In the crockpot, nothing I make uses canned soups! The things I'll make in the crockpot include: Chicken stock (which will become the base for chicken stew, chicken-vegetable soup, start of chicken pot pie and cream of chicken soup) Fresh spaghetti sauce (just throw a bunch of fresh tomatoes in the pot to cook all day, skim out the skins if you didn't blanch/skin them before starting) Meat sauce (have to start with peeled tomatoes, but make the meatballs and throw 'em in raw to cook in the sauce, can also toss in sausage if you want to cook in it too) Beef stew Split Pea Soup (with or without ham) Burgundy beef (once done, transfer liquid to pot and make the gravy since you can't really make a good gravy in the crockpot) Lamb stew Chicken korma Chili (with or without meat) Chicken or Turkey chili (loaded with fresh veggies) Beef vegetable soup (need beef bones to start this one) ----------------------------- I like to cook, but I don't like trying to figure out on a daily basis just what to make, so what I did was create a 4-week (28 day) plan for each season - so for three months at a time, we rotate the four weeks schedule. This also helps because I buy almost all of our meat in bulk (half beeve, 16 chickens, etc.) so I know what I have and when I'll get another order in the future. I also, when we get toward the end of season and have an over-abundance of things like tomatoes, make tons of sauce and freeze it, or blanch and freeze other veggies - so having the menus also helps since I know what we have on the vegetable front and can quickly look at what's coming up in the week and shop for anything I need for the week to make the meals happen.

In the spring I made the big move into the dining room here! It's working much better for us now that we have a central location for everything homeschool. I lined our long wall with three shelf bookcases that are just almost as high as the chair rail - so I have five of them and they hold all the books, supplies and kits, by subject. My buffet serves as the "in progress" holding area to move things we're working on as we're finishing up for the day on whatever the project(s) is and want the table space back. It also holds some of our science equipment. We have a fairly large dining table (seats 10), so in the middle I keep an assortment of pens, pencils, markers, crayons and other doo-dads in canisters/cup holders.....and along one side (that we've moved away the chairs) are our main books we use daily by subject. That way, when we're doing our work, I pull off the pile and we get that done, then put it back, and go to the next pile. We have a big basket we rotate books in and out - these are our reading selections for the week - throughout the week we'll get through all the books in the basket and start anew the next week.....when I'll put all the books we've finished back on the shelves and pull those we'll need for the next week and put them into the basket. Having the wall space to put up posters and timelines and all that is GREAT! And right now we have our AAS white board propped on a dining room chair on one side of the room and two chairs near it so we can do that together. I still toy with the idea of creating a big school room downstairs in the room we use for storage - but for now, this is working out well for us. If we have company over and need the dining room, it's simply a matter of putting the stuff on the dining table onto the shelves, pulling out the decorations, placemats and such from inside the buffet and storing the stuff on the buffet inside the buffet for dinner. We don't do that often, but it works when we do use the dining room for a meal with guests....the posters and all that make for some interesting conversation too!

Oh, I understand! MIL usually actually asks what DS would like - but finds every reason under the sun why what he'd like isn't really what he wants, so she then gets what she thinks he should want - often disastrous. Not so much because they're inappropriate or out of bounds type things, but often because they're well beyond what he's able to do or is something he is so not interested in. Now that he's a bit older, I tell her to ask him what he'd like because that way, if she goes off on a tangent and gets something else, he's the one who gave her ideas, not me! Lo' and behold, his birthday this year - she got him exactly what he asked for....amazing isn't it? We have asked everyone to please ask before buying books due to our pretty extensive children's library at home and trying to avoid duplicates if possible - MIL is the only one who absolutely refuses. For DS's birthday she went and bought two books and then told me about them - sure enough, we had both titles already.....so she was MAD at me? So, rather than exchange them, she is huffy about how she'll just have to keep them at her house so DS can enjoy them there! ....ummmm....okay? ETA: We do accept the gifts graciously though and do thank gramma....then, if DS doesn't like/want/need whatever, we exchange it for something he would like instead. I look at it this way - once a gift is given, it is yours to decide its fate - and if that fate is an exchange, so be it - the purpose was to give something the person wants/likes and if that doesn't happen, then exchange it for something you do want - just don't make a big deal out of it to the person who gave the gift. If they ask, then explain it nicely that you exchanged it (if you need to explain).

