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1 can of diced tomatoes (drain the juice off, Italian seasoned work well, but I still add more seasoning) Grilled diced chicken Artichoke hearts Black olives Mozzarella Cheese We also like Canadian bacon and pineapple.

DS is already talking about college - if he wants to go to college, I want him to be prepared to succeed in college after getting into the school of his choice, with some scholarship money.:) :iagree:I only have two right now, but this is a real concern! :willy_nilly:

Thanks! Maybe I can use the fruit...my kids really dislike jello...they are SOOO weird! Sometimes I really question whether they are really mine:tongue_smilie: We could make it like the fruit cookie cake the Pampered Chef Reps always make. Thanks!

We did this, I went to the library and pulled books from the beginning reader section for him to read to me. We managed to fill nearly 3 months with the geography. We did an introduction to maps and globes over a couple of weeks, a week on each continent, and a week on the oceans, and then a week of review and a mini-quiz. I was able to find two or three books to go with each section of the book.

Boy: Legos Puzzles Cardboard box and toy saw...he builds dog houses the Wii - WordJong (great for practicing spelling, you must spell words to get rid of the tiles); Mario Kart, Lego Games Craft stuff - construction paper, colored pencils, glue/glue sticks, and scissors!

If DD was old enough, I would not be giving her this vaccine. She has 9 - 12 years, I believe, before she is old enough to take it. We will reconsider the issue when she is old enough; but I would prefer to see more research on the vaccine.

I love the books! I have read the first one multiple times. I can't seem to get through Rainbow Valley and I have never started Rilla of Ingleside. I lost interest when they were no longer about Anne and Gilbert ;) I would consider them standard reading. I think they are well written, beautiful stories!

We are learning about cells in biology (1st grade level stuff). I loved making my edible cell, but I don't remember what I used. I want it to taste good and Aidan wants it to be a sugar cookie. Has anyone made one before? What did you use for the parts of the cell? I can make icing and color it. (I have lots of deocorator tools and colors) We have various sprinkles and cookie decorations and chocolate chips Any suggestions? I want it to be fairly easy, yummy, and hopefully...done without a trip to the store ;), but I will go if I have to.

Younger children showing work is preparation for more advanced math. Showing work neatly is a skill that must ne learned and practiced. I have my son show work on some problems. He would do them all in his head. Every now and then he hits a word problem that he can't quite grasp in his head, we practice writing word problems out to build the habit of writing them for when he gets to the harder problems. He still does them all in his head and then we write them out to check his answer.

Eat a spoonfull of nutmeg. It tastes bad and you have to wash it down with water, but it works! It puts and almost immediate stop to diarrhea with one spoon. Sometimes you need a second dose a few hours later, bit I have only ever taken one.

I don't believe in luck; plus, my SIL was popped on as she stuck her ARM out of the car window at the bank drive through. She now has the worst time with cars. Four cars she has driven since then have broken down....not all old bunkers either! One brand new that she borrowed yesterday....the a/c went out!

:lol: Yikes! I overuse; semicolins; it drove my grad advisor nuts! I had to take remedial punctuation lessons from her. :tongue_smilie:

We did read mostly non-fiction last year, and he loved those. Our library has a GREAT beginning reader section, it is full of non-fiction at a 1st grade level. He read most of the books that interested him last year. At the level he is on now, they don't have as much non-fiction. I cannot even get him to go to the picture book section with me. I'm not trying to make him read just 5th-6th grade books, I want him to read some at that level, and some at the 2nd-3rd grade level. He likes science, maybe I can get him to read The Magic School Bus books. I'm not really concerned about Grammar, he enjoys it and is good at it. We do it all orally. For math, I think I will skip the remaining addition in the text and workbook and go on to the measurement section for something different (we have been working on place value, addition, and subtraction for a month now). I will keep him doing the IP addition and subtraction and throw in xtramath.org for drill. He loves computer games and challenges. I set myself up as a student, maybe if we have a little competition.....;)

I had a friend adopting domestically, they had paid the fees and money had gone toward the mother's care and she decided to keep the baby. She did not call the lawyer when she went into labor. My SIL and BIL have adopted from Ethiopia and are in the process of adopting from Eastern Europe. The social worker who did their home study has recently dealt with a couple who completely faked a pregnancy and went through the adoption process, got the hopes up of another couple, and it was all a lie. The child they are adopting from Eastern Europe has down syndrome. They were told she would be kept at the infant house until their paper work came through. When the paperwork was submitted, they learned that she had been move to an institution. They will still be allowed to adopt her, but they wanted to prevent her from spending time in an institution. Deception and hardships happen in both types of adoption. They felt called to adopt internationally. We have a friend who has adopted twins through the foster system. If I can convince my DH, I am open to fostering children and possibly adopting, but not until my kids are older. Either type of adoption blesses a child with a happy and safe home.

I got to her page right after you posted!! Just a few seconds too late!

I love the Apple Barn and I have always wanted to do the Alpine Slide, but we have never had time. Ripley's was a lot of fun. We spent a lot of time walking around and looking in the little gift shops. We did not buy much, but searched until we found the perfect t-shirt!

"Believe it or not" she and her "boys" are going on vacation. I hope they don't mind "Smoky" places :)

Hannah stole the cookies!! BRB

:grouphug::grouphug: I am so sorry! My parents did not tell my sister and I that our Grandfather killed himself until we were in our twenties and my sister was depressed and her college friend brought all of the need from her house to my parents so my sister could not take them all. We had always been told he died of a heart attack. It made the truth harder to deal with. Don't put it off thatt long, and please, don't lie to your children about it. That was worse almost than learning about my grandpa; learning about the lie my family had kept up.

I bought it to do CC Foundations at home. There are only 6 lessons that can be broken down ibto more. I would assume they will do the whole book in 24 weeks. I would get the book, you can redo the lessons over and over. It tells you how do do it for different levels. We worked through part of the book this summer and I drew a pretty awesome bird!! And I don't draw!

DH and I have read them for fun. I will let my so.e read them if he likes them. I actually forgot, they are still in a box in the garage!

If I want some time to read while the kids are awake...I have to lock myself in the bathroom. Our toilet is separated from the rest of the bathroom by a wall. I put anything on the other side of the wall when I am done and take it out completely. DH on the other hand, keeps all of his catalogs in there.