Dd's thoughts: Avoid the performances by Bolshoi -- they're impressive technically, but boring insofar as acting (would be great for kids who are planning to become dancers). The Nutcrackers that have Mother Ginger might be more fun for kids. Sleeping Beauty "is basically a bunch fairies dancing around in variations until you want to stab your eyes out from boredom" -- sort of like the Nutcracker but with fairytale characters in lieu of the land of sweets. Dd was just cast in Sleeping Beauty, and doesn't want to watch it other than reviewing the variations she needs to learn (their director is taking liberties with the story line to streamline it and make it more fun for the kids in the audience). Edited to add -- you might just select some segments of it, then, rather than slogging through the entire thing. For example, we watched a youtube of Svetlana Zakhavora perform Aurora's 3rd act wedding pas de deux ... technically awesome, but amazing lack of personality. Although it's Bolshoi, she highly recommends watching it just because it's really breathtaking technique.

This reminds me: Last week I was sooooo tired all day, but couldn't sleep at night. I needed naps to survive (my kids are older so it works). While cleaning out the pantry I happened to find some dried nettle leaf, so I made an infusion of about 1/2 a cup of nettles in a pint of boiling water, left to steep for 4-5 hours. It actually tasted pretty good, oddly enough. The next day I got up and, weirdly enough, was ready for anything! I don't drink coffee, but had been using chocolate as a crutch -- I had no desire for any chocolate. It finally occurred to me that nettles are reputed to help the adrenals. In retrospect, I had been under a lot of stress and I think perhaps I was starting to show signs of adrenal problems, but had accidentally stumbled across something that gave me a bit of a boost. Once I had that boost I could sleep better, get exercise out in fresh air, and generally do more of the things that people suggest for helping yourself deal with stress and fatigue. Now I'm on the upward spiral of being able to do more healthy things that help me feel better and give me more energy to do more healthy things. So I'm totally on the "check your adrenal and thyroid" bandwagon now. I mean, I didn't, but I probably should have.

DD age 16 recently recited the entire "am is are was were" (long-play/helping-verb version) chant for SWB at our homeschool convention. Other than impressing visiting celebrities, dd says she used the chant during dual enrollment English class. What I've noticed with my kids is that they've developed a keen ability to memorize new things. Older dd was able to "rescue" her church youth group when they needed someone to quickly take over a role in a performance, for example. And younger dd ... well, she grew up thinking that memorizing things was a skill that everyone had and that she needed to develop. She is now crazy good at memorizing -- she learned the role of Dorothy in the RSC version of Wizard of Oz in a breathtakingly short time, she can nail down a Shakespearean sonnet easily, and in general she no longer really thinks about "memorizing" scripts. This has given her more time to ponder the actual acting portion of being in theater (she is also very good at the bodily memorization of blocking due to years of dance), which helps her performance, which is leading her to consider a career in acting. The dark side of her ability to memorize is that when she was learning to play the piano she simply memorized everything rather than actually learning to read the music -- it took a LOT of work to correct that. As for me, I can tell you about elements needed for plant nutrition via C HOPKNS CaFe, Mighty Good (with a side helping of By Mine CuZn Clyde Moe, or else Clara's Zany Cup). Do you know how many decades it's been since I actually needed that information? Yet there it is, stuck in my head. But I suppose mnemonics are a whole other (extremely fun) thread. Edited to add: Memorizing things is a skill. Once you learn how to do it, you free up time and mental power for other things like synthesizing information, analyzing, forming arguments.

I wonder if it would be interesting to him to also see what high school kids in STEM are writing, and what college kids in STEM are writing ... sort of following the trail through the years to arrive at the goal of the career. (I'm saying this as a parent of a STEM college student who ends up doing the writing for group projects. She's good at writing, and little impatient with her classmates who aren't.)

I'm so sorry. It sounds like you have some wonderful memories. :grouphug:

Aha! I had found that site and wondered if it was worth exploring more. (And, you know, what would Katy Bowman say about it -- does it go along with a lot of what she has to say on the subject? Because I pretty much trust KB to know what she's talking about most of the time.) So thanks for the review. I'll start reading it. Also, lots of seemingly fit people have alignment issues that exacerbate pelvic floor dysfunction. Our typical concept of "fitness" vs. decently aligned movement are really different things. Unless you're defining "fit" as someone who got rid of all their furniture (so no sitting back on their sacrum), never wears positive heels, walks/moves on varied surfaces daily, and generally has an incredibly nutritious menu of daily movement. You can't look at a sedentary population (and working out 1 or 2 hours out of every 24 is sedentary, sorry to say) and decide that the human body will always have this problem regardless of how it is used.

