Any chance you would consider posting them all here when you finish compiling? My personal compulsion is lists of classics, and lists in a series. I just have the links stuck in a folder under Favorites, School, Books, Classic Reads

We are at the same place! Be careful of cleansing bars, stripping too much oil from the face will trigger the skin to over-produce oil and make the problem worse. We use Cetaphil for the face (you really just want to get dirt off) and a Q-tip diped in Tea Tree Oil for the occasional blemish. Will be listening for other suggestions!

I choose to do read aloud from the alternate history core page. For us in Year 1 that has been SOTW. I've also added in with CHOTW, Picturesque Tales of Progress, and the occasional Landmark Book.

We just had this for dinner today! Earlier in the week I sautéed a bunch of veggies and have been using this mix in everything from omelets to lentils (onion, carrots, celery, garlic, portabella mushrooms, chopped fine in food processor, sautéed in butter adding each in order about every 5 minutes.) Tonight, I boiled some whole wheat angel hair pasta, chopped up the remainder of a Whole Foods rotisserie chicken, added the above veggie compote, mixed it all together with more butter, and topped with kalamata olives - divine! Tomorrow I will boil the bones of the chicken for broth and use in soup or another pot of lentils with the remaining veggie sautee. My philosophy on cooking is everything I prepare should give me a leg up on the next meal.

And the comment on exercise reflect my experience. I started walking on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes a day as part of a new dedication to healthier living - plesantly surprised by the side effects! Also, my estrogen tested very low. Now I wear an estrogen patch, and those normal hormonally driven cycles of interest have reappeared! Our house is much happier - talk to your doctor. p.s. The patch is metabolized through different pathways than B.C. pills and does not carry the same risk profile.

Could someone please graciously explain where the tea reference originates? Is this a WTM inside joke, or am I hoplessly secluded and out of date? I also opened this post thinking that I was going to read about having a pajama day with the kiddos - but the lingere part was puzzling! Laughing at myself very hard right now.

Family and friends, not so much; strangers in line at the post office - all the time! I don't know what it is. Once people ask "is school out today?", and get the reply "we're homeschooled", out pop the questions. Really, it is so annoying for an adult to pull one piece of archane knowledge from the recesses of their brain and expect my second grader to know the answer. If I'm feeling gracious, I will typically intervene with "we haven't spent any time studying that; son please tell this gentleman what you are learning about now." My children also have instructions to look directly into eyes, speak clearly, and give a LONG answer. Then I leave thinking, "why do I feel the need to validate our family to a stranger?" Oh well.

We talk about how God has placed each child perfectly in the family because being the oldest/youngest forms attributes in their character that are necessary to become the Man and do the work that God intends. This is not often comforting, but because it is the truth it is acceptable to them.

Since we just flipped our closets, this is fresh on my mind also. I have finally settled into a process that I really like. DH and I got the whole thing done in one morning - a record! What is our buying strategy? Well, first of all - Never pay retail! I buy clothes at Goodwill, Consignment, Garage Sales, end of season 80%off at department stores, and we receive some hand-me-downs from older cousins and friends (although that is beginning to trickle out as children age). The only things that I won't buy this way are socks, under garments, and PJ's. I don't spend much time looking for clothes; however this is the secret when I go, I buy WHATEVER is the correct size (for both boys) or a larger size than they wear now, and is in perfect shape. I don't worry about what I already have or don't have. Anything that is not meant for the closet now goes into storage. We don't have extensive storage in our home, but I dedicate a corner of the under eaves storage and 1/2 of the guest closet to the boy's clothes storage. My guys are 3 years apart, so anything that is still good after the older boy is finished has to be stored for the younger. The clothes are packed into paperboxes (the kind that reams of paper come in) with a cedar plank at the bottom and labeled: Winter dress pants, winter jeans, winter long sleeve shirts, summer shorts, summer t-shirts, summer polos... you get the idea. I don't even bother packing the new stuff into their designated boxes. I just toss it in the attic, and it will get sorted at the next rotation. When it comes time to flip the closets (twice a year for warm and cold), I pull out ALL of the boxes. We can quickly sort through what is still way too big, put it back in the boxes, keep out what is the correct size. I guess I do take a mental note about what I don't need to buy again for a while and what might be good to find at this point. However, this is a big leap for a girl who used to keep an ITEMIZED list - what a waste of time! Then comes the two hour modeling session. In the end, anything that is too small for the older son goes into storage. Anything that the younger has outgrown is given to friends with youngers. Yes, occasionally, I have three white polo shirts for the little guy. But because on average I paid $1.50/each, I can cheerfully share them to others who will benefit from my finding a bargin. Every season I probably give away a grocery bag clothes that I bought and couldn't personally use. I have noticed a trend this year. The older has a plethora of "dress and errand" clothes while the younger has an abundance of "errand and play". Guess this is the natural progression of hand-me-downs. It's not much, but the financial savings from shopping second-hand combined with the time-savings of not keeping track of a clothes inventory is huge for us.

