I would have been happy to have a smaller, intimate wedding, but, since I was the last of the 6 kids to get married in my family, my parents wanted a more "traditional" wedding reception. It was kindof a last hurrah. This was almost 17 years ago. I paid for the dress, flowers, photography, favors, but I was working at a VERY well paying job at the time. My dress was $600, which everyone told me was "cheap". I didn't have fairy princess dreams, but the dress made me feel beautiful. I did not want to be 'bridezilla" like my younger sister (who as getting married 2 months before me), so I made quick decisions and tried not to be fussy. We ended up with 200 guests (mostly friends of our parents) and the wedding was about $12,000 (including what dh and I spent on our individual parts). Meanwhile little sister and her parsnickety fiance had to be reigned in everywhere. Sis' fiance came from a small town where you posted the invitation on the church bulletin board and had baloney on wonder bread at the reception. Around here, sit down dinners were more expected. Sis' DF chose the most expensive plate - prime rib, but expected to be able to just post the invitation on the bulletin board and have 200 people show up. He wanted the most expensive 'EVERYTHING' but it wasn't his dime.

Passion for Learning School. We don't need a name in our state, but it is our original "why" homeschool - to nurture that inborn passion for learning.

Sealed in the dry cleaners special storage box in a storage closet. I hope to save it for my daughter or one of my nieces. My friend wore her mother's dress and it was lovely (and so different from everything we saw in stores!) About 11 years ago (we married 16 years ago), we had a tremendous amount of rainfall in a short period of time. We got a phone call at 2 AM from SIL asking us if we had water in our basement. Relieved that no one had died (why else would anyone call at that hour), I rolled over and went back to sleep. Dh went downstairs to see that we did have 2 inches of water in the basement and he asked me if there was anything urgently important (as in irreplaceable) and I told him no. Then I remembered that my wedding dress box had fallen off the shelf of the cedar closet in the basement and was probably in the water. Dh saved the dress - but it did get a little wet. Good thing he went down when he did. The power went out a couple hours later and the sump pump stopped working - we had 2 feet of water in the basement. I had the dress cleaned and re-boxed. They said it was in great shape.

DH helps out a ton. When we were first married, I worked just as many hours as he did, and we were pretty well split on chores at home. We also had a cleaning lady once a month. After I stayed home, I assumed more of the chores because I was there to do them. However, he would help a lot when we got behind. He has always enjoyed cooking more than me. He gets the laundry going because I guess I am just not on top of it enough for his taste (:)) However, I can't stand they way he folds things so I try to get ahead of him on that. I suffered for many years of an undiagnosed thyroid problem and just couldn't manage much. DH took over many chores because of this. Now that my kids are older, they help out with chores more. However, we think my full-time job is teaching the kids and his full-time job is his job. So we are a little more even on chore responsibility.

We have typically only used the textbook and the workbook. My oldest used Singapore from Primary 2B. My middle child has used it from 1B. My oldest is in 8th grade and is on NEM book 2. His standardized test scores in math (ITBS and SAT) have been excellent. My middle child is doing quite well with it: his ITBS math score was very good. We had purchased a couple intensive practice workbooks because I felt guilty that I wasn't doing more (after reading on the boards), but never really used them much. We did do outside practice for math fact memorization. My 11yos will be finishing 6B this week. We don't want to start NEM yet so he will do a review book for the next 3 months to brush up on skills.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I went to Penney's and Sears, but still not much to choose from. Penney's had only 4 dresses in her size and only one came close to what we want. It seems that over 80% of the dresses are sleeveless and we definitely wanted sleeves. It is still cool in May in northern Illinois. We tried the Irish import shop. They could not get any dress in a size 6. I think I have spent at least 8 hours searching online for a dress. Most of the dresses were sleeveless, floor length, too grown up or didn't come in her size. I hemmed and hawed on getting her cousin's dress altered to fit, but when I found out how much it would cost and how it would not lay right due to not wanting to cut the seam allowance, we gave up on that idea. We finally decided to bite the bullet and spend a little more than expected (OKAY, a lot more than the free hand-me-down dress that is lost forever.) But, dd and I are very happy with the dress we chose. Here is the picture: First Communion Dresshttp://www.myfirstcommunion.com/pd-francesca-first-communion-dress.cfm We would have liked a little lace on top, but the beading is pretty yet simple. The dress is demure and has clean lines. <Huge sigh of relief!> Now onto veils. I just couldn't see spending $60 on the veil she liked, so I may make one for her. I made my own bridal veil, so this should be a piece of cake :)! Again, thanks for your help. Looking at all my options helped me feel confident in our decision.

