LOL! Confirmation that many people on CL don't know what they're talking about. I love CL, but some of the people aren't the brightest crayon in the box.

Well, it is possible to convert a full bed to a queen by using rail extenders. However, based on my CL experience, I'm guessing that the people listing the beds don't know what the heck they're talking about and therefore use the term incorrectly. You should request measurements to figure out if it's really a full or a queen before making arrangements to look at the bed.

I don't think anyone is questioning whether you have freedom of speech, only the wisdom of exercising it in this way. While she may have seemed mild-mannered, you have no way of knowing if that really is her personality. She could have followed you out to your car, taken your license number and followed you home. She could have told a more volatile DH/boyfriend who may have come knocking on your door or worse. Then your children/DH could also have been exposed to harm. I agree that it is frightening when other people's poor driving affects our safety. However, your behavior (following her into a store to confront her - even in a calm tone) also was unsafe, and frankly disproportionate to the offense. The horn toot was probably sufficient.

We stayed at the Wyndham Patriots Place timeshare resort. We had a one-bedroom unit and it was very nice. It's one of Wyndham's older properties in Williamsburg (they also run the Kingsgate and Governor's Green), but it was perfectly adequate for our needs. We got a very good price through www.getravelop.com I also have relatives who recently stayed at the Powhatan Plantation and were pleased.

Oh, and another suggestion for a day trip from Baltimore. We visited Mount Vernon and had a very pleasant day. There is a great new hands-on museum on the estate, which really brings George Washington to life.

Another vote for Williamsburg. We went last summer when DD was 7 (and DS was 1, so his opinion doesn't count). She had a spectacular time. I'm dying to take DD to Washington DC because she is a US history buff, but I think she'll get much more out of it if we wait a year or two. Williamsburg/Jamestown are designed to be such immersive experiences (is that a word?) that the kids can just learn so much practically through osmosis. I think DC requires more background and focus to get a lot out of it. Also, we had a great day at Busch Gardens and a fun evening at Water Country USA. Williamsburg offers a great blend of fun and learning. I'm a huge fan!

My dd is 8, but adores Lalaloopsy, Squinkies, and Calico Critters. Her American Girl dolls don't get much use at all. She also LOOOOOVES her diary that has a lock and key. If you're looking for a fun craft idea, how about this book of fingerprint art (http://www.amazon.com/Emberleys-Complete-Funprint-Drawing-Book/dp/0316174483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375972922&sr=8-1&keywords=emberly+fun+print ) with some stamp pads, sharpies, and blank cards/envelopes. We gave that at a recent birthday party and it was a big hit. As another option, how about inviting her out to do something fun? Maybe take her to a movie, museum, water park or something. Would give your friend a break and let her DD escape the stress for a while.

Yep, here's the link: http://www.mikehuckabee.com/learn-our-history

Another PS school mom here whose child is being taught cursive and multiplication tables (both begun in second grade and will be further expanded in third). These generalizations against the public schools are commonplace and, frankly, cliche. Not every public school is great. Not every public school is poor. The same holds true for religious schools, private schools, and homeschooling families (see yesterday's thread about the religious exemption in VA). I certainly don't lump most HS families on this board with that mentioned in the NPR piece yesterday. And let's not forget that Mike Huckabee (whom I generally like so this isn't just a bash at him) is also selling homeschool history DVDs. He's playing to a certain audience when he puts down public schools. It's part of his marketing plan.

This was definitely our experience. I had previously mentioned the bedwetting at DD's annual physicals, but both times the ped just brushed it off as her being a heavy sleeper and typical for this age. However, DD started having occasional daytime accidents, plus the bedwetting became far more frequent. I called the ped who sent her in for x-rays. Turned out she was quite constipated - despite the fact that she moved her bowels every day. She's been on a daily laxative for a few months, and the bedwetting has decreased dramatically - like once every two to three weeks, instead of 4-5 times a week.

