My daughter is having a slumber party on Friday. She wants a peace sign birthday cake. The only ones I can find online are covered in fondant which I have never used. I can carve cakes fairly well (and once made a dragon from rice crispy treats) but my fondant skills are non-existant. Any thoughts on how I can do this and make it look neat? She just turned 11 so her friends are in that pre-teen age where pink zebra stripes, polka dots and peace signs rule. She's also gluten free but I can sort that part out. I want to do a long rectangular cake and a round cake on top. (I even thought about making the top round part rice krispy treat in the shape of a peace sign). Maybe make the peace signs in candy? What I want is this blog's cake (scroll down for the peace sign one) http://cakemomadventures.blogspot.com/

I didn't read the other replies, but I wanted to mention two lovely quotes about children. There is one attributed to Mother Teresa (sp?) saying something to the effect that having too many children is like having too many flowers. :) The subject came up recently with our 11 yr old. We would love more kids ( we have 3) but probably won't have more. Her opinion? "Three is for quitters". ;)

The girls received an Eino's atoms and molecules kit and they are enjoying building different things. Is there a bigger kit that I could purchase for them?

Honestly, I would love to see a whole episode that followed the grandmother of the Bates' kids. I thought she was hysterical and very down to earth. Did you notice that the grandfather nudged her a couple of times when she was a bit outspoken? I could tell she loved them but thought having so many was just crazy. I loved her. :) I like the Bates also.

I'm not sure what it was, but I looked under there today and there was nothing there. The ground was torn up and I saw small indentations that looked like it may have been paw prints but nothing else. I thought bear cub at first, but the animal I heard couldn't have been bigger than a medium sized dog, at most. We do have fruit trees but they are a bit away from the house. I originally thought deer since they come eat the fruit (literally off the tree). Whatever it was I think took refuge under our porch due to the heavy storms moving through.

I went back outside but I don't hear anything else. I suppose after bringing in the dog and turning out the lights, whatever it was ran away. I double-checked Trouble (our dog) and he doesn't seem to have any injuries so I don't think it was a porcupine. Maybe armadillo?

We do have some bears around here although honestly I've never seen one. Poor thing. I'm not going near it with a 10 foot pole though if that's the case.

Our border collie is going nuts outside. He has the type of bark that means that an animal is outside. We usually get deer but this sounded closer than the fruit trees. I was ignoring it until I heard a yelping noise and I worried that he was hurt. I went outside and called him to the porch. I didn't see any injury (all his shots are up to date since we live in the country). He tries to corner snakes so I had thought it was a snake at that point. I'm hearing a weird shuffling, huffing noise under the front porch steps. It sounds like something is moving around and making loud huffing noises. I am not hearing any growls, barks, squeals, etc but whatever it is, it's bigger than a snake. I thought perhaps a small dog except no barking noise. I'm scared to go down and peek under the porch. (A cornered animal doesn't sound like the smartest thing to go look at). I tried throwing food near the porch, but it doesn't seem interested. This isn't a hissing noise, but a snuffling, huffing type noise. We are in the woods. It could be anything. Any thoughts? I've brought my dog inside and left a note for hubby to be careful going out the front. Another thing, we had a huge thunderstorm today (severe enough to cancel all the local ball games which never happens). I wonder if it's an animal of some sort that took refuge under our porch.

We slice tomatoes and serve as a side dish with salt and pepper. My middle daughter loves to cut them in half, scoop out some of the seeds, stuff with feta and mozarella and broil for just a couple of minutes.

I didn't read through all the replies (I need to have dinner ready in an hour). I try to temper my facebook comments so that one side doesn't really have the upper hand. My oldest goes to public school. My other two are home schooled. However, that could change (for any of them) on any given day. I have relatives and friends who are PS teachers. Why antagonize anyone? I usually post about how much I love home schooling and how glad I am that the girls have some extra time to rest (medical isssues) or do other activities. I also make sure that I post how much respect I have for the majority of public school teachers who strive to do a difficult job these days. To say, "Thank you home schooling!" does imply a sense of superiority, even if none was intended. Comments like that should probably be posted in a community where others can appreciate them (like here). If you have a mixed audience, you will get mixed reactions.

I'll be honest, it's been challenging for us since we moved to the country. We moved from one of the top school districts (wealthy) in the city to one of the lowest districts (impoverished). Our nearest neighbor in walking distance is my mother. There are no other kids around. However, activities in the city were expensive and restricted. Here they are cheaper and they try to open them up to all the kids. My kids participate in Children's Theatre, soccer, karate, cheerleading, etc. I think church will allow you a good chance to meet people and they will happily come to your house. It takes some work, but it's not impossible. I think you'll love it. :)

That's creepy. I would think they would trust the doctor who has seen her all her life. I honestly don't know what else I could do to prove it. She's physically active and mature, just very small. The bright side is that we live in an impoverished area (though we are financially stable). Most social workers here would probably take one look and think their visit was a waste of time. I just worry about it.

