The two I go to are pretty similar - one is on May and Memorial and the other is at May and NW 63rd. It can be hard to get out of the parking lot at the NW 63rd location because the May Ave traffic is so heavy. Lana

I'm a non-drinker, so this is probably a stupid question. When you say "wine spritzer" do you have to specify what kind of wine you want? I wouldn't mind trying this, but I don't want to sound stupid when ordering!

Piano lessons from age 7-17 No sports, drama, dance, etc. I was very involved in our church youth group. I tutored in middle school and high school and was involved in a ton of school-related clubs and activities in high school.

My kids always feel a bit left out that we don't buy new school supplies every year. This year I splurged and bought them freezable lunch bags that we can take to park days, but I'd like to get some sort of cool or unusual school supply that will be a treat for the first day of school. Any ideas? My kids are 10 and 8. Lana

My husband was laid off in March. So we've been saving his severance pay and plan to build a 12x20 shed and install a sprinkler system in the front and back yard this fall. Lana

I agree with the others - they're just going to have to learn to work through the noise, whether that means going upstairs, wearing earbuds, or doing work that requires less concentration. One other option that I don't think has been thrown out there - what about giving all 3 a 30 minute break after school ends to have a snack, stretch their legs, go outside, etc., then have 1 at a time come in to practice while the other 2 have free time to play. You could rotate who has to come in to practice first so the first practice-er doesn't feel like they're getting the short end of the stick in regards to free time. Lana

Never mind! I should have checked Amazon before I posted. :) Lana

Is there such a thing as a bullet-tip dry-erase marker? I hate the chisel tips but the fine point markers are hard to read from a distance. I'd love to find a dry erase marker like the regular Crayola markers have. Lana

Is your friend a Christian? If she is, I think you have a responsibility as a sister in Christ to gently confront her with her sin (Galatians 6:1). I would let her know that you love her but you disagree with the things she's doing. I absolutely could not continue to have a close relationship with her, because she will want to talk about her new hookups and her new life. Lana

Well, if Amazon would like to send a mystery package to me, I've got a whole wish list of stuff they can pick from! ;) Lana

Is the eye light sensitive? Does the actual eyeball hurt, or feel firm to the touch? If so, it could be iritis and that needs to be treated ASAP. I've had that a couple of times and it's miserable! Lana

Roast, potatoes, and carrots in the crockpot. Throw a salad together and put some heat-n-serve rolls in the oven right before dinner. Super easy, economical, and everyone likes good ol' comfort food! Lana

We did WWE 1-3 but couldn't stomach the thought of another year of even longer dictations. So for 4th grade we did Treasured Conversations and The Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever. For 5th grade we're planning to do Wordsmith Apprentice and possibly an occasional writing lesson from our grammar book (Saxon). We might go back to WWS in 7th grade. Lana

Maybe the Frixion erasable pens? I haven't used them, but they're on my list to get for my kids next year.

Has she read The Green Ember? I loved it and it's free on Kindle right now!

Ender's Game series (might not fit your parameters) A Wrinkle in Time series The Westing Game The Dark is Rising series Lana

The OKC zoo is on the northeast side of the city. You probably don't want to live there, especially avoid the area east of I-35 from downtown to about NE 122nd. (There are some nice neighborhoods scattered in there, but probably not too many apartments you'd want to live in.) You would probably want to look in Edmond, a bedroom community that is home to two universities. Edmond is a very nice, upper middle class suburb. There is also an apartment complex called the Links on NW 122nd and Kelly Ave that would be 5 miles or so from the zoo. It used to be pretty nice, but I don't know if it still is. Another option would be the area near and around Quail Springs Mall. Roughly bordered by N.May Ave on the west to N. Pennsylvania Ave on the east and from NW 150th on the north to NW 122nd on the south. LOTS of apartment complexes in that area, ranging from townhouses to condos to apartments to upscale apartments - but you will have to check out the crime reports because some have way more crime than others. Will he have a car? OKC is not walkable at all. We do have a bus system but it's not the greatest. Hope that helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. I've lived on the west side of OKC my whole life and went to college in Edmond. Lana

NOEO has a narration page with space for a drawing at the top. I'd probably just plan to scribe for her, no matter which one I chose. I do not see that NOEO lists any additional books other than the required sources. I did not realize that Elemental was coming out with a revised version, so the extra book list in that is new. I really like that they've added extra sources. In fact, after looking at the revised ES sample, I like it even more! It looks like they've done a great job revising and using some better spines.

My 2nd and 4th graders are doing Elemental Chemistry right now. I like how it's very clear what to do each day, down to planning ahead for any experiments. I picked up NOEO Physics II for next year. It seems to be laid out very similarly to Elemental. Elemental has a separate kit with all the experiment supplies. NOEO (at least the physics course) includes some Young Scientist Club kits, but it also will tell you to do an experiment out of the spine book and expects you to collect the supplies. Elemental is nearly all written narration work, except for drawing on the experiment. NOEO seems to have more options for different narration abilities. Lana

Today, we were on our way to a field trip in a town 45 minutes away. Normally, I'm hollering at the kids to hurry up and get dressed and brush their teeth and hair while I drink coffee and check Facebook and WTM. Lana

Would you assign Sign of the Beaver as part of a high school level literature class? I know a mom who assigned this for one of her kids and it really surprised me. My elementary age kids listened to it just a few months ago. Her kids are very smart, so I don't think it was a matter of needing a lower reading level. Lana

Roasted veggies! Slice everything up, drizzle with some olive oil and season (I like S&P, garlic, and an all-purpose seasoning blend) and roast at 350 for 20 minutes or so. Lana

I didn't buy my childhood home (my parents still live there) but I did buy a house 2 doors down from it. When my grandparents got to the point that they needed to move off their farm and be closer to family, my parents approached their neighbors who were retiring and getting ready to move and asked if they would sell to my grandparents. My grandparents moved in and lived there until their passing. After my grandma died almost 3 years ago, my mother inherited the house and we asked her if she would sell it to us. She sold it to us for the same price my grandparents bought it. We spent about 4 months renovating and updating it and it has been wonderful for us. We moved from our "dream" home that we custom-built right before we had kids. It was nearly 2300 s.f., 3 bed, 2.5 bath, office, 3 car garage, etc. The house we moved to is about 2100 s.f., with 4 beds, 2.5 baths, schoolroom, and 2 car garage. While we went down in square footage, the house is laid out so much better for our lifestyle. I miss my awesome master bathroom and the extra garage stall, but here we have a HUGE backyard with mature trees (pecan!), a sun room, and a much larger bathroom for the kids. Plus the best part, having my parents so close - while we've had some boundary issues, we are very close and I love that my kids have such a close relationship with them. And I nearly always have a built-in babysitter! Lana

My 4th grader started the year with TC and we moved into the Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever. Lana

Chicago Manual of Style (6.47) says it should not have any commas at all: John F. Kennedy Jr.