Cupcakes! Yum fun! I have made a vanilla cupcake with a whipped chocolate ganache filling that is divine and easy too. I am going to try a new topping soon that is a homemade marshmallow fondant technique. You take the fondant and roll out stripes of color and put them next to each other and then cut out a circle the size of the top of the cupcake and pop it on top (a light buttercream frosting underneath to help hold on the top). I'm going to do some in Easter colors soon. Here is a picture that shows what some look like (not my photo):

:thumbup: to your dh for knowing you well enough to forget the shoes. ;) It is good to see that you are doing so well!!

Oh my! I just read his response to the very well worded homeschooler that emailed him. He completely missed her point. It is obvious that he is hopelessly enamored with his own ridiculous ideas. Let's hope he finds some other crusade besides homeschooling, he is an embarrassment.

His article is absurd. I don't know where he is getting some of his info. Obviously he isn't as clued into homeschool curriculum as he should be. I'd like to know if it ever occurred to him that a major reason many homeschool moms (and dads) don't get into the 'marketing game' is because they are so busy HOMESCHOOLING. Apparently he isn't aware that there is already a LOT of curriculum and idea sharing between homeschoolers. He is an idiot.

I am a homeschooling parent and I'm organized!

Very low carb is healthy! I've been doing it for over a month now and I've eliminated my migraines and lost over 10 lbs. I've been reading a book that explains the relation of carbs and weight gain well. It is called Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It by Taubes. The book also goes into how exercise is minimally effective as a weight loss strategy. Exercise is a great thing for fitness but as a method of loss, it is not all it is reputed to be. Very interesting book!

Thank you for the update! She is so lucky to have such wonderful children! Ds 1 and especially Ds 2, your updates are much appreciated! Keeping you all in my thoughts. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Not sure if this is a possibility but do you think that she honestly forgot what she had said to you? Is it possible she may be showing early signs of dementia (the paranoia and then the forgetting)? It seems so odd to go from wanting to record you to not even mentioning it at all. If it continues to happen, maybe a trip to the dr would be in order.

Keeping her in my thoughts. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

One of mine had infant eczema and now has cold water hives (cold urticaria). We have to be careful not to let her get into cold pools or catch a chill or she will break out in itchy welts all over her body. Putting her in warm water or bundling her up makes them disappear. It is a milder case but can be shocking for other people if she breaks out in front of them. We had to stop letting her take swim lessons in the winter months because she would catch a chill upon exiting the water and break out. I don't know if it has anything to do with the infant eczema though. She doesn't have any food allergies or other allergies.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

That's scary! I'm glad the temp has come down. :grouphug:

I explained to her that we homeschool and are recognized as a 'school' by our district and offered to give her what documentation she needed to verify but she wouldn't respond to my email and neither would the site admin. In all honesty, I think that if we had been given access it still would have been a huge disappointment because of the lack of interest the 'wagonmistress' had shown in the site problems since the initial sign-up. It would have been one of those 'fill the bucket' activities instead of a real experience. We have done our own and it has been a huge hit so things really do work out for the best. :)

Yes. She seems to have a problem with homeschoolers. It is too bad because this program used to be homeschool friendly and the gal who originally began the program did a fantastic job. The person running it now is just not good at all. Some folks just don't get it.

A bit of a rant but also a heads up! We signed up for Westward Ho this year and were informed that homeschoolers were no longer invited to participate in the trail chats. I questioned that new development and the Westward Ho site manager never responded to my inquiry. Her communications up to that point were rude and dismissive. This was on top of dealing with several problems just getting signed up (the site is not professionally maintained IMO). See the site notification here: http://westwardhowagontrain.pbworks.com/w/page/13926973/FrontPage I had recommended this simulation for a Westward Expansion add-on in the past but I can no longer recommend it. I personally have developed my own version and we will be doing it on our own. As long as they plan on excluding homeschoolers, Cyberbee and the Westward Ho simulation is on my 'thumbs-down' list. :thumbdown::thumbdown:

Keeping you in my thoughts. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Agree with the others. Get a lawyer NOW! You also have child custody issues and being the proactive filer may give you a margin of advantage.

Not for Alg 1 but for the maths after that.

We do a no sugar, low grain-very low carb in general for all of us and I'm convinced it is one of the best diets for adults and children. We've been slimming down since we have changed to this diet (children too).

We don't drink milk in our house at all. I was always concerned with the hormones etc. I only use dairy in the cakes I make now.

He might find tt pre-alg too easy. It has A LOT of review. You might see if you can get ahold of TT Alg to compare.

I have both. While I like the ice cream maker, I found the novelty wore off pretty quickly. We also couldn't use it as much because it wasn't good for our diets. We LOVE the Sodastream!!! I use the Sodastream Naturals to flavor water. They have no artificial ingred and no sugar. They taste so refreshing! I like that I don't have to buy bottles of soda anymore or have room in the fridge taken up with bottles and cans. We like to make Butterbeer and I make it using the diet cream soda syrup. We don't make it all the time so being able to make as much cream soda as I need works well for us! The Sodastream cream soda tastes fantastic! The other flavors are quite close too. DH drinks diet Dr.Pepper and the Sodastream version is nearly identical.

I get up about 6:30 and immediately go let the kitties out of the laundry room (their bedroom) and I scoop the box (that will wake a body up). Then I feed the howling mob (the cats). Then it is onto the dog and she goes out to do her biz. Then it is coffee making time for me. That takes me to about 7:00am and it is time to get the kids up. I have them meet me in the living room and we start out with math and then LA. It is about 9 or 10 am and we do history & science and take a time-out for Unitedstreaming history or science video and they eat breakfast while watching the video. Then it is back to school and we go until about 12:30 or 1:00 and they take a lunch break and after that we finish up school around 3 or 4. I think my days are powered by massive amounts of coffee. I also make sure the house is tidy before going to bed the night before and the kids have a curfew on school nights. I also have the schoolwork all sorted and ready a week in advance for each day so there is no worry about compiling work or last minute copy jobs. Everything is planned to the last detail. Makes the week sooooo much easier!

We have very firm rules about completing work before any free time. Mine have to show it to me for grading daily so that is how we avoid any problems.

We liked Lightning Lit because it was secular and had a lot of reading selections.