My kids have been enjoying the tv series Earth2

Good for them! Way better than standing by the side of the road and begging for money. No comparison.

I'm reading through this right now, and plan to go through it with the kids. Any tips, warnings, advice? I am pleasantly pleased with the honesty and comprehensiveness, so far. But trust you girls to help me see things I may miss. Thanks.

Welcome back, Drew. I have wondered about you and yours, and miss your blog. None, however, can be either singular or plural. But by now I am sure you know that.

Guacamole. Peel then smash ripe avocados. Season with salt. Yep, that simple. Baked Beans. I start with canned baked beans and dr. them all to heck. One chopped onion, some barbecue sauce, mustard, garlic, salsa, brown sugar if you like them sweet...bake till hot and bubbly and reduced. Never have any leftover.

Thanks all. I ended up ordering from LL Bean, as they had pretty much exactly what I was looking for and shorts to go with them also.

Reviews for these say the legs are cut too high and are immodest. Anybody buy one this year yet and have any input? Hate the idea of my fourteen year old having to worry about showing her womanly ness.....

I've never been to the Monterey Aquarium, but the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is wonderful, and better located if you are going to do Southern California.

No. Never. Cannot bear it. But other people do, so donate to a thrift store that supports a good charity.

Come on, everyone knows that a great set of booKs is what a girl needs to succeed at college!(sorry, couldn't resist!) I have a sister(who no longer speaks to me) who financed several trips to Thailand and other exotic places with her student loan money. And we wonder why our country has such financial troubles? oy vey!

This is a longshot...but I have finally made some summer plans and the kids and I will be attending family camp, week three this summer on Catalina! This has been a long time dream of mine, and I am so thankful to be able to do this finally. Is anyone here on wtm boards attending also? How cool would that be?!

I love you, Rosie. Truly I do.

Spot on. Here, here.

Oh dear. yes, that God would protect and comfort...

Yes, particularly if it were affordable, and a sort of community place where good connections could be made with others.

Well, in my case, husband decided to become an Orthodox Christian, but all of us had been involved with the PCA since marriage, including our kids being baptized there. We all went to a few services and I asked bunches of questions of several of the deacons(I believe that is what they were called) and realized that their beliefs did not jive with mine, and I could not in good conscience participate. I chose not to continue there, and the kids stayed with me as they were also not comfortable there. When my husband was baptized there, we went, and the baptism ceremony made me know without doubt that he was making a major change. This all happened during the year when our divorce became imminent, so it sort of helped to seal the deal, although there were issues of violence that led me to leave finally.

And speaking of old, I just watched the movie The Graduate for the first time the other night and will never be able to listen to the Simon and Garfunkel songs from the movie. In my opinion, they wrecked them by putting them in that movie.

Yes. It makes me smile too, and I believe was done by B.J. Thomas. I also smile whenever I hear an old Paul McCartney and wings song Silly Love Songs. Don't know why, but I believe it is because it came out when I first fell in love back in 1976!

I believe prayer can help so much. Good for you for finally asking. And, yes, I will pray that you will soon regain health and strength for the days ahead. God be with you in a strong way!

This just breaks my heart.

Well, my kiddos call me chunk. nuff said.

I agree. And I think you have done the right thing on all counts....by letting them do it, and by keeping an eye on them while doing it, and by now restricting them.

I agree with Ellie. You have taken on alot all at once, and of course you are overwhelmed. :grouphug: Let them mess around for awhile. Maybe do a project a day, some fun learning project. In the meantime, when you have some downtime, come up with a plan for the next month, or three months or six months. Remember why you have brought them home, and have goals that reflect that. Little by little you will come up with a good plan that will work for your family. But, for now, give everyone, including yourself, sometime to de-school and reacclimate.:grouphug:

Actually, the male is mean, and I am very nervous that he will bite one of these days. Which just doesn't work in a large apartment complex. The idea of taking the dogs to the vet regularly is not something I am comfortable with. Heck, I don't even have health insurance for myself. I just can't see spending much money on the upkeep of dogs which probably don't belong in an apartment. I am going to call a friend tomorrow who has always boarded dogs to see if she knows someone who may want them. Thanks for the input.

Hey Rebecca. You are sort of jumping to some conclusions here that are really not necessary. I realize that this is a sensitive issue and that I might get flamed, but you need to realize that by asking here I am trying to be responsible. Yes, we had them fixed and they were given their shots. No, we did not toss them out back. yes we took them out regularly and praised them. We also paid good money for obedience classes. But I have no more money to spend on these dogs, and, again, have really no experience other than this with which to use to train these dogs. Nor was I planning to divorce when we took them on. I don't know anything about rescues, or AKC's, etc. Those who have done this may not understand this, but I truly have done what I can. thanks for the input.