DD also does a literature program in parallel. She's used the American Lit books from Lightning Literature and is now using Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. We will either reduce the amount of writing she does for the lit program or she will set aside the writing program for a day or two while she does the lit writing.

Raw meat and uncooked minute rice is how my mom always made them.

If you get a dark color, I'd want a guarantee that it wouldn't fade. My dad put on a dark green metal roof when he had his house built almost 20 years ago. No maintenance or repairs have been needed to this day but the color has faded. No problems using cell phones in the house either.

I love dachshund personalities. I really want to get another dachshund. Your description sounds just like the one we had except that we were able to crate train him. He became best friends with one of our fluffy cats and they would lay together in sun patches around the house. So sweet. He could not walk as far as our larger dog and definitely couldn't tolerate much cold. It was common for DH to arrive back home from winter dog walking with the dachshund tucked into his jacket.

I recommend Calhouns. It is a local chain with a nice restaurant by the river near UTK campus. They are famous for their BBQ ribs (all you can eat on Thursdays) and have very nice prime rib on Fri and Sat nights. Sometimes they will still have some prime rib left over for Sunday lunch. They have yummy large salads, pulled pork sandwiches, etc. It is not a great place for vegetarians or vegans but if you are meat eaters, it is definitely recommended. We almost always take family/friends here when they are visiting Knoxville.

Have you taken a look at the TOC yet? It is pretty much already scheduled out for you at the rate of a chapter per week for a total of 17 chapters. Most chapters have 3 to 4 lessons, a chapter review, and an activity. A couple chapters near the end have more lessons so the student would need to do more than one lesson per day to still finish the chapter in one week.

How funny! It reminds me of when my DD was about 5 and we found the giant tortoises at the zoo in the same situation. A father near-by was telling his kids some silly story to explain what the critters were doing when my DD piped up "No, that's not it. They're mating!"

Thank you for the replies. We do have one of those spinning sanding tools for dog nails but the dog really seems to handle the trimming better. We finally got a good trimming tool after talking to our vet assistant about what the professionals use. We wasted a lot of money trying tool after tool that is sold to pet owners. They either wouldn't cut easily through his tough nails or would cause splintering. I will try trimming every week or two and see how much progress we are able to make. If the quick doesn't retract, though, I will eventually hit it. :confused: I guess the only other option is to wait until he is having his teeth cleaned at the vet and having the nails cut short while he is asleep.

If finances are not a problem, I recommend the puppy pee-pee pads. They are very convenient and do a good job soaking and trapping the liquid.

Not nuts at all. :grouphug: I am glad that the cat brings you some measure of comfort. So sorry about the loss of your sister.

The nails are too long and need to be trimmed back. I'm lucky in that the dog is calm and will hold still while I trim. I'm only taking a tiny bit of nail off at a time (1-2mm). However, I can't find a clear answer on how often I can do this. Answers online vary from once a week to once every 4 weeks. :glare: I really really don't want to hurt him by cutting too much too soon. Thanks! Pegasus

Thank you for the great list, Liz. I am going to look for these at the library and used book store.

How about using diaper liners in their undies?

Now all we need is a Smilie holding a pair of kitchen tongs.

I know it sounds weird but you may have cracked/broken a small bone in your foot, especially since it happened late in pregnancy. It can take a long time to heal. Since then, you've probably stressed your other foot by trying to protect your hurt foot. I'm not a medical professional. :tongue_smilie:

The best prep is actual exams from the ACT itself. The newest version of "The Real ACT Prep Guide" has 5 actual exams.

I think the light response is because folks need to be familiar with BJU/Dive and Conceptual Chemistry to answer your question. I know nothing about BJU or Dive but we did use Conceptual Chemistry. It is a solid high school chemistry course and the only thing "light" about it is the limited math you need to take and understand it. I loved the professor lectures available on his website; his enthusiasm for the subject is very evident. I loved that he filmed some of his segments with a young child strapped to his back. I really appreciated the available worksheets as well.

Parents just aren't paying attention or mom's actually encouraging the behavior because they are living vicariously through their DDs and want them to be popular. My DDs (12 and 15) seem in no hurry to grow up.

I'd love some suggestions for books of poems for a young teen just becoming interested in poetry. Thank you!

I am very fortunate to have a great MIL. One of the things that has impressed me the most is her ability to not offer advice. Even when we were struggling with potty training and I finally turned to MIL for advice, she replied "I don't really remember potty training." :lol: She has never said a word for or against the way we parent. I hope to be just like her when my children have families of their own. :grouphug:

Thank you for sharing! DD is a bit more than half-way through this program and I've been trying to decide how to weigh the different components for a final grade. It's helpful to see how you are doing it.

EPS Writing Skills is a great place to start with a struggling writer. It starts out with the very basics and teaches in small increments, hand-holding the student through the entire process. They have different levels so look at the contents and samples to determine where to start. There is some overlap between the levels but the higher levels go further. This was a wonderful series of workbooks that finally got my oldest DD to write without such a struggle, tears, etc. I highly recommend it for struggling writers. Wordsmith used to be considered good but I honestly think there are better programs out there now. We tried using it and found it to be scattered, for lack of a better way to describe it. Instead, at the same level as the original Wordsmith but a much better program, IMHO, is Jumpstart. We used Jumpstart after EPS Writing Skills Book 1 and before EPS Writing Skills Book 3 (we skipped Book 2, see my note above about the books having some overlap; after Jumpstart, DD had no problems with Book 3). DD is now using Jensen's Format Writing and it is going very well. It is very cut-and-dried which is much preferred by my DD than something that requires creative writing. However, I don't know that I would START with Format Writing for a struggling writer. I think you need to start with something else and work your way up to it. Best of luck, Pegasus

Ticks are not like fleas or bed bugs. Even if you have a few isolated ticks crawling around, it is not like having in infestation in the house. Tick-borne diseases are real and can be serious. However, the vast majority of tick bites are harmless. I've pulled dozens off of myself over the years and quite a few off my DDs and maybe hundreds off of various pets. We've never gotten sick or required treatment. You will be fine.

Thank you, everyone. You've given me a lot to think about. I hadn't thought about how once a week may seem sporadic to someone who works every day in the organization and that she may have just been trying to reassure the new volunteer that any time she can come would be accepted/appreciated. I think I can now let the comment go and let that chapter of our lives be closed. My older DD is already volunteering somewhere else that is much closer to the house and the supervisors there brag on her. What a difference!

I appreciate all the input. I'm relieved to see that so many young people agree that the t-shirt wasn't appropriate at that time and place. I really do enjoy working with young adults and try to remember that times change. Dress attire in the workplace has definitely become more casual than when I first started (back when shirts and ties were expected from men working in the office, at all levels, and they had a jacket to slip on when meeting with people).