Ongoing Alaska Chat new February - Page 3

[roadfamily6now]

Good Luck to your DH! We need some great teachers!

[Pinoikoi]

For buzzwords, I think ASD is really big on "connectedness" the idea that students feel needed in the classroom, and an included in "the group".. I think the idea is based on the feeling that if students feel connected to their classroom and teacher they are more likely to attend school more often, participate, etc.. Think Round robins, etc.. classroom games..etc..

[Pinoikoi]

I have read quite a bit about the "extras" attached to the dividends this year really messing people up with taxes.. if you got all that money this year, did it really alter your refund/tax return? We haven't filed yet, and I am a bit nervous..

[BusyMommy]

Yeah, I dunno. We haven't done ours yet, either.

Boy oh boy, it is GLORIOUS out today. Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and the fine snow conditions we have in Anch today. :

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

Good Luck to your DH! We need some great teachers!

well i think he's a pretty great teacher.

Originally Posted by Pinoiboyz

For buzzwords, I think ASD is really big on "connectedness" the idea that students feel needed in the classroom, and an included in "the group".. I think the idea is based on the feeling that if students feel connected to their classroom and teacher they are more likely to attend school more often, participate, etc.. Think Round robins, etc.. classroom games..etc..

thanks for the heads up--i'll tell him.

i'm so ready to leave the middle of nowhere and move to where there are some people.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by brightonwoman

well i think he's a pretty great teacher.


thanks for the heads up--i'll tell him.

i'm so ready to leave the middle of nowhere and move to where there are some people.

Well I hope you move soon.. I would love to have some more crunchy mamas in my circle right now..

[natashaccat]

Originally Posted by tallanvor

Ladies, I need some help. We are moving in just a few months, but my son has his 6th birthday before we head out. I am at a loss as to what to get him for a gift. I was hoping for something that he could easily play with the the truck when we drive out. Keep in mind he shares the back seat of the truck with his 2 sisters. So, anyone have any cool ideas for a 6 yr old boy? My sister has already ordered him an I Spy bag. And I was hoping to avoid books because we do sooooo much book buying already that he still has books he's not read yet.

leap frog l-max?

[Ak Mom]

Originally Posted by Pinoiboyz

I have read quite a bit about the "extras" attached to the dividends this year really messing people up with taxes.. if you got all that money this year, did it really alter your refund/tax return? We haven't filed yet, and I am a bit nervous..

Yes, it messed us up. What got us was the kids' PFD's. We either had to claim it as income ourselves, which put us over into the next tax bracket, or we have to file for each of them. That ends up being the best solution for us. But they each have to pay about $250. Has anyone else had this problem? I think it's ridiculous that a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old are paying taxes...

[BusyMommy]

Definitely file your kids' PFDs separately from your own. It takes a couple extra minutes but a good savings for taxes. Yeah, it does stink to have to pay but it's nice knowing they have the rest of that PFD squirreled away for college.

Should NOT be $250 unless they have a ton of stocks. Remember, when you file separately, they're paying a smaller amount of taxes b/c their bracket is much lower than yours. I think our kids paid under $100ea.

[Ak Mom]

Hmm...I don't know our taxes, my husband does and that is what he figured out. We have not turned them in though, so I will mention that to him. Less than a $100 seems much more reasonable to me than $250. And no, they don't have stocks or anything! Thanks for the info!

[tallanvor]

Don't know about the taxes thing. DH did our taxes and filed everything together and we still got about 3500 back. But being military, there is a very large chunk of our income that is non-taxable, which I know makes a very big difference.

Well, we ended up getting DS and Nintendo DS. Anyone else have one and have game recommendations? We're seriously thinking about getting another one so there are two for the 5 of us. We would need games for all ages. I am hoping to find some games used.



Oh, and at the moment we are going to Vegas, which irks me greatly, as they are closing that shop in June, which means we'll probably only be there a month and then get shipped elsewhere. Someone there needs to get their head out of the covers and start doing their job.

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by tallanvor

Well, we ended up getting DS and Nintendo DS. Anyone else have one and have game recommendations? We're seriously thinking about getting another one so there are two for the 5 of us. We would need games for all ages. I am hoping to find some games used.

what ages are your kids again?
my 8yo says animal crossing is really cool
there are also old classics like mario kart etc (I don't let them get the fighting/battle games) but i guess they're too old to be cool according to DS he liked them when he was 6.

you might check out half.com for used games...or see if there's a game store near you (they often have used games). half.com is a subsidiary of amazon i think--for all the used stuff. I know they do music and movies and I'm pretty sure they would have games, but I'm not positive.

[brightonwoman]

come participate in my polls if you would please!
what was your full-term LO's birthweight here
at how many weeks gestation did labor start (on its own--not induced) here

[roadfamily6now]

well, we still have not gotten our 2008 dividends

[treetop]

I found this link helpful in making the decision on how to file our taxes. It is confusing this year! I found that it saved us 50 bucks if we filed our dd separately. It is ridiculous that i have to pay taxes for my 1 year old!
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/...186621,00.html
Yikes, I can't believe that I posted an IRS link on Mothering!:

roadfamily6now- That stinks! I hope you get it soon!

Hope everybody is having a great morning!

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by Pinoikoi

Well I hope you move soon.. I would love to have some more crunchy mamas in my circle right now..

I'd love to have an IRL circle!!!
And yes, crunchy mamas are nice.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by tallanvor

I am hoping to find some games used.

We get used games for the DS at gamestop. There is one in 5th ave and one in Dimond I think. My kids love any of the pokemon games, one of my kids asked for Spectrobes for Christmas (although I really couldn't tell you much about it). There is also a Harvest Moon (I play the Tree of Tranquility one for the Wii, farming, raising sheep, collecting items on the beach, making friends) but there is a DS version called Mining Town.. you do have to be able to read to play, though, there is a lot of text involved, so not "all ages" because of that.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Ak Mom

Yes, it messed us up. What got us was the kids' PFD's. We either had to claim it as income ourselves, which put us over into the next tax bracket, or we have to file for each of them. That ends up being the best solution for us. But they each have to pay about $250. Has anyone else had this problem? I think it's ridiculous that a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old are paying taxes...

Yeah, Dp's coworkers are all saying they paid $250 per kid, too.. I am scared.:

[onyxravnos]

Originally Posted by Pinoikoi

Yeah, Dp's coworkers are all saying they paid $250 per kid, too.. I am scared.:

that is crazyness. no way someone with an income of just over 3000 a year should pay so much in taxes.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by brightonwoman

I'd love to have an IRL circle!!!
And yes, crunchy mamas are nice.

So has your dp checked in with you? Any possibilities yet?