That sounds like a good idea too. Any other creative, non-toy ideas would be appreciated!

My children have way to much stuff! Instead of more toys and things they will play with for a day and then toss to the side, I am giving them a "Year of Fun." I am getting them each a small suitcase and a family membership to the museum (reciprical at ones nationwide). I am coming up with creative ways to wrap certificates good for vacations - a water park hotel, a cabin at the State Fair, and visiting with family and sightseeing in Minneapolis and Iowa, and Grandma and Grandpa's in Indiana. Every other month we will go on a short trip. In May they each get new bikes - they would have needed them anyway, but it's more fun to make it part of the gift. I am excited about the family time we will get. They will still get toys and stuff from family and friends, but I think this will be a Christmas they remember.

I outsource gymnastics and tennis through the park district. I teach all the other subjects. I have found some art and music curriculums that I really enjoy using. The children have started asking for violin now though. (They were given one by the family who lived here before.) That is one subject I would not be able to teach! If I can find a place I can afford, I would love to let them learn.

I feel like we are eating around the world this week. Chinese on Saturday, Ethiopian on Sunday, and posole (Mexican) tonight. Tomorrow I plan on potato soup - Irish right? I guess I ought to tie geography in with dinner this week!

If your children have any health history, leave that info with the sitter. Should your kids need a doctor, they will want that info.

I drew a big apple and had them glue scraps of red paper on it. I drew a cob of corn. Use different colors of paint to make fingerprints on the cob like kernals of Indian corn. Use green tissue paper to complete the corn cob. Have the children pick kernals off a dried corn cob. Paint with the cob. Put leaves under a sheet of paper and color over it with crayons to make a crayon rubbing. Paper plate apple - Each child gets a white paper plate, and fingerpaints it red. When it's dry, we add green paper leaves and a brown stem, and glue real apple seeds to the center. - Supply each child with a piece of white paper and instruct them to paint it using red and yellow paint. they may mix the paints to create orange. Allow the papers to dry, then flip the papers over and draw leaf shapes on the back for the children to cut out. Have them cut out the leaves. You may then: - Have them make a leaf mobile - Have them glue them onto a piece of paper for a leaf collage - Hang them from the ceiling Paint pumpkins. Stamp paint pumpkins with fist. Add a green paint vine Paint a branch on paper and glue leaves on.

I want an administration that will support a culture of life in our country. If I vote for someone who supports the killing of the most innocent members of society right within our own borders, I am voting against my beliefs. Therefore, I will vote for the candidate who has the strongest record of supporting a culture of life by protecting the unborn. It does bother me that he is not 100% against abortion in all cases. As a rape survivor myself, I know the pain and anquish caused there. I would never want to have the additional burden of guilt thta comes with abortion. My friend has a beautiful baby girl who was conceived through rape. Her dd has brought her so much joy and is full of excitement for life!

I am a Christ-follower. I am a believer in Jesus and want to live my life for His glory. I want to hide His Word in my heart and have my thoughts, attitudes, and actions aligned with my faith. My faith is an essential influence in the decisions I make daily.

My children like stuffed Chicago pizza. Here is a recipe we use - http://www.andreasrecipes.com/2006/06/08/chicago-style-stuffed-pizza/ I had a friend come by unexpectedly for dinner one night and warmed up leftovers from this recipe. She thought it was actually Giordano's pizza and was quite surprised when my dd told her it was homemade!

I was excited to find a stash of boys clothes in the attic. The family that used to live here left an attic filled with things they didn't want. It was almost entirely Gap. Last winter a friend gave me her son's really nice clothing, and I now have over 50 outfits for my son this winter without spending a cent! I even have coats and nice shoes! My older daughter got new clothes last year, so she didn't really need anything but shoes. My youngest dd has lots of clothes handed down to her from various places. I let them each choose an outfit and the Children's Place and bought a pair of jeans for the middle one. With all these blessings I only spent a little over $100 this season. I may need to get the girls new winter coats though. We haven't tried them on, and I don't remember what condition they were in at the end of last winter.

We are here in Chicago too. My children enjoyed splashing in several inches of water in the backyard this afternoon! I am hoping no more of it comes into the basement. Our house is an old Victorian that was built before there were sump pumps. It doesn't do well with all this rain coming so quickly. I am wondering what the roads will look like in the morning and if we will make it to church or not. I'd really rather be there than here dealing with the basement.

