after ward we made sure everything was in order, but it's true that I think he'd have a lot more trouble finding everything if I died. He would eventually, our accounts are joint accounts, but it would be hard for him at what I assume would be a difficult time. I have a good friend whose husband died unexpectedly, and a week later she discovered that his life insurance payment went in its entirety to her stepson, who was already wealthy. She had to scramble to find work (after 18 years as a SAHM) to keep her house and pay for their daughter's college education. I wanted to cry for her. I'm convinced it was just an oversight on his part to not provide for her and their daughter (he made a very good living). Argh.

I agree that rehearsing is good. I also just "stop his world" until he has done as asked, pleasantly. He has sat in front of me at the school table for as long as 30 minutes, or even longer, doing absolutely nothing (except pout) while he makes up his mind to comply. But whatever the activity he is doing, it ends as soon as a complaint happens. This has been a long road for us as this child is stubbornly negative at times. But he is vastly better than last year. I think at the heart of it, complaining is a form of tantrum, and a failure to control one's negative outlook, so I've been spending time while we are talking, cuddling, talking to him about his own thoughts and how it is possible to control them and stop the unhappiness in his mind before it really makes him start to feel bad. Sigh. Now that I've typed it all out it sounds a little heavy for a seven year old, huh?

But, the lessons are very long. My child, who is not very math oriented, has not liked this curriculum at all, despite that fact that it has worked very well for him and he has an excellent understanding of place value, numeration, geometry and even of multiplication, as a concept. Rightstart is an investment too, though if it works, it is worth it. Just remember that any program has to be adapted to the needs and learning style of the child.

McCain has, though they are both still fully engaged in life. Serious health issues can strike at any time in life, they just are more statistically likely as age advances. The life expectancy of average Americans is about 76 for men, depending on what part of the country it's measured. So statiscally speaking, there is a faily significant liklihood of a life-threatening illness in the 75-78 age range for American men.

and the next youngest was 4. The three of us were in the tub together and J (4 yo) said, "I'm so glad we got that blue medicine (he was thinking of the blue dye we had put on his cord stump) for him, to help him grow a real penis." LOL! I think he didn't notice the real one was truly already there-maybe just a little hidden by baby fat, and I didn't have the heart to point it out. Another memory-I had my second child on Christmas day (12:15 AM!) and in the morning, one of the OB nurses came in and she was so sweetly telling me that she also was born Christmas day and she had never felt shortchanged for her birthday, not to worry. She was working on both Christmas AND her birthday and she was kind as can be.

the show or the names of the involved parties. It struck me at the time as incredibly cruel and also, as exposing this woman as bizarrely, coolly watching the other woman's emotions as she grieved the death of her friend. It was painful to even learn about. What made you think of this?

Very helpful, he was taught by his excellent bio teacher and now that he's at home we are using it for other subjects.

4 kittens, and gave the other 2 to friends. All 4 of them are incredibly sweet tempered and docile. All 4 were male, all were kept with their mother until natural weaning around 3-4 months, and all were neutered before 7 months. Also, all 4 were handled very frequently by enthusiastic children, from the moment of birth practically! I am convinced that the frequent handling and natural separation from mother cat, after weaning, accounts for their good temperaments. It's only ancedotal, but we have another cat we took from his mother around 7 weeks, and he is not very friendly or playful at all. Anecdotal? I don't know. I vote for free kittens, from a loving home where they've gotten lots of attention. Or adopt a pregnent female as we did. It was really a wonderful experience for my guys.

used to be 30% in the US. Currently mortality is about 10% for treated cases. Sadly, this is a fairly common cause of death of newborns in some undeveloped countries. Because their mothers are not vaccinated, they are vulnerable to infections at birth, and are frequently exposed to the bacteria when their cord is cut with nonsterile instruments.

My boys use them along with other toys, often, with their Lego minifigures (or as my dSIL calls them "dolls for boys"). They get played with intermittently, but enough that I'm glad I got them.

I found this section the most challenging and least fun of that book. HTH. http://www.maartensz.org/philosophy/Dictionary/L/Logic%20Notation.html Catherine

impression of homeschoolers as inept social misfits, or show her who you really are ( or seem to be, at least): a kind, devoted parent and teacher who is doing your best for your family? Responding defensively seems totally unnecessary.

First, I think you have to have a heart to heart with your daughter, and try to help her understand that Dy is making her own decisions, that you are not responsible for her choices. Can your daughter handle it if she has to watch you do "tough love"? I'd lay the groundwork for that in your conversation, and feel her out. If you think she'd take it too hard, or not be able to understand the need for your actions re: Dy, I'd strongly consider ending the arrangement right now. If you think your girl can handle it, then I would then spend some time along sorting out exactly how you are going to manage bad behavior. Three strikes, you're out? No tolerance? Too many cliches? (sorry!) But what I mean to say is that kids who challenge you in this way require a great deal of careful planning and forethought (ask me how I know...). You need to absolutely know what you'll put up with and what you won't. Finally, have a conversation with Dy, in private. Let her know that she won't get another chance (if that's what you've decided, and I hope it is). You appreciate that she is young and impulsive, but that if she wants to live (free!) at your house, she must carefully observe your house rules, and those include being trustworthy, in word and action, and being scrupulously honest, every. single. time. In my situation, we've had to give several pointed reminders of the rules, but we are lucky that the parent involved have basically abandoned the kid, so we don't have to deal with any unhelpful interference. Sadly, no one else cares about our extra kid enough to make our job harder. Maybe you can also clarify everyone's roles-her parents, to make sure they are not making it even harder for you to get this girl started in life. Hugs to all of you. It won't be easy.

