We used Biology over the course of the year with supplements to each lesson. It worked out well for us.

Thanks for the reminder. I have shaken spiders off of my clothes before bringing them in. Fire ants would be the end of outside drying for me.

How did I not know about this? Howard Jones station, woo hoo.

I did not join this year but last year it was $825 for the season. We are in the NE.

I have not stayed there but my friend who is a military wife has stayed there many times. She has never had a problem staying there. She said it is clean and easy to get to the parks.

Wow, do we have the same MIL? Mine attacked me at my neices birthday party yesterday. Sorry, I don't feel like driving from NJ to LI on Mother's Day. I understand that she is hurt by it (and I told her so) but that does not make my feelings about the day of less importance. It is my day, too. She actually went on and on about how she is the matriarch. I prudently did not tell her that since her mother is still alive-no, she is not the matriarch. She was all "you see your mother on Mother's Day." True, my mother would drive from LI to my house so I would not have to travel with the kids. I have invited her to our house in the past but she is not willing to make the drive to me on Mother's Day, yet, I should be willing to do it. My MIL only wants us to go to her. Long story short, I am also a mother and I put my immediate family first. Which is what we did in my family when I was growing up. When my children are grown and parents I will travel to them as long as I am able (and invited). To me, Mother's Day is a Hallmark Holiday and what is important is getting together and celebrating many days throughout the year. And if it can be on a day that is not heavy with traffic that would be better. Perhaps if I didn't have to spend my birthday with her every year because hers is the day after mine I might feel differently. Every year my birthday is ignored and a big deal is made about hers.

liver problems can cause the eye whites to turn yellow.

I loosley follow the public school schedule here. School starts the Wednesday after Labor Day and ends the 3rd week in June.

I watched the sister of a close family friend battle ovarian cancer my entire childhood. They told her she would not live to see ehr children grow up. They were a baby and a toddler at the time of her diagnosis. Through sheer will alone she lived until her baby graduated from high school. She was an amazing woman. The husband of this close family friend was given 3 months to live and he lived for another 3 years. I don't remember what kind of cancer he had. My dh's grandfather survived 4 different primary cancers before dieing of a non cancer illness. I wish my father could have been one of the miracle survivors. His miracle was that his demise from pancreatic cancer was quick and mostly pain free. I still remember when he was in the hospital and I was crying in the hallway a woman who was visiting someone else stopped to talk to me. She told me the story of the blue butterfly. At the time I did not really appreciate this woman taking the time to talk to me but afterwards I have been able to examine that conversation and take comfort in it. Where there is life there is hope.

I, too am relieved. Plus, my dd will be able to stay with me and take care of me forever, too. How wonderful. I will add this to the list of reasons why I should stop homeschooling: 1. Won't be able to find a date. 2. Ds will be a sissy. 3. Won't be able to get into college. 4. Won't know how to handle bullies. 5. Won't have friends. 6. Will be weird/lonely/odd. My, how my list keeps growing. However, when you look at my kids they are so happy. Not like when they were in school.

When I worked full time it was a 40+ work week. Some weeks 50+. Dh always worked 50+ hours and now that he has his own company it is more hours. I don't know anyone with a full time job that works less than 40 hours.

I use a combination of recipes and winging it. It depends on what I am cooking.

We are almost done with Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz. I think it is really odd. My two think it is very funny.

I will be taking notes on this. This was our first year homeschooling and I kept it to the basics because I did not want to bite off more then I could chew. The kids now we will be stepping it up for next year but I have not figured out how.

Use the expired one. I do it all the time.

So you know, there is a Yahoo group for the Hogwarts Summer Correspondence school. Tons of ideas and stuff.

We do the Hogwarts Summer Correspondence School over the summer to keep things light but our facts straight. Last summer we did math review (arithmancy), science (potions), Fairy Tales/Creative writing (Care of Mythical Creatures). I plan on do it again this summer. My two really want to believe it is not me doing it so I play along.

I don't sew. I have friends who sew. I always think I should sew. I even have a sewing machine. I am not very good at sewing.

Yes, the kids on the block are, for the most part, in the 7-11 range. I suspect a bit of parroting. I certainly hope they are not stressing about it at this age. Mine know the expectation is that they will go to college but we have not started talking about the requirements to get in. My 11 year old asked me "what difference do my elementary years make to college, isn't it about what I am doing in high school?" To which I answered, the elementary years lay the ground work so you will be able to do high school level and then college work.

Yes, it bothers me. However, I don't make a big deal about it. I know my lifestyle choices are not the choices of everyone around me. My kids know we don't have junk at home. They know that if they are offered junk at a friends house it is okay to accept it, eat it, and enjoy it. My philosophy is that my kids will have plenty of access to junk food. I don't have to supply it. My kids totally fail on the snack-o-meter when their friends are over. All we have are yogurt, fruits and cut up vegetables. Sometimes, there may be some granola bars.

This afternoon my children informed me that the neighbor children are "always" telling them they won't get into college if they continue to homeschool and they should go back to school. "Always" being a subjective term in my mind but after further questioning it has happened more then once. I was intrigued that they even have these conversations. It seems they ask my kids what they do. My two respond with "the same things you do-math, language arts, history, science, gym." They ask about field trips-"we go to -insert various museum names here-, the zoo, cooking class, science classes". Then come the "you won't get into college" statements. I am sure some of this stems from a desire to see my kids in class with them (they are friends, after all) and perhaps a little sour grapes since they don't homeschool. I told my two to thank their friends for their concern but their parents have it under control. I informed my children that they will get into college. That many ivy league (as if I could afford that) schools save 10% of their spots for homeschoolers. I also let them in on our plan-if we are still homeschooling during the high school years we plan to enroll them in the local community college so they can start getting credits while still in high school. It just left me with a feeling of "the things kids say"

Chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and feta cheese is always a hit in our house. Pound the breast out flat or slice thinly, place a TBL of feta and spinach mixture on and spread out and roll it up. Secure with toothpicks if necessary. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. No one ever says no to oven baked chicken parm either.

I have used the patch. Love the patch. The patch is my friend. I have never had days of motion sickness after removing it. The longest amount of time I have worn the patch is 3 days so take my experience with a grain of salt.

I chose other. When we first started homeschooling we did. My two were used to starting the day that way in school and they wanted to say it. I went along. It slowly fizzled out. My dd asked me recently why we don't say it. I told her loyalty to your country is something you feel in your heart and show with your actions. You don't need to say the pledge to be a patriot. We also did a brief discussion on how saying the words does not show you mean them. I also told her that if she wants to say the pledge I will support that decision.

Yes, I am amazed when someone does not know something that I think is common knowledge. Usually, I have some sort of humbling experience right after I have the thought.