Just curious about the Barleans Omega Swirl Flax--we are vegetarian and I have recently started my daughter on this...our pediatric nutritionist says that it can't hurt, but as this product is plant-based (no fish oils) it has only ALA. ALA can be converted by the body to DHA and EPA (the Omega-3s in fish oil) but not efficiently. Did she give you any more specific information, if you don't mind my asking?

This. It CAN be quite expensive to midify them. We have an older (97) Dodge Grand Caravan that is fully modified for my wheelchair. In fact, because it has a automatic fold-down ramp and hydraulics to lower the whole vehicle, it has no middle seat at all...just open space with places to anchor a chair or two.We are getting a new van next week and looked into the possibility of getting a new bench seat installed in that space so we could give the van to my sister, who needs a vehicle. We checked several places and were ultimately told that the best and cheapest way to do it is to get a second rear bench from a salvage yard, as it can be installed relatively easily. Ultimately we decided it wasn't worth the cost (they would also need the ramp taken out!) and hassle of driving the van 1,500 miles away. So I cannot guarantee that this works, just that it was suggested by 3 different places we enquired:) I think we are better off to find someone who could use the van as is!

My kiddo never had a staying in bed issue, but she did go through about a full year of wanting it absolutely dark at about age 1.5, beginning on an overseas trip to the UK when she had trouble adjusting to the time change. i bought a tent to use there but she loved it so much we brought it home with us. She literally would not take a nap unless it was pitch dark. Very strange. I bought this tent for the top of her crib. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002DPPHCG/ref=mp_s_a_1_26?qid=1389842908&sr=1-26&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70 I was reluctant, because it felt strange putting a kid in there...but she LOVED it. It was actually safer than using blankets because she would pull them into her crib:( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002DPPHCG/ref=mp_s_a_1_26?qid=1389842908&sr=1-26&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70 The sides and opening can be left open or have a see-through netting option as well. I wouldn't do it if she doesn't like it or sees it as punishment, but if she thought it was her very own fun camping bed kind of thing, it might work just until you can get her bed-trained. Mine kept books, loveys, and a flashlight in there too:) Just an option if you get desparate...

Totally teared up... Congratulations all around. We are just starting out here so I will remember this someday...

If not, a second days lesson can be arranged...put that Magiscope to use by taking a look at the tip of the fingernail file after you have scraped out the gunk from under a thumbnail😷

Awesome and hilarious! Science, math, health, all packed into one very memorable little unit. Not to mention I bet the students are MUCH more likely to remember to wash hands:)

Yes, the strange-looking text and occasional phone numbers are often the result of utility services or 'direct commercial texts' which can send promotional codes and offers. By law, you have to 'opt in' for these because text rates can apply. For example, I periodically get them from Lakeshore with additional codes...but I had to click a box to say yes. We also get a similar message from our dr and dentist office as reminders, as well as our water company.

There are lots of churches here, especially Baptist of course. But you really might want to check out University Baptist Church, as it tends to have a HUGE population of Baylor students. They are younger, tend to be 'cooler' with live music. In fact, many famous and semi-famous Christian bands play there and one has gotten their start there. There is a large support group for Baylor students, including study groups and the like. You even see groups of kids on campus together, just from UBC. It might really help your son to have something like that, an extra support system. Of course, I suppose many churches will have a bit of that but UBC is a bit beyond. http://www.ubcwaco.org/ I also attended Baylor and this was a popular choice even way back when the DC band was starting out.

I just did this today! My 4 yr old showed me her fingernail, and I realized the entire thing had torn from the side, all the way at the base of the nail. It was just hanging there, 3/4 of the way across. It wasn't bleeding and didn't look like there was any trauma, and then I noticed that almost ALL of her nails were coming off!!! I absolutely freaked. We are vegetarian, and although we are VERY careful I am always concerned about her diet because she is also very picky, and I was freaking myself out thinking she was somehow deficient in something vital! Or some other crazy issue. I put bandaids over everyone of her nails to keep the jagged bits from ripping further and creating sore spots/bleeding, even though it looks as though a healthy nail is coming in underneath. We headed off to the doctor... Diagnosis? Apparently this can happen as a result of a virus/antibiotics. Last month she was treated for Strep (that I didn't even notice along with an ear infection and sinus infection-no fever or complaints!) and I guess this was just the reaction! Nothing at all to worry about, no treatment, nothing. Whew!

