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

I did pay that. It is completely non-consumable and I have 4 dc so I kind of justified it that way. You can find it used, but not cheap. It has high resale value so you can recoup much of your cost. We're halfway through pre-algebra and I just think it's the greatest... so it has been worth it for us. No doubt there are much cheaper great options. I just was really sold on Chalkdust so I took the plunge. Marie

Okay- I clicked on "picture properties" for one of the pictures and it says "date modified 11/12/08" with a time of 8:30 am. I have been the only one home today. I called dh and told him to be prepared to hash this out tonight. He immediately said they are from our computer ( he volunteered this and he knows that I don't know about computers) but said he doesn't know how they got there or what I am talking about. He said maybe they are images on pop ups that have been blocked. Is that at all plausible? There are also some innocent images on there of ads that I don't think I've ever seen. Hmmm, this will be the topic after dc are in bed tonight...I obviously don't want to believe this is him but I'm not really one for denial, either. Thanks, everyone. Marie

I am not computer smart so bear with me here... I got an email with an invitation to a birthday party for one of ds's friends. (it was sent to multiple people). The email was text with cute little pictures of a cake and a gift stuck in (something I don't know how to do :) There were also attachments listed at the top that looked like they were for the pictures. I clicked on one just to see if it was some other information about the party. What I got when I clicked on the attachment was a Microsoft Office document page that had the little picture of the cake. There was a space at the bottom with arrows to look at the next picture so for some reason I just clicked on that to see what else was there. Well, I got some very disturbing pictures! I would assume these came from the sender's computer but there were pictures on there that were familiar to me (like baby gates I had been researching and even an avatar from this board!) So, would someone computer savvy please tell me where these images in Microsoft Office are coming from? Dh rarely uses this computer and dc are too young. I would like to just assume they were from the files of the person who sent the email but obviously some of them were from my computer. If this is dh- then we are going to have some serious issues- but I need to know. I certainly want to know where they came from before I confront him. This would be very out of character for dh. We've been together 15 years and I've never seen any signs of interest in this sort of thing but I don't have my head in the sand and I know it's possible. Dh is pretty much an open book though- I don't know when he'd do this or why on my computer. Thanks, Marie

with my ds. it is definitely a step up in terms of rigor. Mostly I think it is the difference in using a text directed at older students. We have not had any problems. In fact, I'm thrilled with it. I'm going to continue with the other kids to use MUS through Zeta and then switch to Chalkdust. Chalkdust has the reputation of being rigorous and I feel like ds was very well prepared by MUS. I don't know if that helped you any but I we are about 1/3 of the way through the prealgebra and I am very happy with it. Marie

sometimes things come up that you just kind of have to roll with. I would expect a high school level sport to be 6-7 days per week some weeks. Individual sports give you a little more control but you pretty much turn your life over with team sports at a competitive level. Changes in schedule, location, expenses, etc. you have to be pretty flexible about. It's a big commitment.

So far I've used the chapter review and end of chapter tests to gauge his retention. That's been good enough for us but we are moving more slowly than you are. Marie

What brands do you like? I am about 160lbs and 5'4. I wear a 10 (or sometimes a 12). I carry most of my weight in my hips/butt. I have narrow shoulders- a definite pear shape. I desperately need new clothes that make me look pulled together. Does anyone have any favorite brands I should look at? I think I want to start with a couple nice pairs of jeans/ pants. I get tired of trying on every pair in the mall. It gets so discouraging. Any ideas as to where I should start? I am always noticing women that I feel like are bigger than me but are dressed very nicely and seem to be pulling it all off better than I am. I know there are some cute clothes out there somewhere for someone with my shape/size. Thanks. Marie

but sometimes it is fun to just act like we are young again. We have been known to stop into an arcade a have a skee ball competition or ride go carts or play miniature golf. I don't particularly like any of those activities but there is something fun about letting go and just being silly like when we met. Marie

The Hills. It is so horrible and yet I watch. Marie

It's just been the pattern of behavior since we met. She is what I would consider a rude guest so I don't go out of my way to be a good hostess. I'm sure she figures she can be a rude guest because I am not overly polite to her. I'm going to try to do better this time. I may not make it till she gets here- she just called and is delayed again and will be even later. Dh sleeps pretty well on the couch so I'll have him wait for her so he can get her things in for her. I'm sure she is exhausted after such a long drive. I'm just being selfish- I really want to climb in bed and take my hubby with me. She doesn't have a dh so I'll just have sympathy for her. It's just something I would never do so I can't understand why she does. If she would just do everything my way things would be fine! LOL! You just do not leave on a 12 hour road trip at 11:00 am. Not when you are a women traveling alone. It's hard to break a cycle we've been in for 15 years. In my defense, when this all started she was the grown up and I was the teenager. I guess I'm the grown up now and it's time to work toward a change. My dh would be happy, I'm sure, if I took his mother in stride a little more this time. Thanks, Marie

or just pout the whole weekend. Maybe she'll plan to arrive earlier next time, though. I just want to make sure I'm not being terribly disrespectful. I generally am by the end of the visit but trying not to start that way! Marie

At what point can I go to bed, leave the door unlocked and the linens on the couch? My MIL insists on arriving after 11:00pm (we go to bed between 10-11). We always wait up but she just called and will not be in until 12:30- 1:00 am. We have a busy weekend with kids coming up and are exhausted from the week we just finished. Do we have to wait up that late? And she will want to visit when she gets here. She does this by choice- it is a 12 hour drive but she won't leave until late morning and she hit some construction this time. It is a strained relationship. Am I just being difficult or is it rude to arrive at such an hour (when it is within her control)? I really want to call her and tell her we've got to turn in but everything is set up for her in the family room and she should make herself at home. We'll see her in the morning. What to do? Marie

That is what I needed. A bob with layers is what I am looking for. I have a lot of hair and they always seem resistant to cutting enough layers and I end up with a very full bob- not my style. Although that is what I'm sporting right now. Thanks. Marie

I need a picture to show my stylist but it seems like everywhere I look I have to weed through tons of really "out there" hairstyles to find anything suitable. Does anyone have any favorite sites? I'm looking for short to medium styles that are simple but cute- layers here and there and such. Seems like everyone I see has hair I like but actually finding a picture is difficult. I want "cute mom hair". Nothing fancy but some kind of style. Any help? Marie

I've looked at the website before because I might be interested in some of the products. I see the products and the prices but I don't see anywhere that explains how to sign up or what the monthly commitment is or anything. Is this something you have to get signed up through someone else or you have to become a rep or something? Marie

The K uses it for starfall.com and spellingtime.com. The 3rd uses it for spellingtime.com, bigstatestime.com, and vocabtime.com The 5th uses it for Rosetta Stone Spanish and Reading Detective CD-ROM. They don't use it for any other games. The computer is for dh and me and the kids' "school stuff". They do have a Playstation that they have about 1 hr per day on weekends or if they have friends over. They don't earn that time exactly but it is the first thing to get pulled for behavior issues. I'm very leary about the internet so we keep it to the school stuff and let them play on the Playstation. There has not been an interest in email, etc. yet. We'll cross that bridge in the next couple years with the oldest, I'm sure. Marie

or something like that. I think the author is Dan Gutman. I know a couple of the titles are Babe and Me and Jackie and Me. Basically a kid travels back in time and gets involved with baseball greats. My kids really enjoyed them. There are also a couple by Mike Lupica. I wouldn't necessarily recommend them. They are a little too "modern" for my endorsement but my 10 yo has read and enjoyed them. There is one call Heat. Matt Christopher books have also been very popular. Good Luck. Marie