That's the thing... It's not just toys. My kids can destroy my house with anything. Paper used for drawings, felts, prized rocks brought in from outside, packaging from boxes, paper airplanes. Oh the paper airplanes!! Ugh. They are everywhere. I wish it were just toys.

I know, it's crazy, isn't it? The even crazier thing is her like of the book got my dd9 interested enough to read the abridged version of it (and dd9 doesn't care much for reading). The worst of it is... I haven't read the book. But I really enjoyed Don Quixote. So perhaps we are all a bit odd around these parts. Lol

This has become one of dd12's favorite books and she has read my copy 3 times. Of course now it's a bit tattered and she would like a new copy. Lol "Yours is kind of beat up, mom." Ummm geeee. Who could have done that??? So.... She has asked that I get her a book of her own for Christmas. Any recommendations for a great version? She has no preference for hard or soft cover. Please provide links. :) TIA!

Ack. Mine have done that too (well, not the older 2). And we didn't have the friends to blame it on. :(. I was so mortified I cried the entire way on the drive home. Each time. :( ugh. Thankfully different stores. ;) apparently the "we never ever ever do that at Costco" doesn't equate to we never ever do that at _____. Whyyyyyyy???

I need some input as to whether this is just my kids or if all kids are like this. It's been one of those days. :laugh: LOL My kids, 12 and under, have an uncanny ability to tear my house apart. They are not destructive and they don't break toys or color on walls or anything "crazy" yet, they have an uncanny ability to make a wreck of everything. For example: the 5 & 7 yos want to play a game. The house is nicely cleaned up so they take out the game, play for 15 min. Enter 2 yo who comes in and disrupts game either by throwing parts, or stepping on it (my kids hate playing at any table for some reason) Now said game is all over the place. Pieces under the couch, you name it. I ask them to clean it up, they do, but inevitably parts get left out and next time they go to play the game is unusable. This happens more than I want to admit. Or, they have all their Playmobil or Lego structures set up for play. One of the structures accidentally gets knocked down (this is in the playroom) and by the end of the day (or week, if I'm lucky) the entire thing has not only not been picked up, but it in pieces scattered all over the entire house. The edge of the pyramid has become a sword and brought to a bedroom, the key has become part of a necklace, then lost under a couch in the basement. You get the idea. It's like once a structure has one piece missing it's a free for all on the rest. :huh: It is insane and I"m having a hard time staying on top of the madness. The biggest culprits are the 7,5 and 2 year olds but my 9 and 12 year olds also have similar issues with their crafts. Most days I feel like I'm going crazy. I know they are young. I really do but I'm wondering if it's like this for everyone or are my kids especially worse? At any given time there is stuff everywhere, all over my house. They find a pen of mine they like? They use it to draw on their clipboards but then they move on to something else and the clipboard and pen are left laying in the middle of the hall. They see a neat looking ______ and use it for _____ and pretty soon it's all over the _______. Or they play hide and go seek or tag and knock over _____ but they are in the middle of playing so now there is ______ all over the place. By the time I see it, nobody will fess up to it or they are too young to remember it was them. Rotating toys is very hard for me because I can never get the stuff cleaned up before they want the next batch (I really can't get all 3 little guys to agree to play the same thing at the same time). When it comes time to clean up, they do, but the bins never stay sorted like I had them and before I know it there ends up being a sock in this toy bin and a pen of mine in another. Or bills and everyrthing that they grabbed when cleaning up will be shoved into their toy bins. Sure, the house is tidied up but most of it is now in their toy bins. :glare: I try so hard to teach them good habits: to clean up after themselves, to check for all pieces before putting stuff away, but I feel like it's all falling on deaf ears. My kids aren't the only ones, right? Please tell me other kids do this too. And if not... what's your secret?

Just to be clear... I didn't come down on her or even really mention it. I worked through the sheet with her all the while cringing internally. Maybe it was just a difficult chapter for her and the concept was a hard one? I thought for sure she would know at least a few more... I know they have all come up in conversation before.

