If you go into the groups tab and search from Remnants, there are now spin-off groups. So, you can get the same Remnants stuff, but with new moderators.

Could you do it in something like Excel? Do you want to see a month or a week at a time? http://www.calendarsquick.com/printables/premium.html - I could see samples of the family pages AND change the dates. Maybe one of those would work?

I just use a knife. DH's grandmother, though, owns a Salad Shooter (remember that thing? - they still make them). It's basically a hand held food processor. She makes salads with lots of ingredients, so it's just easier for her to get that out and start throwing things in it: carrots, zucchini, kholrabi, radishes, etc. She rinses it all off immediately and sets it to dry. I don't know that I would do that, but I wish we had more variety in our salads.

I would email them and ask. We flew British Airways this summer and we were given meals at semi-normal meal times (the flight was 9:45, and we got 2 meals). We were also told to feel free to go up to the galley to get snacks and drinks from the Flight Attendants at other times.

I've been thinking on this a little more and I think some of this "get God back in the schools" talk pairs along with "things were so much better way back when." And I immediately thought of "Little House on the Prairie." It's very easy to think of there being some measure of religion included in the curriculum in that school house. Nearly everyone in town went to the same building for church on Sundays (and if you didn't go, your neighbors knew you weren't there). There had to be some measure of getting along just because of the nature of life at that time, etc. Now, though, with communities being diverse and schools pulling students from different neighborhoods, if you live in any decent sized community you'll have people from many different paths. My high school was relatively small - my graduating class was 170. It was a centralized school, pulling from many different communities and the churches that were in the area included: baptist, united methodist, presbyterian, Catholic, Wesleyan, Congregational, Evangelical, Reformed, Jewish, Jehovah's Witness, and several different non-denominational churches. It's simply not the same as that idyllic one room schoolhouse/church.

Are you already a TJs shopper? We go to an art class that's near TJs and a branch of the library so we use that day as an errand day. If I want to get several things done in the area we leave in the morning and also get lunch out (because I'm too lazy to pack picnics). It's not that it's THAT far from home, but I wouldn't drive the 18 minutes to TJs when there's a mainstream grocery store 5 minutes away. How long will the co-op be? I'm quite willing to sit and read, or make lists or visit with the other moms during a class or two.

And which religion? ASsuming Christianity, which particular tenets? Old earth or young earth? Pentacostal or Methodist? Catholic, Presbyterian, Jehovah's Witness, Baptist (but which Synod?), etc? Which version of the Bible is acceptable? Will there be censoring of the Bible - what parts will be acceptable to teach which age groups? And so on.

I'm part of a Harry Potter group there and for my "OWL" I need to use up 1800 yards of yarn by the end of March. If I hadn't set such a goal for myself I wouldn't be as busy with those. Instead I'd be finishing up socks that are laying around sad and abandoned. :)

How's this going for everyone? I've finished 4 (out of the 10 I'd like to get done this month). Thanks for that 200 Knitted Blocks recommendation. I've done 3 from that (the Offset [but I only used one color], and then 37 and 137. I now have cabling without a cable needle mastered. I want to do the cabled arches one next. Would it be easier to post on Ravelry about this? Of course, if no one wants to actually do this as a KAL kind of thing, that's okay, too. I was just excited that other people were doing something I'd already planned to do :)

Thanks for pointing that out. I read too quickly. I'm sorry I missed that, OP. I'll go edit my other post.

There were just recently new guidelines for being reimbursed for Agent Orange exposure. THere was a story on NPR with someone from NIH or VA talking about it. They've finally done enough studies or have managed to show a causal (not coincidental) link to AO and more medical conditions. The VA is going back thru old claims in case anyone with a condition that is now covered and was previously denied. Those reimbursements should be retroactive. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129921198 see also: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/ and http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp - Lung cancer (and other cancers) are on that list.

The grammar, etc are really rough in that bolded paragraph. On the plus side, I could understand it. ;) <s>That said, will you go back and edit the personal information of the student. Change the names. I'm sure it's all public somewhere else, but I don't know that Lucy wants her info on a homeschooling board without being asked.</s> (I missed that the OP said she'd changed names)

4 year olds can master the player pretty quickly. We didn't bother explaining FF and reverse, just play and stop. Sometimes the boys would listen to the tapes out loud and sometimes they'd sit with headphones and an older walkman and listen to them alone (handy when one wanted a story and one didn't). They didn't always follow along in the book. When I taught preschool, the kids ALWAYS followed along. They'd sit in pairs and share the book, listening to the story, often more than once. Typically the tape has "turn the page" signals on one side and not on the other.

Maybe it's just that you get first dibs on a reservation if you've stayed there before? WIth the farm thing, are you mixing it up with CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) where you purchase a "Share" of the farm for a season and you get a certain amount of produce each week from the farm?

Are the kids helping with housework? While that won't ease guilt about getting all the schooling done, if you sit with the eldest and the others do some lessons independently (as they are able) and do some chores, the house might seem a bit more tidy. Another option would be to school for 4 days and do a whole family housecleaning on the 5th. I made a list of things that should get done in the house every week and my boys need to pick 5 things that contribute to the betterment of the house to do daily. We have a marble system (each job is worth a certain number of points) and while you can also get points for personal chores (making your bed, for example) those don't count towards the 5 house chores quota. My elder son spends the first half of the week cleaning every vertical surface he can and then there's some measure of whining in the second half because he's run out of windows he can clean (and some weeks I take cleaning windows off the table), but he'll vacuum, take out trash or recycling, etc. My 7 year old does an excellent job with toilets. https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AmHj2tbllZcbdFpmTkdUanBwdFlubWc5QU8wMWxqOUE&hl=en#gid=0 this is my list, and it needs to be revised again, but maybe it'll be helpful.

