Yep...you do it when they aren't there and then they will never notice the toys are gone (at least that is what happens with my kids!).

Both of my kids are using CLE math, Bible, and Language Arts. It has been a Godsend in all areas! We are also beginning HOD with Beyond for my younger and Bigger for my older (to get in some Am Hist) and so far, it is just wonderful! WONDERFUL. It is amazing how hard I was making curriculum choices when they did not have to be.

We are really enjoying CLE Bible for 1st and 3rd grades (I started my older son with 3rd grade based on where it starts in the Bible...not by age). However, I intend to start the Bible study from HOD (in Creation to Christ manual) using the DK Illustrated Family Bible

Do you attend a co-op? Yep What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? We really love the group. This was our first year with them and I got to know lots of other homeschool moms. More than that, though, my kids got to know some really great kids. :) Do you live in a big city, small town etc? We live in a small town but drive to a larger town/small city for co-op classes (about an hour from here, but so worth it). Is your choice more for academics or socialization? My kids don't really take "academic" classes. My older takes Tae-kwan-do, physical fitness, and Art. My younger takes Gymnastics, Music, and Art. We have lots of reasons for getting them involved and they includes "socialization" as well as just a break from the school week, something fun, and with Art, it is a Godsend because the teacher is wonderful and the kids have learned a TON (and I have no artistic bones in my body!). What has made your co-op great or terrible? Ours is GREAT: The kindness of the other parents, the kindness of the teachers, the affordability of the classes, the fact that the other parents are Christian like us (it is a Christian homeschool co-op with a statement of faith). ETA: For parents who do want more serious academics or even a classroom setting for the kids part of the time, we have this private school that offers things like math and science and you can send your children 1-2 days a week just for that hour or so. It is almost like taking college prep classes. Very cool! It can be pricey and thus far, we have not had a need or desire to do it...but the option is there if the need arises and that is good.

You are nightly in my prayers Rhonda. May the peace that passes all understanding surround you. Amen!

Perry, does the report of Pigs being infected change anything? I mean, is this some kind of "oh my!" type thing with pigs getting it from humans? I know dogs can get strep from people. Just curious if this changes anything at all. Is it bizarre?

Amy, Thank you for sharing your story! My friend is a Christian, she and I met at church and I know God is comforting her right now. I will pray for you as well. And I am always in prayer for your Rhonda! :grouphug:

My older tries to boss around my younger. This usually happens before a fight ensues.:glare:

OMG! I would be horrified too. That is terrible. Sounds like someone from the electric company stole the information. Have the police been contacted? Has the electric company been contacted? I would make sure that BOTH are contacted and fully aware of the situation. UGH!

Tidy Cat scoop long lasting odor control.

LOL - dh and I have this issue. I say "wuh" just like with a w. Dh likes to say something more like "wuh huh" - you should hear him pronounce the word "whittle." It sounds like steam escaping (to quote my favorite movie "Blazing Saddles" LOL).

I am so sorry! You know, when we first moved 200 yards from my MIL and S-FIL, it was the same. Dh one year brought in a matching pot of flowers for each of us and then took us to dinner...TOGETHER. Oh, how special I felt. :glare: We talked about this and things have really changed now. He uses Saturday and takes his mom out to a special dinner...just him and her. He dresses up and so does she and they get that alone time to just talk and not have me or S-FIL around. It is good for them! And it is even better for me because Mother's Day (Sunday) in my house is all about ME. I don't mind if MIL comes and visits that day...heck, I don't even mind if we walk down and see her. I just like that dh has taken those two days to make both of the mother's in his life feel special. :)

I am getting the best gift ever! My dh, the kids, and I are going to see my mom (whom I see about twice a year). We are going to take her to dinner and just have a really nice time with family. That is the perfect Mother's Day gift for me. ds9 asked dh to take him to buy me something...I told dh that I didn't want anything over $5 because I don't want ds9 spending his money on me. He has been saving for months to buy a new bicycle. :)

I need a SOFA in my school room! :D And I love the light unit storage. That is so...perfect. Are those the boxes they sell at CLE?

But...do you have any books? :lol: I must admit, I am JEALOUS!

