Thank you all...we are very humbled by the experience (and now have a permanent 'cause' to donate toward...we know first hand how the money will be spent!) I have added more pictures to my blog with links to my mom's blog and my flickr account with all of my pictures posted there. Please go take a look. My blog

Yes...pretty much..lol Although...I have been in a few malls here that haven't been so clean...they are down right scary and stinky (you wouldn't believe how bad the food smells here to this hamburger and fries girl...lol) Over all, it's a fantastic experience. We are over here for 3 more weeks...so we have a lot left to experience!

How's this for a learning experience? My daughter (6) had a lemonade stand with friends to earn money for an orphanage in Indonesia. At the time, we had a contact there that we were going to mail toys to. They went and bought toys (she earned $80) for the children. We went to the dollar tree so they got a TON of stuff for them. Turns out that it was made possible for us to actually visit the orphanage in Indonesia. (My mom lives in Singapore and we came into some money and was able to fly over here to visit her) What better way is there to learn about those less fortunate than us than to go through the motions of making the lemonade and goodies, earning the money, buying the toys and then hand delivering them to those less fortunate in a completely different country. Words can't describe how wonderful the whole experience was for all of us. Take a look at my blog. I will be posting more pictures tomorrow when we are not so tired. Our visit to an orphanage in Indonesia I have added more pictures to my blog with links to my mom's blog and my flickr account with all of my pictures posted there. Please go take a look. My blog

I'm in the same boat. My daughter (6.5) knows the addition concept (alpha) and HAD Them memorized for the most part. We went back to getting a TON wrong though...over half of the assignment. I'm letting her go back to using blocks. I don't know what else to do. Stephenie

Yeah..I thought of that too. I didn't even know I was going until a week ago so there wasn't much I could do about it before now.

Thanks for typing all of that out...that's what I needed, another set of eyes that saw past the words....my brain is all foggy from looking at it. I haven't seen any recommendation for an immunization against Malaria though (responding to a poster under you.)

I don't think we'll be in any remote area's...we might go hiking in Singapore on just a day hike...but that's the extent of the wilderness traveling we'll be doing.

My daughter (6) and I are traveling to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in 2.5 weeks. Mom said they don't check immunization records...but she suggested getting some. I'm leary of all of that stuff. My daughter is fully vaccinated though..so am I. This is what they recommend: http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/asia/indonesia.php http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/asia/malaysia.php http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/asia/singapore.php I'm so torn. I just want to say NO...we will not be doing that. I don't have much time to decide for sure! WWYD?

I guess I'm a bad mom too. I let my 6 year old listen to HM...NOT MC...but Hannah Montana. I like the songs..I think they are cute. She doesn't watch the TV show, she doesn't attend concerts, she doesn't watch the video's. I don't think that HM music is sexualizing her any more than seeing billboards on the side of the road. She rarely SEE's anything HM or MC (that she knows of...she see's her on magazines and such but can't read yet so it goes over her head). She also has the entire Mama Mia sound track memorized. I think that's more sexual (over her head though) than the HM music she listens to. Just my thoughts. Stephenie

We got ours on Ebay for $1000...and yes, to me, it was worth it. I would have paid $1500 for it and would have if I hadn't found one on ebay new for $1000. It's worth it b/c I'm an AVID scrapbooker and when I got my foster daughter, we needed a room for her..that was my scrapbook room. I had NO place for my scrapbook stuff. This was the perfect answer. My foster daughter is no longer here and that's my homeschool room now. My stuff is out of the way and neatly stored. Totally worth the money for our family.

That's what I was talking about too...the drawers inside. If they were made out of anything other than the fabric, it would make the cabinet pull outs too heavy I think...b/c you load those things with stuff too. We have our anchored to a wall so it won't tip over.

It kind of has to be the soft sides because anything else would add weight and once you get this thing filled up, it is HEAVY. It makes a difference opening and closing the doors on it.

:blush: I have that...but it's for scrapbooking. I lost my scrapbook room to homeschool stuff and now that sits in my living room. I LOVE it!!! Oh, and Sarah...my husband builds things too and he said there is NO way he can build it that light and for that cost...so he manned up and bought one...lol Stephenie

Ah...I hadn't looked that closely actually. Thanks for setting me straight.