Oh, and one other thing. Whenever we fly back home to Waco we fly to DFW and drive from there. Otherwise, by the time you have sat around at DFW waiting for the connection, boarded and flown to Waco? You could have been there with time to spare:) Also, the plane you fly on from DFW to Waco is a small one, so the trip isn't the most pleasant! Other things to consider: if you are planning to rent a car anyway (say, if you flew to Waco) the hours the rental car places are open at the Waco airport are not always conducive to arriving there after 5 pm. In fact, if you arrive at night at the Waco airport it is not uncommon to find the security guard and a phone with Taxi numbers:) If you do arrive at DFW in the late afternoon, you just might consider a stop of an early dinner somewhere along the first leg to avoid traffic...but honestly, the traffic there coming from DFW is just NOT that bad most of the time.

Yes, there is a shuttle service called the Waco Streak, but in my opinion it is pretty pricey unless it is just one person traveling on their own. http://m.waco-streak.com/ It usually takes about 1:45 for us to drive from DFW to Baylor, but traffic can get pretty congested. It actually is not a bad drive and everything is pretty clearly marked to Waco. My hubby teaches there so send me a pm if you need extra details:)

Ugh. A public school teacher friend in SC had a liitle girl in her class who was called Ko-Ko...friend about died when she saw the register and realized that was a nickname. The poor child's name was actually Ko-can-ee...spelled Cocainne! My friend did not have the child's sister 2 years later, but the child did go to the same school: this unfortunate kiddo was nicknamed Jawa, short for (did you guess it?) Marajauna. Pronounced Marra-ja-wanna. We never did figure out if the misspellings were attempts to 'disguise' the name a bit or as a result of too much of their namesakes😕

Today the new Home Science Tools catalogue arrived in the post. My very excited 4 year old immediately snatched it up and headed off to the bathroom. I could hear her oohing and ah-ing excitedy...ooh, that would be fun, wow! A weather station! Oh, I could really use that chemistry kit, and mom! They have even MORE specimens to dissect! Can I get this sheep eyeball next? And a few minutes later she called me in having a huge meltdown because her underpants were twisted and she couldn't figure it out:) (Ha! I just realized she had her panties in a twist, lol)

Tranquility- I have never been so happy for anyone I have read about anywhere but real life. I am absolutely ecstatic for you and wish you a LIFE-tIME of happiness and utter joy! We have gone through a tremendous amount of pain, grief, desolation...and joy! Your post hast resulted in the possibility of a neighbors embryo joining into our family...I will ALWAYS be grateful and joyous at the very prospect!

When I am out in public with my daughter I get one of two extremes: she is four and loves to 'push' me in the wheelchair (i.e hold onto my handles so I can ensure she stays close). People generally tend to make general comments about what a great little helper she is:) However, even though she looks just like me, I get more than a few crazy comments. "Is she YOURS? Really? Like, from YOUR body? But, how in the world did you....? (Insert shocked faces) And you just know all sorts of words flit through those brains, lol. Some people are not even polite enough to stop that sentence. I have actually had people ask how she was conceived (explicitly!), carried, born, etc. One woman even asked me if since I had a child was I just 'faking' being in a wheelchair?! Actually, I am:) I am just so incredibly lazy that I thought I would make my life so much easier for the last 12 years by not bothering to get up. I stole this child to work as my 'helper' because I couldn't get a dog😇

We are in Texas as well. Hubby teaches at a university, and I was pregnant so we, along with our 4 yr old, all received the Flu vaccine this year. Over the Christmas holiday we had hubby's brother and SIL here from England. We traveled extensively through Dallas, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, etc., spending a lot of time at popular children's places, museums, tourist destinations. Somewhere along the way our visitors became VERY sick. BIL did a bit better, but SIL had to be taken to the ER. She was briefly admitted and treated very aggressively for H1N1. Her situation was almost probably exacerbated by her weight and the fact that she chain-smokes roll-your-own cigarettes, so it was all VERY scary. She is only 35. My family did not get sick other that a slight sore throat and low-grade fever in my dd4 for about 2 days. When we took her in they had her immediately in a mask, in a separate room with others in masks. The nurse pulled me aside to tell me they were advising parents with children not to bring their healthy kiddos to the hospital ER waiting room. All very frightening. University classes start back on Monday here, with college kids coming back from all over Texas and other places. Close quarters, warm classrooms, all sorts of great breeding grounds for illness.

