Something else that I saw a few weeks ago was an episode of the HBO "Real Sports" show with Bryant Gumbel. They had a segment featuring Dominque Moceanu and her bond with a teenage gymnast in Illinois who was born without any legs. Her parents had adopted her from an orphanage in Romania. She was always fascinated by Moceanu and started doing gymnastics because she did. Even without legs, she started tumbling and won several championships in her state. It was very inspiring! To make a long story short -- and I hope someone can find a link to the episode -- when the adopted girl's parents were watching Dominque compete in the Olympics, they flashed to her parents up in the stands and put their names up. The adopted mother ran to get the adoption papers and, sure enough, the names were the same. The little girl who had been born without any legs, and left in the orphanage in Romania, was Dominque Moceanu's sister. They had abandoned her at birth, due to her birth defect. The two sisters have since met and formed an intense bond. It was a fascinating and touching story.

:smilielol5: Used book sales are the secret joy of every homeschooler!

I bought a core from them the first time around, back in 2002. After that, I learned that it was much less expensive to make my own! I found Core IGs at used book sales (usually for less than $15) and just found the books I needed. I put together each core for around $100 - $150. I thought about using it for my 3rd grader last year for 2nd grade (I've since loaned my Core 2 to someone else who loaned it to someone else, etc.)...anywho for the Core, Science & Math it was $850!!!!! Yikes!! No way would I pay their prices for new products.

:iagree: Pass around the Chicken Sandwiches! :D

From what I heard tonight, her family moved from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Iowa in order for her to be close to her coach. But it sounded like the whole family moved. Sometimes, just the athlete moves and they live with their coach, but I didn't get the impression that was the case with Gabby. I can't imagine that level of sacrifice. I remember during the 2008 Olympics and hearing from Shawn Johnson's parents. They had mortgaged their house 3 times just to pay for gymnastics. Wow.

:grouphug:

Awwwwww... What a cutie Thanks for sharing!

She's from my hometown. I will definitely be cheering her on!

The only reason I was somewhat happy to read the spoilers on the internet is because our cable has been out for hours and probably won't be on to watch the race. Normally, I'd be mad!

Wish I had thought to DVR the event. Then I could fast forward through the commercials. Which are running every 5 minutes during the parade of nations. :glare:

Swimming & Gymnastics are my favorites. My kids always want to see the Tae Kwon Do (my oldest daughter and youngest son are black belts) but it never seems to have coverage. Will also watch diving and volleyball and fencing.

$10 to join the group. Art (taught by a professional artist) is $55 per year & Science (taught by a homeschool mom w/ a PhD in Chemistry) is $60 per year. They meet once a month during the school year and it's 10 minutes away from my house. I love it. :)

That's why Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana" is so funny! Here are the lyrics: What is this song all about? Can't figure any lyrics out How do the words to it go? I wish you'd tell me, I don't know Don't know, don't know, don't know, ooh no Don't know, don't know, don't know... Now I'm mumblin' and I'm screamin' And I don't know what I'm singin' Crank the volume, ears are bleedin' I still don't know what I'm singin' We're so loud and incoherent Boy, this oughta bug your parents Yeah! *belch* It's unintelligible I just can't get it through my skull It's hard to bargle nawdle zouss with all these marbles in my mouth Don't know, don't know, don't know, ooh no Don't know, don't know, don't know... Well, we don't sound like Madonna Here we are now, we're Nirvana Sing distinctly? We don't wanna Buy our album, we're Nirvana A garage band from Seattle Well it sure beats grazing cattle Yeah! moo.. baa... And I forgot the next verse Oh well, I guess it pays to rehearse The lyric sheet's so hard to find What are the words, oh nevermind Don't know, don't know, don't know, ooh no Don't know, don't know, don't know... Well, I'm yellin' and we're playin' But I don't know what I'm sayin' What's the message I'm conveyin'? Can you tell me what I'm sayin'? So have you got some idea? Didn't think so Well, I'll see ya Sayonara

Costco has a 3.7 cf stainless steel one with a freezer for $140. We're looking at that one for our oldest, who goes off to a dorm for the first time next month!

My oldest was at the midnight showing here in Virginia. I had the TV on as background noise and, when the news came on our local news station, I couldn't tell at first what state it was. I can't imagine! Those poor families. :(

Bring on the kilts!! :cheers2:

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Yes, I do think it's a combination of factors. I certainly believe that Aspergers just wasn't recognized / diagnosed in previous years. I often tell people that, thirty years ago, my son would've been thought of as a "geek" or a "nerd". If you've ever watched The Big Bang Theory, my son and Sheldon could be twins! He doesn't have a sky high IQ, but all of the social quirks, mannerisms, and hobbies are nearly identical to Sheldon's. My son watches that show every night and just laughs and laughs about how alike they are. ;) What's puzzling to me are those cases where it's a more severe form of autism. Those are the ones where I think there's more to it than "we're just better at diagnosing it". Make sense?

My oldest son had the hep b vax right after birth and he has asperger's. We stopped vaccinating completely in 1999 (so my youngest son had his first years shots, but nothing after that -- including the MMR). Our youngest daughter has never had any vaccinations and she has autism -- and very significant autism. She's not high functioning. She has the verbal skills of a 3 year old and the academic level of a 1st-2nd grader. So I no longer believe that vaccinations have anything to do with why two of our children are on the autism spectrum. I DO believe it may be something environmental -- something we're putting into the food / water / air, etc. My husband is of the mind that it might be something WE were vaccinated with that has somehow mutated our DNA. I do NOT believe that there's more autism cases diagnosed because we're better at spotting it. That's like saying we're having more hurricanes because our radar has improved. But I don't know what the trigger is -- or there may be multiple triggers.

Calphalon! I received a full set from my hubby for Christmas 3 years ago and they still look brand-new. I love them!!!

Yes, I did this. My oldest had terrible cramps from the ages of 14 until age 16. I took her for a full OB appointment when she was 16 1/2 (almost 17) and they gave her a prescription for birth control pills. She's been pain-free ever since.

Piano lessons for 13yo - $40 per month. Art co-op for 13yo - $60 per year. We've really had to cut back because our youngest needs occupational therapy ($150 a week) and will soon need vision therapy ($3,000 for 12 weeks!!!!). Normally, we're involved in a lot more activities but we just can't afford them this year.

My oldest entered the cc not knowing what she wanted to major in either. That's the beauty of general education classes! She started on the associate's degree general education program and fell in love with the field of psychology. She graduated with her AA degree in May and is about to start her Junior year at an in-state 4 year college where she's going to major in psychology and minor in forensic studies. She hopes to join one of the law enforcement branches (US Marshals, FBI, or state police) upon graduation from college. Just have your dd start taking classes toward an AA degree in either general studies or liberal arts and see if she doesn't find something that interests her.

Yes, I always just include them with the letter of intent.

Buddy - yellow lab & Spunky - black lab / pit mix