Ditto. I started my planning for next year thanks to you guys! Only wish I were further along....

My oldest started homeschooling his 2nd grade year....we used WWE1 and FLL2. Worked very well for him, as the writing curriculum was more difficult for him. FLL1 is pretty simple; everything is reviewed in FLL2 but at a faster pace (not fast, just faster.) You don't need to use the levels concurrently.

I vote for Cleo. In my mind, it's a feminine name. Anna is nice, too, but I like Cleo better.

Sorry for the panties/pantries confusion. It looks like I need to proofread a little better. FWIW, I did find a pair of little toddler undies under my kitchen table today..... This thread has been full of excellent arguments and I hope to persuade DH. Obviously, the WTM minds can't be wrong!

The big question is this: would you give up a coat closet to build a walk-in pantry? The details: We have a nice-sized kitchen with a poor layout. We can change very little (structurally speaking) but desperately need more storage space. Currently, we keep a large amount of pantry items and many small appliances (including my crockpot) in the basement. Not convenient. Between our kitchen and dining room we have a hallway with a coat closet. If we closed this hallway in we would have a 5'x6' walk-in pantry. DH is adamant that we need a coat closet in that space. I see his point, but we use our kitchen/food/small appliances EVERY DAY and we use coats maybe 5 months out of the year. The other idea is to turn the coat closet into a pantry without closing off the dining room from the kitchen. Less storage but still way more than we have right now. Plus it would be a cheaper solution. Either way, we eliminate the coat closet. We do have a spot for a coat rack, and the kids could keep extra coats in their rooms upstairs. So is it crazy to not have a coat closet? I'm not really considering resale value, as I have no plans to move, but that could be a factor someday. Thoughts?

Having had laminate, engineered hardwood, hardwood, and bamboo flooring at different times in different homes, I can say that my personal preference is hardwood, then bamboo, then engineered hardwood, then laminate. (We have small kids but no dogs.) I recently installed a strand bamboo flooring in my living room and I've been very, very impressed with that - we have NO scratches at this point, in spite of some crazy objects being dropped on it (did I mention I have small kids? Kids who like to haul around metal tools and pointy things?) It's only been around for six months or so, so I won't give it my full 5 star approval yet, but so far, completely happy with it. We paid less per square foot than the high-end laminates and it looks much nicer to me. Have you looked at Lumber Liquidators? They have some pretty good sales and we've been very happy with the purchases we've made there.

How fabulous....count me green with envy!

I have one child that will eat almost anything for breakfast other than "normal" breakfast foods. Last week, he ate an 8 oz container of mushrooms for breakfast and called it good. Typically, it's leftovers, sandwiches, soups, or something he scavenges out of the fridge (like mushrooms.) Other than the occasional cold pizza (or leftover pumpkin pie, we do like that), the rest of us are dead boring and eat things like eggs or cereal.

Pants that fit? 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair cords, 2 pair yoga pants.

All of my kids so far have had some sleep issue or another. And I don't talk about it to anyone because I don't want to hear their advice. And the pediatrician is worthless if I bring it up at appointments. I had sleep problems as a kid and still do, to some extent. Our family has run the gamut of sleep problems in the past 9 years, from night-terrors, to sleepwalking, insomnia, frequent night wakings, etc. It's exhausting. At this point, my poor DH (who used to be a fabulous sleeper) can't sleep through the night - he's so used to waking up with a kid (or 2 or 3) that it's like he's forgotten how. Thankfully, baby #4 is a decent sleeper (relatively speaking) and my oldest (he's 9) has outgrow most of his issues (other than asthma) and can make it through the night fine. I think in a decade or so we'll be totally fine and maybe caught up on sleep. I hope.

Well, shoot. I'm really jealous. Looked like a ton of fun (and now I really want my own Regency dress.)

Sweet, I made the list! Now I don't need to read the book! (Theoretically, I should have this all figured out. Then again, if she met me, she might just revise her list....)

Beautiful! We all loved them!

Thanks for this. I've been contemplating the same thing and it's good to hear that it's worked well for you.

About 15% right now.

On the stove (back, left burner.)

Yearly. Also have a normal physical yearly.

Nausea. It's a leftover reaction from high school.

We have a mantle-less fireplace so we hang ours on the wall of our staircase in our entryway.

Congratulations! My "oops" is 8 months old and once we got over the initial freak-out, it's been fine. Better than fine, actually, we're kind of thrilled he's here. :001_smile:

We've had Geico for ages and have never had a problem with them. We had one big claim (totaled vehicle) and one small and both were handled quickly and easily.

That was a seriously helpful thread. I need to check out Home Goods or something like. I love the B&W idea! Never would have thought of that! Bet that was a gorgeous basket!

Hey, wanna help me with something, oh ye creative minds of the Hive? Give me a really awesome, creative theme for a gift basket! Something different! Something you might like to get! (I tried Pinterest, it was a total bust. You guys are way cooler than Pinterest, anyway.) For our grown-up gift exchange this Christmas (with my family) the instructions are to make a $50 value gift basket of any theme for a white-elephant style exchange. There are only 6 adults in the family (including myself and DH.) I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING NEAT TO DO. THIS IS A REALLY HARD ASSIGNMENT. (Thanks, Mom.) This group is kind of limiting, as far as gift baskets go. No alcohol, no tea/coffee, no spa stuff (nobody else is interested.) Food and cooking are popular, but other than that there are not a lot of similar interests in this group. No favorite sports teams, no generic hobbies....I'm totally stuck. Any brilliant ideas? I'd love to hear them.....

Holy moly, maybe they're on a 10 year cycle! I thought 3 was the worst, then 4, 5 was better, and by 6 they were pretty great. Do you mean to tell me I have to do that cycle again? My oldest is 9. And now I'm worried.

These are my new favorite thing! Right now I'm listening to "Daily Life in the Ancient World." Totally fascinating. I have several on my wish list but I'd love to hear any recommendations!