Why am I the only one who remembers to put things on the shopping list? This means that every.single.time. I return home from the arduous, dreaded shopping trip I inevitably have to start a new list. It never ends! <whine>

Why is I that everyone in my family is incapable of locating anything when it is directly in front of them? I spend way too much time making sure very thing is in its place, and even when I direct my selectively blind family to the correct cupboard, closet, bin, whatever, they stare vacantly into the void and swear up and down that the item in question is simply not there. And then act utterly surprised when I retrieve it from heir direct line of site?

Ugh:) I am blaming it on the baby waking up at 4:30 am, and a serious lack of tea (of the imbibed variety!)

If I could give multiple likes I would... I want to join the front, and you get a like for managing the alliteration of burgeoning bits and bobbles in a sentence😊

When I joined the Army I had a really, really hard time as a vegetarian (primarily vegan) in basic training. After almost 2 weeks I ended up passing out in training. When the drill sergeant discovered why he made me eat an entire bowl of the most horrible Lima beans EVERY single dinner time. From frozen or a can, no seasoning, overcooked...That and jarred Apple sauce with mixed nuts. To this day I physically shudder at the mere thought of Lima beans.😩

I have an extreme talker. I wouldn't even classify myself as an introvert...may a mesovert? Okay. So I made that up, but she.never.stops. Even reading. I have mentioned that she could read silently, especially since she read at least a couple of hours everyday. She actually said, 'no thanks mom, I LIKE the sound of my own voice!' We did have to intitute a Talking Zone rule to ensure I would At least get caffeine prior to the aural Attack!

I will meet you in Australia😉 What a miserable day! I hope tomorrow is much better. But I have to say, though I have always thought you were virtually cool? I am now convinced by the fact that you were going climbing and the fact that you were wearing Chacos:) I can always recognize other climbers by their footwear...and their misshapen, strange climbing feet:)

I started AAS with my child when she was younger than five quite successfully, but she was reading very well. I know that isn't really the norm, but I can attest to the fact that AAS can be a lot of fun for young kids! One thing: I got a lined dry-erase board from Lakeshore and we did most of the words on it in the beginning. It was perfect for the dictation sentences that came later. We used all sorts of things like window markets, sidewalk chalk, etc., and AAS became something she begged for. It is gentle that it really lends itself to young kids.

This is us as well:) Car-Mull corn Car-Mull Apple Care-ah-Mel centers

Oy!! You are right, you probably don't want to see some of the links that came up when I just had to see if there existed a sexy horned lizard costume😠Uh, especially since I searched on my phone and it corrected to 'sexy horny lizard!' Ugh. ETA: I did find a novelty horned lizard helmet though:)

Hhmm, see I thought of the uniform thing too, but I think it really enforces the 'schoolgirl' image. The focus should be on her presentation, not on her age? It would be fine and appropriate of course...but I think I would invest in the type of outfit that could grow with her. I think a nice pair of fitted slacks and a fitted button-down solid color shirt are pretty standard at every conference I have been to, as you want her to be comfortable and not feel like she isn't herself. A cardigan would do as well. As a nod to her age I might match it with something fun. Maybe tasteful Herp-themed jewelry and flats for shoes?

Ooh, ooh, dd shocked me with her response to this question at a get- together we had today. Our Wordsmith email (thanks Quark for the recommendation!) included the idiom 'tilting at windmills' this weekend, a Don Quixote reference. Dd5 and I read these together. At the party someone asked dd what grade she was in and she answered airily, "oh, I homeschool. Choosing a grade is just tilting at windmills." Then ran off to throw sticks into the water. I just about died laughing. Of course, that was after she informed the hostess that a lady had left the toilet looking like it had chickenpox😳

Lol, yes, I have that kid. She spends the first couple minutes of a word problem changing the names of the boys to girls, then names that she prefers. She might debate the ice cream flavor choice in the story, or want to know why it matters who has more stamps because it isn't 'nice' to compare who has more or be greedy:) And on the topic of money: she kept asking 'what is change?' In the beginning and it confused me that she could set up the problems, do them, but not know what change meant! Turns out she only had really seen us pay with debit cards, the exact amount😄 After that we made a point to use cash, and if she counted the coinage she could keep it:)

Just a wacky idea, and it may not be worth much given that I have exactly one student I have taught. Not to mention she doesn't exactly meet standard criteria... When we covered money and specifically the word problems I stumbled upon the fact that it wasn't the arithmetic, but rather the context that caused the confusion. I had to take her to the store and actually give her cash to help hr understand. Since we typically use debit cards it is definitely more nebulous of an idea. How much has he been exposed to the physical act of using money? That connection allowed my kid to link the concepts.

