I second Memphis Belle and Schindler's List. Au Revoir Les Enfants is a French movie about a Jewish boy who was hidden in a Catholic boarding school during the war. I watched it as a senior in high school and thought it was excellent. Night and Fog is a French documentary made up of footage shot when they liberated the camps. Chilling and horrifying, but I saw it as a freshman in high school and it gave me a new understanding of the Holocaust.

Yes, science is wrong sometimes. But the whole point of the scientific method is that you continue to test and explore and learn and adjust your theories as you get more information. Christianity's track record on science, however, is less than stellar. Remember Galileo? The church was wrong then, and I think it is similarly wrong now.

1. My grandma, who was on the verge of dying on Sunday, appears to be pulling through. 2. Knowing that spring will eventually come, despite the current temp of 8. (Up from -15 when I got up this morning!) 3. The soundtrack to The Mission.

The rest of the sentence was this: but I guess, every teacher has an agenda of some sort

Although I do think it is odd to study it so long after the holiday. I can understand that the teacher might make a distinction between studying a holiday and celebrating a holiday (which is what a Secret Santa exchange would be).

It really does sound like you're between a rock and a hard place. This is the part of your post that leapt out at me: Dh is talking about bringing them all home again. When he says that, I feel like I can't breathe all over again. Big red flag. Parenting is tough sometimes. It doesn't matter if your kids are home schooled or public schooled, certain parenting stages can really tax you. And parents have to sacrifice some things for their kids, no doubt about it. But I would be really, really wary of heading into a situation that makes you feel that trapped. I can't see how that would be in the best interests of your family. I hope you are able to find a solution that gives you peace.

Every fiction writer I have ever talked to about King thinks he's amazingly skilled. I grew up thinking he was pure evil and married a man who thinks he's the Dickens of the 20th century. :eek: He convinced me to actually read a Stephen King book before I dismissed him. :o I started with Eyes of the Dragon, which is tame enough that I let my 12 yo read it. I've also read It, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon, and The Green Mile. Not all of his books are for me, but I don't find him evil or amoral.

Kay, I have a dd in ps who has some similar issues. Personally, for her, I feel that having interaction with kids is important. In order for her to be successful in life, she is going to have to *learn* to pick up on those social cues. She needs lots and lots of practice. I don't think she is going to grow out of this on her own without experience. In our case, I can't provide enough interaction outside of school, so school is important for her. It helps that we have a great school with small classes, and she actually gets help with social skills at school. I don't think school is necessary or good for all kids with these issues. I also recommend the book The Unwritten Rules of Friendship. It provides great tips for coaching your kids on the things you thought you'd never have to spell out. (For example, "If no one is looking at you or asking you questions, that means no one is listening. If no one is listening, STOP TALKING." I had to use this one on my Pokemon son just today.)

To me, the story of Rachel tells us that God can cause a conception, but does not tell us that God causes every conception. Like Joanne, I have a hard time with a God who causes crack babies.

Conception is a natural process, and I think in most cases, God lets nature take its course. Just as I don't think God causes natural disasters, I don't think God personally causes each conception. (Hmm. That makes it sound like babies are natural disasters, which isn't quite what I wanted to say.) I think God is capable of supporting us in whatever life circumstances we find ourselves . . . but I also think he approves of us taking an active role in our family size. I think the analogy to trusting God to provide while working hard to get a job is appropriate. Of course, I've been known to say that we *all* have full quivers--some of us just have bigger quivers than others!