Since it's a concern for me, I'm prepared (as much as I can be anyway). My daughter has Celiac Disease but is considered small even for a CD kid. She sees a pediatrician and gastro regularly and has had further testing to make sure nothing else was going on. Both doctors say she is in excellent health. Physically she is a little over 2 years behind in body weight/mass, etc. (Mentally she is fine). I forewarned our cover school director and I'm keeping good notes. Our state is relaxed on what we need to provide for homeschool records (attendance logs) so I feel somewhat okay. It's one of those things that I shouldn't be anxious about because the house is neat, the kids are healthy, food is in the fridge and our teacups are roach-free, but my anxiety makes me fret. :001_huh:

I am enjoying reading through the thoughts and opinions on this thread. We have not been visited by CPS but I am in the middle of a contentious battle with an ego driven person. She is trying to cause legal problems for me at the moment (and I feel certain she will lose) but I worry that she will next call CPS just to give me grief. (She epitomizes cutting off her nose to spite her face). I try not to worry but I am anxious by nature and her recent maneuverings have me on medication. I can see where many things on the outside look "odd" to others (homeschooling is NOT common here) and one of my daughters is significantly underweight, but I feel good about things. I would want to talk to someone on my porch for a few minutes before inviting them in though, just to see what their personality is like.

For Pete's sake! I've been homeschooling for over a week now and just realized that my 2nd grader does not have a reading program! She loves to read but I'd like her to have a reading selection with questions to answer. My 5th grader is using MOSDOS Press (Coral) which i really love. I'd love something similar for my younger one. (I don't think Mosdos has a program for kids that young). I'm on my laptop so can't search that well (I hate laptops). Any suggestions? I'm not opposed to content with religion but would prefer not. I would like to get this ordered today. Thanks for any suggestions.

:grouphug: praying

As a general rule, I have my kids make their own lunch. I provide the following: 2 different types of lunchmeat pre-cut veggies (carrots, celery, cauliflower or broccoli) nuts or seeds fresh or canned fruit crackers and chips different types of cheese olives and pickles (sometimes hummus or guacamole) Some items last longer than a week. I tell them to make a healthy lunch and let me look at it before they eat it. If we have leftovers available, I let them eat those instead if I don't have a plan. The above items usually means there is enough variety. Occasionally, dd11 will ask if she can cook a gluten free pizza (pre-made crust) which they pile with cheese, olives and lunchmeat. They also make sandwiches or roll things in lettuce wraps. We're gluten free (and dd11 is seriously underweight) so I'm picky about what they eat. They like to put lots of little amounts of food on their plate. Kids seem to eat better when it looks "cute". ;) ETA - Oh, and I absolutely count this as lessons in health and healthy eating. They both have medical conditions that need dietary intervention. Learning how to eat healthily and prepare food counts for health in my book. They also each cook one dinner a month. (DD11 uses the oven and DD7 uses the crockpot).

Thanks. I know from experience when I was last on medication that all of them seem to make me sick. They are too small to cut in half. I was hoping that by taking every other day I would gradually adjust to the levels in my body and could then increase to every day. I may need to just stock up on crackers and ginger ale and dive in. :(

I'm trying to take medication to help with some anxiety I'm having. The medicine makes me so nauseated that I can hardly move from bed or feel like eating. I'm trying to only take it every other day but I really need to take it daily. Any suggestions?

This is part of what we are wondering. She always presses her hands against her ears but for the past couple of years, it was constant. During a tonsil check a couple of months ago they realized that she had significant issues with her ears and that her hearing was greatly diminished. They said the surgery would help her hear clearly (which for her, might be construed as painful). They also said that her ears may hurt for several weeks after surgery (which was about three weeks ago). I have several options for what may be going on. I'll try ibuprofen at night first and perhaps more pillows. I remember when the girls were younger, laying down made ear pain worse.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had also heard that at some age then kids will wake up in order to breathe. She does take medication and I'm not sure if that would inhibit that or not (though it's not a lot). I plan to try everything suggested here so please keep any ideas coming. :)

My oldest daughter has started a practice that I find a bit alarming. (Reminder - she has autism, anxiety, non-verbal, limited comprehension so I cannot discuss this with her). She will take a light-weight blanket and press it against her face. It covers her from neck to above her head and all the way around her ears. She likes to roll back and forth to settle herself for bed which means that it continues to bunch around her face. By the time she falls asleep, there is no blanket on her body, it's all wrapped around her face in one big ball. It appears tightly wrapped because it's tucked in on each side. This seemed to start right after her tonsil/adenoid/tube surgery and I was hoping it was temporary but it seems to be getting worse. Last night, I had untucked her but she woke up and re-rolled herself. The other girls noticed it and untucked her but came and got me because her head was hot and her hair was completely soaked with sweat. This doesn't sound like it would be safe and I worry about suffocation. But, I worry about a lot of things so I'm hoping someone here can tell me if this is a legitimate concern? Also, any brainstorming of things to do to stop this would be appreciated. She will do it with sheets as well. The only thing I can think of is maybe this is a sensory thing and perhaps if I make sure it's dark and quiet in her room it will help? I also thought that maybe her ears might still be bothering her (very ear sensitive) since she's had diminished hearing for quite a while apparently and perhaps some ibuprofen before bedtime? I'd love some suggestions.

I'm so sorry for your loss. :grouphug:

I love my kindle. I read a ton of books on it and spend a fair amount on it monthly. I also love the free books. I enjoy true crime and also explore certain topics that might not be kid-friendly (for ex - I'm on the subject of abuse in polygamy cults at the moment). We are getting dd10 (soon to be 11) a kindle for her birthday. Like me, she loves to read. We have so many bookshelves of books, that DH is thinking that a kindle for everyone might be the way to go. My problem is that when I registered her kindle to my amazon account, it registered all of my books on her kindle. I don't want her reading them. Is there a way to remove books from her kindle device while still leaving them on mine?

Actually, yes, you need to be on a regular diet (including gluten that is) prior to testing. Without the presence of damage or gluten, the body will test normal. If it hasn't been long since you removed gluten, it may be okay, but it's not ideal. After my daughter tested positive on the blood test, she was still required to eat it until the biopsy (less than a week).