I usually do whatever is free on you tube. I avoid anything that has fast dancing type moves. If you like Biggest Loser, try some of Bob Harper's regular videos. I like them because they are longer (usually 40-60 minutes), they challenge me, and they are toning - lots of reps with your own bodyweight or light dumbbells. I use Fitness Blender too, but they have so many videos, I don't really know how to do their program, but you can do a search for "arms" "abs" or whatever if you want to focus on something in particular. I also found a few things I like on Popsugar Fitness. I really like the girl who does those videos, she's very encouraging and friendly.

We did not get the student pack. The main thing I feel like I am missing are the word lists. You can get the gist of what you need as you go through the lessons and come up with your own tiles, suffixes, etc. And I have found different word lists online. My kids are finding the tiles cumbersome, and they stay a mess, so we mainly use a white board and the book. Sometimes I wonder what I'm missing, but we've been plugging along OK.

I would buy things that complement curriculum that I am already using. For example, I am using BFSU for a science class and I would love pre-made materials to complement it. Yesterday I was looking for something on inertia for a 2nd-3rd grade audience and couldn't find anything I liked at all.

Great info, thanks everyone. Sounds like Fable is the best fit. I'm looking forward to it!

We will finish WWE3 with my third grader this year and I think he has got it down well enough that WWE 4 would not really add anything at this point. I'm thinking of switching gears and trying CAP. I'm wondering, if in doing so, we need to start with Fable or is it OK to start with Narrative? I think he would like the story selection better in Narrative, but I don't want to start there if he will be lost not having done Fable first. I am also wondering about if there is much original/creative writing in this program. (That might be a deal breaker. The boy can copy, summarize, narrate well; but ask him to think of something to write on his own and he'll stare at a blank piece of paper for an hour.)

When you say circles do you mean like dark circles (discoloration) or more like bags under your eyes?

That you for the vet perspective. She had a pretty thorough round of tests/exams to date... just minus the neurologist, which is 2 hrs away (the closest). The vet told me the smaller dogs (dachshunds) that usually have the surgery do much better than a dog that's bigger. Not sure if that's true - but given that info, plus her age, plus recovery time, plus no guarantee of any functional gain, I can't see it. The vet is giving her support if we decide to put her down. I guess she knew I needed to hear that. I'm not ready but I think maybe I'll go get her a ham bone.

All the stories and responses are very helpful. It's so hard to be objective.

We do still have elementary age kids, are middle aged ourselves, and have a modest income. So replacing or repaying $5000 for a surgery would take years. It is neurological, unfortunately. She went from being a little gimpy to completely immobile in a couple of days. With the suspected problem (disk compression of the spinal cord), there are lots of stories about crate rest and medical management to at least staving off progression, if not allowing for some improvement. I guess I was hopeful this would happen. But instead it's gotten worse. The vet said it's not a good sign.

I guess I just need to vent. I don't really know what to do so maybe airing it out will help. My 12 yr old dog has rapidly become paralyzed. No hind leg walking and now bladder and bowel incontinent. (Just the test to narrow down the problem for possible surgery would be over $2000 (MRI) and it has progressed so quickly we may be out of the surgical window anyway.) I think I might pay that much to "fix" her, i.e., surgery, but just for the preliminary work up? And then more thousands for the surgery .... It would be a foolish financial decision given our situation, and I can't tell you how guilty I feel just saying that. I mean, we could come up with the money, but we'd feel the financial consequences for years. My husband thinks it's time to put her down. If only there were something else wrong I could agree with him. Everything else about her is normal and healthy. Right now her pain is controlled, she's eating and drinking, and alert. She has no other diseases to deal with. Yes, it's pathetic to see her like this, but I'm finding it hard to come to terms with this being the only reason to put her down. It's just so sudden. It's not like she's been going downhill for a while, giving me time to mull it over. She's "my" dog. I'm her person. So I feel a need to protect her, and it feels like I'm failing. Thanks for listening and sorry for the downer.

