well....I was what you could surely call a "difficult child" though I imagine my Mom would more likely use the word "Nightmare"...LOL I was in a lot of trouble...trouble at school, at home, and even several run-ins with the law...I won't go into all the specifics but suffice it to say I was a mess. I am proud to report that I am now a very happy, healthy and productive member of society. I have a wonderful relationship with my parents and have apologized profusely to them for all the trouble I caused. Being a troubled kid myself....it is not surprising that all my friends were equally troubled....and of those I keep in contact with about 90% of us have grown up and out of the mess. The other 10% still struggles....but on the other hand I've known people that were GREAT children hardly causing a bit of trouble in their youths....that grew up to be scourges of society. So, whatcha gonna do? LOL

Well...we just moved to WA this year and it is the first state we have lived in that requires testing....so dd (4th grade) will be taking the test for the first time June 16th and 17th....I sure hope she enjoys it as much as your dc...LOL

I need one too...in a bad way. I want one with a carafe that actually keeps the coffee hot for a good amount of time....I bought a Mr. Coffee last year because I have had good luck with that brand in the past.....but not only does the carafe FAIL in the keeping the coffee warm dept....but the coffee, freshly brewed, isn't hot enough either! When I worked for Starbucks I bought my Mom a Venus machine that my manager gave me an amazing deal on and Mom LOVES it....says it totally keeps her coffee HOT for hours! I would get one of those....but I no longer work for Starbucks....and the Venus is spendy!

Just FWIW....I don't know that we were actually debating the pros and cons of the Civil War and all the intricacies it involved (and, FTR, my family battled on both sides as well...my relatives being mainly from KS and MO) but more the insinuation by OP that slavery alone didnt trump the arguments in his pros list...

I have no answers for you...however, I think their behavior sounds normal enough....such behavior is extremely taxing to us parents....but it was common in my family...and is common between my children and dh says it was the same way in his family...so, I guess it is just one of those things we do the best to minimize but can pretty much count on not totally curing... :001_huh:

I agree!

:iagree: and would add....this is another reason I am HSing....I would be.... lets just say....extremely upset, if my child came home with such nonsense.

Ummmm....wow.

And....about PBA....the fact is that PBA would have been determined illegal a LONG time ago...and many times over now....had government officials just kept their paws off the bill....they continuously slip clauses in to these bills that have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with PBA....just to try and sneak something through. I will give you a guess at which party is most infamous for doing this....and it isn't the liberals....

Seriously??? If you receive WIC that indicates to me that you are low enough income that you get every single bit of your income taxes returned...and most likely, you qualify for the EIC and child tax credits....which means that you get MORE back then you pay in....so what are complaining about, exactly?

Our Homeschool is named The Omehay Oolschay Academy.....because when I started HSing I lived in Kansas and they require you to choose a name for your HS....and, well, that is just my wacky sense of humor I guess....LOL

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:C4FY5hBPrM4J:spofga.org/immigration/2005/aug/more_jobs_to_india.php+how+many+jobs+has+HP+sent+to+india&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us I would argue that it is "evil" to accept government incentives to build your business and then, once you are successful, take your business out of the country....starter wife anyone? 10% of their employees lost their jobs to India at the time of that article. That is 14,500 American workers out of work....for what? So they can stay "competitive" as you put it? If that were truly the case I would likely agree with you....because, in general, I think we have, as a nation, created a nasty dragon of an economy....a grouchy dragon that keeps biting us at every turn. HOWEVER, by all accounts...that isn't the case with HP....they were doing dandy....they just wanted to line their pockets even more. Intrinsically evil? No, but wrong all the same.

I cannot relate....I have a headset and my phone is connected to my ear most of the day....I prefer to do my housecleaning and what not while talking on the phone....it keeps me focused actually. LOL

Yup! That's what I would do. Take his picture as well as a picture of his car...and not on the sly either....I would want him to KNOW that I'm aware of his presence.

We have a few... My Mom and Dads bdays are both in August....my sister and bil's bdays are both in December...and my dh and I were both born in May. There are 4 girls in my family....there are 4 boys in my dh's family....and we have 2 girls and 2 boys...LOL Dh and I both have a great grandmother named Lillian....we decided to name our youngest Lillian...then decided on Olivia for her middle name. After she was born we announced her name and my Grandma (it is her mother that was Lillian) was so pleased! It wasn't until AFTER we announced her name that we found out that my great grandma Lillians middle name was Olive! Wild, huh!?! My dh and I met in Vancouver, WA when I was a senior and he was 2 years graduated....we had many of the same friends but had never met when we were both in HS (my sophmore his senior year)....also, we were both born in Southern California...weird! OK....that's all I can think of right now....

We have a Mercury Villager and *LOVE* it...it is a 2001 and we have yet to run across any problems...she is a GEM! It is worth mentioning that the Villager is EXACTLY the same as the Toyota Sienna....only several thousands of dollars cheaper...LOL

I've got nothin'....sorry. But I can totally commiserate with you...my almost 8 year old son is the same way....it is terribly frustrating...as you know.:grouphug: