JC Penney used to have a beautiful section of girly dresses this time of year - especially since Easter is late. Also, I have bought really expensive smoked dresses at local consignment stores and sold some on eBay. Usually they were things just bought or sold for "one special" occasion. You might try there is you get stuck. Good luck ReneeR

We have never had any success with Zyrtec. My son took it for allergy/asthma and it never helped and was so expensive years ago. I tried it and it actually dried me out more than benydrl and didn't really help. We switched to Alavert and we are actually using generic form, and it is working so much better for us. Good luck but try something else. ReneeR

I would try eliminating dairy to see if that helps at all. This is weird but our dog has a horrible dairy allergy. He was having all sorts of allergic/skin problems, and finally I realized that we were giving him milk after our long walks and cheese sometimes during the day. We switched to goat's milk - and rashes/allergic issues are GONE! Which has prompted me to reconsider diary for my son. He had horrible eczema as a child and the pediatrician attributed it to diary. His asthma is not so bad anymore so he is fighting us on the Goat's milk! Also, I would try the saline irrigation. My dad does something like this during the spring when he has horrible allergies to something blooming where they live. It really helps him more than any medication has ever helped. Both of these things are low costs or no costs so they are worth a try. Good luck, ReneeR

Right now I only have one dd at home - 11 yrs old. I read about 45 in morning first thing. We have found that it starts off our day nicely - a big cup of coffee with both of us cuddled up on the couch in the study. I read our Bible first thing -we are following a particular plan from our church's website and I might read some commentary about that particular selection from various books. Then we are always reading a novel. Sometimes if the novel is at a climatic point or we just want to we crawl in my bed before her bedtime and read more. I read almost anything that i can find out of the Sonlight or Veritas catalogs that she has not heard. Right now we are clearing out books from years of Sonlight that I read to her siblings, but she never heard or was too young to remember - The Red Sails to Capri was this week's.

Our son sticks to the 11p.m. rule unless it is a special occasion like Prom or something. His license only allows him to be out until 11 since we have not paid for another license (he lost one this year so we only pay for one a year) until it is a school event like sports or Prom. I can't imagine anything they can do after 11 that they can't do before 11. It does not seem to bother our son, but he is a swimmer and they all tend to plan things early. ReneeR

I am sorry that this happened to your DD, but I tend to agree with Secular_Mom. Your daughter is 25 yrs old and living in a house with a dog and left a pair of BRAND NEW glasses around. I think that she was careless and it is a difficult lesson to learn, but she is really responsible for them. One of my daughters had eye issues and required expensive, out of pocket, glasses when she was 12yrs old. I told her from the get go that when they were not on her face, they should be in their case and in her room. We recently were able to donate those glasses. I really think that your daughter might want to talk with her roommate about the dog and watching it when it is out, but I think that the glasses are your daughter's responsibility. Good luck ReneeR

I agree with the ladies recommending a weekend visit. I know that really can change your attitude about a school, especially if one of the schools has a large amount of computer students. You mentioned pre-med - if she is interested in pre-med, I would seriously recommend that she talk to someone in med dept that can give her stats about graduates in their program in the last 5 years or more - where they were accepted to med schools, MCAT scores, % of those accepted to med school, etc. GPA will play a role in med school selection but other things, especially MCAT scores, research, volunteer work, will also. Different schools will look differently at things, but you want to know the program is producing med school graduates. Good luck ReneeR

We use the same one as "mamaofblessings". I don't know what it is about buttermilk, but it can really make a cake, pancakes, cupcakes, waffles, etc. Good luck ReneeR

