This sounds just like my 5 year old daughter. She is EXTREMELY shy and quiet. She wont talk to Sunday School teachers, coaches, or anyone. She will answer them with a head shake or nod. She has no friends except her cousin around her age, which we only see on a monthly basis. Her little sister is her best friend, which is completely okay (I even encourage it)....but I do wish she were able to interact with children outside of the family. Even if only one or two. My daughter is in AWANA, Sunday School, she's taken dance class, she's played three seasons of soccer, we attend storytime at the library, etc. She just will not talk to a single child, even if they approach her first. I do not mind her being shy, I'm very shy myself, but I do wish she would interact with other kids a bit. I do not know how to help her in this area.

I worry about this frequently. I have two DD's. They are only 5 and 2 now, but already at 5 years old I can see other little girls trying to grow up too quickly. We were at a kids play area and there were two little girls, around my daughter's age if not younger, who were furiously arguing about a boy and who he liked best and who had kissed him more times. :glare: I will aim to teach my daughters that Hollywood is not to be emulated. Being a Size 0 is not how the majority of the world looks. And not everyone's body is created to even have the ability to be a Size 0. Make up, ear piercing, etc will come later. I'm not sure what age yet, but it will not be before the teenage years. Probably the mid teenage years at that. I'm prepared to give a little if a child of mine has really bad acne or something, but other than that it is not needed. I wear minimal make-up. Foundation to balance out my skin and cover bumps, and then occasional lip gloss....nothing else. I stroll through the children's section at the store, looking to buy my little girls some clothes and I already see halter tops, really short shorts, etc. Not my daughters. I want them to look like the LITTLE girls that they are. I want them to play with toys for as long as possible. What happened to the days of playing dolls when you are 13 and 14 years old? Now little girls figure they are too old at that age. It really saddens me how quickly girls grow up these days. My youngest sister is 15 years old. She's been in a (too) serious relationship with a boy for several years now....she is allowed to wear revealing clothes....and she watches and listens to whatever she pleases (lots of songs with sexual innuendo), and wears lots of make up. People have been thinking she was 18 years old since she was 14. I do NOT want that for my daughter. I want the polar opposite and seeing her has been a great lesson for me to strive even harder to keep my girls young and pure. My mom was not like that with my other sister and I. For my youngest sister she has completely changed and lost her moral. It's sad.

That's crazy! I'd definitely be asking for my money back. My DD (5 years old) took swim lessons at the YMCA last year and the instructors were in the water with them. However, she learned nothing at the Y. So this year, both of my DD's (ages 5 and 2) are in survival swim lessons with Infant Swim Resource. They are taught privately at the instructor's house and she's always in the water with them.

Thanks for all the input everyone!! I think this would be good for her....if only because she is so extremely shy, and quite clingy at times. I'll have to talk it over with DH. The cost is quite high so that will be our major consideration. They did say that we can pay in four installments. And I'll also want to know if we can back out after the first semester without paying for the rest....just in case DD absolutely hates it or something. I actually know who the teacher is, so I trust that she will be in good hands.

How old is this DD? But judging by what you've said about the panic attacks and anxiousness, I think I would have to tell her no. What if she got halfway through the trip and just shut down? What if there was turbulance and she got really really scared? Too many what if's.

My daughter is starting kindergarten this fall. The local homeschool store offers a lot of classes, including a new one for kindergarteners. It's Kindergarten Mondays. Every Monday, from 9-12:30 the class comes in and does all sorts of learning activities and brings a sack lunch to eat. It costs $450 plus a supply fee (they said less than $40). It runs September through April. And I think there is a max of 12 children (for all I know it could be full and I'm asking this question for nothing lol). But would you put your child in this class? I'm thinking of it, but I have so many pros and cons though. Pros? It would give us something different to do on Mondays. I was planning a 4 day school week for kindergarten and this could take place on our "off" day and still give us the afternoon to do something fun or run errands. Or I could run errands while my DD is at the class (assuming that I just leave her there....which I guess I do for that many hours). Another pro is that my DD is extremely shy and this could give her a chance to be in a setting with other children and another teacher for just a little while....maybe it would help her break out of her shell a bit. I know she'd be against the class at first, but hopefully would come to enjoy it. Cons? The cost, for one. Also, I wonder how it would affect the homeschooling schedule that I have planned. I dont know if there will be any "homework" from the class that would carry over into our regularly planned school days....which would cause us to deviate from the curriculum I have already planned. So what do you guys think? Do you think it would be a good thing for her or not?

My husband's cousin has five children and used Biblical names for all of them. Her two girls are Shiloh and Philadelphia.

I cannot stand Spongebob. Luckily, my girls have picked up on this and they dislike him too (they are 5 and 2). I dont mind some cartoonish books like Franklin, the Berenstein Bears, Dora, etc.....just not Spongebob! Ugh!

Karen_sn....why is Horizon not organic? We've recently begun making some diet changes and I'm now buying organic milk. Or so I thought LOL! I get it at Whole Foods but also notice that Winn Dixie carries it as well. What's the difference? I just want a milk that does not carry hormones and stuff like that.

I would think that your local public school would take him. Long story short, our DD (who is now 5) was in private speech therapy since about 20 months old, tested out around 3 years old, but then I thought she still needed it when she turned 4 years old. So I contacted a group called Child Find (not sure if that's just a FL thing or not). They gave her an evaluation and contacted the public school system. My daughter took speech therapy last year at the local elementary school for 30 minutes, twice a week. No charge of course. I wonder if your district really requires your child to be enrolled in preschool or if someone told you wrong? My DD did not go to preschool anywhere. And she'll be doing speech again there next year even though I'll be homeschooling her for K.

