HSLover, lol I don't know, maybe it depends on how much you smoked?? dansamy, Yeah, I was... I know, it was awful. I would go to bed at night and my chest would feel tight, like I couldn't even draw in a good, deep breath. Trying to fall asleep I'd start getting paranoid that I was going to get lung cancer and die and my kids weren't going to have a mom. I'm really SO glad I quit, it was the best thing I could have done for myself (and my kids). And better yet, my husband quit too, four months after I did. We both have over five years now. :) Amylovesbud, Why, spend them with my kids, of course! :) To everyone else, Thanks for your comments and your congrats! :)

Hmm. Before you make this too personal, you might take note that I said that in actuality this doesn't even apply to me. My child did just fine with standardized testing. So it's a non-issue for me personally. Therefore "the OP" isn't "DOING" anything unethical and doesn't need to file a letter ahead of time and so on and so forth (although perhaps those suggestions will come in handy for someone else, so it's all good)! But when someone else said that their child got seriously upset by standardized testing, it made me think 'what would be my top priority IF I were in that situation, where my child was seriously distressed by this? My child? Or following the exact letter of the law'? (So to speak. I mean, is it even really literally a "LAW"?!) Is bending the 'rules' a little bit an okay price to pay when it comes to a child's mental and emotional well-being? Especially when no-one was going to know the difference? Especially in minor ways like "hey, don't worry about the timer, you just take all the time you need" or "sure, you can do the test with me even though the test says not a parent" or whatever? And the truth is, whether you agree or not, that my instinct is YES. I just don't see that as all that awful. If that makes me unethical and deserving of little "glare" smilies in your eyes, so be it. You obviously have strong feelings on the topic. That's fine. We all have topics like those. And I'm certainly not looking to get into an argument with you over our individual feelings on the matter. I'm just throwing my own thoughts out there, and now satisfying my curiosity as to what other people think. Of course, if I knew (which I didn't, as I've had no reason to know) that I COULD do things like trying to get different accommodations ahead of time, perhaps I'd do that instead, if I were in that situation. But again... I'm not. My suggestion was made to a distressed parent of a distressed child, off the cuff, without being aware that she could do things like that... but I still can't bring myself to get all morally up in arms about standardized testing. I think the bigger issue is that kids are forced to undergo testing to begin with. But that's another story, huh? ETA: As for "it was definitely NanceXToo's comment that started all of this on the other thread" -er...started all of WHAT? It was just a causal comment there, and it's just a causal conversation here. Apparently this is an issue that gets you pretty heated/upset, but other than your strong reaction, everything was/is pretty tame, in both threads. I've given my thoughts. Yours are crystal clear. We don't have to, like, fight it out or anything, do we? lol

I decided that because the kids are part of the family, they should get part of the family income- this is their "allowance" which is not based on chores, behavior, etc., it is given it to them because they are part of the family, they should be able to have some spending money, and it is a great way to teach them "financial responsibility" etc, which I see as part of my job. (I decided on half of their age in dollars, by the way, in regard to amount). Chores are an entirely separate matter. I agree that they should also pitch in around the house- because they live here. But regarding that, I can't be bothered with chore charts and lists and assigned things and nagging/keeping on top of whether they've done them and so on and so forth- I've found it MUCH easier to just ask for their help on an as-needed basis. So for instance if I call my 9 y/o daughter in and say "I need you to unload the silverware from the dishwasher while I unload the rest of the stuff, please," she just does it. If I say to my 4 y/o son, "Come on, let's see who can put the most blocks away the fastest," he pitches in and helps me do it. If I say to my daughter, "Come in here a minute please" (she comes in) "I need you to take out this garbage for me. ...Great, thanks. Now can you sweep while I wipe off the table and chairs?" Or, "I'm doing laundry now... I need you to go grab me any dirty clothes that are on the bathroom floor" and things of that nature...she helps me out as I need her to, and she does it then and there because that's when I'm asking (rather than your job is to always do X, Y and Z and I have to keep asking you every day/week did you do X, Y and Z yet" ...you know what I mean? I don't know, anyway, it works great for us so far. And if my daughter wants to earn EXTRA money because she's saving for something in particular, then I'll do my best to come up with ways she can do that, and it would be the kinds of things I don't typically ask her to do on a regular basis. Like maybe helping me clean out my car or doing some weeding in the yard or whatever.

Okay I don't really actually HAVE that money, but I just opened up my "quitnet" stats for the first time in a while to take a peek at what they said: Time Smoke-Free: 1987 days, 15 hours, 45 minutes and 22 seconds. Cigarettes NOT smoked: 69568 (yes you read that right!! I WOULD HAVE SMOKED OVER SIXTY NINE THOUSAND CIGARETTES by now if I hadn't quit when I did!! Yuck!) Lifetime Saved: 17 months, 21 days, 10 hours. Money Saved: $10,437.00 (what did I spend it on? I have no clue! But it wasn't cigarettes). :)

TT3 is out now, right? Maybe you could get it for her and just do her in that, and let her move along with it at her own pace, and then start her on the TT4 program that you already have whenever she finishes 3? If she doesn't hate TT, then you could probably have her get through it a little faster/work over the summer too so that eventually by say grade 5, she'll be all caught up. Just a thought. Also I know TT is expensive but it does seem to hold most of its value really well, so you could easily sell TT3 when you are done with it, and you'll already have TT4 for when she's ready for it.

