There's a gigantic collected short works of Lovecraft and D. and I read that. One of his friends loaned it to us.

There are a lot of railroad games. Both Ticket to Ride and Railroad Tycoon are games involving railroads.

What games do you play? Do you play games with your dh in front of them? I have one son who says he doesn't like board games but he will play games like Heroscape and Memoir '44 with his siblings. I have another who only likes war games (and I don't). I have one who is super silly (its not fun for us to play with him), and 1 who will play pretty much anything. So even if you have game players sometimes they don't fit together well. Have you looked into any board game cons? Sometimes kids will have fun at that when they just don't enjoy playing at home. You can also see what games they do enjoy. We took the war-game player and the everything player to a con this fall and they had a blast. So much so that the I-hate-boardgames player wants to come next time.

Yes. He's an English Springer Spaniel. His favorite couch has a cover which I wash when appropriate. He's 4 and I haven't noticed any additional staining, ripping, or hair problems. The cats sleep on the back of the chairs and the beds too. I'm not sure keeping them off the couch is keeping the dog hair off your clothes and furniture! When I was a child our dog had to stay in the kitchen. I really didn't want that this time around.

Actually, chutes and ladders can be fun if you have one of those minute timers. Every time someone finishes their turn they flip it over. The speed of your turn can control how fast it runs out. When the timer runs out the slides and ladders switch. The first time I ever played it was at a library when I was 12. There was a timer in the box so we just made up the rule to make it more interesting. It got pretty crazy. Desert Island list: for the boys: Heroscape valkyrie beginner set chess memoir '44 space alert the adventurers for us: Taluva Vikings Alien Frontiers Stone Age Innovation Although if I knew I was going to be on a desert island I might learn one of those games which takes hours and hours to play. We just don't have the attention for that right now.

Sockdreams is great. I wear leggings or thigh high socks generally. They can be layered over longjohns or each other. Thigh highs can be folded down to an over the knee length and scrunched a bit. I don't like pantyhose or tights. They never fit right for me.

No, we've always talked about St. Nicholas the person and then stressed Santa (and the Tooth Fairy) as a game between parents and children. We certainly don't want to ruin anyone else's game. We have a really lively Tooth Fairy game ourselves. It tends to be even more fun when the kids are in on it. I'm a little weirded out by all the people who gleefully say, 'I tell my kids if they don't believe they don't get the gifts!' Maybe its just me but that seems like an odd and selfish way to pull kids in. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Giving people stuff to pretend something is true. Threatening to cut someone's gifts if they don't want to participate. :confused: Not really Santa-y IMO. Not that I have a problem with other people doing the Santa thing. My parents did it. I just don't like the attempt to pin kids into it for our own benefit.

*Decide how much personal information you want to give out before you even start. For instance, do you want to use your children's names? Your husband? Your own name? Will you use an initial? Last name? Town name? Region? *Decide if you want to use photos of your kids or other people in your life. *When relating something that isn't yours (story, situation, photo, recipe) get permission. *It's not a diary. Decide what kind of emotional content you want to include. *Reread your posts. Then reread again. You miss so much because your brain thinks it knows what's there. *Decide how you're going to capitalize your titles. I'm terrible at this and they always come out inconsistent. *Do use descriptive titles. You get a lot more hits on "How to bake sourdough bread" than you do "Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere!" *If you're looking for photos, check out Flickr. Some people leave their's open for use as long as it's attributed to them. *Do link to things (definitions, recipes, descriptions, places to buy things, other bloggers, helpful sites). That's how many search engines judge usefulness. Sometimes that's even how people find you. *Start a blog roll of people you follow. As you get to know people ask them to include you on their blog roll. People who write within a community help each other and spread the word.

It's been unusually warm here the last week or so, but its raining today so we may finally head down to the normal late 50s, early 60s. Colorwise we're just past peak season, meaning almost all of the maple leaves are gone but we still have a healthy load of red, gold, orange, and brown oak, aspen, birch, etc. And stately fir as well. Only a dinner menu (roasted chicken and potatoes, broccoli). Sourdough bread (with butter of course) and tea for breakfast. Maybe yogurt and almonds for lunch (with a piece of plum kuchen thrown in). I love Science. Mostly because I'm making it up right now. We're doing a unit on Botany and we're doing some Ellen McHenry and some Botany in a Day. I also like finding additional writing topics and movies for History. I'm not as fond of Spelling because I don't have a program for it right now (and am not sure how much the 6th grader needs) and Writing because I'm so fussy about it and rarely like things. No fun things. Youngest is having a tough seizure day. Hopefully we'll make it out to 11 year old's piano lesson.

Dh never realized it, but one of the reasons we dated was because he did his senior Leadership paper on Mr. Rogers and his leadership style. I loved watching Fred Rogers as a teen and adult. As a child, I was a little weirded out by him. "Mom, how come he talks so slow? Are the puppets real, or pretend? Does his house have a bathroom? Is he coming home from work, or does he work in that house?"