If your daughter has her heart set on this school, I would call them and talk to someone. I learned a long time ago (during applications for my husband's residency) that these files,apps, etc are in the hands of humans so they may get lost, set somewhere and forgotten, etc. I, also, know that my son applied to several colleges, private and public, and FSU Honors was the last one he heard from and now they can't leave him alone. All his friends received their Honors acceptance with admittance, and my son was all in a huff about them. He is now in public school in SWFL so his transcript is 2 years of home school with challenging work but no AP courses so no weighted GPA. In the last 2 years of public high school, he has taken almost all AP courses; but he will not graduate as highly as others because of the first two years. One private school he applied to gives out merit scholarship strictly on GPA/class ranking/tests scores. Well, although his tests scores are high, his class ranking will only be in the top 16% so he gets less for not being in the top 10% - that is their formula and they make no exceptions! Ok, that is my rant! Anyway, all of a sudden, we were printing forms to petition FSU for Honors acceptance, and they email and send all these scholarship apps, Honors acceptance, and urge him to apply for the accelerated med program there. I wonder if his application was stuck under something since it was a month later than his classmates? Or the home school students were in a different pile? Who knows! I always feel like if you are curious or eager or confused, call and talk to someone and then maybe, someone else!! Good luck, ReneeR

I am using the US Edition. Last year we used the California Achievement Tests but I think that this year they will use Iowa. I just don't want her to feel left out of something since we are sailing through the Singapore 5 Thanks ReneeR

Does anyone know if there is something that standardized tests cover that Singapore 5A/5B does not (e.g. neg numbers, etc)? Thanks ReneeR

I did Core 5 with 7th and 3rd grade girls. It was perfect for us, and I feel like it was very enlightening for all my children (my 9th grade son sat in on some of the books). My 7th grader was a very slow reader and the research part of the World Book was very good practice for her. She read ALL the books by herself, and I read all the books to my 3rd grader. There is a list of movies somewhere on the forum that goes with it, and I would recommend them highly. We got the movies from the library and Netflix. Back to the World Book part - it is very detail oriented at times and your child will spend a good amount of time in front of the computer. I think that it would depend on the child, but it is "research" oriented and I know that waiting until daughter was in 7th grade was the right decision for us. We did not do the LA part of Core 5, but I made my 7th grader write papers from the suggestions in the explorer journal or simply write about something that interested her. We had 4 other hs family friends doing the same Core so we talked alot about it and swapped books, etc. I can tell you that all 5 moms were constantly amazed at the things they were learning and happily surprised by the wonderful things all our children were learning and talking about. Sorry, I have rambled but I hope that this helps some. ReneeR

Not only did we all watch it together as a family with my 17 yr old Andrew (Andy), but Toy Story I was the first movie that my son ever saw. We were not much for tv, especially when the kids were young, so it was a huge deal for his dad and I to take him to the theatre to see "Toy Story". Boy, it should really have come with a "weepy senior mom warning"!

I agree that Greek and Latin root study is very helpful, and we worked through all those Classical Root workbooks. Another source, which might be fun, is http://www.vocabularycoach.com The website allows the student to move at three different difficulty rates, to select which type of test format you like (definition and you select correct word vs word and you select correct definition), etc. I like that in some exercises after you have chosen correctly, they use the word in a complex sentence. There is even a place where you can compete against other users, although we never used that. It was a great place to quickly study for 15 minutes or 1 hr, whichever might work during your day. Good luck ReneeR

Plain Jane, I agree with all these ladies - sell it or if you can afford to give it away. I know that our previous church always had someone in missions or the inner city or refugees that needed something. I don't know about you, but part of the fun and excitement to me of making such a purchase as you talk about, is the research and anticipation - like a child on Christmas morning. My husband and I make purchases very wisely, but we often pay the little more for the quality. Quality always makes you happy; settling always makes me resent someone!!! I would just be honest with your husband. He probably already knows how you feel. Have a Blessed Christmas ReneeR

We have always taught our dogs to play hide -n- seek with our kids in the house. My 11 year old plays hide and seek with our shepherd often since we have moved. She hides in different closets, under beds, different rooms, even in large boxes when we were still moving in, etc; and then we tell him to find "sissy". When he does, we have her holding a treat to give him. We used to do this out of doors when we lived in TN on 6 acres, and then the dog could easily follow a trail and learned what "find Sissy" or "find Andrew" meant. ReneeR

