This is a good idea. The ones at Target are very cheap, a good substitute. When she gets older, if she really wants a character doll then you can do it. We are getting our 3 yo an AG Kit doll this Christmas....partly because I bought it at a garage sale and it didn't cost us anything and because she wants to play with big sister and her doll...she is definitely more the stuffed animal lover. I have purchased outfits from Target for the AG dolls because they are cheaper and some are sooooo cute.

We took Cubs very seriously and didn't just quickly go through the books. If we checked off a skill, it was because he became proficient in the skill. (soap carving, recycling, puppet making) We would have him read the material then go over it with him. I know a lot of people just mark stuff off, but we really tried to get him (older ds) to do EVERYTHING in the books. So, when he got the Arrow of Light, he really, really earned it. Now he is in boy scouts. We have excellent leaders that also make sure that when they do the badges, that they really know the stuff. So, if you really take it seriously, there should be opportunities to pull in history, civics, english, and P.E. Every year it has requirements to see local historic places of interest or government buildings. There are science experiments, rockets and models to make and practice, as well. It just gets more complicated is BS.

I have purchased shorts from Greathlengths.com. I have loved everything I have purchased from them. THe denim shorts I buy my husband from there are very attractive, as well. They also sell skirts, dresses and gowns. Unfortunately, they don't have children's clothing.

I've seen real mens kilts. They are heavy and have enough cloth in them to curtain my home. I don't mind making deep pleats. I guess my biggest problem is finding a real pattern for his size. I'm not a sewing mavin. I'm a drone that can only follow instructions.

My ds of 7 wants a kilt for Christmas. He's a really manly man and totally dislikes anything that reeks of girl. But, he wants a Kilt to go along with his new Scottish accent he's trying to pick up.....for next years Highland Games. Uh, he also wants a stuffed Loch Ness Monster... Anyone with a pattern number or an online source? (I refuse to pay $70 for 1/2 yard of cloth and elastic.

In my high school there were haves and have-nots. ( I was a sorta have-not but not as much as I thought) There are the have-not girls who want to get impregnated by a have. On the street, one knows that through the system, or by the boys family, they can get child support for 18 plus years. During high school, I knew a few girls who were very shrewd in their dating choices, because you certainly didn't want a boy from a poor family getting you pregnant. I think a few days in health class ought to be devoted to paternity laws and long term responsibility. Boys may be more likely to carry birth control and not always believe a girl when she says she's on the pill or wait if they know what their lifetime responsibility might be. Also, in Texas it was very common for teenagers in certain cultures to get pregnant on purpose, because that's just what was expected. ( I remember dating a guy whose family constantly asked us when we were going to have a baby. Not, "when are you getting married" but, "when are you going to have a baby?" I was mortified, I was 17.) We are already on all of this with our kids. And I fully expect to bring out the child support pay scale chart later on if I have to.

Pasta, butter, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, touch of milk and flour. with a salad, of course. or Split pea soup. Bag of peas .50. Carrots, piece of ham hock ($3). Cook until it becomes a puree. Serve over rice and top with sour cream.

We have both the TV Guardian and the ClearPlay DVD. The TV Guardian blocks out bad language on the tv. This is good when you are just watching plain tv. So when a show you think is totally innocent throws a profanity, the tv guardian gets it. The ClearPlay DVD actually deletes scenes and language from DVDs. Both technologies are wonderful and the first Satellite company that incorporates either technology into their boxes, will get my business.

A friend of mine said that she gave the job of stocking stuffers to her husband. She said she does all the other shopping but the the husband is totally and completely responsible for stockings and has been for years. I've given this job to my husband. I have told him that I will not be doing stocking stuffers this year.....its his job. His reaction was like "Sure, no big deal, why are you making this sound so serious?" (I have a secret stash of candy in the freezer....just in case) We'll see. Oh, he and I don't have stockings. The few times he's had something in a stocking (chocolate) I've used one of his socks. I've handmade stockings for all of my kids, and I just don't have the drive to do ones for me or my dh.

