Thanks! Those look great!

Eeka Mouse is a favorite here.

Yes, used online and from a local used book store. Also eBay and half.com. Mary

Ds17 is using TT Geometry and Lial Alg. Ds15 is using Basic College Math. They like them and are doing well. Mary

I use a variety. I have never found a company that has everything I like.

There does need to be a consequence that will deter the offense. :o) If they have lists to follow, well, there is not much excuse for "forgetting." I'd add more work or do what is appropriate for that child--without getting angry. That child chose the consequence by choosing to be careless. As for bickering, my kids get a speech about loving one another. We teach them the proper way to work out a disagreement and help them do it. Punishment is dealt out to those who are snotty or just are not trying. We really have a peaceful home because of that. They need the tools to use. Look at Matthew 18 for how we should deal with one another when we disagree--if you are a Christian, anyway. When older dd is snarky with younger dd, I talk to her about being a bully and about how she needs to be motherly to younger dd. She must apologize. I hope this helps. It sounds like you are doing a lot of good things--just get some consequences lined up and let the kids know what they are in a matter-of-fact tone. Then they are choosing what happens. You are not the bad guy and don't need to get upset. You are the mom and you get to decide what your kids do and don't do. Mary

My favorite is Lightning Literature. Oh, and Notgrass History. Mary

Gasoline, tires, and popcorn. LOL Mary

No, thanks! LOL But have a fabulous time! I would love to visit there, but would not want to stay. Mary

I was in SAI, a music fraternity for women--funny it was not called a sorority. It was not like your average Greek group, though. Mary

We are all about 1st-time obedience training and it worked a miracle at our house. Also the older kids learn to me motherly and fatherly to the youngers, and the youngers learn to respect the olders and do what they tell them to. Some will say it cannot be done, but come and see my family. There is little arguing and lots of laughing. The kids are not perfect, but the Bible is for them, too, so they need to obey their parents and are obeying the Lord by doing so. Self control is stressed at our house, too. HTH, Mary

Sports Illustrate for me, Credenda Agenda for dh and me, Prevention for me. Mary

It depends on the person, but you could give it to her pastor, asking him to give it to her. Or just hand it to her in an envelope and say something brief, then change the subject so she does not feel awkward about it. Mary

I buy used books online and at a used book store, so they are germy too, right? Guess I don't care! LOL Mary

I did not think anything was implied by the original poster. She was just asking. ??? Mary

I would not necessarily want a job, but would like enough money to minister to struggling families, teaching frugality and how to be good spouses, and all about the Lord. Maybe help new home school families, too. Mary

West Virginia University, then made big boo-boo and transferred to Fairmont State College (WV). Mary

Mine was Music Education (voice emphasis) and then Child Development. I changed my major after 2.5 years. Gulp! Mary

No because I have read that it extends your illness because your body needs the energy for your immune system. But I understand the temptation. That is why I have an "online fitness buddy." I know I will have to tell her, so I get back into it when I feel better. Accountability paired with friendship and kindness go a long way for me. Mary

We do lots of perennial fruit and stuff like that because that is the most nutritious and the most expensive at the store. :o) Our house sits on the average 1/10th of an acre lot, so I have to keep this neat to keep it looking like a jungle. I do get lots of compliments, so I guess it is OK... I took out the brick driveway, which was too steep to get up, and put in a strawberry bed holding 200 plants. I took out the shrubs out front and put in red currant bushes. We also have red raspberries, a Montmorency cherry tree, blueberries, rhubarb, daylilies, 2 beds of onions, several kinds of mint, oregano, cilantro, basil, thyme, a lilac bush, several kinds of squash and tomatoes, 2 kinds of leaf lettuce, 2 kinds of mesclun, mums in several places, irises, black-eyed susans, peonies, hot peppers, regular peppers, peas, lamb's ears, purple clematis, hostas, bleeding hearts, California Poppies, alyssum, tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, portulaca, gooseberries, green beans, shasta daisies, 2 rose bushes, and chives. I may have missed a few. LOL Ridiculous, isn't it? Of course, things come up at different times, too. And some is grown in pots. It is a lot of work, but the kids help and it all helps the budget. :o) Mary

Thanks so much! Mary

Whooee, I am, indeed, feeling like a poor little church mouse here. LOL Dh makes $41K and we are struggling a *lot*. There are 6 of us and we all have asthma, too. Newspaper men do not earn a lot. I sew and sell the things I make (costumes and other things) to pay for school books and birthdays and Christmas. I am glad that so many are doing well, though! I just wish dh had been interested in engineering or medical school when he was in college. LOL Mary

No, I spent way less in the beginning because my kids were young enough that I just wrote my own curricula, if I used any at all. Besides, we are poor church mice. LOL When they got older, then the books started costing me. Ouch! We don't use textbooks, really, until age 10. Mary

Me, too, and I have a ways to go! I sure am chatty today...I think I am near 20. LOL Mary

Ground beef. I grew up in WV. A homesteader I knew in western New York called it "hamburg." MRY