I hate them and don't let my kids buy ice cream. They can just add it to their lists of ways I've screwed them up...

I can't find any recent updates. He's still down there, right?

None. They'd rather watch House Hunters.

Because I don't discount the academic rigor of a program just because it's published by a Christian company. CLE works perfectly for us, so I use it. As long as what I don't agree with doesn't detract from the skill or content being taught, I don't really care what religion publishes it.

We just read about James Cook and the early convict settlement. Are there any good (and free) documentaries out there? I saw Botany Bay on Netflix, but that's it. Thanks!

I didn't know you could make your own! Please share! (I also didn't know one could make brownies from scratch until I started homeschooling. I'm learning, people.)

While I don't buy it myself, I ALWAYS reach for the Miracle Whip at my MIL's. it's my guilty pleasure...

Just to throw it out there, we got our 2006 Tribeca in 2008 and paid about $20,000. We bought it at Carmax, of all places. I'm in love with this car. Sun roof, leather heated seats, the whole nine yards. You might want to look for a used one!

I'm reading Cutting for Stone. I won't finish this week. I'm already behind!!!

It tastes fine. I stopped buying it because it has a lot of other junk in it. We buy Whole Foods' 365 Mayo. It has canola oil, eggs, vinegar, water, salt, sugar (insignificant amount), lemon juice, natural favors, and paprika oleoresin.

Yeah, I'd watch for this though. If you've already paid the difference, it's not fair for them to now receive more money from your medical insurance. That's double dipping unless they reimburse you.

Oh, and our Legacy is only a year old and it gets amazing gas mileage.

Without reservation, SUBARU! We love our Legacy (sedan) and our Tribeca (mid size SUV). I dream about the new Outback.... And we are usually not car people!

Seriously! I've had to walk away from this thread three times. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been shut down, although I'm still learning where the line is.

If you haven't tried Hillbilly Housewife's banana whole wheat pancakes, you are missing out. I'm 99% sure someone here introduced me to the recipe a few years ago. We LOVE them. Today we added blueberries. Sometimes we add chocolate chips. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/bananapancakes.htm

The other culprit could be the speech therapy office, which gets pretty nasty, but she has been there twice a week for over eight months. Our one and only time at the play place and she gets sick. Hmmmm...

Is the keeping it clean. We are good at doing big cleaning days and getting it spotless, then things start to pile up, we tried Fly Lady. Our old neighborhood house was always clean. Now that we live in the country and don't get visitors, there is little motivation. ;)

My kids haven't been sick ALL year! We wanted to get together with a friend and she suggested a fast food play place. I never let my kids play in those in the winter because they are a germ haven, but it has been sooooooo cold outside and there aren't a lot of options in our town. So we went. That was exactly a week ago. Now my dd is sick. Ugh!!! Never again. (Yes, I realize she could have picked it up anywhere, but I just know....)

Sounds like strep. :( I wouldn't send her to school because she's had the fever for a few days. Even if it isn't strep, it sounds like she needs to rest and get better. Maybe a day at home would help her get better, but pushing her tomorrow might make it worse. Tough call. I'd be taking her to Urgent Care, but that's me. When I was teaching and my girls were in kindergarten, I swear we spent at least five Sunday nights at Urgent Care for either strep or ear infections.

Are you planning on limiting them to a certain area? Are their parents going to be there? If so, I'd consider making some sort of guide for the parents- things to look for or point out, background info, interesting facts, sample questions to ask. That way the kids can focus on the experience and the parents have a little help with their guidance. The kids can spend longer in areas they are more interested in, etc. Just an idea.

OK, I'm still getting the hang of this- keeping up with the reading and the reviewing! I read The Handmaid's Tale. http://homeschoolfortwo.com/homeschool/the-handmaids-tale/

Hmm. We travel a lot, so we usually tie that into our studies. My kids have been to 27 states and counting. My husband speaks Japanese so he is teaching the girls Japanese in 10 minute increments before bedtime. That's all I got. I'm pretty traditional.

Oh no! This happened to my step dad about ten years ago. He is an an avid mountain biker and still is, but had a freak accident on a simple bike trail and fell off like he was diving into a swimming pool. He broke the top two vertebrae. He had to be in a halo (where they screw it into your skull) for what seemed like a long time. He couldn't shower or anything. It took a long time to recover, but he is totally fine now and is very active. You can't see the scars on his forehead anymore. Good luck to your son. I hope for a speedy recovery.

Well, we have the opposite experience. My adopted girls look JUST like us. The dentist asked one dd where she got her curly hair (I have straight hair). I always get tense because I don't want her to feel uncomfortable, but she looked at the dentist and said, "Naturally!" She didn't skip a beat.