I've never waited for more than 5 days for an order. Is there a chance something is back ordered? If so, they often wait to ship the order until the backordered item comed in unless it will be an extended time. You can check backorder status on the website.

This is what we use too. It doesn't matter if you use wooden or plastic. That's just personal preference. I love my wooden ones.

I just started this at the beginning of this year for my 3rd grader and wish I'd started it earlier.. I just write what we need to do that day on the side of the white board and we check it off as we get things done. He really thrives on seeing what he's accomplished and how much we have left. I had a column for ds6 the first couple of weeks and he didn't like it. I think he was overwhelmed by all of the boxes even though a few subjects were just for fun or only 15 mins long. I stopped making his column at his request. However, he now puts a tiny dot next to the subject to remind himself that it is done for the day. :lol: I like the pictures you linked. It would be fun to do something like that. We don't do the same subjects everyday, so I'd have to make one for each day of the week. That might be a fun project this weekend.

:iagree: I've had two follow this type of path. I pushed my oldest because I thought he was ready. That was the wrong thing to do. He knew his letter sounds around 18 months, but didn't get blending down until 4.5. Reading is developmental and can take time even if they want to read. The good news is that they can make big jumps. Ds8 started blending at 4.5, but was reading at a 3rd grade level by the end of K. It looks like his 4yo brother is following suit. He's been asking to learn how to read for about a year and a half, but he just isn't ready. I just let him sit in on his brothers' phonogram reviews and point out the sounds in CVC words while we read. He knows the first 26 phonograms and how to write many of them so we are getting there. In contrast, ds6 taught himself to read at 2yo. He didn't need any lessons...he just figured it out. You never know what you'll get with each dc.

Ran 7 miles early this morning.

:lol: that's how I feel with some of the beach body and insanity talk. Toes-to-bar= hanging from a bar and kipping your toes up to touch it. I cannot do more than 1-2 full ones yet. I ripped the skin off my hands in several place because of the friction. Double unders= jump roping where the rope goes under twice in one jump. Push presses= Pushing a bar over your head from shoulder height. I'm just learning since this is only my 2nd month, but it's working for my body, for sure. Dh is a coach, so I knew a bit of the lingo before I started.

:D

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Inquiring minds want to know :D Those would be pretty solid signs for me.. The clincher would be sore bOOks. I would get two tests just in case the first is negative, but AF still hasn't started in 4-7 days. I've had that happen a time or two.

Crossfit today. My hands were much better but we had to do toes-to-bar again! I tried to do them wearing lifting gloves, but I couldn't grip the bar so I just used chalk. They ripped a bit more, but overall, they seem to be toughening up. I loved doing push presses and double unders in the workout. Those are two of my best exercises and helped off-set the toes-to-bar portion. 7 mile run early tomorrow morning.

This is my 4th year using SL and we all love it. My dc absolutely love the books and are learning a lot. I'm another who doesn't use the LA, but it is simple to sub out. I'll be using SL cores at least through 6th grade...my long range plans get a little fuzzy around there.

I think you should probably figure out where you stand on Halloween, first. Do your own research, pray about it, and listen to your heart. If you don't have any issues with it and think it would be fun to celebrate with the kids, you and ex-h should discuss a compromise. You might just respect status quo this year and make changes next year when you can talk about it. I don't know much about divorce, but thinks are bound to change over time as you two are heading in different directions. I agree with the PPs who said see what the school does and what modifications can/should be made. I live in a conservative area and wouldn't object to my dc participating in the "Halloween" stuff at school even though we don't participate in Halloween festivities. It is more of a dress up day. They don't even get to pick their own costumes, but are assigned a historical or mythical character that they are studying. I don't think they call it Halloween, either. A Fall Festival at a church might be a good compromise. Our church puts one on for our community and all are invited and so did our church in CA. We dress up, play carnival games, have a moon bounce, and serve dinner. It serves as an alternative that removes the objectionable Halloween elements and is a nice way to serve our community. Maybe that will be un-Halloweeny enough for your ex-h and fun enough for your dc. We still come home with way too much candy.

Only 1 church out of the 6 churches I've attended as an adult did pledges and that one was only for a new building. Our current church sends out the yearly statements only for tax purposes.

