Yes they are, and I'm sure they are in need of things to fill their shelves back up as they helped 170 families in August :D All the info as to where to send them is on their website here http://www.thebooksamaritan.com/

I'm at my wits end with dd and handwriting. She detests handwriting in any kind of structured form, and her writing is all over the place. It's quickly turning into a stumbling block in our schooling, because dd does about half a line and starts whining and saying she can't do it. It may be partially my fault. Last year for 1st we didn't school much, so we're continuing the 1st grade book this year for 2nd. In K we didn't do much writing either. I'm using ZB grade 1 - is there something else out there better that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? Or could we take a year off from handwriting and come back to it next year? Or is this a case of I'm just going to have to get dd to buckle down and do it?

In theory yes. We're behind already :glare: But it's the half off sale at the local thrift shop, and Mama is going there before dd gets up. So it depends on how busy it is and how late I get back.

No Ideas....I'm drawing a total blank for my dd too. And did I mention that her birthday is the 12th and I still haven't gotten her anything?:glare:

It might not be called Juliette's in your council - some council's call it Individually registered GS. Or something similar. It's a national / global program, so even if your council doesn't know anything about it, it IS available. If you can't get anywhere with your council, call the national office and explain the problem - they will correct the council :D That being said - we're doing Brownies as Juliettes and it's working great. AHG wasn't an option I was comfortable with and neither was Campfire. I use both the old and new GS handbooks for patches - many of the newer patches are geared towards working in a group setting.

We're in this boat too with both dd and myself. Chronic unexplained stomach issues, joint pain, multiple food allergies, growth issues in dd, fatigue and generally feeling horrible. I know I feel horrible when I eat too much wheat products. I am not testing or cutting out at this time because there simply aren't enough alternatives out there without gluten that don't contain something else we're allergic to to be able to eat a even semi-balanced diet unless I made everything from scratch myself. And I simply am not capable of doing so right now, with everything else on my plate.

Sounds yummy - are they flour or corn tortillas? I've been looking for ideas to use up the massive stock of flour ones we got cheap a while back. I just finished washing dd's lunchable containers, and I'm about to go pack hers for both breakfast & lunch, then head to bed.

How do you like the new Core C books? It's Core C that I'm primarily looking at buying for next year.

I really don't know what I am anymore. I was raised in a family where my parent never attended church, but both were religious. I grew up as a religion mutt, attending every VBS I could but never feeling as though I fit in. I was "saved" several times as a child and teen. In high school I began to study religion and theology and converted to Catholicism, but quickly became non-practicing. I found that studying Christianity was the fastest method to cause me to lose my faith all together. After my daughter was born I tried to get back into the Catholic church, but just couldn't. I've studied Islam and agree closest with it, but just can't seem to fall into the day to day practice. I believe there is a G-d and that he has had many prophets, some of which we know of and some we do not. I don't believe people are inherently sinful or need to be redeemed by another actions. I don't believe that much of what is now presented as Christianity is anything like what Jesus intended. I think Paul changed the early church in vital ways that were not in accordance with Jesus's teachings.

I know everyone was riled up at some of the changes, but now that the dust has blown over I'm wondering are they really as bad as was thought. I'm debating just ordering the entire core from SL next year rather than piecing it together from different people online and amazon. But that would require me changing to the new IG's from my collection of older editions. So....if you have a 2012 version SL IG or any of the new books they added - how are they? What do you like or not like? How do they compare to the older editions?

I took dd for her first when she was nearly one. It was a free check done by a national institute for babies under one - you might google for information. I've very glad we did - I learned she has EXTREMELY light sensitive eyes and needed to wear sunglasses at all times when outside. The doctor had never seen anyone with eyes that light sensitive before and said that bright sunlight for long periods of time could basically blind dd unless she wore eye protection. For the record, I started wearing glasses about age 4 and my vision has consistently gotten worse every year.

It depends on the magazine. Things like This Old Schoolhouse & Family fun I keep the back issues. Just twaddle mags get donated to the local thrift shop.

wondering too - it's on dd's wish list for her birthday in two weeks

This is what we do too, except it's a metal flower pot from Michaels that is lime green.

:grouphug: Praying. Also curious as to where in MI this is - I grew up in the UP and have family downstate. I understand if you don't feel comfortable naming locations, but could you say the region like west UP or eastern thumb, etc?

