Thanks again, you guys! I'm glad it's helpful. Ro, yes the repotting never ends. I have to build another greenhouse this year for all the expansion! Rick, I'm not sure which species are especially fragrant but Lithops flowers are sweetly fragrant in general. They cross-pollinate very easily but you should keep good track of what you've done in case you create something amazing. Cross-pollination in Lithops, however, can lead to some dull and ugly specimens indeed. If you plan to experiment over a period of years, it's a good idea to document your process. There's no Lithops FAQ page here but many resources online you can access. Check out lithops.info and definitely read the writings of Steven Hammer, link below. Here is a link that might be useful: Stop... Hammertime

Sorry I have not read all the posts so forgive me if I duplicate. My ds is 9 in 3rd grade, another late birthday. He has always been at the top of his class and loves school. He loves to read. He gets off track easily. When they come back from recess all the kids know to get out the item they need. He has to be reminded. But his teachers are so supportive of him. But it has not always been this way. He started K being the last to finish lunch and spent many lunch recesses sitting outside finishing. He was always the first to raise his hand and had a hard time waiting to be called on. The other kids would sit back and let him give all the answers. But I was fortunate enough in first grade to have a friend teach him. She said he is just fine. He needs help staying on task but is nowhere near needing "help". Second grade teacher really worked on keeping him on task. We didnt care about the behavior daily charts. It did not work. He would never stay perfect so we never made it an issue. As long as he was not a problem in class we just focused on his learning to concentrate. Now in third grade he has really improved. He waits to be called on, but still needs reminders to stay on task. He takes 10min to pick out a book so I told the teacher to give him 15seconds or they will choose. He now knows he has a choice and is doing much better. Again, teachers think he will just slowly outgrow this. One thing that really helped was something in K. The teacher made a special desk. He was told that if he had a hard time staying on task he would have to use that desk to have less distraction. Eventually he began to recognize when he was distracted and would ask to use the desk. The teacher found this to be a great tool rather than a punishment. My ds is always slow in the morning. We set up a chart of the order to do things and he has to follow it. If he is all ready to go with bookbag and coat ready at the door, he can play with the cat. If he does not follow the chart and we are rushing out the door he does not get freetime when he gets home from school. He is learning that he is responsible for his behavior and he can choose to follow it and have fun or not follow it and have no fun. I wonder if punishing your son at this age is productive. He really isn't being naughty, he is a little boy who needs help focusing. Teaching him how to manage his situation, learning control over what he can do will give him lots of confidence and he may surprise everyone in a few years. Good luck.

Thank you all-- I am researching what everyone has mentioned to see if anything "fits." Carol, I will keep in mind what your friend went through, in case it progresses. We saw a neuro at a nationally famous children's hospital. She does NOT think they are migraines, as the symptoms don't fit, and the typical migraine treatment doesn't work for DD. She thinks the pain is very real but that they are stress-related. :( Hard to say. We are going to be keeping a journal to try to figure out why some days are better than others. However, her treatment is to lie down in quiet for 30 minutes (along with meds/water) and DD is now avoiding complaining because she does not want to lie down. I can see on her face and in her behavior when she is in more pain, even when she does not talk about it. It's still a mystery at this point. I am thinking of alternative medicine next-- maybe acupuncture, and other stress management sources. I am just still worried they are missing something. I know of too many cases where the person was not given a correct dx.

I don't find this either new nor worthy of thought, it's been long known. I've read that the highest incidence of problems tends to be found in small towns, smaller community hospitals, and larger understaffed public hospitals. A contributing problem is that the medical boards of many states don't allow public access to complaints, investigations, and disciplinary actions against physicians. Such information could be most useful to know which ones to avoid because of past problems. The secrecy is beginning to change in many places due to public pressure for sunshine on these records. The best thing for patients to do isn't to fool themselves into thinking they can become an amateur physician for themselves, that's folly and probably the worst approach. A much better thought is to try to be seen by the best physicians at the best institutions available in one's region and that often means becoming a patient of docs practicing at medical schools. Find great docs, learn from them the wherefores and the whys and then follow their advice. Or don't, that's everyone's choice.