Maybe somewhere in the middle - tell her that you both have allergies and that you'll be bringing some of your own food but just don't tell her everything your allergic to avoid overloading and burdening her. I had a little girl come to my dd's b'day party who had food allergies. It was such a relief when her mom offered to send her w/food so I wouldn't have to worry about it. I was stressing out about it a little. I'm sure your SIL will be relieved to have you take care of the food issue.

Anything I can find and that writes! :tongue_smilie:

Hey Stephanie, welcome!

I wouldn't worry about losing any websites - I've been running firefox for a few years now and have yet to come across a website that won't load. I didn't even know that that could be an issue.

I am right smack in the middle - two older and two younger.

First Tim Russert and now Tony...this is really, really sad.

I am so not a computer guru but I say go with Firefox. That's what I run and I think it is head and shoulders above IE. I didn't understand when you said you would lose websites though...

Looks like I can only rep six people. Well, enjoy! :001_smile:

I've never joined a rep party before so I'm going to start here at the last page and work my way up until I run out. Enjoy! :D

My brain age is 29...I guess that's not bad for a 42 yo

Mine is me with my 3 kiddos taken this past winter.

Because of dh's profession (chef), he is very strict about washed hands and tied back hair in the kitchen. I guess this is as close to obsessive behavior as he gets. :001_smile:

Tracey, can I just say that I LOVE that bed! That is so cute...my girls would have loved that.

We have bunk beds as well for my two girls. That is the way I would go if I were you. The more space you can give them the better. If dh is handy, he can move the light fixture over a little and if he's not...it really shouldn't cost that much if it's that much of a concern.

If I can just say that I hate the whole concept of that show! I was surfing around a bit last night while the kids were at kids club at church and I saw maybe five minutes of it. What a horrible testimony the whole thing was. I couldn't stomach it at all and had to change the channel. Blech! These "reality" shows are so far from reality it's sad. I'm not a fan of them at all.

Right now I'm reading the A.D. Chronicles series by Bodie and Brock Thoene. It is historical fiction and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

This is almost exactly how we handle it. My dd's guinea pig died recently after 5 yrs. Both my girls sat with her until her very last breath. It was very, very sad and emotional for them. So many tears. We wrapped her in a blanket and put her in a shoebox and had a funeral. Dh prayed and the girls put up a marker and put a little fence around it. I basically let them do whatever they wanted to do to the "plot." For the first week my oldest dd would go out and sit by it and then go out before bed to say goodnight. She cried herself to sleep for a few days and she also talked about her constantly for about a week. We replaced the guinea pig with two new babies and they love them. My oldest dd still misses her first one but the pain of the loss has faded with time. Just let your 4 yo grieve in anyway that she needs to and just be there to support her.

Keep your eyes on Staples. They just had their 1 cent sale (already!) and they will probably do it again. I go in w/my three kids and we each buy whatever the limit is. Most of it gets donated to the school supply drive at my church, but we do keep some of it.

I agree. My first thought after reading your post was that maybe your younger just doesn't test well. Homeschooled kids don't have as much exposure to tests as public schooled kids. It could be a combination of not testing well and not being very strong in the subject to begin with. I'm sure he'll get better. A side note: My dd, on her first standardized test added all her subtraction problems. She did very poorly on that test but has gotten better and better as she masters the material and gets more familiar w/test taking.

Well, not me, a good friend. Her dh had testicular cancer and one testicle was removed. Wasn't supposed to have anymore kids. And they didn't for a long time. But, low and behold - they have two more wonderful dd's. Totally unexpected. Surprise!

There is a book on modesty by Dannah Gresh that I absolutely loved. I always thought we were very conservative in our dress until I read this post! I do allow tank tops for my dd's but no spaghetti straps or tube tops or shirts like that. No midriff showing, no short shorts or skirts, no low necklines. One of our tests for low necklines is this: put your hand flat against your throat with your thumb in the hollow of your throat. If your neckline is below your hand, it is too low. I got that little trick from Dannah Gresh's book. I try to use common sense in their dress and not to be legalistic. I just discovered Lands End for bathing suits. So, for swimming, my girls have either bathing suits with skirts or swim shorts with a swim shirt or the bathing suit with the swim shirt. They mix & match. My dd even went so far as to buy boys bathing trunks for the extra coverage and she puts it with a swim shirt.

I second all the posters who suggested sausage or ground beef. I also add a bechamel sauce which is basically just a white sauce of milk, butter, flour, dash of nutmeg, salt/pepper. There are a lot of recipes on line for it. You put a layer of noodles, layer of ricotta (well seasoned), layer of Parmesan cheese, layer of meat, layer of bechamel sauce, and a layer of red sauce (homemade is best). Then another layer of noodles...

You can put it this way. You feel that this group may be more socially mature than your dd and you are switching to a group that will be more compatible to your dd's interests. I would try to keep it short and sweet.

That's not MY idea of a vacation but for a 12 yo boy? Heaven! :)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 The bible is not one book but a compilation of 66 books written by different authors of various backgrounds and education over a period of thousands of years and yet it comes together seamlessly to tell the story of mankinds fall and God's redemption. Written by fallible men? Yes, but under the inspiration of an infallible God. It is HIS word and as such, infallible. People either believe this, or they don't. There's not much middle ground. I'm just curious as to how you decide which stories are true and which are aren't. And I'm asking this sincerely.