Thanks so much for sharing!

I remember running through a little playhouse in our backyard, and tripping over a play ironing board. It punctured the back of my leg (they were metal then!), and I remember being at the doctor for it and seeing into the wound. I was about 3. I also have a few memories being in the house we lived in at that time, but they are just flashes of rooms. I have another memory that really stands out, but not sure the age. My great-grandmother lived in an apartment in the basement of my grandparent's house. I was about to come up the stairs, when I heard my mother and grandmother talking about another great-grandparent who had just died. I specifically remember standing there a long time thinking about the sadness in their voices. My sister, who was 2 years 2 months at the time, remembers JFK dying. I was amazed that she remembered that.

Okay...I know it's weird, but we don't have a digital camera. We really want to buy one before we go to WDW in October. I was wondering if anyone has any good advice. I don't really know much of anything at this point. We want a camera that's easy to use and takes good pictures. I would be very interested in some video capability as well. We have a slot on the front of our computer for memory cards. It says: SD/MMC/SM/MS/MS-PRO/xD We also have a usb port on our printer called a "pictbridge" and a picture of a camera beside it. It is an HP psc 1315v printer-scanner-copier. Thanks!

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I really liked the idea of a caddy. I went looking at our Wal-mart and found something great. It's actually a plastic tool box for about $6. It has storage in the lid (small compartments of varying sizes, which are holding, paper clips, hole punch, staple puller, white out, glue sticks), a pull out carry tray(holding some pens, pencils, highlighters, dry erase markers, etc.), with good space underneath (holding stapler, calculator, box of crayons, colored pencils, etc.). It will definitely hold all the stuff we use on a regular basis. I'm sorry I don't have a digital camera to put it on here, but I'm going to start another thread for buying one. I did really like the over the door idea I read on another post, and may consider getting for my art supplies. Non-regular supplies are going into a small plastic tub in the linen closet or where I all ready have art supplies in my garage.

Sound of Music is my all-time favorite, then Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I. I do love Beauty and the Beast as well. It was a gift from my husband. I also love Prince of Egypt and Joseph King of Dreams, but I don't think they count as a musical.

Is it the bias that bothers you, or the fact that it's conservative bias? Would you be okay with a news channel that's biased to the left? Are you wanting to practice censorship? I'm assuming since you were offended, that you are liberal. I thought liberals were very tolerant of others. As one other said, I don't know anyone who isn't biased (I'm not sure how to do 2 quotes, sorry!). I believe it's called having an opinion and freedom of speech. It's great we live in a country where we can turn on the TV and find all kinds of opinions.

We have been to WDW a few times now. Some longer, some shorter. We actually did 4 days when our ds was 2.5. We did 1 park each day and went all day. He did fine. It really depends on your kids. Our first trip was when our dd (only 1 then) was 5.5. She went all day, walked everywhere, and didn't complain at all. ENJOY!

They have tried the ketogenic diet and it didn't help him. He's 14 and his seizures started with his 4 month dpt. Their pediatrician talked them into just 1 more shot several months later and his seizures became worse after that. Most of his grand mal seizures are during his sleep. My sister has fibromyalgia now due to her sleep being interrupted so much. Hopefully the diet is going to help her with that, although, they've told her good sleep is the only way to fix it. Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll tell her about slowing the detox down some with more cooked foods.

Does anyone have experience with the Hallelujah Acres diet or people? My sister and bil went there and are trying it. My nephew has epilepsy (from immunization shots, the old DPT). They were hoping it might help his seizure activity. It is actually worse. He is 14, so it could be a puberty thing as well. He's had 40 seizures this month, which is the most in 2.5 years. He is taking the product "Barley Max". Has anyone tried this and had problems from it? He has to eat gluten free, but they are watching that closely.

I was wondering how others store their school supplies and office supplies. We do school at our kitchen table or our living room couch. I have a linen closet designated for storing school stuff, plus a bookshelf by the computer in my bedroom. I need something that I can carry around to hold pencils/pens, crayons, colored pencils, stapler, paper clips, glue sticks, scissors, etc. I'm having a hard time visualizing something to hold that variety of stuff. I would prefer one big container that is easy to carry and will store on a shelf in the linen closet or on top of the bookcase. Any thoughts???

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm going to have him sit down with me tonight and look at them to see what he thinks will work for him. He does prefer breakfast type food, but he will probably be willing to give other things a try. He likes most food and will always try new things.

I did A Beka K4 Phonics with my ds last year. It did get him reading short vowel words and introduced the 2 vowel rule. I really didn't spend a lot of time looking elsewhere for pre-k reading, because my dd did it at a homeschool co-op and it worked for her. It included writing, which was a little difficult for him, so I didn't have him do it all. You can choose manuscript or cursive. I did manuscript. Their ABC 123 book includes numbers as well. I had him do some of the pages, but he was doing BJU K math. It has a lot of coloring in it, which we started off doing, but it really got frustrating for him, so I didn't make him do all of it. I'm glad we did it, because it did get him reading early. I didn't want to use A Beka past Kindergarten, because we love BJU reading for comprehension and stuff. BJU is expensive, and I found a set of Horizons really cheap so we're are doing that this year. We'll be in BJU by next year, regardless of cost. I'll keep looking for deals, though!

Maybe they are selling them! I heard about this story of someone selling them online: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/38340/117/

Please help! My dh is not a morning person and wants to sleep as much as he can in the morning. He wants breakfast that he can take out the door to eat on the way to school (he's a public high school history teacher). He also has a huge appetite in the morning hours. Non-protein breakfasts leave him starving. He does keep snacks in his classroom. I've done egg salad and egg/cheese sandwiches, toaster scramblers to death. Does anyone have any suggestions? I know he probably doesn't need eggs every day, although we don't eat tons of other foods high in cholesterol. Thanks!

