What about Math on the Level, which basically tells homeschoolers how to teach what (but not when and no real worksheets). If I thought I were disciplined enough to do the tracking for it, this is what I'd use in a heartbeat. (I was super-impressed at the Cinci convention when I sat down and read it). It would be a bit of work for mom, but she definitely is into teaching math in everyday situations.

The History of the Ancient World by SWB and when I need a break from Babylon & Egypt, Elizabeth Prentiss "More Love To Thee" by Sharon James (I'm almost done with it, only 1/2 way through HoAW ... lol) ETA: I'm enjoying both quite a bit. I could wish the James book were as well written as SWB's, but it has definitely been an encouragement to my faith. HoAW is very well written and engaging (not surprisingly), but it makes my brain hurt because I'm out of practice reading such intricate language and historical detail.

I would put them in a bowl next to the fruit bowl. Stems on so people know.

LOL ... seriously: Red cabbage, shredded. Your favorite bleu cheese dressing in a bottle. Add enough to make it taste right. I have to admit, I'm going to play with it tomorrow some. I can't find a salad dressing without soybean or canola oil (which we're trying to cut from our diets), so I'm going to try with some sour cream and bleu cheese and ... I dunno, haven't totally decided yet.

This is what I do, too. I like to use Orzo for the pasta and feta for the cheese, though. I'm going to make "Red, White & Bleu slaw" tomorrow. Red cabbage, bleu cheese dressing. Easy, yummy, festive.

I voted that my husband grills, because I'm certain you were referring specifically to outdoor grilling. Any grilling on the indoor contact grill is my responsibility entirely (Jason doesn't really consider that "grilling").

Pride & Prejudice (or, really, any Austen)

When I was growing up we had a sliding glass door between a 3 season room and the house that did this. Boy was it a pain to clean up!

My 4 year old got one for Christmas, and while she's not as loved as the one above, M-girl really likes her. I totally agree about the hair, it is very choppily styled and I've had to fix (un-knot) the hair several times (pulling out a lot in the process) That being said, she enjoys taking that doll to play with her friends with their dolls. She can change the dresses on it, and we haven't had other major problems. For a 4 year old, it doesn't bother me too much.

No, but I only use 1/2 a can for a blender full, so enough for 3-4 of us (my eldest sometimes wants smoothie, sometimes doesn't), I save the rest for the next day.

Coconut milk is great, too. I sometimes use it in place of milk/juice with kefir. And fruit. I haven't been brave enough to try the greens ...

What age?

I enjoy watching HGTV as much as (or probably more than) the next person. But, I also call it "the coveting channel" and try to keep as my perspective the whole channel as pretty ridiculous.

Yes. I had the same doula for my second two births. For my first a midwife apprentice was there and pretty much acted like a doula, which was part of why we hired our doula for the next two babies. She kept me moving and didn't let me go into inertia (ball, rocker, etc). She fought my battles for me (I don't stand up to medical personnel very well, we had 3-4 meetings with her including her coming to an OB appt with a birth plan and she knew what I did and did not want). Her presence allowed my husband to go get meals/nap. She kept me from having a C/S with #2 (10 lb 11.7 oz) ... I was induced with all three of my kiddos and N-boy wasn't coming (we think he was caught on my tailbone ... actually I'm pretty sure as I couldn't sit comfortably for 6 months or so). The nurse & midwife (the practice was very doctor-like CNMs) started to exchange a look and Kim said, let's try something else. She had me do some sort of rocking/swaying motion and he was born shortly after. My husband liked having someone else in the room all the time talking to me and him and to the medical personnel. Someone who knew what they were talking about to suggest. Jason says, "I could be there to be supportive, she could be there to be helpful." I liked that she never left, she was contracted to stay with us, while my "midwives" were there to catch the baby (and with my 3rd, caught her with towels). She took great notes, so I have detailed information of their births, which is kind of fun. Absolutely none. Not even the expense. Totally. Completely. Absolutely. No Question. Did so, and yes. 2 C/S's because I'm certain they wouldn't do a VBAC. I can't say enough good things about our doula, Kim, and her company! My husband isn't interested in home births (too messy, he says) so having a doula/midwife team is about the next best thing. The practice I went to with M-girl (#1) was very different, very more midwifey and I was more comfortable there (my midwife only left because I had the apprentice and the teenager across the hall screamed bloody murder for hours). I chose my second practice because I could request a midwife (read: female) to deliver. Since they were much more medicine-y, having the doula was the perfect compromise.

I've never been to Readerware, but I really enjoy using LibraryThing.

This is such a fun art book. We do coloring almost daily, I bring out markers or crayons or coloring books or whatever, but this has helped my kiddos get a good sense of what art is for. It has a piece of art to look at and think about and then a project that is related. The most recent one we did actually used Harold and the Purple Crayon to talk about how art can tell a story then recommended drawing a picture that told a story. The 4 yo got it, the 3 yo sort of got it, the 2 yo had no idea [grin]. The idea is to give some art appreciation (looking carefully at art ... How many bugs are around the vase of flowers?) and to talk about different mediums, so far we've used crayons, markers, play-dough, paints. It isn't supposed to be a single use thing, either, but something that you can come back to again and again before going into the curriculum. I'm a big fan. Can you tell?

I use the ETC primers which are fun and do the LOTW in the order the primers are set up. He could do a couple of pages a day and have it be real school. The MEP math is fun, but requires a lot of direct teacher involvement. At the beginning of the school year, you can often find dry-erase type math books/handwriting books for cheap. My daughter does the math ones over and over happily.

I'm using this right now and it is a bit tough for my 4.5 year old (who is reading and very verbal) It is wonderful, but quite challenging. We're using it for morning devotions, not as Bible study/curriculum. You might consider some of the materials from Doorposts if you're specifically looking at character training rather than strict Bible curriculum.

We have a good number of books, too (although not quite as many), but I used to do data entry during college, so I just refreshed my ten-key skills and zoomed through bunches quickly. The real pain is going to be adding in the ones I haven't added as I've bought. I should get on that. Conveniently, they won't be the inherited books so much, so they should have LOC numbers at least. The books my husband got from his grandparents were a real treat, let me tell you [grin] Maybe I will want that key-pad for my netbook ...

You can make your LibraryThing private (after the lifetime fee of $25 ... a steal if you ask me!) I've had LibraryThing for many years, and never had a barcode scanner (LT sells the cuecats for all of $15). It is very easy to key in the ISBNs or LOC numbers (the older books are more of a pain) and LT looks them up on several places to draw them in. There's also a fancy dancy button to add books from Amazon if you buy there. It looks like there's a mobile phone app too if you're looking for that (I have a very basic phone so have never used/looked at all the tools available). If you look at the Tools page, there is a vast array. If nothing else, the first 500 (or something like that) books input are free, so you could try it out before spending the $25. I find it to be a great investment ... I need to add more books as I've bought/been given many since I stopped cataloging and never finished in the first place ... (we're GarrettFamily and I have a public profile if you want to browse someones to see how it works).

The (homeschooling!) family who keeps our dogs when we're out of town charges $10 per dog per day. Their second son is in charge of the endeavor. (The eldest son raises pastured chickens for butcher) I love that their family encourages an entrepreneurial mindset in their children. [grin]

:party:

Getting Started with Latin is very approachable, doable, and affordable. I've been using this for self ed and am enjoying it a lot.

I usually say something about it being against our family policy to buy from any company selling door to door. And they always ring the bell during nap time. That just makes me mad.

I would think this Grilled Chicken with Sesame Noodles would be yummy with beef instead.