:iagree: Kim

Here:)

For many of the reasons you stated, I am switching to Trisms. For secular US History, I'd suggest a textbook. I'm going to be using one myself,one of these. http://www.amazon.com/United-States-History-Government-Prentice/dp/0133612228/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289927326&sr=1-2 http://www.amazon.com/Build-Our-Nation-American-Geography/dp/0618206604/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289927162&sr=1-1 HTH, Kim

We painted ours white and it's not country looking. We have a Victorian house. We painted the walls above the wainscoting with a pale yellow, I think it's called Butter by Glidden Paints. It really brightened up our hallway/stairwell. You could go with a linen or antique white, instead of bright white.Or, you could paint the wainscoting bright white, and the wall above with the antique or linen, to tone it down but still be neutral. Another color we used in our house is called Ponytail, it a light beige with gold tones. It's really pretty, we've received a lot of compliments on it. HTH, Kim

Khaki or linen white. You don't want to do another dark color with olive toned furniture. Kim

My son has ADHD and also smells everything. We borrowed books on ADHD and the Feingold Diet from the library.I now buy very little pre-made foods. Coffee helps my son a lot, on days that he doesn't want coffee, I have him drink 1/2 of a Mountain Dew in the morning,t he other 1/2 in the afternoon. The Dr explained that the caffeine wakes up his brain, so that he can focus better. Also, ADHD children NEED a routine. They need to know what to expect every day at what time, they don't do well with surprises. This has been the hard part for me, to get us on a routine. My boys run laps around the outside of the house, when they need to release energy. It works very well. I'll have them do a lap hopping like a bunny, or jumping like a frog, marching like a soldier etc etc. My son is on Ritalin, but it seems that the things I listed above help him as much as the Ritalin does, IF I make sure to do them all every.single.day. He takes the Ritalin on days that he feels that he needs it. HTH, Blessings, Kim

My ADHD son LOVES ILL. We use the old version of Easy Grammar along with it, just because if my son doesn't practice concepts regularly he forgets them. I use the Hillside Edition of ILL, which is Catholic, but the content except for 1 lesson is the same. I use it because it is spiral bound, 8x11 and most of the pictures are in color. It's easier for me to read because it's on larger paper and uses a larger font. HTH, Kim

I moved about 10 times as a kid. This was supposed to be our forever home, but it's just too much for me to take care of ( it's a huge old Victorian). I want a smaller house, we are looking at farms right now. I do hope that our next place is our forever until we retire home. We plan to move to Italy and live in a no kids allowed love shack when we retire. We told the kids, we will pay for them to stay in a hotel when they "come home" to visit.:party: Kim

Oh, I can answer that. I have moved 18 times as an adult, not counting moves as a brat. I literally get an urge to move every few years. The house we are in now, we've been in for 5 years, the longest I have lived anywhere since I was 7. The house is now up for sale. lol Kim

I did. The whole show was about what NOT to do when you've been assaulted...then her public service announcement to NOT do what they just showed .....bothered me. Kim

I have 3 waffle irons...we eat a lot of waffles. I really like our 2 Aldi's ones best. They have a heavy non stick coating. I clean them with paper towels, quick and easy. Our other iron is a cuisinart...it's great also, just cost a lot more than the Aldis's ones! Kim

They are neat books. I have the Ray's too. I enjoy browsing through them. Take Care, Kim

I like Spectrum workbooks for word study and phonics, vocabulary etc. The kids can do them on their own and they are inexpensive. Kim

Hi, Since you like vintage books, how about Harvey's Grammar? I plan to use it when we finish LM. http://www.amazon.com/Harveys-Revised-English-Grammar-Thomas/dp/0880620420/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1288667761&sr=8-2 If you look under, you will find the answer key for it. It's vintage, thrifty and looks complete. Kim

I'm so sorry.:grouphug: Blessings and Peace for you and your family. Kim

Former military spouse here. I would stay put because you know when he will deploy and when he returns he will have choice of next duty station. You seem to like where you are. *But* if they offered him Ft. Irwin, I'd take that because he wouldn't deploy.Even though I personally despise that place! lol Good Luck! Kim

That's what I have been thinking about doing. Too many decisions! I also like that MFW has the timeline, notebook pages etc all in the package. Kim

I too switched to WP this year and I really miss MFW's notes. Also, even though I love the books it is taking us 2-3 days to do 1 day in the IG. We are using Quest for the Ancient World. It's not just you! I'm seriously considering selling and purchasing MFW again. Kim

My fall issue isn't here yet. I've been subscribing for the last 3 years, it always seems to be a bit late in the season. Kim

My husband is not a crier...but he cried when they told the man they would pay his son's medical bills. I'm sure that is a huge burden lifted from the man and his family. I'll have to look in the crowd for your hubby when I see it again! Kim

Beer can chicken, rice, green beans, corn,home made bread. Cookies and ice cream for dessert. Kim

We live just south of Greensboro in Randolph County. To give you an idea of real estate prices, we are currently selling our Victorian style house, half an acre w/ fruit orchard, 4 bed, 2 living rooms, a sun room,dining room, eat in kitchen, plus mud room, 2 baths, full basement, garage, 2600 sq ft.hardwood floors throughout, registered in historic district....for $160,ooo. It's very affordable here. Our utilities are reasonable for the size of our house, gas bill is $195 all year ( equal payment) electric is $165 on equal payment. This is a nice area to consider. The schools are pretty good. You have a lot of good options to think about! Kim

What about Greensboro? There are a lot of colleges, lowish cost of living and available jobs. Kim

We stream via an s video cable from pc to tv. Cable cost $10. Kim

My 4 year old drinks espresso! Big kid & I drink cappuccino. Kim