Well, it looks like Evaluations wins hands down! (I have Map Aids and Writing Aids.) Honestly, I haven't even looked at Evaluations - I'll need to see if they have examples on their website.

For those who have used TOG in the rhetoric level, do you think an additional formal study of rhetoric (or advanced logic, for that matter) is necessary?

That may work. I'll have to browse around the craft store and see what they have.

I've ordered the TOG year 1 bonus bundle which includes Map Aids and I chose Writing Aids with the bonus bundle. I ordered the $15 gift certificate and am wondering what to use it on - lapbooks, evaluations, or pop quiz. Next year I will be using the curriculum with an 8th grader, 5th grader, and 1st grader. I think the lapbooks would be great for my 1st grader (my 5th grader would love to "help" her with them, too) and would help keep her from being left out since most of my time will be spent with the older two. On the other hand Evaluations would be great for my older 2 - even as review. And Pop Quiz would be great for everyone to get involved in the discussion. Have you tried and loved or hated any of these? Or is there something else that I should use the $15 toward that I've missed?

I'm not using TOG (yet) and quick ordered year 1 in case there was a serious delay in getting digital materials available. Otherwise I guess I'll just buy the old paper copy sets used. I'm a bit confused by some of the comments here - does going digital mean we won't be able to print off whatever pages we want? I do like having actual pages to use. I assumed that you would be able to, which makes the digital move fine with me. Is it's likely they would be able to keep their color coding which means we'd just need a color printer? If it comes to a choice between digital TOG or no TOG, I'd pick digital.

We are going through OI right now (ds and I) and it IS excellent. Another resource you might consider is Invitation to the Classics by Cowan and Guiness. You can probably get it from your public library to preview.

I'm making an ornament, partially out of paper, and I want to know if there's a spray that I can apply to help protect the paper portion that won't make the paper stiff or brittle. (It's a scroll, and I'd like it to be able to roll open and closed.) Laminating would be too stiff and difficult to work with. Any ideas?

I'm not a huge coupon'er, but I have found that I can get a few decent Kroger coupons online at shortcuts.com (you register your kroger plus card and the coupons you click on the website are automatically added to your card.) They also send me coupons, often based on what we regularly buy. Today I went shopping and spent $92 on $186 of groceries (using their advertised sales, shortcuts coupons, and paper coupons.) I think I spent about an hour on Wed. night going through their sale flyer and the very meager collection of coupons that I have. For me it was worth it - our budget is pretty tight right now. I could spend less, except there are a few things that I typically buy only specific brands of. For you, it might not be worth the time. I have a friend who saves much, much more using coupons and store sales, but she shops at at least 3 or 4 different grocery stores and 3 different drugstores. She also spends more time on it - it really depends on what the time and energy is worth to you. Your friend may just be really excited and enthusiastic about it - and want to share. See how much I've shared already? And I don't even know you :lol:.

roast turkey gravy mashed potatoes sweet potatoes w/pineapple & marshmallows, (or I may try s.p. with a maple cranberry glaze this year) cheesey broccoli and rice casserole traditional sage stuffing (dressing, I guess, since it's not baked in the turkey) dinner rolls apple cider sparkling apple cider water gobble turkey cookies made by kids (oreos, Hershey kisses, candycorn tails, red hots, and chocolate frosting) apple pie pumpkin pie whipped cream coffee/tea I start prep 3 days in advance, and the stuffing, sweet potatoes, broccoli rice, and pies are prepared in advance and just baked on Thanksgiving day.

I have seen some beautiful wall-hanging crosses made with wire and beads. Might get a little pricey depending on the kind of beads you get and how large the cross is.

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow is generally considered the "Bible" of chicken guides. Other good books are Keeping Chickens by Jeremy Hobson, and Living with Chickens by Geoff Hansen (beautiful photos). I found these at my local library. There were a couple of books for children at my library, Chicks and Chickens by Gail Gibbons and Your Chickens: a Kid's Guide... by Gail Damerow. First thing to do (if you haven't already) is to read everything on the Backyard Chickens Website (www.backyardchickens.com) and forum. The forum is especially helpful, as are members' pictures of their various coops. Have fun! We have a small suburban flock of 7 chickens, now almost 9 months old, and it has been very rewarding.

Hey - Look at that! Looks great!

