Although we loved The Thunderbolt Kid, there is a scene where he goes to the strip show at a carnival and realizes that the men in attendance were paying the woman for other services after the show. So if your parents are religious (or even feminist!) this might not be the book for them.

This book has been on my wish list for a while. I think this little tidbit pushed the buy button for me.

Ellen McHenry's Mapping the World with Art worked well with my kids. http://store.ellenjmchenry.com/?product=mapping-the-world-with-art-hard-copy-cd Also when we were using the three book Human Odyssey series, which has one or two maps per chapter in the textbook, I traced the longitude and latitude lines for each map and asked my oldest to draw the rest of the countries/features and then label them when we got to the event depicted in the map. One step up from just labeling, I guess, but my artsy kid preferred it.

I highly recommend this anthology of science writing: Galileo's Commandment: 2,500 Years of Great Science Writing edited by Edmund Blair Bolles http://www.amazon.com/Galileos-Commandment-Years-Science-Writing/dp/0805073493/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452000885&sr=8-1&keywords=Galileo%27s+commandment Also: Swampwalker's Journal by David M. Carroll Most anything by Rachel Carson Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

Results gave me three Michigan cities, which is not where I have ever lived, but is where my mom grew up. Guess an entire state of people can't overpower a mother's influence!

Some apartments aren't advertised. It wouldn't hurt to ask your husband to actively spread the word at work that he and his lovely family are looking for a place to rent close to work. Someone might know someone who rents cautiously through word of mouth rather than having to sift through hundreds of applications from strangers. It might not work right away but it is worth a try.

I did mention that the blog was for people with high incomes trying to retire early, but cars are an incredible drain upon the finances of people of all incomes. I linked to it because it was the first one I could think of that broke down all the costs of car ownership in a clear way. I am aware that the investing part of the article is immaterial to this particular discussion. I suppose I should have Googled, but that other article was fresh in my mind. I have read many of the OP's posts and like her a lot. I have been in financial distress in the past and do relate. I have suggested The Complete Tightwad Gazette (from the library) in threads she has originated. It is one of the very few books that gives concrete penny by penny strategies for people in low income situations. I used it myself ten years ago and find myself in much better circumstances today as a direct result. Here is a completely unbiased article on the cost of car ownership. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm

Here is an NPR article on the demographic shift. http://www.npr.org/2014/10/21/357723069/millennials-continue-urbanization-of-america-leaving-small-towns

You might benefit from doing the math on the commute and adding up all the expenses related to the car. If you got rid of the car and used that money to move to a slightly more expensive place withing walking or biking distance of work, the library, and grocery shopping you'd have more time as a family. I heartily recommend this blogger (be aware he swears often and with vigor!): The Mr. Money Mustache blog originally started out to help people with $70,000 + salaries retire early, BUT the advice for saving money is applicable at all income levels. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/

Do you live in NY? The taxes on our house in NY go up between $500 and $1000 a year! That gets passed on to tenants, and may explain some of your rent increases.

I read that there has been a huge demographic shift in the choices of the latest generations. Wealthy Baby Boomers and Generation X fled the cities to live in suburban areas especially when they were ready to raise children. Now, in a very distinct shift wealthy Generation Y and Millenials are choosing to move to the cities and raise their children in the cities. This is driving the prices in urban areas extremely high and so the urban lifestyle, once one of relative poverty, is now a luxury good.

Oh my! My little friend Rene and I used to spend considerable time crushing (small) rocks in elementary school to make "gunpowder" (the 1970s, oh how times have changed) . We knew which rocks were the hardest, the softest, the glitteriest, and occasionally we even found some coal that had fallen near the entrance to the boiler room. Good times!

Excellent article. Looks like the author has a book coming out in February. The Importance of Being Little http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525429077?keywords=The%20Importance%20of%20being%20little&qid=1450487779&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

I second Carol in Cal. There are so many wonderful literary nonfiction authors with backgrounds in entomology, botany, geology, anthropology, archeology, paleontology. History is also a ripe field for writers. I have a tiny sample size of two friends who have PhD's in English and are English professors. Their creative writing is INFECTED with literary criticism! Seriously, it is painful to read. I have known one of these professors since high school, before all his lit crit training had him, well, writing backward. Gone are his quirky stories, in is his THEME (usually Marxist, though he is not a Marxist), standing out like a sore thumb and keeping anyone from getting lost in his prose. And the only thing he has actually published is a textbook. The other English professor has also never published any fiction despite writing and submitting it. Writers write, all the time, and from the heart. Their characters or their loves (the objects of their nonfiction writing) are alive in their minds. A college degree is not necessary to become a writer, but can be helpful. I agree with the other posters who suggest creative writing (not English) and a secondary degree in a field that interests her and that might add content to her writing.

Have had separate blankets for 20 years. So much better. No squabbling or freezing or broiling (especially with hot flashes on the horizon). I tried to convince my elderly grandmother to do the same (she was barely getting any sleep to begin with as she slept lightly fearing my grandfather who had Alzheimer's might wake and wander off) when she complained of grandpa stealing the covers, I suggested two sets of twin blankets, but she just couldn't do it. It would have at least relieved of few of her numerous nightly wake ups, but the shared blanket thing is so ingrained in our culture she just couldn't make the leap. I believe interrupted sleep impacts our health, so separate covers are perfect for avoiding one source of these sleep stealing wake ups.

There is a video of Dahaene lecturing on this topic on YouTube. Might be helpful for those suffering from mommy brain.

My dad gave me tools for Christmas from the late teen on to the present and I am a girl. I was the only person with a GIANT pipe wrench in my first apartment complex. I think filling a toolbox over time with good quality tools is like the "hope chest" of old. Great idea. I particularly like the previous post mentioning precision screwdriver set as a stocking stuffer. I have used mine so many times to tighten glasses, open battery compartments, etc.

Red Rock Canyon and The Valley of Fire are very close to Las Vegas. http://www.vegas.com/traveltips/top-10-las-vegas-recreation-spots/

My husband's company had a secondary office in Chennai and we visited during our five month stay. We stayed at the Westin Chennai Velachery and had a wonderful chef there who accommodated my picky daughter's food rules (we aren't gluten free, but you could call and find out if they can accommodate your needs, the staff is wonderful and will bend over backwards to make your stay enjoyable.) My husband's favorite hotel in Chennai is actually the ITC Grand Chola and I am sure their chef would be just as helpful. These two hotels are used to American and European business travelers and will be amongst your best bets in finding a chef who is familiar with celiac conventions. It may also be helpful to bring any good supply of gluten free convenience foods with you to hold you over when traveling, so literally fill your suitcase. Clothes, toiletries, etc are easily available in India. American packaged gluten free foods, not so much. While you are in Chennai, you should ask the hotel to recommend a driver to take you to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mahabalipuram (Mahabs) about 60 km south. You will want to see the Shore Temple, the Rathas, and the bas relief, Descent of the Ganges (as well as the nearby Krishna's butterball and other temples and monoliths). Tour guides will be available at these places, make sure they speak slowly and clearly enough for you to understand their English. If not, move on to the next available guide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabalipuram If you have any folks interested in herpetology, the Westin can arrange for you to go along with the tribal snake catchers on an snake catching outing. Snake catching takes place in the EARLY morning. They collect venomous snakes and take them to the where they will be milked in order to produce antivenom. If you do not want to get up at an unholy hour to watch them catch snakes, you can see them bring the snakes in for a bounty later in the day and watch a cobra demonstration and see lots of crocodiles at the Madras Crocodile Bank. After the snakes are milked, they are released. http://www.madrascrocodilebank.org/cms/ There are a number of gorgeous temples in Chennai such as the Kapaleeshwar Temple and the Parathasarthy Temple. Chennai is hot and humid, but local people dress modestly. A long cotton dress was my usual choice so that I didn't feel too out of place. You can really rely on the hotel staff to help you plan tourist activities that are suited to your family's interest. Understand that riding in a car in India will seem death defying to the average American. Somehow, the oncoming vehicles always seemed to get out of the way at the very last second, so either shut your eyes or just hold your breath and trust your driver knows exactly what he is doing. Other small things: bring toilet paper from the hotel with you on your adventures. Bring some Dramamine from the states for the road trips. Wear closed toe shoes. The hospitals (which provide the majority of care as opposed to doctor's offices in the US) in India are excellent. The doctors we had were often trained in the US.

