Has anyone mentioned The Children's Place? (You'll have to google their site.) We ordered from them last year, and the boys love the warm, fleecy pajamas. They were affordable and I was so happy to see sizes for larger children. (I was able to find a pair to fit my 13 year old son.)

We *just* let ds 13 start reiding in the front. He's 5'3, and 85 lbs.

Oh! I forgot "Because He Lives!" How could I forget that. I can never make it through the first verse.

Butterfly Kisses (Though it was so overplayed it drove me nuts for awhile) Forever Young

WE went to our local photography store to have this done. It was a little spendy: $18 for 2 hours. So we did one video at a time. It's so great to have on dvd, though!

Oh... that looks fun! I felt sorry for the guy in the blue shirt, though. He was in the front row, but didn't really know the dance well and kept bumping in to people around him.

I had to talk to ds 13 very early in grade school about how to answer the question from strangers. Usually it was just a polite, "How is school going?" kind of question. But sometimes when people find out we homeschool, they ask ds, "Oh? how do you like it?" He'd always respond that he didn't. Which led to all sort of great reactions from strangers. I explained to him that sometimes people want to know what he thinks of doing school at home, not the schoolwork itself. Once he realized that, he began to differentiate. He DEFINITELY prefers homeschool, and feels that he's learning a lot more at home. He began to articulate that to others. However, while there are subjects he likes (piano, history, Latin, economics), he would much rather be playing with legos. Or reading. Or pretty much anything else. I'd love to hear him say that he loves school, but then I think back to when I was young and remember I didn't like all the schoolwork either. I had classes I liked, and the rest I tolerated. Dh doesn't remember many boys loving school when he was in jr. high either. In fact, I didn't really like school as a whole until I was in college. In college there was no "busy work" and I could study the courses that *I* chose. I could indulge *my* interests, and take a couple of mandatory classes on the side. I'm not worried about ds, and I think as long as he's got a subject or two he loves and he's willing to put up with the rest, I'm happy. Sooner or later things will click, and he'll see how everything fits together. He'll see how all the things we've been learning over the past 8 years were building blocks to all the learning he'll do for the rest of his life, and then he'll REALLY take off!

We love the Faber Piano Adventure series. Nearly every music store will carry them. They are inexpensive (about $10), very clear, methodical, and *anyone* can use them. Start with the primer level. Each level comes with several book options: Lesson book, theory book, technique book, and performance book. With my oldest ds we used all 4 together (the notes in the margins explain which pages to use together). But with the next 2 ds', I only use the lesson book. If you only get the lesson book, you will do just fine. Each level also has extra books you can get, for fun: popular pieces, hymns, ragtime, Christmas songs, etc. Those aren't necessary, but are lots of fun. Enjoy!

What? The Anchorage Daily News endorses Obama? Well then. That convinces me. I'm changing my vote!

Here are the lyrics. If you go to the academy website, they have a blurb about the rap and its origins. The Lyrics Obama on the left McCain on the right We can talk politics all night And you can vote however you like You can vote however you like, yeah Democratic left Republican right November 4th we decide And you can vote however you like You can vote however you like, yeah (McCain supporters) McCain's the best candidate With Palin as his running mate They'll fight for gun rights, pro life, The conservative right Our future is bright Better economy in site And all the world will feel our military might (Obama supporters) But McCain and Bush are real close right They vote alike and keep it tight Obama's new, he's younger too The Middle Class he will help you He'll bring a change, he's got the brains McCain and Bush are just the same You are to blame, Iraq's a shame Four more years would be insane Lower your Taxes - you know Obama Won't PROTECT THE LOWER CLASS - You know McCain won't! Have enough experience - you know that they don't STOP GLOBAL WARMING - you know that you won't I want Obama FORGET OBAMA Stick with McCain and you're going to have some drama We need it HE'LL BRING IT He'll be it YOU'LL SEE IT We'll do it GET TO IT Let's move it DO IT! Obama on the left McCain on the right We can talk politics all night And you can vote however you like You can vote however you like, yeah Democratic left Republican right November 4th we decide And you can vote however you like, I said You can vote however you like, yeah I'm talking big pipe lines, and low gas prices Below $2.00 that would be nice But to do it right we gotta start today Finding renewable ways that are here to stay I want Obama FORGET OBAMA, Stick wit McCain you gone have some drama MORE WAR IN IRAQ Iran he will attack CAN'T BRING OUR TROOPS BACK We gotta vote Barack! Obama on the left McCain on the right We can talk politics all night And you can vote however you like, I said You can vote however you like, yeah Democratic left Republican right November 4th we decide And you can vote however you like, I said You can vote however you like, yeah

Okay, that was REALLY fun! I just spent the past 20 minutes learning lessons 1-3. Very fun! Thanks for sharing!

