I missed your post erikaj, you deleted before I got caught up.

The whole lack of common sense thing sounds very frustrating. I hope the common sense fairy makes some visits.

Are you sure your son isn't my son?

I know! It would be so easy for them to just do the damn work and hand it in. But it gets lost. He doesn't put his name on it. It's never ending and next year the teachers get less tolerant.

By the numbers he shouldn't even be passed on to high school, but all that seems to matter are the testing scores and of course he nails those. Grrr.

I did just eat a huge bowl of tomato soup with oyster crackers. Yum. Comfort food.

Well, it's okay. Expletive-laden blurting only rarely adds to things, outside of Deadwood.

I keep trying to talk her into soccer team, but she doesn't want to join a team even she talks about liking soccer. Parenting hard.

Yeah, sports are good for the social skills. And that much more parent work! We do have a lot of kids in the neighborhood. Neither of the boys go to their "home" schools so the friends they make at school they don't see that much out of school. The friends in the neighborhood they don't go to school with. Kids need other kids.

That's what concerns me about home-schooling also. In my opinion, school is about socialization, not learning data. I learned just as much on my own, or from my parents, as far as factual stuff (what's "torque?" what are the primary colors?) but what few social skills I developed I got from school.

I think it's pretty crucial to go through the good and the bad stuff at school; the group dynamics, being picked last for football and first for Ac-Dec, learning to turn work in on time, getting up and having to be someplace.

(Raq, you were in AcaDeca?)

Aimee - my DH could use one. Pretty please?

Lessee...a husband smiting....a good, annoying one that won't affect the day to day living of the rest of the family.

May each of his toes begin to sprout red hairs. And all of his shoes turn into open toed, strappy sandals. Even if he buys new ones.

Do people feel like suggesting Stuff To Do In Las Vegas with children?

We're there to see Avenue Q, not to gamble or whore.

You can never go wrong with the pool and there are plenty of video game places. Where are you staying?

Betsy, I posted some suggestions elsewhere for you.