Belgian. Brand doesn't really matter, as the standards are set nationally. asta

My husband and I were both the "chunky kids" growing up. If we don't watch it, our clothes don't fit now, as adults. We swore our son wouldn't go through what we did with the bullying, difficulty with sport, etc. Ours was caused by PPP (p*ss poor parenting), but our son has to deal with the yuck that is on the grocery shelves. Four words for you: High Fructose Corn Syrup. Manufacturers put it in EVERYTHING. Even things that obviously don't need it ("natural" canned fruit?). It is in practically every pre-made bread you buy, also (even the spendy ones). HFC has been implicated as a "major culprit" in America's obesity crisis. Here is one article, and I have read many more. I'm sure you wouldn't be giving artificial sweeteners to a young child, but recent research has shown that they, too, are quite bad. Apparently, only real sugar "satiates" the brain and "turns off" the hunger switch. It's like everyone says: moderation, and lots of healthy foods. asta

Gah. I hated her pork chops. But she doesn't cook them that way any more. That was in the 70s, and people were still worried about trichinosis, so housewives all across America cooked them into shoe leather. Otherwise, she is literally a gourmet. asta

I think there will be some very surprised politicians. asta

My son is using Systematic Mathematics for algebra (it goes all the way through pre-calc, but doesn't have geometry). It is a DVD/worksheet program. You get a disc of .pdfs to print out the worksheets as you need them. You don't have to print out the answers, you can just look at them on the disc. We used his lower level program as well. With the exception of a couple of glitches (every so often the teacher makes an arithmetic mistake or the answer book is wrong), we have found it to be excellent. It is "old math". If you were to buy the entire algebra program, 1-4, it would cost you $138. asta

I have had this since an accident in 1985. I've "re-injured" it twice (once, while doing yoga - I've been banned from yoga). Both times, I had to first visit a doctor (first time a physiatrist, second time a chiropractor) to "unhitch" my joint before a physical therapist could start the "intensive" therapy. I strongly recommend access to a heavy duty pain killer for the first weeks of physical therapy if you've never had to rehabilitate a joint before. I'm not talking about "oh, Mrs. X, you're complaining of an ache, here's your diagnosis" type of stuff; I mean, if you're hurting, and have been given a diagnosis of this, the type of PT that is done initially (it's like a solid hour, every other day or two) is PAINFUL. A decent physical therapist can give you a series of incredibly painful exercises that you can then do daily to "get it in gear" so to speak. Once it is there, the exercises aren't painful any longer, just a pain (LOL), but can keep it in check. Best of luck to you, asta

It is interesting to me that the transcript, the clips from the early news, and the clips from the late news are all so different. Heigh ho editing room! (George Orwell must be rolling...) asta

Might want to check with Georgia on that one. ;) asta

They aren't incompetent, they're bordering on insolvent. The banking industry, I mean. Just this week, WaMu, a HUGE bank in Georgia started the process of going down the drain. Two weeks ago, my bank (insert MAJOR national bank) took over a week to do a simple electronic funds transfer. When I called them on it, they hemmed and hawed, gave me the party line about "please re-read your electronic funds transfer agreement" blah blah... I've been banking with them for twenty years. I have a butt load of cash in that bank. It was a small transfer that didn't require a hold. They just didn't want to do it because it involved transferring funds to a competing bank. Magically, after a heated phone call, the funds immediately released. The banks are scared. asta

If it makes you feel any better, we just moved, and haven't even managed to start school yet... My teen is eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping, and unpacking the occasional box. asta

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." -- John Stuart Mill

Actually, "my.barackobama.com" is part of the official Barack Obama website. If you go to the main site, on the right hand side, there is a clickable for it that says "sign up now" - "make friends, host events, help fundraise, your own blog, and much more...". It has the official campaign symbol and everything. Now, do I think Sen. Obama can possibly keep track of everything that is being written on those blogs? No, of course not. I'm sure he has moderators that are very busy right about now. What I find disturbing isn't the fact the blog was written (the moderators caught it and took down the offensive post - stuff happens) but rather that it has disappeared from Google's cache. I have found stuff I wrote on bulletin boards in 2001 on Google's cache; it seems to take an act of God to get something off of Google. Yet *poof* this story is gone from the cache. Even more disturbing to me is that Obama's followers aren't listening to him. He came right out, right at the beginning, and said that families were off limits, yet here we are. The Guardian UK did an article about how his own followers may cost him the election. I just find the whole thing sad. People should be determining elections, not media outlets. asta

That's true. We're a republic, not a democracy. asta

OT... Many, many years ago, before I even had my son, my sister was a militant breastfeeder and LLL member (who then turned ME into one). One day, while nursing her baby, some aghast person stopped dead in their tracks to stare at her slightly bared bosom and declared "why are you doing THAT?". To which she calmly replied: "Because I'm a mammal." It still cracks me up. asta

