I guess I should not complain about Little League since ours cost only $25 per kid. They do reuse uniforms but the T-Ball kids get to keep their T-Shirts. They do pay the umpires a small amount for each game and the school allows the use of the ball fields. I cannot believe how high some of those fees are, we would have to stick with backyard baseball in that case. I just signed my youngest up for Pre-K with the PS and the only money they need is $3 towards a little scrapbook they make. Ds also needs a backpack, which he already has. I am a little nervous because he is the first of my children to get on the big yellow bus.

I always do more than one coat of paint so When I am done with my first coat, I wrap the roller in a plastic grocery bag and a gallon sized ziplock with the handle hanging out. I put it in the fridge until I am ready for coat #2. This way you save a lot of time and paint and I throw the roller covers out when I am done because I can never wash them clean. I do something similar with brushes but I do wash them all clean when I am finally done. I love using color it makes a house so much more personal. I like going to the paint store and grabbing a million paper samples and trying to decide. I tape the samples to the walls to help see what they look like in the room they are to be in.

I'll be odd too. We moved from a house that had all hardwood floors to one with carpet in every room. Even the bathroom and kitchen are carpeted - yuck! BUT my mind has changed for carpet in all the other rooms. It is warm and QUIET and comfy to sit/play on. My hardwood floors were always being scratched from couches, chairs, and sliding on it and it is a pain to clean. I would much rather run the vacuum and not worry about it. Yes, the floor is probably not as spotless after vacuuming but with 4 boys, I've decided that this is not my season for spotless. Dirt colored carpet is the way to go. That is what we are putting in our new school room oops I mean study. I think hardwood is a faze right up there with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. I would consider hardwood for my bedroom for allergen concerns but I still don't like how it feels. Hard and Cold.

I did not care for the policy but the person who organized it was prepared for that problem and had a whole list of people who where willing to fill in if they were notified. He would not even arrange that. Refused to call anyone or make any arrangement. For him it was a matter of principle and if I had to guess - CONTROL.

Seriously, I don't think the school district can "make" you buy anything. I know while my dh coached Little League the organization made a rule that parents "had to" work in the concession stand or get a replacement or their child would be benched for the next game. Of course my dh got stuck with the rebel who said not only would he not work but they would be hearing from his lawyer if his kid was benched. Nobody did anything in fact my dh volunteered to fill his spot because he is a bigger man than that guy ever will be. I think the specific brands and pooling items is silly. I would like to think that if a teacher made a list of what is absolutely necessary and than asked for donations for class items needed there would be a better response. I wouldn't have a problem with buying stuff for the class. I don't think the teacher should have to pay for it but I have a hard time trying to figure out why schools cannot budget for some of this stuff. Our last school district vote was whether they should buy electronic white boards that showed videos and such. How necessary is that when there are kids in the district that do not even have the proper basic school supplies?

My only experience with SS disability benefits is when I received a check when I was in college because my stepfather was disabled. I wasn't sure why they sent it so I actually went to the SS office, asked and was told it was reimbursement for something from the past. Well a few months later they wanted the money back which I did not have because I bought school books with it. I wish I would have got something in writing with a name when I had gone to ask that first time. Point is make sure you get everything in writing and document it all. You don't want to have to pay back because of ex.

I second the vinegar rinse. Our clothes smell like "nothing" which is just the way I like them. I cannot stand the smell of almost all laundry soap and fabric softener is 10x worse. I do use no scent liquid Oxyclean if the clothes are especially stinky or soiled and the come out great.

We bought the homeschool NXT Mindstorm homeschool set for our oldest son's 11th birthday. He loved it and has built a different robot just about every week since. He even bought another NXT off ebay to use as a remote control. He programs it on the school computer and I couldn't tell you how he does it. For him it was well worth the $$ but he is really into robotics. I know others whose kits just sit on the shelf. We have not participated in Lego League mainly because we live so far from everywhere but he has participated in rcx programs. I have not pushed any type of specific curriculum or such with it because he is so motivated on his own. He also gets into the pneumatics and gears which just makes his mechanical engineer mother pleased as punch. Just so you know, I got an email yesterday that Lego Education is offering free shipping on their Mindstorms packs.

My oldest is going through the fractions book for summer review. Even though it covers a lot, I don't see it as a replacement for a regular systematic math program. Maybe the algebra books are different.

We watched the entire series, so far, as a family. My 4yo to my 11 yo all watched and enjoyed it. That said, I know different families have different standards but I think a 12yo would be fine for most. I was concerned in the series premiere as Robin and his sidekick are heading back home from the crusades and Robin starts "making out" with this young woman while the very strict dad is right outside. Fortunately it did not go far till the dad discovered them and it moved on. After that Robin and Miriam are the item and nothing gets raunchy. The series really does not accurately portray the book of Robin Hood but it is entertaining.

