Well, we ditched what we started out with this year around December, and started over with or went back to what we were using. So, I have most of what I need.

I call my mother "ma" and father "dad". My two oldest kids call me "mom", my 18 yr old calls me by my first name because she knew me for two years and called me by my first name before I adopted her. She refers to me as "my mom" to others. My youngest calls me either "mommy" or "mama". We also moved to South Carolina and everyone is referred to as "mama" here, not "mommy", so I get called both.

My DH would love no b00kshelf too, but mine pulls double (D)uty, no way can I go without.

I did look at the website but I couldn't determine if this is open and go or if it is teacher intensive. My daughter is extremely independent and if she can't do it all on her own (with me just correcting the work) then she won't do it willingly.

We need to have a name for our state too. We chose White Sands Christian Academy because homeschooling has allowed us to vacation on several different Islands and we love to put our toes in the white sands. Our mascot is a dolphin. My oldest daughter graduated homeschool last year and I had a professional diploma printed for her. The name of the homeschool looks so nice is big, pretty letters across the top lol.. It also looks good on transcripts and report cards.

Can you give me an example of a lesson? Is this independent work or parent/child working together?

Four nights out of the week I get home from karate class 10 mins before him. I'm usually in jeans and a decent out-of-the-house shirt. If he came home early for some reason, he would find all of us in jammies. We get dressed when we go out of the house.

NITCH

It's workbook based and the kids work at their own pace. It's basically ACE with the religion stripped out of it. The booklets are higher quality, heavy weight paper. We have used CLE (still do for math) and switched to ACE. I'm ok with religion but my DH was not. He requested I find something secular for history and science. I couldn't find ANYTHING workbook based that was secular. I asked on this forum about it and someone suggested Starline Press. I looked at it, but balked because the price is high. I'm not going to lie, it is expensive. BUT, like my DH said, it's a LOT cheaper than paying for private school. I ordered one subject because I didn't want to invest in it and have to sell it on ebay if we didn't like it. My daughter loved it, so I ordered other subjects. The only place I had been able to find it other then directly through Starline Press was Rainbow Resources. I was sure there must be a demand for workbook based, secular curriculum and asked SP about tapping into the homeschool community. I signed up to become an authorized reseller. Rainbow Resources has links on their site where you can see samples. http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=2&category=3739

My daughter is Chinese and I hired a native speaker from the local college to teach both of us. He wasn't that good lol. My daughter was bored to death and he jumped around so much that I was completely confused. I bought the Better Chinese program and I was lost. We decided to wait another year.

I'm a Starline Press authorized reseller. If she decides to go with SP I sell it cheaper than SP or Rainbow Resources. I use it for my 8 yr old who is a workbook kinda girl.

Mix vinegar and water in a spray bottle, soak the glue and wait a few minutes. It will scrape right off.

Well... if you will be in the diapers at the same time as the baby, then you're too old! Seriously, I birthed my oldest at 22 and adopted my youngest at 42. I honestly feel I am a much better parent now then when my older kids were little. I would LOVE to adopt again (I'm 48) but I can't convince my DH that five really isn't too many kids.

>>The big question is this: would you give up a coat closet to build a walk-in pantry?<< Absolutely. I gave up a 12x14 bedroom to make it a pantry!

Queen, I'd love to see that website! In my old house I had two washers and two dryers. All clothes came out of the dryer and got hung up or put away RIGHT THERE. None of our clothes were in the bedrooms. At the time I had all four of my kids at home and it made it so much easier.

Nope, no way am I ever that busy. We get the household chores done during the week and my kids have chores. First thing in the AM my 8 yr old daughter folds what is in the dryer and puts them in the appropriate rooms. I then throw in a load of wash. We do this every weekday morning and our laundry never turns into a mountain. My older daughter keeps up on the dishes. We straighten up and get everything done before 11am, which is when we have lunch and start school work. Amazingly, my house is still not "company clean". It's "family clean", which is good enough for me! I REFUSE to do laundry or cleaning on the weekend, unless we are expecting company, which is usually....well, never. We bought our house while still living 600 miles away so I had no choice but to hire someone to cut/maintain our 4 acres. We were going to cancel service once we moved in, but it's SO convenient and worth the $40 to have it done. This saves HOURS of work on a weekend for my DH, who also suffers terribly from allergies. We have chickens and I take care of them. I only deep clean the coop maybe 3 times a year. Daily maintenance takes me about half hour a day. I don't consider this to be a chore, I find it very cathartic to be out with my chickens :) My youngest has 3 hours of karate (competition) practice on Sat mornings. Sunday is Church in the AM and Youth group/Awana in the pm. What we do between those scheduled activities depends on the time of the year and if we can be outdoors or not. I don't think I'm sedentary, I am not a couch potato, but I'm also definitely not one of those people that needs to be busy and on the go.

This. Especially the part about learning right along with your kids. My older daughter graduated homeschool last year and I am absolutely, 100% certain it was the best thing for her. She LOVED being homeschooled. We gave her the option of going to PS for senior year (prom, senior trip etc) and she flat out said no way. She participated in a homeschool graduation and her father and I were able to present her diploma to her. I can't begin to tell you how precious that was for us. My youngest is 8, and she did a year in PS last year for 2nd grade because I had to work. Now THAT I regret. It set her a full year behind in math. I quit my job on her last day of school and she is back homeschooling. She loves being homeschooled and doesn't want to go back to PS.

Not food related, but I get all my prescriptions at Costco and I'm not a member. Their prices are the lowest around, especially for 3 month refills by mail. And... you do not need to be a member.

I have three adult children and one 8 yr old. My oldest is 26 and lives half the year on the other side of the world. He is a teacher in China. Then I have a 21 yr old son with autism that is a full time college student. My 18 yr old is in no rush to leave home and I am thankful for that blessing. There is a big gap between my two younger kids. My baby is 8. We adopted her from China and I want to keep her my baby for as long as possible.

Have you looked at Trail Guide to Learning: Paths of Exploration? You can use it with both kids and have them do their math separately. It includes all subjects except for math.

I found my bread machine at Goodwill for $8. I know how to make bread by hand, but the machine is SO much easier.

I've got bread baking as I type. I prefer to grind my own wheat berries but my grinder is broke so I have been using basic white flour from the store. 3.5 cups of flour 2 T yeast 1 1/3 C lukewarm water 2T powdered milk 2 T butter 2 t salt 1 t sugar (optional, I prefer honey) 1/3 C wildflower honey (I'm estimating the honey and flax, I just kind of eyeball it) 1/3 C flax meal I dump it all in the bread maker and let it do the work :) It comes out tasty and easy to slice

I second the Story of the World CD's. We listened to them in the car on long trips and when we did SOTW1 in 2nd grade my DD kept saying "I remember this!"

We have the following: CLE Math grade 4 Starline Press for Science Starline Press for History/Social Studies Studies Weekly for Science and History supplement ACE Creative Writing and Literature Draw and Write thru History for Art Easy Grammar and Daily Grams Starline Press English SpellWell Spelling C-Cc Lifepac Health Quest My daughter is a workbook kid. She is very independent and doesn't like me working with her. I'm interested in learning more about the Writing: Don't Forget to Write posted earlier. My daughter LOVES writing.

Peanut butter and fluff sandwich is something I will dream about eating, and when I wake up I crave it. Reeces Chocolate peanut butter eggs. I will eat them til I'm nauseous, wait for the nausea to pass and then eat more. Good thing they only come around once a year.