Favorites of mine: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish Heartfelt Discipline by the Clarksons Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka (If you have an "intense" child in any way, this book is great) Boundaries with Kids and Boundaries with Teens by John Townsend Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours by Kevin Leman (He has a newer book out called Have a New Kid by Friday that I'd like to check out. Also, the Parenting With Love and Logic books and a new one we liked called Scream-Free Parenting. My shelves are quite full. LOL *Edited to add Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes...in You and Your Kids by Turansky and Miller and also their Good and Angry : Exchanging Frustration for Character... in You and Your Kids!

I like Reusablebags.com's selection, too. When I recently got a few Klean Kanteens, I actually got a free Acme bag and I really like it! Planning to get a few more!

Well, I did much better than I thought, partly because I'm an excellent guesser! LOL The economics questions blew me out of the water. A few others I flubbed because the answer seemed too obvious and I just picked something else! This is probably my worst subject but I somehow managed a 73.3%

.

*Raising hand timidly*... Dh and I really like the show, although I totally despised his AA "sponsor" lady. UGH!! We own the books that the show is based on, too, and dh like them a lot. Very different plot twists in the books! I have yet to read them and haven't decided if I will.

StoryMill. :)

Just looking for a review from someone who may be using this! It's a free novel writing software program for Windows. http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter4.html My dh has a program he loves on Mac and since we're thinking of collaborating on a project, he thought I'd like something similar on my laptop. :)

My dh took our ds on an overnight weekend thing when ds turned 13. They went to a Christian campground/retreat type place and just rented a small cabin for the 2 of them. They spent time hiking and doing activities at the camp and dh had a talk with him about what it means to be on the journey to becoming a man. Dh gave him a set of dog tags with a special verse on it, his name and birthdate. Ds never takes them off! We've got some cute pictures of the two of them (trying to take pictures of themselves! LOL) on their little retreat. Recently I did something similar with my dd who turned 13. We got a hotel room, went swimming and ice skating, shopping and rented a movie in the room to watch while we painted our nails and had snacks. We do parties all the time (not every single year for every kid, of course) so doing something different that's meaningful and fun with one of us is the way we celebrate a 13th birthday. :)

I thought about this for a bit and realized that I go to the library mainly to pick up books that I've either specifically reserved or to look for specific titles that have been recommended to me or that I've read about online. :) That's not to say that I don't bring home things that I've found while browsing, but with the internet, I find that I have more of a purposeful agenda of some sort when I go to the library now. I rarely just go to look around, although I do a bit of that while I'm there for the items I came for, of course. :D So I think that my answer is that I'm more well read with the library OR bookstore now that I have the internet. LOL!!!

Granola bar, apple or some other fruit, PB on crackers, piece of turkey lunchmeat rolled around a cheese stick or a hard-boiled egg. :001_smile:

It seems to me that a "good income" is dependent upon how many children you have, the area you live in AND your level of personal contentment with or without material things. Your willingness to be frugal plays into that, too, I think. Our family of 8 can live on 45k nicely, but my "comfort level" is around 55-60k...we've been there and the feeling that I can run to the store for something not "On the List or In the Budget" is what makes me feel more comfortable, or really, more secure. I have a higher need for financial security, or the perception of it, I think, BUT it's tempered by a lower need for material stuff, if that makes sense. I don't need a lot to be content, but the ability to veer off the strict path of budgeting every now and then, take a small vacation every other year or so, give my children a great birthday party at one of those less than frugal activity type places where I don't even have to bake the cake--not every year, though--and be a member at our wonderful art museum, while having a strong savings and emergency fund in place are what make life comfortable for ME. And I'll work hard at a grocery budget, live with crummy old furniture, spend as little as I can on clothing and shoes as I can in order to MAKE that comfortable life possible for us. But I also won't ever be uber-frugal. LOL Btw, we are not yet at the level of comfort that I'd like with my dh's income, but we're slowly getting there after he was out of work for some time. And I'm OK with that. :)

What was done for her hormonal imbalance and anxiety so that she could cope at school, if you don't mind my asking? My oldest dd sounds very similar. :001_unsure:

Ahh, this helps! Now, is everyone all over the country doing the same study at the same time? So if I missed Romans it would be years before it came around again for everyone? I think my friends were assuming I was asking for details such as notes--and maybe I was! LOL--because I'm trying to decide if it's something I want to and can add to my plate right now and I wanted more info than "it's an inductive Bible study and it's great, but that's all I can share." ;) Stringent rules like this *are* difficult for me, but I think I understand their reasoning a bit more. Not to mention that several ladies are doing it and these particular gals can be a bit exclusive all on their own anyhow, hehe, and I hate being a joiner. LOL :tongue_smilie: Thanks everyone! I'll check out their site a bit more. :) I appreciate the shared experiences! I hope no offense was taken as I try to think this through.

