I'm of the opinion that generally, most people don't quite know what to say, and end up saying rather stupid things. Not that some people actually say nasty stuff about homeschooling: they do! But, for the most part I've found most of the not so nice comments made to me have been awkward or foot in mouth type comments. That being said, my uncle told me that I am ruining the public school system by homeschooling! Now, he never did get around to explaining why my kids being homeschooled had any more of an impact on public schools as kids that go to a private school?!:glare: But, I never actually liked this uncle anyway! Those comments just reinforced that opinion!:D By the way, I hate when the hygenist talks to me while cleaning my teeth...a bit of a captive audience there!

We are just starting Winterpromise's american story 1. So far, it is great...a few people on this board also use it...I'm finding it a perfect fit for our family!

My dd loved this! She does not like addition or subtraction, but actually really enjoys multiplication and division. So, I would have her do some addition/subtraction and then she would get to do the 'fun" math.;) We would also do other math topics as well, like measurements, weights, geometry, patterns, telling time...it all came after the addition/subtraction drills. We did them directly after, sort of like a reward. But, what works for one child might not work for another! Generally this child just loves math! Hey, give it a try, if your child likes it, great, if not..stop. good luck!

5' 4"

And, take the advice about not reusing the ones with raw meat...especially chicken, salmonella and all...yuck!

I've been going out of my way to make sure I don't buy non modest clothing for my dd of 7 1/2 years. It is not that we are of a religion that requires it...it is just plain decent or lack thereof! I am no seamtress, but I found a couple of year ago i hade to make her dresses. This year, I looked into swim suits and found a really cool one at a new (I think) company.. www.tamanusun.com I found them in an advertisement in Home Education magazine. I just ordered her 2 of them, so I will see and report back, but I won't get them for about 3 weeks. as for shorts...maybe I'll put her in boys shorts;). They seem to be getting longer!

I get mine at Tropical Traditions too! I do use the expeller pressed virgin. I don't mind the coconut taste at all. I even use it on my face as a moisturizer. For me, I use it because of the health benefits so I have to use the virgin expeller pressed stuff. it is wonderful when making popcorn with it! If you order it online, do so before really hot weather gets here. it is liquid above 76 degrees. I buy ours by the gallon, but a gallon lasts a year or two!

Just another point here. Why does AI have to be secular? They aren't part of the government. They are out to make money and if they end up offending too many people they won't make money etc... So I can assume from that, that there is a large Christian viewership out there. Having said that, I had the TV muted after Snoop Dog, becuase I just couldn't stand that performance! After hearing about F bombs and other things I am so glad my kids did not watch it! I wished i had seen the last song, but alas, I was in another room.... and hey, they all have to advertise for Ford..what if one of them really likes Chevy?;) Okay, ducking now!;)

Most of the frugal things I do are just second nature. I don't do them to be frugal per say, but just because it makes sense (to me). A lot of the things we do are listed already, but here are a few of mine too. Only cloth diapers only cloth napkins I too only use a fraction of the detergent recommended. wash out zplic bags reuse tin foil only use a reusable coffee filter made all my own baby food we don't buy processed food, I make it. so I rarely shop in the aisles of the store. I use natural cleaners instead of commercial ones. For instance, I wash my floor with a solution of vinegar or lemon juice, maybe with a small amount of ammonia. I also use a lot of baking soda for cleaning. we have a large garden. We compost everything we can. I re use paper that only has priting on one side for scrap paper. I cut all the kids hair I get every last drop out of every bottle. If I am not going to eat the leftovers we had I will freeze them for soups or something else. we have never in 18 years of marriage bought a new car and i never plan to. We do all our own house/car/tractor maintenance and quite a few of the repairs. I buy clothes that I know I can then hand down to the younger kids. Although Clara does have a few dresses. I mend all our clothes when needed, even socks. Weather permitting I line dry our clothes. We do have a clothes line in the basement but I really don't use it much anymore. We always pay our entire credit card bill so there is never any interest. I make all of our own bread... Alright, I know there is a ton more but I am now in a brain fog. I also don't sweat it. I am not constantly thinking of ways to save money, I just do this...and I'm sure we spend to much on other things

At first it was Soviet Studies...Boy am I glad I changed it! Because it wasn't just Russian Studies, but Soviet.. When I went back it was Geology. Specifically: Paleoclimatology.

I may have to go find this thread...When DH and I were first married we both worked 2 or 3 jobs each...barely got by..eventually things got better, then they got better and even better...bumpy occasionally but usually in the right direction. That being said, I save my foil, I always cut up raw chicken because how does one use chicken without cutting it up?:confused:..just having a roast chicken all the time would be boring...that confused me..still don't quite get it...we don't use the toilet paper that my husband calls (excuse this) "macho wipe" but we don't use an expensive brand either...so, those of us who may be in the upper regions of income...might still be very frugal. Hey, my parents grew up in the Great Depression! Saving every possible thing just in case you need it again was ingrained into me as a child! heck, I reuse my plastic storage bags..but not as often as my mother does!;)

before we had any children dh and I bought rail passes for Europe and went to France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, germany and Holland. We made no prior hotel reservations and just went where we thought we would like to go next, when we got to a place we thought we would like to stay we found a hotel for the night or maybe 2..Innsbruck was 5. I would love to go back! I would skip Paris and I never have to see Amsterdam again, but I would love to go back to one or 2 countires for a longer stay...and with hotel reservations! My dream trip has always been the following (since I was about 16..I'm 43 now): I would like to fly to Peru..travel to Cuzco and then walk/hike with a guide to Machu Picchu. If one does this, one can camp there and see the sun rise from that beautiful place. Someday, I guess after the kids are out of the house, God willing i will do just that! FWIW, I love Disney too..that is where we honeymooned.

