He recommends these sprinklers and uses one in his own yard. He has also put in low-voltage wire fencing to keep cats out of a client's garden. There's a kit called Fi-Shock that you can use to do this. (http://www.fishock.com) The shock is enough to deter cats but it won't kill or seriously harm them. (And the man said that this solved the problem.)

I've always heard that cats don't like the smell of citrus. My aunt used to sprinkle orange peels around her flower beds for this reason, but I don't know if it worked! (My own cats are housecats and I've avoided using any citrus scented cleaning products in the bathroom where their litter box is, just in case the scent might deter them from using their box!) I just looked on the web to see if citrus is mentioned as a cat repellant, and it is. Maybe your dad has already seen this website, but just in case he hasn't there are some other ideas at http://www.cat-repellant.info/ My brother moonlights by helping people with wildlife nuisances. I remember that he was once hired to come up with a way to keep cats out of a man's garden, so I'll see if he's around today and ask him what he did. (Brother and family are cat lovers so I know he wouldn't have done anything harmful.) I feel bad for your dad, but I've also seen some awful stories in the news about the nasty things people have done to cats. I really hope your dad can find a humane way to keep the cat out of his garden!

Her name always reminds me of the show my dd just loved...The Big Comfy Couch! (Snickelfritz was the name of the cat on the show.) "Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready to clown around with Loonette and Molly, a clown and her dolly, on the Big Comfy Couch..." (I liked the show, too...Granny Garbanzo was my favorite character!)

"I think the man should have to kill the bug." But if he isn't home I have to do it because both dc are scared of bugs, except for ladybugs and butterflies.

I've been thinking about Trooper all evening and hoping that he'd find another homeschooling family. I hope that this will make it at least a little bit easier on you and your family.

He's adorable, but we're too far away. Is there a beagle rescue in your area? Have you talked to your vet? Maybe they'd let you put up a little notice in their waiting room? I hope you find a wonderful home for Trooper!

*Animal Parade chewables *Hero brand "Yummi Bears" *Flintstone chewables If my ds will eat them, they must taste okay!

I'm sick and tired of irresponsible pet owners. First, I guess I wouldn't care if the dog chased my car since it couldn't bite us. And if it happened to get run over in the process...problem solved. (For the record...I would never intentionally hit an animal.) If the dog is chasing your car out in front of its owner's home I might be tempted to stop the car and start blasting my horn to see if someone would come out and get the dog. We had a scary incident involving pit bulls while walking in our neighborhood. They didn't get to us but I thought for sure they were going to jump their little picket fence. We don't walk on that street anymore, but I started carrying pepper spray after that. My brother told me to get bear spray which will spray farther , but the can was too big to fit easily in a pocket so I went with the regular self-defense type. My kids have walking sticks (painted like animals) from the zoo and they've started taking these on our walks. Believe me, if we're ever attacked by a dog it will get pepper-sprayed and have its eyes gouged out with a walking stick. If anyone wants to sue or arrest me...bring it on!!! I bought a dog repellant product at Pets Mart when a neighbor was letting her dog do its business on our parking strip but refused to scoop even after I spoke to her about it. The stuff must smell really vile to a dog because the next day there was barf in that spot, and I guess the dog found a new place because the problem ended. I wonder if something like that used near your driveway and entryways might help? Your situation just makes me so mad! I hope you and your family find a way to protect yourselves.

I can see how that might happen here. I guess I'd rather put up with the cat fur in order to have some privacy from the street. But I should probably keep that in mind when choosing a color so that a bit of fur isn't too noticeable!

Please let me know if honeycomb shades will work in a home with two cats! I would like to get the top-down/bottom-up shades for our home office. We have six windows, all looking out on a wrap-around front porch. I'd like to be able to lower the shades using the top-down function so we can let in natural light without having our computer in full view. But undoubtedly the cats will push the shades aside to be able to look out sometimes. (No door on the office, so I can't keep them out.) We used to have mini blinds which the cats didn't destroy when they climbed on the counters to look out the windows. Unfortunately, when we replaced the windows the mini blinds no longer fit. I'd really like to have shades this time as long as they're not too delicate for cats. Thanks!

