in joyful giving and helping others is much more important than being prideful over her own beauty.

We bought ours the year we got married (17 years ago) and have no plans to replace it anytime soon. It is holding up well, and still extremely comfortable. We have been faithful to flip and rotate it often. It is a pain to do, ( esp since it is a Cal-king size,) but I think the newer no-flip mattresses wear out much sooner.

My son and the boy next door want to form a garage band. My son plays the string bass, and the other boy plays the tuba. :lol:

This one is cute and fairly easy, and I like that it incorporates a hair elastic into the actual pattern. http://happyquirkycreations.weebly.com/1/post/2011/03/ballet-bun-cover-pattern.html

Amazon has these comp books that I plan to order for my kids http://www.amazon.com/iScholar-Composition-Journal-Unruled-10114/dp/B0053CN926/ref=pd_sbs_op_20

It's all about networking. Monster.com and Linked-In are huge, but personal contacts are still the most helpful. My Dh was going to accept a contract position, but they ended up doing a direct-hire because he knew several people within the company who gave him stellar references. Applications, resumes, references, etc. are almost all online now, so it is really important that a person be somewhat computer/tech savvy.

Many small dogs are just hard to housebreak. Another idea to consider....I have a Yorkie, and he has potty issues (which is putting it mildly.) :glare: One thing that has worked for use is to switch from outdoor potty training to indoor potty training. We use an indoor doggie litter box lined with a puppy pad. It is placed out of the way of traffic ( in our 1/2 bath.) While he still goes inside, our dog has gone from pottying all over the house to pottying in an 'approved' place, and he can go there anytime he wishes - whether we are out for the afternoon, or sleeping, or just not aware of his 'signals. It has been a good fit for us, as I was at wits end and ready to get rid of him, as well.