I was really good about having a schedule for the summer, but I've slacked off a bit since school started up again. I am good until about 2:00, and then largely inefficient after that. I've been thinking I need to develop a complete schedule again. I am juggling a toddler, an inn, a part-time telecommuting job, and three kids in public school. A couple of thoughts--hopefully one or more will help. It helps me to think about all my different roles and what I want to accomplish in each one. Of course, I usually want to accomplish more than I have time for :rolleyes:, so I have to pick one or two things that I definitely want to do and schedule those for optimal times. It is important for me to stick to the time frame. When my paperwork time is up, for example, I stop. I have to trust that putting in the alloted time daily will be sufficient. (If it really isn't, then you need to change the schedule to allow more time.) This works better for me than spending lots of time in one area one day and getting burned out on it for several days. Some days, I have more distractions during one time period than another, but over time it evens out. I need to be realistic. I am juggling a lot. I'm not going to be able to perform in each area of my life as well as I would like. Having a schedule is not going to give me extra hours in my day. My house is still not as clean as I would like, even when I follow the schedule religiously, but it is cleaner than when I don't follow the schedule. Going along with that, I need to realize that my personality is not going to change overnight. Evenings are a low-energy time. For me to plan to get stuff done regularly after the kids are in bed is just a recipe for failure and guilt. In an emergency, I can do it. But not regularly. I fold clothes while watching TV. Or read. Or talk to DH. It helps me be more productive earlier in the day if I know I get my break. I haven't scheduled weekends, but I'm thinking about it. DH and I both noticed that the days with schedules (for me and the kids--DH is not a schedule person) go better than the days without schedules.

I had shingles at age five, so I don't remember much about it, but I must not have been too sick because I remember my mom being really embarrassed that she had let me expose so many people. (She had no idea it was shingles.) I hope whatever it is, you feel better soon.

Although we're not currently homeschooling, we do have an inn and a toddler, and I also telecommute 25 hours a week. First, I would definitely work to resolve the issue. For me, things only get worse if I let them fester. It's much better if I address the problem when things are calm. I've found it helps to be really blunt and specific: "Can you be in charge of the phone for the next hour? It's been ringing a lot and I really need to concentrate on my writing." "If you're going to lay down for a nap right when the kids get home from school, can you sleep in the bedroom? It's really hard to keep them quiet enough for you to sleep when you're on the couch." "When you do Y, I feel that you don't value my work." "I need to work X # of hours today and I know you need to do Y. How are we going to juggle the baby so we both get our work done?"

Mind you, I don't know what I would do if it were my decision to make, but since no one is speaking up for option #1, I'll take its side. ;) Does your daughter enjoy school? Or is she bored out of her mind? Is she still intellectually curious? Or is school dulling her intellect? If she enjoys school, still likes to learn, and if you don't want to accelerate her to college early, what is the harm in keeping her in school and letting her enjoy all of the other activities in school without the stress of needing to spend lots of time to keep her grades up? Just as we say it's ok for toddlers to plateau verbally, for example, when they are acquiring physical skills, couldn't it be ok for a young teen to plateau intellectually while working on social skills and talents (music, drama, sports)? There is a decent chance that she will find high school honors or AP classes more on her intellectual level and will find the discussion and writing components invigorating, so you might only be looking at this situation for a year or two. Again, if she is unhappy or frustrated or it is eroding her love of learning, I would definitely bring her home. If she is so intellectually advanced that even high school honors classes will not hold her interest or challenge her, then bringing her home might be best. But if it is just a case of a child exploring other interests and taking a somewhat slower path academically than she could . . . I can see choosing option 1.

DS1--midwives in hospital. Ended up being induced, epidural, and narrowly avoided vacuum extraction. Decent contact with baby (put on chest, then taken to be cleaned and checked in the room, then given back to me to nurse). DS2 and DD1--birth co-managed with midwives and OBs. Went into labor during the shift of the only OB in the practice who wasn't comfortable delivering twins without an epidural. I insisted, and she compromised--I signed a waiver and agreed to deliver in an operating room with an anesthesiologist in the room and she agreed to deliver without an epidural. My best labor and delivery. Worst post-birth experience due to little access to the babies. (I can understand the one who needed oxygen, but the one who was cold?? Give her to me and let me warm her up!) Bleeding issues for me--needed shots and IV pitocin after the birth. DS3--OB, no midwives (different state). Doctor seemed eager for c-section due to baby's heart rate fluctuations. Vacuum extraction. Surprisingly, the best post-birth experience. (Hospital didn't have that great of a rep for that, but we were limited in our choices by geography.) Baby put on my chest immediately after birth (even while they were checking for broken shoulders) and left there for a long time--an hour, maybe?--before he had his bath and had measurements taken. Immediate nursing. I think some of it is just the luck of the draw, and some of it is advocating for yourself. I *knew* I didn't need an epidural for my twins, just as I knew I did need one for each of my single births. (What can I say, my single babies were both large and facing the wrong way.)

