This is terrible! They have found a new drug to help treat MRSA. I am hoping that it will save his life. Is he a young man? If so, and he is healthy, and of course by the Grace and will of God, he has a fighting chance. Prayers for him and his family!

Awww...your son's words bless my heart. Thank you for sharing them with us.

I would highly doubt it is mumps. That is rare these days with so many kids vaccinated against it - I think less than 1000 cases a year. I would think he has a cold or a virus. The cheeks hurting could be just about anything. With mumps, it is more about the swelling, I think. Where exactly are they hurting? If it is up top, it is probably sinus related. What did the doctor say/think?

I had positional vertigo when I was only 22. I had been to the mountains of NC and when I got home, I had it so bad, my ex husband rushed me to the ER. I am 29 now and not dead yet, so I assume it was benign vertigo. ??? I don't think it was Meniere's (sp?) but I know it had something to do with my inner ear and going up in the mountains and then coming back down. I have not had vertigo since then, even though I do occasionally get dizzy just like everyone else. Have you been googling?? What would make you think this is a brain tumor? I am a hypochondriac, so I google and get obsessed with whatever cancer scares the crap out of me at the time. If that is the case with you, please don't do that to yourself. It is most likely just vertigo. If you are overly worried, have an MRI to ease your mind. Oh, an my vertigo went on and off for about 2 days. Some times were better than others. I can't stand to be dizzy, so it made me sick too. I took the meds and they helped absolutely NONE.

My son is 9 and he is a VERY difficult child. He has many of the same traits as your son...and we have also been treating him since he was about 3. He has ADHD, but that can't be all. I am OCD. I am also a hypochondriac who suffers from anxiety and depression at times. I will tell you that those things alone can cause the moodiness - that along with hormone changes as he becomes a teen. My dh has described me much the way you describe your ds...only he says "0 to b*&^% in 60 seconds." I would see what they psychiatrist says. Is he on meds?

My prayers are with her and her family.

God gives them peace. It is a peace that passes all understanding. While we may look at them and feel our hearts break - while I can't imagine for a second what they feel nor do I ever want to be in that place, I know that God is with them. I recently went through a really tough time. I found stories online of suffering unimaginable - children, young mothers - terrible stories of cancer and treatments only to prolong the inevitable. I prayed and asked God how in the world these people could bear these things. I would sit and put myself in their shoes, cry for them, pray for them. Then, God spoke to me as clear as day and told me that they can bear these crosses because He is with them. We cannot know the peace that passes all understanding in this situation, but this family will because they know God and because they are in His hands now...as is little Ben. My heart aches for them, my prayers are with them, but I know...I know...that God is in control and He is holding onto them right now.

I jumped right in to ETC 1 for my ds, but he did know the alphabet and ALL the letter sounds. I also highly recommend the Leap Frog DVD's - Letter factory as well as Talking words Factory and Code word Caper. My son LOVED these videos and learned so much from them that he wasn't "getting" with our one on one. They were awesome for us as just reinforcement.

We try to, but usually end up spending more on my oldest. As long as my kids have the same number of presents to open on Christmas morning, we are good. LOL

We finished K work (for the most part) and have moved on to 1st grade in many areas. We started with Calvert Kindergarten, but it was behind my son's abilities (teaching letters/sounds/and finally early reading). Other things I like are: Explode the Code - both in the book and online Calvert's Come Read with Me (we do this once a week and he loves it) A Reason for Handwriting (we use the A book because he loves doing the Bible Verse copy work) Singapore math 1A (But we started with Calvert Kindergarten Math) Science - he did the Calvert stuff and now we are doing NOEO Physics 1 w/ big brother (which we LOVE) Social Studies - discussions that centered around Holidays, Presidents, Jobs people do, Transportation. We used Calvert's suggestions. I also love the Draw Write Now series because it combines writing AND fun art. :)

Weeeelllll....I would love to say it gets better.....but, for my two sons, it has only gotten worse. They are 5 and 9 right now and OMG the fighting these two do is INSANE. I mean, I am constantly having to break up brawls and calm down screaming matches. My oldest is getting this snotty "I am a pre-pre-teen" attitude and my little one is trying to half-heartedly follow in his footsteps and makes sure not to ever take any "crap" off big brother. ~whew~ It is something to behold, I tell ya. But, if it helps any at all, I feel ya!