These are awesome! Thanks so much:)

Just an out-there idea: When we wanted to visit friends during a sold-out weekend at local hotels we were able to rent an RV for a very reasonable price. Since we weren't driving it far we didn't have to worry much about petrol, and we simply parked it at friend's house...it gave all of us space:) Would something like this be an option?

Aahh...well, if you decide to spring for the Greek goddess costume I can personally attest to the quality😠I bought it last year for dd's Aphrodite costume!

This has been my stance as well. I have a dd that is very accelerated. All of the things she wants to do, competitions she wants, and many activities are designed for kids older. She doesn't seem to even be interested in the things for her age group, or goes and is miserable at the level of the event. She also has Dec bday, making it even more difficult. We go off of the current state guidelines, and I take it up with the organizers of events if there is a possibility of including her. But I am very aware of both the perception and reality of doing so, as her social/emotional age is much closer to her chronological age. It causes problems and means that she gets left out a lot, but it wouldn't be fair to put her or the other participants in that position:( Hopefully this will even out a bit. Ironically, we are now at the other end of the spectrum: I really feel as though it is almost unethical to enroll her in academic competitions based upon her age/grade. I am currently having this issue with a local spelling bee. She will be spelling with the kindergarteners but is ridiculously advanced in spelling. It just isn't fair...to the other kids OR her. Still, no intentional lying is acceptable. Some competitions just don't care and have more fluid guidelines, but if they clearly state requirements then it is completely unethical to not follow them.

I just went through pneumonia. It was awful, and dd5 developed a horrid cough that had me really worried. Both my doctor, the ER doc, and her pediatrician said their first line of defense was actually Mucinex because it does such an excellent job of breaking up the junk that causes the coughing effect. Her pediatrician actually had us try it with her for 3 days before we opted to go with antibiotics (she had walking pneumonia) I would also make sure she gets an X-ray!

I have a young one fascinated by the human body too:) I know you are looking for books, but if you want a very fun and inexpensive bday prezzie in the same theme you must check out the Human Biology CD/DVD by Peter Weatherall. You can order his entire math and science set from his website for about $20, but the human biology one is fantastic! It is AP level material in some cases, yet set to hilarious catchy tunes that even my 5-year old sings and loves. The blood song I am linking is one of her favorites and describes how hemoglobin carries oxygen and much more:)

Yep. I just had to deal with a repair company who not only did this, but actually used the words 'put you husband on the phone so the men can deal with this.' I had him on speaker phone at the time with hubby in the room. I think I may have blown a fuse momentarily because when my vision cleared my hubby was looking at me anxiously. He loudly shouted, 'hey sir, my wife speaks for me!' For that reason (and poor work!) we walked away from the $80 assessment fee and went with a different company! And I spent the good part of an evening writing reviews...

When I was still living in Idaho one of the young college ladies I went to school with had a boyfriend with the same bumper sticker, as well as a shiny set of metal testicles that dangled from the bumper. Then he cheated on her. Not that I am advocating this, lol, but she keyed into his paint job a second line so that it said: 'Hung Like a Horse...but I am really an A$$!'

Reading this I am sooo glad we didn't join the big local coop. I couldn't believe some of the prices. My kid is officially Kindy! $150 reg fee, each class (of a day-long block of 5 classes) was about $160, each had deposits and supply fees of between $20-$60. And I didn't even think many of the options were interesting:(. You end up signing them up for PE just to fill a block, and we have swimming, gymnastics, dance, etc., already. I ended up joining the local homeschool support group for $35 for the year. They have playgroups, field trips, spelling bees, history fairs, and more. That is more than enough for now!

Hey now!!!! Zero victim blaming or shaming:) Poor doll:(

Don't forget Sam the Minuteman, a leveled reader: http://www.amazon.com/Sam-Minuteman-Can-Read-Book/dp/0064441075/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441725800&sr=1-1&keywords=sam+the+minuteman Dd read the Magic Tree House Revolutionary War fact tracker which was well done:) http://www.amazon.com/American-Revolution-Nonfiction-Companion-Revolutionary/dp/0375823794/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441726102&sr=1-1&keywords=Revolutionary+war+fact+tracker