Since a lot of you keep old childrens' books, let me ask for your help. Does anyone remember a book about two sisters who have to clean their room? They draw a line down the center of their room. But one girl has the closet and the other girl has the door so they have to learn to compromise. Anyone? I'm guessing its an early 70's book. One of my childhood favorites and I would like to get it for my sister.....we drew lines down our shared room many times.

:iagree: If they are books contemporary to the period, then they probably aren't stereotypes, either. If they are more modern than the time period they are talking about then read Martha comment above. Politically correct modern fiction concerning history, comes across as sterilized history. Boring.

I was thinking about this for my ds 12, as well. I think they are okay. I do remember that they are graphic about the veterinary procedures, which I think is okay, especially at twelve. I don't remember if there was any profanity. I can't imagine it would be much. We listened to the 3rd book on tape a few years ago and the older kids listened and the younger kids fell asleep.

I love Suzy Squirrel and I was soooo excited when I found it at a garage sale last year!!!! My other favorite was "The Big Tidy up" by Norah Smaridge. My sister paid over $100 on Ebay for it for a present. They just started reprinting it.

This sounds like me!!!! We are packing to move now and I've given hundreds if not close to a thousand books to Goodwill or DAV in the last few months. I take each book out and put them into piles. Books I must save at all costs, books we like a lot and books to get rid of, then I mark the boxes. So if I had to get rid of a few boxes I would know which box to get rid of without having to go through them. When we moved the last time, we move 37 boxes of books! I vowed I would never do that again. We had no couch but 37 boxes of books....My husband refuses to give up his Greek and Roman lit collection and his extensive boring History book collection..."because you never know when you might want a concise history of British battles." VHS Videos are also a problem, I've purged 50% or more and I still have a ton. Some I just love but not enough to buy the DVD. Plus, VHS movies are so easy for the kids to load themselves..... DVDs are so fragile. I purge throughout the year when we run out of containers. I don't worry too much about the cost because I buy most of our books at garage sales for $.25 each.

sheer black, just a hint of darkness or maybe the sheer pinstripe..depends on how modern the dress.

Don't you feed the baby every 2 hours or so? The case probably won't last 20 minutes. I don't see this as a rights issue, its a respect for the court issue. Children aren't allowed in the courtroom because they can be disruptive and distracting. Cases go quickly. Let the Bailiff or clerk know you are in the hall with your baby. People that work in the courts are just like you and me. Judges are real people, too.

I'm having somewhat the same problem with my ds 12. There are bullies down the street. He is afraid to go outside and ride his bike. The mother of these bullies says she can't control them. DS is also in scouts and was told by one of his school friends that scouts is "gay". This bummed him out. I then pointed out that maybe this friend is a little jealous because he will never be a scout. He's got a working mother, no father and no homelife..... "Will he ever get to climb a 14-er? Will he ever camp in -10 degree weather? Do you think he knows how to shoot a bow and arrow?" This made him feel better. "You're right, I really feel sorry for him." But, DS is very shy. The few times he has tried to stand up for himself against the bullies, it has just come back to haunt him because they just go out of their way to make his life miserable. My other ds is younger and has a different personality and is not intimidated by them.... this makes it worse I think. I go out of my way to get my DS into activities he can really be good at. He plays guitar and was able to play the school talent show last year. That did huge things to his self esteem. He really is good at the guitar. Instead of just making him learn sight reading and classical guitar, I asked the teacher to give him rock and roll training. This means he's working on Rock and Roll stuff. I told him that when he gets "Sweet Home Alabama" down pat, I'd record him and put him on YouTube. Plus, he's a bully magnet. He's got glasses, braces, and Harry Potter Hair, plus a scar on his forehead. So, I'm dealing with the issue by finding ways for him to embrace his individuality. We put him in sports as well. He's in climbing class. We took him and the other dc mountain biking for Thanksgiving. Oh, and he was in in-school suspension last week for saying "I'm gonna kill you" to a friend. He didn't realize it was a no-no. "Everyone else says it." So that was partly my fault for not educating him. Poor guy. But, we are lucky, we are moving, I knew I wanted to be out of here before the boys down the street were in high school.....They walk around the neighborhood now in their hoods over their heads carrying air pistols....( I have nothing against firearms....but I think there is firearm ettiquette) My son doesn't need counseling, the boys down the street do. We are just finding ways to seperate ourselves from others. I call it "Superhero" training. Like Buckaroo Banzai! Brilliant and tough.

