All are good points and I've taken them all to heart. I just wanted to clarify that this was a local homeschool group mailing, not Craigslist or in a different time zone. Regardless, I have learned my lesson and will be more specific in future responses (and less snarky in my follow up :tongue_smilie:). To the PP who said she would have at least waited a few hours, I guess that's what I was hoping for. Ah, live and learn...

Thanks, y'all. One of these days ill learn to use a filter before I hit send. I already sent the apology, and have learned to be more specific in my interest emails.

I'm typing this on my phone, so forgive any goofs. Someone in our local homeschool group posted some items for sale last night right before I went to bed. I replied asking if something was still avail bc I wasn't sure how long her email had been out there then I went to bed. This morning (about 6:30) I saw an email from her that it was (she had replied last night, but I missed it because I was sleeping), and so I replied great! I'll take it. She replied this morning (i read it around 9:30) that when she didn't hear from me last night, and since I was only asking if it were avail, she sold it to the next person and it has already been picked up. My response was this: Oh, well, I thought it was implied that by *asking if it was available, then I was interested in purchasing it. *I didn't get your response until this morning since I go to bed by 10:00. *Next time, you might consider verifying before promising it to someone else. Thanks, anyway, So, I ask the hive (because now that I sent the email and can't take it back, I have second thoughts), was I out of line?? Should I send another apologizing?

:iagree: Incredible advice here!! I'd just like to add (it was something I hadn't thought of before) that I had to spend the night in the hospital before they would release ds so they could observe and make sure he would eat enough. It wasn't very restful for me, and it was frustrating, but I was determined to breastfeed him. Apparently, it worked because after a few weeks at home with just me, he refused to take a bottle again.

:iagree:

:lol::lol::lol: There aren't enough emoticons for how much I laughed at this!! Now, off to read more...

My ds was 6 weeks early and in the hospital for 25 days. My husband is military, so he was gone a good bit of this time and I had my dd to look after. The blessings for me were people who brought meals, and friends who would take dd so I could visit the hospital. Once ds came home, the meals and help with dd continued, which was great because I was so sleep deprived those first few weeks (he was still on a 3 hr eating schedule whe he came home). There was a couple of forums I visited, like this one - one in particular, but wow, I haven't been on those in so long, I'm not sure I could find them. They were great for knowing I wasn't the only one, kwim?, but sometimes they got really depressing simply because of the nature of preemies. Everyone was incredibly supportive and had tons of advice and it was a safe place to let go and vent and share. I wonder if I could still find it and if I'm still a member. I think it's a private forum, too. I'll see if I can find it and message it to you.

Duct tape and Velcro should be in every house. :grouphug: I feel your pain and I only have two kids. My dh only helps when he feels the work isn't getting done, and then he gripes about it. He had that "traditional" upbringing, though, that certain jobs are the husband's and certain jobs are the wife's. Odd thing is, I'd rather be doing yard work and splitting wood than cleaning. Too bad I can't do his job and he can be the stay-at-home parent. :tongue_smilie:

Ok, how do you *know* if you have ADD? I joke about having it, but often times, the more I think about it - or the more I read people's comments here who refer to having ADD - I think maybe I do have it. I'm scatterbrained, I forget things easily, I have to stay busy, I bounce from task to task when trying to clean house and often don't finish one thing because something else caught my attention. I fluctuate between being organized and sloppy and the clutter in my kids' rooms and th school room makes me crazy. If I don't make a to-do list, or keep a planner, I'd be lost. Even in conversations, I'll lose my train of thought even in the middle of a sentence. Now, I do realize that a lot of this would be considered normal for a busy person, or a mom (friends and I all claim that when we birthed our children, our brains left with them), so that's where my question comes in. How do you know and if you have ADD, how do you help yourself succeed?

:party: Yay! Congrats on being a finalist, Logan!

