Sorry, I didnt see the part about the hospital not allowing kids under 18 anymore. So yeah, I guess you have to leave her with the friend lol.

Hmmm, tough call. I'd leave DD with the friend....kids are not very good at not touching things. They touch their faces a lot too. If you went, I'd just not touch anything till you got into her room and then use hand sanitizer. Same for leaving her room....try not to touch anything and then use hand sanitizer once at your car.

Now I'm wondering if what I had was H1N1 a few weeks ago. I always thought fever was the main sign of the flu. A few weeks ago I started out feeling fatigued, had a little bit of chills, very very slight fever, very sore throat, developed a dry cough that was worse at night, and I just felt tired. It started on a Sunday evening and I started feeling better the following Friday morning. I went to the doctor on Thursday and she told me I had "The Crud." Now I'm wondering if it was not H1N1? No one else in my family got it though.

I am so glad I found this topic. I was actually on google searching for a child OCD forum....and this topic on my very own board came up! I've posted on the general board about my 5 year old DD several times. I'm quite positive she has OCD. The tell-tale OCD sign, handwashing and germs, has just come into play for my daughter. Our home life is a wreck because of her right now. Bedtime is a 2 hour long fit of screaming and crying. Consequences and punishments have absolutely no effect on her. Nothing we do can control her. Everything just leads to her screaming and crying. (She does nothing physical, just lots of crying, complaining, screaming, etc). Tonight she said the bed was dirty and she could not sleep in it. The bed is absolutely not dirty and I'm not washing the sheets this late. We made her stay in bed. I have no idea if that was the right way to handle it or not. Making her stay in bed led to more screams. Like you, I do not want meds. I have researched cognitive behavior therapy, as well as play therapy. But I do not know who to take her to. A phychologist? Psychiatrist? Licensed therapist? I googled and came up with a licenced therapist who does play therapy and family therapy for children with OCD. And if cognitive behavior therapy is needed, she says she will do that as well. But should I not go that route because she is not a real doctor? But she is nearly an hour's drive away. Then I'm also close to the University of Florida in Gainesville who has a specialized OCD medical department. But are they going to be more pro-medicine? Should I try them because they are a well known medical facility with a big program? But again, they are an hour's drive for me. I also found a childrens clinic within closer proximity (only about 15 minutes). Do I try them instead? I want to choose what's going to fit best and quickest because I know the younger I start a therapy, the more beneficial it will be. And I have to check our insurance too. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with her attitude, choosing somone to see her, etc.

We're teaching only phonics right now. But I'm not even close to experienced since my oldest DD is 5 years old and we are on Book C of the Explode the Code pre-books. We're nearly finished with all the consonant sounds and will be moving into the vowel sounds shortly.

LOL! I'm right there with ya! In fact, the only conversation we usually have at the dinner table is my 5 year old complaining that she doens't like what we are having and doesn't want to eat. :glare:

I would let him. Either way, he is experiencing a consequence of losing something. He will have to forfeit something else that he wanted.

I think I could probably answer much shorter for "why would you want to send them to public school" LOL. There are just SO many reasons why we chose to homeschool. The top of is, of course, a religious reason. I want my kids foundation to be Jesus Christ. Education is very important, but living for Jesus is even more important. Public school certainly will not teach my child that. But I will not elaborate here because you want non-religious reasons. The other reasons fall in no particular order behind that one.... I feel I can educate my children better. Who better to educate them than the person who has their very best interest at heart? Teachers may like them, maybe even love them at times, but will not love them like their parents. I can cater to my kids likes/dislikes/abilities/weaknesses. Public school cannot do this. If a kid doesn't understand a point being made, they have to move on. And vice versa. If my kid likes dinosaurs, I can center much of our learning around dinosaurs. If my kid is behind in math, I can spend more time on that area. If my kid adores animal science, I focus on science on that. I do not want my kids socialization to be in the public school. Yes, I want my kids sheltered. I dont care if some people have a negative connotation about that. My five year old does not need to know about oral sex, nor talk about having crushes on boys. I actually like my kids and like spending time with them. I want to raise them, not give them over to the government, who I'm not sure that I really trust. I do not want "dumbed down" curriculum for my kids. I also do not want them taught some of the things that conflict with our Christian beliefs. Though it might be rare, I dont want my kids exposed to the dangers you hear about in schools. Bullying, sexual abuse, crazy teachers, kids bringing guns, etc. In school there is so much wasted time. Between lining up, behavior problems, bathroom breaks, walking the entire class around the school, passing out supplies to a whole group of kids, settling them down, questions asked by multiple children, etc.....well, I can get so much more done in a shorter amount of time. That's all I can think of right now.....I'm constantly adding to my list though. ;)

Honestly, if it were me, I would stay home. You need to get yourself better. I have had sinus issues and infections, and I felt absolutely MISERABLE. Stay home, get lots of good books, read, take lots of long steaming showers to help with the nasal issues, try moving around some because sometimes laying around all the time actually makes me feel worse. Try walking around the block midday. I just know that if it were me, I would not want to travel.

I'd have her checked for a bladder infection. Whenver my housebroken adult dog does that, he usually has an infection.

Yeah, pretty much impossible in 2T....I dont think I've ever seen them. I wish I could find it in a 3T, I'd still put my DD in those.

