OH!!! This makes me so sad!!! Wish I could've been there...we could've been like the Wonder Twins, pushing our rings together to "activate" our super cool and social powers. Truth be told, I wouldn't have even walked into that party, so kudos to you!!!

I'm thinking that people would forgive hairy armpits and legs after surgery...regardless, I know I shouldn't be laughing, but seriously, "Go go gadgets arms?" Hysterical!!!!! Call me!

I'm so sorry,BBM, that I can't be there with you and that I haven't been there over the past couple of weeks. Seems a bit unfair that life handed me some more crap at a time when you need me to help you with your crap. :( I'm so sorry...

Sigh...we're in the same place it seems...I wrote a similar post yesterday. I think you'll find that once this next round of knee stuff is over, you will discover you haven't really changed as much as you think you did. You've just had to put "you" on hold. A weekend together will help, I have no doubt. :)

Sigh...so sorry to hear about all of this. Hey, for the MRI, make sure to ask for something to relax you. Did they do that the last time? I would ask-it will help! Call me tomorrow to let me know how things go.

I told Remodel Man that I'm going to stop looking out the window because every time I do, our front street is covered again. I really enjoyed this blizzard the first five days-now? I'm over it. RG

You might want to consider getting a snowblower at the end of the season. Oh, and perhaps a new husband, too...

Ah ha! I know what I'm doing wrong now...I'm not abusive and I don't smoke! So that's why I can't have a baby. It's all so clear now!!!!!

Sigh...no comment...

Thought not your resolution, I use that In-Shower Moisturinse from Oil of Olay-I've been using it for years and it works great to keep you moisturized. Try it! I have been thinking on my own resolutions...lots of them, but one of ours is the same-to be a better mom. Always a good one to have because we can always work at being better at that. I'll call you soon to hear how things are!!!

I've said everything to you already, but just wanted to comment here, too. I'm so sad for you, Mr. BBM and the girls. Colby was my favorite (no offense, Bear!-besides being such a strikingly beautiful cat, he reminds me so much of Emily and was a gentle soul. (Bear, on the other hand, is so much like Zack!!) I'm here if you need me...

Uh, so this is what you wanted to talk to me about? Brilliant! They do this at Builder Boy's preschool, but I'm thinking it would be nice to have at home...I hope Borders has it!!!

Sorry about the hit and run part of your holiday. It's certainly not like that at my in-laws-imagine a giant, chaotic party that no one leaves. It's a total blast, if you don't mind the chaos-which I don't. Now, if my family could just feel better before we fly out on Monday to Disney, that would be helpful! :)

I'd file a complaint, too, with the BBB. I think you can do that online now. It's good to file a dispute with the credit card company-they can do wonders for situations like this! Good luck!

Wow...no wonder you didn't call me back. Hope tomorrow is better!

Glad it turned out how you wanted it. This is how you wanted it, right? ;)

Ha! Too cute! Now if I had done that to Builder Boy, he would have been so mad at me. He does not like to be tricked. Glad she took it so well!

Happy Anniversary, you two! The comfort of a marriage can be so much better than the anxiety of dating. Hope you have a peaceful night!

Wait, you mean my son should be brushing his teeth?!?! ;) We used to have some huge battles in our house about the teeth brushing and our first few trips to the dentist involved only the counting of teeth. Now, though, we've made it such a part of the bedtime/wake up routine, he does it without a second thought.

I'm so proud of you! You're doing what you're good at-teaching!!

I have decided that I cannot let you leave your house-not even into your own backyard! ;) Geez, I can't believe this story. People can be so horrible, can't they?! Kudos to you and the other two guys!

Ha! Builder Boy would love this conversation!! Too funny.

Looks great!! LOVE the starfish bowl! That would work for a Spong.eBo.b party, too. Great job, BBM. No one has said anything about the Mr. BBM and whipped cream comment? Really? Clearly Karl or Avitable have not read this yet... :)

The problem is, of course, so much more complex than changing the way we teach. I am in the trenches for students of all abilities. I don't put up with a lot of crap, but I am also flexible in the classroom. The child who fails continually is used to failure. It is their norm-if you show that child even their smallest success, this potentially motivate the student. It could potentially change the way they view their own education. Perhaps this could be viewed as spoon feeding, but to me, it's a teaching method. Sometimes it works and that's great; other times, it doesn't, so you change things up yet again. With NCLB, everyone is scrambling to get the skills covered that are on the tests...not ideal, but expected now. That doesn't leave very much time for teaching other materials that could be as beneficial, if not more so. (Although I have a whole philosophy about "teaching to the test"-I'll save that for my own blog.) But the biggest reason that education went to all that "feel good BS" (my loving term for it)? Parents. Many parents want you to spoon feed their kid. They don't care about learning, they care about the grade (yet another blog post...grades...). Let's face it, it's hard as parents to see our kids upset. Nowaways, instead of telling our kids, "Oh well. You figure out how to deal with it" we try to fix it for them. We call the teacher. We pressure (intentionally or unintentionally) the teacher and many teachers bend. If they don't bend, the principal is called in. Blah. It is so complicated. It is so much more than an easy fix. Our society has grown into this. And while I fault parents, I see myself doing some of the same things as a parent that I despise in the parents of the kids I teach. Sorry to ramble on...it's a touchy subject. Oh, and I agree with Avitable, too. It's not an easy transition even with the perfect education. Some handle it better than others. Remember I told you it's the "13th grade." ;)