My mom used to make one with bologna that was chunks of bologna and cut up potatoes miked with cream of something soup (probably cream of mushroom) baked it until the potatoes were soft, then added a layer of cheese and cooked it until the cheese melted. That was one of my favorite meals when I was a kid.

I have similar feet issues. If it is too muddy or snowy to wear my tennis shoes, I wear my Keen hiking boots. I also have a pair of Vasque hiking shoes that I will wear. If I wear anything else for more than an hour or so, I really regret it.

What little I was taught about dyslexia (and that was very little) was that dyslexia is a problem with phonological/phonemic awareness. Basically know which sounds go with which letters and being able to blend and separate the sounds. The general idea is that reversing letters is an issue for kids with dyslexia because they don't understand the order of the sounds so the order or position of the letters is meaningless. They learn to read and spell by memorizing all the words which only works for a while. Now, there is a range in dyslexia symptoms and I have heard about kids with dyslexia that are naturally strong readers. So it could be possible that he has dyslexia without the obvious reading issues, or it may be that reading issues may be discovered as he gets older and performance expectations for reading have increased. I have a friend whose DD was screened for dyslexia at around 8 and did not exhibit severe enough symptoms to be diagnoisis, but a couple of years later she was retested and identified. The old fashioned notion of dyslexia being when kids are seeing the letters all mixed up isn't really dyslexia. That is a visual perception issue. Some people address this through vision therapy. Others look at it as an issue with Sctopic sensitivity (Irlen Syndrome) which is where the colored overlays come in. For the life of me, tonight I cannot remember the name of the math disability that is similar to dyslexia, but I a sure that someone on the board will know.

If what you are asking is how to interpret the results I will give it a shot as a former public school sped teacher. With the standard scores 100 is supposed to represent the middle of the road with 50% of peoples' scores higher that 100 and 50% score lower. It is that whole bell curve thing. There is a range of scores that fall into each catagory. I'm not sure about Thai specific test, but it is usually something like a15 pt range. From looking at the specific scores you posted the generally ability score puts him at the edge of "Average" bordering on "low average" There is also a margin of error that is usually given that would say something like "if your kids scored xx, there is a 95% likelyhood that he would score within the range of xx-xx if he were to retake the test" Looking at the sub scores alone, I would not think "dyslexia" because his auditory processing and sound blending scores were right at the average range. The areas that he scored lower in were more visual and memory type stuff. They might cause me to think to look more in the area of vision therapy over dyslexia. Please take this all with a grain of salt. Nothing much sould be decided on the basis of one test, and I don't know your child at all. It is possible that with a family history of dyslexia you have work very hard to make sure he had the phonetic skills needed. This test would not show how hard he worked to learn that skill, just that he currently meets the expectation of how he should perform at that skill at his current age.

I don't think that is an odd question. It is widely accepted that closed brain injuries can lead to learning problems. I would guess that he exhibited signs that were consistant with a brain injury to a specific part of the brain.

You might try something like Move, Touch, Do from American Printing House for the blind. APH has lots of great stuff. You can download a cataloge from their website.

There are some specialized private schools in the Houston area that are supposed to be very good. In fact my s and BIL are sending their child to one of them. One reason that i think this school is so successful is that it does not try to operate, or teach, as if it was coyping public school. Those schools are very, very expensive though. They are spending more to send this kid to middle school that I will spend on my DDs college tuition. I guess it really depends on the level of "sacrifice" that is required. For my in laws, it just meant that SIL had to go back to work after 18 yrs as a stay at home mom. To me, that level of sacrifice is acceptable. I'm not sure I would go to the level of beans and rice for dinner every night to afford such a school.

I let my DS pick out some of the small toys that he already has. I do have veto power though if it is something that makes noise.

What do you know about her history before you got her? What you describe could be ADHD, but it could many other things as well. I would definitely mention your concers to her doctor.

I'm of no help. We are just starting to think of upgrading to iPhone 4 as AT&T is offering the 4s free with a 2yr contract extension.

What about a moving company?

I read on a website(I can't remember which one) that some kids press too hard with the pencil because they want the lines to be darker which makes things easier for them to see. The site suggested using pencils that are darker than #2 pencil. I tried that with my DS and it did help.

I am just I really bad shape and that happens to me if I participate in vigorous activity including the persistant cough. I would probably just monitor and keep notes to see if it happened again and what preceded it. If it is due to your level of physical fitness then the symptoms should improve over time and with improved physical condition. If it keeps happening with no improvement then I would check with a doctor.