I would have probably looked at her like she was crazy and said "Huh?" I didnt even know that MJ homeschooled. And whether or not he's a pedophile, I'm still not a fan of the dude and would not want to be compared to him for various reasons.

I participated this week. http://christusg.typepad.com/thecarlsons/

I have not read all of the replies....but I definitely do NOT think you are over reacting. My children would never be allowed in that house ever again. That is just CRAZY. Guns under a pillow? On a dresser? In full view of children???? They are crazy!!!

I agree with you. Within the last few months we've cut about 90% of HFCS and food dyes out of our diets. I try to buy as much organic fruits, dairy, and meat as possible (along with snacks for the kids). I do still have my treat on the weekend (usually a candy bar or something) and we do still eat out once a week, so I cannot control the HFCS there. And I never knew that about flouride....I'll have to look into that more. And dont get me started about vaccines, their ingredients, and how "well" the FDA tests them. It's crazy the things that we put into our bodies now-a-days and we dont even realize it. And the gov't and federal agencies just push it under the rug.

I'm definitely going to keep my eye on this thread! I LOVE Bible studies where I read, answer questions, and apply it to my life. My DH doesnt understand why I like answering the questions, but I think it helps me to dwell on it and understand it better. I've been looking for a good one for a while now.

I would love to do a little bit each day....like designate the bathrooms for Monday, the dusting for Tuesday, etc. But I just cannot do that. Once I get started, I am already "in the zone" and just want to get everything done. So I usually take a day every two weeks to do all of the deep stuff (dusting, cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing toilets, mopping, etc). And then of course I wipe the counters, do the dishes, sweep the floors, and tidy every single day....several times a day.

I'm pretty sure that you cannot opt out of the data plan for an iPhone. When I upgraded from my regular phone to an iPhone, our plan went up $30 for the data plan.

Thanks for your input everyone! It's definitely something to think about. I never thought about the "school" aspect of it LOL. And I had already begun planning a nature study to be a big part of our homeschool next year. This would be perfect LOL. We've visited the house twice and I've made sure to go down by the pond each time. I dont notice any mosquitos or any smells. I also did not see any ducks or geese. Actually, the only "wildlife" I saw there was an egret walking on the other side of the pond. I would love to talk to the neighbors though. We are going to see the house again on Sunday evening....maybe we can talk with some of the neighbors then. I'm not too worried about water safety, as we've lived with an in-ground pool in our backyard for years now. My two young children are actually taking survival swimming lessons right now. And also, we would defintely fence off the pond with a wrought iron fence (so that we can still see the pone), just as our pool is fenced off currently. I'm just freaked about the possibility of snakes....and I dont so much mind harmless snakes....it is cotton mouths and moccasins I would be worried about. And a frozen pond is definitely not something we have to worry about down here in Florida. Although, with this heat, sometimes I wish we did have to worry about it LOL!

We are looking at moving into a new house. We found a REALLY nice house for a steal in a neighborhood. We've been debating whether we want to live in a neighborhood and have a larger house.....or live on an acre or two of land and have a smaller house. Hard decision. But we found a house in a new neighborhood that we really like. It seems like the cool thing to in my city is build new subdivisions around ponds. The house that we really like is on a pond. I was just wondering if anyone lives on a lot like this and can tell me if they have an increase in mosquitos or snakes. The neighborhood has an association which requires people to keep their grass short....so I would think that if there is no tall grass or weeds, there is nowhere for snakes to hide. And what about mosquitos?

We actually just got rid of our two cats this past week because I'm allergic to them. One was named Mac-N-Cheese....the other was named Armadillo. My daughter named them when she was three.

Eww, soggy pancakes and waffles turn my stomach. I'm a dipper!!! When we go to Cracker Barrell I always order their french toast. They look at my like I'm nuts when I ask for a small empty bowl to go with them LOL.

My DD (then 4) wanted an AG doll this past Christmas. She found out about them when the company kept sending their catalogs to our house (darn catalogs lol). But she just does not play with dolls enough to justify $100 for a doll, plus the cost of AG accessories. Plus, 4 (and she's 5 now) is just too young to care for such an expensive doll. Soooo, I did a lot of research and found out that the Springfield Dolls are very good. ( http://www.springfielddolls.com/ ) They can be found at Michael's and AC Moore. They are 18", just like the AG dolls. They are about $20 or $25 but those two stores always offer 40% or 50% off coupons so you can get them at a GREAT price. I got one (I mean, Santa got one) for each of my girls. A brunette for my 4 year old and a blonde for my nearly two year old (who is now 2). They have had them since Christmas time and are still holding strong. The arms/legs seem to be in tact very well. And before I (errr, Santa) gave it to them at Christmas time I cut the brunette dolls hair into a cut that was more like my 4 year old's. Because she had wanted one of the AG "look alike" dolls. Well, she is none the wiser! She thinks she has an AG doll! We have a bin full of clothing....and even a sleeping bag/pillow that I found on etsy. She changed the clothes often. You can buy AG clothes, Springfield clothes, or MG clothes. Personally, I like to go on www.etsy.com and look for clothing on there. They handmake some cute stuff for great prices!

I'm a photographer and I have a Canon 40D. I love that thing! But then again, once you are spoiled with the clarity and speed of an SLR, any point and shoot will seem way too slow LOL.

My DD was getting a haircut a few months ago and a little boy and his grandfather walked in. The grandfather called him Gamble. I really liked it!

Finally, someone else who likes the name Ephraim!!! We were going to use this with DD#1 had she been a boy (she's five now). Then our second child was a girl as well, so we havent been able to use it LOL. But we were going to spell it Ephram. Seems everyone I mention it to does not care for it, but I love it. We love "different" names too. Our daughters are Paisley and Sailor.