Did she ever post here? You know, I bought a package awhile back from a woman on Vegsource and never got it. She kept e-mailing me and telling me it was on the way, but nope. Then I went through paypal and filed a claim and she never responded to them at all. They found in my favor, but she had removed all of the money from her account and they couldn't/wouldn't refund my purchase price. I feel totally scammed, and I was so mad! I can totally understand how you are feeling right now. I am sorry, but I believe this person is trying to scam you...get her books and her money. Was it a pricey item? If so, that makes it even more fishy.

Well, obviously you sent the books and they are no longer available. duh. And she chose not to get insurance. When she received the package, was it perfectly sealed, etc? I hate to say this...did you know her? Is she a regular here? It sounds sort of like a scam.

Tonight, I received tragic news. My 16 year old cousin, Ashley, was driving home tonight with 2 friends when she lost control of her vehicle and hit a truck head on. Her best friend was killed in the accident. I am asking for prayers for so many here...first off, my 16 year old cousin and her family. She is a distant cousin and I ask for prayers for her parents, and especially for her. I just put myself in her place and can only imagine her grief and the grief she will carry for the rest of her life knowing she was in the driver's seat. :( My heart breaks in pieces for her! Of course, prayers also for the family and boyfriend of the little girl who died in the wreck. She did go instantly, so there was no suffering. Praise God for that. Also for the 3rd girl in the car and her family. It is just a terrible tragedy and to happen so close after Christmas. If you can spare prayers, I just ask that you lift up all these families and these two little girls who are already experiencing survivors guilt.

Ummm..no. I have NEVER had anything like that happen. AND...you would think someone may STEAL the contents, but to replace it with other contents..unheard of. What is she asking you to do?

Praise God! I continue to keep her in my prayers!

We have spring water that bubbles out of our back yard. :) We use ACT for kids flouride rinse and have never had a problem. I love it because the kids don't have to swallow it.

Wow...sounds like you are having a terribly rough day. Do you think maybe you are a bit depressed with the end of the Holidays and all?? *hugs to you* (P.S. You had them because when you aren't in a funk, they are the light of your life and you don't know what you would do without them ;))

My oldest is with his dad this week and I have not heard from him today. I know they are busy visiting, spending Christmas money, and so on. My youngest played sweetly this morning with his toys, went on a "date" with me this afternoon for lunch, and is now enjoying some time with his "mamoo and Papa." :)

It definitely could be too much....but scheduling could be key there. Right now, we are doing two spelling programs (really, they take only about 20 minutes of his day total) and WTII, LLATL Orange, AND GWG 4! So we are already packing it in. However, I schedule it to break it all up. We do LLATL and WTII daily, but if there is writing in each for the day, I pick one and have him either skip the other or do it a different day. Neither of them are terribly writing intensive, at last not yet. GWG, I schedule it 2 times a week and alternate it and a Steck-Vaughn book called "Vocabulary Connections." I have seen a lot of improvements in him since we started. English was his weakness and it has always been my strength. He is a natural math student and loves Science and History, so LA is definitely where he needs the most work.

Did he MAKE them walk, though? Or did they say, "hey dad...we can just walk" and he allowed them to do so. Either way, he was responsible for her death, but I think the murder charge is too much. And life in prison...I guarantee this dad will spend the rest of his life in a living hell no matter where he lays his head at night. :( I remember once when I was a teen, there was a flood in my town. The road out of town was blocked and my boyfriend at the time and I decided that we could just walk the flooded part over to the other side and then meet my mom and go home. We got out, got honestly knee deep in water, halfway across the highway, and it was all we could do to turn around and go back to the car. We honestly came close to drowning by the time it was all said and done. The flood was caused by a stream and the current alone was horrible. We had no idea...we were just kids...but we sure thought it would be no big deal. Maybe the brother and sister thought the same??? Maybe even the dad thought the same. Though I would never do this, maybe he felt safer since the older brother was with the daughter. ?

I voted "yes and I see nothing wrong with it." But I have to say it is never just on physical appearance. I dont' see someone walking down the road as I drive by and form an opinion of them. There is a "total package" there. When you posted this, I thought of seeing someone who smelled bad, didn't take care of themselves, and had 5 children who weren't clean and were stealing food off a buffet table. There are LOTS of opinions that can be formed there. However, someone who is clean, normal in appearance, etc. I think it takes much more than "looks" to form an opinion. You have to watch them interact with those around them, etc. I guess my answer would have been "Yes and no, depending on the situation."

I am sorry! *hugs* My little one can sometimes make things tough with his attitude, but he is only 5 and he was even worse in a preschool setting because where I *make* him do it, they didn't...so he just didn't do anything at all. :(

I found out when I was pg.

I really like CW Homer and I want to do it in conjunction with Beginning Poetry as well. However, I also like LLATL - particularly the book study sections, but also speech writing and so on. Do you think I can make this work (I have an English degree and I am definitely not afraid to cut anything that is repetitive or overload for him) or is it just going to be too much? My son is a struggling writer and we are not starting CW until we finish WT II later this year. He has come a long way and has a long way to go.

