My ds also has Asperger Syndrome. We tried Latin a few years ago, but it just didn't work out. I think my dh actually sabotaged my efforts because I had started a Latin program with the ecclesiastical pronunciation, only to have dh (who was apparently taught with the other pronunciation) tell us that the book was "wrong" and he started changing the pronunciation guide! Ds wasn't interested in Latin, didn't like the sound of the woman's voice on the dvd's, etc. so Dad's contribution put the final nail in the Latin coffin. (We'll do a Latin and Greek roots program for vocabulary building instead...) Now, I'm trying to figure out which modern language to have him study to be able to meet university entrance requirements someday. I studied French, so that would be the easiest for me. He's also interested in French, but I think that's because he's very fascinated with Napoleon! I doubt we'd be traveling in France or even French-speaking Canada, so I'm hesitant to devote the time to a language he may never actually use. I think it would be more practical to study Spanish for future employment purposes, but he isn't a bit interested in Spanish. Maybe it's too intimidating for him? He did have a hard enough time learning to make the 'r' sound in English, so a rolling 'r' might be a cause for concern! He's interested in Japanese and even asked for a traveler's phrase book at the bookstore. Just the other day he presented me with a note filled with Japanese characters telling me that he would like some breakfast! Now I'm pretty sure that I could manage to learn Spanish along with him...but I'm afraid he'd be on his own with Japanese! If he wants to take Japanese classes at the community college someday I'd be all for it, but I just don't see how this could work right now. My dd (high functioning autism) has been interested in Spanish ever since Dora the Explorer showed up on tv! She's learned quite a bit of vocabulary just from reading her Spanish picture dictionary and other children's beginning Spanish books. We're working on increasing her vocabulary of familiar household objects, common expressions, etc., and we just got a computer Spanish program to try. I'm not sure how far she'll be able to go in school, but I'm sure she'll be able to work in some setting. Again, I think Spanish is the only practical choice given where we live, and fortunately she has an interest, unlike her brother! That's our story...Latin drop-outs. Hopefully we'll do better with Spanish and maybe even Japanese?! Good luck with your Latin studies! And FWIW, I think if a student is really struggling with some aspect of his/her native language it's better to strengthen that area first before tackling something like Latin. After all, there are only so many hours in the day!

They didn't stay with neutral earth tones when they repainted. The wife chose a light yellow for the house with two trim colors...medium shades of "dusty" green and rose. The door is also rose. It looks really pretty, but the colors look very "feminine" to me. Unfortunately, they have since divorced. She moved out, and I've wondered if he'll repaint! Then, our other neighbors who live directly across the street from the yellow house painted their house. They also chose light yellow and two trim colors...darker shades of green and rose! (The door is also rose.) They used white for their porch. I have to say that I prefer the darker trim colors that they chose. Have you looked at some of the paint brand websites? Some have houses that you can "paint" with different combinations to help you see what it might look like. (I know that http://www.benjaminmoore.com has this feature.)

I know you're not supposed to just pick someone out of the yellow pages, but that's what I did. I wanted 1. a gentle chiropractor, not a "bone cruncher", 2. someone close to home and 3. preferably a woman. The one I chose described herself as a Palmer graduate/gentle chiropractor. Since you're having neck problems you should expect to have x rays taken or at least be able to provide recent x rays ...apparently they've got to see what the structure of your neck is like because without knowing this the manipulation could potentially do damage. I'd be surprised if any chiropractor would touch you without x-rays. If your insurance covers acupuncture you might also consider this. I found that acupuncture treatments were also very helpful for my neck and TMJ issues. And the needles really didn't hurt at all...they gave me a slight "buzzing" sensation when they went in, but not like getting a shot at all. ( My neck doesn't bother me as much now that I'm not carrying children, lifting carseats, etc. so it's been awhile since I've gone, but I'd definitely go back if things got worse. The practitioner that I saw also did massage therapy so I also had her work on my neck and shoulders from time to time.) Just in case you haven't tried these self-care approaches: I've got a microwavable buckwheat neck pillow to use for muscle tension since moist heat is better. I use a flexible ice pack after I've been doing yardwork, carrying heavy stuff, etc. to prevent inflammation. If you look at this website (http://www.relaxtheback.com) you can do a search for another thing that's been helpful for me. It's called "Doctor Riter's Real-Ease". Best wishes! I hope you can find some relief soon!

