We have an Australian Multi-gen Labradoodle that was bred by a U.S. breeder from Australian bloodlines. Our breeder didn't even remotely resemble a puppy mill. She is passionate about the emerging "breed," having served on the board of the breed club, and focuses on raising incredible family pets. Our prior dog was a shelter rescue that we got before kids and she violently attacked my oldest DS when he was a toddler (he is lucky he didn't lose his vision, and he still has scars on his face), and had to be put down. When we were healed enough from that experience, we did a great deal of research in deciding on the right type of dog for our family and we have not been disappointed. Was our dog, insanely expensive? Absolutely, but we could afford it and to us, it was totally worth it to us to get the right dog for our family. I just wish those working on developing the breed could have come up with a better name, as there is a huge difference between our Australian Multi-Gen Labradoodle and the puppy mill Puggles and Maltipoos filling up the pet stores. But even if you don't see the difference and think I'm just a sucker with an overpriced mutt, that's alright. The bottom line is that my family has a great dog.

:iagree: I have the Kirkland Satinless set and LOVE it!

Mine has been going in the crockpot all night and we woke up to some wonderful smells this morning. I remember laughing as a kid when my grandparents would say "what a beautiful carcass" before turning the turkey leftovers into soup. I have to admit, I kinda get it now :lol:

It's a wonderfully diverse group of intelligent, thoughtful homeschoolers. I've found some marvelous curriculum ideas here that I never would have encountered otherwise.

I find myself doing it sometimes and I hate it. Text speak is baaaad.

:lurk5:

So good to hear. I am really bought into this approach after listening to SWB's writing leactures, and looking forward to starting WWE 1 with DS next year!

I have 3 kids 5 and under. My oldest, who is K aged, has Asperger's and we incorporate some computer-based prgrams, as he is really motivated by computer time and learns really well that way. I would prefer a more classical approach, but it is what it is. Our curriculum right now: Reading: Headsprout (computer based: 3ish episodes/week) and ETC 2 (2 pages/day), BOB Books and other easy readers, lots and lots of read-alouds Math: Math Mammoth 1A (usually 1 page/day), Kumon telling time and money workbooks, Destination Math (computer) Handwriting: HWOT K Science: Magic School Bus, assorted read-alouds History: The American Story, biographies, Liberty's Kids, map study Spanish: Elementary Spanish (Discovery Education Streaming) Character Education: The Jesus Storybook Bible, The Children's Book of Virtues, Veggie Tales Art: Meet the Masters (haven't started yet) Music: church children's choir For 1st, I plan to add FLL and WWE. By then we should be finished with Headsprout, and we'll continue with ETC instead of a formal spelling program. For math, we'll just continue with MM (I'm aiming to spread 1A and 1B over 2 years for kinder and 1st. We'll probably start with Ancient history when my oldest is in 2nd and middle child is in kinder. But really, who am I kidding - I'll probably have a whole new plan in place by then. I'm too new at this to really have much figured out in terms of long-term planning.

Clarks! Very comfortable and stylish. Not very easy on the pocketbook, though.

Lactaid pills are a must for the lactose intolerant. These pills are just the lactase enzyme that lactose-intolerant folks don't produce. By taking lactaid with an occasional dairy indulgence, I am able to avoid most of the unpleasant side-effects. I carry it with me everywhere, just in case. With lactaid, I do fine with yogurt and hard cheeses. Some things like milk, cheesecake, ice cream, and anything with cream cheese will still be problematic, but the lactaid at least lessens the reaction.

We have granite and love it. I've never had quartz to compare it to functionally, but I definitely prefer the more random look of natural stone. But the flip side of the natural variation is that when picking out granite, what you end up with might vary considerably from the samples you see, unless you are able to pick out the actual slab. The counters we ended up with looked rather different from what we thought we were chosing.

We are doing our refi with Quicken Loans. Rates were very low and they are able to do a 10 year mortgage, which is what we wanted. We just started the process, but it's been very painless so far. Bankrate.com is a great place to start your research. Like other posters said, most mortgage companies sell your loan before the first payment anyway.

My oldest DS discovered "Walter the Farting Dog" at the library when he was three and it's been a lost cause with regards to that word in our house ever since.:tongue_smilie:

Sorry, I must have worded my question poorly - I don't actually own A. I haven't ever used RS math, so I'm not sure if it would be a good fit us or not. The main reason I'm thinking B instead of A for my older DS is that he is on at least a late 1st grade math level already (double digit addition, understands simple multiplication, etc.). I am really appreciating all of the thoughts so far - thank you all!

:iagree:We have found Magic Treehouse to be a perfect introduction to chapter books in our house. They have a lot of pictures and very engaging storylines. From there we have gone on to child adaptations of classics, Narnia, etc.