For the last 5 years, my kids, dh, and I have gotten the flu shot and also NOT gotten the flu. However, dh and I did NOT get the shot this year and still, so far, no flu. Honestly, I think more people think "flu" when it really isn't the flu. I have had the true "flu" one time in my life and I thought I was dying. My now 9y/o had the flu ONE TIME in his life and I thought he was dying too. It is terrible stuff when it is the true flu.

I couldn't personally do it that way. As one other poster said, I have control issues. I run my homeschool more like "school" than unschool and we take it very seriously.

I will make most of you feel better about your situation. We have a 3130 sq ft house. We heat the upstairs to 68, the downstairs to 68, and a huge "man room" area, we actually turn the heat off. I chase my kids around the house constantly turning off lights and such. We hardly decorated for Christmas so as not to add to the costs. I live in a small rural area, and this month, our electric bill was $525.00!!!!! It honestly should be a crime to charge that much!

I was always and OCD type "cleaner"...before I had my second child. I still have the OCD...it just moved on to something other than extreme cleanliness. Dont' get me wrong, I still try to keep the house clean, but with 3100+ sq feet, 2 cats, 3 dogs, 2 kids, and a husband, well... First, declutter. Take it one room at a time and throw away as much as you can. I used to go through my sons' bedrooms and think, "well, so and so gave him this and even though it is broken, I can't toss it." Blah! So last year, I got over that and really tossed a lot of junk. I donated unbroken things to charity which made me feel better about throwing it out too. Once you get the house decluttered, go back through and thoroughly clean each and every room. One at a time. Take as many days as you need and start with rooms that are least likely to get messed up quickly. For me, nothing is more crushing than cleaning my son's room only to look at it a week later and wonder if I actually DID ever clean it. :( So I tend to do bathrooms, my office, the living room and kitchen, the laundry room, my room, then the kids rooms. Learn to live with a bit of mess. You have kids, you homeschool, things are not going to be perfect all the time. I just got on the computer after half an hour of telling my 5 year old to get his toy clutter out of the living room or I was getting the trash bag. Slowly but surely, he did. Now his room is a mess, but at least it is not in my living room. :) Once you are on top of the house clearning, here is what I do to keep it working: 1. Make a list of the big stuff (mopping, vacuuming, laundry, etc) that does not seem to get done when it should and actually schedule those things. I do mine by week. Saturday is bed linen washing day, Monday is vacuum day, Wednesday is mopping day, a load of laundry is completed each day of the week unless there is not enough for a load (which NEVER happens). 2. Enlist the help of your Children if they are old enough. My 9 year old is responsible for taking out trash, emptying the dishwasher, and being my "runner." By "runner," I mean that we live in a two story house and if I am cleaning upstairs, I will often have my older do the up/down, up/down stuff (like putting toys back in the kids rooms and so on) while I keep working. It makes the cleaning go a lot faster, and saves my back! LOL 3. Turn on the TV or radio and set a timer for 30 minutes one time each day and scrub something thoroughly. While I am a good surface cleaner, I tend to neglect the nitty gritty stuff - like dusting all 31 of my mini blinds weekly. 4. Clean off your table IMMEDIATELY after eating. Even if you ate too much. Even if you are too full. Even if the kids need to go to bed. Do it right then and there. Some things like clearing the table, doing dishes, and doing laundry are just my least favorite things in the world to do. Mostly, this is because the work is never done. The fruit of your labor is so short-lived, it seems like "why bother." Of course, you know the reason your should "bother..." because there is no way you can stay on top of things if you don't. Good luck to you. I think this is one area that almost all of us could make improvements in!

I am so sorry it was cancerous. I do hope they got it all and she can recover and be cancer free with chemo. Bless her heart!

I also think it is a bit odd...and I say this both because I have boys and can't imagine them doing that AND that she is 12. I think it was sweet of you to indulge her and she obviously has a good heart to think of her stuffed animal, but I do not think of a stuffed animal and a real animal as the same thing. I know some people here talked about kids wanting to do that for an animal..but the animal is alive. I actually hang a stocking for my dog and fill it with rawhides myself. I would say it was more of something that I would expect (as normal) from a 7-8 year old child and not a 12 year old. It reminds me very much of something my 5 year old would want to do because he LOVES his stuffed animals and carries one particular one with him at all times. My oldest son did this too, but by about age 7, he stopped.

My son is still Kindergarten age (and barely that) but doing 1st grade language arts with LLATL Blue. He is currently still reading the little blue readers and learning sight words. :)

We are making play dates more creative and exciting this winter since just going to the park is out of the question. We are also doing co-op classes and I would like to encorporate more field trips. :) Thus far this year, we have had 0 true field trips. Ohhhh...and if I am actually pregnant (which is about a 70/30 chance I am right now), then that should really make things "shaken up." LOL

Make more TEA. LOL DH would love that one!!! ;)

I would put that tacky vase on my counter and be thrilled my husband tried sooooo hard to get something he thought I would like. ;)

I definitely wouldn't pocket the money. I would take it back and let them go with me and choose their gift. My kids got some money for Christmas, and they have enjoyed the toys they picked for themselves as much or more than the ones that they LOVED that I picked out. :)