I'm relatively new, I guess. I started lurking,er um, researching in the bleak midwinter. I was as low as a snake from lack of sunlight and feeling discouraged with how school was going. I read TWTM a few years ago when I was preparing and planning and thought maybe I could find some curriculum reccomendations here. I found those, and how! The only other homeschooler I know IRL uses a boxed curriculum so she couldn't give me much advice. I found what I was looking for and posts by others who get discouraged and down at times in their own homeschool trek. For some reason just knowing I'm not alone was a great encouragement. Now of course I am a WTM board habitué. Or perhaps I have been assimilated..... Lisaloo <who thinks she will get off the computer and go grocery shopping before her family is forced to eat I don't know what, since we don't have any food>

I have a 5 Gallon bucket, grocery bags and 2 kids.:D Every other day they scoop,bag it, tie it up and we put it in the wheelie dumpster. I couldn't bear to cover up the bucket and then have to open it up again:ack2::ack2: better to be rid of it at once imho. I have a Dane and a Basset though so it's quite a bit of :scared: ETA: Maybe you could do what the pp said and sprinkle cat litter in there too. Although... that might get heavy.

My all time favorite was a listing on Craigslist for "Shabby Sheik Furniture" My mom and I wept tears of joy over that. We had a wonderful time imagining what a shabby sheik would wear.

:D Lisaloo-who wonders if she could use dried organic eggs to make mayo. Lisaloo-who really should be in another state working on her forever home. Lisaloo-who ought to get off her ample bohonkus and do some house work, but keeps putting it off for fear of aggravating her broken rib. Lisaloo- who wonders why at a certain age her feet dried up and her face got oily. I could go on and on. Lisaloo- who thinks Cyndi is onto something and we should all imitate SpyCar, and hope he would look on it as flattery.

IMHO it's difficult to define what some of our *expectations* are until someone disappoints them. I have a certain set of spoken expectations/hopes for my children's future spouses, but until they are married I probably won't know all the unspoken and unknown expectations I have lying dormant.:D Hopefully by that time the Lord will have taught me how to control my tounge:tongue_smilie:

Colored or printed sheets, I only feel okay about using white on my bed. A while back one of my white sets died and the other was dirty. I was sick and not doing laundry but it took all I had to put a printed set on my bed. :001_huh::lol: I didn't realize until that moment how much it bugged me.

I'm going to go with e,h and k. Oh, wait... you were asking why you can't stand your family right now, not me:D

I do suffer with it, I have taken meds for it but the weight gain got to be ridiculous so I got off the meds and took 5-htp for a while. It worked for a while, but then it sort of swung the other way and was making me feel worse.:glare: So, no more of that. I also feel like I am barely keeping it all together on most days. I haven't had to just go get in bed and cover up for a while though so I'm better than I have been before. I sort of try to grin and bear it, I have a very hard time putting my feelings into words, so it's difficult to share with my friends and family what I am going through. Anywhoo... you're not alone.:grouphug:

Praying today will start the ball rolling for protective services to get invovled for all her family's sake.

Praying your DH finds new work quickly.:grouphug:

I said other. Depends on the type of apple, sometimes the peel is too tough.

When we knew someone very like Ms. X we went straight to the director of protective services and asked what steps to take to make it possible for them to get involved. They had the same kind of hearsay line, but told us how to go about getting them involved in the future. One of the things they told us to do was to get in contact with the county health department, which in our case had caseworkers for mental health and parenting help, when they got involved it seemed to include protective services. Keep at it, it sounds like Mother X and the rest of Ms. X's family need an advocate.

Praying:grouphug::grouphug:

We will be doing year 1 and 3 next year. I found the AO site through this board and have been trying it out to finish up this year. We have been loving it.

I'm so, so sorry. You have my most sincere sympathy.:grouphug:

I have been sick for about 3 weeks, had a bad (and I mean bad) sore throat and a bad cough. I have been on the mend and hardly coughing at all. So.... Thurs. morning one of my ribs was hurting a little, and has been getting steadily worse. I'm wondering if I have cracked it and was wondering if any one else has cracked a rib coughing:confused:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

How about Dot or Dotty?

:iagree: and with Pippen, just the basics. I have found some Janomes on Overstock, some are new and some are refurbished machines. When you know what you want you might check there to see what they have.

I don't like to be watched when I'm doing anything. Cooking, sewing computing, talking on the phone, whatever. It drives me bats. I've come to call it "Observation Aversion".

I like mine raw, peeled with salt, just crunchy slices. I've also diced it up and added it to Minestrone Soup. Mmm.

I'd go up the food chain, right to the director. If my library does not have a copy of the book I need/want and it is still in print, I ask them to purchase it. Some times this works, sometimes not. The library I am using now will only buy books from certain sources:confused: so they won't always get me what I need. But they have bought almost every book I have requested. When I worked at my little local library in CO, my director told me that it usually cost less to simply puchase the book than it did for all the ILL courier costs. She would even buy used books on occasion if they were not available through ILL. Granted she was the best boss ever and the most relaxed and happy library director I have ever met, so it may just depend on the library.

Shifra. Thanks! I think Dexter could learn to tune the guitar, he has a full size that my Dad gave him and an electronic tuner and he seems to be able to tune on his own. The reason I'm looking at guitar is that he seems to have a natural inclination and love for it. Money is one of the reasons we can't do lessons right now but more than that we are traveling back and forth between states working on our new home that is in the process of being built. Thanks for the guitar rec. I will look at that guitar. I am also trying to decide whether 1/2 or 3/4 is the best size.

1. What's your name? Lisaloo 2. How many kids do you have (include ages if you wish): 2 3. What curriculum/curricula do you use? AO with a bit of Singapore Math, Prima Latina, PLL, and other assorted stuff thrown in. 4. Something interesting about yourself: I own a Great Dane, a Basset Hound and 3 tame cats. 5. What's your favorite season? Summer 6. Favorite subjects to teach: History 7. What's your HS approach in a nutshell (e.g. classical, CM, LCC, unschooling, etc)? My two favorites are Classical and CM. 8. Why did you decide to homeschool? I decided to homeschool because I think a child's parents/immediate family should be the biggest influence in their lives and because I had an abysmally incomplete education in public school.

I've tried searching but am coming up with nothing that is answering my specific question. I took piano lessons as a child and also played the clarinet so I'm not totally musically ignorant, I just have no natural talent. I would like to start Dee-Dee and Dexter on the piano and guitar but can't do lessons right now for a number of reasons. I am looking at Piano Adventures and Alfred's Kid's Guitar Course. I guess what I am asking is for those who have used these programs. Do you think I could instuct my own dc with these books? Thanks