I agree with the poster who mentioned Big Wheels. My DD5 got one last year for Christmas when she was 4. It is awesome!!! She got the Radio Flyer one on the link that was posted. It is really sturdy, the front wheel has grips on it so that it does not spin out when trying to take off, and the seat is adjustable. I dont think your two year old could handle it yet....I know that mine can't. But my five year old rides it often. I like it better than a tricycle because there is no tip-over danger. Last year for Christmas, I got DD a scooter, but then took it back and got the Big Wheel.

I have Wii Fit and Wii Active.....I definitely LOVE Wii Active MUCH better. I think you can use the board with Active as well, but I never do. Not sure what purpose it would serve.

For my girls I'm thinking of..... a gel ant farm along with a book about ants either a domino race set or Keva planks a Bilibo for each girl one Webkinz each the crayola masterworks art set (comes in a wooden carry box) a DS game a DVD for each girl jammies for each girl For DD2, the new Little People Animalville set For DD5, the new carry along Playmobil pet clinic (Toys R Us exclusive) possibly an Ugly Doll for DD5, but not sure if I'm already getting a new Webkinz a pet Zhu Zhu hamster for each girl (they like to pretend they are real) maybe some playsilks a board game of some kind, possibly Sequence for Kids or Guess Who maybe Frigits That's what I'm thinking so far.....nothing is definite though (well, except for a few things....I already bought the ant farm, book, Zhu Zhu's, and jammies. My sister already got the Animalville and Playmobil sets for them).

Thanks!! Does anyone who have this also have the Keva planks? I was deciding between this and the Keva planks for my two girls (they are 5 and 2). I actually thought they may like this better, but now I'm wondering if the Keva planks would not be better?

By the way, I never buy them at Wal Mart or Target, or even Toys R Us (except that exclusive set) because they do not have a good selection at all. They only carry a few sets when there are really TONS to choose from.

Playmobil is great! My two little girls, ages 2 and 5 have quite a few sets. I second the poster that recommended Ridge Road Station online....they have lots of sets for good prices, and they have free shipping if you spend like $40 or $50 (which is very easy to do when purchasing Playmobil). My sister just asked for Christmas list for the kids and I recommended she get them the new Pet Clinic, that is a Toys R Us exclusive.

Like the pp said, we do rotate motrin/tylenol for a stubborn, high fever. We give alternate them every three hours.

I've found that ibuprofen (motrin) works better and longer then acetamenophine (Tylenol). It usually takes longer to actually start working though. For example, if I have a bad headache, Tylenol will not usually take it all the way away. It may lessen it....or it may come back within just a few hours. But it does start working within about 30 minutes for me. If I take Motrin, it takes an hour to an hour and a half to kick in and take the headache completely away (quicker for a fever though...usually within about 30 minutes for that). And it keeps the headache away too.

I'm probably getting my girls one for Christmas. I think they would really enjoy it. Does anyone have one? Do your kids play with it often? Is there one you would recommend? I've been looking at these two.... http://www.hearthsong.com/product.asp?section_id=0&department=0&search_type=normal&search_value=domino%20race&cur_index=&pcode=2142 http://www.amazon.com/Haba-HABA1172-Domino-Race/dp/B001G5SPFA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1255229343&sr=8-2

I assume this does not include arts/crafts/outside toys, right? If so, arts/crafts would definitely be on my 5 year old's top ten list. Honestly, my kids do not even have a Top Ten.....they play with a few things very consistently. For my five year old.... Stuffed animals Schleich animals Little People Playmobil Nintendo DS For my two year old... Little People Stuffed animals Little People Schleich animals Little people Yes, she LOVES Little People

I have a friend whose 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with swine flu yesterday (test confirmed it). Two days ago she woke with a slight fever, got a headache.....mom dosed with motrin and she was great for a while. Later on fever rose to 102.5 and headache returned. Mom gave more Motrin in the evening and girl went to bed. Yesterday the girl was tired, running low fever, threw up a tiny bit only once, sneezing some, coughing some. There was a confirmed case of H1N1 at the girl's school so the mom took her to the doctor. Test confirmed swine flu. Today (only two days after onset of fairly mild symptoms) the girl is not running any fever, has had no Motrin since 4 AM, mom has not touched the Tamiflu yet. Her color is a little off, has a little sneezing, but was up painting and stuff. So, all that to say, looks like this flu can be fairly mild or more flu-like.

I do!!!! I would love to get out of our suburban neighborhood and live on a few acres. Not too far out....I still need my Target and WalMart trips without making it an all day outing LOL. But....I dont think I'll ever be living the pioneer life though. It does not appeal to DH whatsoever. He cannot even keep up our small yard here in our neighborhood.....I can just imagine a few acres looking like an overgrown mess. And he already has to drive 45 minutes to an hour to get to work.....he already does not like that, and does not want to move further out. And animals would be out of the question, as he does not care for animals. He looks at them as an unnecessary monetary expense with vet bills, meds, shots, accessories, etc. I'd love to have a few goats and chickens or something. I SOOOO wish for my kids to grow up with a "simpler life." That would make for incredible childhood memories and opportunities. But I don't think we'll ever get to experience it.

We do not have them, but I'm thinking of getting them for my girls for Christmas. They are only 5 and 2. But I can imagine them making "cages" for animals at a zoo.....roads around the house.....towers.....bridges. Nothing elaborate of course.

Wow, that is interesting!! I dont think I've ever smelled a fever before. Now I'll have to pay more attention though.