I wouldn't consider that an excessive wait either, it's under a week at least. I know it's no fun waiting for things you want though.

Yes. :) (You know. Peanut butter AND jelly. Cookies AND milk. Chocolate AND vanilla. Edward AND Jacob. I want to have my cake and eat it, too)! Nance, who will be seeing Eclipse sometime soon.

hotmail, but I'm probably going to have to change that soon since my iphone won't recognize it and I can't send email from my phone if need be. My husband uses gmail and likes it so eventually I'll probably get suckered into that :)

Happy anniversary!

Let's say, hypothetically speaking, you have a child who gets easily distressed/upset/stressed out etc over standardized testing. Which of the following might apply to you if that were the case? Choice 1: I would help my kid through the testing a little bit if need be, even though it's 'against the rules,' because I don't like/agree with standardized testing anyhow and I don't want my child stressed out over it. As in doing things along the lines of: Not enforcing a strict time limit even when I'm supposed to. Explaining a problem better if your child doesn't understand what is meant just by reading the problem. Reminding your child that s/he does know how to do that particular problem, i.e., "remember, you're supposed to do X to figure out that problem," testing the child myself even if another adult was supposed to do it, if my doing it made my child more comfortable. Etc. Choice 2: Heck, I'd do it for them/tell them the answers, because I dislike/disagree with standardized testing that much. Why should I put them through such stress for something so ridiculous. Who's gonna know anyway? Choice 3: I would not do anything to bend the rules. (It's a given that you'd do what you could to help your child get through testing with as little stress as possible in whatever ways you "legally" could, but not by going so far as to bend any rules). Choice 4: Other. Explain? ...Feel free to answer anonymously, or discuss your answer. But please don't bash other people because of what they say. ---- I post this poll because the other day, someone posted a thread about how her child was really stressed out by standardized testing. I commented that no-one would even know if she were to "help her daughter out" with it, especially since she wasn't even required to turn the results in, and since I don't like/agree with standardized testing anyhow. I was thinking along the lines of "Choice 1." Which I admit I wouldn't be totally above. Hypothetically. :D A couple of people seemed put off by my response. That's fine. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, and we'll all do what we think is best for our children in the end. In actuality, it doesn't even apply to me because I gave my daughter the CAT from Seton at the end of last year (not a required year for us, I did it just to see how it would go since NEXT year is a required year, but I kept it very casual and asked her if she WANTED to take it and told her it was really just for fun, and she was fine with that and thought the test WAS fun for the most part.) So in our case, she doesn't mind taking the test and doesn't get all upset or stressed out by it. But I'm just curious what peoples' line of thinking would be if they did have a child who really didn't handle standardized testing well. Again, feel free to disagree with how someone else might handle things, but please don't get ridiculously judgmental in your responses. This is just for curiosity's sake. :)

My 9 y/o likes to borrow various kid's exercise and dance videos from our library and do those on her own. Sometimes we put on one of my exercise videos and she does it with us. I organized a "spring walking club" for our homeschool group and each week we'd meet at a different walking path or trail or location and we'd all walk around- sometimes the kids would bring their bikes or scooters along. We'd go to playgrounds, sometimes we'd go to indoor playplaces where the kids can climb and slide and jump and whatnot. We joined a homeschool bowling league over the spring/summer. She does swimming lessons in the summer. Other than that, it's mostly the standard play/run/ride your bike outside kind of thing.

Like others said, I have a printer/scanner/copier combo. It's great! I don't use the photocopying all THAT often (as in I wouldn't pay separately for some big copy machine) but I do use it enough that I'm glad I have that sort of printer combo- I use it when I want to copy the maps and stuff out of the SOTW activity book, for example, instead of using the workbook itself (so I can reuse it with my son, too). I use it when I want to give copies instead of originals to my school district at the end of the year. That kind of thing.

Well, you don't really need a "program"- but how about you choose spelling words, either based on an age appropriate "list" that you could find for free online by looking up "____ grade spelling words," or else just taking words from their reading material, or that you notice them spelling wrong, and use those as their spelling words. Then take maybe 10 of them a week, and find fun, creative ways for them to review them a few times a week. Some of my daughter's favorite ways from this past year (age 9, 4th grade) were the following (which I got from our Oak Meadow curriculum, which I adore!)... 1. Let them create a small town "map" and name the buildings and streets after their spelling words. 2. Let them make a "wind sock" (you could just use crepe paper streamers and a paper plate) and write one spelling word on each streamer. 3. Let them write their spelling words with the first letter as big bubble letters and then color/decorate them however they want. 4. Toss a ball back and forth to each other chanting the letters of the spelling words as you go. 5. If they don't mind the "write each word 3X" thing or whatever, let them use crayons or colored pencils- or chalk on the sidewalk outside. Or fingerpaint. Or bathtub crayons. Or whatever they find fun/tolerable. Stuff like that. Way more fun than workbooks and programs and whatnot :)

I'm going to have to go with No. 4! The smell will likely be way too strong and really bother some people, probably more than the bugs would!