Hmmm. Maybe I jumped to conclusions. The lesson had the words on top and then 10 sentences and they were to use the appropriate word. Beside each blank was the definition of the word that was to be used. Dd was completely dumbfounded by the assignment. She didn't even know where to start with it. We tried breaking down some of them (composed) and she finally took a good stab at what she thought it meant. But the rest... Oy. I wasn't looking for dictionary definitions by any stretch but she couldn't begin to work with any of them. My oldest did this program too and the vocabulary part was never an issue. I know they are different kids- I guess I just sort of figured that these were words 4th graders should know. She had been doing ok with the other vocabulary assignments in this program so I didn't think these words were much of a stretch. Maybe it was just shocking to me how she couldn't work with any of the words whereas in past lessons she knew most and could work through the rest of the sheet first and then work with the words left over. Anyways, she did admit that when she reads she just glazes over words when she doesn't know their meaning. I'm not sure this method is going to help build vocabulary. I guess now she is getting exposure to these words but I'm not sure if it's going to stick or not. There's not really any review built into the program.

We are a ways off but I need to plan ahead a bit. ;) I want to do something special for when dd turns 13. My plan is to surprise her with a trip for both of us to go away for a weekend. My original thought was to an AG store since she loves get AG dolls and she has never been to a store. However, she is playing less and less with her dolls although they are still near and dear to her. Perhaps in a few months from now a trip to the store would be too "childish". She does not have a summer birthday so a trip to an area with a beach may be lousy unless we go to Florida, and I don't want to brave a place like NYC on my own. :-/. I'm not sure I want to do Florida either. I am thinking maybe the San Diego zoo? One of the Sea Worlds? Am I going to hate driving in the San Diego area? (I've never been there either). Any ideas for a cool place to visit? Trip would be likely from Friday evening to Sunday night so dh won't have to take time off work to watch the other kids while I'm away. Unless I can wrangle someone to come so we can leave Friday morning instead. I plan to fly and rent a car at the location we go. Ideas?

I am working through Sentence Composing for Elementary with my dd9 and she is just not getting it. Some of the sentences she can do but a good portion of them she is really struggling with, both with the unscrambling as well as the imitation. In fact, some of her imitations have been... really out there. :huh: So... what now? Do I stop the program for a while? Is there something I should be working through first with her? My oldest really enjoyed this program and it really helped her with her writing. However she (my oldest) is the more intuitive type and seemed to internalize things more easily. My 9yo's writing really falls flat sometimes and I had hoped that Kilgallon could help remedy this. What can I do to help her get more out of this program?

Unlike her older sibling, my dd9 simply does not naturally grasp the meaning of words simply by reading them in books or even hearing them in conversation. When she encounters words in her reading that she is unsure of she simply glazes over them (she admitted this) and moves on rather than using context to try to figure out what they mean or asking someone (or heaven forbid, looking it up). As a result her vocabulary is very poor; I would think it is well below grade level. :( We were working on a lesson in MOSDOS Lit today and these were the vocabulary words: composed executive financial income efficiently vertical transactions contracts competently chute Of these 10 words, she only knew the meaning of one of them. :( Obviously, I need to rectify this and spend some time each day focussing specifically on vocabulary. However, I need to do it in a way that will actually stick. Ideas? She does two reading programs- CLE reading 4 and we work through MOSDOS. She reads a fair amount (not extensively like my oldest) and the books are fairly age appropriate- The Little House books. the Chronicles of Prydain, Narnia series. Ugh. I feel like I've failed her. :(

Could you please, please, PLEASE give me some project ideas or turn me in the direction where I can find some? I am drained of creative juices lately. I'm good with implementation but thinking of what to do is beyond my capabilities until LO starts sleeping at least a couple consecutive hours at night.

Grade 7 (12) and grade 4 (9)

No. It was more weight loss centred than wheat belly. I believe it had exercises that specifically target the mid section and how that is a problem area for a lot of men. Ugh. I wish I had bookmarked the book. :(

I feel like I should start teaching my kids to use the computer more but am not sure how to circumvent my own lack of personal knowledge. It has been over a decade since I've had to use MS Office suite and while I do use the occasional spreadsheet and word doc, that's about the extent of my abilities. I've never really had to use PowerPoint although my work did send me for extensive training in it. Because I never used it, most of what I learned has been completely forgotten. We don't actually have MS Office at home- I use the open source version, Open Office, and have been very pleased with it, especially for the price. ;) I also switched to Mac several years back so my working knowledge of Windows is slowly slipping. The last Windows version I was forced to use was Windows XP. :ohmy: So now what? My kids do use the equivalent of Word to type up their writing assignments. They are not overly proficient when it comes to anything other than basic typing and a few editing skills. Where do I start? Because I'm not expert I don't even know *what* I need to teach about using these programs. I could teach them how to add tables and format them but the need for that hasn't really come up. Same for Excel- I simply have had no reason to teach them. I could create one, I suppose, but I'm not creative and could use a little guidance. Ok, a lot of guidance. :blushing: And PowerPoint- I am seeing that more and more... having kids do up a PP presentation. I don't know how to use it. I don't even really care for them (PP presentations) myself. I need to come out of the dark ages for my kids' sakes. Help? ETA: kids are grade 7 and grade 4 (ages 12 and 9)

