I think we eat glue sticks! lol We went through 25 last year. But, I had 2 preschoolers and sometimes they would just glue paper together to keep busy! comp books page protectors sticky flags LARGE sticky notes tape-when they don't use glue, they need tape. We wasted(I mean NEEDED) 10 rolls last year copy paper crayons(lots) skinny markers poly folders pencils

Kirkland chocolate chips Kirkland coffee organic eggs(6.49 /2 dzn) when I can't buy them from friends Kale salad raw tortillas-found in the dairy-you just cook them quick-YUMMY! popcorn Kirkland shampoo/conditioner Vanilla Icecream-the best butter plain yogurt laundry detergent

Hands down- Saco Cocoa. It is perfect for hot cocoa, brownies, cake...All things chocolate!! It is a dutch/traditional mix. Meijer used to carry it. They no longer do, so I order it directly from the company. I have tried so many brands. I always feel like a commercial when people ask me what makes my chocolate baked things so yummy.

Do you live in IN now? Our area IS heavily saturated with DH. I am lucky to have found the office I work in. I know so many DHs in your situation-hanging on while looking for another office. It's so hard. It's not like you can throw your resume around. Dentists talk to each other. That stinks you have to clock out when you don't have a patient. That is not YOUR problem. No one can be blamed (or penalized) if a patient no shows. He is paying for your time. You are worth the same whether there is a patient in your chair or not! I'm mad for you. :angry:

There are only 8 lessons in McHenry. So, it is just a small part. I had to add in lots of other library books along with what the schedule recommended. We used the public domain books recommended. I also bought Tomatoes, Potatoes, Corn and Beans. It was great. I used some ideas from Guest Hollow Botany. Nature studies goes well with Botany.

The only thing I get prorated is bonuses. If my dentist gives a bonus, PT employees get half. I get vacation pay(well, whatever I was scheduled to work...a week off is only a day pay for me because that's all I work.) i understand why you didn't ask questions before employment. These things are not usually discussed. You are right, there is an expectation that dr will take care of employees and their immediate families. I wonder if the dentist even knows? Did the staff misunderstand the discount maybe? Especially since they sounded surprised? Or maybe he got burned by a past emploee? My dh needed a lot of dental work. So, I went back to work to pay for it. So, he had all of the work done in the first 6 mos of my employment. I did NOT get the 50% off. Just the cash price.(I have never had dental insurance) I'm sure my dentist thought that I may get this done and then just leave. That was 6 years ago. I hope things work out.

Wayfarers schedules 2 Quark books in a school year. I just used the notebooking and schedule that came with it for Botany. We added in lots of other books to make it fuller. Is it interesting? That's opinion.:) My kids did not like it. I should have just read it as a read aloud instead of using it as a spine. But, the chapters are organized by topic and the schedule pairs it with other books, so I thought that we would study a topic per week. Don't use the Quark book as a spine. :) You can see the chapter topics in the sample.

We used the Quark notebooking pages this year. I liked the schedule. It combines Ellen McHenry's Botany(awesome) and other books. Quark alone is NOT a full program. The note pages are narration, a few definitions per chapter, and copywork. Really, that's it. I used it with ds8 and dd11. Honestly, they really dreaded the reading. I think it was because I stretched it out all year.

Sign up for their emails. I got a random 30% off coupon I used to buy Wayfarers and ELTL.

I'm sorry. :( I am a dental hygienist too. I have worked in quite a few offices(20+ years.) I have been full time and part time. Policy regarding services for family members really does depend on the office! Regardless of part time or full time I have always paid nothing. Nobody has needed more involved treatment than a filling though. Even the ortho gave us a 25% Friends and Family discount! But, the dentist I work for now(last 6 years) only gives a 50% discount(way better than 15%!). I have worked off the clock to clean my family's teeth, but still was charged 50%. All employees get the same discount-full and PT. I can see how you would feel upset. I would interpret it that dentist is a cheapskate. Chances are the endo will give you a bigger professional discount than you are getting from your own office. That stinks.:(

I think R&S IS enough. If it's working for your child and there is not frustration and boredom then there is no reason to add to it. I think CLE is an awesome(very complete) program. And "I" love it. But, dd was hating LA and not able to apply all that she learned. I think Fix It! is great at application and we needed that for a season. The only thing she definitely wanted to continue this year was another Fix It! book. And in my mind that is invaluable. To find a program that makes the day smoother and helps to instill confidence is a real blessing.

