I wasn't trying to be snarky. I grew up in a household with a strict "food only at the table" rule and it looked like the easiest/fastest solution for you. :grouphug:

This sentence has the solution. Have everyone eat at the table. Pegasus

First, I understand your son's desire as those plastic enclosures look really cool. However, a glass aquarium is much more practical, easier to clean, and safer for the animal. Pegasus

I like this idea. I could keep a child busy for a long time sorting paperwork, shredding old bills, entering utility costs into our tracking worksheet, etc. Pegasus

I think I would buy a couple air purifying machines and run them 24/7 in the dorm room to see if that would help. Have DD minimize time spent in the room - study at the library, etc. Can she close or block the air vents and crack a window instead, even if you had to add a room heater. Pegasus

My thanks to the OP for starting this thread. My older DD is ready to start working on her Gold Award and she is very disappointed in how Girl Scouts has gotten worse and worse since she started as a Daisy almost 10 years ago! The journeys and new badges are only the latest "innovation." Does anyone else remember the Studio 2B fiasco with girls earning charms instead of badges? Not sure how true it is, but I heard recently that the reason that Girl Scouts goes off in these directions is because they do research with girls WHO ARE NOT IN SCOUTS about what they would like scouts to be like. Pegasus

I have civil and environmental engineering degrees and my work entails environmental remediation and technology research & development. DH has a degree in architecture. When we were expecting our first child, I was making twice as much as DH. It was not a difficult decision for us that he be the stay at home parent. He made it clear from the beginning that he would be a stay-at-home-dad and not a house-husband. It has worked for us and has not made our relationship more difficult or challenging.

Do you have a Toys R Us nearby? We were there today to let DD12 spend her birthday money. The only thing she found to buy were Harumika toys. They are clearance priced AND then buy one get one. She ended up with one starter kit and 3 accessory kits for $7. Amazing buy. She's been playing with them all afternoon and still going strong. These are creative fashion toys. The starter kit comes with a dress form, a few pieces of fabric, and a few accessories. The child wraps the fabric around the form and simply pushes the ends into a slit in the back. Sounds simple but is really pretty neat. If the link works, you can see them here: http://www.harumika.com Pegasus

Hmmm. . .the title of the thread and the actual poll question are misleading as a person would answer yes to one and no to the other. DD15 wears PJ pants in the winter. She's always been sensitive to clothing fabrics and wears cotton knit dresses 365 days a year (366 days on leap years). She finds the flannel or fleece PJ pants to be warm and comfortable. She loves the bright contrasting patterns. Interestingly enough, she does NOT wear PJs to bed so she is "getting dressed" when she puts the PJ pants on in the morning. :D I'm pretty amazed that it bothers so many people or that they find it inappropriate. Pegasus

I would drop IEW like a hot potato.

I really appreciate everyone's input on this. It reminds me that we've been meaning for years to have our DDs take a defense class of some sort. Now that they are getting old enough that they are not always right by our side, it's definitely time. Pegasus

I need to go back and re-read "Protecting the Gift" as well as "The Gift of Fear." During a recent shopping trip with DD15, I noticed a man hovering nearby. I didn't think much about it although I subconsciously noticed that he didn't really appear to be shopping, if that makes any sense. Several minutes later, I noticed him again as he was nearer my daughter and I was farther down the aisle. At this point, I looked him in the eye to let him know that I was watching him and kept my DD close to me until we left the store. I feel like I missed a huge opportunity to teach my DD to be aware of the people around her. I still haven't said anything to her about the incident and she certainly didn't notice anything odd. What should I have done? I mean, I could have pointed him out and said "See that guy? He doesn't have a basket or buggy and nothing in his hands. He's not looking at the products on the shelves. He seems to be following you around the store. He may be harmless but all these are clues that he may be wanting to touch/harm you." So, how do you teach your children to beware creepy people? Pegasus

I honestly think she would have yelled something ruder if she was upset by the size of your family. I agree with the PP who said that she is probably someone who believes that littles should be bundled up more than adults. My DC run hot, like me, and resist coats unless it is very cold outside. We've gotten many many comments over the years about how they weren't properly dressed when we were running errands without coats. Pegasus

No, I wouldn't. Quality over quantity/size.

