That is heart-wrenching. :(

LOL - I have to add this to my list of rural experiences. I grew up in an "in between" area. Not here. We lived in a rural neighborhood of houses built in the 70's when I was a kid. We had land and a barn, but most of the folks around my house didn't farm as their living. The kids all played together...in the street. The cars just knew to look for us. We were always sitting in the road or in someone's driveway. It was a safe, rural but not, kind of area. Well, I moved to Knoxville, then to Chattanooga, and then outside of Chatt. in GA before coming here with dh. Of course, that was city life and by the time I moved here, I was really a city girl. It took me awhile to LOVE life out here in the hills. Though, I admit, I did not love life in GA with the wonderful view of 80 other houses from my back porch either! One day, just after we settled in here, I was folding laundry in my bedroom. I went to get a load, came back, put the basket on the bed, looked up at the window and there was a COW standing there staring at me. We don't raise cows. This was NOT our cow...or the cow of anyone we knew...yet there it was - eating my grass and staring at me. I called my dh and told him and his response was, "what...you didn't order a cow?":glare:

On the other hand, :iagree: 100% with this as well.

Let's see...I live on 60 acres of farm land in a town of less than 2,000 people. My nearest neighbor is about 400 yards away (my MIL). My other neighbor is across a 60 acre field. My house backs up to a mountainside and has a creek running through the back yard. How's that for rural? LOL I love love love love where I live. I never thought I would, but after being out in the world, I have to say that there is no place like home. The mountains that surround us are gorgeous - I see one at every single view from my windows. If I want quiet and peace, I come HOME. :) If I want something to do, I drive about 45 minutes to the nearest decent sized city. I am used to the drive now...and besides, when I lived in NW Ga and had to drive to Chattanooga everyday, I spent at least that same amount of time sitting in traffic on the interstate!

We had a terrible flu when my older son was 4. He literally almost died. I had a horrible case of flu when I was 17 - I got walking pneumonia and probably should have died since I never saw a doctor in the whole 3 MONTHS I was sick. I do often wonder if this one is any worse than those...

It seems the media has really all but stopped reporting much about the swine flu - other than the deaths. I guess there is not much to report since there are just so many cases now. I think I read somewhere that they may stop counting cases soon and just realize it is a widespread thing. My thoughts have changed a bit since the beginning. I definitely see the pattern with the deaths all being younger people. Ages I have read are 23mos, 13 years, 21 years, 33 years, 55 years (and I am not sure I read much about the other deaths related to swine flu...but for some reason it seems that those were young adults too). I am not freaking out and wearing a mask everywhere I go just yet. I am also not staying out of public, etc. I do wash my hands and use hand sanitizer more often. BUT I do admit that I am concerned for my older son who will be visiting his dad in a couple of weeks in another state. I am also a bit concerned about summer camps since it seems to be kids who are catching this most often. So....just thought I would post and see how you are feeling about it now...if your thoughts have changed in one way or another. :bigear:

I definitely feel better on sunny days. But, my moods are more associated with time of the month than weather patterns. :glare:

For Kindergarten, my youngest enjoyed Explode the Code, Singapore Earlybird Math, and Singapore Science. However, he only did about 5 months of K before we started in 1st grade work. He was just too advanced to hold him back at the time.

Now you are on to something. For instance, the little old lady in McDonalds yesterday. She could hardly walk, could not hear the cashier, did not understand the question, "do you want to eat here or take your food to go?", barely managed to carry her tray to the table. Then, she ate her food, got up, and got behind the wheel of a car. :confused:

Call it a right, a privilage, whatever - it is something else that the government is trying to have control over. Can you, in some way, prove that *I* personally am more of a danger to other drivers when I talk on my cell phone than I am when I, say, drop a quarter in the floor and drive with one hand while the other hand is on the floor searching for it? I am a 30 year old adult. I think I can judge when my actions are harmful and when they are not. When I talk on a cell phone, I use as much brain power as I do when I sing with a song on the radio. I put in my headset so that I am not holding the phone and driving. I do not text while driving, because I am no good at texting and that would definitely be a risk for me - one I am not willing to take at all. That doesn't mean others can't do it. What I am saying is that I do not want "whether or not I can use a phone in my car" determined by the government. If you would like your rights and liberties (or use your own term) taken away, then ask that the government impose that on you...not me. Now...ask me if I think the legal driving age should be raised (thus eliminating a lot of young, inexperienced..and perhaps cell phone/texting addicted...drivers from the road) and my answer is quite different. There comes a time and an age when we are reasonably able to judge what is okay and what is just ignorant. A 16 year old behind the wheel of a car does not always have that ability. I had 4 car wrecks from the time I was 16 until I was 20. Not ONE of them involved a cell phone.