I did this better last year when I had everything on the computer. I would fill out the planner then just print two copies. I would do several weeks at a time, so I don't know how long it would take to just plan it weekly. This year, I'm doing good to just write down what we've done each week on blank planner sheets. :tongue_smilie:

I love Dexter; in fact, I'm going through withdrawal waiting for the next season. Michael C. Hall is nice to look at, too. Hmmmm, I wonder what he would look like in a kilt? But I digress... I'm glad to know the books are different. I may have to check them out.

My dd was in PS for KG and 1st, and at both orientations, they said that homework should take only 10 minutes per grade level. She didn't have any for KG, if I recall, and the teacher tried to keep 1st at around 10 minutes worth of work. In theory, 2nd grade should only take 20 min, 3rd - 30 and so on, but that's not the trend I see with my friends' children.

:iagree: Yep, this is totally true. Several times when our puppy was little, you'd hear him whine right after messing the crate, though. Or whine when they thought you were awake. Or whine when they were lonely. Honestly, puppies are cute for a reason; I think it saved his life a few times at 3am.

I think needing the alarm depends entirely on how heavy you sleep. Chances are, the pup is going to make so much noise in the crate the first few nights, you might not get to sleep at all. If you are a heavy sleeper, or use some kind of white noise, you might need an alarm (or if you keep the crate in a room farther from the bedroom). Our two dogs are around three years old and we have only just recently started leaving them loose in the house instead of crating them while we're gone, and only if it's less than a couple of hours. At night, they're with us now, instead of the crate. We have one that liked to chew things and the other took for.ev.er. to housebreak. I just didn't trust either to not get in trouble while gone. The dogs will, generally, learn that the crate is their "safe place" and not give you a hard time about staying in there. It may take some time, but as long as you don't use the crate as punishment, it'll work out.

There's also a really good Discovery Museum in Chattanooga and a riverfront area that's supposed to be really nice. I'd love to know about any homeschool stores, too, though!

interesting.... And I didn't know you could earn a car with Tupperware. :001_huh: I wonder if it burps when you close the door....:tongue_smilie:

Ok, so I haven't posted 436 previous random questions, but I'm sure I've had at least that many pop up in my head in the last month, or so. If a Mary Kay consultant earns her pink caddie, then decides after a few years to stop selling, does she have to give up the car? What if she's still a consultant, but after a few years she decides she wants a new car? Does she get a new pink one or can she trade in the first MK car to any random car dealer or does it have to go back to the MK company? These questions popped up in my head because there's a lady who lives not far from me driving a MK pink Escalade. She must be doing well in her MK business.

:lol::lol: I was thinking "unorganized" would be my label, but in this case, I'd also say eclectic with classical leanings.

So, when you do this, are you parking at the convention center or the hotel? I don't recall seeing any passes or anything for the hotel where we stayed last year.

Here's something to think about and it's a perspective I heard from Dave Ramsey (he had a caller with similar questions) but I also have 4 years experience from direct selling, and I completely agree with what DR had to say. The real money to be had from direct sales isn't from selling the product; it's from recruiting others onto your team. I always felt weird trying to recruit people. It felt pushy to me, but there are people out there who recruit without making it feel pushy. I got good at selling my product and was able to make a decent amount of "pocket change" but recruiting wasn't my thing so I had to work harder to make more money selling. DR said that when you're in the DS business, you're actually in the people business, selling the JOB and not the product. I think you should ask yourself are you ready to sell the opportunity, not the product.

$5 is certainly much cheaper than paying the valet fee at the nearby hotels. Good to know! Shannon

Last year, a friend and I stayed at the Millennium but this year, I think it'll just be me and the kids, and I'm trying to figure out my best hotel options. Did anyone stay on the KY side and drive in to the center (or from anywhere else, for that matter)? What was parking like if you weren't staying nearby?

I feel bad because my cricut has been collecting dust for years but when I was actually scrapbooking a lot, I loved having it. Maybe this summer I'll have some time to get it out and actually use it.

Facebook. Which means I'll probably spend more time on twitter and the boards, so I'm not sure it'll be quite the sacrifice it's supposed to be :tongue_smilie: