Holy Smokes, I would NEVER be able to pull that dress off. It's just beautiful and I bet you will look stunning. Excellent choice!

I can't say I've traveled with a one year old. I've done it with a 2, 4 and 6 yo though. It wasn't that bad. Check out family travel sites - they give oodles of tips for flying with little ones. If you are prepared then it should go fairly smoothly. One thing I did do was bought some new travel friendly toys for the kids and didn't give them until we were well into the flight. That helped a lot. That and food. :) Have fun is CA!

In the past, I've been very judgmental (just within myself - never out loud) of people who didn't homeschool 100% of the time. It was as if they "sold out" somehow. But, I grew and learned and you know what? Everyone has to do what is best for their family. I'm not walking in their shoes, so who am I to judge the choices they make - even if it's just to myself. Everyone's family dynamics are so different and the needs of each family are very different as well. So now my attitude is more like "if that's what they need, then God bless them!" :)

Those are beautiful - but my guess is they have been photoshopped. It's amazing what photoshop can do for an ordinary pic. Take it from so so to amazing. I've been hanging out in the photography area over at the pioneer woman's blog and she shows step by step how she creates the "look" for her photos. It's pretty cool.

Ack...your Suburban takes diesel? You poor thing...that's a lot of $$$

I've never even thought to rate a thread. But that is interesting info. I'm going to go try it now.

On the back of the Baker's Chocolate box there is a recipe for one bowl brownies which are pretty darn good. I like my brownies straight up :) No nuts, frosting or even chocolate chips. MMM, why oh why did you have to post this??? Now I'm craving brownies!

A few years ago I was part of a grocery forum. Unfortunately, the forum became one giant headache for the administrators with all the complaining and squabbling between the posters. Eventually, they closed the forum altogether and it was really a shame. I really benefited from it and missed it a lot. I'm not saying that there is a lot of squabbling going on here...just that if this becomes too much of a headache for the admins then...anything is possible. I would really, really hate to see the same thing happen here. I know that they don't have to make this forum available for us. It is so great to be able to come here - I can't tell you how much I have learned in the short time I've been here and don't get me started on how much help I've gotten with curriculum. :001_smile:

Thanks!

Love the site! :001_smile:

My dh is a professional chef and has taken all sorts of food safety courses. THROW IT OUT. You have no idea what happens to food when it is not properly stored.

What a great opportunity you have! Just stop and think for a little while about what makes your dd so special. What is it about her that you appreciate? How has knowing her made a difference in your life? I think my problem would be keeping it at only 3 minutes. :)

I only have one ds (8) and he is right there with the noises. But he also LOVES to talk about the noises too. And make up songs. Constantly. Ugh! Just telling him to stop made not an ounce of difference but it got so bad that I finally started charging him .25 for each rude word that came out of his mouth. Oh my - you should see the difference now. He is most certainly able to exercise self control with the proper motivation. He's so cute - now he'll come up to me and say "Mom, I'm so tempted to say XXXX right now" And I'll commend him for his self control. :001_smile:

I listen to what my dc's have to say and try to put myself in their place and see if their concerns are valid. Then I balance that with my observations and how well they are learning and then make a decision. I can only think of one instance of when I actually changed curriculum based on dd's complaint. And after hearing what she had to say and observing her closely, I saw that she was right. If my dc's can back up a complaint with valid reasons I will certainly listen. If they can't or won't then I won't even consider it. We have to balance our desire for learning to be enjoyable with teaching our children perseverance. It's certainly not easy! :tongue_smilie: Ultimately you are the only one able to decide what's best. Talk it over with dc's and if you decide to stay the course, just let them know that you've heard what they had to say and really considered it but for right now it's best that they continue using what they are using. And if they don't continue to complain about it, give it their best effort, but still feel the same way by (you give a date here), then you will reconsider it. Maybe it will be a bit easier for them if they know they can plead their case again. HTH! :001_smile:

I've come into this discussion very late and after having read all 12 pages I've come to this conclusion: Homeschoolers are very passionate people! :)

What an amazing blog you have Christine...all the work you've done on your schedules and then posting them and sharing them so freely. I find you quite amazing!

Have you tried role playing with her? Take a scenario such as asking a store clerk where something is. Role play this with her for whatever length of time she needs to feel comfortable with it. Then take her to a store and let her ask a store clerk where a particular item is. Make sure you go with her while she's talking to the clerk. I would do this for a while (with you going with her) until she is comfortable with this. Then she starts doing it on her own. Role playing with you will help her to see that there really isn't anything to be afraid of. Also, enlist the help of your 12 yo. Have a private talk with her and explain what you are trying to do. She can be a great asset in helping her sister by including her in conversations, asking her opinion and giving her a chance to be heard. HTH!

I also feel that this can not be skipped. The events that happened during this time period were huge, world shaping events. IMO it would be a big disservice to your dc's to skip over this and not at least give them an overview of what took place.

I took one of these out of my library a few months back. I think they would be really good to use for vocabulary words as the author used more sophisticated language then I think we are accustomed to in children's books. My dd (10) struggled a bit with them and she's a good reader. We returned it without finishing it. But, I would definitely use them again if my aim was to increase their vocabulary. I had taken it out for dd's pleasure reading but she wasn't getting much pleasure out of it. :001_smile:

Well, this can be found at Walmart but it is really fun. It's Cadoo. We just played it this morning and had a blast. I would also second checking out Timberdoodle. Their stuff is always fun and educational.

Actually, that may not be a bad idea. But I would let him know ahead of time that if he doesn't get his act together with this then he will have to do extra chores around the house to make up for the missed class. This way, if/when he misses the next class, he's not surprised at the consequence. Just make sure you follow through if you say it. I sympathize with you. My dd who is going to be 12 is going through similar things. And she's always been home schooled. A lot of it is just their age. It's really hard. Hang in there though. I keep telling myself that it won't last forever! :tongue_smilie:

My personal preference would be to go with a more neutral color. I tend to lean toward the earth tones. A nice beige/brown bed covering would be nice. Then your dd can add little splashes of color on her bed with pillows and such and since you're going to do artwork on the walls, you can incorporate some color there as well. And curtains can also bring in more color if you wanted. Do your dc's have a preference?

That's awful! That's like sitting at home watching a nice show on tv w/the kids and then having all those raunchy commercials come on. The remote is my best friend!

{{Christy}} Please try not to look at it as a failure. You have done the best that you know how to do. Really, that is all any of us can do. But, oh I really do feel your heartache.

Global warming...NOT! :tongue_smilie: (p.s. that's just a joke!)