A friend of mine who is a physical therapist was told she should have a hysterectomy for a different issue. She declined because she said the uterus is the only supported structure in that part of the body, and once you cut that out you end up with a cascade of problems. Her doctor agreed, and they moved on to other options. I had no idea this was the case. I'm really grateful for those women who have a clue and mention it; you're saving the rest of us a host of problems our doctors apparently aren't really thinking about.

Creeping Charlie is also edible. You can make infusions and vinegars out of it, use it medicinally, eat it in salads. http://chippewa.com/lifestyles/creeping-charlie-not-your-ordinary-weed/article_520119b0-c6ef-5e6c-9162-f154ba80b0a2.html

When Katy Bowman says "no heels" she means even 1/4 inch heels. No positive heel AT ALL, including the kind you get in typical walking shoes. It's harder to avoid than you'd think.

Isn't there a video about this? And one of the recommendations is to pat another person on the shoulder in a comforting manner while saying, "Don't worry, it happens to all of us." Edited to add: found it

One of Katy Bowman's favorite things to discuss is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. Here's a starter article: https://nutritiousmovement.com/4-fast-fixes-for-pelvic-floor-disorder/ Lots more where that came from. (Someone always stops by these types of threads and mentions Katy Bowman, have you noticed?)

Nettle infusion helps with general kidney health, not just kidney stones. For example, it's also anti inflammatory, and helps lower creatinine levels. Steep 1 oz of dried nettle in 1 quart of water for 4 hours or overnight. Using tea bags doesn't accomplish much. (Oddly, I was just thinking about this today. No clue why nettles were on my mind, but I had a sudden urge to read about them.)

:party: That is so cool!

My brother does that sort of thing with people who come door to door. He says the mission teams seem to lose their Christian ideals after awhile. As for me, I'm still waiting for Jack from The Computer Company to call back. There's something wrong with my computer, you guys! And Jack was going to help me with it! Except that I was apparently a little too obtuse, so he had to go get his supervisor. And they PROMISED they'd call back in a couple of days to work things out ... but they didn't. I think by the time Jack calls again I will have thrown my computer out, that's how concerned I am. And if anyone else calls from The Computer Company, you can rest assured I'm going to find out if they know Jack and can tell me if everything is alright with him. Edited to clarify that my brother has never stuck a door-to-door missionary in a drawer.

And our number system is known as Arabic. So, voila, scary stuff in Arabic. Sort of.

Wow! What a great story!

Yeah, I'd start by calling the old doctor's office. I doubt you're the first person to need records for college purposes; they should have a standard answer for this. Dd goes to college in a state that requires mumps but not measles. Interesting how it varies.

Ted Drewe's has 2 locations -- you can find out more on their website http://teddrewes.com. It's a great stop -- very much a St Louis attraction. For an actual restaurant, Fitz's can be fun for the kids. It's on the Delmar Loop, which is near-ish to Forest Park. https://fitzsrootbeer.com I'm blank on other kid friendly restaurants When my brother came we suggested he go the The Hill to get a sandwich from Amighettis (although other sandwich spots are rated higher, its dh's favorite) and toasted ravioli from pretty much anywhere that has it since it's also a very St. Louis thing to eat.

Yikes! :grouphug: I hope you're able to get things under control now that you know what's going on. I can't imagine how awful that trip must have been.

I recently read that part of what Twain was writing about was a Jacksonian view of the future of the United States vs. a Jeffersonian view -- and that this was a popular theme in literature of the era, contrasting rapid development vs. staying rural. When they're on the river they're safe and rely on each other as two independent human beings; when they're on the shore they are encountering the more civilized, industrialized culture and get into trouble. This never even crossed my mind! I wonder what else I've been missing. I didn't read the above in SparkNotes, but I've decided I need to read SparkNotes more often to help me see more possibilities in the books I read.

I like Cascade Fixation, which is cotton plus elastic. After much time spent knitting and wearing socks, I've had to admit that wool makes my feet itch, so if the yarn has any wool content I have to wear it over some sort of liner sock. I never noticed this before I started knitting socks, but now that I'm aware I realize that some of the warmth I'm feeling from wool scarves and sweaters is actually my skin becoming inflamed. :mellow:

I don't think anything in Maryland Heights is along 40/64. From St Charles you'd probably take 70 into town. Most people here drive all over. Driving from St Charles to downtown is fairly standard.

How fun! Apparently homeschool is a great lead up to juggling (who knew?) One of our local homeschool families also has a juggler in their midst ... your son might get a kick out of this:

I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with the calendars they printed this year. That's the only explanation I can think of.