We have 3 smoke detectors. One at the top of the basement stairs. One at the bottom of the staircase leading to the 2nd floor. The final one is in the upstairs hallway between the bedrooms. Carbon Monoxide detectors in all the bedrooms.

Hated The Notebook. I know dieing together at the end is supposed to be the icing on the cake of this glorious love story but at the end of the movie I couldn't help but think how selfish he was. No thought at all to his kids and grandkids. All about the love for his wife.

If you have animals there is a certain level of animal smell. I use baking soda on the carpets and wash the dogs blanket once a week. I spray the carpets and couches with vinegar once a week or more if I notice the smell. When it is humid out I can smell the dog smell which sometimes makes me wonder just how dog smelling my house is on a regular day,

I thought I was the only person in the world who hates this movie.

Never be ashamed about watching The Tick (unless you are talking about the movie). The Tick is an awesome series. Spoon! And the whole family should wear this t-shirt: http://www.redbubble.com/people/studown/works/8143464-tix-are-for-ticks?country_code=US&p=t-shirt&utm_campaign=shopping&utm_medium=google_products&utm_source=google&gclid=CLek2vXSsrcCFc2f4AodYVcAOw

I think we are soul sisters. I have been teaching my daughter about the importance of the right foundation garment since she was a baby. Once when I was instructing my dd to take lady like steps and glide in her heels and that we do not stomp like an elephant she responded with "ladies never get to do anything fun." Once I was done laughing I informed her that was not true. If you want to stomp around like an elephant you need to be wearing sneakers.

NYC in August can be hot and humid and there will be places that will smell like urine when you pass by. That sell aside, you should go to the Tenement Museum and then Katz deli for a meal. The Museum of Natural History is always fabulous and Central Park is across the street. The Central Park Zoo and then a walk over to Serendippity for frozen hot chocolate. Perhaps a trip out to Coney Island and the Aquarium. I believe the aquarium will be opening Memorial Day Weekend. Or you could go to The Bronx Zoo. I always love a tour of Grand Central Station. You could go to The Top of The Rock and/or the top of The Empire State Building. A ride on the Staten Island Ferry takes you right past the Statue of Liberty. The South Street Seaport is also a fun place to go. Dylan's Candy Bar is 3 floors of candy and is beautiful but I am partial to economy candy on the lower east side. It is small and cramped but there is a lot of candy in that space.

That looks yummy. I have never tried that. I have done spaghetti squash as a pizza crust. http://joandsue.blogspot.ca/2013/03/spaghetti-squash-crust-pizza.html

My dd was like that. Flipping her onto her belly definitely helped. I also finally accepted that she did not require as much sleep as her older brother ( he was a champion napper). She power napped. 20-30 minutes tops. She would nap in the car as long as I kept driving. As soon as I turned off the car eyes opened and she was ready to go. Once she napped for an an hour and a half and I got scared and went in to her room to make sure she was still breathing. The point of my rambling. She may not need as much sleep as you think she should. To this day my dd is a night owl and a morning dove.

If I consistently saw someone I would ask. As I tell my kids, it never hurts to expand the social circle. I will confess, when on field trips to major museums with a friend of mine we love to play "Homeschooler or Tourist". The people watcher in me loves to speculate.

Yes, it was very encouraging. The reality is I was having a bad morning. They were being themselves and due to my own shortcomings I was not in a place to take a stand and die on that hill. Teaching them separately works. It is just that sometimes I just want to do it once. They are capable of working in groups. They do it all the time successfully with other people. When it is just the two of them the sibling stuff comes out full force. Depending on the day, the position of the moon, what I ate for breakfast I can either roll with it and channel it for good or break down and be downright out of control loony tunes. I have found all of the responses to be helpful in their own ways. Even the ones that don't agree with me. And creating a quiz for the sibling, that is brilliant.

Yes, it is all good. Excuse me, while I go chillax. ;)

But we were watching together and then discussing together. There have been other attempts over different subjects. It is always the same. Siblings behaving like siblings. I can't say my sister and I behaved any better when we were growing up. Certainly our relationship improved when she left for college.

Spaceballs. Full of juvenile humor.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion It may even be correct. In this case I choose to take the path of least resistance and teach them separately because it saves my sanity and keeps me from behaving like a raving lunatic. It is a button issue for me.

I think it is fine. My kids hated it so I gave up after trying a couple of different farms and different seasons.

Oh my, all this water world hate. I did not see it in the theatre and it is an awful movie. Yet, if I land on it when flicking through channels I will watch it. I don't know why but I do. It is like I am keep waiting for it to get better and it never does.

I am the shortest one in the house. My ds is a good 4 inches taller then me and my dd is an inch or two taller. She surpassed me in height shortly after her 12th birthday.

A ballet flat would be cute as would a slip on sneaker type flat.

That happened to my mom once. The cats used to lay in the open windows and that is how they got fleas. The only thing that worked for my mom was to flea bonb the house after she treated the cats.

Raiders of the Lost Ark Back to the Future The Muppet Movie (maybe my kids and their friends are weird but they still love the original muppet movie) Spiderman, Ironman, Superman

They are 15 and a few weeks shy of 13. I am beginning to suspect it will not improve until eldest leaves for college. I don't mind working with them individually but sometimes I wish they could work together. After this mornings reminder of why we don't work together I found myself thinking maybe sending them off to school is a good idea. But then I remembered I would be trading one set of challenges for a different set. Some days I really wish it was all unicorns and cupcakes.

Every once in awhile I get this great idea. Let's watch a short video clip-such as stossel in the classroom-and discuss it together. Somehow I completely forget what this means. "move your feet" "I am not touching you" "yes, you are" "why are we doing this" "Ooo, look at what the dog is doing" "why do we have to do this" "I'm hungry, whats for lunch?" (please keep in mind that they ate breakfast half an hour earlier) "He/she's looking at me" and so on and so on and so on. Yet, if I watch with each one separately it goes so differently. But, sometimes, I just want to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Is that too much to ask?

Clearly none of you have seen the Dustin Hoffman flop-Ishtar. That movie is the worst movie I ever watched. Followed closely by the live action movie of my beloved cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender.

My kids don't like cheesecake so that cake would be out. My ds may have eaten the cherry cake. Not sure if my daiughter would have. I like to believe my children would be polite in their declining of the cake and not let forth with "Eww, cheesecake, GROSS!"