I'd put a line of 12-14 on them, depending on how sensitive the child is. My 12 year old started them before I did and we read the 3rd book simultaneously. I thought most of the violence was fine for him personally (he is not a world-building reader so it's abstract), but if I'd read them first I would have asked him to wait until 13+ for the 3rd book. There was a lot painful violence in that one, and the horrors of war. The 11 year old has instructions to wait a few years. We did have a really interesting conversation about what love means to different people, what kind of situations can instigate people liking each other, why people need to feel safe, and how trust is a part of love. Cool stuff.

Both. See if the computer job would work around his dream job. Eventually he may enjoy finding a mix of the two worlds or they'll find peace with a 2-career family.

I would recommend an exam at 18. I had 2 friends in college, neither of whom had ever been sexually active, who developed problems. One had polyps. One of the polyps burst and she had to go to the emergency room. A GYN would have noticed it earlier. The other had her first Pap smear come back negative. She was 20. She was lucky and it was still early.

I do this except I don't bother to freeze individually. I blend them into paste when I need some.

You don't need a cell to Twitter. I follow on my home computer. DH has been on it since before it boomed, so I've had an account forever. He calls it his 'mini-professional blog.' I just started using it for a class last January. I still have trouble remembering to read and post. It's fun for professional links though. I follow the National Parks, Smithsonian, Time, Amazon, NPR, creative education folk, my favorite bands. You can find some interesting articles, ideas, and cheap/free stuff that way. My name is the same here and there.

Isaac. We use it as a nickname for our son. Other unusual 'I' names.

No pear frangipane or plum kuchen, but I did make homemade caramel today. It's really easy. The boys had friends over and it made a fun snack.

1. I tried to negotiate something like that. I offered to move the vehicle and bring in paperwork regarding its license, plates, and working order. They didn't believe me that I drove it. 2. I honestly don't have time for another weekly venture. I know I won't remember, especially driving a bus with no heat and a stick in Wisconsin winters. 3. This is all beside the point. I've actually read the ordinances. They don't say people need to move their vehicles every 10 days. They do say abandoned vehicles or those up on blocks need to be moved from driveways and streets within 10 days. They just chose to define our vehicle as such because I have a cranky, complaining neighbor and they'd rather listen to me than him. For goodness sake, the city engineer called another elderly neighbor and told her they would euthanize her cat if she didn't keep it inside. The poor lady was going door-to-door looking for it. She was terrorized. All because it escaped and defecated on this guy's lawn. Once. Seriously. :confused: I could rant on. You don't really need an HOA. You just need an exuberant pencil-pusher and a pushy complainer. I'm not sure this is completely true. I live in a very rural area. Very blue collar. A lot of sport (camping, RV, fishing, hunting) and recreation. I think this is more a state of mind that grew up with the explosion in the housing industry and the decrease in neighborhood relationships. We're 'looking out for our investment' more than we care about working with the neighborhood dynamic.

Complaints about laundry~"well, would you rather go back to doing it??" or "when you complain like that I don't really feel like doing it next time. If you don't ever get around to it, I expect the basic respect of silence, ok?" Box never put away~ 1) ask him to put it away 2) let him know that at a certain interval you will either toss or donate it-no hard feelings its just in your way Wo-man Cave~ if he's not using his...why can't it be yours? And if that's not an option, see if you can organize your life so that laundry does not have a home there. I do a load a day, and then catch up Monday/Thursday. The 1-a-day loads sit in the bathroom until I put them away. Laundry days I stay on it until it is done. I used to let it sit around but I realized I need to be able to shut my bedroom door and pretend the world didn't exist sometimes. The floor~ if he's on your side, as in he admits what he does, then you should be able to say 'dude, the floor???' and then he owes you a chore. Usually this kind of stuff is expected in most marriages (I did this for you, you'll do this for me later or you'll make something up to me), but if you don't see it happening perhaps you could negotiate some trade offs you can see, so you feel like a team--not someone always making up for someone else. You two need to get back on the same team.

We made apple cider doughnuts last weekend...and springrolls. This weekend I was thinking a pear frangipane type thing.

It doesn't have to be an HOA for these things to happen. It just takes a little creative ordinance interpretation. We had to get rid of our VW bus because someone complained to the city, so they classified it as an "abandoned vehicle." It was licensed, insured, and running but because it's a campmobile we didn't drive it every 10 days year-round...which in their interpretation made it abandoned...in our driveway. It didn't fit in the garage so one of dh's friends was nice enough to tow it to his farm for us. We've also been hassled about the kids leaving their bikes on the ground next to the house. Yeah. :glare:

