We're using Miquon too, and those were tough! Three things that seemed to help my kid were, first, saying "Read it aloud to me," over and over; second, always using the rods (no visualizing); and third, adding an easier level of Singapore on other days to slow her down. We are finishing Singapore 1A and halfway through the Miquon red book, so every other day she has to think harder. Another thing: the hardest part of teaching math, for me, is NOT helping her. I have to be silent while she thinks. At most, I ask leading questions. She has to figure it out for herself or she does not understand it independently. It does come together! I'm so proud of her math work!

I think it is under "My Settings". Hover over your user name at the top right of the screen to see the menu. I think. :) Good luck!

I read The Primal Blueprint in August 2013 after doing some research online about joint pain and finding a forum associated with it. My husband and I both eat the way it describes now: meat, lots of veggies, nuts, yams, berries and apples, a little full-fat dairy. We also exercise some(very little on my part), sleep more, etc. He lost 30 pounds, got his best score since college on his military physical fitness test, and looks... well, awesome. And he was heavy from college on. Before August, he thought half a box of cereal was a good bedtime snack. He eats a lot more nuts than I do and it still works! I lost 22 pounds. It came off without effort. I quit drinking Dr Pepper for energy, and I feel fantastic. I've been on a pushups kick! My joint pain in my hands and feet evaporated, and so did certain awkward digestive complaints (ahem). It isn't a crazy plan, and it really isn't that much of a sacrificial feeling to eat this way. We are able to eat out relatively easily. For our kids, who are on the lean side anyway, I serve a lot of eggs, cheese, whole milk, and side dishes of potatoes, beans, breads, rice, etc. Good luck to your husband! I know how hard it can be to make a dietary change. I was heavy for the last ten years, and felt like I had no self-control. This has given back my hope of a healthy life.

My husband got a small computer which turns the TV into a great big computer screen. I watched the superbowl on Fox.com. Because it was streaming, it was a little choppy, but I'm not a fanatical fan and didn't care.

Elizabeth Peters, right? That's terrible! I like her books.

I remember being told that a certain antibiotic could cause tooth discoloration; now I'm trying to remember which one it was. It was in reference to the liquid kids' form of the antibiotic.

Good to know!

That sounds like an interesting book! I'm going to see if my library has it.

Thank you! A friend sells Pampered Chef, so she has ordered a can opener for me. I'm planning to buy one for my mom and each sibling. The fact that one can cut a tendon on a can lid is shocking. I have to see a hand surgeon this week. Have I mentioned that I teach piano lessons and play for our church? Sigh. However, I did NOT get blood in the canned pumpkin, and so I finally made my almost-primal pumpkin custard. It was fantastic. So I think I will be fine soon.

I'm so glad it isn't just my kid who cries over the math problem, reaches for the manipulative box, and shouts the answer as her fingers touch them. Then, she's happy and exhausted. It is all so intense! But the material isn't really too hard for her, because she's figuring out the answers. One day when she started to get wound up I had her sit on my lap to do her math and that helped her settle down and think.

We've been washing hair a lot less, at most every 2 weeks, and using a lot more conditioner since we got the Curly Girl book/DVD at our library. It was good for my daughter to see all those curly-haired beautiful women liking their hair! I'll probably never do some of the things they recommend (Avocado and banana? On hair? No.), but the way they say to detangle really works.

Those look really neat!

Thank you. I'll be getting one of the above mentioned can openers really soon!

I'm on my second read-through of Don Quixote. It is taking me forever. However, I'm busy and have too many uses for my free time. So far, I liked it. I had no idea it was so.... raunchy? Earthy? Something. I'm working hard to suspend judgment until the third reading. Two things helped me, so far: first, I got the edition SWB mentioned in TWEM. I think the translation is more modern than the one a PP mentioned above. Second, I listened to SWB's lecture titled, I think, "Educating Ourselves as We Educate Our Children". She repeats some of the tips in the book, but her humor encouraged me. Thanks for posting; it is fun to hear what others are doing!

Thank you, Milovany! I'll look for that.

I need a recommendation for a quality safety can opener. I'm typing with fewer fingers than normal because I sliced my pointer knuckle and nicked a tendon on a stupid can. I got four stitches and a referral to a hand surgeon. The ER doc said cuts from cans are "common". I opened the can of pumpkin, left the lid sticking up, scraped out the pumpkin with a long rubber spatula, and caught my right forefinger on that razor blade of a lid. Darn it. Sigh. At least it wasn't a can of tuna - that would be worse.

That's really cool! Thank you!

That's terrible. I'm so sorry.

I had a few, but they are now outside and dying of frost because I re-potted them last fall and they got gnats! Did you know that a lot of the potting soil you could buy at, say, Home Depot, has gnat eggs in it!?!!? At least that's what Google and I concluded was the problem. I realized that we got a plague of gnats in the house every year after I repotted the houseplants. And I'm probably never going to bake the potting soil before I use it. I just don't have that kind of time on my hands. If anyone knows of a good way to avoid the gnat plague, I'd like to know it. I liked houseplants.

I have two ideas, but my kids are little, so take them for whatever they are worth! First, there's a book: What Stories Does My Son Need? by Michael Gurian. I don't agree with Gurian on some things, but this book of lists seems really good. There are both books and movies arranged by age and I think by topic. Many of them you would want to pre-read or pre-view. I use the list with my daughter, too. Second, I've been a camp counselor for girls. They can be just as stupid as boys can be. The best strategy we learned for preventing problems was for two counselors to be in the area of the showers (not IN the showers) making the kids hurry up. They don't need so much shower time to get clean and get out.

Congratulations! That takes lots of focus and self-discipline; you guys SHOULD celebrate! While I understand the PP's point that one wouldn't want to make others feel small, I think a celebration of something like this is motivational! Dare to dream, people! We can do this too!

I love these threads. Now I have to go update my holds with the library! I just read "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg. It was interesting, especially in the second half of the book where he discusses how habits can be manipulated by retailers. Wild.

I wore a wrap-type knit shirt to dinner with a 1yo nursing child. Not my smartest move ever. My daughter pulled herself up using my shirt as leverage! When I had snatched it back from her, I looked up at the couple across from us. He was laughing with his eyes tightly closed!! They are still good friends, and I've never worn that blouse without a camisole underneath since.

What a good man your son will make! Brag on!!

I once asked a young man in Walmart what the symbol on his T-shirt meant... I blabbered that I was seeing it everywhere, and just couldn't figure it out. He told me it was the Browning logo. Like the gun manufacturer. I was in Oklahoma. :o