At the last party we went to with that age range, the parents gave each child a plastic recorder that I think was bought from Dollar Tree. They had an assortment of colors to chose from and with the size, it was appropriate for everyone, and all the kids seemed to enjoy them. Each one was removed from the packaging and put in a large basket.

:iagree:

I do beileve that race based criteria is coming at some point, especially if our president stays the same. Obama backs race-based school discipline policies

I agree that you need to start watching clearance shoes. The trick is to buy them when they are available and before you need them. Right now it is back to school and everything is picked over. When my son was that age we had great experience with New Balance, Nike, and Adidas. I rarely paid $30, but I also didn't wait to buy them when I needed them. If he had an odd growth spurt, I was also always able to sell them for at least what I had bought them for.

I have seen theme showers for 2nd weddings but I would not send money. A friend of mine remarried and combined they were going to have 6 kids. She only had 2 prior to the wedding. She only had most items in sets of 4 since that is all she needed. Not to mention most of the stuff her new man was bringing into the house really needed to be burned...

My guess is that you have reduced fat and protein too much. You need both for hair. A friend of mine went fat free vegan and lost nearly all of her hair. When she began adding more fats back into her diet her hair came back.

I know someone who has all toys in bins and up on shelves. At most the kids (she has 4) can have 2 bins at the same time. When finished playing, the kids put the toys away and then receive other bins. They are allowed some toys (like a couple of dolls and a few changes of clothes, a small stack of books, a few pieces of paper and a few crayons) at all times. I think she even calls this her 'toy library'. It was difficult getting it together and making it routine, but once they got going, she says it works very well.

You know, after a couple of incidents similar to the OP, we always give our son $20 when he goes out with another family - just in case. Sometimes he spends it, sometimes just on junk he wanted, sometimes he returns home with it all. We always pay for everything another child needs when with us (not wants), but are discovering that not everyone else does.

I would ask around and see what the prices are in your area. I was talking ot my son's tutor the other day and she actually dropped prices some due to the economy, but doesn't feel it has helped bring in any students. The trick is to be priced just enough that you are not outrageous, but not so low that you undervalue what you are offering. If that makes sense.

The Barton certified one that had no college education was only $35 an hour, and wanted a 4 year commitment of 2 days of tutoring per week. The one with college degrees was $50 an hour and wanted a 4 year commitment of 3 days per week. We went with a different reading and language specialist trained in the Scottish Rite method who wanted us to come 4 days per week for 2 years. We negotiated down from $50 to $365 a month if we paid for the month in advance.

Considering that there is no single book or curriculum that is going to satisfy all people, this is always going to be an issue. I was on curriculum committees when I taught public school and those would get pretty heated at times over what was/wasn't taught in certain publishers versions of any subject.

Leonardo has become our family favorite after 2 appearances in our library. Catchy tunes that I like with kid messages they can appreciate.

Are there any outside classes they would like? Say art or music or dance? Or could you use it for a museum membership? Or some combination of the above? I would likely set some aside for extras that I might need as the year progresses.

Good or bad, for some families, public school IS the best choice. At some point it may be the best choice for one, or both, of my children.

When I received the first call like this, I actually said to the guy that it sounds like a scam. I could nearly hear him choking on the other end of the line. The second time they called I pretended that I couldn't understand English. They haven't called a 3rd time, yet.

I would start reading again. My son responded the same way as your child. We hire an O-G tutor and had him start at the beginning. It was AMAZING how many gaps he really had thanks to his vision. He had also developed the habit of guessing. His VT told me that before he had probably never seen the same letter the same way twice which meant that he really didn't know which sounds matched those letters and combinations of letters. Once he began making that phonetic connection, his reading skyrocketed. If you have not tried LiPS since beginning VT I would certainly try it again.

The therapists here call those braces AFOs - ankle foot orthotics. My dd has worn them at different times. The hardest part for me was finding shoes to wear over them as they can widen the foot considerably. Not all people with EDS wear braces. The granddaughter of a friend no longer needs them although she still takes lots of dance, gymnastics, and did take lots of PT and OT to build up her strength to prevent hyper-extension. Because EDS effects all connective areas, including those around body organs and she has had to have special considerations whenever she has needed surgery for her digestion issues.

