Yay! This is what I want to hear! :D Thanks for answering so quickly!

I am going to the apple store tomorrow, and awash in the sea of temptation! I know the Ipad 3 is supposed to be coming out (March?) and we will be buying one then for dh's business. Problem is, he needs it yesterday but is just hanging on. I am soooo tempted to get the 2 for him now, then when he buys the 3 we can have the 2 at the house. I just hate picking it up only to find the new one is coming out next week, and the 2s are now selling for $5 :D Adding to the pressure is the knowledge that I am leaving tomorrow to help family for a week, and will be computer-less and have no smart phone. If I bought the ipad I could use it on my trip! I don't think I can go without the forums for a week! What would you do?

Eye appointments paid for our first membership. Then we upped to the 'executive' and so get a % back at the end of the year. We always get back enough to pay for the next year's membership, so for us it's a no-brainer. I love haunting the aisles for the items with a * next to the price. That means the item is on the way out, and will often start dropping in price. I just replaced our $40 mixer for $9 by watching the *! Then again, I live in a community where there is not much to do, so wandering the Costco aisles is my main form of entertainment :D. Our Costco is new, very very clean, and never crowded. That helps too!

Factor gas costs into the price of the vehicle. I wanted a Suburban until my BFF revealed she gets 13 mpg around town! We put a lot of miles on our vehicle (we live 1 hr from town), so we opted to pay more upfront for a diesel engine that gets 25-27 mpg. We now get better mpg in our all-wheel SUV than does my friend in her minivan! Even with higher prices on diesel the savings will more than pay for the cost of the upgrade (diesel engines can last longer too, extending the life of the vehicle).

My children seem to be natural grammarians, so Rod and Staff was becoming overkill. AG is simple and straightforward, without being shallow. The sentences are very engaging. This is their only course in workbook format, and I think they appreciate the break in copying as well. The kids are also at the age where they enjoy independent work. About the videos- honestly, they could do the course just as well with out them, they just happen to like them! Perhaps it goes along with the move toward independence. My ds has asperger's and needs audible and visual instruction simultaneously. This videos give them that, without him having to wait on me (like his little brother, who is doing JAG, does). I personally love that this one course works well for both my Aspie son and my bright daughter. I love that it only takes minutes a day, and yet sticks better than any grammar we tried (up to and including R&S). I like that they are learning how to do their work without me. Best of all, I like that we are discussinmg grammar outside of their LA hour! (We are only just starting JAG. So far so good, and ds likes it. I can give a better review in a few months)

We were R&S people. When #3 came of age, I could not do R&S another time. I could not! I kept putting off starting for 'next week' (guilty admission). Enter AG! I LOVE AG! (yes, I know I am yelling! :D) In fact I cannot count how many times I have told dh that I wish I loved all subjects as much. The kids are retaining it better than ever, with no eye rolling. They do it rather independently as I bought the videos. Love them! I am surprised at how much better they are learning grammar, with way less work. We have even found ourselves discussing the sentence topics during dinner, as they are that interesting. With those results in mind I just bought JAG for my youngest (dyslexic so below grade in LA). He absolutely loves it! I am very happy with AG and JAG!

Thanks, Julie! We are definitely a "truth is truth" family, and I have lots of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestent books that share places of honor on my shelves. With your description, I see that this is probably going to fit fine. I am thrilled! Ds did a day from the sample week today, and really likes the program. Considering his usual ambivalence to anything school related, this is high praise indeed! Thank you so much for responding- I have been finding your posts on MFW very valuable to me! Thanks!

Bumping for anyone else, thanks!

We found a weird little spiral cutting device (spirooli) that cuts a summer squash into a incredibly long, spiral "noodle". The kids love it! I use the veggie 'noodles' in soups like minestrone. They hate spaghetti squash unless i make a casserole by layering the cooked squach on bottom, then thick spaghetti sauce, then browned ground pork seasoned like Italian sausage (bake at 350 until bubbling). Somehow the baking must infuse the squash with goodness.

Thank you, cbollin! I have been reading a lot of your MFW posts over the last few days, and they have been very helpful. Thanks for posting about your experience! I am sure you'll hear from me again :D.

Well see, this is what I mean by the fact that we had to change the proportions to eat organic. Milk is the same price here, so we only drink one gallon a week. We drink water the rest of the time. We also don't eat cereal or dishes that require much milk. That keeps my milk costs at $7 a week. (family of 5, with two teenagers and often their friends). If I tried to eat exactly the same diet as we used to eat but simply substituted the organic version then no, we could not afford it. I am not trying to pick on you, Dustybug, your post was just a convenient example to clarify what I was trying to say in my first post.