Wow! That's awesome. I'm not above a little bribery to get the work done. Your DD definitely sounds capable of doing the work and the extra allowance incentive seemed to do the trick. If it works, I'd keep doing it. Pegasus

Yes, that sounds about right for an English credit: literature, writing, spelling, grammar, vocabulary. We are combining different books and programs to make up our English credits as well. Pegasus

Lial's Basic College Math is pre-algebra. Does she need to go back that far? If she does, it is a good solid text to use. Lial's also has algebra texts if you want to change from Saxon. Otherwise, can you take her back to Algebra I using Saxon and maybe let her test her way through the chapters until you find where she starts having trouble? Pegasus

We do secular science and have gone to textbooks for high school. Conceptual Chemistry by John Suchoki - This textbook also has a great website with video lectures, worksheets, etc. We bought a Thames and Kosmos chemistry set to add in more lab activities. Biology: Exploring Life by Neil Campbell - This is the high school level biology Campbell textbook. He has a couple others at honors level and college level. The publisher also has a lot of online material and activities to go along with this textbook. We added a dissection kit. Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt - We haven't done this yet but is in our plans. We'll follow up all this with a couple science classes through dual enrollment at the CC. Pegasus

I've had so much decay and dental work done on MY teeth that I was asking about sealants when I took my oldest DD to the dentist for the first time at age 3. He gently explained that they generally only used it on adult teeth and only on the biting surfaces of the molars. If they had offered a 100% coating around each tooth, I probably would have jumped at that too. :tongue_smilie: Needless to say, we have been having sealant placed on both DDs as they have their molars come in. Dental care all around just seems so much better now as neither of them have had any decay at all and I can't give the sealants all the credit. Apparently, however, the sealant tastes very bad so if your child is sensitive to tastes, you might warn them. :D Pegasus

The teeth can be very sore but ibuprofin usually helps alot. It helped DD if I gave it about an hour before she tried to eat. It is only needed for a couple days usually. I don't want to add to your anxiety but DDs biggest problem with having braces placed was the taste of the glue. She had tears running down her face and they wanted to stop and find out what was wrong and I kept just trying to get them to keep working and get it over with. The second biggest challenge for DD was taking the molds of her teeth. Here it was a combination of the taste and her gagging reflex as the molding material oozed towards the back of her mouth. Don't worry about trying to add protein powder or anything else that may cause him to reject the food. He won't suffer from malnutrition in a few days time! Just give him whatever he feels like eating for those few days. Best of luck. I do think you are doing the right thing by pursuing treatment. DD is now out of braces and her smile looks great! Pegasus

Opinions will vary but here's mine: 1. Early December (first two weeks) is awesome. Lower crowds, holiday decorations are up, cooler temps. 2. We are very frugal but do stay onsite. We stay at the value resorts. We love parking the car and not driving while we are there as the bus system is pretty efficient. 3. We only get a package if a very special deal is being run (like free dining) but otherwise, you are better off getting things separately. 4. No answer 5. For us, Magic Kingdom and Epcot would be musts, then Animal Kingdom, and last Disney Studios. 6. Do not try to do it all. You'll exhaust yourself and be stressed. Just enjoy what you do have time for. . .and plan to go back! 7. I find crowd calendars to be very helpful in planning. Pegasus

DDs loved Clue Jr at that age. It's good for logic skills (process of elimination) and doesn't have a "murder" like the grown up version of clue. Pegasus

Did you like the first one? That will be a good indication. DH and I both loved both movies. Lots of violence, though, in case you haven't seen the first one. :tongue_smilie: Pegasus

Ummm. . .he may not know how. :001_huh: DH does most of the cooking and dishes here. I tackled a messy kitchen the other day and got everything done but the cast iron skillet. I just stared at it wondering how he would want me to clean it. My mother almost tanned my hide one time when I washed her cast iron skillet with soap. It turned out that she only used very hot water and a metal scouring pad, never soap, so that she didn't wash the "seasoning" away. DH's skillet was greasy. I just didn't think I could get it clean without soap. I finally did wash it, with soap, thinking that I would just wipe it down with oil afterwards if it looked like it needed it. But I did ALMOST just leave it for him for later. Also, while not outside, I have been known to pop dirty pots and skillets into the oven when unexpected visitors arrived. Pegasus

DD11 enjoys reading Manga but it can be difficult to find ones appropriate for her age. Do you pre-teens have any favorite Manga series that we could look for? Thanks Pegasus