1/4 Irish, 1/4 Norwegian and 1/2 German (maybe a little bohemian/polish mixed in?) Isn't the saying if you are 1/4 Irish, you're half Irish. If you're a tiny bit Irish, you're Irish!!

Nice to meet another Norwegian, Joanne. Back to the original topic - I do identify with the heritages that my parents felt strongly about. They are about family ties and culture. Foods, festivals, common heritage. My mom's Irish relatives are very proud of being Irish. Irish Soda Bread, corned beef (which was not so big in Ireland, but big with the immigrants here.) My mom's Norwegian relatives were very proud of their Norwegian heritage. However, they came over around the turn of the century when immigrants believed in becoming American. But the foods and sayings common to the Norwegian communities strongly identify their heritage. My dad's grandparents emigrated from Germany. We don't know much about that side of the family because my dad didn't keep touch as much. His father died when he was young. However, his mother made a mean apple struedel! My husband's family strongly identifies with their Slovenian heritage. I think part of it was that they grew up in a city that had churches for every ethnic variation, all within blocks of eachother! Another part was had to do with the fact that their country was absorbed into the former Yugoslavia. A holiday does not go by without some Potica and Slivovitz. I learned to make Potica last year. Not quite the same his aunts' version, but dh approves!

Fundal measurements can be really inaccurate, depending on how the baby is positioned. It is more of a check to see if it is growing, not a reliable measure of due dates. With dd, I measured 4 weeks behind with the fundal measurement. She was born 2 days after her due date at 8 lbs, 15 oz. The newborn assessment done by the midwife assured that she was born "at term."

My daughter is making her First Communion in May. Apparently, I didn't get the memo that you are supposed to start shopping for First Communion dresses in December! We had planned on Meghan wearing my dress, but apparently, my sister accidentally gave it away when she donated her wedding dress - they were in the same box! SIL graciously offered her girls' dresses (from 7 years ago). One was too badly stained to use. The other is lovely but it has a small tear near the hem (which could be easily fixed/camoflaged) and it is too big. To have it altered, the sleeves would have to be taken off and the shoulder seams and side seams would have to be taken in by at least 3/4". I can't cut those seams since she wants it back, so that may interfere with the way the dress lays. So, I took dd shopping today. We are pretty picky. I like simple dresses that look like a little girl would wear it, not a jr. bridesmaid or a bride! We like sleeker lines but dd likes "some fancy stuff on it". At an expensive children's boutique, we found 3 that she liked, but only one is close to her size, but it is a tad shorter than we would like. DD is tall and thin - size 6 for body but 7 for length. Went to the mall and found expensive dresses that used lousy materials and were poorly made. All of them were very itchy with plenty of flaws. So, should I attempt to get cousin's dress altered or do I keep looking? Where do I look? Her first communion is in 7 weeks. Any advice?

Thank you. This is so helpful.

People are shocked when they hear I am 44. I guess I look younger, but I see my age in the mirror. On the inside, I often feel 19 maturity wise, LOL. However, physically, I often feel 60. I can go toe-to-toe with my 78yo mom when it comes to ailments;).

APACHE has one in Peoria April 12 & 13. There is a Catholic Homeschooling conference in Joliet May 23 & 24. Here is a link to information about some conferences: http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/homeschoolconventionscalendar

SAHM mom for 11 years. I went back to work as a computer analyst part time after ds14 was born. After ds11 was born, I stayed home full time. I do have a couple home businesses, but the income is fairly small. I do hope to grow the income a fair amount in the next few years.

