A teaspoon of honey will soothe the cough. You could also add honey to tea but for my kids it works best just to take the spoonful.

Thinking back on my elementary school experience which did not have a traffic light and we could sit with whomever we wanted and had plenty of time for a hot lunch and hand washing, lunch was pretty darn good. I do have strong memories of the lunch lady in the green polka dot dress who carried a large wooden block. If your table was too loud she would walk over and bang it on your table to get your attention. Then you quieted down. If the whole cafeteria was too loud they would flick the lights on and off. I don't recall any consequences. We all quieted down after having a good laugh that we were all too loud.

That is how it is done here. Not at all like when I went to school a few decades ago. As much as I disagree with the policy I kind of understand it. Lunch is brief and the kids need to eat. If they spend all of their time talking they don't eat. Heaven forbid they should have more then 20 minutes to eat lunch.

Now I want a sactional.

Take B1. I know the studies say it doesn't really do anything but we have had great success when we consistently take it every day during mosquito season.

Ok, now I want to know what I said that you do not agree with.

Well, for starters, I have never heard of an underground railroad denier. The evidence is all there that the underground railroad did exist. Perhaps at the time there were deniers but we are all fairly certain it did exist. Plus, the underground railroad was a road to freedom. A good thing that occurred during the blight of slavery in US history. Who wants to deny a good thing? By the same token, there is plenty of evidence that the holocaust did indeed happen and yet there are people who deny it occurred. They look at the survivors, the camps, the evidence and can still look at the world and say the Jews made it up and it didn't happen. Perhaps americans are wired to assume the worst because of the cultural guilt we feel for the lack of response and indifference towards people we didn't care about. We didn't get into WW II to save the Jews. We sent back the boat full of Jews to their certain deaths because we wouldn't let them dock here. The US didn't give a d**n about what was happening over in Europe. Perhaps we are so hardwired to assume the worst when it comes to all the atrocities of WW II because they deserve to have the worst assumed. The atrocities were beyond comprehension and vile and too many people wish to sweep it all under the rug. Ancient history. No need to worry about that stuff now. What do you think "Never Forget" means? It means that you shine the full light on the darkness and remind people that this was horrific and needs to be remembered. In your face remember so that it does not happen again. As for the original question of Justin Beiber, I really think people got their knickers in a twist over nothing. Anne loved all things hollywood and she was a typical teen and probably would have been a fan.

Maybe I am just reading something that you are not saying but the way you are phrasing things it sounds like you believe the roughly 6 million jews who live in the US have some kind of agenda and that the holocaust and the choices the US government made at the time( and those were some pretty lousy choices) are being used as a choke hold to ensure that their agenda comes to fruition.

Please explain what you mean by the bolded. It looks like you are saying that there is pandering to a tiny section of the US population to affect outcomes of votes.

Yes, the taxes and cost of health insurance aboslutely stink in NJ. However, NJ has lots of great stuff about it.

I am guilty of watching dance moms. My daughter watches with me. I use it as a springboard for discussions on appropriate behavior. I also explain how reality tv works and how so much of it is blown out of proportion for the cameras. I am not surprised that Melissa is thinking about homeschooling or that the other moms were over the top in being against it. It all makes for good trash tv.

Lifeguard. American Red Cross allows 15 year olds to take the lifeguard certification class.

Ok, raising my freak whacko neighbor flag again. Growing up I had a few German Shepard Dogs and they were as great as the pitbulls. When I was a baby our GSD would lay in front of the stairs and nudge me away when I got too close. My mom also told me when I would drop my cookie he would pick it up and let me take it right out of his mouth. It is a shame you have had the experiences you have because a GSD is a great companion. Except for the shedding. They shed something awful. And before anyone tells a "yes, gsd are great but Dobernmans are nutso" story, I had one of those too and he was a great dog. I had him when I met my dh and I told him if my dog didn't like him when he came to pick me up the date was off since the dog was a great judge of character. The only dog we ever had that we had to find a new home for was our Golden Lab. We were not active enough for him and he was destructive. I can't even begin to tell you how many of my friends shoes that dog chewed up. He was a love but he needed to be on a farm so we found one for him. Thinking about my neighbors some more, the guy across the street moves his cars at 2 in the morning. And by moves I mean he starts one up, drives around the block a couple of times and then does the same with the other car. I usually sleep through this and dh told me he did this. I thought dh was a bit nuts but one night I was up and heard it. So bizarre.

Well, if it makes you feel any better my 15 year explained that he is dilly dallying so much today because he has spring fever.

I have to say, this is a hot button issue for me. I understand your prejudice towards pitbulls but it is just that-prejudice and buying into the stereotype. All dogs have the potential for violent/aggressive/bad temperment. I understand your feelings, I really do but please do not lump an entire breed of dog on the bad list because of the people who are total jerks and should be arrested for animal abuse. It is the people not the dog who are responsible for the bad rep the pitbull has. Rereading that I guess I really am the whacko neighbor.

We are using it this year and my ds likes it well enough. He is retaining the information. I supplement the paper labs with some of the experiments in the text book.

I just realized I do have a wacky neighbor story. I honestly believe my neighbor waits until we are done shoveling our walk and driveway and go back inside before he will come out with his snowblower and do his walkway. I am in the house about 2 minutes before I hear his snowblower start up. I think he watches and waits. As if I would ask him to do our walkway. The only conversation we have had since they moved in 6 years ago was right after they moved in. I said "welcome to the neighborhood." They said "Thanks." We wave if we are outside at the same time. Clearly I give off some vibe that shouts I expect you to help me with your snowblower. My other neighbor actually does do our walkway when there is a snowstorm. He has a monster snowblower. I bake him cookies. It works for us.

Seriously, waht is that about. I have that kind of experience all the time. My boy is just walking along happy as a clam and someone else's dog starts barking and lunging at me and my dog and then they yell at me that my dog is vicious. Umm, my dog is standing here wagging his tail yours is the one behaving in the aggressive way.

I think my neighbors think we are the wacky neighbors. Homeschooling, pitbull owners, survival of the fittest landscaping, keep to ourselves because we think all of our neighbors are whacko.

Pictionary (You can put words on scraps of paper and toss in a hat) Headbandz (again, you can put words on index cards and use regular headbands). Kids usually have a blast trying to guess what they are.

She is 90. Consumables. Flowers are always nice.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. I feel like I am living 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale.

We love coconut oil. I bake with it. Stir fry with it. Best popcorn ever with it. Smoothies. When I make sure dh consistently gets at least a tablespoon a day he says his brain fog is eliminated. Sometimes I moisturize with it.

Yes, it is possible but it requires parents to say-get off the phone or it will be taken away. and then the parents need to take it away if the teen does not listen. It would also be helpful to have rules and expectations set before leaving for the zoo.

Perhaps it is the way he is saying it vs what he means. No matter what the money situation it always pays to be cautious. You never know what the future holds. You should discuss what is bothering you about this statement with him.