Oh, not much. She's just dating a sex offender. That's about it. Oy...

I used to teach in the public schools. I can understand having "community supplies" for K or maybe 1st, but beyond that, they need to be responsible for their own stuff. The only things that went for community in my classroom were tissues, and baby wipes. They labeled everything, and if they didn't label it, it wasn't likely to be returned to them. If they didn't have a certain item, they got to beg a friend, or tell their parents. Everyone brought supplies. Everyone. I remember the pencil situation in my room. Of course there were tons of kids who took great care of their stuff. Then there were those who didn't care when their pencils were on the floor. So, if a pencil was on the floor, I picked it up, and added it to the can on my desk. I had a pencil monitor who sharpened the whole can at recess and lunch. I hate the noise of the pencil sharpener, times 35 students can be crazy-making. So, the kids were told that they had to have 3 sharp pencils, and if they broke all their pencils and needed one, they could get one from my box, but they had to trade it for a pencil from their desk that needed sharpening. They hated to trade, because the ones on my desk were chewed, short, or otherwise not desireable. They were allowed to sharpen their pencils during recess or lunch. After a few weeks, almost no-one was foolish with their pencils. The system worked like a charm. :tongue_smilie: My kids love sharpening pencils at home. I throw out pencils that are less than half the original length, because it causes them to hold the pencil poorly, and practice bad writing habits. We go through a lot of pencils, but probably not more than 50 a year, with 5 kids. We also use the pencil top erasers. They break a lot. Split around the seam. What's up with that? :confused: And, don't get me started on mechanical pencils. Click, click, click, break, click, click, click, break. We'll try those again in a couple years. :lol:

This thread reminds me of George Foreman, who named all his boys George. I guess no matter what you do, it won't be worse than that! I think baby naming is funny. When I was pregnant with my last baby, I announced his name on a baby board I was on. Another lady on that board announced a couple days later that she was using the same name, because she "heard it somewhere". A part of me was peeved... but whatever. My son doesn't have to be the only one with a great name! To this day, she doesn't realize that I'm the one she heard it from. I guess she's dense. I laugh when she says her son's name now! I don't think people really have dibs on a name. If you like a name, use it. My brother has "claimed" Katherine for a girl name. He and his wife aren't even pregnant. Katherine has been our alternate name every time we've had a boy. If we get our girl first... she's going to be Katherine.

Jeannine... I'm going to do that. What a brilliant idea. Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to think of. I've always struggled with phonics books because of the emphasis on writing in most of them. My boys are really slow to get their fine motor skills, but are ready to learn other things with enthusiasm. Thanks for the tip, and to the OP, thanks for making all of us think outside the box!

We have an HOA. I used to be bugged by all the little rules. I laughed when I got a notice about a sled left leaning against our house for a week. The neighbor kid returned it, while we were on vacation. Oh well... This notice was the best though. We had tons of snow all during January. There was a minimum of 18" on the ground all month. Come February 1st, we got a notice that we didn't have permission for "permanent lighting affixed to the eves of our home". Could they just ask us to take our Christmas lights down? Please... it was hilarious! My neighbor, bless her heart, is a slob. She doesn't mow (my son is doing it for community service now), doesn't pull weeds, doesn't water her landscaping, and really doesn't care. She's a newly divorced mom of 1, with lots of people flowing into and out of the house. It's a little irritating. She's someone who needs an HOA to send her notices. The rest of us just take care of our property because it's what we do. We take pride in where we live, and get outside each weekend to improve our property. I see the benefit in them. They can be annoying, but so can neighbors who don't care.

Your post blessed me. Though my children all would have different labels, they are simply, the blessed children of the Morris family, each perfectly designed by God to fulfill His will, and to help the lot of us grow in wisdom and understanding. "Child of the living God" is the label we prefer, even for ourselves. Hugs as you walk your road.

We went to the Omelette Parlor for breakfast in Venice, CA. Then we talked a while and went to Carneys for a chocolate covered banana. We hung out all day, and he dropped me off about dinner time. He went home and wrote me a letter asking me to marry him. He mailed it to my name in care of his address the next day, to prove to me later that he "knew" the first date. He was wise enough not to ask me to marry him for 4 more months... so I had time to get used to him! True story... I have the letter! He actually gave it to me when he proposed, as his way of asking me; with a ring of course!

I know it gets old hearing that you can relax, but really, it's true. These words from me are based on my experience of burning out my oldest son at age 5... please, don't put the pressure of a formal curriculum on her. Try a letter a week... a letter every 2 weeks even. Just have fun with her, and help her to learn about the world around her. Read to her, books she loves, books you love. Repetition is great! Give her tactile experiences; let her get messy. Give her crayons, pencils, colored pencils, and let her scribble. Fine motor control isn't established yet, neither is the ability to sit still for a long time. Even if she can do some things, they'll likely stress her if you're rigid about structure and performance. It's okay.... she's going to be learning for her whole lifetime. Save the formal stuff for when it's necessary. You've done great up till now, just keep being her guide on the side. Blessings and hugs...

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/10/prweb83848.php Here's the documentation that shingles is on the rise in children, and it's being attributed to the increased rate of varicella vaccine.

Right, I think there are only 55 Zoobooks. For Ranger Rick, you can buy a subscription from a seller on ebay. I've used it for a few different magazines and it's really cheap! I think it's called cheapsubscriptions but just check out the auctions. I don't know about Cricket, it might be there, but it might not. Otherwise, google the name of the magazine you want and put subscription in the search. There are many consolidators who sell them cheaper.

