This sounds a lot like my dd, esp the tying and costume parts. She doesn't mean to destructive, but it is usually. She's grown out of it some though. They will mature, but I like all these ideas of gentle guidance.:lurk5:

You don't really mention how conservative you are in your movie choices normally, or how sensitive your dc is. I liked Madagascar 2, but there was potty humor in it and some sexual inuendo that the kids didn't pick up on. I'd say no to Journey to the center of the Earth b/c of some scary scenes. Kit was good, but there is some social commentary about "hobos" and social classes, also some drinking and talk of losing their home. A little serious but my older dd (8) LOVED it. Can't miss with a Veggie Tales! Bee Movie too, I thought was cute and funny. Just saw Hotel for Dogs and the kids are doing illegal things, but supposedly they are driven to it by bad treatment, so no real lesson there. The dogs are cute but it's more for slightly older IMO. We all loved Kung Fu Panda! Some potty humor and violence though. You can read on www.pluggedinonline.com for more indepth reviews specific to Christian content if that's your concern. HTH!

We're moving in to Preparing for dd (9) for 4th and LHTH for ds (4) for pre-k. I LOVE HoD and feel so grateful to have found it! I'm not going to schedule things in that way, but I am going to a workbox system and will schedule her assignments that go into the workboxes. Then ds will work with me while she works independently.

So funny that you would mention this! A good friend's husband took off this morning for The Big Texan with his best friend to celebrate their birthdays. We could watch them on the webcam this evening try to eat 72 oz of steak. He made it to 53oz. Don't know if he kept it all down though! And I agree with the prev posters that it's all in what you make it. If this job could be a terrific stepping stone for your dh, then what's the harm in trying it for a while. Your kids could truly love it!

I didn't know there were Fiesta fans around these here parts! My dh's grandmother had some original pieces that got me started collecting when it all was coming out reproduction, what, 10 years ago? 15? Anyhoo, I have a ton of it. Actually I got a little tired of the rainbow and it's all in a closet with the thought that I'd sell it on Craigslist or something. Mostly I had my old kitchen very 30's-40's with vintage fabric and my teapot collection. It was really cute! But this house has the kitchen completely open to the family room and even to the formal living room and dining room, so with those colors being darker and modern/Italianate the rainbow of cute Fiesta didn't work. I'm not sure I can part with it though!

My dd was wet at night until age 7. Never a single dry night and very soaked. I decided that it was not a discipline issue, but was definitely something she wanted help getting control of. So I did get her an alarm. They work on a Pavlovian level. Wetness hits it and the alarm goes off, startling the child who then stops the flow of urine. Now the child can tell they have to go, and gets up to go. My dd was such a deep sleeper that we decided i should sleep upstairs near her so that I could get up at night and help her make it to the bathroom. She was trained in a few weeks and has only had a few accidents at night since. We still watch for keeping her fluid intake pretty low in the evenings. As for daytime, that seems to be more of a discipline thing. I had a friend that got her daughter those plastic diaper cover panties and had her dd wear them over her undies. Then when she'd have an accident she wouldn't get it all over the place but it was definitely uncomfortable for her. She was trained pretty quick after that. :grouphug:

:lurk5: We've caught a few episodes of the TV show and i thought the girls were mean and snarky. Are the books like this?

Why...oh, why...did I open this thread? Roaches are my terror. It's one of those unexplainable, no-logic kind of phobias. We used to have HUGE ones in this little house we rented and when I complained to the landlord he said "Aw! C'mon! They're just water bugs!" We broke our lease and moved out. Seriously, remember the mask or helmet or whatever it was in Orwell's 1984 that had the rats? For me the terror would be filled with roaches. And now the image of the chickens in Mexico. Oh. no. :ack2::leaving: We have them sometimes in this house and they are not in the house as much as the trees and foliage. Horrible.

My momma's heart hurts sometimes too. My dd is a drama queen - over-sensitive, overly happy or sad, loud, controlling, quirky, etc. And this personality is very different from mine, so often I don't "get" her. It's when I see others not like her for this behavior that it hurts me. But I don't wish for the previously-mentioned public school conformity machine to take it all out of her either. Just feelin' your pain!:grouphug:

Ford Flex? Dodge Journey? I would really urge you to show your husband the math regarding buying newer used vs brand new. Seriously, you could walk away with WAY more car than what you have been looking at. Not trying to insult you, I know you know this, but seeing the numbers in black and white I just don't know how anyone buys a new car anymore. When you've visited the lots, why aren't these guys begging you to buy from them? They should be throwing ever incentive they have at you! With car companies going out of business every week, they should be on their knees!