I spent an average of 3 hours a day on schoolwork with my fourth grader. You don't have to do that much with a 5/6 y/o. Maybe you can cut back a bit on amount of time spent per subject, or drop a subject or two. A 3 y/o does not need any sort of formal preschool curriculum whatsoever. You could hold off for a year or two and just keep things very informal/casual play-based for now. Your house does not have to be perfect, so only do the really necessary chores. Toys? Put them away once a day, at the end of the day, and let the kids help you. Make it a game, who can put the most toys in the toybox the fastest or whatever. Starting school around 10 AM is fine. No worries. I did that on a pretty regular basis all year last year :) Keep lunches simple. Can you enlist your husband's help on certain errands/chores? Read books at bedtime. Or put on an audiobook for the kids to listen to while you are doing laundry/making dinner/otherwise busy. You start to fall into a natural rhythm and it all works out, as long as you don't feel like you have to be supermom. Hang in there. :)

Six Feet Under, or Prison Break! :)

It varies. My daughter (age 9) goes to Girl Scouts over the school year, once a week, 5 minutes from home. She goes to 4H Wildnerness Club which is once or twice a month but we're kind of sporadic about when we show up as it's a little further away for us. She did a homeschool bowling league but it was only for like 10 weeks or something like that, over the winter/spring (my younger son did it too). She sometimes went to Lowe's Build & Grow clinics, but my husband would be the one to take her to those, usually maybe once a month or so on average. Now that it's summer, there's no more Girl Scouts. We decided to wait til fall to go back to 4H. Bowling league is over. So she has no activities she goes to on a very regular basis, but she will be going to a two week art camp (as will my son), she will be taking swimming lessons (two weeks) (as will my son), she will be going to a free reading program at the library, when I feel like going, as will my son. So it seems like a lot but they're not all every week and they're not all at the same time. You don't need to stress yourself out- pick one or two with your child and see how it goes!

ha! Yeah, they need to add a "who" in there!

My 9 year old daughter has one. She saved almost half of the money for it herself by doing chores, saving allowance, having a lemonade stand, and then we paid for the rest of it for her third grade 'graduation' present at the end of the 2008/2009 school year. There are times where she plays it a lot, when she gets really into a new game. (Some of which are pretty educational, by the way!) There are also times where she barely touches it. I have not found that it has "stifled her creativity" or anything like that. She's always more interested in playing outside with friends and doing fun, creative things, but when she's not busy with other things, she likes to play her DS. Her little brother sometimes likes to play it, too. And it's come in VERY handy on long car trips when the kids need something to do other than whining about how bored they are or asking if we're there yet. :)

You know, I have no idea. I'd have to taste it first lol. It sounds intriguing even though I'm not in love with apricots to begin with, but I just can't really imagine how it would taste when all was said and done.

Maybe she could do some volunteer work? At an animal shelter, an old age home, a soup kitchen, or something like that. Maybe she could look for a babysitting job or some such. Is there any sort of class she's been wanting to take but never had time for? Music lessons, karate lessons, a cooking class, something like that? Our local "Council for the Arts" does art classes... I know you said she's not into crafts, but they offer all sorts of neat classes- pottery, "art to eat," drawing and painting, theater and drama, and so on. My local library usually has teen programs and summer reading programs and stuff like that. She could write a novel :) Or start a blog. Or make a video journal. Or practice her photograph and make "day in the life of" photo journals. Many movie theaters have free summer movies. Many bowling alleys have cheap summer bowling. She could compare books and movies by renting the movie and borrowing the book from the library. Maybe she could get a penpal to correspond with.

Wow, congrats! My husband and I just had our 10th wedding anniversary. Would you believe that BOTH of us totally forgot about it? haha. Well, we had planned a summer vacation (which we just got back from) in advance for our anniversary, which we left for several days after our anniversary... it was on the first day of our vacation that we realized that the actual anniversary itself had slipped by like four days before and neither of us had even thought about it.

Very nice! It's shaping up nicely (love the bookshelf idea!)

Nonsense! Your baby gets everything s/he needs from your breastmilk. Sadly, many pediatricians are just not very informed when it comes to breastfeeding.

I'd ask her if she would be okay with smoking outside only during our stay there so that the baby wasn't staying in a house where someone was actively smoking while we were visiting. If they aren't okay with that, I wouldn't spend much time at their house.