Yes, my 75 lb dog is allowed on the couch. I have a sheet and a comfy blanket on one side of the couch for him. He likes to perch across the top of the filing cabinet and the arm of the couch and look out the window. He also knows that when the blanket is not there he is not allowed up (although that does not stop him from trying). When we first got him I tried to keep him out of our bed. However, after a month I turn around one day and there is dh snuggling with the dog in the bed. When I looked (glared) at him his response was "It happened so fast." In the winter I like having him in the bed. He warms my feet.

I always laugh when I remember a couple of years ago as we were checking into a hotel. The clerk put us on the 3r floor and my dd let out a sigh of disappointment that it was not a higher floor. The clerk nicely reassigned us to a higher floor and my dd responded with "Thanks. I like to be high." It took great effort for the clerk and I not to burst out laughing.

What a wonderful opportunity for your family. It is so important for kids to be able to hear first hand from the survivors who are left.

My son will be thrilled. He loves when people love his ideas. Glad I could be of assistance in getting your son back to his regularly scheduled school work.

Lillian Vernon. She started her business at her kitchen table selling a personalized bag and matching belt. She turned that into a multi-million dollar company.

The best way is through networking. It is not what you know it is who you know. It was true 20+ years ago when I was a graduate and it is still true today. It was also true 50+ years ago. That said, it is still possible to get your foot in the door through temp agencies and/or a headhunter. For certain, utilize the online job sites such as monster.com. Some professions have industry specific websites such as dice.com for IT jobs. Many smaller companies use Craigslist for job openings.

I would let them be facebook friends. You monitor his activity. I am not seeing a big deal here. What exactly do you think being facebook friends will lead to?

That is funny. The next time I am invited to a Halloween Party I am so stealing this.

This website has some ideas for make ahead/easy dishes: http://momadvice.com/blog/2010/11/delicious-make-ahead-dishes-to-add-to-your-thanksgiving-feast I am pretty sure you can freeze cranberry sauce. Gravy can be made ahead of time and frozen. If you do a soup you can make ahead of time and freeze. Pies can be made ahead of time and frozen.

This year, dd will be a prisoner and her best friend will be the police officer. Ds is just being goofy with the arrow through the head bit. Although, the year he stabbed a cereal box with a knife and told everyone he was a cereal killer is still my favorite. Me-as I do every year-I dress as myself and tell people I am a sociopath and they look like everyone else.

Finally, someplace where I can say "I do not like Dr. Who." That's right, I said it. I have tried. I have watched several episodes at different times through the years. Dr. Who was big in the 80's when I was in high school. I just don't care for it. I don't hate it. I don't think it is the worst show ever. I just don't enjoy watching it. That felt good.

This is the schedule we are following: 6th grade: light lip gloss/lip stick is allowed. 7th grade: blush 8th grade: eye shadow & mascara My dd is in 6th grade now. She only wants to wear makeup when we are going to a party. She is not interested in daily. Since she is in the pool 4x a week for practice this is probably a good thing.

The group of friends is a struggle in our little homeschool world. My ds is a very social teen and would love a pool of friends to draw on because very often his friends are not around. The ones in school are in school all day and then have homework. The ones who are home are busy with various things (just like we are). It took us a long time (a couple of years) to really form those tight childhood friendships and to be honest it is an aspect we still struggle with. My kids want more friends then they currently have. So to answer your question, yes, I think a group of friends is important. Is it detrimental not to have? I don't think it is a deal breaker on the homeschooling question but a lonely childhood is just that, lonely. My kids group of friends was formed by attending any and all group field trips that were posted on my homeschooling groups. Eventually, we started seeing the same faces and the kids started gravitating towards each other. I had to exit my comfort zone and initiate get togethers with the other kids parents. I think that was the most challenging aspect.

I just use my hand mixer if I am only using 2 to 4 egg whites. It seems like overkill to use my big stand mixer for a handful of egg whites. But then the only time I have whipped egg whites was to make chocolate chip meringue and my handy dandy hand mixer is perfect for that.

When I had my (kids 13 and 11 years ago) they no longer gave the shot. They had not given it in decades. I do remember I wore a snug fitting bra for a a week. If my breasts were bothering me I would use a bag of frozen peas on each one. But, I think I only did that once. I don't recall it as being a horrible experience. I do remember the nurse telling me to keep my breasts out of the hot water when I showered (as much as possible) because the warm water would stimulate production.

I think that a fair percentage of the people believe they are too good for that kind of work. There are some who don't know to think outside the box e.g. I work in an office ergo I need to get an office job. There are some who do not know that kind of work is available. I also think that if things don't start improving soon people will reach the point of doing anything to support their families.

I was a thumb sucker and the more my parents tried to get me to quit the worse it became. I learned to do it in secret. I finally quit for good around 9 when my parents backed off.

Alfred Hitchcock movies: The Birds (although to this day I get a bit freaked out by a bunch of birds sitting in a group) Rear Window Psycho

Welcome. You should join http://www.nychea.org/. I don't know where you are in Brooklyn but I know the Park Slope area has a very active community. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/parkslopehomeschoolers/

I haven't attempted a 3rd rise. I say go for it and let me know how it turns out. :)

Both my kids got cell phones at 10. Neither one has internet access. They can make calls and they can text.

I find with my bread that one rise makes a dense bread (which I like but no one else in the house does) so I give it a second rise which results in a lighter bread. You don't say what kind of flour you are using. I use whole wheat flour and add Vital Wheat Gluten to the flour. This also helps make for a lighter loaf. I also soak my grains overnight with apple cider vinegar. I find this also helps with the texture of the loaf.

My father has been gone 4 years now and I still want to call him up and tell him stuff. My son's Bar Mitzvah this past March was bittersweet because my dad was not there. Just about every milestone is bittersweet because of this. Sometimes, just having a good day makes me sad. I still have him entered in my cellphone because I can not bring myself to delete his entry. Some days I want to scream at the unfairness of it all. He and I were just finding our way back together to a really good relationship and then he was taken from me. Sometimes I am angry that someone else's parent survived and mine did not. This is your mom you are talking about. You are never okay. You learn to go on. You enjoy life. You live life but that sadness will be with you always. It is normal and human and your teenage daughter thankfully does not have to get it.

I average 15 minutes. I like to stand there and enjoy the hot water and alone time. My kids would stay in there all day so they have to set the timer for 15 minutes.

The overall subtext that I heard was that there should be more testing of unschoolers. I did not care for that at all. However, overall, this was certainly one of the more balanced segments I have seen.