Oh yeah! That Terro stuff is great! The ants seem to love it! We live in old Base housing in Hawaii, so I have a feeling our walls are basically one giant ant hill (something I try not to dwell on). So Terro is my best friend!

I know that w/ our local warehouse sale they are still getting deliveries even during the sale (granted, that was the fall sale). That meant that even later on during the sale, the warehouse was re-stocking. (Great selection, but BAD for my wallet:tongue_smilie:)

I am so sorry to hear that! Here is an "argh!" of frustration on your behalf! ARGH!!!

Would she perhaps be interested in a dance class or some other physical activity that is not a "sport"? (Perhaps you could both take a class?) I kiddingly call my dd "Endorphin Queen" because if she goes more than a couple days w/out some sort of real physical activity she gets moody and sad. As soon as she goes to dance class or riding, she is right as rain! I've cautioned her to remember to exercise even when she is someday away from home because it seems to be essential for her emotional well-being.

I really like Envirosax. They definitely, cost more, but I find I use them a lot more than I would the bulkier bags that most grocery stores offer. I can fit the pouch, with 5 Envirosax in it, into my purse. I keep the pouch of sax in the console of my car, so they are always with me! DDs have the job of re-rolling the bags and putting them back in the pouch after each shopping trip. It doesn't hurt that they are really nice looking! I even took one on a trip to Japan to use for toting stuff around and got lots of compliments on it! http://www.envirosax.com/

We live near the ocean, and my windows are covered w/ salt spray and dirt from the winds. I can clean the ones w/out screens okay, but the screens on these windows (a base house) seem like the kind that will break/bend if I try to remove them. Any suggestions on how I can clean the outside of the windows through the screens? Thanks:001_unsure:

If you can do it without waking her up, take a picture. I love pictures of my kids sleeping, especially if they've zonked-out in the car or on the living-room floor! They seem so sweet and the world is so full of possibilities for them! Those photos are treasures for me!

When working w/ tests and younger kids I've always referred to the tests as "Show What You Know"s. It's a chance to show off what they can do! Remind her of all the great things you've done this year and here's her chance to show what she knows. If there are things she doesn't know, that's just a way for you to know what you need to work on next year! (Or later). I just let them know that they are helping me make my plans by showing me what they already know.

I second McGraw-Hill. It works very well for dd9 (she started using it in 2nd grade). It has enough pictures to help, but not be overly distracting. The definitions cover most common usages. Most of all, I like the clear set-up w/ the alphabet on the edge of the pages, and first/last word at the top of every page. This makes teaching dictionary skills much easier.

I second the pp for Costco's Kirkland Stainless cookware. I got mine for Christmas and I love it! It is very easy to clean up, especially if you just throw some water in it after you serve the food and let it sit while you're eating... any stuck-on stuff comes right out!

Why not make your own bagels? I did when we lived in Japan and I had a craving for bagels! They aren't hard to make. I'd gotten the recipe from a bread machine cookbook.

For erasing we use either an old washcloth, or used dryer-sheets... One of my dds classroom teachers used them for the kids' boards in the classroom. I haven't noticed any problems w/ them, but I do, occasionally run a wet cloth, or some rubbing alcohol over the board.

Just find every flyer, print-out, website, etc. that you can find regarding Manners, Building Self-Esteem, Team-building, character building, etc... and spam the daylights out of her via both email and snail mail! Make it a learning experience for your kids. Sad fact is there are people like this in the world. Point out that these are sad, insecure people, who need our prayers and pity. (And then perhaps thank the Mom for giving you this teaching opportunity?:D) ***some of the above ideas are just vengeful daydreaming and should be ignored***

I would write an economics curriculum that had separate levels for 1-3rd, 4-8th, and 9-12th. It would cover all types of finances from International down to personal, with as much attention paid as possible to debt-proofing children to protect their futures. A friend of mine does an econ. co-op class for middle school that involves savings/investing... I want to add a debt-proofing aspect to it.

I just got ours done. I was very leary of doing them this year because we'd had changes for deductions, but I'd never gotten around to changing the witholding :rolleyes:. It turned out okay, but I was worried and kept putting it off.

When I start to feel dissatisfied with my life I remind myself that my worst day would be the answer to someone else's prayer. There are folks out there who wish to have kids, husband, only minor health issues, even a yard to mow or toilet fix! (Because that would mean they had a place to live). Then I try to take a nap... my cozy, warm bed seems to rebuild my spirit. I think everyone in the world deserves to sleep safely in a cozy bed!