Maybe you ladies can answer this for me...I was under the impression that it's not easy (or allowed) to start and stop whenever you want? Or is it OK if you have completed a "year"? I have some friends who have been begging me to go, but when I ask them to share just a small part of what they've learned, they said they really can't. :confused: So, while I understand wanting members to be committed, something just irks me about being exclusive with the study of God's word. Not to mention all of the other rules. LOL (I'd have a hard time never mentioning any wisdom that I've gained from John MacArthur or other Christian authors, but that's a no-no also, correct?) Any words that might help me change my mind? I *want* to like the idea of BSF... ;)

I kinda splurge on my own bath & beauty stuff. LOL My current favorite is Garden Botanika Fresh Mint shampoo. We have a nice lightweight conditioner that I got from Great Clips (it's their brand, actually) and I use that once or twice a week. I also get Garnier Fructis hair products a lot. We use their styling mousse, spray gel, hair spray and a couple different shampoos (the Balanced Care one is good for me; Clean & Fresh is good for dds) and conditioners. And I like the shampoos from Jordan Essentials. Great almond-honey type scent!

Yes, it's really very good. Unfortunately, we can't show it to our kiddos without some editing because, well, it's an HBO show and they take every opportunity for nudity. :001_huh: Like, I get that men were stripped, tarred and feathered, but don't need to SEE the jewels themselves, thank you! LOL

I'm not afraid of dogs, but 2 things you can do while you're out running are to slow down to a very slow jog or even walk when you see a dog out/coming towards you and then keep your head down, looking at the ground not looking them in the eye as you pass. Unless the dog is totally out of control--in which case I'd rethink running in that area! LOL--it should leave you alone or just give you a bark or sniff in passing. :D Maybe you could meet neighbors who own dogs if you feel comfortable so that you can get to know their names (and their pets' names!) and in passing let them know that you're a bit skittish with dogs but want to make friends? As far as how long I wait after eating, usually about 45 min. or so.

Some things you (your dh) may want to consider: -Exercise? Unless any diet program is combined with some regular aerobic activity, you will plateau at some point in your weight loss and probably stay there until you get moving! Nutrisystem offers exercise plans at varying levels of intensity/experience but you must implement them yourself and be sure to find support! -Packaged foods--convenience is the big draw to this program. Do you have access to a microwave for heating up the meals? What happens if you only like half of the meals provided? This program is less about education about what you eat; when you leave the program, how will you maintain what someone else has done for you all along? -Meals do not include fresh fruits or vegetables or milk, components that Nutrisystems says that you must add in addition to all the meals you are purchasing. -Eating out or with family--Are you both OK with dh/dad eating separately from everyone else? Will that be convenient? Will NS fit into your grocery budget of over $200/month for the food + extras to complete the meals for ONE person? The plus side from what I've found in researching this for MY dh is that most people DO lose weight if they stick to the plan and eat as prescribed. It's a simple matter of eating fewer calories. The down side is that most people get tired of (or dislike) the food after around 2-3 months of eating it. We decided not to do Nutrisystem for dh because we want the WHOLE family eating well and making lifestyle changes, including doing what it takes to support dh (and me!) in our weight loss. I also want to be sure that he exercises...with his family history of heart issues, just eating better is not going to cut it in the long run. And having dh do something separate from the rest of us isn't convenient, but that's a personal thing. :)

I try to have at least 4-6 weeks worth of food, water and paper supplies around. There are so many situations that can become "emergencies" of varying magnitude like the Northeast blackout of '03, my husband's job loss that turned into 2 1/2 years of unsteady work, or a financial snafu, medical problem, etc. Boy, it sure was nice to *not* have to be one of the folks running to the store for water and toilet paper when that blackout happened! And that was only short-term. I would like to be a lot better organized with rotation and finding a system for keeping track of expiration dates. Helping with our church's food pantry has actually benefitted our family in this area. The tough thing for us, though, is that we don't use canned and boxed food items as much anymore. So we can keep it on hand for an emergency but rotating can be tough because we're trying to eat fresh foods and avoid preservatives, convenience foods. It's a kink in my system because I want to be prepared *enough* but not to the point of wasting food.

I am really glad to see this thread and all of the pros and cons of the non-plastic bottles. I just splurged for my water-guzzling teen who has been reusing the bottles from the store (Eeek!) and myself--we are both getting a Kleen Kanteen with the BUILT sleeves! Mine is a bright and very cool striped pattern, too. LOL If we love them, I'll work on getting them for the whole family! Thanks ladies for all the info. :)

Hmm...I cheer them forward in their strengths and firmly nudge them in their weaknesses. And sometimes it's the other way around. lol Well, that didn't help you much, did it? :tongue_smilie: It also depends on the child--a few of mine are sensitive or very hard on themselves and so my firmness in urging them to work to their highest potential is tempered by their unique personalities. It's oh so much like discipline, isn't it? Whew, I'm just exhausted just talking about it. LOL :D

On "America's Newsroom", there was a segment about a California school that has implemented Singapore's Primary Math with great success. Kind of neat! (But no homeschooling connection mentioned, of course.) I emailed them to (jovially, not haughtily!) say that we homeschoolers have known about, been using and benefitting from Singapore math for many years...nice to see that the public schools are catching up! LOL ;) (americasnewsroom@foxnews.com if you want to put a good word in, too.)

LOL!! Considering how much money she gets paid to speak, not being afraid to speak isn't really all that honorable. ;)

Yep, slow for a few days actually. I got the server busy message for the first time the other day, too! :o)

I can't wait until I have enough extra $$ to purchase it on DVD for myself... :) Now if I can just get the nerve to pick up that large book! LOL I've never read it but the movie (mini-series?) really sucked me in.