Our double oven is in the wall, at adult height, so the lower oven isn't near the floor.....I like it for when I'm cooking just for us, or small get togethers....we do entertain a few times a year for large numbers and the two smaller ovens are challenging, but can also work okay.....forget making a big turkey at Thanksgiving though - it simply won't fit!

What seems to have worked with my DS - who at six was struggling - was to combine AAS with bits and pieces from the various phonics programs I had and had tried stand-alone. What I did was start at the beginning with AAS - basically took him back to the start of it all.....and I went through AAS and lined up the AAS lessons with lessons in OPGTR, HOP DVD's, Horizon's Phonics workbook pages and lots of controlled readers. When I first started doing it this way, where we'd do the AAS lessons, I didn't do any other things - we were basically reviewing what he knew and reinforcing it, plus getting him used to the new format for lessons with AAS (which, by the way, he loves the program and actually asks to do them!). Once we hit where he was struggling with the phonics, we slowed down a bit - and instead of doing an AAS lesson a day, we did a few days of the same concept....we'd do the AAS one day, the next watch the HOP DVD's and go through the OPGTR section that matched and do a reader, then the next day, read controlled readers and do two pages from Horizon's workbooks that matched. If the next day his reading of the new material was strong, we moved on - if not, we continued to review and just use what I had to reinforce. Something, somewhere in his head clicked and his reading has started to take off now.....we're pacing along fairly quickly at this point, and not needing as much of the bits and pieces now.....but it was bringing together a bunch of different material - all the same stuff though - that gave him lots of different ways to understand the concept and it worked. HTH

:iagree: My second grader's schedule: Piano - lesson 1x per week, practice 15-min daily Bible (finishing CLE 2) - CCD 1x per week Math 2 (CLE) - Singapore M-F Spelling (finishing R&S 2, moving on to R&S 3) - AAS M-F Penmanship (Evan Moor Daily handwriting practice) - HWoT M-F Reading (finishing CLE, moving on to R&S3) - Daily Sun-Sat Greek (Code Cracker, Song School) - n/a Writing With Ease 2 - n/a for now English (R&S3) - n/a Art (Mark Kistler) - Art Program 1x per week Typing (BBC) - n/a History (Veritas Online Self-Paced, OTAE) - SOTW 2x per week Science - Earth Science 3x per week Swim Team - 2x per week Jujitsu - 2x per week

I haven't mounted mine to the wall, instead I have it on a dining room chair, so DS has easy access to it - and we can each take a chair up to it and work together on the lessons. At some point I'll mount the white board, but for now having it propped on a chair works well for our needs.

:iagree: It seems your DD's behavior led to all the kids being punished?

You can do one of two things: A) Simply allow multiple people to view the one calendar you place the event on - that way you only have to enter it once and everyone can see it (you can set up how sharing works, from just being able to view, to fully being able to modify or add to the calendar) B) Once you enter on one calendar and it's saved, click to "edit the details" and then choose "duplicate to ABC-Calendar" in the drop-down menu that gives you options to edit....this is more time consuming and if you can see each different calendar, you'll see each entry for the same event.

Did you have the ventilation system cleaned after construction was finished? it sounds like you may have tons of debris/dust in your HVAC ventilation ducts throughout the house that needs to be taken care of, otherwise it'll keep going until it's all blown out and into the house.

Personally I'm of the opinion that one needs to find the dietary style they can stick with and it provides for their essential nutrient needs - the base of that is *real* *whole* *foods*.....be it a low, moderate or higher carb diet, with more or less meat - it's choosing the foods themselves for their wholeness and nutrient-density that will matter more (barring metabolic derrangements of insulin) than percentage of calories from the macronutrients.....it's what's IN your food that matters more IMO (essential nutrients), not necessarily a particular ration of protein-carb-fat. If you don't like meat, there are lots of other ways to eat really healthy....!

