I'm currently reading Stephanie Meyers' Breaking Dawn. I read the first three, so it seems silly not to finish the series. I'm divided on them though-there are things about the stories that I love, but I really dislike the main character and much of what the subtext communicates to teen girls. I just finished Watchmen however-my first graphic novel, very much a departure for me. It was really, really interesting, and if you can take some violent/disturbing content, then I would recommend it-it's pretty thought-provoking for something considered to be "pulp" fiction. I also just finished Born to Buy which is AWESOME and highly recommended for all parents.

:D Our library is a smaller branch of a county-wide system, within an excellent state-wide system (I can get almost anything I want through interlibrary loan). My local branch doesn't generally get as much traffic as some larger branches-so I am somewhat famous/infamous there. I generally have over 100 things out at any given time (yes, I have no shame), beween books, DVD's, video games, books on CD, and music CD's. We really use the library! We're there a minimum of once a week, and usually more often than that-DVD's can only be kept out for a week at a time (for free!), but overdues on DVD's are a killer, so I try to stay on a weekly schedule to make sure I get them all back on time. I don't take out things 100 at a time (at least not usually :lol:), but we keep many of our books the full 6 weeks-the ones we really love anyway. So yes, I'm well known there. The upside is that my kids (5 and 4) love requesting things from the librarian, all by themselves (my son will say "mommy, I'm just going to ask the librarian a question-you don't need to come."). I love that they feel so comfortable in the library and have their own favorite sections. The downside is that I think some of the librarians think I "overuse" the library (just a sense I get from the attitude I get from one or two of them). But there are two librarians-one who homeschooled her now-grown children, and one whose dil is homeschooling-and they are both lovely to me. But anyhoo-it's just great to know that I'm not the only one who's "infamous" at their library-my dh finds it funny too, when he's not too embarrassed to come in with me!

(I'm bad at following directions.) My all time favorite was The Talisman, and I really liked the short story collections Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, and Everything's Eventual. Salem's Lot is also good, as are The Bachman Books and Thinner. And The Stand is really awesome too-always good for a re-read.

It's an incredible book about a girl living in the Dust Bowl during the Depression. It's a pretty intense, sad book, and I don't know if it would appeal to boys since the protagonist is female, but it's a really great book just the same. Beautifully written and moving. http://www.amazon.com/Out-Dust-Newbery-Medal-Book/dp/0590360809 hth,

I'm reading "The Garden of Last Days" by Andre Dubus III. It's pretty good. I just finished "Snuff" by Chuck Palahniuk, which made me feel kind of icky. It was funny though. I recently read In Defense of Food and highly recommend it.

Having to do with sleep-put the baby down for a nap 2 hours after they wake up for the day-that's when they should be ready for a nap. Then put them down for a nap 2 hours after they get up from the first nap. This should start to work anywhere in the 3-6 month range-worked like a charm with both of my kids, and helped me keep ahead of their sleep needs. I know it's a lot of "napping" time, but in the experience I had, it totally worked-they never got overtired. And then as they got older, the number of hours lengthened, but the principle still worked. When my son dropped his morning nap, he then needed to go for a nap 4 hours after he got up-then after a while it was 5 hours, then 6. And we're not "baby schedule" people-we did the whole AP bf on demand, co-sleeping (we're still co-sleepers, actually) thing. But this one thing made my life so much easier, not having to deal with a strungout tired baby. And about the dog-I don't know. You know your dog. I wouldn't let my dog lick ANYONE's baby, and I don't let him lick me-but I know for a fact that he eats poop. So, no thanks!

Wow! I'm not moving any time soon-but sometimes I feel like most of my closets and storage areas could have the sign Misc. Junk hung on them. Love that! And yes, good luck in your new home!

Hmmm... I've got to say the third Pirates of the Caribbean was pretty bad, considering how good the first two were. I got completely lost and couldn't figure out what was going on. And then I fell asleep. Disney's Camp Rock was also pretty abysmal, imo. I sat through it with my 12 yo neice, and the acting was pretty awful. Worst move ever, though? Not sure about that one.

Wow! That Mosaic-thingy looks awesome! Thanks for sharing that one-off to give it a closer look!:D

I can't wait for mine! I've been compulsively checking the front porch for packages all week.

so I've been watchful about those bad habits. What I didn't expect was the tendencies that come from my dad! Like this thing my dad used to do-my mom would be doing something in the kitchen, cooking something or whatever, and my dad would come over and go "what are you doing? why are you doing it like that? why don't you do it like this? it doesn't make sense the way you're doing it." And the next thing you know, HE'D be doing whatever it was, his way, and my mom would be irritated. I never understood why he did this, until now. I find myself doing it to dh ALL THE TIME-"why are you doing it like that?". What I can't believe is that it took me a while to realize I was even doing it, and where it came from. I just thought I was extremely logical, full of common sense, and my husband, not so much. But then I realized I was just being obnoxious. My new mantra is "walk away! Just walk away!"