I know I'm going off topic a bit here, but this very thing really ticks me off. It's a LIBRARY. It's paid for with TAX dollars. EVERYONE's tax dollars. The tax dollars of Wiccans, Pagans, homosexuals, people who believe in abortion, and people who believe in the bible. Every single place I've lived since 1992 has had a library where almost everything that didn't toe an evangelical Christian line mysteriously "disappeared" shortly after being put into circulation. Some were "lost", some were "checked out" (by one person) for 5 years and never returned, some actually said "checked in", but the librarians admitted they hadn't seen them in years (eg: stolen). On the most basic level (not even getting into a theological argument), how is a kid supposed to do a compare and contrast between historical witchcraft (Salem Witch Trials) and modern wiccans (persecution within the Armed Forces) when ALL THE BOOKS ARE GONE because they're "objectionable"? Don't ever forget - Hitler's FIRST move was banning/burning books. And he was democratically elected. asta (and no, I don't have a problem with Palin, as she hasn't legislated her personal belief system; most politicians come in and fire everyone to install their own team. My friend in Alaska tells me that things are so paternalistic and entrenched up there that you pretty much HAVE to if you want to get anything accomplished - and she doesn't like Palin. She also mentions that the librarian quit 2 months after Palin was sworn in.)

Personally, I think that a person's weight should be irrelevant - what should be relevant is how the person feels about themselves, and if their overall presentation is one of general attractiveness and self-assuredness or, um, crack-whoreness. I have seen women who are quite heavy who "know how to work it" for lack of a better way of saying it. They are attractive, vivacious, and receive positive attention for both the way they dress and themselves. I know very thin women who do the same. Conversely, I have seen what society would deem "beautiful" women who close in upon themselves in a cocoon of self loathing and thus project the exact opposite, regardless of what they are wearing. So, no - for me, it isn't about the cleavage. It's about the attitude behind it. And I don't think most children have the maturity level to deal with what "comes with" the attitude that a lot of skin on a developing adolescent body brings. (spoken as a true child of the 70s who was NEVER allowed to wear tube tops or tank tops) asta ETA: I just made a rather snarky comment up there about crack addicts. If someone can give me a better example of how to differentiate between when a woman is dressing up for herself vs dressing up to pander, I'm all ears.

I did. I sat on the floor on a pile of laundry and watched it. It was so cool. I've had my Whirlpool for 5 years and never had anything go wrong with it - I love it. I purposely didn't buy the one with the on-board heater, so maybe that keeps problems to a minimum, who knows. Oh, and I did a LOT of research ahead of time and made sure the shipping bolts weren't removed until it was in place in my basement. asta

For a review of the political blogosphere from left to right: Hot Rants Political Blog Report For a review of the mainstream written press (left, center and right): Real Clear Politics For how the Israeli's view what is going on: Haaretz Daily Newspaper For how the Arab world views what is going on: Al Jazeera English For what is going on in the Middle East: MEMRI and, of course, CNN, BBC, Fox, et al. Never trust only one source: the truth is in the tapestry. asta

He hasn't bonked his head recently, has he? Sports? A cabinet? A splat on the sidewalk? A mild TBI will present with nighttime coughing. asta

Yes. AEDs, especially ones like Lamictal, Topamax and Keppra, need steady dosing. asta

Don't be afraid. Seriously. If I had refused to take all of the medications offered to me based on what *could* have happened, I'd have been dead -- not from the side effects, but from my seizures. Depakote is the #1 prima donna medication for generalized seizures, and the one that is approved for use in pediatrics. Unless and until a doc knows that absence seizures are the ONLY type a kid is having, it is the drug to take. The only other reasonable option is a drug called Ethosuximide, which is exclusively used for pediatric absence seizures. Like the previous poster said, sometimes, you just have to take a deep breath and go with the word of the doc. Believe it or not, they can actually tell what type of seizure a person is having just by looking at the discharges on the EEG and listening to the description given (either by the parent or by the patient). It is pretty amazing science. asta

My son was only ready to start doing the "here's all of your work, if you get it done early, the rest of the week is yours to do as you wish" thing at 13-14 (8th grade). Even then, there were things that had to be done daily (musical instrument practice), and things he just couldn't get done early (math - he doesn't like it). asta

My cat likes to slurp ramen noodles. It is hilarious to watch those curly noodles disappearing into her mouth. asta

It works. asta

Some miscellaneous weird info for ya: Make sure kiddo is drinking adequate amounts of water. Even though depakote is a liver, not kidney drug, it just helps keep the ol' electrolytes in check. Not that kiddo is probably drinking it in the first place, but stay away from soda pop - particularly around medication time. The carbonation in soda causes a gastric release that can cause the medication to bypass the stomach and go straight to the intestines before fully dissolving into the bloodstream. (this goes for all medications, not just anti-convulsants) Taking it with food really makes a difference in how kiddo's belly will feel. Depakote is a harsh drug, and it will sit like a lump on an empty stomach. If, even after eating, kiddo's tummy still isn't tolerating it, there are these things called "sprinkle caps" that the doc can prescribe instead. They are capsules that you open up and stir into pudding or applesauce or whatever. They don't taste like anything and don't hurt the tummy. If you start noticing a dramatic weight gain (not just 5 pounds), go back to the doc and have kiddo's glucose tested. Depakote can (but doesn't always) mess with glucose metabolism. The docs can give a med called Metformin to straighten it out. Deep breaths. You're doing great. asta