Coming from someone who has a shy 5 year old who would freak if she were constantly having a different instructor, that schedule would really suck. My DD took swim lessons last year at the YMCA when she was 4. She was there for three weeks and didn't learn a thing. This year I enrolled my kids in survival swim lessons. It's a private lesson for 10 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 4-6 weeks. Yes, it is rigorous and expensive, but both of my DD's love the instructor and look forward to seeing her each day. I would really have a problem with that rotating schedule.

We keep lunch simple. Our big meal of the day is dinner. My kids are 2 and 5, so this may vary a bit from the ages of your kids. I usually give my kids three things for lunch. It usually consists of a "main" item such as: waffles, PB&J, lunch meat sandwich, sometimes a banana, shells & cheese, pasta, lunch meat by itself, a hot dog, etc. Then I'll add a "healthy" side, such as: half a cut up banana (if a whole one was not their "main" part), grapes, watermelon, yogurt, cantaloupe, applesauce, cheese cubes or stick, etc. Then I'll add a "snacky" type side, such as: cheddar bunnies (like goldfish), a granola bar, animal crackers, peanut butter crackers, etc. I have been known to give them a fruit assortment for lunch. I've also been known to make the peanut butter crackers the main part of their meal. I just know that I never take more than 5 minutes (and definitely not more than 10) to make lunch.

Oh yeah....I also use Clock GT for my clock at night....it glows green at night so you can see it when you wake up.

I have a few that I like.... I use Kindle sometimes to read books so that I do not have to carry one with me. I also use MyLite. It's a flashlight and I'm actually surprised at how many times it has come in handy! LifeTimer is a good one that I use. It counts how long it has been since an activity. Like I use it for recording how long it has been since I've had a drs appt, or when my kids are sick and how long it has been since I last gave them Motrin. Or how long it has been since my car had an oil change, etc. I use Facebook all the time. As for games, I'm not big on them either, but I do have a few on mine for those times when I'm waiting somewhere and I'm super bored LOL. I've got Bounce On (kinda like Mario a bit), ShakeSpell (kinda like Boggle), and Tap Tap Revenge 2 (kinda like Guitar Hero). I use Flixster to look at movie trailers, show times, upcoming releases, and upcoming DVD's. It's really convenient. I also use the Bible and The Weather Channel app. I use the Weather Channel for when I'm out and about and see a storm approaching. I use the Bible for my devotions each morning. I have an app called iLove Travel: Packing that I use to make my packing lists whenever we go on a trip. And I use an app called Grocery Gadget to make all of my grocery shopping lists....super easy to check off each item when walking through the store. For my kids I have the following apps (not sure how old yours are, but mine are 2 an 5): Bubbles (make bubbles and pop them) JirboMatch (a matching game) Make A Martian (really cute game where you get to create your own alien) Koi Pond (you can feed fish, watch them swim around, touch them, etc) Scribble Lite (free drawing app) Finger Piano Lite (play a piano app) Tapping Zoo (tap each animal to hear their sound) Wheels on the Bus (goes through the song and you can tap things to see what they do). DressChica (you dress a chicken in different clothes) Okay, I think that's about all my favs LOL

I'm a photographer who does a lot of photo editing as well. It can be done depending on the photos. It all depends on the backgrounds and how hard it is to extract that person out of one background and put them onto another. If you want to post the photos, or email them to me, I can take a look at them and see if it is do-able with those two photos.

No advice, but OWWWWW!!!! Yeah, I think I'd pass out every time I had to look at it. I hope you heal quickly!

I've always wondered this too. But now all I can think of is Dr House and his Vicodin addiction/dependency LOL. I dont know if he really needs them or not! :lol: I am soooo leary to take any type of pain medication because I'm terrified of becoming addicted to it. I had a minor surgery about 8 years ago and they gave me a prescription pain med (cant remember which one now) and told me how often to take it. I never took it. I downed some Motrin, which thankfully took care of most of the pain. I had a really bad toothache about two years ago and they gave me a script for some Tylenol with Codeine in it (I was pregnant at the time so that's all they could really give me). I never took that either. But at that time I was also concerned with the baby, as well as an addiction possibility. I hear of so many people becoming addiction to prescription meds...it is scary.