Happened upon this series of short (under 10 minute each), gorgeous and informative nature study videos on YouTube. There are at least 25 of them on varied topics. Search Yosemite Nature Notes Channel on YouTube search feature. They also feature botanists, ecologists, park rangers, etc. and so are excellent for kids considering those careers. This is the first one. The monarch/milkweed one is gorgeously shot.

Listening to passionate, learned people speak has always been my favorite way to learn. I have cried on two occasions when due to circumstances, I was unable to attend lectures (Douglas Tallamy and Vandana Shiva). I have never cried because I had to miss a group project or discussion. Never. Group projects, discovery activities, they can be a fun break, but they are not inspiring, not efficient, and generally frustrating if they involve depending on other people. However, I have noticed that with Pearson et al. providing handy dandy powerpoint slides to professors, lectures have devolved into reading the slides which just reiterate the text. Artful lectures may actually be becoming rare and so the critics aren't exposed to good lectures and this just confirms their bias against lectures as they haven't actually heard any good ones. I do love the mention of the habit of attention. That is clearly being lost, also, the mention of modeling a well structured argument. Fantastic. Especially since the critic's argument against the lecture seems to rely heavily on loaded words and not on any substantive argument.

http://www.amazon.com/Tideland-Treasure-Expanded-Todd-Ballantine/dp/1611171563/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=18MABXVH87Q5CGDJ9S00 (the earlier edition of Tideland has the "look inside" feature. http://www.amazon.com/Tideland-Treasure-Todd-Ballantine/dp/087249795X/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EHAHEEW7VJEDF7W6QJV&dpID=51M5DCW1TXL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR113%2C160_ ) http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Southeast-Texas-Upper-Coast/dp/0982551614/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444940725&sr=1-3&keywords=field+guide+texas+coast

Time spent reading aloud and in hands on nature study every day. Curriculum wise? Phonics based reading and spelling instruction.

I have just begun looking into this area as well for my son. We went to the open house for one (Maine College of Art) and I was extremely surprised to find that the art and design schools are really on top of internships and coursework that includes producing materials for local businesses, selling their own art as students, and making sure the students understand how to work with clients, how to market their artwork and a whole host of things I would have assumed were neglected in pursuit of "Art" with a capital "A". The disciplines within the schools operate almost like trade schools, teaching the students from the ground up, everything from woodworking to fashion design (starting with making your own fabric) to animation. The schools with design in the name are definitely seeking both artistic and creative people. They mentioned that some of their graduates go on to work in industry where they lend their creativity (such as the graduate who designs fixtures for Kohler). I can't remember the exact statistic, but MECA (a small, relatively new school compared with some out there) mentioned that a good percentage (68%?) of their graduates go on to work directly in art. I have no idea what CA schools are like but east coast (and midwest) art schools include: Pratt, Parsons, Rhode Island School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, MASSArt, Savannah College of Art and Design, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, etc. We asked what the high school student needed to do to prepare. The answers included: take every art class available, draw from life (they do not want to see manga or superheros or unicorns! LOL), and prepare a creative sketchbook with dated pages. While they want good students, the make or break item is the portfolio the high school student will submit. Each school has specific guidelines for what should be included. Often these guidelines are on their webpages. They also want recent work in the portfolio, not something the student did three years before.