I don't give out anything...I gave out candy for years, but I got tired of buying candy for the 350 kids that showed up at my doorstep every year--kids I don't know. (They bus them to our neighborhood...) Two years ago I decided I just wasn't participating. It was so freeing to turn out the light that night!

I think I'd work with her on packing lunches at night. If she throws them away...guess that's up to her; at least you tried. She's at a point where she has to make some decisions for herself. If she's anything like my oldest ds, it really is about convenience rather than content. If he can't fall out of bed and throw something in his backpack, he goes without. I finally had to come to grips with the fact that it was just beyond my control--or responsibility--anymore. (But he's 20 and a college student.) Parenting on this end is SOOOOOO much harder than when they are little...at least that's been my experience.

Did you see this yesterday? It's a FREE site for audiobooks... http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/Top_100

...when your dh cleans out the dryer lint and recovers 7 varying sizes of lint balls...you say, "Look, we can build a model of the solar system."

It's a rare night that I go to bed before 1...and then I read for about an hour. Fortunately, my early bird ds is able to get up, let the dog out, get his breakfast and entertain himself for a bit in the mornings. I'm usually not functioning until 9 or 9:30.

Elementary teachers should be divided into two levels...1-3 and 4-6. Instruction in the early grades is much different than in the upper elementary. I'm the product of one of "those" ele ed programs. I learned classroom management; I learned lots of theory; theoretically I learned how to teach reading and math. The first thing my supervising teacher said when I walked in for student-teaching was, "Forget everything they've taught you. I'll really teach you about teaching." Sadly, she was right. I learned more in those few weeks than in the other 3 years.

I don't have one, but it's my understanding that the ads are screensavers and are also on the bottom of the home page. They shouldn't show when you're reading. I have no idea about the content...but from what I've read you have some control over the topics of the ads.

Dust Storm...what happens when I clean my house. :-) I'm having a Parent Meeting for my hs group tonight so I'm spiffing things up, moving lots of dust around! (Of course, today is the day my only downstairs bathroom clogged up, requiring a rental snake...more mess, yuck. Off to clean up the mess!)

The guy who rents our basement apt acquired a used mattress yesterday...and told me this morning that it had bedbugs. I'm so grossed out! The apt is concrete block and has a separate entrance. The mattress is history, and we've bombed and sprayed. How freaked out should I be about the rest of the house????

Nope. Like you, I wear light make-up to church and for special occasions. DH is fine with that.

I issued a diploma to both of my hs grads. (We ordered a beautiful diploma from homeschooldiploma.com.) Of course, no one ever really looks at the diploma...colleges are only interested in the transcripts. I wouldn't do the GED. According to the state of Indiana, you are the principal of your homeschool. Issue a diploma!

Thanks for all your answers. We're a small group (16 families) and meet twice a month during the school year for enrichment classes. A parent from each family is required to be present at all times. At least two parents are in each class room. We've never had any problem related to inappropriate parent behavior. I have run names against the registered offender list...but I didn't really feel I *needed* to. I did it so I can tell this woman I have done so. What's really going on is a control issue. She wants to be in control. (And I'm not willing to let her!) I'm not sure how long she'll last in the group...

I just bought the Zojirushi and love it. It's really nice to have a loaf of bread that looks like a loaf of bread! (We make gluten-free bread once/twice a week for dh.) I expect to get years of use out of this machine.

A new member to my hs group is beating me over the head to do background checks on all our members. We're a small group, and I've never felt the need to do checks...and I still don't. I'm just wondering if any of you belong to a group that requires a background check.

Hey I had one of those my last semester working on my Masters. I thought I was in heaven! No more re-typing the entire page--joy, joy, joy. Learned on a manual in high school--I think it was manual. It's been a very LONG time ago!

My ds's honor society packs boxes every year...suggestions include: baby powder or cornstarch, BugOff or Cutter bug spray, disposable camera, Kleenex, envelopes, permanent markers, sun block. Tums/Rolaids, baby wipes, Chapstick, Dr. Scholl's white foam insoles, mouthwash, pens (black or red), shampoo/conditioner, throat lozenges or cough drops, Pepto Bismol, breath mints, cotton balls, eye drops, pencils, Q-tips, bar soap, toothbrush, crossword puzzle books, comb/brush, dental floss, hand sanitizer, writing paper, disposable razors, body wash, nail files, zip lock bags for food storage, plastic food storage containers, Clorox wipes (this would need to be the ones in the resealable pouch, not the round plastic containers. The post office is insisting that the boxes retain their shape and not have bulges) and granola bars. Nothing that will melt (obviously).