Good point. I guess I was thinking if it's a presumed diagnosis, maybe they don't want to use something that will have major side effects as a first line med. I will have to ask about that. Otherwise her health is good. To confirm the dx we'd have to see the specialist. It's hard when they are alert and healthy, yet so needy.

I've been wondering if steroids are the standard of care. I've been reading about that, and she's on an NSAID (plus a couple other meds) instead. I can understand being conservative, especially without an MRI to confirm the dx, but wonder if it'd make a difference. Our vet dealt with this in his own dog so I kind of trust him, but he went for the surgery option.

Intervertebral disc disease...one of the worries you think of with doxies/back problems. (Ours is not a doxie but a senior 12 yo beagle-ish mix.) The nearest veterinary neurologist is 2 hrs away. We are not sure it's wise financially to invest in the work up/surgery that could cure her. We are immobilizing and managing pain for now. Anyway, I love to hear from anyone who has dealt with this. I'd never even heard of this until this last week.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2015/02/06/turbotax-temporarily-halts-e-filing-in-all-states-amid-fraud-concerns/ Geez. Now that someone has our all information from Anthem we are ripe for fraud.

I kind of quit vets for a while since there seemed so much upselling. The one near me doesn't do *just* a heartworm test, heartworm pill, whatever. They want to bundle everything, so it's a 3-in-1 kind of test/med (I don't remember), for 3x the price, which gets very expensive (especially for more than one dog). Plus they would lay a guilt trip on my for not wanting all this extra stuff. Instead I go to the local SPCA vaccine clinic and they would give me what I wanted without any kind of pressure. I really only want rabies and heartworm prevention at this point. My dogs are seniors and stay indoors. I did take my dogs Banfield once for a nail trim. The cut like 1 millimeter off which was a waste of time and money.

Thanks!

Did you get a book with it? If so was it helpful?

For fun ...he could be a good chess player and it will challenge him his entire life.

This is helpful. Thanks. This is one I was looking at -- it COULD be interesting enough for my 9yo but it may be information overload at this age. http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/understanding-the-world-s-greatest-structures-science-and-innovation-from-antiquity-to-modernity.html

Is the school local to you not an option? Just throwing that out there because you mentioned putting him in HS as a possibility. I would not move just to get plugged in unless you have exhausted opportunities near you, starting with your local small town, and then the larger one near you. I don't think 25 minutes is too far to go. I grew up in a small town (~3000 pop) and always had plenty of friends, but it revolved around the local school.

I am looking through a catalog of Great Courses that are on sale, and I can't seem to find whether they have age suggestions for their target audience. Obviously some topics would be more mature than others, but what about something of along the lines of engineering/technology? If you are familiar with The Great Courses, would you say these are for an older (teens and up) audience or could younger kids follow along too?

Great things to do? No, not really. I lived there for a couple of years and I'm at a loss to think of anything beside Palo Duro Canyon. When we wanted to do something we'd head west to New Mexico and the mountains. I will say you need to take time to enjoy the sunsets/sunrises and the starry nights. I have never lived anywhere with such unobstructed views of the sky. That's what I miss the most. You don't have worry about humid. It's usually windy and dry.

My kids have been playing Upward for 3 years and I have never once participating in a halftime activity.

I had no idea an aura would be so obnoxious and unnerving. Aura just sounds so...gentle. Thanks for the input, I'll just stay on high alert for now.

I thought I was having a retinal detachment. Had the phone in hand ready to call 911. Got into an ophthalmologist who said my retina look normal - nothing wrong there. She said I was probably having an ocular migraine. I always associated migraines with severe headaches (I had none). But my head didn't feel quite right. Not painful but not completely normal either. So weird! Is this something you would see a doctor for? Or just an endure-it-till-it's over kind of thing, and hope it doesn't come along too often?