I REALLY want to be on winter break. I'd love a break from the work. The schools here were off all of last week and all this week. However, Thing 1 has shown he doesn't do well with a long break (more than 2-3 days). That first day back is loaded with screaming tantrums, angry attitude, a lot of "Why do I even need to DO this?!" all.day.long. Despite reminders the couple of days before about how we'll be getting back to lessons on Monday, etc. It's horrid. He's 10. So, instead we're just continuing on. He had a stomach bug for 24 hours on the 23rd, so he missed those days, and we were right back at it on the 26th. I very nearly gave him work to do on Christmas. We came to this decision earlier this month after we had 10 total days off (including weekends) for a hockey tournament out of state. He tantrumed then just like he had when we started working again after our summer vacation. UGH. To the OP: we'll give you the day off if you ahve the stomach flu or something similar. However - you don't get the day off if your sibling is sick. We'll skip the things they do together (like a science lab), but things they do independently (they're doing different math levels, for example) - that you can still do. I also limit TV when you're sick because I've noticed that Thing 1 becomes a TV tyrant when he's sick. I love that boy, but negotiating all his non-neurotypical needs can be exhausting.

I'm going to knit squares ideally for this blanket: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L0563.html - I don't know if I'll do all different squares, but i'm planning to start with these. I need to be finished by March 31 for another Ravelry group (a virtual game one). I can't start until January 1, so I'm swatching right now.

When we visited other places of worship with my confirmation class, i know we dressed in typical sunday church clothes (so "business casual" or slightly dressier - pants and a sweater were okay). Because there was a group of us (6-8), I'm pretty sure my minister called ahead and let them know we were coming. Another thing to do is to see if the places you want to visit have websites. More and more do, and some comment on things like attire. Specifically, I've seen that mentioned in churches that offer a contemporary service or that are more casual. They might also have statements about communion.

That's how we always did it. Also, when my church did potlucks, you brought your own dishes for your family (plates, bowls and silverware - the church would supply paper cups and coffee cups). The first time I went to a potluck at another church as an adult DH and I were the only ones with dishes - that church supplied paper plates and plastic silverware. They thought my method was rather genius (and cost effective!) and said they'd talk about changing. Our church still had some disposable products, but this reduced trash and work. My church growing up also had full sets of dishes (like for church suppers that were used as fundraisers) and a mechanical dishwasher that was used in those situations, but they didn't get those dishes out for potlucks. I'm sure people who forgot dishes at pot lucks either used the real dishes and washed them or the paper stuff.

In case anyone wants to see the santa: http://consumerist.com/2010/11/the-lego-advent-calendar----now-with-naked-showering-santa.html I liked the comment at the end that said maybe he's not naked - he does look like he's wearing a black thong :lol:

Sometimes you just have to let go. As an example: we live in a community with an HOA. There are certain guidelines to follow when painting the house (the palette, where different colors can go, etc). All the houses have both a regular door and a screen door. The regulations explain how the screen door is to be painted (because it's a visible part of the house), but there isn't anything about the main door (the wooden door with a real lock). We emailed the contact with the HOA and asked which color we needed to use for painting the door (the houses all use three colors = main, trim and "pop out"). Reply 1: screen doors need to use the trim color and she cited the bylaw. We then explain we're talking about the interior door, not the screen door. Reply 2: all exterior doors need to use the trim color DH and I both read it and say "but that's not what I asked." He then clarifies his question AGAIN - NOT the screen door, the interior door. Reply 3: quotes the bylaw position on screen doors, stating that all exterior doors must use the trim color from the approved palette. I said "so, is she trying to say that since the bylaws only reference the screen doors, we can paint the other door hot pink?!" I suggest this as an amazing plan, since that interior door isn't visible from the street, even thru the screen, because we all ahve these dark sun-blocking screens. I'm looking for some excitement to break up all the variations on "sand" that our house (and every other house) is painted. AND, if the HOA complains about it, we'll cite the emails. Our door is the trim color. DH was not keen on rocking the boat and didn't want to repaint the door in the event someone complained. But yes - I completely understand how frustrating email can be sometimes. I found myself thinking that if we just CALLED this woman, we would all be on the same page. But maybe not.

The PS3 works, too. Obviously with internet access. DH just bought one as his Giftmas present because it has great games and a blue ray player. At one point the PS3 was the cheapest/best value blue ray player. We already have a Wii. Our kids are 10 and 7 and we got a Wii last year. We held off for a long time (Compared to the neighborhood). I'm hoping we're done now - I can't believe we own two different systems (and the boys have DS's).

She probably use the Character key. It's one of the tools or something and that's how you get fun things like e with an accent. there are macros for that stuff too like [alt + some number] which I used to know when I was writing in spanish more regularly.

They also have it in white for $199 with a $50 amazon credit once they ship it. Our neighbors are doing that to get the second remote or another couple of games.

I love the ice there, too. Ours sells the ice by the bag (at a comparable price to "regular" ice from the grocery store). I may have to remember that when it's time for our next party.