When I was 6 wks pregnant with my last child, my sister called and gave me all the reasons I should have an abortion. (I was 42 and overweight.) She read statistics and basically beat me over the head with information..that I already knew...for half an hour. Then my mom called as sis had called her and gotten mom all excited about things. I was so upset that I stayed in bed for two days. Thought I was over all that when I got a package from sister--yes, she sent me all the articles she'd referenced, even though I told her I was having the baby no matter what. Spent another day in bed so I wouldn't vomit every 10 minutes. I try to escape in a book (fiction) when things like that happen. I do better if my mind is occupied.

I just attended a shower where we were given a list and asked to put in what we thought the Mom's answer would be. (Like baby ___________, play ___________, Mommy's ______________, diaper ___________) There were about 20 of them. The hostess had called the Mom when she was really tired and asked for the first thing that came to mind. The answers were a hoot. We also played present bingo. We had a blank sheet and had to fill in the blanks with things we thought she'd receive as gifts. The first Bingo winner got a bigger prize. Everyone else got a small bag of chocolates.

My last baby was dehydrated after birth (wouldn't nurse for 24 hours) and suspected of being septic. He had numerous blood draws and a spinal tap--not something you want your newborn to go through. When we finally got to leave the hospital, my baby looked like he'd been abused because of all the bruising. (It took 12 sticks to get an IV started.) If I had known before his birth that there was something I could have done to prevent all that, I would have done it. (There wasn't unfortunately. It was just one of those things that happen.) I'm not a big medicine-taker, but I'd take the antibiotics in a heartbeat. It's not worth the risk to the baby otherwise.

I don't know the answer to your question, but...we visited the St. Louis Science Center this summer and I was quite impressed. Are you a member of any museum that participates in the ASCI reciprocal program? We were treated like royalty when I showed my IN State Museum card! (Free parking, for one thing.) You'll enjoy your visit there. We didn't go to the Art Museum as we were only in St. Louis a short time. If you go to the Arch, be sure to check on the tram system. I found out after we rode on it (and witnessed a short malfunction) that people had been stuck on the thing just a few days before. I'm not a fan of heights and would NEVER have gone up if I'd known that! Enjoy your trip.

I'd probably use the full name--unless the child expresses a preference for the nickname. My mom was on the flip side of the nickname issue--her given name was so weird that she went by the nickname her sister gave her as a child--Barney. (She had a Barney google doll.)

Actually, fairly close. I sent a reluctant student to visit the local middle school last year. They have 20 minutes for lunch and no one is allowed in the line until all the students are seated and quiet. Some of those kids don't actually get a chance to decide if the food is yucky or not!

I've worn a combination of glasses and/or contacts since the 3rd grade. I used to need Coke bottle lenses--thankfully the newer lenses are much thiner and lighter. I'm in the bifocal stage of life, too.

I was anti-co-sleeping until I had baby #3. He simply didn't sleep unless he was touching me. I tried all the tricks like putting a heating pad in and warming the bed up first...no go. So after 4 months of not sleeping, I gave in..and we actually slept. It was wonderful! As long as he held my shirt (and I was in it!), he slept. After a while it bothered my dh, so we put a twin beside our bed and dh slept in the twin. It took 5 years before ds would sleep without me, but one day he simply jumped into the twin and said, "I'm sleeping here." (It was a long 5 years!) Frankly, I think families need to do what works. If that's co-sleeping, so be it!

I recently saw one in my driveway...and I live in a metro, non wooded area. I called animal control. They don't do wildlife. I called the wildlife folks (can't remember which agency that was....). I was invited to catch it myself and euthanize it. Seriously???? Or, I could call in--at my expense--someone to come catch it. It went into the neighbor's garage, so I called them and made it their problem. I haven't see the fox since. :-)