I would love to have something that is all encompassing like that. :( Oh well. No one is willing to give up their space to create what *I* want. We have 3100+sq feet and still fight for space.

Can you use New American Cursive with just the workbooks or do you NEED the startwrite CD?

Congratulations!!! I remember the day I graduated from college so fondly. May she always do the same. :)

My great, great grandma, my grandma, and my dh and I (my mom lives by the day..she is a whole other post!). We still can what we grow and we try hard to make it last the winter. We can and freeze corn, beets and tomatoes. We grow regular and new potatoes and store them in a refrigeration system that never gets too cold, but doesn't let them get warm enough in the winter to sprout. We freeze our own broccoli and spinach as well. Dh grows lettuce, peppers, and more squash than we can even eat in a year. Unfortunately, our methods of keeping zucchini and yellow squash are poor. The winter and spaghetti squash does take us through the winter, though. Each month, for 4 adults, we spend around $250 on ACTUAL groceries (we spend more, but that buys the other various essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, etc.).

Well, I don't have pictures, but we have stored food for years. We have a closet that is starting to get full and will only be moreso by the end of summer (growing/canning). We have a chest freezer (in the school room closet of all places LOL) that is full of meat and our pantry and fridge are stocked. I wish it wasn't spread out over the house like that - I would love a whole room devoted to food storage...but alas, it will have to wait. I will add that my MIL has a much better storage area than I do and it is like going to a country grocery store. There is a little bit of EVERYTHING there. :) ETA: We buy flour in 50 pound bags and seperate it out into containers. We do the same with 20 pound bags of sugar. We buy bags of rice and pasta, large quanities of butter and cheeses (we freeze those). A lot of our storage is canned goods and dry goods that can be made into something if the need arises. We don't stock potato chips, little debbies, and pepsi. LOL Just the staples. We may get *tired* of the food we store if we ever had to eat it over and over and over again, but we wouldn't starve in the face of a crisis and that is our goal.

I don't mind Christian content and my younger ds will learn Latin (starting with Song School Latin this year). However, my concern is that I really don't want to pay $35 for startwrite and then have to think up and print out all of those sheets. I'd much rather something like that be done for me (especially when I pay for it). Do the workbooks give an adequate amount of practice or is startwrite absolutely necessary?

A coincidence is something that happens by chance. It is not coincidental that a parent tells a child not to smoke, yet they do it themselves. Heck, I am not even sure I would call that Irony. I think I would call that hypocritical. Anyway, they way I explained it to ds9 is that something that happens by chance is a coincidence. It is also usually used in a positive way...something you want to happen like, "Man, I wish it wasn't raining today" and about 10 minutes later the rain stops and the sun comes out. Irony can be used in a similar way, but irony usually has a negative connotation. For instance, "Wasn't it ironic that I left the house today hoping I didn't run into anyone I know and the FIRST thing that happened was that I turned the corner and there was not only someone I know, but the very last person I would ever want to see on a day like this." I think of that Alanis song..."Traffic jam when you are already late, a no smoking sign on your cigarette break, 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife, meeting then man of your dreams...and then meeting his beautiful wife." "Mr. play it safe, was afraid to fly...packed his suitcase, kissed his kids goodbye. He'd waited his whole da*n life to take that flight...and as the plane crashed down, he though 'well, isn't this nice?'" Coincidence= positive (or not dreadful), Irony = "geez, that sucks!" Besides...anything that can be called a "kwinky-dink" and 90% of the population still know what you mean can't be BAD. ;)

Raw honey...not cooked is what I have always been told. I asked the same question after feeding my now 5 yo honey nut cherrios when he was a baby. :) Doc told me then that it was honey from the hive or from the jar...not once it has been cooked or baked into something.

:lol: They can help me keep it clean! My kids apparently have NO IDEA what clean means. I love my school room, but when I take pictures, the first think I think is "Ummmm....CLUTTER!" The rest of my house is so devoid of clutter that the school room often freaks me out a bit. :tongue_smilie: Melanie...Your book shelf rocks! Color coded books. That is OCD heaven right there! LOL

My kids do this all the time. My 9y/o with ADHD is the world's worst for this type of behavior.