KellyGirl
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Posts posted by KellyGirl
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I study at a really small dojo that is attached to my sensi's home, and I love the family like atmosphere that it creates!
If a prospective student came in and told my sensi "You need to move your alcohol" she would say, "No, you need to find a new dojo." But if a perspective parent said, "I love your dojo. My only reservation is the way your alcohol is displayed..." my sensi would probably consider moving it.
On the flip side of that, as a mom who doesn't drink, we've taught our kids that some people do drink in moderation and it's okay for them (we can't judge their decisions). This could be a good time to start having those kind of discussions with your kids.
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A couple of weeks ago I got jeans at JC Penny for one of my boys for $15. Online Sears has some for $12.99 . I'm a big fan of buying kids clothes at Sears because then if they ruin the pants you can replace them through the KidVantage program. I think if you catch a sale, Children's Place and Old Navy are under $20, too. I've had really good luck with Children's Place jeans outlasting my kids.
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It doesn't sound old, but I love it and see that no one has suggested Cadence yet. Given your critera, I would probably go with Catherine for a girl, though.
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I do one for my in-laws every year using current pictures. In the past I have used Walmart, Snapfish and Shutterfly. This year, I used MixBook and while I don't think that any one is easier than the other, MixBook gives unlimited layout possibilities. You can start with their layout but move, delete and add things without limits. On the other sites I would sometimes be frustrated that I had 2 portrait and 1 landscape shaped pic and couldn't find a layout to accommodate it.
I've never order a photo gift from iPhoto, but I do store my pics there. To make it super easy to upload them to another site, I sometimes sort through all my pics and make a new album of all the ones I think I want to use in the calendar. When it's time to import the photos, I can import one whole album instead of searching around for different pics. Then of course you can go back and add more photos if you change your mind later.
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Fender makes some great electric guitars, but I would never buy a Fender acoustic. Takamine makes really nice acoustics. I have a top of the line Tak that is my forever guitar. I remember when I bought the guy at the music store talked about how a Takamine is a "working man's guitar", meaning they are built to sound the BEST when they are plugged in and amplified.
I suggest checking for reviews of the two guitars on places like Musician's Friend, Guitar Center, and Harmony Central. You sometimes have to weed through the idiot reviews but it can still be helpful. Some things to consider are 1) the action (how high or low the strings are on the fret board and how "playable" it feels) 2) how well it stays in tune 3) the quality of the electronics.
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I've been watching this thread with interest. My 7th grade ds is very much like your ds. He grasps new concepts very quickly, and can just see the answers to a lot of problems. And we have been circling the fraction drain lately:tongue_smilie: Yesterday we went over all the basic functions with fractions, and he had NO IDEA how to divide them! We're doing pre-algebra, and I'm really worried that if we move on he'll end up not having any idea what he's doing in a year or two.
With my ds I wonder if I have shortchanged him because he seems to grasp things so quickly. For instance, when I would have done 10 examples I only did 2 or 3, and didn't shore it up enough in his brain. But then in the last year or two, we do it over and over and over, and he never really gets it.:confused:
Good luck with your boy brain! Maybe I just need to relax and be kind to all the middle school teachers I know.
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We had nasty stomach bug run through our house shortly after baby #5 was born. It hit me and most of the kids, but the baby was untouched by it.
:grouphug: Croup around a new baby would make me really nervous, too!
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My dh is doing it. He works with the homeless and one of his co-workers suggest that they do a campus wide No Shave November to raise awareness for homelessness. By the end of the month the participating staff will look a lot more homeless than most of the homeless guys do.
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What do you consider "reasonably priced?" We have lots of guitars in our house (dh and I both play) including a Baby Taylor that we take with us on vacation, or just pull out when we want to play something quick. It's a great little guitar - it stays in tune fairly well and it has a really good sound for its size. BUT, a Baby Taylor is $300.
I know I tried out some of the cheaper ones when I bought my Baby Taylor. I think that the Yamaha (which is around $130) would have been my top choice if I had less to spend, but it was a few years ago so my memory might not be accurate.
