Here the cut off date is August 31, but some school districts are flexible and if there is seat space they will let a child with a birthday between September 1 and December 31 have the seat. My older kids have October birthdays. My daughter is a nine year old fourth grader, she will turn ten part way into her fifth grade year. My son is a seven year old second grader, he will turn eight part way into his third grade year. Both would be the youngest in their grade if we had gotten them in. Both were the youngest in their Sunday School classes. Both are the youngest in their scout groups. My youngest has a May birthday. He should be in the middle for age/grade issues. So far he isn't grouped by age so it hasn't been important.

Hi I just wanted to update on what is going on with me. After dealing with the insurance company on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, they finally agreed to pay for the D and E procedure. On Thursday and Friday, I had the procedure. My Dad watched the kids on Thursday and a friend watched them on Friday. The physical symptoms are mostly over. The only remaining reminders are the bruises from the IV. It took three tries. My head is still kind of a mess. I have been being "aggressively normal", as my husband says. I have been pulling weeds in the back yard. I have been cleaning the house. I have been trying to go on with life. Thank you for all the kind thoughts and prayers and all. I appreciate all of them.

My guys were supposed to go. Kaz's company had all sorts of cool stuff planned. And they were willing to have all three kids go, including the three year old. Unfortunately that plan went out the window Monday afternoon. Maybe next year.

When my kids were that age we worked on their name, address and phone number. It is one of those things that is important but I tend to forget to include.

Thank you for all the prayers and good thoughts and hugs and everything. I am still very numb to the reality of what is happening. It isn't real. It didn't happen again. Except it did. My older kids were upset yesterday. My daughter cried. My son was very angry. He said it wasn't fair. I agree with him. My little guy doesn't understand any of it. He took a nap. My husband is home. He isn't letting me far out of sight at the moment. Good thing his job allows for flex time. Right now, I am waiting. Waiting for the OB to call the insurance company to get the authorization to go to a place not on their list. Waiting for things to happen. And they will just not on the time line I would like. So I wait. And wait and wait. Just waiting.

I went back for my AFP retest this afternoon and my OB tried to find a heart beat. It didn't work. The ultrasound at his office confirmed that Blinky had died. I am currently dealing with trying to get the insurance to cover the D and E procedure. My husband changed jobs in January, so this is a new company and a new battle. I have not really slowed down enough to digest what is happening. I expect that will happen sometime in the next few weeks. Thank you for all the prayers. I am sure they will help. Tomorrow.

I think I would go for k12 as an independent buyer for my son (ds7). That way I could customize the math to his level, the language to his level and the science/history to his level (those would all be different levels). Then I would do University of Missouri distance classes for my daughter (dd9). And finally I would get a really fun prek/k program for my little son (ds almost4). I don't know which but he would have one.

Thank you for the good thoughts and good stories. I have had an ultrasound, actually two of them. The first at 8 weeks, to confirm the pregnancy and because I was nervous. My OB did this one in his office. It gave a due date of Oct 5. The second was at 12 weeks, a nuchal translucency test. It was done by an ultrasound tech in a lab. The due date from that test was Sept 28. Going by my last period, the date would be Sept 28. So the OB and I decided to go with the Sept 28 date. It is not possible that the date could be any earlier. It isn't multiples. Or at least one kid would have to be hiding from two different ultrasounds and have gotten past blood work too. Or I suppose twins could explain the week difference in dates... He is going to redo the blood work and perhaps some others on Monday. I will get a chance to find out what the best guess issue is then. I already have an ultrasound scheduled for May 5, so either I will keep that one or if he decides I need one sooner then I suppose I get one sooner. Thank you for the good stories about high AFP results. I will keep thinking about them.

I got the results of the AFP test back today. They are high. My doctor wants to redo them. So I am going back on Monday to redo the blood work and hear a heart beat. I don't know if this means Blinky is in trouble or if it is just a fluke. I don't know what to think. I don't know what to do. In all of the kids, even including Sprog and Mouse, we never had high AFP results. And all of them had AFP tests too. Positive thoughts appreciated. This mommy is over the top stressed. If you are inclined send positive thoughts around 1:00 Monday afternoon. Just so that the heart beat is still there, then for the AFP retest too.

Stand in a doorway or get under a sturdy table. Stay away from anything that might fall on you (pictures on the walls, big screen tvs, bookshelves, etc). When you open cabinets after the quake, open them carefully the stuff inside may have shifted and then fall out. And try not to panic, even very long earthquakes don't last more than 45-60 seconds. Most are much shorter. The biggest danger is from things falling on you not from buildings collapsing. I grew up in So. Cal. earthquakes are a way of life there.