This has been happening to me the past few days. I have ended up picking up Don Quixote and reading a few chapters till I can't keep my eyes open. I've been working on this book for several years and am now about 4 chapters into the 2nd half.

The Hobbit - OK we are actually listening to the 10 unabridged cd set but the kids are hooked. We only listen in the van when we are all together but they beg to turn it on as soon as we get in. For the younger two, I am reading the Beatrix Potter collection of stories. One every night.

I box them up for a year just in case the school questions something then I toss them.

I just bought the sheets. The new AG is definitely laid out better but I think I can use the old just fine. I did buy the new text because I didn't own the original version just the original cds.

We've had a grand total of 3 days this July that have made it to 80. My pansies and I like it but the kids would like to swim more.

If I didn't need/want anything just yet I would put it away till I did. I might also use it for a science museum pass or other field trip excursions that sometimes get put aside because of admission/ gas costs. We live about an hour from three different science museums so with a family of 6 we got a year pass and plan to go to them throughout the year.

Just for the record I didn't switch to American History because of concerns over SOTW 3 and 4. I just thought the WP program looked like more fun with the paper crafts and it was. I may split them up when they are older because they have already done AS1 and 2. I may even have the olders do Am. History using the WP Crossing program if I have the $$ for it. My second oldest ds listens to the SOTW cds almost every night.

I switched to WP American Story 1 after SOTW 2 because of the younger children involved. We listened to the SOTW 3 cds over the summer. The next year we did American Story 2 but I cannot remember if we got SOTW 4. This year my younger 2 will be in 1st grade and pre-K and we are back to SOTW 1 again via Biblioplan to help schedule the older 2. The younger 2 saw me making up their maps and coloring sheets and are really excited to get started. When my older 2 get to SOTW 3 I will probably split the groups and have the younger 2 do American Story.

Thanks for the suggestions. I saw Rabbit Proof Fence and Sweet Land (both good). I added the others to my queue, hopefully I'll get some free time to watch them.

I did this program with my oldest when he was in 4th grade. It is a nice inexpensive way to get our feet wet with latin. This year I used (we didn't quite finish yet) Lively Latin 1 with both my now 5th grader and 3rd grader. Getting Started With Latin helped us to do some latin in a short amount of time but it isn't needed if you plan to move to a more comprehensive program. I plan on using Getting Started With Spanish (when it releases) to have the same experience with a modern language.

I appreciate all the responses. I think I am going to have to head out and just check out some lighting. We are a long way from installing anything but I wanted to give dh a clue to where we will need electric ran. I know I want lots of outlets, a rare find in this ancient house, for desklamps and such. I am thinking of maybe a separate switch for lighting over the bookshelves and another switch for overhead light. Because of snow and ice concerns I am going to forget recessed lights we do not want heat in the ceiling . We are planing on adding an underfloor run of hot water heat so if we figure it out right it should be toasty. I will be pleasantly shocked if this room is ready by fall.

I watched this last night as an instant watch from netflix and really enjoyed it. I live in a cultural desert and so I enjoy the insight to other beliefs and their walk in it. I thought both actresses were well cast. Just a heads up to an enjoyable movie and please let me know if there are similar types of movies. They have to be light enough so that I can fall asleep when they are over. Also I was wondering if this movie is reality or if something was portrayed inaccurately because I have no clue.

I am assuming task lighting is like desk lamps and such or does this also include track lighting? I still would want at least one or two overhead lights for the whole room. We have only two rooms in our 150 year old house where there is a switch by the door to turn a light on when entering the rest we have to fumble in the dark for a lamp.

ME! Dh bought it for me for my B-Day in Feb. I thought it was an awful lot of $$ but it been so reliable compared to our XP school desktop. No more updates that paralyze the whole system. This is my 1st laptop and I love being able to be portable.

We are converting our front screened-in porch (8'x24') to a room that will be heated and useable all year. The screened-in porch is great but it is rarely hot enough here to be really useful. Since the room faces the north and will only get a small bit of morning sunshine, I want to make it bright enough to be a school room but have a cozy option if we need it as a bedroom down the road. The room will have two 29" x 48" windows on the 24' wall and one 37" X 48" window on one of the 8' walls. I am thinking recessed lights may be nice but I have never used them so I am wondering how many I would need or if they are even advisable. The other 8' wall will,hopefully, be a floor to ceiling bookcase and cupboards combination. I feel like a real rebel because we are getting rid of our never used front entrance. We live in the country and no one pulls in and then walks to the front of the house to knock, they always go to the side door. I actually don't even like people in my front yard because it is hard to see it from the house.