Okay...well, first off, NOTHING compares to the crystal rabbits. That was just HORRIFYING! OMG. :001_huh: :ohmy: I posted earlier about a gift my ex got me that actually turned out to be quite thoughtful...well, I just remembered one that wasn't so thoughtful. Shortly after ex and I got married, we went to the wedding of his cousin. This was in June. That same year, for Christmas, we got the most bizarre gift from them. It was a salad something er other...like you spin the lettuce but it also chops. There were all these pieces and we really had no idea what it was. Well, I opened the box to find the instructions (we were sitting in front of his 40+ member family on Christmas morning, mind you) and i pull our a neat little card. To: Cousin and husband. Have a wonderful WEDDING DAY! :thumbdown: Whoops. The color that the cousin and her dh turned was actually a shade of purple that crayola never thought to name. As for the salad thingie, I am not sure we even waited until we got home to toss it. I am pretty sure it was buried under the wrapping paper in the trash pile.

I would prefer if the government does not further restrict my rights...in all cases.

My 9 year old had a similar experience with his grandmother (my mom). He thought her name was just Gannie. LOL She told him each time she visited (for a YEAR) and he still doesn't remember her name! I asked him why and he told me that, "when I think of her, she's just Gannie." Can't argue with that!

I have never had a problem (other than thinking I had more in there than I did and the card being declined) and I have had mine for about 6 years now. :)

Adam is probably better off not being under the Idol contract. He will definitely "make it" big...Idol or no Idol.

I have no idea what that song is. The turtle is ADORABLE!

If you didn't live so far in the other direction, I would offer to watch them for you. (Wish I was going to the conference now instead though! :() Hope you find someone soon!

Ummm...she just turned 5. Keep working, but I am totally not surprised that she is having trouble. My almost 6 year old still confuses the teens with the number digits reversed. I think that is pretty normal. It will come with practice and time.

I could have written your post myself. I tell my son at least 95 times a day to stop taking about his butt, farts, poop, etc. My older son went through this phase between ages 3-4. My younger is almost 6 and no signs of stopping. :( And it is always lovely when my almost 10 year old joins in! :( Yesterday, they were texting the word "poop" back and forth on their Nintendo DS'!

They could underline it. If it were me, I would just have them copy without the italics (and close the quotation).

It is called prejudice. When I was kid, my dad did his BEST to teach my siblings and I racial predjudice (didn't work...my sister married an African American and he has two bi-racial grand daughters!). That mother is teaching her kids to hate people because they are gay. Whether you agree with it or not, whether you believe it is against God or not, it is wrong to hate. Did Jesus not surround himself with sinners? Does God not teach us to love all people regardless of differences? If there is one thing that I teach my children in life...just one thing...I hope it is that people are people just like them and we are to respect each and every human life.

:iagree: Congrats!!!

A friend and I had planned to go this year, but decided on our local used curriculum sale instead. Maybe next year. I am kind of regretting the decision not to go now. :(

Total MISSES: (i.e. won't be using again) Calvert - school in a box. Boy, was that ever a costly miss! My kids are just not "all one level" kids. Horizons Math Growing with Grammar LLATL Orange Writing Tales II 100EZ Writing Strands (tried TWICE) Calvert Spelling CD CLE Learn to Read Didn't Hate, but won't use again Singapore Math (I wanted to love it, but CLE tops it here) Maps, Graphs, Globes Geography LLATL Blue Singapore Science HITS: (read...love them and will keep using them OR use them again possibly) CLE Math, Language Arts, and Bible Writing With Ease Phonics Pathways Explode the Code...and the online version. CHOW Spelling Power NOEO Science Pentime Handwriting

Ha! I have 2 children and there were plenty of days that we had MORE than one activity outside the house. Right now things have calmed down a ton, but when basketball and soccer, geography club, and co-op start back up, we will be right back at it. :)