I have six at the table.....four 'adults' and two kids. I spend about 12% of net income on groceries. ...and I agree with other posters.....percent doesn't always reflect the info you are looking for. I also agree that my goal isn't always to spend as little as possible on food.....we need it to be good enough quality to nourish us and that is easier in some locations and times of the year thathers. I hope you can find some balance.

Thank you. My daughter is starting 9th grade and I am learning about course descriptions right now. What a scary process.

I know I have to tackle my desk and that dang laundry basket I filled with random stuff last spring. I don't want to. The week after next is TKD camp for all of my kids which leaves me with four hours of freedom for four days (a few of which I will have lunch with my husband). The next week we start. I don't have a clue where to begin organizing our work load and day because my daughter is officially in high school now. I have read so many books about how to plan a day with multiple students but none of it comes back to me when I need it the most. I am in....reluctantly. I will be back with a picture or two. My book shelves are in the basement and the kids have desks in their rooms this year so you will get my newly organized desk......we rearranged two weeks ago to move the piano to the other side of the family room. We will get the work does even if my arrangement isn't perfect, right?

Alejandratv makes me feel that way but I am just disfunctional enough to return again and again. The good thing is that I need the info about organizing because I want and need to be organized more and do not have the skills naturally. She seems like a positive healthy person so I don't mind coming up short for the most part. It isn't like she is trying to make me feel inadequate enough on purpose. Lol She does not homeschool or have kids so I have a secret ace or two up my sleeve. Good greif......she isn't my age either so I have twenty years of tired on her.

I have several friends that have one person do Fedex morning shift.....getting it off the plane, maybe sorting etc.

I like to watch little preK and K run around playing soccer. They are soooo stinking cute!! Maybe that makes me a classic soccer mom? I am not competitive at all and do not wish to watch others play competitive sports. I only enjoy watching because they are my kids. lol

I am all ears.....I have been thinking about this lately too.....just saw a sign on a bill board today. I have one troublesome spot that I wish I could have surgery on...I don't because I feel that our money should be spent on other more "worthy" pursuits....lol. A wrap is still cheaper than a tummy tuck!!! Safer too!!! (I think.)

I have shared things privately in PMs, too. I also know people irl that surf the boards which I would never confide even slightly private things to (just not that close or supportive). I often find I want feed back about something that *may be* a really big deal and I would like a heads up first before I go telling people in real life because then I can brace for the fall out....whatever that may be. Also, the boards offer a much wider life experience and perspective so when considering some things that would be valuable. My irl friends might also want to be kind to me rather than honest and I know that some posters here would be honest in a kind way. When you are really worried about something then you need to know that the honesty is genuine....and if someone is unkind on forums then you can just shrug it off and turn off the computer. I can see why someone would reduce their public posts about private things and also seek members of this forum out for perspective. I really really appreciated the private help I received once and it helped me seek help irl from another person in a good position to help me dive into it. It took me almost a year to talk to a real live friend about it because I was worried that it was bigger than our irl friendship.

My backround isn't poor but I have known hunger or food scarcity/insecurity. My mother use to hide food and was not a good home economist. She had enough money but tended to make bad choices which we not appetizing or filling. I look back at pictures of me when I was younger and am startled at how thin and small I looked back then. I think at the time I thought she was just clueless but as time goes on and life gave me more experience I see there was probably some favortism going on or mind games. After I married (a grad student) and moved out of my home country to an expensive town/state with a very limited income and few skills at budgeting it all became very real and over whelming. Getting food on the table for the least amount of money consumed my daily thoughts. We had $50 a week for food for three for years. Every cent I spent above that was long term debt. I still do not know how I survived those years amd I know I am a different person because of it. I don't food hoard but I always have a plan for long term food needs. It isn't enough to buy a pound of rice I need to buy a 50 bag. I use it all....nothing gets wasted etc etc. And managing resources is my weird hobby. I was not hungry to the point of starvation or health issues so that I can be thankful for. My husband and I were chatting about this on the way home from church. I love giving food to people....whether they appear to need it or not......it is some sort of weirdness on my part. I know that I looked normal on the outside.....from a stable family that looked like it had enough. Even when I was married....we looked like people that were not afraid....my husband was accomplished...we had a future...etc etc. I know that these things can be hidden very well so I never assume that my meal or loaf of bread is unneccessary. There was one person in particular that was very generous to us during those tight years and I will never forget her kindness. She might have had an idea of how needed the food/leftovers were but I doubt she knew the full extent. I never had the courage to tell her either. We qualified for wik and food stamps but because were not American citizens we could not receive them. Those were humbling years but I learned alot....like I would rather eat rice and beans than chicken liver/kidneys......that a special treat for a birthday could be bringing home an appetizer and adding plain rice and cut veggies.....that water is a reasonable drink when you are thirsty ......that you can make your own baked beans for less.....wasting food is a grievous misdeed. Recently I have been hearing about hunger being linked to obesity......it think there is something to that. There is a great documentary called Dive about food wastage that goes along with this whole topic of hunger/unnecessary hunger.

Thanks for the link, ladies! Been thinking about buying a "squatty potty" and this adds another reason.