And in some, some vaccines never take.....I've had the rubella shot five times now and still test negative - when DS was born and they wanted to give me another, I asked - why do you think the sixth time will be the charm when the previous five haven't worked? They agreed and didn't give me another. I also had a full HepB series when I traveled to India - I have tested negative (not immune) every single time I've been tested since - and I'm the only one out of the whole family who was also traveling that it didn't work for immunity, so it wasn't the lot, it was me. Doc suggested I try the booster - I did - nope, still negative, no titers, no immunity, big fat negative.

DH and I met on Match.com....and yeah, it still feels kind of *weird* more than a decade later!

When we did SOTW 1, I realized we had way too many things for Egypt, tons and tons for Greece and Rome, but hardly anything near the same quantity for the other areas - and - Australia/Islands/Oceania was not included. I started just searching through Amazon and one book led to another, led to another....I have more than listed - if there is an area you need some resources, let me know and I'll dig into the bookcase for history and see what else we have that we used....I know we had a couple of selections on the Great Wall of China in our mix and more folktales from India. I made up my own unit for Australia/Islands/Oceania to have something from the ancients since I also had incorporated geography with the history beyond the mapping in SOTW and I couldn't very well ignore a whole continent! The list above also is missing the usual recommendations that we did use too.

My second grade music teacher taught us a song to teach us all the presidents in order - to this day I remember the song (through Nixon), so I've added to it to go through Obama and will teach it to DS since many of the parts of the song help in remembering who did what or who was who (ie. Mckinley was assisinated "William McKinley's luck spread thinly, shot by a madman's gun") and has the presidents in order. He also taught us Fifty-Nifty United States....and again, to this day, I know the song and all the states in alphabetical order - DS learned it last year. While not specifically learned in school - I use the Schoolhouse Rock DVD's too - since they also left an lasting memory of things included in elementary years! There are other things, projects and activities, that I'll likely use too where I think DS will enjoy them and they'll add to his learning.

First People (Prehistoric Period) The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux, Emily Arnold McCully The Cave Painter of Lascaux The Cave Painter of Lascaux, Roberta Angeletti Stone Age Boy, Satoshi Kitamura Jewish Peoples The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba, Sheldon Oberman, Neil Waldman Tower of Babel, A. S. Gadot, Cecilia Rebora Noah's Ark (Caldecott Honor Book), Jerry Pinkney Americas The Chocolate Tree: A Mayan Folktale (On My Own Folklore), Linda Lowery, et al China The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History, John S. Major, Stephen Fieser Ancient Near East (Coloring Book) Ancient Near East (Coloring Book), Bellerophon Books, Nancy Conkle Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor, Jane Portal Buddha, Demi Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac (An Owlet Book), Ed Young The Magical Monkey King: Mischief in Heaven, Ji-Li Jiang, Youshan Tang Sam and the Lucky Money, Karen Chinn, et al Africa Sundiata: Lion King of Mali Sundiata: Lion King of Mali, David Wisniewski Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa, Verna Aardema A Story, a Story, Gail E. Haley Rain Player Rain Player, David Wisniewski India Ancient India-Color Book, Bellerophon Books, Nancy Conkle The Drum: A Folktale from India (Story Cove: a World of Stories), Rob Cleveland, Tom Wrenn Rama and the Demon King: An Ancient Tale from India, Jessica Souhami Middle East The Magic Apple: A Folktale from the Middle East (Welcome to Story Cove), Rob Cleveland, Baird Hoffmire My Sister Shahrazad: Tales from the Arabian Nights, Robert Leeson The Stone: A Persian Legend of the Magi, Dianne Hofmeyr, Jude Daly Australia/Oceania/Pacific Islands Hina and the Sea of Stars Hina and the Sea of Stars, Michael Nordenstrom Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail (StoryCove: A World of Stories) Martha Hamilton, et al Stories from the Billabong Stories from the Billabong, James Vance Marshall, Francis Firebrace Sun Mother Wakes the World: An Australian Creation Story, Diane Wolkstein, Bronwyn Bancroft Statues of Easter Island (Ancient Wonders of the World), Lenore Franzen Early christians The First Christmas, Paul L. Maier I'm sure many above are on lists somewhere - but they're some of what I've used for SOTW 1.

