I cannot touch coffee grinds. I won't make coffee and I won't clean the coffee maker if my DH makes coffee. If he does make coffee and forgets to clean it and mold starts to grow, I will throw the entire coffee maker out. He decided years ago that it's better to just stop and buy it on his way to work. And I agree. Until a few years ago I could not cook a whole chicken. I could do chicken pieces, but not a whole chicken. It looked like a newborn baby without a head.

OMG we must have been separated at birth. Please tell me you hate coffee.

I have a confession. Our elf has a split personality. After everyone goes to bed he gets into R-rated or X-rated trouble. I take a picture of it and then in the morning I have been sending the pics to my DH at work. My daughter would die if she ever knew the situations her elf has been into ;) .

I love this!! I just did this with our elf and my DH thinks I've gone off the deep end. I can't wait for my DD to get up!

I think it's important too. I taught my daughter starting in 1st grade with A Reason For Handwriting. She writes beautifully. She is almost finished with the last book in the series and although she doesn't need it, she is a little sad that there isn't another book.

Same here. My only restriction is that the kids are not allowed to have it on while doing school work. I have a small tv by my desk and if I am awake, it is on. I have a hearing loss and a completely quiet room freaks me out. I don't sit and watch much but I need the noise. I have one show a week (Survivor) that I sit down and actually watch. Other then that, I have the news or weather channel on during the day. (I know, I'm strange). My DH watches the big tv in the living room at night and each of the kids have a tv in their rooms. That said, the ones in their rooms are hardly ever on and I was thinking of removing the one in my younger daughters room to make room for more shelves.

Ours is named Dee although my daughter calls him "Santas Little Snitch". Last year he got into a lot of trouble. He took ALL the ornaments off the tree and we had to redecorate the tree the next morning. He ate all the candy out of the Advent calendars (luckily I had extra calendars ;) ), stole the Christmas stockings and locked the cat up in the dog cage.

A Realtor will walk through your house and point out what you can do to make it look more inviting. Sometimes just removing a few personal items is all it takes. A fresh coat of paint and new carpet helps. Make the first impression count and paint the front door and spruce up the entrance.

I found mine on ebay a week after Christmas and it was brand new. Someone rec'd it as a gift and didn't want it. I got it for almost half the price. Maybe you can find one after Christmas on Craigslist or Ebay.

Same here, LOVE LOVE LOVE my Big Berkey. Highly suggest it!

I bought a pair of Angel jeans and they fit my big butt well. :laugh:

I bought one from Amazon and I love it. It's a Tungsten Carbide ring, made out of the material they make airplanes out of. It's indestructible! http://www.amazon.com/Tungsten-Comfort-Wedding-Brushed-Centered/dp/B00AI5EZZI/ref=pd_sbs_jw_4

That's cute!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

The only way to get it cheaper is to go to one of the homeschool conventions. They won't charge you for shipping that way. I almost always wind up buying it new but I do look for it used first. I have LA grade 1 Sunrise 2nd edition. Teachers Guide and Light Units 6-10. LU 6 has the first 5 lessons completed in pencil and my daughters name on the cover. $18 ppd.

Although not really cuddly, chickens are awesome as pets, pretty low maintenance and the entertainment value of watching is priceless. And.. they make you breakfast!

I love animals and have had just about everything you can imagine, and more. My parents had a permit from the state to raise distressed wildlife when I was a child, so we have had just about everything. I would go for another dog instead of anything like guinea pigs or hamsters. We have had a bunch of those and the maintenance is more than I liked. If you weren't allergic I would have suggested a cat. You already have a dog, so you know what kind of maintenance to expect. And, you get the addition of cuddles and puppy breath!

As a fellow adoptive mom, I know exactly what you mean! Congratulations!

My hair routine is the same as yours. I LOVE Catwalk Curls Rock!! I went through a lot of different products before I found the Catwalk. I use that and then Deva Curl light defining gel over it.

I use the Curly Girl method. I love the Deva products but they are $$. I found a product at Sally's beauty that cost $9 a gallon. Check out the CG method: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/ http://www.wikihow.com/Follow-the-Curly-Girl-Method-for-Curly-Hair

Yes, this is what I meant! Thank you for clarifying. Exactly this... If it is publicly funded then you are considered enrolled in a public school.

In my state you are not considered a homeschooler if you are schooling under a charter or public online school like K12 and Calvert. It is considered public school at home. In my state you have to belong to an Accountability Association to homeschool in the traditional sense, without the oversight of the public school.

They would also be looking for prescription drugs. Some thieves need enough money/jewelry/electronics to buy/trade to get their next high. If thieves were only looking for high dollar expensive items there would be no robberies in the poor sections of towns. My neighbor where I used to live is a detective and I have heard stories of homes being robbed and all that was taken were change jars and cigarettes.

I would buy it now if you can find it. My daughter wanted a very specific lego set (cruise ship dolphin something) and I found it on Amazon for less than what they wanted in Walmart. I don't know that I have ever seen a big discount on legos, they are pretty popular. If you do find it on sale you could always return the first one.

Also not a traditional breakfast but what about cauliflower crust pizza? Your kids will never know they were eating cauliflower. You can top it with anything you like, and it's very low carb. http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/01/16/cauliflower-crust-hawaiian-pizza/

I have a question regarding unschooling and state requirements. We are very laid back homeschoolers. We don't have a set schedule, it's more of a routine. My state requires certain subjects to be taught and I have to keep a plan book. How do you totally unschool and get around keeping track of subjects/hours/portfolios etc?