My Father's World sells them in bundles. They actually also sell a "teacher's guide" with them and they allow you to choose combos like 3A + 3B or 3B + 4A. I almost ordered from there myself but then decided to also go with Rainbow Resource because I preferred the Home Instructor's Guide.

My K'er colors, watches Come Read with Me (Calvert school), or does other various things while I work with my oldest. For history, and sometimes Science, he even sits in and listens. We all really love History. The key for us has been getting my older son to work by himself more so he can be independent and do his schoolwork, for the most part, with little help from me. As the year has progressed (and as we dropped the Calvert core), this has become more and more possible. :)

Someone here put a big red, spray painted X on a McCain/Palin sign IN SOMEONE'S YARD! It was a BIG sign too...not just a little dinky one. This campaign is bringing out the UGLY in everyone.

Had to be Joe the Plumber. My goodness what an irritating way to debate. After awhile I was just sick of hearing "Joe the plumber." I think McCain edged Obama. But heck, I wasn't voting for Obama anyway.

My son just turned 5 and he weighs 36 pounds. My oldest is 9 and weighs only 65 pounds!

Are you sure that is a black widow? Does she have the hour glass on her belly? The body type and bulb and shiny black are all there...but I have never seen a black widow with red dots on her back. And trust me when I say I have seen my fair share of black widows. :( In GA, we found a lovely gal in my trunk on my son's stroller. The, we had a bug man come spray and we found one that was so large, the BUG MAN asked if he could take her with him to show the "guys" because he had never seen one so big in his life! :( :( :( ETA: Ahh, I see you have already discovered the answer to my above question about the spots. In that case, then, EWWWWW.

Thanks!

Yep, only took us two months to sell the Calvert in search of that great big world outside the box. LOL The Calvert Science in Kindergarten is all worksheets and no text. It uses some of the Scholastic books included with the curriculum, but otherwise is just the worksheets. It jumps around something terrible and doesn't spend considerable time on any one topic. And, like I said, there is no book at all - it is up to me to just "discuss" X Y and Z with him. It really bites. 4th grade Science for Calvert was the book and OMG - it was dreadful. I mean truly dreadful.

I just do 15 minutes or so a day. I find that, especially at level 1, this pretty well covers a lesson a day (but my son is 9).

I second (or third?) NOEO physics. :)

Well, I can't review both programs, but we are loving our NOEO Physics. I think the notebook is key and I require both of my kids to do the recommended writing/drawing/defining in the manual. As a bonus, my husband, who is a mechanical engineer (i.e. loves and knows physics) has given it a glowing review. And I can't speak to the experiment kits enough. When I got them out of the box and realized they give you every little piece you need to do the experiments, well, that right there sealed the love for me! LOL

I just sold my son's Kindergarten Calvert curriculum. He is reading on a 1st grade level and we have moved on to a lot of 1st grade work. However, I am not sure he is ready for the NOEO Physics I am doing with his older brother (4th ish grade). Sooooo...I need help from the hive. What would you do? My options are: 1. Pull and piece from remaining Calvert Science worksheets and online manual. 2. Drop Calvert 100% and do NOEO Physics with both kids. 3. Hit the highlights with remaining Calvert materials, then quickly move on to something on a Kindergarten level? 4. SUGGESTIONS??? Thanks for your input! If you think I should get together a Science curriculum of my own, please give curriculum suggestions. Thanks!

I am voting for McCain because my husband is making me. KIDDING. I, too, can't imagine what kind of government run country this will become under the rule of Obama. He is a smooth talker, charismatic to the hilt. I know better than to buy into those types. He makes no bones about wanting to tax small businesses and what the American people HAVE to see is that this does affect everyone - trickle down...small business raise their prices which translates to the consumer - rich or poor! I don't agree with every word McCain says, but he is much more American that Mr. Obama. And, finally, as a Christian...

My, now 9 year old has an August birthday and I put him in school at 5, so he is now in "4th grade." However, he is also doing some older grade work and some younger grade work. I think, with homeschoolers (especially ones who don't go with the "box") just don't identify totally with a grade. My son would be 3rd, 4th, 5th grade of I were to actually go by what level work he does. KWIM?