Today is going to be super busy for us. Yesterday we got no school done so today some things will be doubled :glare:. However since dd isn't up yet, I'm headed to the local home depot to check prices on repair needs for the house I'm considering buying, and then to the local Habitat Restore to do the same. Tonight's fare is quesodillas with toppings and beans - we're trying to use up canned goods in case we move. Is there a library near you? Is it decent or very podunk? Well I have one a half a block away, but I never go there. It's inside the public high school and I really don't like the atmosphere there. I don't use the public library much really as I paid way too much in fines for it to be cost effective. BUT I frequent the downtown library as the basement holds The Book Cellar, which is their donated / discarded book store. Kids books for .25, adult books for $1. And they even have a home school section ;) Speaking of which I need to go there this week:D Do you have a Blockbuster or other movie rental place near you? What's your favorite genre of movie? Who is your favorite actor/actress? We have Redbox, and that's it :D . I like documentaries or historical but not westerns. As for actors / actresses....well I have a particular weakness for Alan Rickman as Snape, but it's more the Snape character than the actor. I've never been one to follow actors / actresses.

:iagree:The owners gave it back to the bank in May of this year with a balance of $42k owed on the loan. It's owned by JP Morgan Chase. I'll keep looking too - I have Zillow set to send me a daily email with all the new listings below $65k and all the price changes below $65k.

After a night of thinking about it, I've come up with the following plan. I think this way it would be a win-win either way if I flipped it or moved in. I am going to spend today looking at repair costs & take notes to see total repair cost. I will probably put an offer in of $20k contingent on inspection, and walk away if there is substantial dry rot, roof, or mold issues. If they accept my offer, I'm going to flip it doing most of the work myself when possible and finding the best option for the cost between Habitat Restore and Home Depot / Lowes, fix the major issues and pretty it up, and hopefully have it back on the market to resell in 30-45 days, but know that if it doesn't sell quickly I may just move in instead of selling. It's a little smaller than I'd like, but we could make do in that house. I can hold out covering bills on both for 2-3 months but no longer than that unless finances change. If I really don't like the house when I finish but have to move in, we'll put part of our things in storage and show it while living there. I'm prayerfully hoping that I'll be able to flip and sell it quickly, and then I will use those funds to pay off our current home or buy a new one.

I know someone here had talked / asked about about doing packed breakfasts bento style - I stumbled across this today and it has bento breakfasts AND lunches. Nothing super fancy, but cute though. http://www.meetthedubiens.com/search/label/bento%20boxes

That depends on how much I end up paying for the house. I have $33k total to work with currently. In theory after I get out of my current home and into this one {and I'm fine with living in part of the house while I work on the rest} I should have about $500 a month to work with. We have a Habitat Restore a few blocks away to help extend our funds as well

Okay, an update. Went and saw the inside of the house today. It's really not in too bad of condition overall with a few exceptions. I have not had an inspection It needs: The fascia & soffit boards replaced in places & repainted in others. One or two areas of the eves may have dry-rot in trim boards the roof may have a few small leaks or soft places it has mold in the master bedroom - a small area maybe 2'x3' and it's not black mold. Possibly old mold issue that has resurfaced due to them keeping the house at 82. The master bedroom has had some water leaks and damage to the drywall on the bottom 2' or so of most of the room. all the carpets need heavy cleaning or just removed {At least in part of the house there is tile underneath} the kitchen needs all new cabinets {they are there but in poor shape} as well as a few tiles installed the entire house needs cleaned and painted on the inside a fan in the dining room needs re-attached to the ceiling The sliding glass door in the dining room needs replaced neither of the bathroom fans appear to work toilets flush slow windows are 1960's metal frames & need updated front door & screen need replaced The hot water heater may need replaced trees in yard need trimmed back Most of these issues are cosmetic, and a few actually are better for me as I needed to modify for handicapped access anyways. I do really like the house overall, even with the work it will need. So....with all those issues - what would you offer on this house? My agent doesn't think they will go for as low at $25k, but is willing to try it to see.

This is the house I posted about last week - I have a showing of it with my realtor at 2pm today. IF there are no major problems we'll be putting in an offer contingent on inspection today or tomorrow. It's bank owned, and I am really hoping they don't reject our offer because it's too low or take forever to decide. Please pray there are no major problems with the house and they agree to our offer quickly.

I keep my dd in the know mostly, as then she knows not to ask for things or to only ask for food treats instead of things I have to pay cash for.

I'm not sure which core to pick for my daughter for science. She is newly 6 and in 2nd grade, but very very strong in science. Her favorite books are Magic School Bus and she can explain all of them, so finding a science program has been difficult. We're doing Core B for the regular IG with 3rd grade readers {and loving it!}. We've been using Behold & See from Catholic Heritage Curricula, but I want to go to using both that and Sonlight science as Behold & See isn't quite meaty enough for us and we finish it too quickly. But I'm not sure if I should put her in Core B or Core C for science. I don't mind a little repetition of subjects, but I don't want to spend an entire year covering things she already knows, kwim? She has already studied last year in Behold & See 1: Topics in Biology, earth science, weather, the senses and the scientific method. Her Behold & See 2 book that we're planning on using Sonlight with this year covers: Simple machines, work and energy, the water cycle, geology, natural resources and marine life. Where would you place her?

I don't know of any free ones, but you could request something from The Book Samaritan which would be free.