I don't usually cook anything with mixes or cream of whatever soup, but this vegetable casserole is the one exception. It is amazing, and I am asked to bring it to every family function - on BOTH sides of my family who don't typically agree on anything. There's so much butter and sour cream that it should hardly count as a veggie dish. You can make it with fresh vegetables (I list frozen in the recipe below), but it's so easy to just use the thawed frozen veggies instead of par-boiling things. This feeds a bunch of people and is great for a holiday buffet. Vegetable Casserole1 8 oz package of Pepperidge Farm herb stuffing 3 sticks butter or margarine 1 cup sour cream 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 bag frozen, chopped squash (not whipped – in chunks), thawed 1 bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed 1 onion, chopped Melt butter and mix with stuffing. In a separate bowl mix sour cream and soup. Place half of stuffing mixture on bottom of 9 X 13 baking dish. Layer the following ingredients IN THIS EXACT ORDER: squash, onion, soup/sour cream mixture, broccoli, rest of stuffing mixture. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 1 hour.

We place a waterproof mattress pad first, then I put a hospital chux on top of that, then the sheets. DD is a thrasher in bed, but the pads stay in place all night and the mattress never gets wet. The chux usually gets everything, so most times I don't have to remove/wash the bottom mattress pad. I only wash in cold water using whatever detergent is on sale (usually All), and never have a problem with odor. I strongly recommend the chux (even though they can be expensive) since it's so easy to just toss it in the wash with the sheets, rather than having to struggle with the fitted pad. I got lucky and a co-worker offered me a set of new pads when I first had my kids. Her husband had been very ill and the visiting nurses left them at her house. I didn't think I'd ever actually use them but accepted them because I didn't want to spurn a thoughtful act. Boy, was I wrong. They have they come in so handy!

I guess I'm in the minority, but since it was all in the past tense and hypothetical, I don't think she meant anything by it. If she were suggesting a future lunch, then yeah. Also, since it was in response to a picture of your DD, I don't think she really meant anything flirtatious.

I guess the official name is Jamestown Settlement. There's a beautiful museum with neat exhibits (including one on the "real" Pocahontas, which may interest your DD). Then there's a recreation of the Powhatan village. DD was able to tan a hide, grind some corn, etc. here. There was a settlement recreation with the fort buildings, some animals, etc. Here DD played some games from the period with the re-enactors. At the end you visit replicas of the ships that brought the settlers to Jamestown. We found it very interesting and well done. FWIW, we didn't do the National Park one, so I can't offer a comparison. I won't steer you in either direction, then.

We were in Williamsburg last summer. What a great place for a trip! I loved my meal at The Cheese Shoppe, but I was surprised at how pricey it was for sandwiches. We ate at a 50's burger place called Retros on Prince George Street just outside the historic village. Very inexpensive, especially if you can steer away from milkshakes and are willing to share fries. Here's a menu: Retros. Looks like burgers are under $4; hotdogs are $2.50; and grilled cheese is just $2.29. I'll also second the recommendation of pancake houses. We ate at the Astronomical Pancake House and the Colonial Pancake House and found them both to be good and reasonable. Finally, I'm a huge fan of picnicking. We just returned from a road trip where we picnicked for lunch just about every day. We just picked up some ham, cheese, good bakery bread, chips, and fruit. Plus scrumptious tomatoes from farm stands along the way. We enjoyed it so much more than our restaurant meals, and it was a big time saver when we wanted to keep touring. Also, even if the budget is tight, I'd recommend entering the paid portion of Jamestown (even if it meant forgoing a restaurant meal in favor of a picnic). It is a great museum and the exhibits are quite interactive. When we visited last year my DD had a spectacular time there - even better than Colonial Williamsburg.

I only know about this book: Prudy's Problem and How She Solved It. Not sure if it's completely applicable to your DS's situation. Prudy is a total packrat and claims that everything is a collection, from gum wrappers to rubber bands. Her room gets so overcrowded that it literally explodes. The downside to the story is the "solution" which was to rebuild the house as a museum for her many collections.

Yes to the Dermaplast! A saintly nurse sent me home with a can. How I loved that woman.

I don't have a tried and true recipe, but how about Caribbean Black Bean Soup? Here's a crock pot recipe that got good reviews: http://www.food.com/recipe/caribbean-black-bean-soup-slow-cooker-20373 And another stove top one (which says you can use canned beans to make it go faster): http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carib-black-bean-soup/ There's not much cheaper than beans!