Praying here!

I have done science in conjunction with a science club for the past 6 years. In the past, we used portions of the Usborne Internet Linked Science Encyclopedia (Materials, Mixtures and Compounds) as a spine. We then would either use the internet links or comb the web for experiments or demonstrations to do. Most of us would then have our kids write up what we did in science club and what we learned. I have to say that my kids remembered so much more from this approach because they were very engaged. This year, with our younger science club (ages 6 - 9), we tried RS4K. I wasn't too excited about it, but I was outvoted. My daughter asked to quit because she was so bored. When I led it this week, I tossed the book aside and did my own thing. What a joy it was to see kids who were engaged.

Are you talking about a PDA (personal digital assistant? I love my Palm Zire. Just the basics - calendar, task list, contact list, notes, etc. I don't have any wireless capability on mine. I back mine up to Outlook on the 'puter. I used the DayRunner planner for many years until I drove off with it on the top of my car, never to be seen again. I switched to the Palm after that and have been very happy with it.

Hits: Teaching Company's Books that Made History, Books that Will Change your Life. We have been using portions of this for my 8th grader's literature studies. I am learning so much as he is. WriteGuide online writing tutor. This has been expensive but worth EVERY penny. My son completed a few fantasic essays as well as prepped for the SAT essay section. Miss: Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry Pre-level and Level 1 They took a fantastically whiz bangingly fun subject to explore and turned it into drudgery. Long drawn out experiments and excruciatingly rigorous writing. My goal is to help my kids love chemistry while learning something. This is not working.

No flu, no shots here. We just try to eat healthy, take vitamins for "just in case", get exercise and wash hands. Nothing extraordinary. I know several people who have had the flu, but we didn't get it.

Dh is fully supportive. In the beginning, he was concerned more about me and my mental health than anything else. He was and is confident that homeschooling works, and it can look different in each family. He doesn't do much teaching, except on his days off when we haven't taken a day off from school. However, he helps tremendously around the house - helping with meals, laundry, chauffering the kids, etc.

I do think this is part discipline issue and part sensory. Some people do have very sensitive scalps (my daughter is one of them and so am I.) I would probably nix the long hair if she can't take care of it and can't stand to have it brushed. Tell her that you will work on making brushing less painful, but she needs to behave and to trust you. If she cannot abide this, then she loses the priveledge of long hair. You can put it into a pony tail, then cut it off yourself. Then tell her that you will take her to a stylist to have it done nicely if she can behave or you will try to trim it up - but no guarrantees on the outcome. Either way, I would work on the haircare techniques to make this less painful. First of all, I would nix the spray on detangler. It can gum up and cause more tangles in the long run. Use a good conditioner instead and rinse well with slightly cooler water. I would make sure to comb it gently during bath/shower time with conditioner on. (This is especially important for the curly haired child.) Also, try not to rub it dry with a towel but squeeze it dry. This will help minimize tangles. Make sure to comb/brush from the bottom: start about 1/2 inch from the bottom and comb down, then repeat moving up 1/2 inch each time. This insures that each pass has minimal tangles. If you start higher up, all you are doing is accumulating the tangles into one big, painful tangle. Another suggestion is to make sure she has something to occupy her so that she can attempt to tune out the discomfort. You probably won't get a perfectly compliant child overnight, but she will learn to trust you. hth,

You bet! We all slept in today, not only because of a time change, but because of a homeschooling conference this weekend. The only thing accomplished today has been piano lesson and some free reading and logic puzzles. Mom is dragging today!

We don't have control over Mt. St. Helens type of events (and I read that it was a major health hazard for many people), but we do have control over whether or not we use a wood burning fireplace.

We make long range plans but year - by -year commitment. Our plan is to homeschool all the way through h.s., but we also plan to re-evaluate every year.

We remembered last night, only to be horrified that we were scheduled to serve at 7:30 am Mass (which we never make it to otherwise.) That's what we get for not turning in our availability form - we got the mass no one else wanted, LOL!! We were tired puppies today.