Continuing to pray.

I am not sure what "gob" and "cis" mean?

Hey, we had ice cream for lunch. Dd just got her lower braces yesterday and they are bothering her. My dh and dd volunteer at a local cat shelter a few times every week. I always say we are at our maximum with our two kitties. If the older cat wasn't so set in his ways... We (especially dd) would love to have a dog but my dh is allergic.

Love Jane! She reminds me of my older kitty. I think you should get Roman and the doggy. I just have one question... Are there any more confessions coming in this thread, or are you done confessing?? :) :)

Praying for your healing. Someone mentioned volunteering. I have really enjoyed the times I have been a volunteer ESL tutor. My dd and dh greatly enjoy volunteering at the local cat shelter. Volunteering is so satisfying. I love the musical instrument idea! Perhaps you would be interested in reading about the effect of music (and animals) on our brains and our bodies.

Yes, I actually thought about that when writing my post and tried to tone down my enthusiasm. :) I think hearing Julie speak (the WTM webinars plus a free one Julie did a while ago) has really helped me understand her ideas and see how they work together. She really is a gifted speaker.

So glad you enjoyed it and found some great books! Was it really crowded (hard to walk around) or just busy?

Praying for all of you!

That is so cool, Farrar. Someday perhaps I will learn to do that...I am such a paper person!

You worked at the Newberry?? What a great job! I am not jealous at all....:) Maybe you could just share one great story? Thanks for posting those great links.

If you like Brave Writer and are considering buying The Writer's Jungle, may I just say...buy the HARD COPY! Buy the actual paper in a binder version! You just cannot contain the awesomeness that is Julie Bogart in a pdf. I so wish I had discovered this years ago. Well...I did discover Brave Writer some time ago (thanks to these boards!) but I just never realized what a gem I had found. Finally, I came to my senses and bought the hard copy version of the Brave Writer Jungle. Wow! The combination of her terrific ideas, humor and encouragement is so worth the price. I have been reading it and left it out on the table where I have been trying to get some hs planning and reading done. Well, my dd found it and has started reading it. To my delight, she likes it too! We had a really great conversation recently about education, homeschool, writing, etc. etc. etc. (Believe me, our conversations deserve three etc.) :) The only thing bad about dd liking the Jungle is that she is horrified that I might actually WRITE on the pages. Me: That's what those side sections are for, see? DD: That's why it is in a 3-ring binder, so you can make notes on other paper and insert your notes! :) I highly recommend listening to Julie's webinars on the WTM Academy; they are excellent. I joined the Alliance some time ago and am enjoying that too. I think it will really help me in many ways (help me do the things that I really want to do and be the person I really want to be).

You are welcome! You know, I am almost never jealous of people who live in Chicago (I see it as a great place to visit), but things like this do make me a bit jealous. :) If you go, please tell us all about it!

The annual Newberry Book Fair is Thurs-Sun this week (July 23-26) in Chicago. I am told that it is huge. Unfortunately, I have never been to it, but I am hoping that next year I might make it. I do not live in Chicago, so I will need to plan ahead. I just read some of the Book Fair Blog on the Newberry website and enjoyed the humor. :) If you do live in Chicago, the Newberry Library has some free events (such as Shakespeare readings) that you may enjoy.

Hugs and prayers.

I completely agree, except I would put the first temp at 80 deg. F. To me the ideal temperatures range from 50-70 deg. F. I grew up without air conditioning (as many on this board did). Now I don't know how I would make it without A/C. I think some of it is due to the fact that I now have some breathing-related condition (doctor thinks it is asthma, but I told him I am not sure I agree). DH and I both have allergies too. Fortunately, he says there are other ways he would rather save money than by setting the thermostat higher (although he does get a little chilly down there in his "man cave" sometimes.) :)

Hugs and prayers.

Interested! I read some of each of those books (from the library) and have been wanting to reread/implement some of the ideas. I enjoy her writing.

Well....I am not sure there is a single business, organization or museum in the world that I would agree 100% with every choice they make. As a matter of perspective, there are currently over 32,000 animals at Shedd. OP, I would think about it and make the best decision I could for my family. We chose to go to Shedd about two years ago and we enjoyed it.

My dd (10) and I really enjoyed the first half of Core E this past fall. Then things changed. I started dropping books because they were not appropriate or were too graphic (the flood book comes to mind). (Also, she had already read a few of the books before I purchased the core. She loves to reread books, but it does change the value of the IG for those weeks.) I didn't care for some parts of the encyclopedia. We really loved the new Landmark books. Finally we dropped the core. I have often thought in the past that I wanted to do the Eastern Hemisphere core some day, but Core E finally convinced me that Core F (and other cores) would not be a good fit for us. We also really enjoyed the spine books from Notgrass' America the Beautiful. Hope you have a great year with whatever you choose!

If you have searched for Wayfarers on these forums, you have already seen my post regarding Wayfarers Ancients. I am very pleased with the thoughtful, well-organized balance of Wayfarers. Kathy's choice of books sometimes overlaps with Ambleside Online's choices. You can try one term for about $34 I think (or less if you buy the PDF). Of course, for kindergarten you do not need to have something like Wayfarers or TOG or Ambleside, but of those three I think Wayfarers would be a great choice. I have looked at AO various times and read some of the articles on the site. I have various CM-related books on my reading list for this summer. I like to choose some of their books as read-alouds or readers. You will find some great advice on these boards for very young children. Read aloud a lot, play, go outside, bake, etc. Keep school simple. If the child is ready, do a little phonics and a little math. I highly recommend you check out the BraveWriter website for fun family ideas like poetry teatime. :) I hope you have a wonderful year with your little ones!

I'm sorry. My 10 yr DD was pretty unhappy for the first two days (she had expanders in both top and bottom) and was very selective about foods. One of her first items was a Dairy Queen blizzard. I would call your ortho. I hope things get better soon!

I am so sorry! Prayers and hugs.

I am so sorry about your health and am praying for you and your family.

Glad to hear you are loving it! I have a question about the pdf. When you printed it, was there any color? My dd was a little disappointed, after seeing the color in the online sample, that it came black and white. Maybe I will go with the pdf next time.

Heather, congrats on your coming baby! Hope you have a great year and enjoy Wayfarers Medieval!