A few things come to mind that have not been listed yet... Collecting and trading stickers-if you had a puffy one wth googly eyes-well that was to die for. Collecting and trading stationery Candies shoes Someone thought yellow and brown was an awesome color combination Drinking a coke with a mouth full of pop rocks to see if you would really die like Mikey Guachos (ugh, still have nightmares about my denim guacho jumpsuit. I don't know what my mom was thinking) Macrame

I used VIE our first year of homeschooling with a 5th grader and a 3rd grader. They hated it. They (and I) found it a bit dry and they were not retaining most of what they learned.

We live in NJ and I am a Native New Yorker so my opinion may be biased. That said, The Met has a wonderful collection. The Cloisters is a wonderful collection of Medieval art. A bronze statue of Prometheus is featured prominently at the Sunken Plaza at Rockerfeller Center. There is a statue of Atlas facing 5th Avenue and there are friezes above the entrance to the RKO building. There is Roman architecture: Washington Square Arch derived from the tradition of Roman Triumphal Arches. One can see the influence of the Greek Columns in the Flat Iron Building. One can certainly see Greek influence in Grants Tomb. I vote for NYC.

I had to wear the patch as a child. I am in my 40's and can still remember the feeling and sounds of my eyelashes scraping against that patch. *Shudder* It is quite possible the personality change is due to her unhappiness at having to wear the patch and the fact that she has to use her weak eye. The situation will likely improve once she gets her glasses.

Terro! My kids find it fascinating to watch the initial swarm when they find the bait. I find it gross. Last winter (I am the only person I know who gets a major ant infestation when it is 20 degrees out) I used the Terro and it cleared out most of them. However, this infestation would not stop. After a couple of weeks of the Terro I coated my dining room floor with baby powder. After a week of not seeing any ants I sprayed poison on the baseboard around the room just to be sure they would not come back. So far, so good.

We got laptops for our kids last year (11 & 9) to help with school. Much easier to have everone at their own station viewing the same video or information. They are not allowed to use them in their rooms.

I can only tell you that my two react differently to mosquito bites. My ds gets normal looking bites. My dd's bites start out looking normal but the next day they are gigantic but they don't itch any more then a regular bite.

Last summer my daughter turned 9 she asked about it. One of the neighbor boys was teasing her about her hairy legs. We discussed what it meant to be shaving, the maintenance, etc. She chose that summer not to shave. This summer she asked about it again and we discussed it and then we went shopping for her very own razor. For her it was part the hair on her legs is dark and part that she wanted to feel more grown up.

When my oldest was 10 I started leaving him home alone if I was taking a quick local trip-i.e.: the bank or picking up something at the market. When he was 11 I started leaving him and his 9 year old sister alone for those same short trips. Now that he is 12 I will leave them both home alone a for 2 -3 hours during the day if I am local. Dh and I have left them home alone for about 2 hours in the early evening for local meetings. I was petrified the first few times I left them alone. I will admit since getiing our large and scary looking dog it is easier to leave them home alone.

My 7th grader will be doing Math-U-See Zeta. My plan is pre-algebra for 8th, and algebra for 9th grade.

That is a good idea. Thank you.

We gave our kids a standardized test this year so we can know what needs to be worked on next year. We received the results today. I was pleased. Considering that we are not following the state guidelines they scored average in math-which I expected because we use a mastery approach instead of a spiral approach. In language and reading they both scored either high, high average, or average. The one who scored an average-I already knew needed more grammar work so it confirmed my suspicions. On to my vent- Dh is upset that the scores are not high enough. He feels the scores say the kids are operating at a C student level. He feels they are smarter then that and these scores say they are coasting. I just want to smack my head against the wall.

I use the homeopathic drops and use warm compresses. I use black tea bags for the compress. If it doesn't start clearing up within a day I go for the antibiotic drops.

Unfortunately, I did not get my car back yet. Perhaps, next year. Interesting view on the crowds. At least the ice cream vendor had a good day.

My first thought after reading the article was "Wow, adults really intefere." The attack on the best friends scenario reeks of some adults leftover hurt feelings from childhood. Then I thought, there is some merit to separating kids with that really tight bond during the day. When kids are that attached to one another one or both of them is missing out on the opportunity to meet new people and form new friendships. Often, there is a lot of jealousy in those tight friendships at an early age. One child can be dominant and keep control by telling the other that they won't be friends with them if they play with so and so. Then I moved into thinking about classroom management. It makes sense to separate friends in the classroom. Friends sitting together giggle and disrupt. So it can be viewed as a bad thing-control issues or a practical thing-the teacher does need to teach 20+ kids and that can't be done if the friends are causing problems. My final thought was it really is parents driving this. What is the administrator to do when a parent alerts them to the nasty text their child received? Ignore the parent? Say that it is not their job? The schools are caught in a situation where parents expect them to take care of this kind of thing. Whether or not they should is a moot point. The expectation is there and fostered by parents and the schools have to respond. No matter what the schools do if the kids connect with someone they will find a way to be together. I was not always in class with my closest friends when growing up but we saw plenty of each other after school and on weekends.