I attend a small, evangelical church. Our pastor does not look at what families give in general. He will look if it affects his job like when nominating people to our council or as elders. Then it isn't the amount so much, but more about consistency. Our council would be considered the financial committe, but they definitely do not see what each family tithes...just what comes in each month. Our church administrator would see the big picture of giving as she records and deposits the money as well as sends out yearly statements.

Jan, I am often guilty of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. I'm glad that you were able to save the day with frosting. My favorite thing about 4yos is that they are pretty low maintenance with "special activities." My 4yo would just love it to be the oldest in the house for a few hours and play video games with mom without pesky older brothers telling us we're doing it wrong and then to sit and read Pete the Cat 300 times in a row. :iagree: I only have 4 dc, all boys, with not quite 7 years between the oldest and youngest. My 4 can easily overwhelm their grandparents. Plus, my 1yo and 8yo do not share the same interests. It just doesn't make sense to always take all 4 to some places. Besides that, dh and I have found that it is beneficial to take our kids out in small groups or individually. It is nice to have different interactions with them and they love the attention. One of ds6's favorite activities is to go to the grocery store with dad by himself. Nope, it's not Disney or ice cream, but he gets to spend one-on-one time with dad, be a big helper, and ride is dad's cool 1999 Altima (oh, the joy:lol:). What more could a 6yo ask for? We try not to fall into the fairness trap. Instead of being 'fair,' we strive to do what's best for each. Sometimes that includes disappointment which is okay too.

I'm pretty big into respecting elders and giving people the benefit of the doubt...BUT, I'm outraged for you. I don't know about you, but my dh is pretty busy trying to provide for our family, be a great dad, and a great husband. Those are three tough jobs and he doesn't need his mother treating him that way. I hope he takes a good, long break.

Like the other PPs said, Costco does take Amex. It doesn't have to be their Amex, either. I use my Starwood Preferred Amex there every week. With our little eaters, that's where we do the majority of our grocery shopping.

I had a good Crossfit workout on Friday and a fast 3-miler (for me) yesterday evening. Today is a rest day so I'm going to enjoy some reading and naptime :) I ripped my hands like crazy on Friday doing knees-to-elbows so I'm hoping they heal by Tuesday. It doesn't look they will, so I might have to wear gloves if we do any bar work. I have a 3-4 mile run planned for tomorrow morning.

The only new things I added this year are WWW and PL (replacing SSL) so it isn't too surprising that I couldn't be happier with the lineup. I was fortunate enough to find what I like early on and haven't had to switch things around.

EEEK! That must have been one old carseat.

Not typically, but I wouldn't choose to wear them if it were over 95 and I'd be outside. I wear them mostly on dressy occasions. The Spanx I have are pretty thin so they don't seem like a full layer. If they are too small, they can be very uncomfortable and nearly impossible to get on. Sizing is pretty important even though they're stretchy.

Mi e from Target weren't this brand. Might have to try those.

This is why I won't use or give away an expired seat. I have no doubt that some carseats are safe after the expiration date, but how do you know? You can't tell by looking at them, so it would be a guess. I wouldn't take the chance with any child. I will have to replace my ds1's RF'ing carseat next month because his is expiring. My plan is to replace it with an inexpensive (but safe) model until he's ready to be FF'ing in a Nautilus.

You can copy the lesson to another student after you've created it for the first one. I am hoping they create a field to add more descriptions for each lesson. I'd prefer just to write in what we accompished or hope to right in the program. For the date issuse, I plan on just changing the date if the lesson doesn't get done on the assigned day. You can edit the lessons easily. It would be nice if the lessons would adjust automatically if you don't get it completed on the assigned day. I learned quickly not to generate too many lessons at once since my plans change often. Sending them an e-mail is a good idea.

I tried some from Target, but they didn't look as good or were as comfortable as my Spanx. Like you, I only wear them under my more form fitting clothes. No matter how good of shape I'm in,nothing short of surgery I'd going to fix the stretched skin from pg. I have had two pairs of Spanx for 5 yrs now and 1 pair is just now starting to show signs of wear.

It isn't that the plastic will crack against the seat, but that the straps holding the child in will break through the plastic during the stress of a crash. The video linked upthread shows an example.