I used washclothes for hands and faces when my kids were younger....changed them at the end of each day...they would sit on the chair at the table until needed again during that day. As they got older and did not need a wet one for eating I made some cotton ones from fat quarters and we have a basket with folded ones in a piece of furniture beside our dining table. Many many washclothes were down graded to kitchen counter clothes. When something is gross or staining I just throw it out after I am done. If not, I have a bowl I hang it on (over the edge not in a ball) to be added when we do laundry once a week. I only use papertowels for 4h events, greasing my bread pans and seasoning my castiron pot with oil. I buy bulk at Sam's maybe once a year for paper towels. My drying dishclothes are gifts I have received over the years and second hand ones my mother passed along to me when I married.......18yrs ago. It is actually something I keep meaning to buy. I try to get seasonal once the week after the season is over.....Christmas, fall, Easter etc. I have been forgetting lately. I have bought a few nice ones from Pampered Chef and Norwex but the kitchen items always seem to get damaged by my kids on baking day with chocolate batter. Once I bought premade flannel ones on Ebay with surged edges (I do not have a surger) and it was expensive but I bring them out occassionally as pretty soft absorbable versions of my fat quarter ones.

I heard once that peeing in a squat position in the shower helps more than kegels.....so there it is....I just embarrassed myself.

What grade levels would these links be good for? Thanks for posting these!

OK Please don't think me gross Doritos Cheeze Whiz on popcorn Lava cakes every day! Chocolate chip cookies every meal!! Chocolate milk all day!!! Mashed potaotes with whipping cream and a ton of butter Whipping cream on all fruit I ever ate. Sigh. It sucks getting older.

Current Events Studies.....looking through news and being aware of sources, biases, fact checking, opinions and giving you questions and general assignments so that kids can manage the influx of information (both accurate and inaccurate) they will inevitably be exposed to. Also, I am looking for a Home Finances Study that is unlike Dave Ramsey, but my criteria for that is a little less defined. Maybe more like a low level study of Micro and Macro Economics because the US and world economy seems to be the major challenge for the next generation. Partly because it is always changing!!! (Maybe that is related to current events above......) I am always surprised when people do not understand how their personal finances affect larger trends. Also, I would want included how to be a knowledgable investor. So when are you starting this project.....I'd like to know when I can expect it in the mail. ;-)

Such sad, sad news. I loved reading her posts and greatly admired her voice here. I don't post much but I will miss hearing her wisdom and candor. May her final days be full of peace and comfort.

Usbourne sells two microscope books with many realistic pictures from an electron microscope. The World of.....and the Complete book of.....I think they are called. The internet links have been good too. Yuck: A Big Book of Little Horrors has pictures as well.

Our library has LiteratiPublic and eLibrary......a few others that seem to be for other uses. How would I find out if they are "vetted"?

I would like to hear how people help their 8th graders find sources for research papers. My daughter is finishing the IEW Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons and she is working on the super essay at the end. We looked in our own library and found a minimum amount covered in our old encyclopedias. We need to find more and a library visit is not in the works...nor do I think it would be very helpful. I want to ensure that she is not reading anything too adult at ther age so I would like to be sure it is "child friendly" and also an appropriately rigorous source. How do you decide or what suggestions do you give your own children when looking for resources? We tentitively have an older source from the Gutenburg Project and Baldwin Project called The Knights of Art and Great Inventors and Their Inventions. I am pretty sure Wiki is a no. I don't really want to buy/wait for anthing. Any other ideas or suggestions? TIA

Garden if you have the space.....great Science for younger kids. Beware of the $50 Tomato Syndrome. Cut off the smart phone line Cut hair myself. Vegan/vegetarian cooking, in season, local market. Freeze/preserve extra seasonal produce. I food scavenge and it has become a strange quirk of mine. Rhubarb grows like crazy around here.....ask neighbours if they would share...all do. Apple trees left wild....still eating apple sauce from the fall. Zuchinnis most of the time people are giving them away in baseball bat sized portitions. Take anything and exchange with people when you can. They will remember you the next time. Pumpkins store well with little effort and are versitile. Locally I can buy wheat very cheap all year long. Make my own bread now!!! Sell said bread.......babysit, house clean, mow lawns, shovel snow, homestay student....etc. My husband can find contracts at work like a magician. Soups stretch really well. Find a friends with kids a little older and a little younger than yours and share curric and 2nd handclothes. Go to the dentist once a year for preventative care. That expense is worth it.

Yes. The local group here split up about four yrs ago due to religious beliefs (Catholic vs Prod). Unfortunately, I was at ground zero and eventually walked away from my church and many superficial friendships. I think homeschooling is becoming so diverse that I expect division now. Some people cannot help themselves. I like getting to know a variety of people but once I know someone is hateful exclusionary or hypocritical I generally stay far away.

I refuse to attend my state's hsing conference. It wasn't about education last time and I won't waste my time again. If I am going to take a day off of my responsibilitites it will not be spent being indoctrinated by people trying to jostle for my money. I will read a book, spend it with my husband, make a nice meal (or go out) and horse around with my kids. You can take that to the bank!

It has been a phase for my oldest and now my youngest......they both ask/ed for things all the time and my oldest threw huge fits at younger ages! My youngest is persistant but not a fit thrower. My middle is very easy going and quiet about his needs......sometimes that worries me more. My older two don't ask for many things at all but we are not a shopping family that has a lot of stuff .....we do experiences and that has to be negotiated together to make schedules work....no whining allowed when you are doing that. They all do Dave Ramsey style commissions and I am frequently saying in response to requests...."Well, you better start saving your pennies then." They work for their own stuff except for Christmas and Birthday gifts at a moderate not frugal levels.

Our propane hot water heater snuffed out a few times with high winds coming down the exhaust pipe. It was similar to a burning smell I guess.