Rice? You bet. Heck, in College, I'd order a pizza (cheese and pepperoni) for dinner and eat the rest for breakfast and lunch the next day. Never got sick---couldn't be worse than dorm food :lol::confused::lol:

I with you! He didn't seem stressed or rehearsed, and for a 6 year old, remarkably bright. I don't know that he'll apply his skills in earth-changing ways, nobody does, but to act as if this is not extraordinary is ludicrous. I dare 1 critic here to demonstrate thathis/her child's skill level is even close....:lurk5:

Nope....not even for food. Our meat grows in Styrofoam packages. Much more convenient and less time consuming:lol::lol::lol:.

Just be careful what she sees if she googles Kristin Chenoweth. Males adore her for her layouts :lol::lol:

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Stories Roald Dahl books (many of his shorter works!) Hank the Cowdog -- my 10 year old laughs as hard as his 5 yo brother! Anansi stories The Jungle Book Light in the Attic

I loved Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap. It removed tons of baby stains, and sun with a dose of hydrogen peroxide would finish them off :-)

Hi Melanie, It has taken me 3 years to get up the courage/confidence to homeschool. We've been sampling curriculum options and afterschooling with them for that whole time. FINALLY, as my son enters "fifth grade," I will begin full-time homeschooling him. The others have made the greatest suggestion, start with WTM if you are interested in a classical approach; then, spend hours and hours reading back curricular posts on the other board here. It is amazing how many options there are in the world of homeschooling and you'll find the right flavor for you and your family! Welcome.

I wouldn't even see a mortgage broker until you have pulled your own credit and made sure everything is clean as can be and accurate. Your school will be "hit" each time you let someone pull it, so pull it yourself first and your score won't drop. Then, if you have errors, get them fixed! Try to look at your credit report and see what you can do to maximize your score. It will matter for interest rates. Are your balances to high or sadly, too low? Do you need to dispute lates or errors? Once you have tackled your credit report, THEN and only then, see a mortgage broker :-). Good luck!

Thank you for all the great links...I have found some awesome options. Sadly, we don't have any local candy stores. For a laugh, I did find this about Palmer's on my search..I actually laughed out loud at the descriptions! http://www.typetive.com/candyblog/item/palmer_hollow_chocolate_flavored_bunny/

Odo-Ban works very well, too. It leaves an antiseptic smell, then rewash. It kills the bacteria. If vinegar fails, odo-ban won't.

I do think gay days has become a bit political...that is to say, it might make you feel uncomfortable if you and your children do not already have a GLBTQ friends and family. For my children, it is no big deal and simply part of the diversity of the world like skin color or religion or disability. Yet, I imagine many of their friends (and their friends' parents) would be uncomfortable. As noted, there is open display of affection.\ * Edited to add, we have been twice during Gay Days. Once when we only had 1 child, and then 2 years ago. It is not uncomfortable for us - and we tend to pick the "non-designated" park for slightly less crowding, though I think they are all awful during the summer and many families do the same making the other parks extra crowded, too. And, the open displays are those you'd find from heterosexual couples. We've never witnessed over the top PDA ... like we have with teenagers on the cheerleading and baseball camps and high school trips - ICK ;-).

In my quest for good bunnies, I found a blog post about stuffing the hollow bunnies to make Easter turduckens, bahhhh. They used Cadbury Creme Eggs. I'd fill mine with peanut butter cups :D, but alas, I want a big solid bunny for my kids!

I loved getting huge, solid chocolate Easter bunnies in my basket. These days, it seems like the choices are nasty Palmer chocolate bunnies that horrid, or small, solid ones. If I could make GOOD chocolate and find HUGE molds, I just might make my own bunnies when the kids were out of the house:tongue_smilie:

I know someone else pointed this out, but the Catholic Church is not a "denomination" because it is the church from which all other Christian churches spring. I am Catholic, in my lifetime, I have wrestled long and hard with it. Somedays I have considered myself "post Catholic" and in my college days "a recovering Catholic." But, when I had children of my own, I realized there was no other place that had the reverence and peace I needed for Mass. The doctrines most align with my own because they shaped them -- though I reflect and disagree on many. I am at home in Mass, and ultimately, I truly believe in the works the Catholic Church does and they ways in which they handle service to others in our world. And, when it comes down to it, I feel like being Catholic is as much a part of my "culture" as it is my faith. Good luck, is such a personal journey, and I wish you well.

I always buy them "free" with my CVS extra care bucks :-).

Thank you!