My DD is younger than yours, so this may not apply, but like a PP mentioned the girl just needs her down-time. She can go and go and go and be "on" for people outside the house, but when she comes home, she crashes big time. I usually just leaver her alone. I've found that if she has an hour or so to just do her own thing (play, have a snack, listen to music, or whatever), she can regroup and become a pleasant, contributing member of our family. If I try to get on her case at all, it just escalates. But of course, none of this applies if the child is actively seeking others out to pick a fight. DD intuitively knows when she needs a break and separates on her own. If she were following me around the house crabbing, it would be a different story altogether. So I guess that probably wasn't helpful at all, but I got this far, so I'll hit post anyway :-)

That was fun - thanks for posting!

We read aloud all the time, and I think my dd has developed an amazing vocabulary because of it. Almost daily I'm surprised to hear a $.50 word come out of her mouth - used and pronounced correctly. (Most of) the books I read to her are far advanced for her reading level. I try to choose classics with rich language. These are books that she could in no way read to herself at this point, but she can absolutely understand them when read aloud, and she can discuss them at a pretty in-depth level. In The Read Aloud Handbook, Trelease has a really neat graphic where he compares the number of different words in a TV show, a conversation, a newspaper article, and a book. It clearly demonstrates that reading is by far the best way to introduce new vocabulary. Reading advanced books aloud helps to introduce new language in a format where she hears it in context and can then start to use it on her own. Here's a link to a brochure on Trelease's website that has a similar graphic: http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/read-aloud-brochure.pdf I also love listening to audiobooks and agree wholeheartedly with the PP who said that the quality of the reader can greatly impact the experience. I often rave over Sissy Spacek's reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, which added so much to my love of the novel. I've also endured poor readings that have greatly diminished my enjoyment of a piece. All that said, I don't think reading aloud or audiobooks should replace actual eyes-on-page reading - either for me or for my DD. They are complementary elements of our literary exploration.

Like a PP, my library participates in the Dig Into Reading program. For every five books read, they get a sticker on their card and the opportunity to guess how many toys are in a big jar. At the end of the program, they host a party and the child who guesses closest receives a prize of some sort (though of very low value). What counts as a book depends on the child's age - DD just finished 2nd grade, so she gets credit for a book for every 40 pages she reads. Read alouds and audiobooks count. DD loves this program. While she is a strong reader, she is not an enthusiastic one. Like a pp mentioned, the external validation of doing well makes her devour reading material of all types. I love that when I come home from work I find that she has spent the entire day reading and is begging me to take her to the library that evening so that she can log her books and get her stickers. Last summer, I was a total stickler for the rules and I ran everything by the librarian - for instance, should Amelia Bedelia books that are 42 pages still count as two books (for finishing-first graders, 20 pages equaled a book) even though the text was only on half a page and there were lots of pictures? She said who cares? They're working toward stickers; it's not competitive; there's no unfair advantage over other children. The purpose of the program is to get kids excited to read over the summer when many backslide. For what it's worth, DD does a combination of independent reading, partner reading, and read alouds, and we count them all. For instance, I am currently reading her Anne of Green Gables in anticipation of our trip to PEI at the end of August. Frankly, she's not enjoying it as she finds Anne a bit verbose (which is the point of Anne, but to each her own). However, my assurance that the book will "count" as six books has helped keep her motivated enough to stick with it.

DD recently had this issue. Her ped sent her for an X-ray and it turns out she was very constipated - even though she was still moving her bowels every day. The doctor said that going every day still doesn't mean they're going enough. Putting it as crudely as she did: they may be getting out one inch but have to get out one foot.

Molly looks just like my DD - right down to the hairbraids and glasses. I've only bought DD a couple of AG dolls and I've always let her choose which one. I keep wanting her to pick Molly, but she never has (Rebecca and Marie-Grace). She doesn't play with the AG enough to warrant the purchase of any more; alas I guess Molly is never meant to be for us.

I paid full price for mine and don't regret it - and I typically don't buy anything unless it's on sale. I think you should try them on, though, as the waist is a little high and might not be comfortable for everyone. I've seen the colored ones at Marshall's but didn't take note of the price.