Our dog is 50% Weimeraner and he does exhibit the following traits: . We call him our velcro dog because he sticks to me like velcro. He loves to be with people. . Exercise. He loves to be out and about. I take him for a long walk in the morning and a long walk in the evening. The kids take him in the yard to play and for shorter walks during the day. . He is very smart. It did not take him long to figure out that he could jump the 3' section of our fence. Thanks to his velcro tendencies he only jumps it to greet family members and to chase the occasional squirrel. He always comes right back. . He does not love being left alone. I always make sure I take him for an extra long walk if we are going to be gone for hours. If I don't, there is mischief. Once he managed to empty my wallet of everything without leaving a single bite mark. He has chewed up the occasional toy/flip flop, eaten a loaf a bread left to close to the counter edge, and moved shoes. When he does those things it is because we were bad owners. Like the Doberman I had as a kid you are only allowed to leave once a day. If you go out and come home and then leave again-guaranteed mischief. He is a great dog.

My dad died almost 3 years ago from Pancreatic Cancer just a few days before his 73rd birhday. I miss him. Whenever something good or bad happens I reach for the phone to call. My kids miss their grandfather. There is always an ache in my heart on Father's Day.

Same here. I do have a close circle of friends where this rule does not apply. They know I am up by 7:30am and are free to call whenever they like.

Yes, I think it is a serious problem in some instances. I think a person who chooses to smoke pot for the simple reason of getting high has other issues in their life that need to be dealt with. For some people it can be a gateway drug. Others have addictive personalities and can't stop. There is really no way to know if you will be someone who can smoke it a few times a year or someone who will ruin their lives so better not to try it at all. My dh was a big pot smoker in college, to the point where he went into huge credit card debt to pay for his pot. He was still smoking occassionaly after college. Right before I met him he promised himself he would stop and he did. When we were dating he was not thrilled that I held him to that. He said I was taking away his choices. I told him that my choice is not to date someone who does drugs. His choice was the drugs or me. He might not like the choices but he still had them. That said, I have no issue with legalizing pot. It should be taxed just like cigarettes. I also believe that it is fine to smoke for medicinal reasons.

My kids love to go to Potbelly's (http://www.potbelly.com) for sandwiches whenever we are in DC.

I have been thinking about it. Not sure if my car will be back from the mechanic.

Math - Daily Language Arts (literature/grammar/speeling/etc,)- Daily Science 2-3x per week-I rotate with History, so some weeks twice and some three times. History - 2-3x per week Art/Music - Art appreciation 1x P.E. - homeschool Gym class 1x, assorted other activities throughout the week. Latin/Spanish -2x per week My kids take a Philosophy class every other week and that alternates with their discussion group. In the fall I think we will add an official Geography program but I have not decided yet. I try to keep Friday afternoons free for field trips but I have found the need to be flexible with my field trip days.

• I use our library, a lot. Literature, poetry, etc., all borrowed from the library • I spread my purchases out through the year • I buy used when possible. • I resell whatever I am done with • I really evaluate if it is worth my time or the monetary investment. Some things it is better just to purchase then spend my time printing and sorting.

I just had this conversation in our house yesterday due to something that occurred in the philosophy class my children are taking. It turns out my ds just sees the answers in his head. I don't see stuff. Answers don't just pop in as pictures. So, I ask my dh how he sees things, lo and behold, he was floored that not everyone sees things that way. So he asks me, if I ask you what's int he friidge do you just make a list or are you looking in the fridge? Me "What are you talking about? I list what is in there." He tells me that he sees the fridge as if he is standing in front of it and looks at what is in there. I had no idea that this happens. My dd doesn't think in pictures, either. After talking to dh and ds it seems like a pretty handy way to be but I also see why my dh and ds get totally frustrated when it takes everyone else forever to get what they have already gotten.

I understand your husband's desire to quit but that would be a bit like cutting off his nose to spite his face. If I were him (and this the same advice I gave my dh until he finally took the plunge and started his own business) I would stay in the job. Document everything. I can not stress that enough-document, document, document-all the atta boys and all the oh s**ts. While documenting and continuing to to do his job to the best of his abilities (no longer assisting the snake) update the resume and network and search for a new opportunity. It is never wise to leave a job without having a new one lined up especially in this economy. Sure, it will feel really good to walk in there and quit but that is pride talking.