I've been having problems losing weight while nursing as well. However, I've recently started losing weight after I cut out snacks and made my meal portions smaller. And snacks were grapes, carrot sticks, yogurt, etc...

We have another book from this series, and we enjoy looking at it. It is hard to find some of the items in the pictures (for a 4 yr old), but she likes picking individual things she can spot on her own.

PS is not an option! I will try my darndest to make HS work - I'm on the waitlist for work-from-home, so once I get that, things will be golden. If I don't, then DD will go to a local montessori (goes to 6th grade) that's 20 min one way in the wrong direction.

We cook on the grill. You'd be amazed at how versatile a gas grill is. We'll bake rolls ,pizza, cassaroles, etc... in addition to normal grilling.

Princess is a good line to sail w/. I might be biased though b/c I used to work for them. ;) I have sailed w/them multiple times - 2x to Alaska. It's my favorite destination. It's gorgeous up there and the air feels cleaner. We've seen whales (a mom and a calf humpback breached near our ship once) and brown bears from the ship. Princess isn't going to have all of the crazy add-ons like water slides, rock climbing walls, etc...so if you're looking for that, look elsewhere. The Coral is one of their smaller ships. I prefer the smaller ones, but that's just me. They feel a bit more personal and intimate. I agree that Cruise Critic is a great place to go for info. You will get a lot of opinions and advice.

DD enjoys ReadingEggs, but I see it more as a game than as a learning tool. Or if you do want to use it that way, then you'll need to be w/your SO walking them through it. I've found that I have to do some of the levels for DD as she can't manipulate the mouse/keys fast enough (falling bricks or the ant on the treadmill). I don't like that you can fail a level test and still move on.

For my 17th birthday, my mom sent me a bunch of apples and oranges individually wrapped in tissue paper. I went to a military school for high school, and since I complained of the lack of fresh fruit, she thought it would be a nice gift. My 17 yr old self was devastated. I still tease my mom about it.

I like it b/c it helps me visualize. :) I figure we'll be doing 2 hrs of actual school at most per day once we officially start K. Probably less initially.

I have both the 1999 and the new edition of WTM for comparison. Plus, I like that the 1999 one has sample schedules laid out. My planning-freak mind needs that.

Cruising is a great escape from reality. No thinking, no worries. :grouphug: Grand Cayman - swimming w/the sting rays is my favorite thing to do. It is a little unnerving when they swim between your legs, but it is a lot of fun. Also on GC, you NEED to buy rum cakes. Buy lots and lots of them - chocolate and regular are the best. Cozumel - if you haven't any Mayan ruins, there should be several excursions that offer them. Chitchen Itza is a very extensive ruin (haven't been there). Tulum is also a good one (this is a must to do at least one. It is a loooooooong bus ride there and back, but worth it for how beautiful it is).

I don't know if it stops when they're adults. Every time DH and his brothers get together, things get loud and physical and interesting (and now that one is a bomb squad tech, and another is a computer science wiz...a whole lot more dangerous). They're 31, 30, and 24.

Nope! It never gets old. DH even looks hot in a bomb suit.

My DD4 has been having them too. It's just heart-rending. We pull her into bed w/us when this happens.

I watched the DVDs a while ago, and I thought it was very interesting. It's an academic focus, not a religious focus. I'm sorry I can't give more details! I would watch it again though, and when my DDs are older, I want to use it as an education resource.

Yep! I read it in 7th or 8th grade (I don't remember which). I had a huge impact on me. I want my children to read it, and we'll follow it up w/Fast Food Nation.

I second the "How to Cook Everything" book. Some of our staple recipes come from both the regular and vegetarian books.

For typing, I learned in 1st grade. That is most likely when I'll teach my children as well.

In the past, I've waited until the last day or so to place my order. I'm always worried about the "buy when it reaches X%" that I wait. It's always gotten to the highest discount. Other than that, I've never had a problem ordering through them.

:grouphug: Everything always goes wrong during a deployment! I'm glad he'll be home soon.

Yep! They don't sell that size in the stores. What I usually do is wait until they run one of their free shipping when you spend over $X (usually between $50-70). We usually buy flour 2-3 times per year.

When I was a kid, I loved Earl Grey and Lady Grey tea. ODD will drink any kind of hot tea we give her as long as it has honey in it - usually basic black or green tea.

It's a new film of the old-school sci-fi vein - Moon (Sam Rockwell). We just watched this recently and it is amazing. No questionable content.

Their flour (we buy the 25 lb bag), pizza blend, and yeast.

Thank you, everyone! :) Now I just have to keep myself in check and not try to dive into phonics/reading. I think she's one for a gentle, non-pressure approach. If she had to choose between math and reading, she'd choose math. StephanieZ - the basket idea sounds great. I think we'll have to copy you and implement. Being able to visualize her accomplishments would be good.

My level of happiness is probably much higher than it should be for this, but I am so completely excited that ODD read the first BOB book in its entirety, all by herself (minus me telling her how to say the word "on"). :001_wub: We have not touched upon reading at all for several months b/c she kept getting so frustrated at sounding everything out. I think even this book was at her limit of what she'll handle as she wanted to stop reading 2 pages from the end. But....she read it!