My bookshelves are filled with books about autism, homeschooling, health-related topics, etc. I feel like the time I have to read needs to be spent reading stuff that will actually help me with day-to-day family life. Aside from that, I like reading autobiographies/biographies about all sorts of people. Right now, I'm reading a book about a physicist (Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman) even though I've never taken a single physics course. I just find people fascinating, so this is my kind of leisure reading. I've been reading many of the fiction books that my children read, so that's enough fiction for me. The problem for me is that I find the "real world" a bit overwhelming, so I really don't have the emotional energy to take on fictional sorrows, etc. ! I guess I enjoyed fiction more when I was younger and my own life was much less complicated.

It's been 5 years and Mother's Day is hard for me. My mom died at the end of April. Both of my siblings were here when she died , but we couldn't have the funeral right away. One insisted that it had to be on a Saturday, and the other insisted that we wait for her to go back to her second home in the southwest so she could finish her vacation and then have the funeral when she got back. So...the funeral ended up being scheduled on Saturday, the day before Mother's Day. :sad: The next year our dog died in May around Mother's Day. The next year , dh's mother passed away right after Mother's Day. He had gone back to see her (and brought a suit because everyone was expecting a funeral). He stayed a week then had to return to work. She died a few days after he got home so he had another sad cross country trip. Thank goodness my dd has a May birthday for us to celebrate! Some years it even falls on Mother's Day, so all the better!!!

I just got a sample pack of G-U-M brand "Go Betweens" at my dental appointment the other day. They look like tiny bottle brushes and you can use them to clean between teeth instead of floss. The package says that they can be used with braces, but I'd check with the ortho. first just to make sure.

*The American Medical Association Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen I read the reviews at Amazon for several of the "boy books" before choosing this one.

Because there seems to be so much drama in your life already... Aren't you tempted to just gather your children around you, create a nice little cocoon, and shut out the rest of the world for a time? Aren't you supposed to be having a baby any day now?

The cord on mine doesn't reach the stove. I mainly use it when making soup so a cordless type would work better for me. On the other hand, it's not too hard to move the pot of soup to the counter, and I can keep the blender in the cupboard when not in use rather than keeping it recharging and taking up counter space.

If there's a speech pathology program you might be able to get services through their clinic. Also, like Cadam suggested, check out Shriners. I've heard good things about their speech therapy services.

I was at the bookstore earlier in the week and saw some children's books about bullying. I just looked on Amazon, and there are many more titles available there, which I guess is good but it's also very sad at the same time! Maybe you could check the library or bookstore for one of these books and read it with your dd. I'd make sure that she knows: 1. She isn't the first person to be bullied like this, 2. This probably won't be the last bully she encounters, 3. what strategies you approve of when dealing with a bully and 4. (I think this is also a really important one!) What can she do if she witnesses another child being bullied in the future? FWIW, the psychologist who diagnosed my dc didn't waste any time in telling me that they would be "bully magnets"! But really, this is something all children need to be prepared for because even if they're not the target they'll undoubtedly witness bullying of some sort. Then, they'll need to choose whether they're going to look the other way or get involved. I'm so sorry this happened to your daughter. Mean people, whether big or small, stink!

I've been reading The Magnesium Miracle. Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system, among its many benefits. I use a powdered magnesium supplement called Natural Calm mainly for insomnia, and it's very relaxing. You could also try an Epsom salt bath since that's another source of magnesium. Green vegetables, nuts (especially almonds and cashews), seeds, and legumes are good dietary sources.

We're in rain country, so I'm used to seeing a basket of shoe coverings at open houses or a note to please remove shoes. One note that I recall said something about removing shoes to protect "your" future carpets. My dc don't like wearing shoes at home, so they're more than happy to take off their shoes! I always wear shoes that slip off easily and make sure that my socks are in good condition since I fully expect to remove my shoes! I would make this suggestion. From what I've seen at open houses, it would be a good idea to have a chair or bench near the basket of shoe protectors...you don't want an older person or someone with bad balance to topple over while trying to put them on or trying to re-tie their shoes! Good luck!

Skip counting: I used sentence strips to write out the "counting by 2's", etc. and taped them on the wall. Right now, we're cutting them into smaller pieces and using them to label things around the house with the Spanish name. Also, the sentence strips fit into "pocket charts" sold at teacher supply stores in case you want to display spelling words, Bible verses, etc.