I know Urban Mom from our Awana Club.

Bathroom scale where the welcome mat at the front door used to be.

My ds had a brain MRI a week or so ago. He had been diagnosed with moyamoya syndrome about a year ago because the arteries in his brain were becoming obstructed. The neurosurgeon showed me where the arteries were actually getting pinched and affecting the bloodflow. The latest MRI showed that the moyamoya is gone! No one knows how, but his arteries are not obstructed anymore! We are celebrating! I never knew anything like this could happen, so I never really even hoped for such a good report.

My dd is nearly 7. She loves writing letters. Maybe our dds could write to each other?

I had just settled my dd in her three year old classroom and was heading for the infant room where I taught. I stopped to greet a parent at the door, and she asked if we were still open. I looked at her in confusion and she said, "A plane has hit the WTC." I turned on the radio in the nursery and heard more about it. I called my co-workers into the room and we listened together as the story unfolded. Most of the children didn't get dropped off that day. Witthin an hour or so, almost all the children who had been dropped off were picked up and I was sent home. I tried to limit my dd's exposure to the media coverage, but it was everywhere. She still remembers it. When they first let the planes fly again afterwards, we were downtown Chicago. My dd raised her fist in the air and called out, "Why, why? Why would they let them up there again!"

It seems lots of missing child cases don't get much media coverage. I am not sure how much race plays into it. I know the Bradley sisters still get coverage 7 or 8 years later. They were not high income, had a single mom. . . They were adorable, camera-ready kids though. I would like to think that every child would be valued equally. It is heartbreaking when any of them go missing.

Here is the info I have. I assume it is consistent nationally. I called the Scripps number I found on the website. They told me the organization that organizes the Bee in my local area. You have to go through the district your child would be in if attending school. They were very kind and helpful on the phone. Thanks for the remider. They had told me top call back in September for more info. When I find the number again, I will try to remember to post it here.

I have not started school. We start again thursday, but we have only been off two weeks. I am, however, using today as a cleaning day. The children are cleaning out closets, bringing out fall clothes, scrubbing floors, and more. I want to be completel organized when we start up again.

We had an excellent experience there for my dd's 4th birthday. After making the bears we took them for a train ride and a carasol ride in the mall. Then we had teddy grahams, teddy bear shaped sandwiches, gummy bears, and cake. My sister made a bear shaped cake that could sing! She got one of the things you put in the stuffed bears to make them talk and sang a personalized song for my dd. She sealed it in a ziploc and placed it so it would be triggered and begin singing when the cake was sliced. Finally we all went with our bears to Picture People and had photos done as a group. I had a coupon for a free 10X13 and bought a wallet sized picture for each guest. It was a great party!

That would be us, with the ironic twist of living in a very expensive neighborhood in a house worth at least half a mil. The catch is, it isn't my house. I live on agency property in a house they own and pay for. We have a big yard and a four bedroom Victorian in a neighborhood that I could afford a studio apartment in - if that! Great hand-me-downs regularly appear on our front porch because people know I run an emergency home and will use almost any size or any toy at some time each year. The kids generally get one new outfit a season. Everything else is from thrift store or donations - yet they are clothed almost entirely in Gap, Children's Place, and other boutique brands. I keep a strict budget. We don't have the housekeepers and vacations that many of our neighbors do. I do my own gardening and cooking. I rarely hire babysitters to get out with friends. We buy things on sale. Compared to a year ago when we lived in a two bedroom condo, our lifestyle has completely changed. Our income has stayed the same. that is the irony of it.

My 4 yo is getting a blood transfusion tonight in preparation for a brain MRI/MRA on Friday. He needs to be sedated for the MRI, and since he has sickle cell, he needs a transfusion before he is sedated. Hopefully it will be uneventful and he will be discharged in the morning.

I will be watching for responses. My son was recently taken off soy for a suspected food allergy. His tummy aches stopped just days after removing all forms of soy. Turns out the allergy test came back negative, so - was it coincedence, or should he stay away from soy?

Magnesium helps relax muscles. I take magnesium pills as soon as I feel back pain coming, and it is usually avoided. You have to take it more frequently throughout the day to alleviate pain that has already set in. Hope your back feels better soon!

We will be doing this the first day of school. I plan to take them out for breakfast and present them with their new, cool school supplies. We will review schedules, routines, and expectations. They will get to wear their new ootfits chosen especially for that day. We are all looking forward to it.