Both of my parents are ministers. They started seminary when I was in first grade, so I had my elementary years while my folks went through seminary, then middle school & high school they were associate pastors in different churches. I know it was tough on my mom, being part of the early wave of female ministers. Both parents did a lot of good work and I know they're both very good pastors. There were some neat things about hanging out and knowing "every nook & cranny" of the church, as Daisy said. Neither my sister nor I are still in the church. We saw a lot of the hypocrisy and dysfunction and the church is kind of like an additional family member that we've decided not to talk to. My sister didn't even have her child baptized. My folks have talked with us some about religion and have said they regret our relationship with the church, but they also are good at keeping our relationship going and not pushing us too much. Both parents still have relationships with the seminary and I've heard that there have been changes and they do a better job at teaching seminarians how to better balance work and life and set up boundaries.

Our library bought a DVD series I requested last year. I put in a request this year for the Liping Ma math book and haven't heard a decision yet (this was about 2-3 months ago). So my library is pretty slow about it. But I do like that we can request they buy books and resources. If they do buy it, I get an email notifying me of the decision and then the materials are put on hold for me.

BOTH my parents are pastors. Neither my sister nor I are in the church any more.

Absolutely! I'd just never thought to practice with the trainer on my husband. After the reaction, I made sure that anyone who watched my son showed me that they could use the trainer on me. I was so glad I'd practiced with the trainer enough and had read the information so I knew that since I didn't hear the "click", the Epi hadn't injected.

I would get a TI. I would notget the 89 or 92 (both have full keypads). These calculators are not allowed on a number of tests. The N-Spire may be replacing the 84, but getting an 83 or 84 will be fine for learning keys and getting familiar with the calculator. Around here, I've heard that many calculators can be found at the pawn shops, so that may be worth checking out.

Why should these boards only cost me a lot of money? :D Share the pain!

FYI - The Medieval and Early Modern World collection is on sale at amazon now for $122.

I'm generally fully awake and ready to go about 2pm. Unfortunately, ds is one of those dread morning people. We really think he must be a changeling. I'm working to get to bed at a more decent hour (like before midnight) and try to be up by 8. It's tough and I'm still figuring out what works for us.

If you have your car's manual in the car, it shows the location of the spare, the jack (and tools), and how to change the tire. Directions are pretty easy to follow (even if it can be difficult to get the torque on the bolts right).

We did not know with our son's anaphylaxis. My husband even questioned him when he said he thought he was having a reaction since it was so different than what we'd seen before and to nuts which we thought were safe. We were on the way to the ER "just in case" and we did not have 2 symptoms together. It was just my son's report of a scratchy throat and him saying he thought he was having a reaction. By the time there was no doubt, if we hadn't already had the Orapred, Benadryl in him and Epi handy, he may have died. We got lectured a couple of times about calling an ambulance instead of driving ourselves - but we didn't know it was an allergic reaction at the time we left the house! I still get panicky when remembering that day :( So for us, it wasn't obvious.

I used an Epi on my son in the car on the way to the ER. One thing I learned was to practice on someone else. The arm movement is very different when injecting someone else than when injecting yourself. I had to attempt it twice since I didn't hear the "click" the first time. We probably should have given it earlier. We saw no signs of an allergic reaction; we just had our son (at age 5) telling us that he thought he was having an allergic reaction and his throat felt scratchy. We gave Orapred and Benadryl and were in the car on the way to the ER when his voice started getting a bit hoarse and he vomited. That was when I gave the Epi. There were no visual symptoms of a reaction. Hives didn't break out until about 6 hours after the initial reaction. Check with your son's allergist, but since your husband is allergic, I wouldn't be giving the kids cherries. It also sounds like this could have been a reaction. Our allergist has said give the Epi, then call 911 and get an ambulance. Giving the Epi when you don't need it is okay (especially with kids; it's slightly more risky with adults due to heart issues) but not giving it when you do need it can be fatal. Allergies are tough. With your situation, since there was choking on a pit, hoarseness can be just due to recovering from coughing. It may be worth getting allergy tests done.

I used the US edition for 1 and then switched to Standards for 2 and now we're in 3 of standards. From what I've read, the Home Instructor's Guide (HiG) is better for the Standards edition (1 of US is written by same person who did standards versions). The Standards edition has more review, so that's a plus in many ways. You can also skip the review sections if you don't need it. There's information here about the differences between the US and Standards editions. Part of what helped me decide to make the switch was that there's more topics in the Standards edition. I like more in math :) I've been very happy with the Standards edition. We're using the US version of Intensive Practice (since it isn't out for Standards). It's easy to match up with the Standards version. The biggest difference I noticed is the addition of reviews at the end of each topic.