We are doing math today and tomorrow and reading and music, because my older dc, who are in public high school now, will be off the rest of the week. In years past though, we have done what it took. If Dad was working Thanksgiving, we might work right through most of it and sometimes New Year. One year we worked really hard so we could go to Europe during the month of May and be finished with school before we left. One year we worked through most of the weeks around Christmas so we could spend most of Feb in Belize. One year we took most of Oct off so I could have a baby. That is what I love about home schooling, it works for all families in different ways!!!! Good luck and bless your new arrival in May : )

I know how you feel. We did the state school apps first, and then tackled the common app over a weekend. I actually completed the address, etc stuff while my lil one was doing math next to me. Then my son finished the extra curricular stuff, etc. He is in public school now and the first thing his AP lit/comp class did was common app essays, so we had that already on the desktop. His teachers have already submitted his recs so it will now be a wait and see game (money). He did get nearly 1/2 costs covered with the first state school that admitted him. The money offer came with the admission acceptance letter : ) That was thrilling for all of us and surprising. Now we complete a few additional scholarship forms for each private school, and one for a state school ...... and wait! Good luck! Boy, I really need a year or two before I do this again!!!! ReneeR

Per my dh the doctor and a few family docs, it is a wives tale similar to keeping your wet head covered in the winter! Make that cheesecake and enjoy it! ReneeR

Does anyone have a good knowledge of this college? My son is being heavily recruited for scholarships and swimming, and now we have found out that a best bud from our old town might be going there. It was not on our original list, but I have never heard anything negative about it. I would really appreciate any comments! Thanks ReneeR

My ds received a few of these from colleges, and they come with self addressed enveloped and questionnaires for the references, etc. They, also, say that they will notify you about financial aid awards with admission decision from them. Has anyone ever seen these? I know that two of the schools got his name from a public high school teacher's rec (yes, he is in public high school now) and a third was listed to get his SAT scores, but otherwise, I was just curious about it. It sure would be nice to know how much $$ they were giving you when you were accepted. Does anyone know anything about these Thanks ReneeR

Just checked the website and the scores, excluding writing are up! Yea, my ds did us proud and now on to scholarship apps:) Good luck to everyone else's kids! ReneeR

Boy, we really live in an alternate universe. My dh usually gets home from 10p-2a depending on his shift which depends on the time of year. He is an Emergency Physician, BUT he does not go to work until 2p-4P depending on shift so we spend days with him. We have gotten used to this over the last 13 years of home schooling. My kids enjoy when he is at home, and we eat big breakfasts and lunches together with left overs usually for dinner: ) Then there are days when he is completely off, and they are not usually weekends! ReneeR

THe following were my kids favorite from the time they were elementary age through high school. I must admit, too, that they were books I LOVED reading to my kids as well. Hittite Warrior - big favorite The God King Archimedes and the Door of Science The Golden Goblet - big hit Detective in Togas and sequel - little ones really love Ides of April and Beyond the Desert Gate The Cat of Bubastes - my son and I loved - GA Henty

First of all, I love home schooling and have done it now for 13 years. At the beginning, we were not part of a group, but my kids had lil friends from the neighborhood and church. They made their special friends, and I never questioned whether they had one special friend or three or more. Also, my husband's job allows him to be at home during days, and my ds has grown up thinking that his dad is one of the coolest friends he has and still does (he's a senior in public school now). We traveled when we wanted, we hiked when Dad was off, we planned our school year around big trips to Europe or Central America, building a house, moving 10 years later out of state, etc. During all this time, my kids continued to make friends in different places - orchestra, USA swim team, church, youth group, dance, etc. I can say that I have honestly NEVER disapproved of any of their friends. They have grown up knowing what "true" friendship means and what it is worth. All that said, my older two decided to go to public high school when we moved to SW Florida. My ds, a junior, and my dd, a freshman, walked into a 1700 body public high school, and it took lil time for them to make friends - nice friends. I feel like they have chosen wisely over the years, and I feel good about sending them out into the world. You know, when kids are lil, just let them be themselves and happy. My son spent hours alone in our woods building forts with our dog - he was happy. My daughter spent hours dressing and redressing American Girl dolls - she was happy. You will know what is best for your children, and sometimes it will be just being with Mom and Dad and knowing that someday as they grown up, they will call you "friend" as well as Mom/Dad. No worries ReneeR