You will actually be a cooking and cleaning slave for all of those days, not just for ONE meal. Plus you will have to entertain all of them when you aren't cooking and cleaning. :scared: Like the rest of society, your MIL must think you sit around eating bon bons all day. I don't travel at Christmas (ever) because we tend to not have sports and it is the best time for my family to slow down long enough for some much needed family time (the 4 of us). My mother is terrific so she has joined us a few times and we enjoy that, but that is my limit. I would much rather have guests for Thanksgiving and/or travel for Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday! I hope you feel better soon.

Grrr! I just lost my long response. :scared: Typing fast since I need to get back to class - THANKS for all the input. I really appreciate it. We had a chance encounter with a computer science professor and he tracked me down a few weeks later. DD learned third-year college level C++ and must have learned enough since she was invited back to work again next summer. Internship ideas - send me a PM, I have a few ideas.

Last year, I taught Python to my daughter then 10th grader. She advanced quickly enough that she got a paid internship at our local university and her skills quickly advanced beyond me. She was asked to return next summer. This year, I am using the same Python with my 8th grade son and he really likes it, but I don't know what to offer him after this. I really don't know the logical sequence of computer science/programming, so I would appreciate your help. Should I find the next level of Python? Should I introduce another language? My daughter suggested Linux because that is what she uses now.

I vote for having him put in his request for the vacation time, then spend time looking for another job if they fire him. Your son is 17-years-old and will probably be leaving the nest soon so it might be your last family trip.

I know you wrote that your daughter wasn't athletic, but has she ever tried archery? Other than missing the upper body strength at the beginning, I was told that girls tend to do well when they first learn. Check out this website. My children are going to compete with other homeschoolers and public schoolers under this program.

http://www.layngo.com/products.php Are you looking for something like this?

http://swimtaxi234.blogspot.com/2011/01/red-beans-and-rice.html Now that we live at such a high altitude (at least compared to near sea level when I wrote that blog post), I have to cook the beans a lot longer and I tend to need to season them 2-3 times during the cooking. I never use Jiffy cornbread mix because it tends to be very sweet, plus a bag of cornmeal is a more affordable option.

Red Beans and Rice is an affordable meal that has a lot of protein. Dried kidney beans are cheap. Rice is super cheap. I usually only add one pound of sausage for the entire batch and that makes 20+ servings (I freeze 3/4 of the pot). I almost always serve this with corn bread which is also inexpensive to make.

I have an HTC droid that I sync my music, Outlook calendar and contacts. Super easy following the above directions. I also have all of our CDs copied on our hard drives, so if I already have music on my hard drive, I copy that song/album to my phone when my phone is sync'd.

I used EE after using IEW for a few years with my daughter. When my DD was 11-years-old, she would cry when I made her write a paragraph. Thanks to hard work and the IEW program, in her duel enrollment, DD placed into English 102 and she has an A average at mid-term. DD's instructor told the class today that most of the papers were awful, but my daughter got a 96 on her essay. Thank you IEW!!! I want to add that I really didn't like EE or Windows to the World, but I am so thankful that we worked through them.

I have an American Flyer Black Elite Quattro 21 that I love. I have used it on every overseas trip and for every sports road trip and vacation for 7 years and it still looks brand new. The 21-inch suitcase is considered a "weekender", but since I have traveled so much, I know how to pack well. This suitcase is lightweight, but my favorite things about it are the 4-wheels and the tilt handle.

My daughter just got home. She was disappointed at how poorly organized they were (not enough places to sit, much less room to take the tests). It took over an hour to find enough places for everyone. :cursing: :cursing: :cursing: I saw the numbered list when I paid. It doesn't seem like a difficult thing to look at the number and think, "Hmmm! Will this room be large enough for everyone?" Anyway, despite the delay, DD thinks she did well.

My daughter woke up 10 minutes before she needed to leave. She dressed, ate a protein bar, brushed her teeth and left. I made sure I was awake in case she wanted me to boost her courage, etc., but she was so calm.

Penderwick series When I read this thread title, I immediately thought about the Penderwick books. So far, there are only 3 books in the series, but they are so charming that my daughter and I are always sad when we have to say good-bye to the characters until we meet them again. We re-read the series once a year and we share our happiness and tears.

