Walking-Iris - thank you for your thoughtful feedback! I wasn't sure about Reluctant Dragon. Hmmmm. May have to pull that one out and take another look at it.

Thank you, Texasmama! Getting lots of great feed back on all of the above and think I will include all four. Was really unsure about All of a Kind Family, because I just wasn't familiar with it until we read the excerpt in Writing With Ease. I'm glad to hear that it makes for a nice read aloud.

Just changed my name to reflect the fact that we just moved to the beautiful state of Arizona!

Thank you! Glad to hear that all your girls liked Despereaux. I'm almost sure my kids will like it too . . . and it will probably appeal to my husband as well, so we can do it at bedtime.

Storygirl, thanks for your great post. You made some great suggestions. So Indian in the Cupboard was your son's favorite read aloud? Interesting that there seems to be such a wide reaction to this book in particular! Maybe we'll have to give it a try for ourselves and just see . . .

Thank you Sherry! Hmm, that is the challenge . . . I suspect that some of the books on my list may appeal to my girl but not my boy, or vice versa. Particularly The Secret Garden and The Little Princess. Was your audio version of Paddington the one read by Stephen Fry, by chance? I just saw that on Amazon and was thinking of getting it.

Thank you! Did you kids like The Happy Hollisters, then? I can't seem to find many people who have read that one. How about Bedknobs and Broomsticks? I remember loving the Disney movie as a child, and maybe even reading the book myself long ago, but I'm not sure if it would necessarily be a good one to read aloud.

I think we'll try Cricket in Times Square for sure . . . it is on SO many children's literature lists that I figure it's probably become a classic for a reason. I think of myself as having read a tremendous amount of children's books, either when I myself was younger or while raising my four kids . . . and yet there are still giant gaping holes! Kind of embarrassing to realize all of the classics that I haven't read. Really grateful to come here and get some advice!

Thank you Coco Clark! I probably should look into getting one or more of these on audio. Can you tell me why you didn't care for Indian in the Cupboard? The less positive comments are helpful, too! I know I definitely have a few "classics" that I've encountered over the years that I just simply didn't like . . . or even actively disliked.

Thank you Hunter. Funny you mention the "bulk" factor . . . I have had this book for YEARS and somehow never gotten around to it, in large part because of the intimidating physical size of the book! ;)

Thank you, Ellie. Yes, a boy turning 7 next month, and a girl turning 9 in late October. :) I have to narrow down the list because I know it's not realistic (for us, anyway) to get through all of those titles in one school year. This is just for our longer read aloud list and is in addition to our list of quality picture books, science read alouds, history read alouds, etc. Too many good books, not enough time! ;)

So this school year I'll have a 2nd grade boy and a 3rd grade girl. We're already doing several of the Narnia series and several of the Little House series, plus a book of Greek Myths. I need help on the following list of read alouds to add in. I have somehow made it through 23 years of parenting without reading any of these (wow!), and have gotten them off of various classic literature lists and/or recommendations from the WTM boards. Trying to choose among: The Happy Hollisters In Grandma's Attic All-of-a-Kind Family James Herriot's Treasury for Children Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic Bear Called Paddington Owls in the Family Homer Price Indian in the Cupboard Tale of Despereaux Half Magic Mary Poppins Cricket in Times Square Bedknobs and Broomsticks Little Princess Secret Garden The Reluctant Dragon I'm looking for proven winners in terms of ease of reading aloud, quality, and the ability to capture my children's interest. I probably need to narrow the above list down by about 50%. Any comments, feedback, etc. would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. :)

Heather, I sincerely hope your trip back to the US goes incredibly well. I hope the interactions with your friends *and* family go better than expected. But just in the spirit of discussion, I think it's fair to point out that much of this has to do with the individual personalities involved. Not necessarily a US vs. expat issue. I have been on the other end of things, where the person traveling and/or living in a foreign country talks incessantly about their travels, cultural experiences, historical places visited, exotic foods consumed, scenery, etc. That person is not terribly interested in things going on in my life, which I think is regarded as de facto boring and commonplace. I have definitely had many dealings with people who regarded anything international as exciting/cultured/intellectual/fascinating . . . and who conversely regarded anything American as just the opposite. And that attitude, too, is small minded and annoying. Just a good reminder for all of us to act (and BE) genuinely interested in the experiences of others, whatever they may be.