They have 2 indian dolls Kaya and Josefina http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/static/kayadoll.jsf/title/Kaya/saleGroupId/0/uniqueId/5/nodeId/11/webMenuId/5/LeftMenu/TRUE and http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/static/josefinadoll.jsf/title/Josefina/saleGroupId/0/uniqueId/32/nodeId/11/webMenuId/5/LeftMenu/TRUE

I have gotten them for years. I didn't know what they were until recently though. I was desperate to get one dislodged. So frustrating! Look it up on youtube..it's nasty :( I used every method in the book. I think it was a combo of them all that helped me to finally get mine out. I had 2.

Wanted to add that Nadolol is a beta blocker :) Stephenie

I used to take atenolol for SVT with MVP. I don't take that anymore but I cant' remember why. I take Nadolol now. I have bouts of extreme exhaustion but that's the only side effect that I have noticed. I have been on BB's for years and years...since I was 10 I think. I noticed I was always tired. In my 20's I finally asked my doctor about it..he explained I would likely always be tired and need a nap daily b/c of the side effects. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. :lol: Stephenie

Quite honestly, I have no idea where I picked these up..on here...other message boards, etc..but these are the ones I have on my list: http://www.amothersjournal.com/ http://balancingeverything.com/ http://katherinemariephotography.com/blog/ http://charmiecm.homeschooljournal.net/ http://heatherpreckel.blogspot.com/ http://thesunnypatch.blogspot.com/ http://www.flipflopsandapplesauce.com/ And mine of course ;)

We took the pedals off of my dd6's little bike. She putted around on that for a long time here and there. One day she wanted to ride with pedals. We put her pedals on and off she went and never looked back.

I'm not dehydrated. I'm not sure about the eating well part though. I'm eating...I'm dieting (lost 14 lbs so far). I know I could get more fruits and veggies in. I think all I ate today as far as healthy stuff is a banana. I'm bad about 'spending' my WW points on stuff I want rather than stuff I SHOULD want. Could not eating a ton of fruits and veggies make me tired when exercising? I know that's probably an epically stupid question...but I never thought of it before really. I'm not hurting or anything..just winded and tired.

I have been at this for 2 weeks now. I'm still on week 1 and just finished day 6. At this point, it should be getting easier. It's not...It's getting harder. The first 3 times I went, I finished all of my runs (more like a slow jog). I'm still going at the same pace and I can't finish them. I did them all...but 3 or 4 of them, I'm only getting about 30 seconds of 'running' in. I'm so discouraged. I have no idea what I am doing wrong. I have come home in tears the last two times and I don't want to go again. Thanks for your encouragement Stephenie

I posted that I would call the police and have before. I do concider the situation though. One time was at the post office. I was outside in the car waiting on my mom. There was a 2ish year old and a 3 ish year old in the car next to me. The 3 year old kept getting out of the car and running around the parking lot. The mom was in there for 7 minutes when I called the cops. They got there 3 minutes later, she was still in the post office. The cop was VERY mad. He could see the 3 year old crawl out the window before he got his car parked. The other time was at walmart. VERY young children left in the parking lot...car not on. You can't run into walmart and only take 5 minutes. You can't see your car from anywhere in walmart unless you are just going to shake the greeters hand..lol So I do take it into consideration before I call. Most of the time, I just watch.

I'm on day 4 (yes you read that right) of week one. I have no idea when I'll be able to move up to week 2. The last 2 runs have been the hardest for me, but today, they weren't quite so hard. That's something right? My husband (an avid runner) got me some fancy running shoes that I got to try out today and they were like miracle shoes. My shins and arches don't hurt! I also picked up a nike plus chip. I like that too. It tells you how far you went, how fast and how many calories burned. It was only 225 calories for me. I thought It would be more.:glare: I'm hoping that this in combination with my Wii Active, will help me get into shape, and in return, loose weight. Good luck to all of you guys! Stephenie

I would call the police and have before...several times. The police generally take it pretty seriously and are right on the problem. Stephenie