I've gotten into bulk buying/couponing/stockpiling trying to feed a housefull of growing boys. I need more freezer space and have been looking at chest freezers to put in the garage but then I keep thinking how nice it would be to have the extra refrigerator room for drinks, cheese, etc. I keep going back and forth so I need you women to help me decide. The freezer would be less costly to purchase... I haven't figured out the energy costs... Anyone btdt with an opinion? Thanks, Marie

I understand where you are coming from but I do think it can be awkward to insist and to even go so far as to put the shoe covers by the door. I can only imagine my father being asked to walk around a house looking silly with little paper covers on his shoes but he is very uncomfortable at my brother's house because he is required to take his shoes off. It's just not him. It's one of those things and he would likely not come back. Good guy, just a thing. What I would do (and I know I'm in the minority) is set a mat for wiping shoes, set some shoes out by the door so it is implied, go shoeless yourself, ask the few friends you are really comfortable with (if any) to remove shoes to set an example of what you prefer, and then NOT SAY A WORD. I bet 80% of the people with take off their shoes so you aren't dealing with 40 pairs of shoes tracking through your house, just a few. You won't have put anyone out or had to make people explain medical conditions. I do think sending a message out in advance that no shoes are allowed is very much your right but not at all hospitable. I would imply it and then grin and bear it. Someone might wear old socks the first week and not remove but remember it for the future and you haven't embarassed anyone. Just my .02! Marie

I appreciate you taking the time to answer. I have been researching it and have found the Yahoo group. I have a little time and I figured I would try to get a feel for which courses are the best to avoid while fulfilling the requirements. Thanks again for taking the time. I really do appreciate it. marie

and if you don't mind another question- how have you felt about the courses you have taken from Keystone? I'm sure some are better than others but I was wondering about your experience. Thanks. Marie

I am tossing around ideas for high school and have been looking at Keystone. I would probably do the diploma with their minimum requirements from there and then transfer in other credits from classes we take at home/ co-op/ local high school (we have that option for a couple classes)/cc/ etc. I have read mixed reviews about Keystone but I think I could choose carefully the classes I take through them and then I would still have plenty of flexability for other courses while still qualifying for a diploma from them. Has anyone gone this route? Did it work out as planned? Any pitfalls I need to know about? How do colleges look at a transcript/ diploma from Keystone (or a similar school)? From what I see the Keystone transcipt would be accepted by the NCAA. I, for some reason, am still very fuzzy about how I would award my own transcipt / diploma and I would be more comfortable having some guidance in that department. Any input would be helpful. Marie

I believe for every three referrals you can get a free 8 week subscription to the Grocery Game. I'm not positive but it is something like that. Marie

That would be important. There is always so much in the wording. We are registered with state and had planned to continue with that.

I can't tell you how important this would be to our family. I know some would never consider sports to be important enough to send your child to school but the competition and outlet of sports is like oxygen to dc, it seems. I worry every single day about how to manage the team sports issue vs. really wanting to homeschool. This solution would mean so much to our family. Is there really much chance of this passing? Every time I have heard it mentioned it seems as though there is not enough support for it. I dare not even think about it too much for fear of getting my hopes up. This is a really tough issue for us. Marie

what do you use to store water in the fridge? I have some Kleen Kanteens for individual use but we drink a lot of water and I am used to having a couple big plastic jugs of cold water in the fridge to pull out for dinner, etc. Is there such thing as a stainless water pitcher with a lid? I'm not attempting to eliminate all plastics by any means but I am trying to reduce where I can. Thanks. Marie

I hadn't thought of just spending it on the baby. That could even be fun. I certainly wouldn't get into their habits and why I don't want to accept it other than that it is just too much and (again) we don't do adult gifts. I'll let DH decide whether we send it back or spend it on the baby. I just cannot keep up with this gifting dance every year. We go through this every year but to a lesser degree and they have only increased the amount of the gifts and it is just too much. Thanks. Marie