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http://cl.ly/411H2Y1y1S3G45423v3z
We had a horrible time getting pics this year, but here are Hagrid (who is a foot and a half taller than the rest), Harry, Hermione, Dobby and a baby Mandrake.
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I loved the old series! (Tom Baker will always be my favorite Doctor!) .
I do not love the old series, and have no interest in the new series, but according to my husband, Tom Baker is the best Doctor. Just the other day dh and the kids sat down to watch an episode and my oldest asked if I was coming...he was truly shocked when dh said, "Mom doesn't like Doctor Who."...as in "How could anybody not like this show? Mom must be crazy!"
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The one group theme I could never talk my 3 kids into was to have the big one be Cat in the Hat, and the little ones be Thing 1 and Thing 2. Now I have 5 kids, so I can't figure how to make that theme work.
Last year my gang did Alice in Wonderland - your oldest could be Alice, the twins could be Tweedle De and Tweedle Dumb. We've also done Peter Pan - you could do Peter, Tink, and Wendy.
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I have a dd in first grade. Today wasn't a good day as far as narrations go. It was a lot of "I don't remember, I don't know. What else do you what me to say?!" But I'll give you an example from a few weeks ago. Now remember, I'm doing the writing so it's probably a little more polished than what she originally said.
From SOTW Chapter 2 "Beowulf"
There was a man named Beowulf who brought his army to help the Anglos and the Saxons defeat the monster Grendel. Beowulf pulled Grendal's arm off and then Grendal ran away and drowned.
I don't worry much about handwriting at this age, especially with the boys. I do have them practice and encourage them to form letters the right way...but I'm pretty lax and don't make them do a ton of copy work.
My dd has a good grasp on addition, but probably only has plus 1, plus 2 and some doubles memorized. She can solve the word problems in Math Mammoth, but only if I read them to her - she's a hesitant reader (even though she probably could read some of them herself).
As for reading, she is reading the 1st grade ABeka readers, but still stopping to sound out lots of words. She will tell you she can't read. My oldest was probably 7 or 8 before he would even think about picking up a book and reading it on his own, but now I frequently have to say, "please put your book down and go do __________."
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My youngest is 6 weeks old, and it's my first go round with cloth on a newborn. I change her almost every time I feed her at night. I have prefolds (some Indian, some Chinese) with Bummis or Thirsties covers. Then I have a few Thirsties duo diapers (a pocket diaper with two layers of stuffing - one hemp one microfiber). I like the pocket diapers at night because they pull the moisture away from her bum - like a pp said, my baby doesn't seem to like feeling wet. But I have found that the Bummis covers over a prefold are pretty bullet proof - haven't had a leak with one of those yet, even at night. With the pocket diapers I occasionally find that her onesie is wet...
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I would say football wins every time (at least this early in the election season)...but it's the Cowboys, who I hate with a passion...
but I guess football still wins, I'd just have to cheer for the other team.
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I have an iMac, and the thing that I love about it is how neat it is. Since it comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse you only have the power cord and the cable to the printer coming out of it. If it is a bigger monitor you seek, the iMac would certainly give you that!
I'm not sure, but I think you get a lot more processing power and speed in an iMac than you do in a mini. But if you don't need power and speed that might not matter.
I heartily second ordering a refurbed version of whatever you choose from the apple store online. My Ipod touch and my iMac are both refurbs - a Mac Geek told me he buys refurbed whenever he can because they are thoroughly checked out and come with the same warranty as a new Mac but they cost less!
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I've been where you are, and I don't think you're being harsh at all! My oldest used to get lots of juice and milk, and didn't really like water. Then they stopped becoming options (except at meal times, and then after 1 serving of whatever, you can get water if your still thirsty) and now all kids drink water without complaints during the day.
I also had to teach MYSELF to like water, so I know it really does work. Once I started making myself drink a couple of glasses a day, I got to the point where I craved it. Now I will take water over most other options (except I do still have a soda addiction, so I might pick a Pepsi if you offer me that).