A lot of the more common ones have been listed. You can't go wrong with a Kurasawa. This summer they even had Rashomon and The Seven Samurai on Hulu. I also like Red Beard and Yojimbo by him. He also did Shakespeare/Samurai films like Ran and Throne of Blood. We liked Ingmar Bergman's fairy-tale-like Fanny & Alexander and The Seventh Seal. Persona was okay. For kind of a kooky, random, Surrealist vibe, Delicatessan and City of the Lost Children are really intriguing. Beautiful and dark. Amalie kind of rides the same quirky wave while being lighter and more romantic. Kieslowski has some interesting work. He did The Color trilogy (3 films entitled Blue, White, and Red). You can watch the all separately if you wish..they don't depend on each other. We liked White the best and I liked his The Decalogue, which is a series of 10 short films on Polish society filmed during the Communist years. If you like ground-breaking silent films Metropolis and M are both classic. Watching Peter Lorre in M just gives me the creeps, but in a sad way. More modern German films like Run, Lola, Run or Wim Wender's Wings of Desire (angel movie) or Let the Right One In (vampire movie) seem to appeal to almost everyone. Elling, a Norwegian comedy about surviving mental illness, was fun. Both dh and I liked it. del Toro, who now makes American movies, has some imaginative and dark movies such as Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, and Pan Labyrinth. Totally random: Cinema Paridiso Farewell My Concubine Raise the Red Lantern Mostly Martha The Return of Martin Guerre Shall We Dance (Japanese version)-very sweet Kung-Fu Hustle -if you or your dh likes kungfu movies this is hilarious The Science of Sleep The Motorcycle Diaries Amores Perros City of God all of the above related Miyazaki films I keep thinking of this sweet Chinese film I saw, where an old man adopts a little boy from the street and teaches him his trade making masks and entertaining on street corners. I can't find the title anywhere, but if anyone else knows what I'm talking about let me know! As for child friendliness, it really depends on what you think is appropriate. I wouldn't recommend anything, even Miyazaki, without having the parent watch it first. Miyazaki makes children's movies (for the most part) but some people might be uncomfortable with his use of spirits or some of his films may be too dark for younger children. The same goes for everything else. I may be comfortable letting my kids watch The Seven Samurai, but even I have to pre-watch scenes to make sure they're age appropriate for my kids.

Its interesting to see how much of an issue this is...especially with ADD/ADHD spouses. We've been working on this for 14 years, and my situation is similar to yours. At one point I was where you are, insisting that he act in a 'normal' way without completely understanding what he's going through. Each of us has a different tolerance level. We each come to peace with it a different way. For some that might mean punitive measures (not doing chores, etc) for others it might mean doing everything for them, and there is every compromise in between. You have to find what works for your family. The first thing that helped me was leading many conversations about this, and letting him know how I was frustrated and what it meant to me. There is no change if the other person doesn't a) know something is bothering you and b) want to find a way to make things work. One of the best ways to do this is when you are calm, not when its all built up inside of you. Point out logical problems with his behavior for others in his life. Don't label or blame. Let him know that 'I'll change' type answers are not working for you and brainstorm alternatives to help him get things in order. When it doesn't work, try again with another plan. Show respect for him and he will be more likely to respect your needs. Two, realize that all of this isn't as easy for them. Unless everything in your life supports neat behavior, it is extremely hard to him to change. It's even harder to change when you have no internal motivation to do so. Your occasional annoyance doesn't affect his behavior because it doesn't intrude on his thoughts every moment. Three, create a system which makes it easier for him to do what you want. Woodworking? Create an easy-clean station. Laundry? Get him 2 baskets or trade off chores with him where you pick his up and he does X for you. Clutter? Box it and after 2 weeks ask him to go through it with you (if he doesn't let him know you'll donate/junk it after 3 tries). Decluttering? Pull up a box every 2-3 days and ask him to put it away. Daily clutter? Have a scheduled time where everyone cleans for 15 minutes. Four, have an island of clean away from the whole family. You need the man cave. Seriously. When things annoy you, go there to relax in a calming place. Five, reminders--verbal or written--are a necessary component to creating neater habits. You will probably feel angry about this, but he has no internal system to regulate his impulses. You need an outside system. This will either be you or you and a written organization system. The best thing I ever did to make our home a neater, more comfortable place for both of us was to start asking my dh to do things as soon as they needed doing. "Could you pick that up?" "Please put that away when you're done." (said right as he was finishing) "If you could do that right now? I need to get in there." "I think that's bothering so-and-so, could you take care of it?" At this point, I pick up laundry and telephone books without the intense anger I used to feel. Other stuff goes in a box on his work table. I ask for what I need when I see it, and out of respect for me he usually does this right away. He has a job board he created with kanban and we look through that together. He takes on additional 'dirty jobs' on the weekend to make up for some of the daily wear-and-tear I go through.

Make yourself a mocha. 1-2 spoons of cocoa mix (or 1 of the mix, 1 of unsweetened cocoa powder) or however much is needed to cover the coffee taste fill with coffee add a little milk to cool. Its like cocoa with a kick.

Is he a lefty? I had a middle school teacher who did this as a child (and still did as an adult for fun). He would mirror write his sentences from back to front as well when he was forced to write with his right hand. I've always thought of it as a sign of intelligence or acute visual-spatial ability.