I had the best vacation of my life in New Orleans with my best friend! 1. Evening Jazz cruise on the Mississippi. 2. Haunted New Orleans evening walking tour. 3. Swamp tour (by boat). 4. Eat! In no particular order. :001_smile: There's a ton more to do, but those stand out in my mind.

Yes, yes it is. :sad:

I'm working through the "Lifetime Reading Plan" for myself and many of the older texts are easier to get through listening to a good narrator with inflection and a solid understanding of the text. The rest I read as e-books. Since my children are getting older and don't demand picture books at bedtime anymore, we use audiobooks for story time as well. We all get to snuggle and I can pause and explain certain things if needed. Right now we are going through the Chronicles of Narnia. They are also great in the car! Books I can get for less than my monthly credit costs I just buy. I have many books from audible that would have each run me between $50 and $100 that I was able to get for just one credit. If you actually listen to audiobooks, audible is a great deal. On a final note, I have a friend whose daughter is dyslexic and struggles with her reading. Books via audible allow her not to lose out on all the richness that literature has to offer nor fall behind in school. She works on her reading as a skill at her own pace without losing out on or moving at a crawl through content.

:iagree: Yes on the Scratch! Also, my husband teaches them entrepreneurship/personal economics and investing, how to work on the car whenever the opportunity arises, and outdoor survival skills. When they get old enough we plan to send them to the H&R Block tax prep courses. We also, plan to start taking them on short term mission trips in the near future. I personally feel there are great many life skills that are not included in traditional curriculums that we can teach our children in order to give them a solid foundation for success in the real world.:D

:iagree: Only I have the old "slap chop" thing.

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1. einstein 2. hitler 3. ford 4. bill gates Off the top names, and yes Hitler was evil, but undeniably influential.

:iagree: The best dogs I have ever known have all been pits. Love them!

We're both generally handy. He's more the gear head and I'm more the carpenter. It works out great and we learn from each other.

Well, I confess I wanted boys not because I wanted boys so much as I was a little worried about having girlie girls. Much to my mother's chagrin (she surely wanted girls and wouldn't have known what to do with a boy to save her life) I was a big time tomboy. Barbies and pink and dress up etc just never appealed to me. My fear was that, if I had a girlie girl, I wouldn't be able to relate with her. I would never want to change her or make her be someone or something she wasn't, but what if she just felt like I didn't "get" her, or worse, like her, because she was different from me? I always felt my mother's disappointment, and would never want to put that on a beloved daughter just because she decides she likes make-up or some such. In the end I had my boy, followed by two pink loving, doll toting, tomboys! Lol! Instead of putting distance between us, our differences draw us into new interests and adventures together. Anywho, that's my story.

When I complete my history or science lesson I often ask the youngest to tell me one thing she learned. She usually chooses the most prominent element of the lesson. I then ask the next oldest and so on. They are not allowed to repeat something that has already been said. This way the older they are, the more challenging the assignment. They then journal via copywork and drawing their answers.

I love raw milk, but it is SOO expensive here! Gotta love the government and all its regs.:glare:

:iagree: And those who incessantly invite me to join.

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I just got my first Android phone (Evo) and am looking for educational/game app recomendations for ages 3-7. Angry Birds is fun and all, but if I can find some games that they will gain something from and enjoy equally I'd rather go there kwim? :bigear:

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Now if I had a fancy shmancy "hand off" grater I'd put that on the table, but for now it's pre-grated & served with a spoon. :)

I used to be all about the jeans every day, but then I discovered I could wear yoga pants as pajamas and not have to change out of them to go out in the morning! SOLD! :lol:

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We just lost TriCare (Military Health Coverage) from my separated husband (he got out of the Marines). I went to apply for Medi-Cal and they want to go after him for the $. Here's my question, how much do they take and would it be better to just get $ from him directly for private health care? Also, any recommendations for very low cost medical coverage for a very healthy family of one mom and 3 small kids? The one's I've looked at want $300+/mo, no vision, no dental, and don't cover doctor visits until some $4,000 deductible is met. What the heck am I paying for? Why not just put that $ in an account every month? Sheesh! :willy_nilly:

:iagree: Yup. Maybe his mom didn't nurse him. :tongue_smilie:

I have an AA in Poli Sci and am working toward a BA in Christian Ministry.:D

:iagree: Models tend to be much longer in the legs and torso, which may be creating the too short appearance.