My DH makes a really wonderful smoked pork tenderloin, but then again we are from Texas where you can smoke any kind of meat.

My DS still like to read Henry and Mudge books. Nate the Great is another similar series- I'd say slightly more difficult and they are simple mystery stories. Ready Freddie is a good boy series. The books are higher level that Magic Tree House but the interest level is more like 1st or 2nd grade. Hank the Cowdog is another good series. Hank books are probably closer to 4th or 5th grade reading level, but they make great read alouds.

The big problem with relying only on one source for determining reading level of a book is that different sources use different systems to determine reading level. The AR leveling system takes the length of sentences into account. Magic tree house books have a lot of short choppy sentences which causes them to have a lower AR level than some people might expect. If you look at Lexile levels of books you may find that the same book is leveled much higher or lower that it is in AR. Scholastic sometimes give AR levels and/or lexile levels for books, and sometimes the just give a general grade range that may have more to do with interest level. My personal opinion is that (unless your child is in a school that says otherwise) is to just use the given level as a reference or suggestion. Back a million years ago when I taught 1st grade in ps, we considered Frog and Toad second grade and Magic Treehouse mor of third grade level. If you are wanting to transition to longer chapter books, what about trying Junie B Jones books.

I get it al Walmart in the crafts section.

I think virtual public school can be an acceptable compromise in situations like yours where both parents are not quite on the same page. We were in a similar situation with my DH not being as comfortable with homeschooling. As he talks to more people in the community and sees the difference in DS, he is buying into schooling at home more. I don't know if we will ever be traditional homeschoolers, but I have learned to never say "never"

Physical therapy can also help depending on the type of arthritis and the degree. Strengthing the muscles can take some of the pressure off joints.

When I was a kid, I remember making peanut butter ice cream, but I don't think I have ever seen any in a store.

Sneeking food has been an on going issue with My DD who has ADHD (don't know if that is she does it, but it may have to do with poor impulse control). Over the years we tried many thing to get her to stop sneaking food, but nothing was successful for very long. To make a long story short, I really just gave up on the food issue. When I bought food items that I did not want her to eat I specifically told her so. When I bought things she liked I would buy some specifically for her and some for her brother. I would often buy his in flavors that she did not like. Once she had a summer job, she could use her money to buy whatever food she wanted. As far as being overly bossy to siblings, I would let DS do exactly what she told him he couldn't do even if I might have agreed with her, and I let her know exactly what I was doing and why. It used to make her very mad, but you know what, she stopped bossing him around in front of me.

I forgot about these benefits. When my Dd was 16 and went to take the written test to get her learner a permit we waited 3 hours outside of Houston. There is a 3 month waiting list to take the driving test, plus another 3 hour wait to turn everything in to get the liscense. Although we had. To drive to a town with a DMV office, it took about 15 min to get her permit. She took the driving test with one of our local village police officers. The only reason I usually have to wait at the post office is because the clerk has to walk from the back where she is sorting the mail up to the counter.

I don't regret our move from Houston to a very small town in New Mexico, but sure there are things that I miss. We live 1 hr from a Walmart. The nearest Target is 2hrs away. I miss all the good restaurants in Houston, but all it takes is a couple of hours in the "city" and I remember why I wanted to leave. The move was great from my oldest child. The very small public high school was better than I could have imagined. She had many opportunities here that she never would have been able to have in Houston because she is just an average kid. The school here as not been so great for my younger which is why he is at home now, but then again, school in Houston was not so great for him either.

I second talking to the lawyer. Regular social security does not pay for nursing home care. You get the regular payment and it goes toward the payments. Medicare only covers nursing home care for a limited amount of days following a hospitalization. If he qualifies for medicad, Medicaid will cover nursing home care if it is proven that it is medically necessary. With a pension he might not qualify for Medicaid outright, but the lawyer can help put in place a trust that can allow him to qualify. Basically, all the income and assets go into the trust. Then Medicaid pays for the nursing home. The money in the trust can be used to cover expenses. When he dies, all the money that is left goes back to the government I will put a disclaimer that your state may have different rules.

I just think it is great that there are so many choices as to how we choose to educate our kids. Unfortunately, if you live in a rural area like I do now there are less options. The addition of virtual schooling in my state in the last two years has given us more choices. My DS is currently attending a state charter virtual school. Yes, it is one on the big companies. This is the first year for this school in our state. I do not hesitate to tell people who ask that he is attending an online school. Mostly, that is because I am such a supporter of school choice that I want people to learn that this option exists.