I caught the announcement on the Today Show while making breakfast. They asked her what she's doing to keep fit, since she's 45 now. She said that she works out for an hour on the elliptical just about every day. :001_huh: If I had 20 kids, I wouldn't have time to take a shower or pee, let alone work out for an hour!! Makes me wonder if she's raising the kids or if the siblings are. :glare:

We call ours "Karen" because the voice reminds the kids of Plankton's computer wife on SpongeBob SquarePants and her name is Karen. :) My daughter has a Garmin and she calls it "Carmen". Carmen the Garmin.

Woo hoo! :party: We're going the first week of March. We're staying off-site, though, at Windsor Hills. The only reservation we have is for the Pirate League. My 9yo LOVES pirates and they're going to give her a makeover. :D Have a great time!!

I had posted about this a few days ago and some of you wanted an update. He was lost in the woods in the county next to ours for six days and was found today, alive and well!! Here's a link to the story on CNN: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/28/autistic-boy-found-alive-after-5-days-missing-in-woods/?hpt=hp_t2 :party:

Congrats!! :party: I'm homeschooling my youngest dd this year as well. She has autism and was in a self-contained class for the last 3 years and it was a complete disaster. She was the only verbal child in the class, but they wouldn't mainstream her because of her 'behavior issues' -- it's called a-u-t-i-s-m! Anyway...she LOVES being homeschooled! We're in a homeschool co-op that meets every other Friday for 3 hours and she really enjoys it! I stay with her, to offer one-on-one assistance, but she participates completely in the class. That's another option to consider for your son. See if there are any active homeschool groups in your area that offer field trips, co-ops, etc. They have been very accepting of our daughter and have welcomed her with open arms. And...it's so nice not to have to deal with IEP meetings and behavior plans!

As a mom of 2 kids with autism, I can't imagine what this family is going through! http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/102011/10252011/660684

I'm from Virginia. I like mine with butter and strawberry jam. No syrup or honey for me.

Please go find her!! I have 2 children on the autism spectrum (one is 17 and one is 9). My 17 year old, especially, is very literal and he would believe it wholeheartedly if I told him he couldn't come home. I second the recommendation of family counseling. :hugs:

We started school this year the 2nd week of June and schooled all summer. Starting in September, we do school 4 days a week the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month (because those are co-op Fridays) and we do school 5 days a week the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month. We're taking a week off next week for vacation in Myrtle Beach (yay!) and will then school until Thanksgiving, take a week off, school until Christmas, take a week off, and then continue to school 4 or 5 days a week (depending on the co-op schedule) until we wrap up the school year, which should be some time in late February or early March. I work for an accountant during tax season and March & April are the busiest months for me. I spend May purchasing curriculum and writing lesson plans and will start another new school year around mid-June.

I agree with the others about objecting to the word "entitled". We're doing the 2+2 plan with our oldest, which means 2 years at the community college and 2 years at a state public university. This has saved a lot of $$ for our family. We've told our oldest that we'll pay for her educational expenses (tuition, room & board, and books). She is responsible for her own spending money. So if she wants a tube of toothpaste or to order a pizza, it's with her cash. So she's working every summer as a camp counselor and using that money to keep her going during the school year.

We're going to Myrtle Beach in 2 1/2 weeks and we always hit the aquarium!! Thanks for the information!!!!! :)

Very comfortable. I used to be intimidated by it, but then I became a LaLeche League Leader and spoke in front of a group twice a month. I did that for 15+ years. Now I speak fairly often to various groups about homeschooling special needs children. (I have a speaking engagement coming up in a few weeks as a matter of fact). I think practice definitely helps in overcoming speaking anxiety. :)

I make license plate bingo cards for long road trips. Just take a card and mark off grids. Stick some state names in there and have them check them off. We also play this game where someone starts and they're given "A". So they have to find a billboard, road sign, exit ramp, place name, business name, etc. with "A" as they're driving along. Then the next person has "B". And so on and so forth. We also do coloring books and Mad Libs books.

The only thing I don't like about BAM is that you pay $20 a year for their discount card / members card, whereas Borders was free.

The power is on!!!!!! :hurray: :grouphug: for those still waiting!! I hope you're up soon! I cancelled school for the rest of the week. We're cleaning bathrooms and re-stocking the fridge! And don't get me started on the laundry....

And counting. :(

Posted my update separately. No power for three days. Could be another 5 days. Have moved into a hotel for duration. Kids think its great!

We are safe....But have no power after hurricane. Have been w/o power for three days and found out today that it could be another five days before we are back up. So we are in a hotel. The kids love it and think we are on vacation. :) Anyone else still in the dark??

Outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the rain and wind are something else, but we still have power!!! 3" of rain so far today and it's not supposed to stop for us until noon tomorrow. And it's raining anywhere from 1/2" to 1" per hour. Baking cookies and preparing to set up the board games -- we have Sorry, Trouble, and Uno on hand for this evening. :) Stay safe, everyone!

I'm east of Fredericksburg, Virginia, along the Potomac River. Just started to rain here. Winds so far are mild. Hoping power stays on long enough to make breakfast and do one more load of laundry!

:grouphug: Keep us posted and stay safe!!! I grew up in Virginia Beach -- lived in the Kempsville area for 25 years -- and I have a brother who lives in Chesapeake. I don't EVER recall ODU evacuating -- or William & Mary or CNU for that matter. That's frightening!

I grew up in Virginia Beach, so hurricane preparation was an annual event for us! Generator is on the porch. Flashlights have new batteries. We have several gas cans filled and ready. Both cars have full gas tanks. We bought a case of bottled water. Filling up the bathroom tub with water later so we can flush the toilet. Have batteries for the radio. Stocked up on canned goods, bread, lunch meat & peanut butter. Bought a big package of toilet paper. Went Isabelle went through (what? 7 years ago?), our area was out of commission for 2 weeks. We live in a small town / rural area just 3 miles from the Potomac River / Chesapeake Bay.

I'm over it, too! My oldest daughter's community college had to close their main building for the rest of the semester due to damage from the earthquake. She was there, in that building, when the earthquake struck, and she ran outside with her friends. Now they have to move all the classrooms, library, administrative offices, bookstore..... So classes have been cancelled until further notice. :(

Gotta steal that one!! :lol:

Haven't had the log in issues, but I think I'm having the email issues. I use my smart phone during the day and I'll go for hours without an email and then I'll get 5 or 6 at one time...which makes me think something's up with yahoo.