Oh wow. I thought I was the only person who had a husband who hates to set up the Christmas tree because of the lights! I tell him every year to quit being a Scrooge. Every year he looks longingly at all the pre-lit trees that line the isles at Costco this time of year but we have yet to spend the money to replace our decades old tree. It still looks very nice... It's just those darn strings of lights... I'm in the same boat you used to be in so I to that'll understand your post! Enjoy the new tree!!!

It was a couple of years ago now but I'm sure there was a weight loss thread and several posters recommended a book for losing weight gained in the mid-section, specifically for men. Or maybe it was both genders but the thread focused on their dh? Not sure anymore and I have not been able to find the thread since although I have looked and looked. Does anyone know of a good book that helps target that area? I don't even remember if it centered on diet or exercise, just that it was focused on weight gained in the mid section.

I would go and enjoy Thanksgiving with Grandma too. It's just a cold and you know mom is sick so you can politely keep a distance. I figure you're far more likely to pick something up (and likely something worse) at church tomorrow, to be honest. That's what I would be more concerned about. ;) If you are that concerned about being sick that you would skip dinner then you should skip church and Thanksgiving with dh's family too. Grandma's house isn't the only place you're going to be exposed to something, unfortunately.

I'm not sure I would pay any less when you are there. It sounds like she is more than competent (on paper at least) to look after your small children and you said yourself that you are looking for someone to take complete charge. :) It is not really her choice to have you stay home and I don't see why you would pay her less because you choose to do so. I must say that I would be somewhat put off by being told I would be paid less for my time when you were home when in fact you expect the same level of work whether you are there or not. If you like her, I would aim to pay what she is asking for. Perhaps $12 as a compromise, especially if all your kids are out of the diapering stage.

I have a problem with the froth/foam as well. :( I wish there was a way around it as soups sure are easy to make with it (if you can get past the seven minutes of having a jet engine in your kitchen!)

Oh man. I did that a few weeks ago. It was awful and I couldn't even make the slightest neck movement for days. :( when I finally got in to see my chiropractor he said I should have alternated between heat and cold. Heat for pain but cold to prevent inflammation. I didn't do cold, only heat, and while it felt good while the heat was applied it ended up putting me in even more pain (and less range of motion) due to inflammation. Learn from me- not too much heat. Other than that, nothing worked for me and I had to get to my chiropractor for relief. I'm sorry this happened to you. It is horrific pain. :(

Me too. Not entirely sure why I do but I noticed in the last two pregnancies that I simply didn't rush out and tell people. I did tell close friends much sooner. OP, I'm pretty sure there is a rule that you need to tell the Hive ASAP. ;) there's no waiting allowed on that one.

What sorts of things are your middle schoolers doing for middle school history projects? I don't want writing projects so much (she does plenty of writing as it is) and of course, we are past the age where crafts and dioramas are going to cut it. Still, I do like the idea of having my dd work through one or two major projects each year. Where do you get your ideas/inspirations from? Any great books that you can share? Having research involved would be great, but my only requirement is that the output does not have a strong focus on writing. For example, I'd love some ideas for a middle school child (grade 7) to do for Rome and also the Middle Ages. Or Renaissance. Any ideas for these specific eras would be really appreciated as would general books/places to look or sharing what you have done. :)

I saw that one too and would like to do something similar without buying those bricks. We tried making our own bricks out of salt dough but I went through so much salt and flour that the project no longer was worth the cost. So that became a salt dough map of China instead. :) I actually thought about paper mâché but the kids just finished a paper mâché solar system and paper mâché atoms. We are paper mached out for the next while at least. I'd love to find another interesting medium for this project that won't cost a ton.

I would like my kids to make one if possible, but I don't want to have to spend much, if any, money to do so. I don't want to have to buy toy blocks or many boxes of sugar cubes. Any other ideas for how to make a good looking wall??

One of the programs I used when my girls did physics the first rotation was Exploration Education. It's very hands on and the experiments are interesting. They didn't absolutely love it but they tolerated it more than I thought they would (they actually said they liked it) and both ended up learning (and retaining ) quite a bit. I really liked how hands on it is. :)