I've purchaed most of what I want for next year. There are a couple of items that I am stuill trying to buy used and/or have the money to buy new.

I have done the same as many here: Clothes Line-saves $35-$65 a month, depending on how much laundry I have that month. Magic Jack Hulu & Netflix Cloth napkins and rags (although I still keep paper towels on hand for nasty things like dog vomit but one roll lasts for months) Make my own cleaners and laundry detergent Got rid of the landscaper and now ds mows the lawn I want to invest in a reverse osmosis system for the kitchen and a tankless water heater. When we purchased our house it had hot water on demand and it was fabulous. When the furnace broke and we converted to gas they weren't offering the tankless option for steam heat. Now they are, so when the wate heater goes tankless is in.

I, too, am peering into the wormhole. Ds will be an 8th grader next year and I spent this year researching the high school years and college. I think I need to go get a beverage at Quark's. Quark's is fun. Don't walk, run, to Quark's.

So sad, none near me.

I recommend going this route, too. We rented a beautiful 2 bedroom condo at Powhatan Resort. It was a short drive to Colonial Williamsburg. They had an indoor and outdoor pool, and other amenities. Having a full kitchen made life easier for meals.

:iagree: That is pretty much it. We do grammar daily.

I don't love it but my kids go through such effort to make it for me that I smile, say thanks, and eat up.

We don't do anyhting over the top. My kids love the idea of Mother's Day. This year my dd sent me om a scavenger hunt for the card she made me and ds made me breakfast in bed. This is the first yeaer he did it all by himself. He was so proud. Then I spent the afternoon puttering in the yard. Dh is cooking dinner. The perfect Mother's Day. Dh and I do not exchange gifts for Valentine's Day, either. We do get a heart shaped pizza with I Love You spelled out in Pepperoni from a local pizzeria every year. Dh started that when the kids were little and they look forward to it every year.

Yes, your dh is correct. That is when Breyer's made the switch.

My kids feel their birthdays should be a Holiday. Sometimes we take the whole day off and sometimes I make it an educational movie day.

They are all cutting corners to reduce costs and increase profits. It was a sad day for me when Breyer's changed their vanilla ice cream from "milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla" to "milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, guar gum, and something else".

I do believe you hit that one on the nose.

Thank you. The company told my friend the addition of soy makes the product more shelf stable. They also told her that in the past if enough people complained they have changed things back. We are hoping that by spreading the word we can convince them to change it back.

To me, it sounds like the mom. It appears, from what you have written, that she spends a lot of time trying to make the world conform to her childs needs rather then teaching him the skills he needs to survive/cope in the world the way it is.

You need an other option. I do this to dh all the time but he wouldn't do it to me. It wouldn't exactly bother me but I wouldn't be thrilled either.

Sesmark has recently changed their Gluten Free Brown Rice Crackers to include Soy. Please contact Sesmark via the below link and let them know you prefer the old Brown Rice Cracker without the soy. These crackers are one of the few portable foods my friend's allergic to just about everything daughter can eat and now she can not due to the addition of soy. Thank you. http://sesmark.com/contact

So in the world of designer mutts you have a Border Shepard LabraDane. I think the DNA testing for dogs is great. We did one on our rescue. We were way off on what his mix was when we were guessing. He is what we fondly call a WeimStaff. One parent is a Weimeraner and the other is an American Staffordshire Terrier.

I've lived in NJ for 13 years now. It is really not all that different from where I grew up (NY). There are suburban communities, rural communities, and urban communities. The high taxes are a pain but I feel I do get a lot for the taxes I pay. I like the convenience of being close to NYC and a few hours from everywhere else I want to go. I really dislike our current Governor and corruption in NJ government has spawned its share of books, e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Soprano-State-Jerseys-Culture-Corruption/dp/0312368941 Our homeschool laws (or should I say lack of) are wonderful.

I find it weird. Where I live children invited to the birthday party are covered by the host. Adults-depending on the venue they may be expected to pay their own way if they want to stay. However, there could be extenuating circumstances with the current economic climate. The invitation could have been worded better. I had a similar experience when a friend of my son invited him to go to the movies with him and his family. When I invite one of my kids friends along I pay for them. Ds had to buy his own ticket. It was not a big deal that he had to pay for his own ticket but it did surprise me because that is not how I do things.

I could have written your post. It is very difficult. We take the local hotel vacation every once in awhile. The kids love it.

This is fun. Here is a day in the life of my middle schooler. 7 am the dog wakes me up to go out and be fed. 7:30: check my email, facebook, assorted forums. 8 am:shower and get ready to face the day. 8:30: Open blinds in boys room and nudge him. Then take dog for a walk. 9 am I wake up the boy with various grumblings and threats to get moving. 9:30: More "talking about his dawdling" and shouts of "lets get started" coupled with worst parenting move ever "Your sister has already eaten and is done with math." 9:35: The boy emerges, grabs his math book, and then realizes he needs to eat breakfast. He heads into the kitchen to make some eggs. 10:00: Boy sits down to do math. 3 problems later an innocuous question. Me asking if this is related to his math lesson. No, then get back to it. 10:15: I need help. Me: describe the problem. Him: Nevermind I figured it out. 10:30: 3 problems left and an announcement of I need to go to the bathroom. The boy departs. 10:50: In the middle of history lesson with dd I realize the boy has not returned. I go find out where he is and instruct him to finish his math. 11:00: He moves on to grammar, vocabulary, and literature. 11:20: What's for lunch? 12:00: He makes lunch. 1:00: You still need to finish history and science. 1:05: You are mean. I don't want to write this outline. Why do I have to write this outline. I hate writing outlines. Me: Just write the outline. 1:30: Can I do science instead? I want to write my paper on the Big Dipper. Me: Yes. 2:15: Me: Write the outline. 2:30: Writing the outline. Mom, can I ask you a question? It has something to the with the outline. He asks the question (which is totally unrelated to the outline). I grumble an answer and tell him to get back to work. 3:00: Call it a day and tell him to go play with the dog. I make dinner, do some laundry, and then we head to swim practice. Home, shower, and to bed. Rinse and repeat.

They teach cursive in 3rd grade here so my ds learned in school. My dd learned at home. When ds was in 6th grade all school work that was being handed in to me had to be in cursive. This year some are hand written in cursive and some he types. Do they have to have beautiful and flowing cursive? No. But they need to be able to write legibly and be able to read cursive. There are situations where you need to be able to sign your name in cursive. To be honest, my cursive is a hybrid of cursive and print that manifested when I was in college.

I have a dog treat business. Right now it is mostly local. It started with friends and branched out from there. I am hoping this year to redesign my website and grow the business. In order for me to balance homeschooling and baking I bake orders early in the morning or after dinner. Housework is the bottom of the list and often is not done at all. I consider it a victory to keep my sink free of dishes and pots and pans. I think about freelancing for what I used to do. I was a production manager for a toy retailer. I produced all the newspaper inserts and catalogs. However, at the time I quit my job was going the way of the dinosaur. It was being absorbed into other positions.

I love my meat grinder attachment. I also will grind just about anything with it. I also have the grater and slicer attachments. I don't use them that often but when I need it they are quite handy. I have heard that the wheat grinder will be very hard on your mixer if you use it frequently. I have a nutrimill for grinding grains and beans.

I run my dog treat business out of the house. It is not always easy to manage homeschooling my 2 children and running the business. My dh is not available to assist at all. If I have to stay up late to bake the treats instead of during the day, then that is what I do. Some weeks I am very tired. The ages of my kids does help because they are pretty self sufficient.