I think he would say that you have major storm clouds in your future and you should save all you can. Paying minimums on anything you can while actively job hunting. I don't think he would suggest pulling from the 401k and I don't think he would say pay off the debt either. You may need that money to live on if the job is lost. So just hold on tight and do the best you can until the job future looks better and the baby is here. Good luck. Money issues are always hard

My son wasn't in kindergarten but he was a young six. He had no issues with writing in cursive. He enjoyed the lessons as much as he would have enjoyed any other work at that age. It was easily six months before he was close to fluent in writing the letters and still occasionally (at 7.5 ) has trouble remembering how to form the less common letters, like q and z. For us it has been very smooth, but the reason he is doing cursive is because he was reversing his letters in print and frustrated. It did solve that problem. However, in group situations, he sticks out because most of the boys print and can't read his writing. So it does create a few problems too. Good luck

Thanks, ladies. You are a great cheering section and support group! Now we are going to wait until May and get new pictures then.

Kid #1 1. Age of child 9 2. Grade (K-12) 4 3. How many hours does the child spend on school work each day, on average? (don't count lunch or play time) 2 4. What time does the child start and end school each day, usually? 9:00-11:00 5. How many hours does the child spend on math each day? 30 minutes 6. How many subjects is the child studying? (Count subjects that require at least 1/2 hour per day on average) 3 7. On a scale from 1-10 (with 1 being the lowest) how focused is the child during school time? 7 8. On a scale from 1-10 (with 1 being the lowest) how comfortable (quiet, well-lit, sufficient space, etc.) is the child's study space? 7 Kid #2 1. Age of child 7 2. Grade (K-12) 2 3. How many hours does the child spend on school work each day, on average? (don't count lunch or play time) 2 4. What time does the child start and end school each day, usually? 9:00-11:00 5. How many hours does the child spend on math each day? 30 minutes 6. How many subjects is the child studying? (Count subjects that require at least 1/2 hour per day on average) 3 7. On a scale from 1-10 (with 1 being the lowest) how focused is the child during school time? 7 8. On a scale from 1-10 (with 1 being the lowest) how comfortable (quiet, well-lit, sufficient space, etc.) is the child's study space? 7

Blinky is fine!!! This morning I had my 16 week OB visit and Blinky was fine. I heard a heart beat and all is well. I have an ultrasound scheduled for May 6 (19 weeks) to check out all the parts and another OB visit the following week. Thank you for the support and prayers. Blinky and I are doing well today! Hooray!

We say "nim".

There is no way to know how long the process could take. It could be a very rough few hours or it could be weeks. If she wants to wait then it is very safe to. If she wants to get the D & C then that too is very safe. I personally could not handle the waiting and opted for the intervention, but that is me. My doctor had no opinion on which was better. He said it was personal. I am so sorry for her.

Regulation wise AZ is very easy. You fill out one form (per child) that has things like birthdate and address, no curriculum or stuff like that. You mail it in with either the original birth certificate (Maricopa county) or a copy (most everywhere else). And then you are done, forever. Unless you move... then you need to fill out the form and mail it in again. There are lots of homeschoolers in AZ. It seems that most are religious of some sort so there are many many groups. The whole area shuts down in the summer. It is too hot to do anything outside. So summer is a hard time to meet people, but after the heat breaks in the fall it is wonderful. Arizona is a great place to be. Except when it is 110!

5 feet 2 inches (no half)

We used Computer Games. Things like Mickey Mouse Preschool and Jumpstart Toddler. It isn't ideal but it did get the job done. My kids were not willing to watch tv, they wanted someone (or something) to interact with them so the computer fit the description.

You are trying to keep him busy *all day long*???? With 3 other younger kids in the house???? I am amazed that you have any sanity left at all. I don't know what to tell you. I can't keep my kids busy like that. They would love it if I did, but it just isn't possible for me to do. I would be dealing with burnout in the extreme. Have you thought about getting him involved in some sort of music class or an art class or chess or something, anything that he can do and practice for as long as he wants? My oldest (dd 9) reads books, draws pictures or practices recorder to fill the time when I am unavailable. My middle (ds 7) sometimes reads, sometimes works on his piano, sometimes plays legos or knex. My little guy (ds will be 4 next month) plays legos and knex and tries to get one of the older kids to play with him. All of them have learned how to entertain themselves and find something to do that doesn't require my attention. I wish you the best of luck.

Are you looking for the kind that uses charcoal or the kind that uses propane? We love our Weber, it is a charcoal grill and was very inexpensive. I don't know anything about the propane ones, they were out of our price range.

Teach him where his is now. Worry about when he is six, when he is six. Really. There is plenty to learn and explore. The very last thing you want to teach him is that Mommy refuses to help him learn new things. So learn about whatever is his thing at the moment...trains, dinosaurs, the periodic table, whatever. Feed his need to know. Really. Good luck!

If the triangles are similar then the sides of the triangles are related to each other as ratios. You know the angles are the same because they are similar, now you set up the equation and solve. In your example: Triangle A Side 1/ Triangle A Side 2 = Triangle B Side 1/Triangle B side 2 4/6 = 8/x (The side that is 4 units corresponds to the side that is 8 units. The side that is 6 units corresponds to the side that is x units.) Then you solve for x. Cross Multiply and get 4(x) = 6(8) 4x = 48 divide both sides by 4 and get x=12 Now you know the missing length is 12, which makes sense because all the sides in Triangle B are twice as long as the sides in Triangle A.

Costco store brand clear. It works and it pretty inexpensive.