We use it to make our own Southwest Salad similar to McDonald's. We use salad greens and any fixings we have, add whole kernal corn (drained), black beans (rinsed and drained), crushed nacho cheese tortilla chips, the chicken, and use Paul Newman's Southwest dressing. YUMMMM!!!!!

Dh is a public school World and US History teacher. This is going to be his 3rd year in public after 16 years in private, Christian schools. His high school had a 60% drop out rate last year. We've been told our county has the highest pregnancy rate in the state and the most section 8 housing. He teaches no honors or AP classes. I'm amazed at the stories of the simple things these students don't know or understand. The first year he said he was watching the downfall of western civilization as we know it. It's not been easy, but Christian and private schools can be unstable and there are no benefits in a lot of them. He has enjoyed the schedule. He has about 13 weeks off a year to be with us. We love that!

I just recently read an idea somewhere (not sure, maybe even here??) about a mom who was tired of so many dishes. She bought each kid their own color of cup and big, wide bowl that could be used as a plate. Each child was responsible to wash their own cup and bowl after each meal. By color coding them, if one gets left out, it's easy to see who didn't. She boxed up everything else and said if you don't wash it, you don't eat. I'm considering it for our house. If I can't find bowls big enough, I'll do a plate, cup, and bowl.

We have cable, but basic extended (not digital). We signed up for basic only and the guy came and put it in. He asked me why only basic and I told him it was all we could afford in the budget. He gave me the next level up. I spent 6 months telling the cable company we had more than we were supposed to, but they wouldn't come change it. I finally gave up. I tried to do the right thing. So we pay $20 a month for 75 channels. I love Corner Gas on WGN, and so does my dh. As a family, we enjoy Man vs. Wild, most Food Network shows, and SpongeBob. The kids like some of the Disney stuff (we don't like it all, though). We belong to Netflix, so we can get movies. We love all the Fox Faith films, especially.

I voted used it didn't work, because I taught it and didn't like it. I didn't use it with my own kids, but was considering it until I taught Alg 2 and Adv Math in a co-op setting. I have a math degree and love high school math, but hated teaching Saxon. I found him telling kids to do things (ex. leave negative exponents in answers) that wasn't allowed when I was in school and still isn't in public. My youth pastor's wife teaches public school math, so I checked. He also used longer Algebra 1 methods to teach Alg 2 and Adv math problems instead of teaching new formulas and methods that all other programs I've seen teach. So many times in class I would present his way, then the way I learned. 9 times out of 10 the kids thought his way was harder to understand. As a student who excelled in math, I would have been bored to tears with this curriculum. I am thankful I had the chance to teach it to others before trying it on my own. It saved me a lot of heartache. I love BJU or Glencoe, but I know I'm confident in being able to teach it myself where as some may want more instruction with the curriculum like Teaching Textbooks.

Thanks for sharing!

Bump Amy of GA Darin's wife for 17 years 11yo dd 5yo ds

I am starting school next week.We are doing MOH Vol 1. I am attempting this to have at least 1 subject in which I can bring my 2 kids together. I realize that for my K ds, this is just going to be exposure. For my 6th dd, I'm going to enrich it with additional fiction/non-fiction reading. Any last minute advice from veterans? Any definite things to do or not do? Thanks for your time! Amy of GA Darin's wife for 17 years 11yo dd 5yo ds

I don't have time to read all of this thread, but my dh read a book this summer by Michael Crichton pertaining to climate change. I can't remember the name. I know he writes fiction, but uses a lot of real science in them. He showed me graphs that showed the years last century when CO2 emissions were rising the most, the temperature was actually going down. He doesn't like science to become political and I agree. People are getting on the bandwagon because there is money to be made. Universities are doing the research so the grant money will keep coming in even if the research doesn't prove it. I read that Al Gore's house uses as much energy in 1 year as it takes to power 240 houses in 1 month. That's hypocrisy. I want to take care of the environment; however, people's needs should come first. I went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this month and I was very upset by something. We got a plastic cup that said it was made from 100% corn. How can we be putting corn in our gas tanks and plastic cups when people are starving around the world????? It just seems cruel. I wanted to take it back and ask for something that couldn't have fed a hungry child. Forgive my forwardness, please. Since I saw those graphs and that cup, I'm a changed woman. Amy of GA Darin's wife for 17 years 11yo dd 5yo ds

she isn't like that. Be thankful! Sometimes I think she likes organization, the problem is she has no initiative. Honestly, my husband struggles with it as well. She has friends in the neighborhood who come wanting to play, friends who call, but she never takes the initiative to call or invite them. She's content to play by herself, read (she does a lot of that), or play with her little brother. If anyone has any advice on developing this trait in her, I'd be glad to hear it. It really concerns me for her future. Amy of GA Darin's wife for 17 years 11yo dd 5yo ds

My 5yo ds will be doing K this year. I also have a dd going into 6th. He did Abeka K4 phonics last year, which did get him reading some. It was the only specifically pre-k reading program I could find. He did BJU K math last year. He is a total math kid. Everything is a quantity with him. Here's this year: With big sister: Mystery of History Vol 1 Roots and Fruits Vocabulary Science unit studies along with her science curr. His: Positive Action Bible BJU Math 1st grade Horizons Phonics A Reason for Handwriting some social studies units like other K will be doing (comm helpers, etc.) lots of reading Amy of GA Darin's wife for 17 years 11yo dd 5yo ds