I can give it a try:) We are vegetarian, and often need to prepare foods to freeze ahead of time. We do eat a fair amount of pasta, but I will try some of our go-to's that do not include those! First off, have you tried some of the protein substitutes like Morningstar or Quorn? I have been veggie for over 25 years...and can honestly attest to the fact that meat substitute products are about 1 million times improved! At least some of them😋 I make pasta sauce with Morningstar crumbles, mushrooms, and lots of veggies. We eat it/freeze it over both pasta AND spaghetti squash. One favorite dish to freeze: roast butternut squash in the oven. Cook Morningstar mince with garlic, onions, chopped veggies and minced mushrooms. Layer in a baking tray. We top with a bit of vegan Feta and pine nuts, roast again. This is actually better dozen and warmed! The Quorn (British) products are not soy, buy are micoprotein, from mushrooms. They are ready to cook and allow us to freeze lots of sides, then add the protein. My dad had a serious cholesterol issue, but is an avid meat lover. Eating low carb AND veggie even 3-4 days/week allowed him to actually lose weight, lower cholesterol, AND not require his meds anymore. We do tend to eat a LOT of Indian foods as they lend themselves very easily to being vegetarian and low-carb if you keep an eye out...not to mention all of the other health benefits! Whilst many recipes are usually served over rice, it is not necessary! For extra protein we still use meat substitutes in many recipes.

When I was in the Army doing pull-ups was a mandatory part of the MOS I was training for...and I started unable to do even one. All of the men in my training group, both tall or short, had very little trouble with them. It was VERY aggravating as I was VERY fit at the time. In fact I could do more sit-ups in the test time than any of them, and even more push-ups than about half of the men...but not a single pull-up. We all had to do pull-ups every time we walked under the doorway, and I had an awesome instructor/class. The guys actually started by assisting me, lifting my legs just a bit, as I did them (there are machines for this in most gyms now!). Eventually I no longer needed help. My instructor insisted that the only way to learn to do pull-ups was to do pull-ups, especially for women with different centers of gravity. I eventually got to the point where I could whip out 30-40. Even now, years since then, I can do a few, even after years in a wheelchair. I think it is a combination of training specific muscles and then muscle memory. I am 5 ft 4 (or would be if I was standing!!) and weigh about 115. In the Army I was about 125 lbs.

Other than the fact that there are so many of them, it sounds somewhat similar to the old-fashioned ice picks I found in my great-grandmother's kitchen. She had two of them. Hers looked like this, but are longer, just about a foot-long each: http://www.etsy.com/listing/166452547/vintage-wooden-and-metal-ice-pick?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product_listing_promoted&utm_campaign=vintage_low&gclid=CN7v28yx7LsCFcVQ7AodlCMAHg

I think you wil most DEFINITELY be jumping around. Even within the same book/program. As I stated above, we absolutely love Singapore, and it is an awesome fit for us. I especially love it because it coincides with my dd''s love of Soroban. Again, as I mentioned above, we do a tremendous amount of supplementation in other areas. Beast Academy, LoF, even just biographical materials on mathematicians and scientists keep her happy. I have found that even within Singapore we jump around...primarily because of her age and the asynchronous abilities. For example, she might do a couple of pages of mental math that takes a bit, or write out a few problems of something on the whiteboard as this is 'easier' for her at newly-four than writing in the workbook...then skip ahead 1/2 through the book to do some more 'easy-peasy' simple division problems, fractions, beginning decimal work:) I just make sure that she doesn't skip around through the parts that build on each other! And YES! It can get very expensive! One thing I would say....(IMVHO) that you could do to save a bit of cash with Singapore given the ages and abilities of your kids: for the first couple of levels. I read the book by Liping Ma regarding Asian-style math first, then skipped the actual textbooks and and HIG's for 1A-2B (actually I bought them and never used them as I felt confident after Ma's book, experience, and the fact that kiddo already knew the material), until about 3a...I am now using all of the books, mostly for ideas on play and expansion. Instead, definitely spend the money on the INtensive Practice books in particular, and the CWP books. Continue to work on things like geometry, graphing, time, money, algebra basics, even calculus basics like x,y planes...and definitely look at all the Theomi Pappas book, especially the Penrose series! We love the Puzzles book the most right now. And I find it is actually cheaper to plan ahead, even knowing that you might be somewhat off, to hunt for deals on future levels, than to wait until it is a necessity:)