My son recently saw the AHL package and really liked it. He is not into school at all- he is an Aspie and really just wants to get school done every day so that he can work on his beloved wood working projects. The fact that he is interested in a specific program is encouraging! The curriculum looks great, and I have heard positive things about if here, from some great members. We are also a family that can read book by Christians from other branches of the Faith with out problems. I want to be sure, though, that the texts are not too far out of our range, because if I have to tweak the schedule to death I might as well keep using TOG! :D So here are my questions: ~Can I substitute another commentary for the Daniel Study in AHL easily? ~I am hesitant about using a BJU text in year 2 as they are notoriously and outspokenly anti-Catholic. Did you run into this in year 2? ~Is there any thing else I might consider an obstacle or even a red flag? Thank you so much!

We had to make a strategy. We saved for a while until we could afford a freezer. Then we saved to buy 1/2 a cow, then saved that part of the weekly grocery budget to afford a whole. Our meat (local organic) costs less than $3 a lb., and that is less than conventional meat at the grocery store. And we are eating steaks! Yum! We try to eat in season, as seasonal organic veg are cheaper than out-of-season conventional veg. (Eating lots of chard and beets right now, as we are having a warm winter!) I also buy fresh and frozen organic at great prices from Costco. We can't afford the organic processed food, so we just don't eat any with the exception of tortilla chips (Costco again). When we have the extra cash I pick up a little treat like a specialty cheese. Basically it is just meat and lots of veg. It is tasty, though, so we don't mind. To afford organic we eat a more limited and seasonal diet than others we know. By purchasing our meat in bulk, sourcing local when possible, and shopping smart I can keep our costs equivalent to our 'former' diet.

:grouphug: (Hard day here, so no rays from me! :D Seriously, life is good; some days just take a little more work to remember that)

We are in the process of starting a small agricultural manufacturing /wholesale/retail business. One of our main motivations for doing this was to be able to provide our special needs son with a job- we hope he will eventually be able to take ownership. Our small business class offered by a local college has been invaluable. That plus the book I mentioned have helped us immensely!

Read the book "The E-Myth" and then read it again. :D

Yes! That is a good plan- a good way to ease in. Basically the food part of the GAPS diet is the same (well, very very close) to the SCD diet. The GAPS plan just adds specific, precise supplementation and some detox strategies. We use many SCD recipes around here, along with even more 'paleo' and 'primal' recipes.

I have both Circa and Arc materials, and they are completely compatible. I love the quality of the Arc binders! The page-coming-out phenomenon depends on the weight of paper used. The heavier (and therefore more stiff) paper stays in better, and the little mushroom holes (I swear I have hear them called 'smurfs') last longer. The pages can also pop out if your disks are too small for the amount of paper used. I use 2 poly binders for my school planning; I print my forms on the computer with regular 20 lb paper and have not had any issues. I use the Leveneger punch, but have purchased the Arc punch a gift and they seem similar in heft. I also have a Jr. size poly notebook that goes with my everywhere, and both the legal and jr size leather versions (one of them I changed to larger disks). They all turn back completely, with no paper issues. I adore these products! :D

In my experience, the queasiness is not from the fat per se, but from my body detoxing all that yuck. After a while, when my body is done with the detox phase, the queasiness goes away. Also during the detox phase I get really stinky. My breath, my body, everything exudes a sour, alcoholic smell. Then it goes away and I am back to smelling amazing! :D Seriously, that smell is keeps me on the wagon! Now this is not science, just my experience of what I go through. Meanness and irritability, then weakness and queasiness, then stinkiness, then awesomeness. :D

I have been doing this for a year now, as it is the best way to cope with my fibro symptoms. It took 2 weeks to really get my groove on; now it takes me about 3 days after a binge to regain equilibrium. It does get better! My best advice: A) Eat more fat, it gives you a deep sense of well being and makes your brain work. B) Eat a giant baked squash when things get bad. Heaven= a big butternut squash topped with LOTS of good olive oil. Mmmmmm!

If you intend to do the diet you will find the book indispensable, IMO. The new edition has all the information you need, and if you have extra $ there is a meal-plan e-book that was really helpful. There is also a Yahoo group, but I found that a bit overwhelming. We did GAPS for a year, and it made a huge difference for us (we still eat mostly GAPS) I have posted our results a few times; you will find it if you do a search on GAPS. You can also feel free to pm or e-mail me if you want to know more!

Yep! and what we drive, too! We own a 60's era pickup, an 80's era VW van, and a newer model luxury SUV. We own these vehicles for very good reasons, and are neither poor nor rich. Nothing makes me giggle more than stepping out of our SUV wearing my rubber boots and flannel shirts, or jumping out of the hippie van in heels and fancy purse (bought at TJ Maxx of course). It is funny how cops pull us over in the van, and not in the SUV. We are given dirty looks if we pass you in the SUV, and not in the pickup. Funny stuff! However my favorite moment lately was the day I decided to dress up a bit, and so put on my favorite long black skirt paired with a new t shirt (also black). It was cold, so I threw on my jacket (black) and wrapped my cold head in the closest scarf (black)... later that day an old man came up to me speaking Greek and bowing. It took while before I realized he thought I was a nun! :lol:

Lithium is amazing. Don't rule it out!

Just wanted to say that I have missed you! Seriously! :grouphug: