My kids were both texting from my phone by 5 and their own devices by 8. I don't see it as any different than a phone conversation. They are only allowed to text people in their contacts list. It started with their dad and I, their grandparents and their aunts/uncles. I have since added a few best friends for my now 9 year old and at 11 my older daughter has a few best friends plus quite a few classmates and activity/sports teammates that she texts if she has questions about whatever thing it is she knows them from. They both know that I have the right to review text messages at any time and we have spent a lot of time working on proper texting behavior (when is appropriate, the tone to use and how to make sure you are conveying what you really mean, how important it is to never text something you wouldn't want printed on a billboard for everyone to see, etc). I would rather they learn gradually, than just jump into it as tweens/teens.

If you have not signed a contract with an agent (to represent you as the buyer), and the owners of the house have not signed a contract with an agent (to sell the house, which it sounds like they have not since the old agent wants them to sign with him), I would call the owners of the house directly. They could sell the house to you for sale by owner and eliminate all of the craziness that appears to be going on between the agents. (If either one of you does have a contract with an agent you could consider waiting for it to expire and then completing the sale as a for sale by owner thing)

In this situation, I would stop paying for the car and insurance for a period of time. During that time I would require that she take additional driver education courses (there are some great ones designed for people who are trying to get their license back or who want to reduce the points on their license). I think I would start with 90 days after which I would reintroduce the car/insurance with restrictions (only to/from work and school) and see how it went.

My grandmother volunteered at the local wic office holding babies and reading to toddlers while their moms did paperwork (apparently parents have to bring their kids over occasionally to maintain benefits). We have a number of retirees that volunteer in our high schools functional education program. They do small craft and cooking projects with the students with Down syndrome or similar disabilities.

My experience has been that if those kids wind up back in the states in a non-DoD school they are often just average or below average in the grade they have been placed in and often wind up being held back (if young) or moved into a less rigorous private school (if older) so that they don't struggle as much.

As someone who teaches in a program similar to B I would absolutely put my own child in program A.

scones? http://allrecipes.com/recipe/79470/simple-scones/

Ebay A lot of people will buy them to wear for a trip or certain event then resell.

You might be able to find intro to horses lessons on groupon or living social to try it out. I was able to find packages of either one or three intro lessons at a few different well regarded barns in our area for my kids to try (usually worked out to around $20 a lesson while normal is $40-$50). It turned out that one of my girls loved the idea of horses but not the actual practice of tacking/riding/cleaning up/etc. The other thought riding was okay but decided she would rather focus on dance.

At 5 I let my oldest take a shower alone if it wasn't a hair washing day. I would step into the bathroom to check on her every few minutes and remind her that she needed to use soap and scrub certain body parts. She was absolutely not aloud to touch the faucet and we lived in a house where water temp was never affected by water being used elsewhere. I would generally just have her jump in with me on nights her hair had to be washed and help her with it then I would get out and let her finish showering alone. At 4 I let my younger shower with her older sister all of the above still applied. At 6 or so each of mine started showering alone sometimes but still preferred to shower with her sister. By 5 and 7 they were both getting pretty good about washing their hair and would help each other out. I would still have them jump in with me once a week so I could do a really good job washing their hair though. By 7 and 9 they were taking the majority of their showers alone and fully responsible for their hair except for the rare occasion that I noticed it needed extra work and would jump in with them. eta: Mine have never been big on baths but both were swimming independently as 4 year olds and would sometimes want to "swim" in the tub. I would let them but check on them every couple of minutes (and could always here them talking to themselves the whole time).

I completely agree with this, BUT, at what point does personal responsibility kick in? I belong to a gym and go regularly even though I don't always want to, purposefully choose vegetables over cake even though I would prefer the latter for every meal, haven't driven without my seatbelt since I got my license 19 years ago, have never smoked, etc. There is a house I drive by regularly where the family is often sitting on the front porch with bags of takeout and beer puffing away on their cigarettes. They are all overweight (most obese) and the extent of their physical activity appears to be climbing into the bed of their pickup truck to go "mudding" in the fields near their house. The hundreds of dollars a month I'm paying in health insurance premiums aren't going to cover my care. My major medical history consists of a broken arm when I tripped over my dog on a run, a tetanus shot when I stepped on a nail and a yearly physical. At what point does our insurance system stop subsidizing the outcome of intentional poor life choices?

I would speak to HR about what would constitute a change in circumstances (which would allow you to add your dss to his dad's health insurance). It might be that going to court and changing the custody agreement would be enough to require that he be allowed to be added. That would be a simple fix and your dh could also ask that child support be adjusted at that time to reflect the change as well. If you can't find a way to add him you should be able to avoid the penalty by showing that his mother is court ordered to provide the insurance. You should also be able to adjust the child support regardless to reflect that you are providing the insurance and paying the out of pocket medical costs that you are.

After having to explain viagra ads to my young girls (since they are everywhere...nothing surprises me anymore.

This thread has made me remember why I chose an ablation. 24 hours of very light flow each month...

If she is really good with kids she probably won't need to do much advertising. Competitive prices and good references are all she would need around here to be full with a waiting list within weeks. The first thing I would do is set up a facebook page and have any friends in the area share it with a note that just says "here is a great new daycare being started by a friend of mine." From there she could also post it to any local facebook boards (our area has a number for selling things, moms, playgroups, etc). If she still has openings after a month or two she could try care.com but I doubt it will be necessary.

That would drive me nuts. I often leave a light on over the kitchen sink when we are out at night or when we have company staying with us. The contractor should fix it because that is a mistake the sub he hired (electrician) made.

Think about where you are going to put it. We had a treadmill and realized it couldn't be used on the second floor (master bedroom sitting area) because it made the whole house shake. An elliptical would have been fine in that space.

http://www.legoafrica.com/

The YMCA charges fees based on income and below a certain income level they prorate the fees for sports and programs as well.

The Kirkland brand Salmon grain free is one of only two foods my "affected by everything" dog can eat. It is around $35 a bag (30ish pounds) and lasts my hundred pound dog a month or so. They also have a chicken based food that is grain free. Our other option is a special hypoallergenic food that can only be ordered through the vet and costs $110 a bag.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Story-Lifetime-Keepsake-Personal/dp/0970062699 I have given this a number of times to older relatives who really don't need any more "stuff." It is something they can enjoy doing, especially if your parents work on it together, and it will be a great keepsake for you later on. (if you google "keepsake journal" there are quite a few other options if this one isn't right for your situation)

It seems unfair to me to insist that women should have equal opportunities but not equal responsibilities. If we are equal to men we should be equal in all areas.

I would move to Richmond. I am very familiar with the area and your boys would have plenty of opportunities. There is also a much lower cost of living which is a huge benefit.

Every time they get into your yard call animal control and have them picked up and taken to the pound. Eventually animal control will get sick of having to come get them and do something or the people will get sick of retrieving them and leave them to be adopted out or put down. eta: If that is not an option I would find a way to trap them while in your yard (animal trap, feeding them and then muzzling and leashing them if they are friendly enough to get near, etc) and take them to a pound somewhere fairly far away.

I had mine out for recurrent strep during freshman year of college. I had strep 5 times in four months and haven't had it once in the 16 years since my tonsils were removed.