Dh's brother just had a baby with his girlfriend (he is 31, she is 21). They are very immature and have tons of debt. We hear constantly from MIL and FIL how they don't have any money, having to borrow to pay the rent, etc. Dh and his brother are not close. They talk maybe twice a year. We do not do adult gifts. We give MIL a small token item each year because she is alone but that is it. No adult gifts. We've been saying this for our 13 years of marriage. MIL and FIL still gift us but that is their choice and every year we ask them not to. We do give gift the kids. We sent a baby gift when the baby was born and I sent a small toy ($10) to the baby for Christmas. I figured I was setting a precedent that there would be a small gift for child each year. Yesterday ( a month after they received our gift in the mail so they knew what we were spending) we get $100 Old Navy gift card from them. What??? I do not want to accept $100 gift card from people that need to beg and borrow to pay rent. I do not feel like we can take this. I don't want it. If it was $25 I would have said "they shouldn't have" but I'd have accepted it. But, $100 ??? Dh wants to call BIL and say, "Thanks but babies grow quickly and you'll need clothes for him." and send it back. I am unwilling to up the ante on my gift giving to match and make everything even out. What to do? Marie

Miralax literally changed our lives. (I know this has been discussed in the past here and people have not been open to medication for this issue). My poor ds had been constipated for so long that his bowel was stretched leading to a vicious cycle. He would hold it, become constipated, and then end up pooping in his pants when he couldn't hold it anymore. I was at wits end having pooping accidents with a 5 yo who had been trained since age 2. I was frustrated, he was embarassed and losing confidence, not wanting to go places, etc. We tried everything diet/ hydration wise and milk of magnesia (which was just a mess). The daily Miralax normalized things and we kept him on it for a couple years (it can take that long for the bowel to shrink back to normal size). He is now the most regular kid in the house. I never was aware how bad constipation can be and the cycle you can get in. My ped told me that one bout of constipation can stretch the bowel in such a way that it can take 6 months to go back to normal. I had no idea. I can't tell you how grateful I was to have been prescibed Miralax (it's OTC now). Marie

That would give you a more streamlined look as opposed to the colorful vest breaking up the monocromatic black thing you have going on. Just my opinion. Marie

I am dealing with some similar issues. They are to a lesser extent yet so frustrating (and often heartbreaking). Sorry I don't have anything to offer.:grouphug: I don't know what the answer is to this. Marie

I would not make a fuss. I understand annoyance though I wouldn't be as upset as you appear to be. FIL is late on gift for one of my dc and MIL didn't get anything here on time. My dc are rolling with it just fine. It's just life sometimes. I also would not make a fuss because what if there is a really good reason? What if this person ordered online and had it shipped a month ago? Some of these companies drop the ball every year. What if they got you the absolute perfect something and really went out of their way for it? Would you feel embarassed if you had complained? I just don't see how this can be good for you if you complain. Worst case scenario you end up embarassed because this person got you the most thoughtful gift ever, best case scenario you just look really high maintainance. I'd just roll with it and be very understanding on the outside even if you are fuming inside. It's just not worth it. FWIW, I can picture myself in this situation and I might be annoyed if it was someone who generally annoyed me but understanding if it was someone I generally enjoy. I don't know if any of that is going on here but I can be guilty of that sometimes. Hope you feel better about this soon. Sorry it happened to you. I'm not a big fan of exchanges either. Gifting out of obligation is not fun. Marie

When this has happened to me I have called and been told to keep the item or to donate the item. I felt like it was the ethical thing to do to call and ask. I would definitely call before going to the trouble of returning it because they likely will tell you just to keep or donate. Marie

"Mommy, if the baby is growing in your tummy and making your front big what is making your bottom so big?"