I have a very Mathy 4-yr-old too:) If it involves numbers, numerical relationships, even songs she equates to math in her little brain it can run all day long. We mostly played with math through games, bathtime, exploration for quite some time. We did RS A and B for fun, mostly focusing on very short lessons and games.. But when she decided that SHE wanted to suprise Daddy for Christmas last year by learning her multiplication facts (3 weeks after her 3rd bday) I decided we would go with some structure. We do Singapore, and love it. Honestly, she would have been fine starting at a higher level, but being so young I wanted her to develop confidence, practice, writing, etc., AND I wanted to be able to show progression as she went through them. And go through them she has, VERY rapidly. We have just started 3A and I have been pulling in a lot of fun supplements, puzzles, and games. I do not see it as a race to get through it, but rather it means she has much more time to take her love deeper and broaden her interests. If yours is like mine, the main program alone will solidify concepts, provide practice with things I might have overlooked if we hadn't taken the time to do them...things like practicing lining up the columns in a 3-digit problem, little things that can make a huge difference...not to mention it has given her a much greater number sense as she can now often talk me through different ways of solving a problem. At the same time, we do not stick to that linear progression of skills...that is what the backbone is for! Games, books like LoF and 'Penrose' HER kitty cat:), living math books (at least 1 every night for bedtime reading), 'math baths' (baths with a huge bucket of any math manipulative you can image for her exploration), apps, Hands on Equations, etc., help to stimulate her brain and keep her love of math and numbers fed. This has been amazing because she isn't limited to what she can physically write out or get through in her math books. Also, you might take a look at Japanese Soroban. Classes are offered now in many major cities, but there are also ways to do it online. This has made such a HUGE impact on my dd, and some of her heroes are older kids that can do truly amazing rapid mental calculations. And it might be something truly for his own:) Edit: I saw you mentioned learning money above. I made my kiddo a store, but she truly learned money when I made it a point to use cash in the store with her...I told her that if she could count the coins she could keep them! Then made up additional challenges like having her calculate how much change I should get back before the cashier did:) A dollar store trip once per month, and she was sold.

Our nighttime routine with my DD4 is very, very routine. She seems to really need this. But first, we started with a sleep timer from Thinkgeek.com. You set it for the times you want, but basically it does this: it looks like a sun/moon. At 7 pm it lights up blue, for bedtime. It is bright enough to read by for 1 hr before it dims...then at 7 am it changes to yellow. This lets her know it is an acceptable time to get out of bed. It works very, very well:) In fact, she is almost always asleep within minutes of 8 pm and wakes up within minutes of 7 am...that being said? There is no such thing as a lie in! We do dinner, play, bath, then at 7 pm we are in mom's bed for an hour of reading time, then teeth brushing. I tuck her into bed with either the IPod for audio books (turned down low so that she HAS to be quiet to hear it!) or her head lamp for up to 1/2 hour of quiet I dependent reading. Clockwork.

Oh, wow, I am betting my kiddo would love it as the other 2 are faves. I think I will have to order it!

Yikes, I didn't realize my kiddo or her parents were trying to impress anyone by putting her in a warm coat😄 People travel. People ski. All sorts of reasons why parents might find it important to put their kids in the warmest clothes possible. My dd absolutely doesn't know or care what NF is, and that 4 yr old most likely doesn't either. Maybe we should invest in a non-name brand coat to wear to preschool so people won't judge? Just saying😳 Honestly, not picking on you personally...but we are not on this earth to judge others when we do not even have all of the information...

Whist probably not über popular on this board, you might take a look at Brillkids Little Musician. It is a cute program that teaches music theory, music appreciation, note recognition. Specific composers, and all sorts of things like rhythm, nursery rhymes in Solfege or letter names, really a lot of info. When my kiddo started piano she was able to skip almost 9 mo of material (she just turned 4) because of exposure, and her teacher is now looking at the program to teach classes to her youngest students.