I bought a book from this company to use as my daughters math book this year (for kindergarten). It looks neat, she loves workbooks, and it is very colorful.

I've heard it used both ways....but I would definitely have to giggle if I heard your dad use it that way LOL.

I really want to see The Proposal! Imagine That looks cute but I would rather pick The Proposal.

It would all depend on the situation, the amount of money, if it was in anything, etc. One time I was walking through the middle of a very crowded Busch Gardens. I looked down, saw a bill, and picked it up. It was $20, my lucky day. I knew I would NEVER find the owner in a place like that. Now if I had an idea of whose money it may be, such as if I was standing in line somewhere and saw some money on the ground, I would point to the ground and ask if that was anyone's money. As for your situation, if it was in a purse/wallet, I would turn it in. If it was just some bills, I would pocket it. Unless it was a crazy amount of money. Because if I ever lost a crazy amount of money, I would hope someone would return it to me.

Ugh, I hear ya! We stayed at our very first condo in early May. Like you, I was amazed at the amount of stuff I had to pack! And like you, it had to fit into a mini van as well. Dont forget things like trash bags, laundry detergent, dish soap, dryer tablets. Are plates/cups/silverware/dishes provided? Food, toiletries, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. It was definitely a pain to pack but we had a great time! We were just very crowded on the way down and back!

Thank you all so much for your suggestions!! I just researched each suggestion and have found what we want to use. We became a member of www.daniellesplace.com and the Resource Room. They have all sorts of printable crafts, bible stories, cards, verses, etc that I can print from home and put together my own lesson. I'll pre-print everything, cut out what needs to be cut, and put all supplies and instructions and in an envelope and label the Bible story on the front. Then I can just grab the one for that day and get started on it. Thanks so much everyone!

Oh my gosh!!!! That is horrible! I think I would have probably passed out. That's one of my biggest fears - being able to feeling some drilling or something at the dentist. I've had one root canal in my life (actually, just a few months ago) and it went fine. Ginger, tell your husband not to worry, majority of root canals go just fine. I had a bit of pain after, but nothing that two Motrin could not handle. And my husband, mom, dad, and grandfather have all had root canals done with no pain afterwards. So they do not all go wrong.

No advice, I dont have any boys and my kids are still young, but stick to your guns. You wont regret that you raised your kids with high moral and intellectual standards.

Oh my gosh, that's just nuts!!

We were at a kids play area today and I was crawling through the nets and tunnels with my 2 year old DD. I pass by two little girls, had to be around 4 or 5 years old (same age my oldest DD) having a very heated argument about a boy. They were yelling at each other about whose boyfriend the little boy was and were claiming him based on who had kissed him the most times. These two little girls were having a cat fight about a boy and one ran away in tears! Oh, thank you Lord that my 5 year old little girl has no idea what a boyfriend is and that I could never even picture her arguing about one at this age! This is supposed to be teenage stuff!

We have a Phil and Ted's Sport Buggy with the double seat option. LOVE THIS STROLLER! And we also have a Maclaren Quest for when I want something just a bit lighter and we also love that one as well. My 40 pound 5 year old can still fit into both of them, and they were good when my daughter was an infant as well.

I live in FL and for the past few weeks I have started sweating immediately upon stepping out the door. I hate humidity. So yes, 80% humidity stinks LOL.

Thanks for all of the replies!! We have had her hearing tested on several occasions. First was when she was being evaluated for speech therapy at 20 months. That was tested by an ENT who did a more "in depth" hearing test. Then she had it tested at her 4 year old appt in the ped's office. Then she had it tested again at during her 4th year when she was being screened for therapy in the public school system. And finally, it was tested a few months ago at her 5 year check up. Also, she has only had one ear infection in her life. At first the Early Intervention program was wondering if she had verbal apraxia (right before she turned two), but that was quickly dismissed after a few months of therapy. I think I'll look into other therapy options in the area. And if I cannot find anything, we will just keep her in the public school system. Thanks so much for everyone's input!