I posted a sale at Brookdale House. 40% off for 4th of July. I had been planning on getting the Drawing the World USA ebook. Everything on their site is on sale. I am hoping Mystery Science runs a sale. I would love to try it, but not sure it will last a whole year at our house. I would LOVE it if they would allow longer access(maybe 2 years?) and I can use it as a "fun" science a couple times a week. OR lower the cost for only 1 year. I would pay $99(the cost at Homeschool Buyer's Co op) if I could get CDs. Or something I could :"keep." I just really don't know. After the 4th, I will start buying glue sticks and pencils. I love buying school supplies. :)

My endocrinologist was like her. She would tell me every time I saw her that she wanted my life.:) She didn't even want kids when she got married and had 5. Never realized how fulfilling being a mom could be. She wished she could stay home with them(and homeschool). But, she was the breadwinner. Her husband would never support her quitting work. She hugged me every visit and said how very lucky I was.

I had my eye on the Drawing Around the World USA book for next school year(Brookdale House). Today I saw a 40% sale!! Anybody else see something I need? :) http://brookdalehouse.com/geography-drawing-series/

It was so awesome to have a "light" grammar year with dd(5th grade). She was seriously stalling out with CLE. She could not identify a noun with regularity! I knew she knew, but she could not answer correctly often. LA was tears and sadness. Then, I decided to do Wordsmith Apprentice and Fix It! Nose Tree last year. It was like magic happened. :) It may be that she did learn it all and it was all jumbled up to her. It was the best LA year yet. She can label a sentence like nobody's business. We will move on to JAG next year. I am SO happy we gave Fix It! a try. I ordered another one for fun!

I would be exited to buy baking things! I think a Penzey's gift basket is a great idea! A baker would be exited to see it. :)

Thank you. Sounds good.

Thanks. I did see that. I was worried we might miss some important foundations if we skipped straight to B. She has memorized so many words. I am afraid we should just start completely over. :(

I have been investigating spelling/reading programs for dd11. She is starting 6th grade this fall. She has always been homeschooled. I have been waiting for her to catch on and enjoy reading. It has not happened and I see her little brother catching up to her in LA. I feel like this year had NO improvement in LA other than grammar (thanks to Fix It!!) We are mid stream in VT. I do feel like it helps her stick out the reading sessions much better, but she still reads slowly and HATES it. Her spelling is very poor despite formal spelling programs-currently, 3 years R&S. I suspect mild-mod dyslexia. We are going to finish out VT, then go from there. I have decided to start Apples and Pears and Dancing Bears Fast Track. My question: What would we miss starting in B instead of A? Should I just have her suffer through A? Should I get Level B and C because we may move that fast this year? Any experience with older kids using these materials would be appreciated!

My ds8 is going to camp this week at the park down the road. It is well done and through the town parks dept. It is 125 for the week 9-3. One day they take a field trip. I thought that was a great price. No way could we afford a music or writing camp(my dd14 would LOVE that...) We priced them at 1500+

Leather. I have one child who gets carsick. Enough said. I love that it is wipe clean. Now I wish the floor was. :) It's nice to not worry when it's raining or the kids have been swimming. My husband jokes that with 6 messy kids, we can just open the doors and use a garden hose. (just kidding.)

I suppose. I didn't really pay attention to what boys were wearing when I was younger. All I know is when my oldest was born I realized how BORING little boys' clothes were! Sports themed. ugh. Or just plain. My mom said garanimals were super popular for boys when I was little. She was SO happy to get a girl.:)

We took ds in after a Hib that was swollen so much he could not move his arm. It was red/purple, hard and HOT. The Dr office said it was a normal reaction. No report. We were told he should not receive injections in his arms any longer.(?)

Ah, yes. I remember the terry cloth Daisy Dukes. Good times. Back then , though I do think kids' clothes LOOKED like kids' clothes, not miniature adult clothes. I also wore lots of strapless tube tops or "belly shirts". My mom was very conservative, too. Times have changed.

If make up wearing is the same as playing dressing up.... Consider she was wearing a dress up costume in public, she would probably get second looks. It happened all the time when my boys were Batman everywhere they went until age 4. The looks may not be judgmental. It just catches attention. Wearing makeup in public at young ages catches attention. Not a problem if it's worth it to her. So sorry she felt self conscious. My girls are adventurous with clothing. My 11 year old wants to be a fashion designer. She puts together some interesting outfits.:) They are not short shorts or low cut or too tight, but she gets lots of looks. She says normal people don't understand fashion. LOL