I read pages 1-2-3, then skipped ahead to 6 and completely missed the stars conversation. Unfortunately my computer is about to reboot itself and it's late and I've got to go to bed. I'm a little worried that in the morning, this thread will be invisible, I'll miss finding out about what the personal stars mean and how to do it, BUT in exchange the likes will be back! At least hoping.

Thank you! :) Okay, I feel better now knowing. I'll go to the Other John and jump on the bandwagon. I liked your post too.

Maybe this has been asked, I haven't been too frequent in the past week or so, however has any one else noticed that the 'Like' display has disappeared from their own posts and that the 'Like' count doesn't exist when you like other's post? Is it just me? Did I change a settting or something?

I was having a really bad day, we stopped at Chik-Fil-A and they are always so cheery and friendly to each other and to customers. It made my day a lot better.

Symtoms include: dark circles under eyes, tantrums & irrational behavior - like over the top anger or crying fits for no apparent reason. Sometimes a rash if we eat too much, poor sleep, restless sleep - which aggrevates the irrational fits. We don't/didn't want to admit it because gluten is too convenient, too easy. It's hard, we still eat it more than we should and I regret it every time. I didn't realize lack of hair growth and hair loss could be gluten issues until this thread. Thank you. We're going to try to go compeltely GF again tomorrow. I do want to mention that if you try to go GF, the TinkaYada brand pasta is the best one and most closely resembles gluten pasta in texture. Most all the gf pasta with corn mix aren't very tasty. We spent a lot of money experimenting to find a good pasta replacement.

I have always told them, "OH! Maybe for Christmas!" or "Maybe for your birthday!". They say it now to each other too. If it is a bad day and they persist a little bit, I tell them they can take a picture of it with my camera phone and that usually helps. However if it's a REALLY BAD day, then I will walk out, leaving the cart, with them screaming and throwing fits behind me. We generally go do something more fun for them - like the park or get french fries or a hike. We don't do allowance at all. We prefer money management when they are much older. As to money they receive for gifts, we apply it to a present they already want, regardless of how much the item is.

Any one used this for early childhood education? Thoughts, opinions? http://active-learning-resources.com/

I second "When Children Love to Learn." It puts things into better context. Just because CM is all about Victorian England, doesn't mean you have to be to embrace the educational philosophy. For example, in our house, we drink strong black coffee, not tea. We splash in the creek, climb trees and chase ducks & squirrels. That is our nature study. Our handicrafts includes tying knots and using duct tape, making rubber band jewelry, and origami. We do narration, listen to good music, learn songs, and read aloud great books (even fantasy & sci-fi). We love Charlotte Mason's philosophy and theory on education, but we are definitely not proper Englishmen.

I just discovered Science in the Beginning, same author of the Apologia middle school/high school books. It seems pretty good and more doable than the Apologia Zoology books for this age :)

I never realized until this thread that marriage=looking at/working budget together. Maybe I'm in an odd world, but most the married couples that I know don't budget together. Generally one person manages finances, the other persons asks if they can afford ____ before spending.

Didn't even bother reading it. After raising sons and being around friends with many sons, I don't think it really makes a difference when you see them tackle each other for no apparent reason, or whack each other with sticks. Sure there are some boys that prefer to shake their heads and watch, but realistically the majority of them turn out to be wild beasts, until they grow up - maybe.

A little OT - Not sure what the RCIA is, but interested in learning more. Could you elaborate?

A mom's kid exposed what she really looks like Yep. I cried.

Mine have LOTS of toys to play with. The toys with lots of pieces or lower interest get thrown into a cardboard banker's box, labeled and stacked in the garage. It's not really rotating - it's more like impulse playing. If they want to play with something they don't normally play with, like safari animals or potato head, I bring the box in the house for a few days or longer. When they get bored of it, the box goes back into the garage. Although it works for us because we have the storage space. They get all the presents they want and no one's feelings are hurt. When they are truly done with a set of toys, it gets donated. Broken toys are always thrown away immediately. So are pens and markers that don't work :) It drives me nuts when some one puts back a dried out marker for some one else.

My motto to everything ridiculous or unreasonable, or that I'm too lazy to consider: "That sounds nice, but not today." "Hmm, interesting, but not today." "Sounds fun, but not today." Followed by "Today we're going to _______." and I read off our schedule. Usually it mom's going to have coffee first while you all eat breakfast, then I'll wash the dishes, then we'll go outside, then we'll have lunch, etc... For early waking, no idea. Good luck. I usually just say something like 'the sun is still sleeping, go back to bed.'

I agree, but can't find the little icon thing. David Allen rocks! I picked up a file cabinet and some manilla folders and filed everything alphabetically. He says use a label maker, but I'm too lazy to pull it out all the time, so I just use a pen to label each folder. Everything gets filed. Everything! I've got a file for things like: sprinkler system, paid bills, appliance manuals, test scores, take out menus, insurance policies, kid's awards, homeschool catalogs, auto registration, etc all in the same filing cabinet, but filed alphabetical by subject. Since GTD, I can find ANYTHING at the drop of a hat :)

I guess reciprocity is a good "rule". Maybe it would be better to define "friend" vs "acquaintance." I know A LOT of people - tons of acquaintances, but have only a few people I'd consider actual, real friends.

Interesting. I don't think I have any "rules" for friends. Well, maybe don't bash my kids, don't sleep with my husband. Other than that, nothing. I guess I have very low standards.

lol! This is exactly what its like with our friends.

Maybe I don't have as many friends as everyone else, but if one of my friends mentioned something they and mutual friends were doing and we didn't get a direct invitation, as long as we didn't have plans, I'd straight up ask if it was a private event or if we could come too. And vice versa, if I ever mention a social event that some one is not invited to, and they say something, I always tell them they are welcome to join us (and it is sincere, they are welcome, all the time.) So maybe its a private event and she's being rude or clueless, or you just didn't get the invitation but are welcome to join.

Some fire stations have community meeting rooms that are free. If anyone works at an office or has a spouse/significant other that works at an office, they or the office building might have a conference or meeting room they'd let you use. Some of our local condos/apartment communities offer free community rooms as a bonus for living there.

If she is a horse fan, Breyer Stablemates series is about different horses. All the stories are very sweet and exciting.

I've found that if I know a store gives out coupons fairly frequently, I'll wait until I have one before I go buy anything from them. Do you feel like you don't want to shop at store that has offers coupons frequently unless you've got a coupon? Like Michaels has a coupon every week, Kohls has 15% or 20% off quite often, Papa Murphy's...there others. I wonder if the coupon practice actually hurts stores.

Could you elaborate why they might not feel comfortable? Would there be proselytizing or is it that there is talk of the trinity?

I understand that it is a Christ-centered organization and that those in leadership must agree with the statement of faith, however how much emphasis is placed on salvation/Jesus for the girls? How much is Jesus-focused? Is it like a very involved Sunday School? I'm wondering if a child that is of a faith that does not believe in a triune-god or original sin (Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Mormon) have trouble participating or feel uncomfortable/left out?