The tempurpedic foam mattresses really help stop the feelnig of movement on the bed. I can't stand when dh tosses and turns, but he never wakes me up in our new bed. You may want to go to a mattress store and FEEL the difference before you settle on two beds. My dh snores and refuses the sleep study. It is SO much fun! :(

I agree with you all...this one was so tragic because we were just blindsided by the end. I saw the picture, but I thought maybe the dog collapsed or broke a leg...I would have NEVER thought that his very best friend would be dead! And the wording...something like... "100 yards from the finish line, her heart burst. It was instant. She felt no pain." I actually gasped and ds just immediately started sobbing. He even asked me not to post it on paper back swap because "no one needs to be that sad, mom!" :( My ds 12, who was listening from the other room, came in laughing at both of us for crying. He has empathy issues and did not hear the whole book!

Not cause I want to...but it just happens. HOD for the older grades is worth it, but definitely not "cheap" with all of those great books!

I shared that one on my FB yesterday, but then found a better one today. I think this one is more accurate...especially on the part of what most ps teachers think of us:

I gave my 8 year old an "easy book" to read for DITHR this time. He flew through it and we were enjoying the story of Little Willy gearing up for the race with his beloved dog Searchlight...and then ds read the end. I gasped (totally didn't see that coming) and ds started BAWLING! He cried for most of the day after that...any time he thought of the book. There should be a warning on that book!

Nope. He goes to work so I can stay home and teach the kids.

Bumping this for a few more replies. :)

We have always done ETC and handwriting. We are finishing 3rd grade and ds8 is doing ETC book 8 right now (after a lengthy break to do some wordly wise at the beginning of this year). Is there any reason you are not doing books 7 and 8 in ETC? Also, Beyond the Code is a little strange. It is more like a reading program and doesn't necessarily come AFTER all of the ETC books. Have you looked at those to make sure it is what you really want? The NOEO Science may be wonderful for you all, but it was a flop here. We had a lot better luck with Elemental Science (and it was so much less expensive) when ds8 was in 2nd grade. I am not saying you have to switch, but just wanted to throw that out there incase it was an option you hadn't considered.

I have read several articles about this and here are my 2 cents. 1. The school made a mistake. The lunch was healthy and fine...even according to the "rules." 2. Had there been an "infraction" of some sort causing the lunch to be unhealthy, then the school was supposed to supplement the lunch to make it healthier. For instance, a child brings chips and a coke to school...they should be offered dairy, meat, and fruit/vegetable. This child brought a decently healthy turkey and cheese sandwich along with a banana and apple juice. If a substitution was to be offered, it should have only been a vegetable...not chicken nuggets. Chicken nuggets would have been a supplement for the sandwich and there was NOTHING wrong with the sandwich. The school was wrong! 3. The whole thing was blown out of proportion. The school should not charge the mom. It was their mistake. They need to formally apologize to the mother AND the child...and now, maybe even the public. ;) 4. The "substitution policy," in theory, is a GOOD idea. It allows the school to offer kids with parents who truly just don't care what they eat some alternative to the junk food. However, a few lunch ladies on power trips can ruin the whole stinkin' thing for everyone.

If he has no "marks" and is showing no signs of trauma, then I would stay put...but I would strap that dresser to the wall..now!

It doesn't quite sound right to say that I have lost a ..newborn....but that is what the chart says. O.0 My overall goal is to lose a cinder block. However, I am just now at a newborn, so it appears I have a toddler yet to lose. :P

I think I would just skip by the holiday with her. I am happily married and still think Valentine's Day is pretty stupid. She is either feeling the same or maybe even feeling down. I'd just call and talk to her as normal.

Get off your tuff and get that house cleaned! Chances to see friends who live across the country are few and far-between and she probably NEEDED to stay over as much as she WANTED to stay. :) Git'er Done! LOL

I would, at the very least, have the vet check her. If, after a year of owning her, she still hasn't come into heat...I think you are safe. LOL Of course, the result of said "wait and see method" could also be a litter of kittens...

Isn't that synching stuff wild???! I always do that when I am around a girl friend a lot! Whacky. Being finished with Menopause by the time you are 50 is considered pretty early...but not too terribly so. You should probably visit your gyno and make sure everything is okay (thyroid, uterus, pap). If it is, though, then really this is pretty common. I have been whacky since my late 20's and I finally had the mirena put in to stop the craziness. It is still crazy, but not as bad as it once was.

When my dh has to travel, he has to travel...whether I am "okay" with it or not. Unfortunately, it is a pretty common occurrance around here and we have gotten so used to it that sometimes it is actually easier when he isn't here. That sounds bad, doesn't it? LOL ETA: While traveling is common, traveling for 4+ weeks at a time is NOT. Usually it is days/a week.

Bahhhhhahahahaha! Oh what a boy will do for "love." If only this sort of sentiment followed them all into manhood.... :)

LOL - I actually agree with this too, though! So, I am absolutely NO help since this totally contradicts my original suggestion. :auto:

We would head home and save they money that would have been spent on the last few days for a vacation later in the year (when everyone could enjoy it).

Perimenopause. I am 32 and started perimenopause in late 20's. My mom was totally finished with menopause by 45, so my doc thinks I will also finish early. Also, as we get older, our cycles sometimes just change. Perhaps your body is gearing up to shift your cycle around.

If it involved candy, even my 13 year old would be bummed and feel left out. My 8 year old would cry. LOL (but, alas, since all I have is 2 boys, they both got something. :))

Diets are daunting. Change the way you look at eating. Change the food you put into your body. Tracking calories DOES help. I started with just trying to make healthier choices...i.e. whole wheat pasta instead of white....wild rice instead of white...apple cubes instead of a cookie, and so on. When I started tracking my calories on a Kindle app I have (called "lose it"), Oy! I really started to see WHY the things I had tried in the past never worked. Once I got excited about changing my health and I started seeing even the smallest results, I came to really enjoy the process. I make a game of it sometimes and see how many things I can find that I really can just eat and eat and eat on without all the calories. It also helps me to see something BEFORE I eat it in terms of calories. For instance, we were choosing a restaurant out in public one day. My oldest son wanted Olive Garden. I put my usual meal there into my Lose it App and realized that it would take my DAILY calorie allowance just to eat there! Just seeing that was enough for me to make a better decision for my eating that day. :)

My almost teenager HATES to hug and always has. He is very awkward in the way he shows affection and it seems to be part of his anxiety disorder. My 8 year old, however, will probably be a hugger for life. He has always been OVERLY affectionate and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I only chose my answer based on my current 12.5 year old, though. But, like I said, he has never liked to hug or be affectionate with people...from the time he was very, very small (like 1.5 yrs old!).

I live in the Mtns of East TN, right on the VA and NC borders (literally 15 mins from each). I LOVE where we live. We have a farm in the country nestled in the mountains. Winters are usually moderate up here in the mountains...but this year has been particularly mild (which happens more often than not, really). Summers here are wonderful. We hardly ever get ridiculously warm and up in the mtns, where there is no asphalt to speak of, it cools down enough to sleep with the windows open on summer nights. The scenery is amazing too. :)

My favorite for Sinus issues is anything that contains Chlorpheniramine maleate. It is an allergy med, but it really dries everything up and takes care of the drainage. You can buy it straight as an allergy med or get it mixed with other meds like Sudafed or Dextromethorphan (for cough). I know that Triaminic, Chlor-trimeton, Vicks Formula 44, Coricidin HBP, Alka-Seltzer Plus, etc. are a few that contain it along with other meds. Good luck! We had a cold a few weeks ago that really kicked my butt. I called it "the plague" and short of death, it was.