Our afterschooling activities are very informal at the moment. Things we have done recently: On our last library trip, required the kids to check out one fiction book outside their usual reading and one nonfiction book Requested magazine subscriptions as Xmas gifts from grandparents. The kids are currently getting Discover, Ranger Rick, and American Girl (ok, so that last one isn't very educational) Older son is taking a math enrichment class taught by two friends' parents. This was completely his choice and he loves it Reading SOTW with my 2nd grade twins (older son sometimes listens in) Older son and daughter frequently read the Kingfisher history encyclopedia just for fun Playing MindBender games on the computer Reading an animal encyclopedia together Drilling math facts with my 2nd graders Assigning older son some articles on credit and interest rate to read online and discuss with us Watching election coverage together and discussing My kids still have plenty of time for free reading, GameBoy, playing outside and just hanging out.

Even if the company itself might not give you a great reference, a former co-worker, especially one who has since moved on to a different company, might be happy to write you a letter or let you give his or her phone number out to your potential employers.

I would stick to Disney and plan on one day per park (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studies [the former Disney MGM Studios]). Buy Park Hopper passes, so if one park leaves you cold you don't have to waste an entire day at it. Buy The Unofficial Guide to Disney World and follow one of their touring plans, at least until noon each day. Arrive at the day's park before opening time each day. Have a great trip!

If the professor allows do-overs, I'd create a Works Cited page and resubmit the paper. If she doesn't, I'd chalk it up to a lesson learned and look forward to the next paper. The good news is, it sounds like the professor liked your content and style. Problems with those are much harder to fix.

If you have a car, drive over to Concord and see the Old North Bridge (site of "the shot heard 'round the world"), Louisa May Alcott's house, Minutemen State Park, and Walden Pond. If your kids are young, they can run around outside and play with sticks. If they're older, they'll enjoy the history.

When things like this happen when I am traveling solo, I always think "at least it didn't happen when I was traveling with the kids!"

Has your son ever taken an IQ test? I ask because our oldest son sounds a lot like yours (including the pronunciation) and we discovered when we had him tested last year that his working memory and processing speed are way behind his verbal processing and perceptual reasoning abilities. So he grasps the concepts easily and likes to work quickly (without writing it down) but while he is holding the number in his head, it might change from a 25 to a 24, for example, and then the final answer is wrong. We didn't share his final scores with him, but we did talk about the spread and what it means. Wrong answers are still wrong. He still needs to learn to write things down. But the emotional component of the conversation has changed. He understands that his brain is fast in some ways and slow in others and he needs to work on his area of weakness so his area of strength can shine through. He wants to be a scientist, engineer, or programmer. So we talk a lot about the need for precision in those jobs. If you get the answer wrong and something blows up, it's poor consolation that you understood the concept.

I know one family that set out a treat for every half-hour the parents were going to be gone. If the half-hour went by and the kids didn't call the parents for a non-emergency, they got the treat. Of course, this might make it more about them, when you are trying to teach them to respect you. You might want to try setting aside some time when you are home when you are unavailable. "If I am in this chair reading with my headphones on, it means only disturb me if it's an emergency. An emergency involves blood, fire, or water." That would give them practice in putting your need for time alone over their need for immediate interaction.

I have never converted DH to a budget, so I guess you could say we play it by ear, but we always pay off our credit cards each month. We do transfer a small amount of money (about $200) automatically each month from our checking to a special savings account. We also deposit extra money there throughout the year, including Christmas money and bonuses. That's our trip money. Travel is important to us, and we take many kinds of trips--family trips, couple trips, and solo trips.

My husband, for one, agrees with you. :D