I used to assume that everyone loved my baked goods until I 1) had a friend with food allergies and I realized that I might not even know that acquaintances couldn't eat what I made and 2) I didn't like anyone else's cookies and figured they might not like mine, either! I now do it only for those who I know really appreciate it. Tonight I am cooking for a friend who works long hours and doesn't bake or cook at all. She has 4 kids and a hungry husband and I love to bake for them. They eat fast food constantly and I know they are not health conscious. I LOVE to make treats for them. I enjoy it much more now that I am more selective about who I do it for. Marie

I've been into baking cupcakes lately. I make a couple different kinds and then mix and match different frostings. It's easy to make them up ahead of time and stick in the freezer and pull out a few of each kind when I need a quick tray of something. I've been doing pumpkin with cinnamon frosting, dark choc cupcakes with mint/ vanilla/ or chocolate frosting, yellow cupcakes with different frostings, etc. It's been fun to top them with different candies and makes a pretty presentation. Marie

I went through a rough patch with a friend a while back and these types of things happened and really made things worse. I would just call her and extend the invitation again. She might have expected you to call her to make plans or took your suggestion as tentative and not wanted to call and "invite herself". Or she just might have forgotten but you will probably feel better if you call than if you just hang out with hurt feelings. Sorry this happened to you. Marie

I appreciate everyone's responses. I failed to mention the 8 mo baby in the mix here. Easy, easy, baby but I can't dismiss the fact that she does have needs that need tending to. Good sleeper but she's up early in the morning and can't be expected to entertain herself while I take my time rolling out of bed. I'm about to give 2 spelling tests and then declare Christmas vacation until January 5. I think I'll consider taking one more week then if I need it. We have some fun outings planned the next couple of weeks. I really have no other option. I'm not ready to consider school at this point. I'm going to continue. School has been getting done and will continue to get done. I just want to feel good about it and be happier and more relaxed. I need some hope that these blues will pass. Dh is taking almost 2 weeks off for the holiday and he has never done that before so hopefully I can come back refreshed in January. I cannot find time in my day right now to exercise (really not possible- not just making excuses). If we take that time off school maybe I can work that in and see if that helps. Thanks for all the encouragement. We have always schooled pretty hard year round and maybe it's just been too much. Then again, I'm not yet willing to compromise what I've been doing. I really need to give it all some thought and figure out how to make it work. Because I AM going to make it work. Thanks again, Marie

did it pass? I have been homeschooling for 6 years (dc never in school). I am 100% convinced of the merits of homeschooling. I believe it is the best thing for my dc for just about every reason. I can't think of anything positive they would gain from school that they don't get at home/ co-op/ sports, etc. I do not want to send them to school (5th gr, 3rd gr, and K). But I am tired. I look at the school bus longingly just because I am tired. I want a clean house. I'm just tired of it. I would like a break. I'm hoping someone can tell me that this will pass if I stick with it (kind of like that statistic that a certain percentage of people who are unhappy in their marriage say 5 yrs later that they are happy if they stick it out). Or maybe someone can tell me that I will be worn out by keeping up with 3 dc in school and I won't find the peace I seek when I'm keeping up with homework for 3 dc every night. I don't have any legitimate reason to give up. It would be selfish because I still really believe they are doing great at home and there is no reason to change. They love being homeschooled. They actually thank me regularly. I'm just tired. They are thriving. I'm just worn out. I piece together my own curriculum. I've thought about a year of K12. Then I thought that might be worse. Encouragement, anyone? Marie

We play it with 10 yo, 8 yo, and 5 yo. The 5 yo plays on his own (good reader) but he does need help and we do bend the rules for him. It can be a great deal of fun and we usually get laughing pretty hard. It is good for interesting plays on words and expressions. It can be played quite literally or you can get more creative. It's fun to watch how the different dc play. I highly recommend it. I've given it as gifts a couple times though and I never have heard if the recipients enjoyed it. Marie

this is very helpful and I think will do the trick! Marie

I am looking for a program to track our expenditures by category. We need to know where exactly our money is going. I don't need anything dealing with investments or anything complicated. I basically need something that will let me track our expenditures into many very specific categories. In a few years we may be applying for financial aid for a high school. The process includes documenting what is spent on every little thing. There are categories for toiletries for goodness sake! I want to be prepared for this application process and we should know where our money is going anyways. We have not been organized up until now and I know it is costing us money. So, what recommendations do you have for an easy to use budgeting/tracking program. Any available for free online? Thanks, Marie