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No need for a credit score... (Aka the I Love Debt score). Easier to just not start. :)
There is certainly something to what you are saying - but the one (and only) reason I value my good credit is for securing a mortgage. Not a lot of people can swing buying a house with cash, and some apartments even do credit checks. If a young man can avoid a car loan and always pay cash for his cars - GREAT!!! I know I don't ever want to take out another car loan.
And to call it an "I love debt score" isn't completely accurate because neither my husband nor I have ANY debt other than our mortgage and we have super high credit scores. We rarely even use our credit cards, but pay them off in 1 billing cycle if we do.
So, assuming this boy wants to buy a nice little house for his wife someday and he is responsible with his money, I think it is good idea to start looking at how he can build credit.
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I'm pretty sure he won't be able to get any kind of a card in his own name until he turns 18. And a kid who isn't interested in having a bunch of cards is the only kind of kid I would ever let have a card.
I'm not sure that a secured card would build credit as effectively as an actual credit card. I (who was just told by a mortgage consultant that she has never before us seen a couple where both people have credit scores over 800) strongly suggest having him get a student card like this then call the company and ask them to lower the credit limit if its higher than he is comfortable with. Use the card for gas, or something basic like that and make sure the money is set aside to pay it all every month. That's what I always did. It will establish his credit and make it easier to get a car loan or something like that when he needs to.
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If he's in college, a student credit card should be pretty easy to come by. Times may be changing, but 10-15 years ago there were frequently credit card vendors set up at the student union at my school. And they will extend credit to anybody who's in school.
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The lake park is only about 10 or 15 min. from the Carrier Circle hotels and it has a great playground. You can even rent bikes and surreys!
http://onondagacountyparks.com/onondaga-lake-park/
Directions:
http://onondagacountyparks.com/onondaga-lake-park/directions/
There's also our famous hot dog stand right across the parkway - Heid's!
Even if you don't ordinarily eat hot dogs, definitely have one here, followed by an ice cream from Sweet Treats right next door.
Have fun!
Onondaga Lake is a great park, but the big kids section of the Wegmans playground has been closed for almost a year. It's been a few weeks since I was there, so it could be reopened...but that's something you should be aware of. The bike rental is really fun if you rent one of those big bikes that your whole family can ride.
I would say that 2 hours is about right for the MOST, unless you have super sciencey kids. My kids mostly like to run around in the giant indoor playground thing and spend a little time checking out exhibits. (We have an annual pass there).
I just asked my kids what they would suggest to someone coming into town for a day - the 12 year old said the MOST or the zoo. The 7 year old suggested Live 2 Bounce . The bounce house isn't far from your hotel at all (less than 10 min) and traffic is rarely an issue in CNY.
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To me, black belt means you are a "master" at whatever the art. I tend to think less of the dojos that give blackbelts in little time or to people who haven't mastered that art.
I study goju ryu karate, and in our style at least, a black belt means that you are ready to start really learning (and understanding) karate. Because when you get to that level you can perform all of your basics and low level katas without thinking about them, so it is finally easier for you to apply the deeper stuff.
I too am an advocate of age requirements for black belts. I guess if a dojo offers a "junior black belt" that's okay, but I have seen lots of dojos that don't make that distinction.
Jean, your assumptions are right...a 10 year old doesn't understand how to really execute things if they know the motions. I don't know that strength plays much into it - because a 4' 10" woman will never execute with the same strength as a 6' 5" guy, but understanding your strength and knowing how to utilize it is huge (at least in my style).
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We found out for this one, but didn't find out for the last two. I like the surprise, but I was having a really hard time being excited about this pregnancy and decided that finding out might help me bond with the baby. I always felt like the minority when we didn't find out, too - but one of the nurses at my doctor's office said it's about 50/50....
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Baby girl coming at the end of August here!
Keeping little ones entertained?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
The BEST quiet activity in my house a toy called "Peek A Zoo" lock box. They don't make it anymore, but there is one on ebay right now. It is really well made and all of my kids have played with it from the time they can crawl right up through elementary school.
Here is a link to the one on ebay, and I would consider anything under $30 a steal for this!