For high functioning children, I'm not sure you have to buy a lot of "special needs" (and often over -priced) stuff. I've always purchased "regular" children's etiquette books at the bookstore that are age-appropriate for my children. (I've made up our own "social stories", but I've never bought anything to do this.) Another book that is helpful to have is a dictionary of idioms/expressions...this has helped my dd learn to recognize (and not take literally) some common expressions. I don't believe that they're going to learn "social skills" in a vacuum, so we do our own "community therapy". They learn to talk to people in real-life situations, and although they still aren't socially outgoing by any means they're getting better at talking to people in real-life settings...the lady at the video rental store, the man at the coin shop (my ds is a coin collector), etc. Senior citizens are often good listeners, bless their hearts! Besides learning rules of etiquette /conversational skills, I really want my children to have COMPASSION for others so we do our own little service projects. We also talk a lot about The Golden Rule, bullying, etc. My dd (10) still likes Highlights magazine, so the monthly feature "Goofus and Gallant" is another good resource for us. And of course my dc fight with each other so our home is a great learning lab for conflict resolution! I've also been buying books about autism and Asperger Syndrome for my dc to read to help them better understand their strengths and weaknesses. If you're interested in titles, let me know and I'll hunt them down.

We've lived here for almost 15 years. At one time this was a "Neighborhood of the Year", and in many ways it's still a great community. But it's been so sad to watch the increase in things like graffiti /vandalism, gang-related shooting at the nearby mall, etc. I'm much more security-conscious than my husband. I don't know if it's because he grew up in New York City, rode the subway to high school, etc. or if it's just because he doesn't know what it's like to be a woman home alone with children all day. We live in a Victorian-style home, and your first impression wouldn't be "fortress", but it kind of is! We've got a monitored security system, good locks on the doors and windows, and some decorative iron window guards on the more hidden ones that a burglar might go for. We keep our driveway and porch lit up at night. You could check with your local police to see if they offer crime prevention programs like home safety inspections, Block Watch, etc. and maybe that might help you feel more secure and move your husband to make some improvements. Like you, I'm home during the day when others are out so I notice when something looks suspicious. When a group of troublesome teens used to hang out across the street after school I'd just go sweep the porch to keep my eye on them. Now they've found somewhere else to hang out. I don't hesitate to take down license plate numbers just in case I end up having to report something. And I'm also a light sleeper which is a curse to me but a good deal for the neighbors. (Last year I got my first ride in a police car to go identify the drunk hit-and-run driver who totalled our neighbor's car ...how they slept through the crash, I'll never know!) I also carry pepper spray on walks around the neighborhood, but that's more because I'm afraid of an escaping pit bull than a mugger. Anyway, it pays to keep your eyes and ears open and have a notepad and pen handy! Sometimes I really feel like moving out of the city. We look from time to time, but the more rural areas can have problems, too. It would be just my luck to end up living next to a meth lab!

And he wasn't selling ice cream! ;) Police had our street closed off as they searched the area for a bank robber. I got this info from the officer stopping traffic on our street , and when I saw more police carrying rifles instead of just their service revolvers I decided that it was time to go into homeschool lockdown! After sending both dc to the basement I decided to look out the windows facing our backyard and sideyard in case the guy had jumped the fence and was hiding there. Our brave housecat/watchcat stayed by my side. She must have sensed danger because she went into her stalking-prey mode. (Our other cat is a scaredy-cat and chose the basement. ) But no one was hiding out so we just waited and listened to the helicopters circling for awhile. Fortunately the police arrested the robber a short distance away, with no shots fired. But my nerves were shot so we took the rest of the day off. Surprisingly (and thankfully!), my dc didn't seem a bit shaken yesterday, and neither one protested this afternoon when I told them that our errands included a stop at the bank!

The scariest man in your neighborhood could be the clean-cut clergyman around the corner. Looks can be deceiving... As a newly hired teacher, I was required to attend workshops with other new employees about professional ethics and sexual abuse. The priest who was leading these workshops apparently didn't practice what he was preaching to the rest of us and his misconduct made the papers.

Is this true? Once the changeover from analog to digital takes place for tv, the weather radios won't work anymore.

Kelli, you could do a search using "gaze aversion". Depending on when he's doing this, it could be that it helps his thought process. Looking at someone's face while trying to recall info/answer questions could be too distracting.

For pricing information he's used the on-line guide at the Salvation Army website (use "Valuation Guide" in their search box). Turbo Tax software also has some of this information. If you take a large number of items at one time that would be valued at $250 or more, you have to be sure that the receipt contains the right language in order to use it for a tax deduction. It has to say something to the effect that no goods or services were provided in exchange for the items donated. I'm assuming that you're itemizing deductions rather than taking the standard deduction. If you're taking the standard deduction anyway it really doesn't matter whether you have a receipt.