My ds has gone through periods like this. Sometimes it's a constant dry cough (our ped. thought it was "all in his head" and just a wierd behavior, but it turned out to be allergies. Have you tried giving dd a small amount of OTC allergy medicine to see if it helps?) Amount of sleep and nutrition seem to have the biggest effects on him. I make sure he's getting plenty of sleep (in your case, lack of sleep may be aggravating the problem) and give him a high quality vitamin and a tablespoon of cod liver oil daily. Lots of good, nutritious food. When it came to weird leg or head jerks, I just asked him if he thought he'd be able to keep himself from doing it. He said he'd try, and soon he'd stop completely. Sometimes I'd rub his leg or arm or neck a bit to help him relax the muscles. The repeating words may simply be due to not being able to repeat them in her head well. If she is not an "auditory" person, she may just have difficulty processing auditory messages and it helps her to repeat them aloud. My ds is like this (although he would just stare blankly for a minute and then repeat words.) His auditory processing has improved greatly as he's gotten older. Anyway, all this is to say, there may be some simple developmental things going on. Don't panic if your doctor wants her to get checked out by every specialist in the book. That's what doctors do. Just evaluate the situation as well as you can (you know dd better than they do) and see if you think the behavior/symptom warrents the testing.

The original Psycho, of course, is a classic. Others I can think of are Young Frankenstein (comedy with Gene Wilder), or The Shining (with Jack Nicholson).

He's almost 6ft tall, 130lbs. He otherwise has to squish into the back with a toddler booster seat and his 10yo sister, so we let him sit up front when the seat is available. I guess when my kids are roughly adult size and weight, I'll let them if it's really necessary. The back seat is always safer - child or not - so I tend to favor leaving them in the back seat.

I feel your dread. Some things that helped me: Look at things in categories. How many plastic dinosaurs/dogs/horses does she need? NEED. (OK, I know that's really zero, but...) How many can she play with at once? I say 3 or 4 make a nice herd/family. Does she have any that are super nice quality vs. the cheap plastic ones that will break quickly? Barbie/doll accessories. I hate them. I got rid of all but 2 Barbies, and saved 3 outfits. Saved 2 Kelly's, 3 outfits, 2 Polly Pockets, 3 outfits, etc. I throw away all shoes. They all now fit into a small plastic bin. What has she actually played with (vs. taking out during general rummaging through the toys) in the last 6 months? Does she need all those legos? Blocks? Stuffed animals? Misc. toys that aren't part of a set? Can you box up most of them, set them in the garage and see if she misses anything? If not, off to Goodwill with them. When I got rid of 80% of the toys in our house preparing to put it on the market, I boxed up things until it hurt. I got rid of a lot of nice toys. Nice ones. But you know what? I find that my 5 kids actually play with the few toys we have left. They seem to play better when they have fewer options. Anyway, be encouraged. You will all breathe better in a few days. More space, more air :)

So if you were going to install hardwood floors in your house (dining room, living room, bedrooms) what kind would you get? Real hardwood? Laminate? Pros/cons of upkeep and cleaning? Wear and Tear?

Noise is one issue I'll really have to consider - esp. with lots of kids and musical instruments. We live in a pretty warm climate, and our kids go barefoot or "sockfoot" in the house most of the time, even in winter.

That's funny! Isn't it a sign of mental illness when you find such pleasure in torturing animals? :lol:

Would hardwood floors be awful in bedrooms? The reasons we are considering this are because of allergy issues and ease of cleaning - if the bedrooms were hardwood, then the entire main level (including living room and dining room) would be hardwoods, and we wouldn't have to lug a vacuum around to different floors in the house. I know it wouldn't be as cozy, but I would be willing to invest in fluffy slippers for everyone. What do you think? Any issues we should consider?

We did this for my in-laws' 50th. There was actually a small reception, but at each table there were cards and pens to fill out and record favorite memories, how they met them, memories of their wedding, special thoughts/prayers for them, etc. If contacting friends and relatives would be difficult, you could even have notes written by their children, spouses, and grandchildren. The young grandchildren could draw pictures. I made a scrapbook-type album of pictures from their wedding and family, and included a pocket with the card memories.

My sister does transcription work from home. She had to purchase a minimal bit of equipment - a pedal of some sort. Once she had gotten into it for a bit (maybe a month or two), she took a test and was given a position with a good company that will help her get more work and good pay. She can take as much or as little work as she wants and can set her own hours.

I second the suggestion to check with a gastrointestinal specialist. A great book to read for those suffering from IBD or Crohn's is called Breaking the Vicious Cycle. You can probably find it at your library.

My guess is that print books will eventually become a niche market - like vinyl record albums. Still available, but limited and expensive. Can you imagine read-aloud time; snuggling up on the couch with your kids and the digital book? Yuck. Even when they come out with a color model. Double yuck. Handy for some things, though, like travel, technical manuals, and college texts.