Bowling Green State U. (Ohio) - 1 weird year Drexel Univ., Philadelphia - BS Towson Univ - MA-Teaching

We've given the kids the option of deciding to spend their $300 on something worthwhile are to keep it in savings. Surprisingly dd12, who is the most thrifty, is the one choosing to spend it... on a used saddle. We were able to get a very nice one on eBay, so I feel the money has been well-spent. The rest of the rebate will go towards our car payment. I am determined to be completely debt-free by 11/1/08.

I just have to share! There is a pregnant mare at the stable where were we take lessons. The family that owns the mare also manages the stable/instruct. They have created a call list for any of the pony club members who'd like to be notified when the mare goes into labor. Needless to say, we are on that list! The girls are so excited about the prospect of watching her foal! I've cautioned them that it might be in the middle of the night (they don't care!), and that it might happen so fast, the foal will already have been born before we get there. Can anyone think of any other pitfalls I should be ready for? PS: The girls asked DH if he'd like to join us watching... his response was that after watching both girls born via c-section, he's seen enough!

We'd all vote for shrinking the horses! We went on vacation last month and missed our horsey friends terribly! We kept commenting how it would be nice to shrink them and take them with us! (Of course we'd need to be able to make them big again, too!)

The words escape me, but the thoughts and prayers are there for you in my heart. You WILL come through this. You are not alone.

One day, the summer before my 6th birthday, when I was feeling put-upon, I decided to runaway. Now keep in mind that "running away" meant going to the gully in back of the house, probably about 150-200 yards away and this was in a small town (pop.2500) in New Jersey. I packed a bag w/ some clothes, toys, snacks. I took my pillow and a sleeping bag and a box of Cheerios (gotta have my "O's!"). Needless to say, I needed help carrying everything, so I enlisted the aid of my sister, who was 8. My dad, recognizing that I wouldn't get running away out of my system unless I gave it a try, bribed my 8 yr-old sister into sleeping outside w/ me. He pointed out that as soon as it got really dark, etc., I'd be heading for the house. Well, he was wrong! I didn't get scared a bit, but had to convince my sister to stay with me all night! Early the next morning, we woke up and decided that Cheerios just weren't enough for breakfast, so we walked downtown (about 1 mile) to go to the bakery. We must have gotten up really early, because the bakery wasn't even open, so we sat outside and waited for it to open. Meanwhile, my dad had come looking for us down in the gully. He found our abandoned campsite (sleeping bags, etc.,) but no kids. He admits that he felt some panic at the time as he walked back to the house to tell my mom that we were missing. But in the meantime, someone downtown had spotted us (2 young kids hanging around mainstreet at 6AM would catch someone's eye!) and had called my parents. (REAL small town... we couldn't get away with ANYTHING!) So my dad hopped in the car and drove down to get us. We were really disappointed he didn't buy us any doughnuts, but I guess I should count myself lucky, 'cause in his relief he didn't punish us, either. And that is the only time I ran away! Dad was right, I got it out of my system!

As a PP said, corn takes a lot out of the ground. Soybeans are used in a huge number of ways (including ethanol, I believe) and I think they have the advantage of putting nitrogen back into the soil like most legumes plants do. As for not hearing presidential candidates talking about the economy... imho this economical "reset" is a necessary evil. Our economy/spending/saving, on both the personal and national levels need some serious re-thinking. Unfortunately, no one likes to think about the nasty-tasting financial "medicine" that it's going to take to heal the economy. And candidates know that they won't get elected by telling voters that it's time to pay the piper and take that nasty medicine. So they will try to avoid saying anything more than that they will "work" to make things better. It's much easier to find a "safe" position on Iraq than to find a "safe" position on the economy (unless the candidate doesn't mind blatantly lying)

Another idea is to use Spelling Power by Beverly Adams-Gordon. This works well w/ dd12. There are tests to place student. Then each day there is a 5-minute test using list words. Student only does "work" for words that they miss... if they miss no words then they do no "work" beyond the 5 minute test for that day. Gives dd12 exposure to words she doesn't already commonly use, but doesn't waste time w/ stuff she already knows.

The suggestion about Education Works is a good one. Also, there is a Teacher's supply store up in Waipahu... nearish to that Costco. Another good resource is a store called "Ike Pono". This is the website: http://www.coursetextbooks.com/textbooks/ They carry all the textbooks for a lot of the private schools on island, including Punahou and the Priory, etc. They have just recently started to carry a lot of other school supplies, so it might be worth a try. Other than that, I go w/ media mail, Amazon, buy used (often postage-paid) or borrow from a friend. And for literature I LOVE the library system here!