I'm no expert on Disney, but I have been planning a trip for our family in September, and I have found the most helpful information on www.easywdw.com. Especially check out the monthly crowd calendars (which will also tell you which parks have extra magic hours on which days) as well as the cheat sheets with park touring strategies. It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?

You are welcome! Some of these awesome Amazon deals end rather quickly, but it looks like this one is still available!

My apologies if this was already posted, but I just saw where the Magic School Bus DVD set is deeply discounted on Amazon today. I just wanted to pass it along in case any of you are interested. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007I1Q4MM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007I1Q4MM&linkCode=as2&tag=hotcoumam-20

We have moved 3 times in the past 3 years, so I guess I'm qualified to give input on this. For our first move, we used Penske. They had the cheapest price on our OK to MO move. They had excellent equipment and customer service. We thought we would never use anyone else after that experience. For our second move, within the state of MO, Penske was a little too far out of the way and Uhaul was a little cheaper, so we went with Uhaul. Again, we didn't have any problems, although we had to go a little further than we wanted to pick up the right size truck. Our last move was two weeks ago, from MO back to OK, and Penske wanted double what we had paid to move in the other direction. Apparently, they have an overstock of equipment in OK, and they give you a great deal if you move away from OK, but not the other way around. Uhaul was almost as much. Budget happened to have an internet special going on during December for 20% off if you booked online, so they ended up being the cheapest, and although thier biggest truck was 2 feet shorter than the biggest Penske or Uhaul, we decided to go with them. The Budget experience was okay, we didn't have any real issues, but the truck was a bucket of bolts. We probably won't use them again if we can help it, but finances dictated our decision this time. Regardless of who you get a truck from, consider getting moving blankets from Uhaul. They are the cheapest by far.

Sorry, found out it is a fake after posting. (Warning, there is a curse word uttered.) http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/19/eagle-baby-attack-video_n_2327158.html

I conceived while nursing my singleton when she was 6 months, I had just started her on a little cereal at the time. However, I had been having periods since 2 months post-partum. The resulting pregnancy turned out to be fraternal twins. I also have PCOS and had difficulty conceiving the first time around.

Yes...after two trips to New Zealand in the past 10 years, we feel like Kiwis at heart. I can very much relate.

We had beautiful clear blue skies all day until early evening when the clouds decided to roll in and obstruct our view. :glare:

Yep, this one's a winner in my book too.

I love your ideas! Thanks for the links and the booklet download. Now to think up some appropriate clues for our treasure hunt! :001_smile:

I am homeschooling b/g twins who are 5 and their big sis who is 6. My twins are nothing alike in personality. DS5 is accelerated in math, reading, and writing. He is a huge bookworm, very focused when it comes to his schoolwork, and has perfectionistic tendencies. He is nearly equal to his big sis in most subjects. DD5 tries very hard and has about average abilities for her age, but she also is the class clown, and is frequently more concerned about which hair accessory she is wearing that day than the neatness of her copywork. She is a very girly girl who is is gifted in the humor department, but not necessarily in academics. I did start to worry about her getting a complex because of the other kids being so far ahead of her. She's the hardest for me to relate to personally, because I was the studious bookworm as a child, and I guess for that reason I feel the need to protect her from feeling bad about her abilities. Because of the self-comparisons that were taking place at the kitchen table, about halfway through our first year of homeschooling, I started separating each child for core subjects. Two kids play outside or in another room, while I work individually with one child for their reading lesson, math lesson and handwriting. Then we switch. It takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour each day per kid. Unfortunately, this makes for a very loooong day for mom, but it helps me focus on exactly what each child needs to work on, keeps them focused on their work, and keeps me from holding back the accelerated and rushing the other. Although most of our curriculum is the same currently, I foresee different curriculums for different kids in our near future. Older dd is not particularly competitive, but my son especially has a competitive bent, both with his big sis and his twin sis (always wanting to know what page they are on in comparison with him, etc.), so the individual schooling has helped to nip that in the bud. We still do science, history, geography, etc. together in the afternoons, but that's mostly read-alouds and fun stuff like cut/paste activities, lapbooks and educational games and DVDs, so there's not much to compete about there.

Phew, glad I'm not the only one in this boat! Hair removal is the bane of my existence. My mother gave me the "don't shave above the knee and it won't get coarse" speech too...ummm, no, did not work for me.

I can't remember if anyone has already mentioned this, but Library Elf can also send texts to your phone, which has saved me numerous times. (I'm terrible about checking my email.)

The only thing I've had success with in extreme cases is oven cleaner. Not exactly environmentally-friendly, but it works.

This website is run by two HS moms and they have lots of free planner pages. http://www.newbeehomeschooler.com

My primary craving with pg #1 was pizza from a specific restaurant, which isn't that unusual except that I suddenly developed the need to have crushed red pepper flakes on it. With pg#2 it was Olive Garden salad.

Our b/g twins are 5.5 and their big sister is 14 months older. I often get asked if they are triplets because they are almost the same height. But when I explain to people which ones are the twins, they often ask if they are identical, or comment on how much alike they look. Nope, they really don't, and in fact their personalities couldn't be more polar opposite. I don't think they have a typical close twin relationship even. They have each always been more drawn to big sis than each other.

Coconut - combination of taste and texture.

My girls aren't there yet, but I remember starting to shave my legs at 11. That was the beginning of sixth grade, and it was the first time we were required to change into shorts for P.E. That was why it came to my attention because some of the other girls had nice smooth legs and I was not among them. However, although my mom allowed it, she strongly suggested that I not shave much above the knee, which was effective for the next few years.

I also had this experience a few months ago. I was driving and my vans rear window just exploded for no apparent reason. Thankfully my kids were not with me at the time either. It was a big mess, and very scary. I googled it and found many others have had this experience. The prevailing theory seemed to be a defect in the glass if I remember correctly.

We are partial to PI here as well.

I've had the same experience with the SLCL system. They often don't have the recommended books from SOTW AG, but there is still a lot to choose from on most topics. We are not in the county either, but I still feel it's worth the $50. Living in a small town we would not nave nearly that many choices.

Off the top of my head: In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel) It's Your Love (Tim McGraw/Faith Hill) - this was our wedding dance back in 1997

If it's the same type of ceramic like Corning Ware, oven cleaner works wonders. It saved one of my own casserole dishes not too long ago after I read the tip somewhere online. (and it didn't hurt the finish)

I don't know if this will help for all veggies, but I get a much longer life out of things like lettuce, green peppers and mushrooms when I put them in a storage bag with a paper towel inside to absorb moisture. I forget where I read that tip, but it has saved me a lot of wasted produce.