We loved the first HSM. It was sort of like a very clean, albeit hokey, "Grease" for smaller kids. :) We watched the second HSM, and didn't like it. So none of us were terribly excited about HSM 3. We just watched it today, and REALLY liked it! (I have 3 boys here. No girls. So if the boys liked it....) You could tell they had much more of a budget, because everything was so much better done: the script, the sets, the songs, and (thankfully) the acting. There was still a lot of willing suspension of disbelief (to quote the other Hillary. For example - Yeah, a kid could get into all areas of the school after hours. There are a couple of biggies, but I couldn't write them here without them being spoilers. But if you look past those, the movie was very fun. Very fun, very clean, and MUCH better done than the second HSM!

I've never... ...seen Titanic.... ...had a daughter... ...been drunk.... ...had braces... ...had premarital s*x (a feat apparently unheard of these days).... ...bounced a check.

I think as long as you are a living American citizen and not a cartoon character, then you should have the right to vote.

Of the candidates remaining in the race, the calculator matched me with (pretty much) the guy who shares most of my views. I just don't know if I can bring myself to actually vote for him.

I've read the series and think Twilight is a fun book, but not for an 11 yo. I would maybe recommend it to (and this is JUST ME) a college girl or above. I wouldn't feel comfortable with a high school girl reading it. I think the reader needs to be a little more grounded with her/his emotions and with reality. But again- just me.

Thank you so much for your advice! I'll check out the websites listed tonight after the dc are in bed. Can I check Conumer Reports ratings if I'm not a subscriber? After yesterday, the biggest thing I want in a car is that it would be safe! I'm more than a little miffed that all it took was a motorbike in a slow speed crash to put my van out of comission. :glare: Thank you for your help!

How sad is this? I'm 37 and have never had to buy a car. All of mine have been found by FIL (a mechanic). Now we're living in another state, so I'm on my own. Our van was T-Boned by a motorcycle. Everyone is okay, but my van is not driveable. His bike though- not a scratch. :glare: So how do I start? Where do I look online? If a motorcycle can take out my minivan, how do I make sure I get something safer next time? What do I need to know about buying a car? Thank you for your help!

Yay!! Who's Diane Rehm??

"Quit telling your stupid story, about the stupid desert, and just die already! Die!! " :iagree:

Do you mean the *National* Bee? I think there are a coule of people on this board who have had their children in it. Or do you mean the lower levels? Doesn't the newspaper sponsoring your state bee send the child? I don't think you need sponsors unless maybe you're entering the Bee independently. Have you been to the Scripps site? I think the registration deadline has passed already if you're wanting to register independently. If you're going through your local homeschool group, you'll want to call them and see if they've preregistered. If you're going through a local hs group, the Bee coordinator will have the materials for your dd to study. Let me know if you have more questions.

If the questions seem genuine, have him keep a piece of paper and pencil nearby, and write down questions he wants to ask *at the end of the lesson.* You could also give him 3 marbles. Each marble represents 1 question he gets to ask during the lesson. After he's used all 3 marbles, he's to listen quietly until the end. If it seems more like a habit- like he's forgetting himself, then place a cup with 10 marbles in it on the table. Explain that he's gotten himself into a habit of interrupting and you both are going to work on breaking the habit. Every time he interrupts you say nothing, ignore his interruption, but remove one marble from his cup. (Explain what you'll be doing ahead of time.) Each marble taken out is 5 minutes he has to spend laying quietly on your bed after the lesson. It shouldn't take more than a couple of days for those marbles to become precious! Hillary

I was upset by the ending of "The English Patient"...... ... in that it hadn't ended 161 minutes sooner.:glare:

I just wanted to add that the book is only over book 1. They hope to do more in the series, but they'll wait to see how the first movie does before making any offers. I'm nervously awaiting the movie. The trailers and the clips I've seen are interesting, but it'll be hard to top what['s going on in my imagination. Also, in one of the trailers, "Edward" sounds like he's channeling Brando. ("I could'a been a contendah!") His accent may be good, or it may be very mockable.