I just sent you a Private Message.

Vitamin E and Omega 3 can both have a blood thinning effect. I don't know what would be considered a "safe" dose when you're using both supplements. If you're taking a blood thinner or aspirin therapy you definitely want to check this out with your pharmacist and doctor. (FWIW, my son is prone to the occasional nosebleed, and when he was taking a daily fish oil capsule the nosebleeds were harder to stop.)

I am a big believer in fences, and in your case it sounds like what you need is a very TALL fence. I think you'll want to set firm boundaries with this woman before it's too late. If it's possible to lock your screen door, I'd start locking it. And however you need to accomplish this, I'd make sure she knows you don't have an open-door policy otherwise she'll have the power to barge in on you whenever she pleases. You are busy with a baby, you are busy homeschooling, you're busy PERIOD...you really don't owe her an explanation of why you're unavailable! I get very frustrated with the people who apparently live by the "village mentality" that everyone else is responsible for providing something for the children that THEY brought into the world, and that by simply telling their problems that somehow earns them easy access to childcare, handouts, etc. I'm not against neighbors helping neighbors, but sometimes I just want to shout "We've got our own problems/concerns...how are we supposed to take on yours as well!!!" Already your neighbor sounds like this kind of person. Since you can't vote her off the island, at least don't form "alliances" with her unless you feel called to make her problems yours. I'm really not an unfeeling person, but there are just too many people looking for an "easy" mark these days. And that's just not neighborly in my book!

A relative decided that she wanted to have a wider wedding band. She didn't plan to wear her yellow gold/Tiffany set diamond engagment ring, so she had it turned into a pendant. It isn't a definite heart shape...but the shape suggests a heart, if that makes any sense!

What a heartbreaking situation. For those poor children's sake, I hope this isn't a homeschooling family. I hope both children are able to get services like Head Start and special ed. I can understand why your son would be upset. I wonder if it would help at all to have a little box of toys (washable!) set aside that he could bring out when the children visit? (Although the visit to the park sounded like the best solution since they may not get out to play much at home.) Also, about the "code words", I personally wouldn't go out of my way to cover for the parents' neglect. I'm all for rights, etc. for the disabled/special needs population, but I don't believe in "tolerance" when others are being harmed. I'm glad you've been willing to call CPS on their behalf.

I know from her previous posts that Kalanamak is a physician. ( I remember when she posted about her professional connection to a news story involving an incident with a mental patient.) She apparently has experience working with mentally ill patients, so it was hard for me to understand why she couldn't explain developmental disabilities (in the context of hand washing) to a 5yo. In reading her post, there were so many details about the parents that it kind of sounded like she was making a case against them. It made me wonder if she suspected child neglect. I realize that I'm just reading a message board and am in no position to make judgments. But she is legally required to report neglect if she suspects it regardless of whether these are friends of the family.

There was something troubling to me about your post. Do you actually suspect child neglect? If so, as a physician, aren't you required by law to report it? I wouldn't be able to teach tolerance if it meant looking the other way and allowing abuse and/or neglect to continue. If I'm reading more into this story than there is, I apologize.

I've been shopping for kids' clothes at the same department store since my teen son was a baby. There's a salesperson with a Russian accent who's been there just as long. I still remember her making comments to me about how "Americans dress their children up like dolls", etc. while I was making my purchases. I didn't get into any discussions with her. I'd just let her talk even though I thought her comments were odd because I wasn't even buying fancy baby outfits. (I bought a LOT of baby undershirts, sleepers, lap pads, and diapers because he was always exploding out of one end or the other.) Now that the cash registers are more centralized throughout the store I still see her occasionally. The last time I saw her I was buying some stuff for my son. After I unloaded our store-provided shopping bag my son took it from me and walked over to put it away. This apparently shocked the lady because she said, "No one has ever done that before!" Now I don't know if she recognized me at all, but if she did then maybe she felt better that all the baby clothes I used to buy hadn't spoiled him. FWIW, my mom used to complain about the way her brother was spoiled. Her mother had come from the Old Country where it was normal to fuss over the sons. Another FWIW concerning crimes...I don't think there's really anything new under the sun. My grandmother always refused to sleep in a main floor bedroom because she had been kidnapped by gypsies when she was a small child!