How about Zoobooks? It's expensive at their website, but try ebay for a cut-rate subscription. That's where we get it for a deal. It's not a huge challenge for my 8yo to read, but she does love it. It's not religious. My next younger son gets My Big Backyard. He's just started reading so it's a good fit for him still.

"The wheel that is our family is missing a spoke. And while that wheel is now forever changed, it's incumbent on us to adapt so we may continue to spin," Cooper's brother, Jeff Rentz, said. "Nancy is a mother, a daughter and a sister, and that's how we'll keep her alive in our hearts." This is the complete quote from her brother. While she is a wife, he was speaking of her as a part of his family; a spoke within his family. So, within that family unit, she was a mother to the grandchildren, a daughter to her mother and a sister to her brother and sister. I don't find it strange that he didn't refer to her as a wife, because she wasn't a wife to her birth family. KWIM? That doesn't exonerate her husband, but I don't think it implicates him either. It's horribly tragic, for all of them, but especially those sweet girls. They might not even remember her.

Happy Birthday Mama! Thanks for sharing the story of how you got your name! Adoption makes me cry...there's nothing sweeter than a baby being given a loving home. Kiss those babies!

Just chiming in that I love diagramming and brussel sprouts too. Yea! There's a small colony of us! Maybe those two passions share a gene. My daughter, who loves Language Arts loves brussel sprouts. My son, who hates Language Arts, hates brussel sprouts. I wonder how FLL 3 and diagramming will go this year.

My son really liked Cursive Connections. I liked how the book will lie flat side to side instead of top to bottom, and the progression of skills. We didn't do a page a day in the beginning though, because I wanted him to focus on quality, not speed.

Try Odo-Ban or Bac-Out. Both kill the stuff that causes the odor. Ack... sorry!

I'm not sure a college-bound student is expected to have finished that list. I've read 22 (all in High School or before). At least half of those were on my father's bookshelf. When I was grounded, I had a choice between a week, or a great book. I was a good reader... I chose the books and read in all my spare time to get off being grounded. The others were from my PS high school. But, 95%+ went to college from my HS, so I'd say it was definitely college prep designed. What a great list. Too bad my oldest is 10. Maybe he can read Call of the Wild and Huck Finn this year. Not much else I saw he's ready for... maybe some Shakespeare.

My oldest son is 10. We're going to Alaska in August to visit my parents who own a B&B there. My son had the opportunity to go halibut fishing for $250 for the day. It would have required me to go along, of course, for another $250. So, $500 for a day. Yes, a once in a lifetime chance. But, the money just struck me funny. So, I asked my son how much he'd be willing to contribute (from his savings and allowance) for the chance to go. He said some tiny amount which I forget. I told him that his lack of desire to work hard and save for this trip (this conversation was in March) showed that it wasn't the right time for him to do this. He can still fish for Sockeye Salmon from their dock... he certainly won't be deprived! I think if kids aren't willing to work for what they desire, they must not desire it enough to have it. Since then, my son has saved $160 for his car fund. Remember, he's 10. He's been doing all kinds of odd jobs. I guess a car is more important than a fishing trip. That's fine. It's good to know what a kid is passionate about! BTW... Grandma and Grandpa didn't offer to pay for the fishing trip either though it's within their means to do so. Wisdom trickles downward. That letter was really inappropriate. I'd only expect to get that from someone sending their child on a missions trip. For that, I'd chip in.

Hmmm... I'm thinking..... My father is friends with Buzz Aldrin. I met him once. My friend dated Jonathan Knight when NKOTB was touring the first time. I think that's it. I'll keep thinking!

My oldest is a reluctant writer, so we took handwriting very slowly. I focus on quality rather than quantity. When we switched to cursive, I used Cursive Connections, because I loved the simplicity of it. We did about 10 minutes a day. He'd write only one or two letters, and then we'd talk about it. He started in 3rd grade. He's starting 5th. He's not quite finished with cursive, but his penmanship is really nice (in the cursive book... we're still working on notebook paper) and more importantly, he's really proud of it. Most days in the beginning, he'd only do 1 line total. We'd find the best one together, and put a star under it. He was always proud of his work. Super small baby steps helped us get through. I don't expect as much trouble with my 2nd born (a daughter) but cursive is one hill that was tough to climb and we both are pretty glad we kept at it.

I think Cars. Of course I've got 4 boys... so we hear that one more often! Right now Barbie "The Princess and the Pauper" is playing. It's definitely not my favorite one... it's like cheap Broadway. Oh what I'd pay for them to love Annie or something with quality music in it!

It's fun to dream about nifty little gadgets. If I were you, I'd give myself a date/deadline. About 6 weeks out. If I still wanted it at that point, and had saved the money for it, I'd buy it, no hesitation. Lots can change in a month. You may find that you want to enjoy your friend's coffee pot whenever you've over, but not have one yourself. This is like my BFF's hot paraffin bath. I don't need one... we enjoy hers! Sounds cool though!

If it's Lamb and Rice dog food, that's known for causing stinky gas. My DH and I always laugh at the bags of Lamb and Rice when we're together buying dog food. It's our inside joke! Only took 1 bag for us to be convinced!

I'd probably pick Germany, except it's illegal to homeschool there. France would be a second choice, or Austria. I'd be happy probably anywhere; I love adventure!

I'm so sorry... what heartbreak.