I know...it took me awhile, too! But,at makeupalley it is raved about and after googling for days, I gave it a try. I've been amazed! It's fabulous.

Don't laugh until you research it a bit, but Crisco (the white kind in the can for baking) is a fantastic moisturizer if you just need moisture and antioxidants. It is not pore clogging....and absorbs nicely! I also like Atopalm from the drugstore. For fine lines, if you don't want to go with Retinoids, you should add a Vit. C serum to your routine...I order skinceuticals CE Ferulic, but you can make your own for pennies! Avalon Organics makes a nice one, too. Under my sunscreen, I always use a serum with Hyaluronic Acid to pull moisture to the surface. Garden of Wisdom is very inexpensive and I love their Immortelle HA serum. And, if you aren't already, you need a sunscreen everyday; one that is stable and has a high UVA rating, not just SPF. There are few readily available ones in the US versus Europe, but they are worth it. Anyway, I know you just said moisturizer and may be doing the other things, but often are problems with lines are not moisture related. I spend way to much time at makeupalley dot com on the skincare boards :-).

My oldest is only 10, but we never talk about it as "schooling." We play "games" and try to best one another at Analytical Reasoning, Analogies, and even Sodoku, etc... It's fun when it is "competitive," ;-). We choose great films and classics, mixed in with Shrek and the like, and always have much better "snacks" :lurk5:for the harder films so they still look forward to them -- conditioning.:lol: We keep stats at summer and spring baseball minor league games for Math. DS helps me balance the checkbook and DH or I try to invent questions about our finances, like, "If I spend 1/15th of our money on a dinner at Outback, how much could we spend? Then, how much would each person be able to spend?" It also teaches fiscal responsibility and we find he asks for much less now:D. We do read alouds, still...bedtime is never shortchanged. We snuggle on the couch even for 10 minutes to unwind and talk about the day...then pass around a good book. We take turns choosing the book (DH usually chooses ones about sports or gross things!) And, I love seeing what my kids pick -- gives me insight into them. We did that in my family even when I came home from College. Once I married, my parents did it with my kids and it's truly a treasured family ritual. And, we always work history into books on tape when we are running from place to place or going on a vacation. On weekends, we sometimes visit local historical spots; we are in the South and boy is it rich in southern history! It's certainly nothing like getting history the WTM way, but it's better than what they are getting at school. The Ancients we cover by having appropriate books in the reading bins ... again, we just try for exposure. I guess what I'm saying is, I'd just start slowly introducing things they can do -- unschooling afterschooling ;-). If it makes them feel better about their family and themeselves, it won't seem like "work," kwim? You are right, kids in school can get overwhelmed and stressed, so I just try to cultivate a love of learning. Video Games, even Rock Band (which we love!) is not the only way to spend free time or destress. We love chillin' and learning as a family.

As a 12 diet coke a day woman, I have to tell you going cold turkey made me violently ill for 3 days .... it was true drug withdrawal. On day 4, complete with vomiting, I realized I needed to do it gradually. I drank 2 diet cokes and felt better within an hour. After that, I kept at 2 for a week, then down to 1 for a week, then to tea, and now, H20 and green tea only. Caffeine is truly a drug...I was stunned at how much my withdrawal was what I hear about for real "coke heads!" :lol:

chronic?

As you know in your heart, church is about finding fellowship and commitment to God's love. "Tolerance" of difference is not longer acceptable. We need to find ways to bridge divides and it doesn't seem that your church is doing that. If you kids are old enough that you are thinking about their eventual departure, they are certainly old enough to talk with about this issue. I have a daughter with an intellectual disability (Trisomy 21) and our two typically developing children understand that as a family, we find the right places for us as a family -- none of us are individuals with needs that are above the needs of us as family. Sometimes it is hard -- sometimes it is easy, but in the end, I know my children understand the importance of love, fellowship, and family. I'd chat with your children and explain to them your dilemma. They might be seeing how you are excluded and hurting-- but not willing to bring it up. Huge hugs! I hope you find a place with people eager to learn sign. We did b/c it helped my daughter with speech, and WOW! It has expanded my social circle tremendously :-). :lol:

Poor dogs, Purina is really a junk food that ends up costing more than nutritional food. I think they may just not have a lot of doggie education.

Smacking forehead....:tongue_smilie:! What a great idea for my 10 yo. He loves reading "foreign language" captions and this would help him enjoy the movie. It drives me bonkers, however.

Sadly, Titus Andronicus is a play I've never even read myself. Perhaps I need to put that on my own reading list!