:iagree: I've done controlled-carb for a decade now....and few actually start and follow the plan according to the ideal, where you increase carbs and types of carbs slowly back into your diet. There seems to be a mentality that you're forever stuck with lettuce and meat. So not true! Now granted, some who have serious insulin issues may have to limit carbs more strictly, but the wide variety of foods one can eat is still HUGE.....one simply cannot and will not get fat eating even insanely high amounts of non-starchy vegetables! Here is what I eat liberally: Salad greens - all varieties Tomatoes Onions Cucumbers Shredded carrots Baby carrots Red cabbage Asparagus Green beans Wax Beans Broccoli Cauliflower Zucchini Summer Squash Celery Spinach Leeks Peppers - all varieties Lemons Limes strawberries Black berries Cantaloupe Honeydew Cherries Plums Apples Pears I eat in smaller portion size (usually around 1/3 of cup), but still include throughout the week, usually once a day in a meal: Sweet potatoes Parsnips Beets Carrots Winter Squash Fingerling potatoes Red Bliss Potatoes Wild Rice Couscous Quinoa Beans - all varieties Peas For fats/oils I don't use heat processed vegetable oils, but do use cold pressed EVOO, walnut oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, peanut oil, butter, coconut oil and *gasp* sometimes even a little bacon fat! I use oil & vinegar most often for salads, but will also use full-fat dressings too. I have a shellfish allergy, so I avoid that....but have beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, goose, quail, buffalo, venison and fish. I also eat eggs and raw cheese. I don't like milk, so don't include that, but do use half & half in my coffee. What I avoid: white potatoes, corn (except occasional corn on the cob in the summer), pasta, white rice (and usually brown rice too), bread, cereals, large portions of higher GL fruits (bananas, watermelon, grapes), dried fruits (except as a condiment in a salad, like dried cranberries), most processed foods. Now I'll say this - I'm not majorly IR (on the HOMA-IR scale, I'm insulin sensitive), so if we're out and say celebrating a birthday for a friend and they serve cake, I'll have a small piece - it doesn't send me into a tailspin.....it could for others, but it doesn't seem to trigger carb cravings for me, so I will also have an occasional treat (usually about once a month or so) when I want. When I've kept track out of curiosity, my carb intake ranges from 90-150g a day....but I don't consciously count carbs anymore, I just know what I can eat without worry.

We live a mile from DH's parents - we see them about once a week - if we go on vacation or have something come up for the night we usually go over to visit, it waits until the next week or so. We see my parents a few times a year - usually for a week or two at a time.....my parents came out when I had the baby in January, so that was for six weeks and a huge help!.....we always get together in October for a couple of weeks in FL and I'll go to NY a couple of times a year for a week to ten days.....they usually come out to visit for a week or two once or twice a year too.

My parents = 1005 miles Inlaws = 1 mile

Interactive 3D Maps: America We used the first two when we were doing the Americas (SOTW 1), with the remaining ones to do as we continue along into the next volume and beyond! Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself DS liked a lot of the projects in the China one!

Can. 1118 §1. A marriage between Catholics or between a Catholic party and a non-Catholic baptized party is to be celebrated in a parish church. It can be celebrated in another church or oratory with the permission of the local ordinary or pastor. §2. The local ordinary can permit a marriage to be celebrated in another suitable place. §3. A marriage between a Catholic party and a non-baptized party can be celebrated in a church or in another suitable place. Source: Code of Cannon Law Special dispensation is not required from the Bishop. Ask how I know - our parish priest readily married us at the hotel we were having our reception - we did not need special permission from the Bishop!

The priest can and does bring a sacramental box with him to wherever the ceremony is being held to set up a proper altar and perform the Mass. When permission from a Bishop is necessary is when a Catholic is marrying a non-Catholic (baptized Christian).

Catholics can get married anywhere as long as it's by a priest...it does not have to physically be within the confines of the walls of a church!

You can still find pay phones at many gas stations, and rest stops on highways - even though they're slowly disappearing, I think it's a good skill to teach how to use one, just in case! Then again, I live in an area where I'll sometimes stop for gas at stations with old-fashioned pumps (without any overhead cover either) - you take the nozzle out, put it in your car, lift the handle and pump - holding the pump!.....the numbers SPIN telling you how much you've put in and then you go inside to pay!

I pronounce it "sear-up" - but I think both are considered acceptable pronunciations?