I've seen this wall hanging online too, at Mardel.com. But I really need to get out and see it in person to see how much each pocket could hold. My thickest book is probably our R&S English. And I was thinking that you could make a laminated card for items that won't fit and the child could pull those from the shelf. Like a cake mix, or board game, or craft project. Someone please chime in to tell me if you've seen them in person. Otherwise I will have to FORCE myself to visit Mardel tomorrow! :tongue_smilie: Hmmmm... wonder if *someone* were to offer this for sale and would custom embroider your child's name on it. And you could choose the fabric.... I might buy that!

:iagree:I couldn't agree with this quote more. After our 15yo Golden Ret. died, we waited about 18 months and I knew I was ready for another dog, but it had to be a rescue. I couldn't stomach supporting some puppy mill when there are SO MANY great dogs at shelters. We looked online at petfinder.com for matches in our area and decided on 2 or 3 we wanted to meet at the shelter. We had already read some really good books, Cesar Milan's Dog Whisperer book which is part biography and part animal behavior theory, and also an excellent book by Sue Sternberg called Successful Dog Adoption. We felt like we knew just what to look for and do when chosing a dog. Our adoptee is actually part Border Collie! She's black/tan, and she's taller than most, so we don't really know what the other part is. She is the sweetest, most gentle, well-behaved dog I've ever owned. A loving and sweet spirit is what we saw and got. She was also 2 years old, so past all the puppy training. She came with well documented behavior analysis, we knew she was potty trained and good with kids. The whole thing. It was/is a great experience. I would encourage you to consider a rescue again, maybe from a group that can analyze the dog's behavior better. There are SO many wonderful dogs that need good homes!

Our plan for 4th grade for DD (9 in July) HoD Preparing Hearts R&S 4 Singapore 3A&B, w/ CWP (and maybe Life of Fred fractions?) Queen's Pictures in Cursive DITHOR Nature study Spanish: Risas y Sonrisas and various resources Composer study w/Classics for Kids Extra curric: Keyboarding, sewing, cooking, swimming Co-op one day academy for art, music, PE, Spanish and time away from mom and little brother!

Do you find it to specifically say "decaf"? I never find that. I LOVE Crystal Lite Peach Iced Tea. I also love Iced Coffee in the summer. I just pour my leftover morning coffee from the pot into a pitcher to chill and later add a little milk and Splenda and even a little vanilla. Mmmmmmm.....

Sysco Foods has them but doesn't sell to the public. If you have a friend in the restaurant business they could score them for you. What about the Container Store? Do you have one near you?

If only I could paint my tile, then the grout would be fine. :glare: WHITE (not almond, not cream, WHITE) with dark grey grout. :ack2:

On a recent girl scout camping trip we made foil hobo packs with pre-cooked and diced chicken or beef, veggies, and precooked potato. Didn't have to cook them long. We forgot the BBQ sauce, but a little of that would have made them more moist. Still very good! But I LOVE the idea of the "walkin' tacos"!! Especially for a bunch of kids. I am SO doing that next time!!:D

Wow, what a lovely post. I am going to copy it, if you don't mind, so that I can later find these words to maybe help me explain it to others. Very eloquently put, thank you.:)

I just want to encourage you too. I am brand new to homeschooling (we just pulled out in January) and I found I needed to choose an open-and-go curriculum. There's just too much out there. this way i know I have all the bases covered and don't have to worry about planning it all. And actually I like it so much that I am continuing with it next year. you can do it!!!

Thanks Ann! That's what it looked like. I guess we need some more practice with the "how to" of the cursive letters, so I could still use these picture ones and then add some more with the Zaner Boser web link using our weekly scripture or something. Sounds good!

:iagree:This is an AWESOME book! Really gives you the science about sleep.

I had one of those preemies too! Mine was 11 weeks early, 2.3lbs and in the NICU for 7 weeks. Yep, you'll get a whopper of a bill, but that precious baby...oh the joy of watching her grow! Bless your heart! No suggestions for school, just wanted to congratulate and encourage you. Those tiny ones are kind of scary but like a pp said, she'll be fat and happy in no time!:D :grouphug:

Mmmmmmmm...bet you could add some pineapple to this too. :tongue_smilie:

Our dd was in an in-home daycare for 2 days a week when she was little. Nice family. The dad tried and tried to become a cop and finally did for a smaller suburban town near us. Last year we saw him on the news being arrested for something similar. We had lost touch with the family, but apparently he had become one of those campus police at the local high school, had an office there. Anyways, he was caught after luring a 16 year old girl into his office and coercing her into taking her clothes off so he could take pictures of her. And apparently this wasn't the only incident. At the time his wife still had the in-home daycare and they had 3 small children. Freaked me out. But I could console myself slightly that it was a 16 year old (who looked like she was 25). But still. We are convinced nothing happened to our daughter, but in some ways we'll never know. I hope no one ever calls me"over-cautious" or "over-protective" again!

How dumb am I that I would have never even thought of that! :blink: :grouphug: Sorry Tracey.