I've never heard of it & it would be a real red flag for me. If you haven't pledged the money and so are in arrears, I would be looking for a different church.

My husband is highly allergic to cats and dogs. He had a blood test done some years ago and on a scale of 1-5, he told me he was a 5+ for both cats and dogs. We had cats at the time. He would get used to the dander from our cats (and I've also read that the issue is the saliva that dries on the fur and then flakes off), so he wouldn't appear to be in distress. His asthma stayed "under control" and was amazingly better than it was when we were around his family (smokers and pets). After our cats died, we waited a bit and then tried to get another. My husband's reaction was amazingly severe; I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. He wasn't able to walk up our driveway without pausing for breath - and this was on asthma medication. After trying for a few days, we returned the cat and gave up on having a pet. My husband's asthma is really under control now. I don't recall the last time he used a rescue inhaler. He used to need it with him at all times. As for family, when he has visited his family, he has limited the length of time there, stayed at a hotel, and once we stayed with his family, but they boarded the animals while we were there and had the house steam cleaned before we arrived and smoked outside while we were there. It was still miserable, but he didn't end in the hospital. With friends, he doesn't pet their cats, has his inhaler, and doesn't stay for too long. He has some hives from the visit and a bit tighter breathing, but it's not unmanageable. You've got to make your own decision about what's best for your family. I'm sharing our experience because I didn't believe how severe my husband's allergy was; he was maintaining. It was only when the allergens were gone and he improved so much that I really understood. I still miss having a cat and so does he, but I prefer him healthy. Good luck. It's tough. (We've got food allergies here and are starting to deal with environmental allergens with my son, so I'm also following the links and suggestions here!)

I've only read about a few alligators in the Midlands... but I've never seen them. (Of course I mostly stay inside... and when one of those giant bugs appears I shriek and leave the house. Such a wimp.)

I'm doing much of my planning on my computer and I've got a document where I keep curriculum ideas and a book list for me to read and things I need to remember. Got a few things to add to it! Thanks!

Well then it leads in so nicely into algebra tiles where red is the negative... :)

I don't believe I've looked at that specific text, and my familiarity is with college texts (but Lial Beginning/Intermediate Algebra series are generally used as developmental texts at the community college). I would never recommend attempting to fit work into the spaces in the texts. If there is white space, it's so that they can put the answer (or graph) in an instructor edition. You really really want to do the work on scratch paper or in a separate notebook so you have plenty of space. I've started recommending students work on unlined paper even. So someone else may weigh in, but in my experience math should definitely be done on separate paper. Legibility is so so important.

Also at Rainbow: http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1278508119-499495&subject=10&category=1487 I got some red tens and ones to go along with my blue base set so I can use red for negative and blue for positive integers :)

:iagree: And before buying it, still have a mechanic check it over for any unknown issues. Hondas are good cars and last quite a while. Our Accord (from my folks when I was pregnant) is a 99 and has over 160k. Still going strong!

I don't have an opinion about seating, but if you check the car's user manual, or do an online search, you should be able to find out whether the passenger airbag can be turned off.

I rarely listen to audiobooks. These really may not work (or be appropriate), but I really enjoyed listening to Walter Cronkite's Autobiography. He reads it and if you're of an age to remember him on the news, it was fun listening to him again. (He does the voice of Ben Franklin on Liberty's Kids, so that may be a draw for younger kids.) Also, Angela's Ashes is read by the author, Frank McCourt. Depressing stories about his childhood in Ireland in extreme poverty, but his voice is just so fun to listen to. It also really makes you appreciate what we have. Again, these were two I really enjoyed on a long commute I did regularly (over a decade ago... eeek!).

:grouphug: I'm sorry.

Glad everyone's okay! Hope the driver had insurance and they get him off the roads!

A few years ago some college students were renting in the neighborhood. They were shooting off fireworks and set a neighbor's roof on fire. Fire department put it out before it spread, but apparently there wasn't clear enough information of where the fireworks came from. The neighbor whose house was set afire had to have her homeowner's insurance pay to repair things. She wasn't even home at the time. We don't have a ban, but I'd sure like one.