Dh is a chef and does this ALL the time. But he still uses his thermometer for certain things. ETA: That article was very good because even though dh does this, I never really knew how. Now I do. :)

It's been a very sad day here. My dc's guinea pig died today and they are broken hearted. We've had her for five years and they were very attached to her. We were very unprepared for this. She has not been sick once in the five years we've had her - not once. Overnight she went downhill and when dc's woke up this morning she was extremely lethargic w/labored breathing. I suspected she was dying but because we are in the upper 90's here & very humid, we tried to blame it on her just being hot but it soon became obvious that it was something worse. At least they were able to spend her last hours with her. There were many, many tears. Dh dug a hole and the girls prepared a shoe box to bury her in. We prayed and then they made little wooden grave markers that dh hammered in. RIP Lily :(

One thing I did for my dd's 10th was make her a scrapbook starting with my baby shower photos, then sonogram photos, memorabilia from hospital and continued to her 10th year. I made a special page for her & her sister, one for her & her brother, her grandparents, etc, etc., lots of inspirational quotes and I recruited family & friends to contribute letters and/or memories of dd to include in the scrapbook with photo's of her with them. This was a surprise for her and she really loved it. It made her feel so special. There was a page from her dad with all his special memories recorded in a letter to her and a page from me with a letter from me telling her what she means to me. You may not have enough time to do this but I figured I would just throw it out there just in case. :001_smile:

I have two dd's and one ds who is 8. At what age do you start letting them use public rest rooms by themselves? He is starting to balk at going to the ladies room, but when dh isn't with us (the majority of the time), I don't feel comfortable letting him go by himself. He is definitely not as mature as my girls were at this age. He is a younger 8, kwim? My dd's have each other - a built in buddy system, but ds is on his own. If it is a single toilet then I let him go in the mens room & I wait outside. But the mens rooms that have multiple stalls & urinals concern me. Even if I waited outside of those, I have no idea who's in there and I can't stop anyone from going in. So, what's a mom to do? How do you handle this?

Diane, you said that you've had an amicable relationship with your neighbors so I would suggest talking to them first. Just let them know that the chickens may be a potential buyer turnoff and ask if there is anything they can do to possibly contain them during a showing. See if they are willing to work with you on this first before taking more drastic measures. I really hope it works out well for you.

I agree with those who said cut first. If you're not going to keep the hair, why go through the trouble of coloring it? You would simply have less hair to color and it will be easier.

Wow! Does this little girl have older siblings? She knows "way" too much stuff she shouldn't know at her age. Too bad you are already committed to watching her tomorrow also. The only thing I can suggest is that tomorrow, those girls are NOT to play alone. It's going to be hard on you but for your dd's sake you should be in the same room with them at all times so you can monitor everything and address things as they happen.

Oh my goodness, I LOVE cashews! But I could see have that same rule here with my kiddos too! :001_smile: Very rarely do I buy Lucky Charms, but if I do they will eat all the marshmallow "charms" and leave the rest.

I would also give my dc the choice. Because if you choose - he will probably want the opposite.

My dh makes this. I believe it has to be roasted. And for a really long time too (depending on the size). The skin will get nice and crunchy - it's really bad for you but tastes really good. DH makes it Puerto Rican style. He makes little holes or slits all over the meat and then stuffs them with a garlic/cilantro/lemon mixture. It is really good. I actually still have some in my freezer. You can make rice to go along with this dish.

How about fruit kebobs?

Great news! It would have been horrible if something bad happened like the engine blew or something. Glad everything is ok.

A friend of mine has one of these - it's pretty neat. And she does have little ones - I don't think any of them have been swallowed by it yet. ;)

I maybe can understand this just a bit. I live within an hours train or car ride of Manhattan and I rarely ever go in. It's such a hassle. My kids have still not seen the Statue of Liberty. Well, they've seen it from a distance; just not up close. Don't get me wrong, we go in occasionally and always have a nice time - but again, trying to maneuver around Manhattan is not enjoyable. It may have been this way with this couple you mention. If they did not have an adventurous spirit - it may have been too intimidating for them. If they were happy and their kids were happy - then God bless them. Their kids could always go when they are old enough and if they had the desire to do so. Going to museums or to tourist attractions does not give meaning to life.

After church, we had lunch then hit the beach for a few hours. It was our first beach day and it was sooo nice. DH is outside right now grilling burgers, hotdogs and lamb chops we picked up on the way home. Looking forward to a nice relaxing evening.

Has anyone heard about this? The Old Schoolhouse magazine ran an article about this a while ago. A homeschool dad thought about the purchasing power of homeschoolers and felt that if homeschoolers banded together, by sheer numbers we should be able to equal the buying power of schools. It's pretty cool. It's totally free to join and they offer group buys on a lot of different things. www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org P.S. I'm not affiliated with this site at all - But I've received so much from this forum that I wanted to try to give back to you all and bless you as much as you've blessed me!

My 8 yo ds has always been in the 25th percentile for height/weight. On the other hand, my dd has always been in the 90 percentile for height. Go figure. For the sake of my ds, I'm hoping he catches up somewhere in his teens. My dh said that's what happened to him and he's 6'. When do they stop growing anyway? 17 or 18?

Someone asked the same question in the curriculum section and there was a wealth of info: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31555

The library is an awesome place to browse and the price is right! Also, check out this site to properly import them onto your ipod. If you don't get the audiobook from itunes then you have to do a little tweaking so it will go into the audiobook section of your ipod and not the music section. http://aldoblog.com/audiobooks/itunes/importing-audio-cds/

I had a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse. It was ok - I didn't renew though. I would like to try the Homeschool Digest but haven't done it yet.

I have a very good friend who also does BJU homesat. One of the major obstacles she faces is her dc's zoning out in front of the tv and not really paying attention. She knows that they retain the material when she can sit with them one on one, but with four little ones it's not always possible. This is why she uses the homesat. So the grass is not always greener. But she does like it, even with it's drawbacks. Try not to double guess your choices. You've chosen what you feel what will work best for your children and their education will be fabulous because you care so much!

Dh and I just celebrated our 14th anniversary and didn't have a babysitter either. So, the five of us went out for a nice dinner and then went to catch a movie (Nim's Island). The kids said that it was "the best anniversary they ever had." :D Maybe you can do something similar?

Very Cool! Nieces & nephews are great...you can totally spoil them and give them back! ;)

I agree with the others. As long as there is no objectionable material in them go for it. You're still going to make the "good" reading available to him. This is like an occasional treat.

Big pot of sauce and meatballs. Very easy. Can make pasta or just meatball sandwiches. Also, chili. Big pot of chili w/some bread is another easy one.