I feel particularly well qualified to answer this question. ;) We just moved into a new house. The new house needs three hoses (different ends of the house, different areas that need hand watering). Since I have back issues, I really wanted to buy a Pocket Hose. The traditional rubber hoses can get quite heavy, and I have a LOT of hand watering to do. My mom warned me that they had gotten a Pocket Hose that split within a week. Dad dismissed the concern, saying that they probably just got a lemon. So I bought 3 Pocket Hoses . . . and they have ALL split within 2-3 weeks of use!! GRRRRRR! No special hard use or abuse, just me carefully watering my potted plants. Needless to say, no more pocket hoses for me!

Listening in because next year I, too, will have a 3rd grade girl and a 2nd grade boy. And I agree - anything I can combine is a HUGE help! I have used both R&S and Easy Grammar with my older girls. They are both excellent programs, just very different. Easy Grammar is more of a "get it done" approach and workbooky; R&S is teacher intensive and rigorous. Personally, we had great success using mostly R&S and then perhaps a year of Easy Grammar for a break now and then. Once my girls got to high school, we dropped grammar and used Daily Grams - perfect for review and reinforcement! I was considering doing Easy Grammar 2 with both kids next year, then starting R&S the following year. Easy Grammar 2 is bit more teacher intensive than the older grades, which is fine for these young ages, and probably a lovely introduction to grammar. I've heard from a lot of people that R&S Level 2 is a weaker year. One piece of advice . . . R&S is quite rigorous, so feel free to use the "lower" grade for both kids if need be. JMO.

I have flown Hawaiian Airlines many times over the past 11 years, though never the specific routes you mention. In general, it's a great airline. Now one of the only airlines to still provide a "free" meal, though that meal seems to have shrunk down in recent years. It is often more like a nice snack. I'd recommend that you travel with some hearty snacks just in case - we usually do peanut butter crackers, granola bars, plus some candy. We used to enter the plane to find freshly cleaned and wrapped pillows and blankets on each seat. Sadly, I haven't seen those in several years. Maybe for the longer flight routes? (Though I usually do Honolulu-Phoenix, about 6 hours each way.) Similarly, we do not usually have any way to charge our electronics on the plane. The caveat is that they are upgrading planes on a regular basis, so you might luck out with a newer plane that has chargers. At Honolulu Intl. Airport, people usually just try to find a regular charger on a random wall. HNL doesn't have great charging stations that I can think of. I can't help too much with Waikiki transportation. I think I'd probably be tempted to just catch a cab from the airport. There is a steady stream of taxis lined up at HNL, so you won't have any trouble getting one. When I've taken a cab from there, I've sometimes requested a minivan cab from the person putting groups into cabs . . . usually just have to wait a minute or two, if at all . . . helpful if we're traveling with a lot of luggage and/or people. Have a great trip!

Heart of Dakota has some nice reader packages that go up to . . . 6th grade or so? Maybe even beyond that.

I have seen some good reviews on this one as well. Probably would meet all or most of my criteria. Hmmmm.

A sincere thank you to those who have recently posted. Quite honestly, I really dislike canister vacuums and always have. :( Sorry to sound so picky, but my parents had one when I was growing up, and then we were given a really nice canister when we got married. I just always manage to trip over them and find them unwieldy to maneuver. No offense to those who love them . . . just my personal preference.

Will look for the Dyson thread. I did a search on vacuums and couldn't find a whole lot. Thanks!

I saw this on Amazon and I am confused as to how this differs from the regular Dyson attachment. Anybody know? :)

Thanks for the reply Gwen! This one looks similar to my current Electolux Ergo, which I've been moderately happy with, except that the battery and suction power both show a noticeable decrease after about a year.

Oooh, tell me more please. I've never taken the Dyson plunge before.

Thank you . . . but to tell the truth, I despise sweeping for some reason. I'm sure I'm not doing it ergonomically, because it always seems to hurt my back. I would much prefer a good vacuum.

We are getting ready to move into a house with all hard floors - a mix of travertine and wood laminate. I've never had either before. I am looking for recommendations for a great vacuum. Wish list would be: ~Super powerful - picks up everything in its path ~Reasonably lightweight (I have back issues) ~Easy to maneuver ~Long cord or cordless would be a bonus I am looking for quality here and am willing to do something a bit more expensive if it is worth it. Thanks very much!!