:iagree: Older ds read Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer on his own. I warned him ahead of time about the language. He loved those books. When we heard about the cleansed version on NPR and that Jim was being called 'slave Jim' ds was very upset. 'Knowing' Jim he thought the switch was offensive. "Jim was NOT a slave. He ran away. Why would they do that?!?" It was interesting that ds found Jim going by N Jim to be fine, because Jim chose that name (from ds's pov as a reader who 'knows' the characters), but calling Jim a slave or making it seem that Jim would choose to be called a slave really angered ds. It was one of the few letters ds wrote by choice (to the man that rewrote the book). We have read Uncle Tom's Cabin together. Of course there was a warning about the n-word when we started. By the end of the book my kids better understood WHY the n-word is SUCH a bad word.

Are vouchers meant to give parents a choice? If the free school is failing and vouchers are given, then is parental choice one of the things implicit with the voucher? Are tax dollars that go per student paying for specific lessons or to a general idea of education? Are we paying for the classes or the student? Is the idea that fixed ideals will be passed on, or that the student will acquire the tools to learn?

:iagree: :lol:Good parameters. :iagree: Living near Jeff Davis highway, where the local high school is Washington and Lee, and able to take my kids at any given moment to see monuments to both Robert E. Lee and Jeff Davis... have to say VA is the south.

:iagree:

:iagree:

If only they could. How convenient would that be? Learner's permits for 11yo boys.... :lol:

:iagree: Squeak wheel! Squeak!

Analytical Grammar

I'm so sorry, but when I read the thread title I laughed. :lol: Moods? I don't think they qualify as moods. There has to be a stronger word for it. I thought 10 was bad, he was SO grumpy. Angry, irritable, petulant, irascible. 11 came along and he changed over night. Pleasant, logical, thoughtful. And then a few days went by and there was stormy, growling angry, stubborn, mean. Next came remorseful, tearful, repentant. And the circle of life continues. These aren't moods. They are the emotional equivalent of destroying a thesaurus to find the perfect word. Sigh. Everyone said surviving dd's thunderous annihilation of the puberty years was the hardest part. I think they must have slept through those years for their sons. :grouphug:

Three couples. One person is working on her third divorce, but I only counted her once, since her two previous marriages were not in our circle of friends. The other two are in happy marriages now.

:iagree: Also, some parents make plans one friend at a time. For me, having a friend come over is fine, but my stress levels go up exponentially as people are added to my house.

I was looking forwarf to calling them too :p

:lol: :grouphug: I am glad it worked out. Enjoy your benadryl.

:confused: Imp, is everything okay?

The Number, Timing and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2009 Table 6 Marital History for People 15 Years Old and Over by Age and S*x: 2009 Men: 67% ever married, 52.3% married once, 20.8% ever divorced Women: 72.9% ever married, 57.5% married once, 22.4% ever divorced I can't figure out how to attach the pdf, but if you look for the Census data released in 2011 regarding the 2009 Census, the name of the set is above as well as the table number and title. Note the percentages are from the whole, so not 20% of the 67% married, but 20% of all.

No, I got it from the 2009 Census listing marraige and divorce rates.

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/births_deaths_marriages_divorces.html It is closer to 33%. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/opinion/29wolfers.html I got 33% from looking at the census stats, but the nyt says 17%.

Curious what you base this on.

I would try it in the hope that there was a niche for me to fit into.

About the two girls... we have gone to our church for four years now. Last month ds overheard two boys talking about b00ks and some women at church. The boys visit our church often, but they are not members and they do not attend with their families. This puts the teachers in a difficult position. That could be the case with the girls your dd overheard. If you knew their names at least the teachers would know to keep an eye on them. I would go back. Megachurches have some advantages over smaller congregations. At least try one more time to see if your issue was dealt with :)

Don't block someone else's driveway. That is rude, besides being obliviously selfish. If you do, then you deserve to be towed. :iagree: except for moving trucks. Ime getting them to move is a huge pain in the wazoo. :iagree:

From my pov you should never hand over your rights. Those we know who do own military-grade weapons have them for a few different reasons, none of which include attacking fellow citizens. Some collect them. One person has an incredible arsenal of weapons in good working order that he keeps and cares for as a hobby, his collection is bigger than anyone else among our friends. Some keep them in case of war or invasion. Laugh if you want, but after 2001 many of our friends "geared up" just in case. Some keep them, because they believe that our right to bear arms was couched in the idea that our government should never be powerful enough to subjugate us like the monarchy did. They have their weapons, because they feel it is our responsibilty to have those weapons. And then there are those that like to shoot them. They enjoy the guns recreationally. After what has happened we are looking into getting a gun. I am interested in classes to get a concealed carry license. No machine guns here, but I believe the new year will find us armed.

:lol: My showers tend to be midday. I don't wash off any particular day, just sweat and grime.

Tazzie, tis the season to question hser motives ;) I have found that some people will believe you hate the gov. and want to raise children of the corn regardless of your eloquence and perfectly normal kids. The best I can figure to do is go with their fear of things they don't understand and exploit their paranoia to buy me some peace. Once they think it might be their fault they suddenly want to avoid the topic. :lol: And it's fun to see the confusion.