I actually assumed you were talking about chicken based on the title. How boring am I? Lol. I also would stir fry with veggies and serve over rice.

An option for earthy, but light is Benjamin Moore's Stingray. I find it calm and soothing. A beautiful sky blue is A Breath of Fresh Air, also by Benjamin Moore. (Can you tell that we are in the midst of some painting projects here as well? Lol.)

((Hugs)). Hope tomorrow is better.

It drives me crazy when it is intentional. You can't blame someone who is contagious, but not yet showing symptoms. They don't know they are ill yet. What irks me is when someone brings a child that they know is ill to an optional event. And they try to justify it by saying that they couldn't disappoint the kid. Um, be a grown-up and keep your sick kid home. Sorry, this is one of my pet peeves. (I am understanding about running a quick errand for necessities, but would expect the parent to be quick and take steps to limit exposure to others by not allowing children to be touching everything.) OP, I am sorry that your kids are sick now. I hope the illness will run its course quickly and that you will escape it.

Sending prayers.

I always knock. Sometimes also asking if someone was in there. I don't try the door until I have already knocked. Eta: I don't think your DD did anything wrong. I think the woman overreacted. I agree with others who said to just let it go and assume she was having a bad day. Don't let it get to you.

I always knock. Sometimes also asking if someone was in there. I don't try the door until I have already knocked.

:)

An easy dinner would be ham in the crock pot and baked sweet potatoes. I add brown sugar and pineapple tidbits to the crock pot with the ham. The sweet potatoes just get scrubbed and baked in the oven. Easy and yummy.

Christmas Eve we will probably have baked potato soup in the crock pot. Easy and filling. Christmas Day we will have cinnamon rolls and quiche for brunch. For dinner, the kids have requested nachos. Yes, I said nachos. They figure that the red from the salsa and green from the guacamole make them festive. Fine with me. That is a super easy dinner.LOL.

We like Hawaiian BBQ chicken. Add some chicken breasts to crock pot with some BBQ sauce and a can of crushed pineapples. Cook 4 hours on high, shred and serve over rice. This is a family favorite. Actually you could just put the chicken in with whatever sauce or salad dressing you have. I have done ranch dressing, thousand island, Italian, BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce.

This is my favorite warm dip recipe. So simple and is always a crowd pleaser. I do not have a mini crock pot, so I just warm it in the oven.

Congratulations!!! Welcome little ones!

Thank you!

From past threads, I know that there are some people here who are very knowledgeable about dog behavior and training. I am hoping that you all will have some advice for me. And/or resources. I am happy to do some reading myself, just need some direction on what is a good resource. We have a 2 year lab mix. He is well-behaved and listens well with most things (sit, stay, lie down, come, leave it, etc.) However, he gets excited and jumps on company when they first arrive. After everyone is settled, he is usually fine, but I don't want him jumping up. I tell him to sit and stay while people enter, but that is the one situation where he doesn't hold the stay for long and will jump. How can I train him out of this behavior? And what cues would you suggest I use? When he was a puppy, we trained him with a clicker (click and treat). I still have the clickers, but we haven't used them since he learned the basics. Cam I still use the clicker with him? Thanks in advance for your help. :)

I second the recommendation for Project Life.

Thank you! This helps so much!

The light set looks cool and you can hook it up to your iPod or mp 3 player.

Does the 750 set have enough bases for 3 boys to play together?

Thanks for the heads up! Snap circuits are on the Christmas list this year. :)

Thank you so much, Lori! I appreciate your input.I will take a look at those links to get a closer look at the program. I think my son will love the books. I was thinking that using the study will help him slow down and savor the trilogy. We haven't done much for literary analysis yet since we have been working on his writing skills. I think this will be an inspiring way to introduce the concepts with books he is likely to love. I am hoping it will be more enjoyable that way and make high school lit less intimidating. I hadn't originally planned on having my 5th grader tag-along, but will consider it. I am happy to hear that we could continue with WWS as well. And reading selections to go along with our history. This would be a great way to really get him thinking about literature without it being discouraging since the writing portion would not be overwhelming. Off to look at it more closely...

Would this be appropriate for a struggling writer? (He is an avid reader, but writing can be a struggle). Also, could this course be completed in less than a year? For an eighth grader? Should I save it for high school? Start it this year and finish a semester in high school? I am just starting to look closely at it and was wondering what the Hive thought. Thank you.

Would you consider a rescue puppy? We rescued our dog as a puppy from Adopt-A-Stray.org.

My oldest son starting shaving at 12 with an electric razor (DH taught him). He doesn't need to shave very often yet. He shaves when the fuzz starts to bother him, maybe every few weeks? (I don't keep track.)

What a great motto! (and the kids' reactions are priceless.) The signs that I am considering are "Mistakes are proof that you are trying" and "It is okay to not know, but it is not okay to not try." Not really famous or inspiring quotes, but good reminders. Now you have me thinking...maybe I could find something better...