Mine's like that too-a big scaredy cat. Anything new in and around the yard and he barks like crazy. Yesterday dh put up the beetle bags for the Japanese beetles we get, and then later when we let the dog out, he's out there barking and barking like there's a person out there-but he's just barking at the beetle bag! Trying to show it who's boss I guess...

We don't really have any weird places in the house-but when ds was first potty-trained, he loved to go outside. And at first we'd let him (I mean, I'd let him-dh usually would have a fit about it)-I mean, we're talking a 3 yo here, so what's the big deal, right? But one day, we're out for a walk/bike ride and ds is on his bike-probably 10 houses away, but we can see him. So he stops in front of one house, gets off his bike, and all of a sudden dh and I realize what he's about to do in some stranger's front yard and we're like "NOOOOOO!" and it's like we're running in slow motion because there's no way we'll get to him in time to stop him. I don't think anyone was home at the house, or saw him, but still. Proud moment, that one. He also pooped in the backyard, just one time-I don't think he realized peeing was (occasionally) okay, but pooping, not so much. Plus, the dog poops in the yard all the time, right? I put a stop to that one quick.

I have to agree with Willow to some degree. I'M afraid of the damage that fireworks can do-I never grew up with anyone shooting off big fireworks (they were illegal in NJ). But it seems to me, if fireworks were shooting INTO a crowd of people (children!)-that is NOT a safe environment at all. My 5 yo boy would have absolutely been afraid and wanted to leave if he saw one of his buddies get hurt by a stray firework-and he's not a timid, fearful kid. You were right to leave when you did.

I use calendar pages from MS Outlook for a more long-range yearly plan, as well what I'm going to do week to week. Then I organize all my copies, work pages, and calendar pages in a 3 inch binder for each week-reading, math, science etc. all tabbed out-along with blank looseleaf to make notes and keep a running list of books read. I try to keep my binder 4 weeks ahead-that is, I have 4 weeks worth of work in the binder at any given time (at least I try for that, although I do have some catch up weekends where I have to re-org the binder). It's worked out well for me so far-but once I have two "official" hsers, they'll each probably need their own work binder.

I'm already seeing a huge decrease in the cuddle time with my 5-almost 6 y.o. Part of it is that he doesn't sit still often to be cuddled, part of it is the pointy elbows-but it really kind of makes me sad. In my nighttime reflections on the day, I've realized that I mostly have to "remind" myself to make time for that quiet cuddle time, or it will fall by the wayside as we get more and more busy. I think the sharing of things that interest you, and him, is a great suggestion too. I've realized that as ds gets older he's developing these "boy" interests (basketball, Wii, etc.) that I don't really know anything about-and I have to take the time to play Wii with him, or shoot the basketball. I know he's still young right now, but I don't want to wake up one day and realize I don't know a lot about the things that he likes to do best. But anyway-this is a great thread, I'll be reading with interest.

I've got three-only started getting them after I had my kids. I figured if I was 35 with two kids and I still wanted a tattoo, I'd always want a tattoo. My first one was a smaller, one-color tribal butterfly on my shoulder blade. My "starter" tattoo. My second is a lower back tattoo (what they call a "tramp stamp" lol) of two koi with a lotus in the middle-each of the koi represents one of my kids, and the lotus represents the spiritual journey they've taken me on. My third one is on the back of my neck-I wanted a few scattered cherry blossoms, but it didn't come out at all the way I wanted it-it's very rigid and not very feminine. Very frustrating. So now I'm kind of sitting on it, trying to decide over time if I want to have it "worked with" or just removed. I have long hair, so at least it's covered most of the time. I would love to get more, but can't justify spending money on it right now. I really like the art aspect of it-planning out a piece of art that is very meaningful to you, and then getting to keep that piece of art as a piece of you, forever. Chickymama-I really like your tattoo! Very pretty and unique. And it's funny, about the age thing-I was thinking recently that I ought to dye my hair purple or fire engine red now in my 30's, before I get too old and look ridiculous. In my own head I'm still some hip young thing!

We're currently using the Blue level (the first one-First Grade level, although I'd say it's more of a K level). In the Blue book, you start with all the individual letter sounds, sounding out CVC words, then move to consonant blends, then to long vowels/vowel blends (we're on this now). In conjunction with this you also learn to write all the letters. From your description it sounds like your son is a little ahead of this-so Red (the Second Grade level) might be right for him. But I would check the samples on the website to be sure.

The Giving Tree always gets me. And my son always looks at me like "what is wrong with you?" when I cry over it. Not really a children's book but, The Gift of the Magi. I love that story.

