Math, Latin and piano. If I feel like reading hasn't been taken care of, I assign that too, but it's usually only an issue for my son. :) Piano and reading are good because they can be taken care of independently. And when I'm extremely busy, independent work is a good thing.

Oh yea! I love Lara Bar's Cashew Cookie. I that or a Luna bar every morning with tea. I'll have to see if it's cost effective to make them on my own. I often buy them when Amazon has a promotion for them (which is not too often), or I poke around in Google until I find the best price online. Thanks again!

I see my dd becoming more interested in pop music because she thinks it represents her and her generation. She thinks the music she is drawn to (pop music) separates her from "older people" and identifies her more with her peers. It's not my music, it's hers. She is also beginning to identify with the themes, which meant little to her before. We don't listen to the radio or watch much t.v., but I think that American Idol (our family's guilty pleasure) and her friends have influenced her music interests greatly.

I'm 38 and my mother is 58. She was 19 when she had me. My grandmother is 78 and she was 19 when she had my mother. A story my mother and grandmother like to recall is how my mother's OB/GYN was hitting on my grandmother when I was born. She was only 39 at the time. I don't know how much "hitting on" there was or wasn't going on, but my grandmother likes to tell the story nonetheless. :)

I homeschool in the dining room too. I don't know if you have a china cabinet or kitchen cabinets nearby, but I put our school stuff away in unconventional places when we finish school for the day. So, I keep some of our stuff in a china cabinet (it doesn't have glass front doors) and some in the nearest kitchen cabinets. I do have a very nice white board hanging on the wall in the dining room, but other than that, the dining room goes back to looking like a dining room when we're not doing school.:) HTH some!

Ooo, I love cottage cheese and pepper (preferably with salt too)! It's common at a local pizza restaurant around here to dip pizza in ranch dressing ~ as if pizza wasn't artery clogging enough. My father likes to eat peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches. My brother likes peanut butter and syrup sandwiches. My parents love fried Spam with scrambled eggs. And my husband puts hot sauce on just about anything he puts in his mouth (soups, casseroles, salads, eggs, etc.). Can you tell we're from the South?:)

I wear a size 9, sometimes a size 9 1/2. I'm 5' 6" and it seems like my feet are too long in proportion to my height. My 11 yo dd wears a size 8 already (so did I at that age). My 8 yo son has a tiny foot and wears a size 1. He takes after his father, who's feet are not much longer than mine. :)

I'm 38 and my middle name is Marie. I used to not like it at all but I've come to peace with it. Seems like there are lots of Marie's my age too.

Yes. I just recently learned of the rule ~ hence my up-tick in posting! I was coasting along in lurker-land (I used to post more on the old boards and mainly just lurked on the new ones) until I saw that rule. I have a lot to sell and this post just brings me one step closer! :)

I don't especially love or hate my name. I feel too close to it to know what it sounds like to other ears, kwim? My mother swears she didn't know half of American moms were naming their girls "Jennifer", but they certainly were. Maybe there was just some sort of group think thing going on at the time (late 60's, early 70's). Anyway, the only major problem I have with my name is how common it is for my age group. There are going to be lots of Jennifers in the nursing homes in 50 or so years. Kind of like the Ethels and Mabels of today. :001_smile:

I rarely post, but I used to post more on the old boards, and especially on the Curriculum board. I originally posted at "Jennifer W. in TX" but then I moved to Florida and started posting as "Jennifer in FL". We moved back to Texas and I had to try to undo my my handle, so I started using "Jennifer in FL, now back in TX" (or something like that). When the new board started I decided that my family has a pattern of moving too much to attach my name to a specific location. Since I'm pretty sure I can at least say I'm staying on earth, I decided to pick a location I can always rely upon. :tongue_smilie:

instant hot water dispenser (it's a small faucet next to the regular sink faucet). I use it multiple times every single day for tea. I also really rely upon my rice cooker and my garlic press. Other than these things, I'm pretty low maintenance in the kitchen. My mother doesn't use/want any of these things and still she somehow manages to cook great meals. To each her own!

but it didn't appear during pregnancy but rather after my dc were born. I also have fair skin and patches on the "driving side" of my face and on each cheek. Coincidentally, I just went to the dermatologist and asked about my melasma last month. I've tried hydroquinone (a prescription of 4%), but it had minimal effects. The doctor then suggested I try the Obagi Medical System. I debated about trying this and then finally realized that nothing was going to make it better if I didn't try. I have been using the Obagi System for about 4 weeks now and it's made quite a difference. It's not cheap and you have to be willing to go through some red skin and peeling to see results. I'm glad I using it and I think it's making far more of a difference than anything else I've tried. (FWIW, I do use sunscreen religiously on my face, but I'm thinking the damage probably occurred when I was younger and didn't use sunscreen.) I got a good deal on the Obagi System from my doctor because I agreed to "before and after" shots of my face. Your doctor might do the same if you ask. I can see how the Obagi system isn't for everyone (cost, time commitment, etc.), but it's been successful for me. I'm no doctor, but you might try the lower level of skin lightening first ~ hydroquinone only and then move up to something like the Obagi System if that isn't successful. :001_smile:

We also found it often left a white scum on things. We sprinkle vinegar on the dishes before we wash them and that seems to help a lot (a maid taught me that trick). We also set the cycle to a higher water temperature. That seems to dissolve the scum also. With these tweaks 7th Generation does seem to clean nearly as well as the ol' Cascade used to do. I've read a few articles and books on natural housecleaning in the past few months and they often say that you're often not going to get the same power of cleaning with natural products as you do with toxic mainstream stuff. They just don't have the chemicals that zap things quite as well. It's definitely an adjustment. :)

was the way she uses portion control. WW seems to have taught her to monitor that well. I have always eaten relatively well, but I tell you, if I ever weigh more than I should, it will be because I have eaten too much of a good thing. My parents (both overweight) have changed their diet and made more healthy choices, but they haven't lost a pound. They just eat too much, kwim? I really, really do believe making good and healthy choices is a wise move and will undoubtedly provide benefits, but I think portion control is sometimes under-emphasized in weight loss. :) BTW, congratulations on starting the Couch to 5K program! I started it last fall myself.

we bought a book called Kauai Underground Guide (highly rated on Amazon, fwiw) and it offers a lot of good tips about taking families to Kauai. The authors are parents of 2 or 3 boys and I think they've taken their brood for years to Kauai. Jann in TX (I'm in Texas too ~ Austin to be exact), thanks for the pointers on what you're family enjoyed. I know we're leaning towards Kauai because our vacation style is such that we enjoy unspoiled nature more than man made amusements.

we're considering going either to Maui or Kauai this October for a family vacation too. Can't decide between the two. I look forward to reading some responses!

but I don't want him to lick me face. In fact, I don't want anyone OR anything licking my face.

I'm Jennifer, mother of 2 (11 yo dd and 8 yo ds) and wife to John. I used to post (rarely) on the old boards as "Jennifer in FL". We have moved so much in the past few years, (we're no longer in Florida -- back in Texas now) that I decided to just post where I knew I'd be -- "on earth". :tongue_smilie: I've homeschooled my dc almost the whole time (dd had a 1 year stint in a private classical school a few years ago). This fall our dc will be entering a UMS type environment (2~3 days at school, 2~3 days at home). Since I'll be giving up quite a bit of control (and work), I consider myself to be giving up most of my homeschool duties. I'm excited about the dc's new school -- it's best, given the circumstances (husband's extensive travel, etc.), but it's a little sad too. I love the General Board, even if I do mostly lurk!

I'm not a natural runner either. I don't know how people can run so fast. Just the other day, I was homeschooling, watching out my window, and timing an older male runner (50?, 55?) who took the 1 mile circle "loop" in front of my house at about 6~7 minutes a pop. I thought, What's that about?!!! I couldn't do that if I lived 5 lives! Anyway, I'm not a fast runner. I'd love to be one, though. In fact, you're a little faster than me. :001_smile: I honestly don't know what it takes to be one. I've heard/read that fartlek training helps speed. I rarely do such, but perhaps it would help. Have you tried it?

American Idol and Oprah. American Idol I watch every Tuesday (we don't have DVR, so I make a bee-line for the TV every Tuesday at 7:00). Oprah, I watch when I can. It's on at 4:00 here, which is about the time I'm ready to put up my feet and rest for the first time in the day. I really only watch Oprah about twice a month because: 1.) I'm not able to catch it most of the time, and 2.) I'm interested in about 1/4 of her shows (or less). But when I'm interested, I'm very interested. I hate to admit to Oprah because it seems to sound like I watch TV all of the time. I really don't... about 2~3 hours a week, but saying I watch Oprah sounds akin to saying I watch soap operas every day. :tongue_smilie:

http://www.retailmenot.com. It seems to often have the best codes. When that doesn't work, I'll just google a store name and "promotion code" in the search box. There are a plethora of sites that can help you.

We went at the beginning of December and it was great! Relatively few people but still a holiday atmosphere. We also went around Super Bowl Sunday and it was very quiet then too. We were told these were the best times to go (and since we hate crowds, we took the advice :)).

The recipe I used called for adding cashews, peas, red bell pepper, slivered red onion, mint, golden raisins, and a few other things. I tossed this with lime and olive oil dressing and it was really good! You could really play around with to adjust to your family's taste. A stir fry is another good idea for a meatless dinner without cheese. As much as I love cheese, it's pretty disgusting to add it to most Asian dishes. :tongue_smilie: I'm sure you could find lots of stir fry dishes if you google for them. I happen to like a cookbook called Main-Course Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. She has several stir fry dishes in her book as well as the couscous salad I mentioned above. I use a recipe from this cookbook at least a couple times a week.

Although I have many more posts to make before I "qualify." You've just given me the push I need to lurk less and post more. I've got a lot to sell!:)