DD is about to starte kindergarten in the fall, here at home. At 20 months old she began speech therapy through our early intervention program. She went in with no words and emerged a year later with a large vocabulary. However, her articulation was not good but her speech teacher said that would come with time. Well, four years old came and she was still not talking clearly. Her vocabulary was normal and she spoke in sentences well, but she was still hard to understand, even by us sometimes. So I contacted the early intervention program again, who directed me to a group called Child Find, who got her into speech therapy at the local public elementary school this past school year. The teacher was really nice and claimed the my DD was making progress, however I do not hear any changes in her speech in everyday talking. She went two days a week, for 30 minutes each time, all throughout last school year. Is it bad that I'm thinking of not sending her back this coming year? I just do not feel that she is making any progress. The teacher will be calling me right before the school year starts to set up her schedule. I know I have a while, but I do not know what to tell her. Should I have my daughter in some type of speech therapy? When I hear other 5 year olds talk, I am amazed at how clear they sound. I have trouble understanding what she says at times. She is smart enough that she finds another way to say it, or does a gesture that I will understand, but she needs to learn to speak clearly. Am I awful for wanting to pull her out? Not to mention that is cuts into our homeschool day when I have to leave the house twice a week, drive up to the school, sit there while she has her session, drive home, and then try to get back into the swing of school time. Should I keep her there? I mean, it is free. I dont think our insurance will pay for private therapy. Should I just hope that her speech gets better with time? But the earlier she gets corrected, the easier it will be, right? I'm just not sure what to do. Any suggestions? Anyone been there, done that? A friend of mine suggests that maybe she has an auditory processing disorder? In time, that will affect her learning as well. Especailly reading. Should I just wait to see how she does in reading this year to see if I think she has an APD? Maybe just sit tight this year and wait things out? The only thing is, if I wait this year out and I want to get her back into public school speech, I think I will probably have to go through all the hoop-la that I did to get her there in the first place....it was a pain with all the paperwork, the evaluations, the IEP meetings, etc. :::Sigh::: I'm so lost.

I'm looking for a Bible curriclulum for my kindergartener for this coming year. I want it to be very kid friendly, of course, so she can understand it. I want it to have a daily Bible story/lesson, some questions for comprehension, and some sort of activity to do. Maybe it's a worksheet to color, maybe a craft, maybe an activity we can do together. It would be great if it is full color, but doesnt have to be. I really like the Explorer's Bible Study, but there's no activities with it. I have looked and looked for a Bible curriculum like I'm trying to find, but haven't had any success. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'm starting to think I'll just have to put together my own.

I have tried many many different kids digital cameras and have ended up taking all of them back to the store. The photo quality is horrible. Just horrible. So I found a cheap digital camera on craigslist for my then-4-year-old and got her that. Works much better. The only advantage to the kids digital cameras are the dropablity factor. But the pictures are terrible. If you do not care about the photo quality and just think the kids will want to be like their older sibling, then Disney makes some $30 kids digital cameras with characters and stuff on them that would be cute. Bad photo quality, but that may not matter if the kids just want to be like their sibling.

I have honestly never even begun to fathom any of that stuff. So if I purchase a curriculum and use it for the school year, I'm just supposed to throw away a perfectly good curriculum when I am finished? Or is it just workbook type things? I copy workbooks at times because they are easier to use than trying to get the book to lie open flat to work in. So then technically, I'm supposed to toss a great book after I'm finished with it. Seems like such a waste to me. But it has seriously never even crossed my mind.

Yeah, I do not have fond memories of road trips either. I'm one that was always carsick. It's nice for my kids to be able to have something to make the trip seem shorter. They know that they are not allowed to watch TV just while driving around town. We must be actually going on a trip for them to watch it. Or on a really long drive allllll the way to the other side of town (which is like an hour away).