We have survived 16 military moves in 26 years. Survived is the perfect word for us since: - the moving truck caught on fire and we lost everything - we had bloodshed when a worker had a finger snapped off - theft - but those same stupid thieves (aka the unpackers) got stoned during lunch so it was easy for the police to catch them - intimidation from a monster of a man (aka the truck driver) - LOST shipments - took weeks to find our household goods - happened TWICE!!! - lots more stories but those are the worst Now, the good news it that the above nightmares RARELY happen. It is almost easy to say that statistically, you should have a normal PCS since we "took one for the team" ... just over and over. Yes, we had the above horror stories (and I only shared those to get to my point), but we also had some amazing moves. Regardless of the outcome (good vs horrible PCS), I used the same PCS SOP - standard operating procedures. 1) Even if you have taken photos of your household goods before, walk through your house and take photos of EVERYTHING. Open each cabinet and each drawer, take photos of your linen closets and your clothes closets, photos of toys, etc.. Your junk drawer can give clues to hundreds of dollars of your property with the one screw driver that is part of a set, the camera charger, etc. If you have the time, take photos of all of your applicances - the GE toaster - model #s if you can take a photo. I did all of this the day before our packers came when we lost everything in the fire. Trust me - even if you aren't moving, having the photos will save you grief if a disaster ever strikes. 2) Walk around the house and put EVERY single liquid item on a counter top or somewhere safe. They will pack them! I had an idiot pack my stash of liquids and every bottle broke and leaked down and ruined the surrounding boxes while on the moving truck. Not fun! - think vinegar, syrup, Drano, etc. Make a collection of spray bottles too. 3) Empty your trashcans. They will pack a trashcan full of rotting foods. BTDT 4) You don't need to pack cookware. You can borrow plates, pots, etc. at your base before you leave and once you get to your new home. Save the room in your vehicles. 5) Make sure to weigh your vehicles empty, then again when they are full. 6) Keep all of your moving receipts in one place or you might not get fully reimbused. 7) Put all of your photos, suitcases, and/or anything not already stored in your vehicles in a bathroom or empty closet and make sure they know to NOT enter and/or pack any of those things. 8) Have the packers pack everything humanly possible. Loose items will "walk" and/or tend to find other homes. Once, all of my beautiful wall maps/posters were rolled into a tight roll, given an inventory ticket and then walked to the truck. Some other family enjoys them now. 9) Have a box of zip bags handy. Truck drivers take a part your beds/furniture and in my experience, they like to tape the screws to the furniture. It is much easier to NOT lose screws if they are in a zip bag that is taped to the furniture. Book cases are the worst. I use zip bags for any small collection of items to save myself grief on the other side. 10) After all of the boxes are numbered for the inventory, I take a large marker and write on the box (same side as the inventory sticker) the same number, but in LARGE numbers and I write in large letters the name of the room the box will go into at the new home. When boxes and non-boxed items are taken off the truck rapidly, they will call out a number and then walk the box/items into the house and items can get missed. My system is to have one child write down every number called out on a blank sheet of paper (or the item like a rake) and then I will check those items off the inventory sheets (two sets - one for boxes and one for items). This allows the inventory to be as accurate as possible since you sign the inventories saying you received them. If you have any questions, send me a PM.

I take more photos of our children, etc. with my phone than I do with my camera (on a day to day basis).

At our last house, we had a finished attic space that had a/c and heat and it was insulated. I called it a cave because it had no natural light. There was a light fixture on the ceiling fan and I had 3 lamps. It was an amazing place to watch TV and for the children to hang out with friends.

We had the opposite experience. The local private school refused to consider letting my daughter test with them (very snotty), but the local public school rep was very kind and willing to let my daughter test with them.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/molluscum-contagiosum-topic-overview Google images for mollluscum to rule that out - no photo on the webmd link.

My family and my husband's family only drank Community Coffee (medium roast) when we were growing up so it was natural for us to love it too. Depending on where we have lived in the past 25 years in the military we could buy the CC at some stores since the CC is growing in national popularity, but we have had to mostly rely on trips back to see famliy to stock up and/or just order from the company. We try to put a few packs in the freezer to make them last longer.

I leave notes on my phone, send myself texts, and/or even send myself emails so I won't forget. I have even used my phone to take a photo of whatever prompted me to say, "I need to remember this ...".

To read blasphemy ^^ :glare: :laugh: In order to get an amazing pot of red beans and rice, you need to start with soaking the beans the day before, so "Life is to short to not eat amazing red beans and rice".

Is there any chance you are allergic to latex and are having an allergic reaction?

I am hit and miss with my pizza dough depending on the weather, so I gave up and started buying pizza dough from Trader Joes - around $1.50. I think they also have a wheat.