Soak it in a solution of dishwasher (like Cascade) detergent. These have higher phosphate levels than laundry detergent. I have removed many stains that made it through the dryer this way.

Awana is wonderful; it is age graded, higher grades do review of previous memory. If you aren't inclined to participate in the program at a church, I would call around and find a youth program that will let you just buy the books, crowns and jewels.

Your local Craigslist is the best place for a bargain. Just search with the words china place setting. Many people sell their fine china as a way to make extra money, or they never used it. The most complete listing of patterns is at Replacements.com All of the china patterns have pictures. Their store front is just outside of Greensboro, NC (exit 132 from Hwy 40) if you are planning to pass through. The prices for their individual pieces are very high; however, they often have full sets in the showroom for a bargain.

Another thought... Is there any possiblity that you could borrow the first half of a year from someone locally who uses TOG? I currently have two sections of mine out to friends who are contemplating the program. The advantage is that you can more readily see what resources are recommended than by pulling up the book list on Lampstand Press. (TOG site).

I don't have much new to add to the previous posts other than to comment on your concerns about: Cost: If you purchase print, the resale value of this program is very high. I consistantly see redesign year plans selling for 70% of cost (or better). The new DE version is a license for your exclusive use; you can not resell the DE program. Also, don't forget you can purchase TOG a unit at a time. For $60.00 or $8/week - you can give it a good try. Prep Time: I classify my prep into two parts. Planning the whole year (how TOG would integrate with my Math and Science, what extra writing we wanted to do, which activities from TOG I wanted to try, printing the maps, making notebooks) took a solid two weeks during the summer. Weekly planning and prep. takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Best wishes as you .

It was "prescribed" for me by my GYN, meaning he recommended the course of treatment and referred me to this source/website. However, Vitamin D - even at this level - is not a prescription drug, so I was able to simply order it for myself with a credit card. I chose to call their 800 number to place the order, and the service representative was very friendly and helpful. I'm certain they would answer any questions you have.

OK, This is BRILLIANT! I have put it into the lesson plans for next year. Hope to get a grip on the house over the summer, reorganizing closets, assessing the filing system, sorting those toys! Like the OP, I can not think clearly when surrounded by clutter and dirt. I tend to schedule the big stuff for when we aren't schooling and then try to keep the structure in place when our days are busy.

I also just started taking 50,000 IU of D a few weeks ago, with blood levels at a 10. Too soon to be able to answer your questions about results. I do have more energy these days, but I also just started a whole foods diet and drinking some nasty, green vegtable powder! Anyway here's my source. www.bio-tech-pharm.com The product is D3-50 and is on the second page (which is easy to miss) $30.00 for 100 capsules. I don't believe this is a pharmaceutical in the traditional sense. And I trust the quality since it is manufactured in the US. Best Wishes.

Mathaletics - small fee, great fun. Starfall - early reading site

Thank you so much for your warm encouragment and excellent ideas! This is a whole food, organic diet with an exercise component; the green food and seed fiber drink is a supplement. I've compromised by putting the fiber on my salad instead of in the drink. So that helps with the texture, and I am able to gulp the rest down. The most surprising thing is that I'm not craving sugar. I so appreciate your caring answers - thank you sincerely.

I am very interested in the replies to this also. I have a similar problem with our hepa filter vacuum cleaner. We have a dog and suck of tons of animal hair every week. Recently the vacuum is blowing out a noxious funk despite changing the bag and filter several times. I can't figure it out!

Oh no, no replies and I have to drink this again in 30 minutes..... I thought I read a series of posts recently about people drinking green drinks. I just need to know - what do you put in there to make it tolerable?

Two more wonderful books to help promote better communication because this is just a single prank, but the relationship is for a lifetime. Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp Love Languages for Children.

It's the recommended blend of seed fiber, green super food powder, and vegtable juice from a diet book which I started this morning. In a sincere effort to regain my health, I stirred this up with anticipation. One swallow later, I was gagging on a slurry of grass. It is going to be impossible for me to handle this texture without vomiting. I threw the whole thing out, started over with just the juice and green powder and magaged to get that drunk. An hour later the taste is still lingering in my mouth. It is less than appealing. My son said, "I feel sorry for Mama". So do I, but I'm determined to see this through and make some real changes. I'm supposed to drink another glass this afternoon! My honest and hopeful question is "how do you get this down?" thank you, Kymberly

I agree the "simple life" as many express it - is A LOT OF WORK! There is a big difference between living a simple life and living a peaceful life. The OP talked about frustration with the chaos of life. Doing everything from scratch like an imitation Amish woman, may seem simple - but I believe you could easily trade one set of stresses for another. The true pursuit is to bring peace to your current circumstances.