I think I ordered the wrong thing from Rainbow Resource. I wanted a beginning Spanish cd-rom for my dd so I ordered SOS Elementary Spanish, 2008 edition. Today I was reading a post on the High School board about SOS Elementary Spanish being a Powerglide course. Since I had read other posts from unhappy Powerglide users I really had no idea when I ordered it that the SOS course is actually Powerglide. (I've just re-read the catalog description to see if it mentions Powerglide, but it doesn't.) I know that SOS Spanish 1 gets good reviews, but I wanted something for a younger child. Has anyone used this Elementary software and liked it? Is it really so awful, or would it be tolerable for a 4th grader? Or, should I just return it since we haven't opened it yet? Thanks for your help!

My soon-to-be 11yo has made wonderful progress with HWT! When we switched from another handwriting book I put her into the HWT grade 2 "Printing Power" book. I tried using the first cursive book (the red one) next, but it was too soon for her. So...we put cursive on the backburner and continued with printing practice. We tried cursive again this fall and it was a totally different experience...she was finally ready for it! At one point, I was so afraid that she'd always have gigantic printing that wouldn't fit between the lines, but now I'm amazed with her printing. She can even fit her letters into crossword puzzle squares! And her cursive...I could really just cry I'm so happy/relieved with the progress she's making!

My Black and Decker "Handy Chopper" is still going strong. I used to use it to puree small servings of "whatever we were having" for baby food. It's small and easy to clean. I still use it to chop up nuts and small amounts of other stuff rather than get the big processor dirty. I've got an immersion blender, but I mostly just use it for soups.

If you go to http://www.visualspatial.com there's a VSL quiz (with permission to copy). Would something like that be helpful?

*Socialism: You have 2 cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. *Communism: You have 2 cows. The government takes both and gives you some of the milk. *Fascism: You have 2 cows. The government tells you when to milk them, takes the milk, then sells it back to you. *Nazism: You have 2 cows. The government takes both cows and shoots you. *New Deal-ism: You have 2 cows. The government buys both, shoots one, milks the other, and throws away the milk. *Free-market capitalism: You have 2 cows. You sell one and buy a bull. In response to your specific question, I don't think creating wealth is evil/unChristian. Someone with wealth actually has something besides good intentions to share.

We live on a fairly busy street so I've had to make those calls to Animal Control. I've probably used my snow shovel to remove dead cats and possums from the road more frequently than for shoveling snow. :ack2: I just can't leave them out there to keep being run over! Hopefully the Animal Control people don't think I'm the one hitting all these poor creatures...I'm just the weird shovel lady.

I want to make sure that new readers here know that "Laurie4b" is the author! :)

First, I don't understand why all the children were taken. If CPS was so concerned about teenage mothers and possible sexual abuse, why didn't they remove all the teenage girls and let the younger children stay with their mothers? Then they could still proceed with their investigation without TRAUMATIZING all those children. I haven't been following this case closely, but I just don't understand why suddenly a government agency is acting so high-and-mighty about issues of paternity, etc. I haven't heard that CPS is also going to Hollywood or other communities where it's not unheard of for men to father children with more than one woman. Why does it only draw scrutiny, scorn, and public outcry when the father actually lives under the same roof with all the women and children? If the children were living in filth, malnourished, etc. then I'd feel differently. But to traumatize all those children by ripping them away from their mothers and then subjecting them to what has to be extreme culture shock by putting them into foster homes just doesn't seem right to me. Not unless CPS is also going to start raiding some Hollywood mansions and taking some celebrity children into protective custody!

I bought the TWSS dvds awhile ago but I still haven't watched all of them. This year, I bought SWI B to use with my 13yo and this worked out better for us. He and I watched the lessons together, and I used some of the free lessons from the IEW website that go along with SWI B. We'll probably use the continuation course (SICC) next year. If you've got time to watch the teacher seminars and you want to make up your own writing assignments to fit your studies, then you'd probably prefer TWSS. Otherwise, I think you could easily skip over TWSS and just use SWI B or C as an "entry level" course.

That's the reason I bought the first set of cd's...too many "Ancients" I'd never heard of! The additional benefits: my voice got a break , and I also found out how much I enjoyed being an armchair timetraveler. We finished SOTW 4 earlier this year. We always listened to the chapters together...my older child read along silently with the book, my younger child colored the coloring page from the activity guide if there was one, and I put my feet up and soaked up history!

This happened to our last mattress. Our bed frame is made of wood and only has a headboard, footboard, and two side rails. I think we may have gotten bad advice from the salesman who assured us that there was plenty of built-in support in the boxspring. We just got a Tempurpedic mattress set and it weighs a lot more than our old set. We got a kit with cross supports and a center support "foot". If your bed doesn't have these additional supports it's probably a good idea to add them.