Out bichon frise was a wonderful family dog. Nice size, mellow, kid-friendly temperament, didn't shed. (We called him Col. Sanders because we bought him from a farmer who said the dog just loved chickens....as squeak toys) :ohmy:

When my cat got diabetes our vet actually recommended Fancy Feast ( but only their "classics" line) because she said it had more protein.

All 4 of my kids needed them - all between $6500-$7K a piece. :sad:

We used a combination of PAC (Paradigm Accelerated) Biology and the Biology 101 DVD series. (Plus numerous other library books on topics my DD found interesting) I thought the combination worked well. She also took an outside lab-class offered through our homeschool co-op. The class followed the Apologia syllabus, but she was able to keep up just fine.

For me it boils down to the fact that once my child steps through the doors of a PS - my rights as a parent end. They are basically wards of the state for those 7 hours a day that they are in school. Legally, they have to be there. And, not only will they be marked truant if they do not attend, but I/my child will have no voice in the matter of what they may be exposed to. In a CC class, if they are being bullied, or the don't get along with the teacher, or even if they don't agree morally with the content being taught, they can withdraw from the class and walk away with little repercussions.

I don't regulate it unless they are stuffing themselves right before dinner. They are pretty responsible. First of all - they sort out the stuff they don't like (or can't have because of braces) and they give it to my DH to take to work. He puts it on his desk as a treat for his employees and clients. Our dentist said he would actually prefer that kids DO eat it all in just one or two days. He thinks that long-term sugar exposure is much worse.

TT Algebra did not go over well for our daughter, and so I'd like her to repeat Algebra using MUS. She will also be doing MUS Geometry. As this is her Junior year, time is of the essence. Since the daily lessons with MUS are somewhat shorter than those of other programs, I would like to try to combine the two maths (or at the very least alternate) Does anyone know if there is a schedule available for doing this?

We have had 3 hamsters. A male Chinese Dwarf, and 2 Djungarian Dwarfs (one male one female) The Chinese Dwarf was a bit bigger then the Djungarians and was the sweetest thing ever. He loved to be held and played with and would sit in the shirt pocket of my son and just cuddle up. We had gotten him already 'broken in' though, from a family that loved him - but had to give him up because of allergies. So he had been handled before. When he died the kids were heartbroken and begged for another. We had a hard time finding another Chinese Dawrf, so we got a sweet little female Djungarian from Petco. She was pretty much a baby when we got her. We started holding her ASAP, and she is as friendly as could be. She is eager to see us, and comes over to the cage door as soon as she sees us coming. She likes to be held - but she is rather 'jumpy' and quick so she is harder to hold compared to the slower moving Chinese hamster. And then there is our male Djungarian. He is NASTY! We loved our female Djungarian, and so when my other daughter said she would like a hamster, we got him as a baby from a small animal rescue. He bit from day one (Hard enough to draw blood!) He scurries away and chirps at you if you put your hand in his cage. He is pretty much a 'look but don't touch' pet. :( I am partial to the dwarf hamsters ( except the Roborovski dwarf - those are too quick to handle) If I had my choice I'd get another Chinese ( and probably a female, as they seem to be a bit mellower) I had Syrians as a kid. They were nice, but prone to wet tail disease. They are also bigger, and if they do bite - it is much more painful! The main thing I have found with hamsters is that you have to handle them early and often. (It does take them awhile to acclimate to new surroundings though) Also, make sure that you have washed your hands before holding them so you do not have any food smells on you. Good luck with your new pet. I hope he works out for you!

Love it!!! My daughter has a leopard gecko, but wants a beardie so bad. (And these pics did nothing to help that - LOL)

Our family is thinking about vacationing in the Smokey Mountains next month, and I was wondering if anyone could recommend places to stay. We need a cabin (or hotel) that will sleep 6, and is reasonably priced. Thank you!

Have a galley kitchen. It's way too small, and I hate people walking right through while I'm cooking.

Owning a gun was never something we considered, but DH inherited his grandfather's hunting rifles when he passed away. (Grandfather used to take DH hunting when he was a boy - so there is sentimental value for DH.) Our children do not even know that we have them, and we do not have ammo for them, but we still bought trigger locks just to be safe.

Is "Streetname" Academy any better? because that is what we use. :confused1:

I did the same last summer. Isn't it awful?! We have an unusual 'opening' in our cupboard/counter space, so a side-by-side or a french door model will not fit. I just wanted a basic freezer-on-top model like the one we were replacing, but we could not find one big enough. They were all mini fridges around here. So we went with a freezer on the bottom. I hate it. Thanks to the slanted baskets it doesn't hold half of what my old one did, and the ice cubes keep falling through the wire baskets all over the bottom of the freezer and out onto the floor every time i open it. It's noisy too. :p

How fun! That quilt is beautiful!

Heart of Dakota has some beautiful full-color notebooking pages on Shakespeare in their Resurrection to Reformation set.

Count hours for any physical activity. My DD is not sporty, either, but we have done things like bowling, rollerskating, swimming, and even Wii Fit. Something else to consider - at my son's school they combine health and PE, so things like CPR or first aid training count towards PE hours.

I have 2 that are having food issues right now. We went to see a nutritionist and she said that the meal bars are good, but she prefers things like Ensure or Boost (the 'complete' or 'plus' versions) even more. And if you can combine the two...all the better. :)

How much credit could you assign for a class like this? 1/4? I am wondering if there is something I could add to beef it up a little. DD would love me to 'assign' for her to read comic books for school - (It's for research, right?! LOL!) ;)

Thank you. I will look into that.

That would be preferred. I mostly want to avoid heavy evolutionary content, but I also want something with a balanced view of things such as global warming and stewardship of earth's resources.

My rising 12th grader really wants to do environmental or possibly even earth/space science next year, but I cannot find high school level materials written from a Christian worldview. I am looking for something that includes labs if possible. Does any one have any suggestions? Thanks!

Southwest strings violins are most likely fine. Be sure to take advantage of their offer to let you try them out before you buy, though. I would be really hesitant to buy any violin that you have not tried out in person. When DD was shopping for a student model violin at our local music store we were actually shocked to find that some of the cheaper (price wise) Chinese violins sounded WAY better than the European models they were offering. DD ended up choosing one of the Chinese brands (Sheng Liu) and both her teachers and the judges at her competitions have commented about what a nice sounding instrument she has.

We have an older hard sided one that we have used a couple times when we have driven from WI to Florida and back. There are 6 of us, and so the mini van gets pretty crowded with all of the luggage and gear. It was really nice to throw the stroller and suitcases up top and have more space inside the van. The downsides: -Wind resistance. There were some really windy stretches, and with the extra height and weight on top, or van was really pushed around a lot more -Noise - the vibration of the straps that hold it down almost drove me insane at times. -Inconvenience: Ours is an older type with the lid that comes completely off and it has to be held down with ratcheting straps, and so every time we want to get something out of the carrier, we had to go through the hassle of putting the lid back on and re-doing the straps. -Paranoia: There were times I was so worried that thing was going to blow off. :p

I developed a heart arrhythmia after the birth of my last child - that, at the time, led my OB to believe pregnancy was too stressful on my body. It later turned out to be benign. I have to do everything I can not to cry when a friend announces a pregnancy, or when I hold a baby now. I desperately regret it. A reversal is not within our financial means, and I have passed the age where it would be feasible anyhow. :( My only hope now is for lots of grandbabies someday. :)