Oooh! I've been listening to the debate, but not watching. I'll have to go turn on the tv just to see Mr. Brokaw. Thanks!

Totally and completely worth the money. Absolutely. Go for it. I have a coupon code for 1 free month. PM me and I'll send it to you. Try Netflix for a month and for free and see if it'll work for your family. Hillary

My 13 yo ds isn't moody or sullen at all. He has moments of impatience with his younger siblings, and I have to remind him that whatever he's upset about is really *nothing.* But on the whole he's a great kid. No mood swings or sullenness here!

I've been reading a lot about bisphenol A and phthalates in plastic and am trying to avoid as much contact with our food as possible. ( I know that in today's world, it's nearly impossible to avoid food stored in plastic, but I'm doing what I can.) The boys had glass water bottles in the fridge, and sigg bottle for "on the go." I store leftovers in glass containers, and am trying to freeze things in glass as well. I don't want to become the "Phthalate Nazi", so I'm just trying to take reasonable steps where I can. :)

Oh! I hadn't thought of mason jars! That will work for sauces, etc. I'm trying to freeze a bunch of healthy snack things to feed my competitive swimmers between meals. I'm thinking of doing a bunch of baking and cooking, then freezing it in small portions. So, I need ideas for freezing things like muffins, fench toast, etc. I do not want to use plastic freezer bags or plastic containers. Would freezer paper work for flat things like french toast, homemade burritos, etc? Or would too much air get in and dry it out?

I use glass containers for leftovers, but what about things that won't fit in them? Any ideas? Thanks!

They had a mom/son team on a couple years ago. The same series that Rob and Amber were first on. Son was a bit of a whiner, if I remember correctly.

You know, you can call the surgeon's office and ask the nurse. They answer this sort of question all the time, and would probably prefer that your dh is eating wisely before surgery.

Oh, I think the Brazilians understand the Spanish that the contestants are using. It's not like any of them are saying much beyond "Faster!" or "Please" and "Thank you." Anyone who's ever seen a Speedy Gonzales cartoon could understand those Spanish terms. Remember the team who were cousins... one was a "little person?" (Smirna? Shrmeerna? I can't remember their names.) Anyway, they drove me nuts because they spoke to everyone in a LOUD accent. They were speaking English, but because they were loud and sounded like Balki from "Perfect Strangers" they assumed they were understood. Rgh.:glare:

Oooh! Thanks for this link. I just spent the past 2 hours watching all the YouTube clips in order. (Lost in Austen - Episode 1- Part 1.... Lost in Austen - Episode 1 -Part 2.... etc.) Your link is MUCH better! I'll watch tomorrow.

Oh. My. Word. What is "Lost in Austen?" I've never heard of it.

LOL! I agree. When I was at the gym, my littles (6 and under) were in the child care, and boys old enough to read sat at the tables and chairs and read or did schoolwork for 45 minutes. It's not other people's job to cater to my schedule.

I got sick of yard signs being stolen, so I stopped putting them up.

I didn't answer the question, because neither answer worked for me. Are they acceptable? Well, people have them. I don't think any of my boys would want one. *I* wouldn't choose one. I think they look dumb. But then, I wore my hair in banana clips in high school, so who am I to comment on what looks good?

OK, I'm standing by my "just wear a wig until the end of the year opinion from my earlier post. I still think that's a simple option. BUT!!! I reread the OP and realized I'd missed where they asked him to flatten it down or cut it back. This changes it for me. They're not asking him to get rid of it, or quit the co-op. If not making it spiky one morning a week is all it will take to make them happy, then why not do it? It's just a little thing. "Ds, I 'love you, and I think the mohawk is a good look for you. But it bothers some of these people in the group. They'd rather you not spike it when you're in math. So please just leave it down, and then you can spike it when we get home." It's not a big deal. No need to encourage ds to be all up in arms about judgementalism and narrow-mindedness, and "Poor me. I'm being discriminated against." Sometimes we have to teach our dc to be thoughtful of other people and just say, "Oh well!" Being judgemental of them for not liking spiky hair (and labelling them as narrow-minded, prideful, etc.) is just as bad as being judgemental of a boy who has spiky hair (and labelling him rebellious, moronic, etc.). Were it my son, I'd encourage him to not buy into the victim game, and not purposefully prick other people just for the sake of his "rights" and wear his hair down for a couple of hours. (Or wear a wig. I still like the wig idea.)

I tell anyone who comes to our door selling things that, "I only buy things to support my children's school." No one seems to have a problem with that. At least - not yet. Once, the ds' baseball teams had a fundraiser. I just made a small donation to the organization, rather than sell junky, expensive food products. Thus way, the group gets 100% of the donation, rather than a percentage of the sales.

Just a thought.... Because I'm semi-snarky by nature, this is probably what ds and I would decide to do: Show up to class every week in church clothes, and wearing a men's wig. (Find one that's inexpensive, and conservative. Costume shops, etc.) Nothing awful or attention-getting, but simply something he could place on his head during classes and then take off when he gets in the car. Distraction is gone and ds gets to take the class and keep the mohawk. When the semester, or the school year, is over we would then decide whether or not to re-enroll next year.

My only hesitation to seeing this movie is the fact that I didn't enjoy "Facing the Giants." I thought the acting was hokey and the script and message of the movie was very "prosperity gospel-ish." Is "Fireproof" the same way?

Yup. I'm 98% sure it was Amy in Orlando.

For my boys, there was that stage in 2nd grade (ish) where they *could* read, but it was just so darn much work that they wouldn't do it in their free time. SO! I upped the payoff. I bought several Calvin and Hobbes books, and a few Garfields, and let the boys read tose. They LOVED those and spent many hours curled up on the couch reading them. Their fluency increased, and eventually they moved on to short, funny books. (Marvin Redpost, etc.) The Wayside Stories series followed after as well. We would read mysteries together, and I'd stop reading maybe a page or two before the end of the chapter (I'd try for the most exciting part I could) and say, "I've got to start getting dinner ready. You can keep reading to the end of the chapter, though, if you can't wait for tomorrow to see what happens." etc. I had to find high-interest, simple things for them to read until their reading fluency caught up to their interest level. Seriously - Calvin and Hobbes. Those books are gold!

I completely agree. :iagree::iagree:

If you go to http://www.usaswimming.og you can click the "Find A Club Near You" icon on the right-hand side of the screen. There are TONS of clubs near Texas, and you'll likely find one near you. Swim team is a bit more expensive, but when you compare what you *get* for what you pay, it's an easy decision. For example, my littles are in "swim school" at the local club. (The swim school feeds into the swim team.) I pay $45/month, and get 2 - 45 minute lessons per week. Classes have no more than 4 kids in them. When I had kids in lessons at the YMCA, we paid #5 per session, for 8 TOTAL lessons, 30 minutes each. Classes had anywhere from 5 to 15 children in them. Ds #1 swims 5 days a week, 90 minutes per practice. We pay only $70 a month. Yes, it's more expensive than lessons, but we get a lot more swim time for that money.

Thank you everyone! I think we'll try the silicone caps first! :)

He's been swimming year-round for several years now, and has never wanted to wear a cap. But since he's been growing his hair out a bit, he needs one. What type should I get? Is it latex? Thanks! Hillary