We have a temporary order for protection from harrassment good until we go to court. If I get an order in court it will be good for one year. I plan to bring it to school Monday and ask them to outline how they will enforce it for the remainder of the school year which is only a week but still. This summer my daughter won't have any contact with them as they run the streets and she volunteers as boy scout camp and babysits. DH will be on the field trip so I'm not worried about her being safe, I'm disappointed that we have to babysit thie girls behavior because her parents haven't done their job. The school called Friday night and said the reason these girls did this was because DD and her friend hugged a boy before a game that one of these girls likes and that started it all. I told the VP- that's not the reason, that's their excuse! and I'm not dismissing this incident for any reason based on the previous threats and the constant harrassment. The couselor told me she had "been successful" having this girl see the other persons point of view and apologize many time before as she realizes she has a bad temper..to which I replied..we'll you weren't too successful because she's still at it... I'm so mad about this whole thing- I'm seething. I've always told our kids to tell the teacher and now I find out the teachers can't, won't, don't do anything. Who wants to be the mom that has to go threaten the school to keep their kids safe? or spend all day in court waiting for an order? If DD was a problem child I would understand that they are doing the best they can with her but she isn't even doing anything and despite how many times these girls have been spoken to- they don't stop! It's complete foolishness.

Artemis, if you ssee this, look up Tieks. They are a soft leather that shapes to your foot and they come to a 13. Not cheap, but not as expensive as many shoes and certainly worth a splsurge if you rely on tennies. The trans and cross dresssing population apparently goes for some mega heels and wild shoes -- not the kind of thing I wear, but you see them in 12-13. Also check out places you may have given up on before -- things change. Nordstrom has a number in 12.5 and 13. Even Macy's has a few in 13 online. You can return in the stores with them, but Zappos and some others offer free returns. Macy's and Nordstrom might, but I return to the store since I'd have to drive tto the post office and the stores aren't much furtheer.

You could also hang the curtains on rings that attach with metal clasps. That makes them easy to remove to clean. Most draperies and curtain rods have "returns" on the sides. You could run your blackout curtains on rods underneath the outer ones. Putting them all on rings allows for them to be pulled to the side and opened. A curtain that has a rod pocket and is threaded onto a rod is not able to slide open. You might be able to slide them back with some effort, but that is awkward. I recently put my grand daughter's curtain on rings so that it could be opened. Her mother and other grandmother are more attuned to closing themselves and her up into the house. They never cared nor questioned that the curtains were permanently closed. That was back in September and the curtains are still open as I left them. The curtain is a very nice custom made one that I made. It was hung on a temporary basis that never got addressed for two years until I put it on rings. She is only three years old and I don't think she even knew that there was a window there. Now there is a little more than just an overhead light in the room. Now there is some real daylight. If you use separate blackout curtains it leaves your outer layer of curtains to be changed when you feel you need something different and you still have your blackouts. Have you looked at buying blackout lining at Joanns? Do you sew? You could do one solid panel across the window, as opposed to one on each side, and just have it slide to one side when you wanted it opened. I used to do draperies and they used to sell one by RocLon that worked quite well. That was some time ago and things may have changed.

Congratulations, Allison! Such a great joy, and at this time of year! And your wreath is lovely, and perfect. My favorite dolls when I was a girl were a pair of twin babies. Basically, my mother bought two identical dolls and doubled their clothes and baby "stuff". I loved them so much! I named them Jeanette and Janiece. Very happy holidays to you and your family...