A combination of the first letters of each family member for my name.

Once we had an initial evaluation of any sort completed, that showed a deficit of any type, we were able to apply for a state funded insurance for our son as he was then considered to have a disability. It began as a supplemental insurance paying for most of what our primary insurance did not pay. We applied thru the state Medicaid offices. It took several months for approval, but it was approved. We did pay a small co-pay each month based on income, but that was very affordable and way less than the therapies out of pocket. FYI, our son's first eval was for OT and it was our OT that told us about this other coverage. After we received the coverage, it then paid for ed psych evals and more. Later, when dh's employer decided to no longer offer us any insurance, we were able to make this ds's primary coverage. I know every state is different, but it could be something worth looking into.

If one is showing signs of dementia, then your dh needs to start paperwork to become the guardian. Having power of attorney is not enough. My mom learned this in the last month while dealing with issues related to my grandmother in the early stages of dementia. Then you are involved with doctors, and are in control of things like home health aids. You need help. Your children need your attention as well. If they stay in your home, you need someone to come take care of you - laundry dishes, cleaning, prepping meals, etc. Or you can hire someone to come take care of them for a certain number of hours a day. The gp can't fire who you hire. You need sitters to stay with them so your children can still have a life outside of the home. If your church doesn't want to help, then it is time to find other resources and people. Ask other homeschool families who they would recommend. If you live near a college, ask if any nursing students would be willing to work with them a few hours at a time. It is great experience.

I chose private therapy so that my dd would have private sessions, and because in a private setting they can often receive MORE therapy per week than in the school setting. For both of my kids, they were waaaaaayyyyyyy over done sensory wise in evaluations than in any therapy session. The purpose of the evaluation is to see how far the child can go and it often pushes them to the brink. After 1 VT eval session my calm son was nearly violent he was so aggressive with me -incredibly physical and unable to back down. For my dd this happened in a recent PT eval. Both have always done just fine with the actual therapy sessions though. My dd has 3 hours consecutive so she will be exhausted sometimes, but not aggressive.

I had a hysterectomy in 2005 and feel better than ever. I was in so much pain before the surgery that when my epidural fell out after surgery, and I was in pain, it was less than what I ever experienced before surgery. I didn't even know the line had fallen out. Hystersisters is a great site with lots of information. Week 3 and 4 were the hardest for me pain wise interestingly. I remember tiring very easily until week 6 or so. Driving was more exhausting than I anticipated when I was told I could drive again. I did develop unnecessary scar tissue though and some bleeding complications from not following the order of DO NOT LIFT ANYTHING. A friend of mine developed a hernia and then needed more surgery because she decided to vacuum before the doctor gave permission. I would stock upon easy freezer foods or anything easy to make, but remember that lasagna if large can weigh more than you are allowed to lift. If friends and family want to provide food, welcome it. And then let dd or dh load the dishwasher for you. And do some laundry, and clean the house... Make sure you give your body lots of time to heal properly.

I think that everything I have ever done has disappointed my mother in some way. I didn't participate in the activities she thought I should in high school, I didn't have the right college major, I didn't get married until I was 28 and then I didn't marry the right man with the right pedigree, my house is not clean enough, my kids are not disciplined right. I could go on and on about all this, in fact it was a big topic of discussion between her and I just last week.

:iagree:

One year I had a sale with 3 other friends. We each used a different color sticker. One lady came up, with us sitting there, and had changed stickers on nearly item. We knew it because items had wrong color stickers. When we confronted her about it, she threw this big hissy fit and couldn't believe we would dare accuse her of dishonesty. Another time, a neighbor was having a sale and someone walked off with a baby bassinet when they were busy. No one paid for it. One of my mom's favorite stories is of a time when a lady was traveling thru from another state and bought a few of my mom's clothes. My mom is quite small and few people really can wear her clothes or at the time wanted her very dressy work suits and such. Anyway, the clothes fit the lady perfectly and after about 30 minutes she turned around, came back,and bought everything else my mom had put out in her size, then asked if there was anything else left in the house that she might want to sell. My mom went inside, brought out more and sold most of her closet for a good price. At my last yard sale, some guy bought a bunch of junk and then asked for a receipt so his girlfriend would believe him when he said he didn't spend too much money.