Check the vents first. But if it isn't the vents because you have to have circulation for the clothes to dry. But if they are all clean then it might be the heating element. WHen dryers don't heat or take a lot of time to dry, its most likely the heating element. Heating elements are usually under $30 to purchase and are easy peasy to install. Like 4 screws worth......unplug it first.

My dh went to UT. If you have tuition paid then you only have expenses...... Austin ain't cheap. We finally paid off dh's undergrad UT loans a few years after he graduated Law school and we doubled up on payments. My DH went to UT because it was the best public college he could afford, a private school was out of reach. Luckily interest rates were low. It would have been cheaper to live in Lubbock where TTU or maybe UT El Paso. But Austin housing and expenses were steep I think this issue may be that he wanted to go someplace else and got pressured into the private school. But I also remember complaining to everyone about our outrageous student loan bills, because just when you start making money, a quarter of your salary goes directly to student loans. Once he pays them off, he might stop whining.

I come across folks once in a while that have the most outrageous beliefs....Just this weekend a storekeeper was telling my ds about his nature religion where rocks and water have consciousness and how we "are" and we will keep on living until we display a fear of death and only then do we cease to exist and on and on. Something about dogs.... and on and on.....My poor sons were, of course. speechless...... And my husband and I will never forget on one of our first dates, on a gun range in the middle of nowhere, the owner who told us about how missing persons are really abducted by aliens and forced to be slaves on another planet...... He had a cocked .44 on his hip as he was telling this story....... and how he himself got away.... We just told our kids this man was one of many examples as to why we finish college and stay away from drugs and alcohol. You can actually hear his whole story retold in "Slackers" the movie... it seems the writer of that movie had also come across this man and decided to include it in his movie. The best thing is when one can just walk away and not have to engage a person like this ever again.......Good luck on your end.

My ds 12 is getting a a bow for Christmas but we are buying a real one, so he can hunt with it next year. I had to return one that I bought because it was not legal for hunting here. However, I was told that it was a competition bow. Pricey. We had a plastic long bow that we bought from Academy for about $25 with some practice arrows that we've been using for years and its okay, if they really only want to mess around. Rules are: They have to ask us to pull it out. Fire against the fence. (no one lives behind us) Everyone stay behind the shooter until all arrows are fired. Practice arrows only in the yard.

My sons have/had the R/L issue. My neighbor across the street is a speech therapist and she said they would probably grow out of it. By the time my older ds was 8/9 it really bothered him because he couldn't even say his name in a manner that people understood so he and I worked on it together and he fixed it himself. He was able to resolve it quickly on his own and has no evidence of a speech issue. My younger ds has the same issue plus he had others. The others have resolved themselves. I'm not sure how long I will let it go before I intervene. I am reminded that my older ds has a friend the same age (12) who still has a very obvious r/l issue. However, I know his family life isn't all that grand and I wonder if the mom is all that involved in fixing it. I am a big believer that a mom or dad may have to take the first step.

My dd (and ds) really love the Nancy Drew books. Secret in the Old Attic and Mystery and Lilac Inn are favorites

maybe get it lasered. for something that small it would be cheap. If it bothers him now, it will really bother him when he's 16.