the other two were in school for K. Honestly, it may not be popular here, but I was helped by the example of the wonderful K teacher my second ds had. She knew that having their hearts was the first big important step to teaching their minds. To that end, she made her expectations clear, and firm, *after* showing them she loved them and cared about them. The way I translated this to homeschooling was to spend a lot of time with my 5 yo just talking, playing, telling him my hopes for him, and gently laying down expectations of his behavior during "school time". I made sure he was well-fed and rested, and tried to have my plans as concrete ahead of time as I could so that things could move quickly and smoothly. I also told him my expectations, verbally, as far as how long he would need to sit, etc. I do think that K is an important time to lay down expectations for future school. I don't think it is unreasonable to make a child sit still for very short periods and pay attention, and do as they are told with a minimum of complaints. But, I think it is often necessary to do some preliminary work with an unwilling child, to get him up to speed in "bending him will" to yours, and sitting still, and paying attention. With my own ds, this took some time. In fact, we are continuing to work on it! Best of luck. It takes time, and you have plenty!

Agency. They assist people in working with unwilling creditors to avoid bankruptcy and loss of property.

There is a beautiful picture book of it, illustrated by Will Moses, Grandma Moses grandson. My boys look forward to this. We also read The Raven.

Offering a loving home to someone like this is not easy but has great rewards, at least, it has for us. I think you should decide now if you can be in it for the long haul, because you may discover, as we did, that helping a young adult like this may involve enough time for them to understand that they are safe, which is not a quick process. After 8 months, my nephew has found work and is looking into some college situations. I am hoping that in the next few years, he will pursue education.

I am going to try to read through all of Pyle's middle ages books this year. We just finished Otto of the Silver Hand. I read through a lot of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books last year and my boys liked them, though wouldn't have read them on their own. They are 7 and 11. I'm working on a US history book with my oldest now and we are reading it to each other.

a way to minimize the punitive aspect. I have a seven year old, and when I did this with him (he was a bit younger) I tried to make it clear that we needed to spend more time together (we did). It is really more about building one's relationship with the child, with teaching and mentoring and guiding them, than about punishing them or emphasizing mistrust. I needed to build up to spending a lot of the day with him, because he was so accustomed to spending a lot of his day out of my sight with his brother. I strongly encouraged them to play nearby so that I could see trouble developing as soon as it started, and would correct them-quickly, gently, and without frills. It was amazingly effective. So if my 7yo did this (my eldest did, and I so wish I had handled it differently) I would do some work to build my relationship with him by spending more time together. Of course confessing and making it right need to be done too.

dementia who hallucinate. Ask his doc.

last night!! I thought we had somehow found the trigger and eliminated it, it's been so long. He is miserable, I felt awful for him. His started when he was 11 or 12, and for awhile happened at least every month. Finally, we got a prescription for oral Imitrex and it is a miracle drug. Soon after that, they stopped. I hope your daughter won't have them long-term. Often, they are outgrown.

it adresses some of those concerns. Followup studies have been done, and tend to support Heifer's methods, though the followup article also pointed out ways they could improve their impact. Also, the Heifer website describes the process potential participants must go through in order to recieve their animal, and it involves attending classes that teach them how to care for their animal. Then they must show Heifer the houseing they've made and provisions they've made to feed and care for it. So the website suggests it's a deliberate process that would screen out people who might now be willing to do what is needed to benefit from the gift. We give to the United Way, which supports many local charities, to Heifer, and to Habitat. I was very sad to learn that Heifer has a rather large giving project right here in the USA.

8 months. His mom kicked him out when he graduated, when it became clear he was not paying rent or getting a job, or going to school. I am so sympathetic because I bet you want to love and support him, but at the same time, realize he needs to commit himself to something and actually work at it. I have been very firm with my nephew, and we provide a place to stay, and food, but all entertainment he must fund himself. It took him several months to find a job (well, only 4 days to find it, but months of "intervention" from us to get to that point). He is now working full time. Not a great job, and a kid with his mind should be in college, but it's a start. He needs to first learn how to work, then he can think about an education to make his life easier. As far as your situation, you need to clarify your goals. Do you want him to learn work ethic, get a higher education, just plain grow up? Once you decide what is his priority learning task, then go to town. Personally, I would make him work, without pay, whether he is in school or not. Contributing to the family is just something we all have to do. I make my kids do chores, and my "boarder" is not exempt. I just tell him what to do and how to do it. If you ahve a family business, he should *definitely* be contributing to it, regularly. He's an adult! It's important for me to teach my kids that there's no free lunch. We love and support them, but they have to show some motivation and drive too and labor is the best way to instill that, IMO. I'll be thinking of you in the days to come. It's not easy!

It was to make room for his crowded adult teeth, which had already emerged very crooked. It was almost miraculous how much difference this made. One of his upper front teeth was in front of his lowers, the other behind, one of his lower teeth was at a 90 degree angle to what is normal. Within 6 months of the extractions, they all straightened completely, with no further intervention! it was amazing. I realize this is a different reason for extraction than that proposed by your orthodontist. I really don't know anything about a situation like your daughter's.

As others have noted, the "side effects" have all been beneficial. : )