I think the coffee that comes out of the Keurig is just OK. I don't like it enough to actually buy one. My preferred method of coffee-making is via Aeropress: http://www.amazon.com/Aerobie-80R08-AeroPress-Coffee-Espresso/dp/B000GXZ2GS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292357168&sr=8-1. I grind and brew single servings at a time--takes about as long as making a cup of tea. Now that I have the hang of it, I prefer coffee made this way to almost anything else. Another plus is that dh & I can make different strengths of coffee at the same time. I use 1 scoop of beans (and add lots of milk), and he uses 3 scoops of beans. :)

:bigear: B currently detests his Earth Science course, so something like this sounds great!

How unbelievably sad.

I wouldn't switch either, if Lial's is working. I wanted to add, though, that I did switch to Saxon Algebra 2 after doing traditional Algebra 1 and Geometry (all in PS). I barely passed Alg. 1 & Geo, but did really well with Saxon. So, it's not always disastrous. ;)

Maybe some Keys To... or Math Mammoth books to cement shaky concepts before moving on.

Huh. I think American School would top my list of programs *not* to use. Dh's younger brother & sisters used AS, and I helped youngest SIL with some of her lessons. I found the material to be very dry and uninspired, as well as poorly laid-out. This was 9 or 10 years ago, though, so it's possible they've changed their courses since then. Also, American School consistently lost courses for all three of my BIL/SILs. BIL was within one class of graduating when he was told he still needed something like 5 courses. :001_huh: SILs had similar experiences. FIL & MIL got to the point where they made copies of absolutely everything, as they had to send copies of completed coursework and copies of course completion paperwork back to AS on multiple occasions. I'm glad to hear it worked well for you, though! I've looked at Kolbe as something I might use for my dc when they're older, even though we're not Catholic. The History/Literature courses look really good. K12 is something else I'd consider using. No experience with either, though, so would love to hear from people who have actually used them. :)

B got a kit last February. We think he got a mutant tadpole or something. :D It stayed a tadpole for about six months, and then took forever to grow some tiny, spindly legs. He's had the legs (and quite a good-sized tail) for the last three months or so. No signs of further change. :001_huh:

Oooo! Hadn't heard of this yet. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. (Love the title "Colin 'Yummy' Firth", btw. I think it'll be forever in my brain now. :D) I love some of the other actors mentioned, too. Will definitely have to see this one. :)

I had one once, before kids (well, I was pg with B). Maintenance is probably the same as any small creature kept in a cage. It was a fun pet, though not particularly cuddly. He would curl up any time we tried to touch him. We enjoyed watching him snuffle around. Sadly, he managed to squeeze under the kitchen cabinets one of the times he had free roaming-around time. We couldn't find him for a whole day, and when he did reappear he was very sick. We took him to the vet and ended up with a $100 bill and a dead hedgehog. :( Most likely, the previous apartment tenants put rat poison out. :glare: So, our story has a sad ending. I highly recommend getting a book on hedgehog care and reading it before getting one. I tried to link the one I had on Amazon, but found several in my search, and I'm not sure which one I have. I imagine any of them would be useful. :)

You can also check with your local fabric store(s). B is currently enrolled in a beginning kids' sewing class at one of ours. He has learned how to thread the machine, wind the bobbin, and is currently sewing a pillowcase.

Hi! :)

:iagree: This specifically goes into what happens when governments do decide to print more money. (If you're a fan of Keynes, you'll likely disagree with the author, however.)

Do compare prices with Amazon, though. I'm discovering that some books cost less there, while some cost more.

Yes indeed, that is where I found it. (First link that came up on my Google search. :001_smile:)

You beat me to it. This was exactly what I thought of, also. :)

:iagree:

(Plugging ears) "Lalalala! I can't heeeaar you!" Drat. I can. And now I've looked up Killgallon. And it looks good. AND it's on special for the holidays. :glare: Ugh. First MCT, now this. You guys are killing me. :D

I don't know if this is up your aisle or would in any way be helpful, but I'm throwing it out there anyway. This book helped me understand myself as a mother and other women/mothers I know better: http://www.amazon.com/MotherStyles-Personality-Discover-Parenting-Strengths/dp/0738210455/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290620885&sr=8-1. Perhaps your library has it. (It also looks like it can be bought pretty cheaply from some of the amazon marketplace sellers.) It might be interesting to try and figure out your Mom's 'type' and understand where she's coming from. My guess is that the two of you are very different, and that part of the trouble you have connecting has to do with that. Another great book is this: http://www.amazon.com/Nurture-Nature-Responsible-Children-Personality/dp/0316845132/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290620996&sr=1-1. It's about parenting, but I found it interesting to read about my type from the perspective of a parent. [Apparently NTs are some of the hardest kids to parent. :001_huh:] I'm a total Myers-Briggs junkie, though, so YMMV. ;) I don't really have any great advice on dealing with stress. I overextended myself my Sr. year of high school, and ended up suffering some major burnout. In retrospect, I wish I had realized where I could cut back and what was essential. :grouphug:

Aaaah! Wish I had read this earlier. I already bought the Light Blue series. (Just under $95 to download the whole thing--not bad!) I was feeling all happy about it, but now kinda wish I'd waited. :glare:

But you can. When I think of using manipulatives (say, Cuisenaire rods or MUS blocks) I can imagine taking 7 of the 9s. That's still multiplication. :D

Oooo...Thank you!:D

Say you have a road that's .09 (9/100) of a km long. You want to know what portion of a km .08 (8/100) of that road is. .09 x .08 = .0072 (72/10,000) of a km. (Thinking of 'times' as 'of' is often helpful to me.) The result is smaller than either of the original numbers, because you're calculating a part of a part. Does that make sense?

Amazon.uk sells some of these titles, too. Some of them can be found on Amazon.com, although only through their marketplace sellers, and mostly for ridiculous prices. I did find a couple of new workbooks for >$10 and ordered them. :D I love this thread! Btw, when we learned this type of cursive in school, it was always practiced with a fountain pen. :)

THANK YOU for this! What a dangerous site, though. I think I added about 20 fonts to my collection yesterday before pulling myself away. :tongue_smilie:

:grouphug: I'm so sorry. My mom has MS, so this hits close to home. :(