Lea, I didn't see your post, maybe we were posting at the same time. I've seen somewhere that you shouldn't use a steam mop on timber flooring. Can you ask a "wood person"? Min

Does anyone have any opinion on how steam cleaners clean grout? I'm going to have 180m2 of tiles and that's a lot of grout! I'm not so concerned about "germ killing" as, for us, cleaned and dry will be sufficiently hygienic for 99% of the time. I've read that we shouldn't use steam on our timber flooring, but there isn't the grout issue, so I'm happy using my Enjo mop on that surface. I've done the hands-and-knees-scrubbing-away-the-brush thing, and the grout came up nice, but oh boy it was a big job, and I'm going to have much more tile in this new house! Thanks Min

If the Life series is the one we've seen it was gorgeous, and I'd love to buy the whole lot. We've got Life in the Freezer, and Life of Birds, I think. I'll keep adding to them bit by bit, but they're fairly expensive here. Min

I am intending to. We're planning a 3-month car trip and I'm seeing some of that as wasted time that might as well be useful! Not all of it, but I'm planning some fairly independent work that they can do. Some DVDs, some audio books, some tables prac., etc. Sometimes I will want them to look out the window, but realistically if we're travelling across desert, after you've seen the first hour of that then you're not going to miss much if you're doing something else! Min

NZ is gorgeous too. Actually, until the last week or so, Christchurch was very high on my list of desirable places to live. Not so much at present. :( Min

Sun, I've always had a blanket no-plastic-bags-on-heads rule in my family too. :) Min

We do! We've bought Dr Who, and various nature documentaries. Then we can use them in the car on a long drive (we regularly inflict long, long car journeys on our kids, LOL), or at our leisure. Min

We watch TV! We don't have any pay TV, but we do watch TV, and we have an extensive DVD collection. We don't have rabbit ears, though, so I picked "other". I consider watching DVDs, free-to-air, cable, streaming, TV-shows-on-iPod, on the computer etc, all to be watching TV. We do it in ways that are convenient to us at the time, but it's all TV to me. If someone raises the subject of a TV show (which doesn't happen often, come to think of it), I'll just say I haven't seen it. Or I have seen it, whichever. Occasionally we'll stumble across a gorgeous nature series, and recommend it. We actually don't watch a great deal, some days it will just be the news or weather, but it would go on every day. I wouldn't like to do without it, but I could relocate my viewing to the computer, I guess, it just wouldn't be as convenient or comfortable. Min

Thanks Melissa, the name just wouldn't come to me, though I could picture it like I was there! Min

Some schools call themselves "colleges". After high school you can basically go to a technical college (TAFE) or go to university or there are various private options for specific situations - I went to a private secretarial school, for example. I rather think your 2-year colleges sound a little like our TAFE, but I'm not really sure. Melbourne's lovely. You can visit the Grampians, Wilson's Prom is gorgeous, see the penguins at err, can't remember the name of the island... (Not day trips, but not far either, at least not by Australian standards!) Min

Sarah, you can turn the internet "off" as such, on the iPods. We have ours turned "on" and the kids have to come to me to put in the password for my iTunes account for any purchases, even free purchases. Min

I looked at PISA results and compared Belgium with Australia (I'm Australian) because I know people who live there and have a bit of an understanding of how their educational system works. They focus much more on foreign languages than we do, but their science results were poorer than ours, as were their reading comprehension scores. Maths was much the same. Min

We did, and when we inflicted 6-hour train rides, and 24 hours in transit on planes, and innumerable hours in car on the kids, we thought they were worth their weight in gold! Or diamonds... Now, they're mostly "superseded" by iPod touches in our family. I think if I were starting over today, I'd just go to the iPods as the educational/other opportunities are great. Ear training, tables prac, spelling flashcards, audio books, educational videos from iTunes etc... Min

What's wrong with Qtips? We don't use them often, but I've never heard anything bad about them... Min

Here some sting, and some don't. Or at least, the kids play with some kinds and know which ones to leave alone... Min

Ah, right. Are these all front loaders? Thanks! Min

Thanks Melissa!

I'm planning a library in my new home. (Well, okay, it is a study, but it will have room for 4 bookcaseso it will feel like a library to me! LOL) However, I'd still love to have a Kindle/Nook/etc. We go RVing and I'd love to pack 3 months of books into one handbag! Min

Apparently it is legal where I live to keep a few hives in the yard, and I'm curious. Probably won't do it, but curious... Does anyone use the beeswax to make candles? If so, how many candles do you get out of a hive? Min

What is an HE machine? Min

Grate as needed to avoid additives. I recently bought a blender that is half-way to a food processor. I "grate" cheese in there for pizzas etc. Min

I got to on hands and knees with a narrow scrubbing brush and a tub of something mildly abrasive, and I suspect a teeny bit of bleach. It was a big job as it was a large space. Min

I don't know anyone with a Kindle to borrow, but a number of local stores have other brands on display that I may be able to try out. Will spend half an hour on the net today checking out features! Thank you all so much for this discussion! Min

Ah, that's an interesting thought. I'd not considered that option. Hmmm, you're making the Kindle really interesting! Thanks Min

I like the iPod Touches. You can disable internet access and they won't be able to turn it on without the code (or whatever it is called...) I'm pretty sure there isn't a radio on it, at least my kids haven't been able to find one so far. The Touch gives the option of useful apps like a metronome, times table prac, flashcards that you and they can create etc, Kindle (and other) apps, ear training (music), notation prac, calendar etc etc... They can also play a multi-user game of Monopoly with a sibling (who also has a iPod Touch) using bluetooth in the car. We also had really cheap MP3 players early on that did their job (ie, just playing audio) really well. They had teeny tiny memories, so we just cycled stuff on and off. Min