I haven't seen either yet-I'm leaning towards Wall-E because it looks a little bit more "substantial" (as if). But I'm curious to see what others say about these two movies. :bigear:

Yes, Billy Budd was truly awful (imo). We had to read it in high school, and it was the only assigned book in my entire school career that I didn't finish. I can do all the others-Steinbeck (I once created a Grapes of Wrath board game and children's book), Twain, Hawthorne, Joyce, Shakespeare, Lawrence, Fitzgerald-I can do them all. But Melville, I could never do. It's just too male for me, I could never get into it. The other one I had to read in high school and severely disliked was Walden. Talk about a book where nothing happens! An entire chapter devoted to describing an ant war. That's a *thrilling* narrative, right there. But I did read it all the way through, and I would probably encourage my kids to read it, because of the philosophy it puts forth.

So I'm re-thinking and: DS- LA-LLATL Red, FLL, WWE Math-Horizons 1 and Singapore 1 as a supplement History-SOTW 1 Science-WP AW (I have the IG, and can get most of the books from the library, just buy what I can't get from the library) Art-Artistic Pursuits book 1 Health-monthly topics, library books P.E.-sports classes DD- LA-LLATL Blue Math-Horizons K and Singapore Earlybird as a supplement Listening in on all other subjects, doing what she can and wants to This is feeling like a much more "doable" plan to me, and sticks closer to WTM. I like how AW covers the science, the fun reading, and the hands-on crafts. My only question, for WP users-is AW really enough for a full science curriculum? I have to look over the IG. I may also swap out some of the read alouds for some that my dd would be more interested in. And I can still read some of the SL K books to the kids in and around, when we have time, without trying to follow the schedule. Hmmm.....Still percolating.... (And btw, can I just say? Having someone to bounce this off of is EXTREMELY helpful? Thanks again for listening and giving advice!)

There are so many things I want to try, and it's just so hard to know what's going to work until you try it, kwim? I guess here's my thought-in terms of LLATL vs. FLL and WWE-I thought we'd try out both, and see what we ended up gravitating towards and drop the other (I can always resell it) if we really don't use it. With the math I thought we'd keep Horizons as our main, but add in Singapore as a supplement, and again, if we gravitate toward one or the other, drop the one that isn't working. I bought the Science works series a bit ago, and I haven't really found a way to make it work for me, so I'm hoping the fact that SL science is scheduled will help me to use it in a more systematic manner. I may keep the Scienceworks stuff on hand to use here and there, or I may sell it all-while I like how it's bite-size, it also seems so worksheet driven to me. And as for the history-we're using SL prek this year, and the kids have liked, but not loved, it-so I'm completely prepared that they may not enjoy the books from SL K, and I may end up dropping and reselling. But I'm just not sure I'm ready to give up the SL dream yet, because I love it so much.... And I'm already rethinking the IRTL...but I would like to schedule in more crafts and fun things. But I do appreciate all of your advice here. It's hard to have perspective on it, when I really just want to check out and do SO many things-there's so much great stuff out there to use, and I don't want my kids to miss out on anything. Your comments have actually gotten me thinking about changing things up a bit....

I've been hemming and hawing, researching prices and curricula-and I've finally placed all my orders for next year! For ds 5, starting grade 1 work end of Sept.: Math-Horizons 1 and Singapore 1 A+B L.A.-LLATL Red (we've used blue and liked it), FLL, WWE History/S.S.-SOTW 1 and SL K Science-SL K supplemented with Evan-Moor's Sciencworks books Art-Artistic Pursuits Book 1 P.E.-soccer, gymnastics, basketball, etc. Health-a topic a month, library books and online worksheets I find For dd 4, (knows and can write most letters and numbers, knows most letter sounds, loves crafts and hands-on) a slower-paced K: Math-Horizons K and Singapore Earlybird L.A.-LLATL Blue, listening in on FLL and WWE, doing what she can History/S.S., Science, Art, P.E. and Health-following along with her brother, listening in, and doing what she can do and feels like doing Just for fun prek/k-WP's IRTL-I'm going to preview this and see if it's on the right level for her. She LOVES doing crafts, so I bought this for her thinking it would just be something fun for the kids to do. But if it turns out not to be right, I might exchange it for some of the HiH resources. Anyway, how does this sound? Complete and enough? Too much? I'm afraid it will be a lot for us to do, but I'm willing to drop out the things that don't work for us (like the SL K or one of the maths) if it seems too overwhelming. Also, please tell me I DON'T NEED Song School Latin this year! It looks like so much fun, I was so tempted, but really, do I need one more thing to do? I can save Latin for next year or the year after, right? Right? Anyhoo... Thanks for the input!

with my ds, and dd listening in. I'd love to hear how this goes, what your kids liked and didn't like, what resources you found, etc.