I've been debating posting, but here goes...we are in the upper range. However, we chose to live an hour away from dh's work so that we could still be in the country and not the suburbs. Therefore we have a nice sized, but not huge, house on 15 acres of very sloping land on the side of a small mountain. We paid very little for it, around $100 grand about 10 years ago. it is worth not quite 3 times that now, but would be very hard to sell. The road we live on is a dirt road that the town does not maintain. again, we chose this and I love it! It takes me 45 minutes to get to a decent store (of any kind). The kids are young now, but so far we take no classes and mostly stay at home. last year we did by a vacation home near my inlaws and then also near my parents...best thing we ever did! I spent the whole summer up there and on Labour day my dad passed away...I will never regret buying that place...of course if DH quite tomorrow we own it outright so we could move there...it is smaller though. Now as far as are we in a nice neiborhood??? well, we don't have a neighborhood!;) However, we can now see a house from our front yard and at night I can see a few lights from a house or two through the forest. Now, would I do it all the same way...no..I'd have more children and probably less expendable income if i could do it over! enough of my ramblings tonight. have a good evening Ladies! Jenny

:iagree: There are plenty of of threads I never glance at because I just know I will get riled up!

Sunny here too! But, I haven't posted too much today as we have been outside playing in the melting snow!:001_smile:

Okay, I was on the ten year plan! Middlesex commumity college Brandeis University University of Minnesota institute of technology University of Maine

That just about sums it up!:001_smile:

Starting May 1st we will be 3 weeks on 1 week off. This is + or -a week here or there and approximately 4 day weeks, especially in the summer! In the summer as well, I plan to have all school work done by lunch time, except on rainy days. If the work isn't done by lunch time, then so be it, we will do it the next day. When the kids are older and there are more opportunities for them in the summer, this will all change! When I say all school work will be done by lunch time that isn't exactly right. In the summer we are in the car a lot, and plenty of learning happens there! That is when we listen to SOTW, and PL also comes with a cd, plus other audio tapes..so we squeeze in "learning" everywhere!

This coming year it is about $1500.00. That is for a first and 3rd grader. Next year I hope it will be a little(or a lot) less. This year I bought everything new...that's a first for me. But, I did find that this past year I have no idea what I actually spent because I kept buying books all year long! Now, all my books are on the shelves reading to go! Next year I am planning to buy some things used to lesson costs. I now have a very long list in my purse of books I will need over the next 2 years. On that list is also the price I can get them for at Amazon or at whever else i get them from...that way I won't spend more on them thean I should! Hopefully this stratedgy will work! Okay, that is way more than you asked!

Your mom will be in my prayers! My Grandmother died of Rheumatic heart and my father passed away last year with an undiagnosed atrial fibulation...I hope everything will be okay..it is scary. You and your family will be in my prayers!:grouphug:

I love the Moosewood ones too. The original Moosewood cookbook and The Broccoli Forest cookbook are my favorites! I'm not even a vegetairian and I have worn these out! They are used so much I can tell you what recipes are on what pages...well, not all, but at least 20 recipes. Now, I usually just get them out to double check ( I am notorious for leaving out an ingredient when not looking at the book:blushing:).

And I thought our old doctors office was bad! We left the entire practice because, like you said, we would get a doctor we liked and then he or she would leave etc.... Oh my! What a visit! By the way, when I was growing up (over 35 years ago now...we were not allowed to take swimmimh lessons until 8 years of age. last summer I signed my 2 oldest up for lessons and the 5 year old never even got all the wet! He was too nervous about getting in the pool! Then he would go to Grandma's at a lake and swim like a fish!;) This year, swimming lessons are at a local lake. Okay, so I'm rambling, and I know that swimming lessons were not the main point.. Jenny

(((((Chrissy))))) :grouphug:. Sorry to hear about your loss.

Some ways to get your kids to relax and actually learn...games! There are a ton of math games to play, even just rolling dice and adding or multilpying the numbers rolled...same things with dominoes..my kids love picking up a dominoe and multiplying the two sides together! You can come up with your own version of rewards for right answers...mine get to keep the dominoes (for the duration of the game). rent dvds about science or, if you have cable or direct TV watch the scrince channel with them or the Discovery channel...there are a slew of science games as well! I have been known to take days off of 'school" and just relax...my kids ask to watch things like "Schoolhouse rock". it might not be actual school but they do really pick stuff up! Okay, my toddler has woken up and is crying so i need to go...good luck!

No problem! I have to remind myself quite a few times a day that sometimes this really is funny....like when my toddler walked up behind me while i was washing dishes and bit me hard on my bottom!:001_huh: Ouch...but I did see the humour in it even as it was hurting!