I guess I don't get out much. I am totally lost. I love my crockpot, but if there is some reason I should not be using it, I would love to hear about it. I haven't heard anything about a "lead scare." Please clue me in. Thanks,

I used to dread planning times! It took so long, and when it was all over, I really didn't think that much had been accomplished. I think a big part of it is what curriculum you are using. We are using My Father's World and it is all pretty much layed out for me. I take about 20 minutes (preferably on Saturdays) and look over the next couple weeks lessons, make a list of needed supplies (including a library list), and make the few copies that we will need for the upcoming week and put them in the appropriate childs folder. That's about it. As far as math and language arts go, I leave a bookmark in the books, and we just pick up where we left off last time. This year we are going to do our science over the summer, so I am going to try over the next several weeks to make a supplies list and have all the supplies gathered, organized and ready to go before we begin science, then it's pretty much the same concept. Bookmark, and pick up where you left off last time. Life is so much less stressful since I don't have actual planning to do.

We try to stay away from carbonated drinks because our dentist said that it eats away at the enamal (did I spell that right?) on your teeth. We have enough dental problems, I don't think we need to cause more on purpose. Ha! Ha!

WOW! This is a very hard time for you, but know that this too will pass. Trust in God and He will bring you through. I will be praying for you and your family, and also that God would change the heart of the man causing you trouble. Keep looking up. :grouphug:

Nest week will be interesting. I am not buying anymore juice! I bought it this week, but I announced to my family this morning at breakfast that when the juice runs out, there will be no more (except for using it to make fruit smoothies etc. but no more for drinking). They took it rather well, but I'm afraid my 2 yo dd will object to not having her apple juice next week. I am going to start rationing her now so it isnt such a drastic change for her. We also do not use artifical sweeteners. I think they are worse than sugar (never mind that I am alergic to most of them and they taste bad!). Kool-Aid has been a naughty word in our house for over 10 years, and we are drinking very little to no soda pop anymore. So I think we are progressing quite well when it comes to what we drink. Eliminating the juice will be one more step closer to being healthy! We can get our juice straight from the fruit!

Thanks for the info. You make it sound so easy. I am trying to get more vegies into our diet. We are pretty easy going. I am blessed because my children are not picky eaters (most of the time. There are times, however, and then I just let them decide if they are going to eat or not). My husband is also very supportive. We are both on the same page when it comes to trying to eat healthier, so that helps a lot. We rarely eat white bread, and when we do it is homemade so I guess that is better than all the preservatives in store bread. I used to bake all of our bread but last year I went overboard and started selling bread at the farmers market and got burnt out. But I am slowly getting back into the habbit of baking just for us.

Moms everywhere can always use an extra Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to all you moms!

I have making and using this soap for over a year and have never used more than 1 TBSP per load. I can't fine the Fels Naptha soap locally, so I order it online at www.soapsgonebuy.com

My husband and I have come to the realization that we need to make some drastic changes in our lifestyle, especially our diet. Neither one of us had weight problems growing up, but after 5 kids and 3 very stressful years, we both could drop a few pounds. My biggest concern is that my 13yo dd has started gaining weight the last 2 years. She has always been tall and skinny. At first I thought it was a growth spurt, but after 2 years of "growing out" and not getting much taller I am starting to get concerned. I think the stress of the last 3 years has affected her more than I first thought. But life is starting to get better, less stressful and more "stable" (whatever that means). Anyway, it has become necessary to change our diet before the weight issue gets out of control and causes long term health problems. And since I have never had to watch what I eat or how much I eat, I am completely clueless as to where to start. So I would greatly appreciate your tips for healthy, cheap, (quick & easy is always nice), preferably non-processed meals. FYI: I am not afraid of baking or making things from scratch. I just need a starting point and some direction. Thanks so much

I know what you mean about the ice cream. I will deffinately miss Braums! I have my doubting moments, but I try to remind myself that God is in control, and if He wants us in Africa, then giving up some of the things that I would rather have access to will be well worth it. It, whaterver "it" turns out to be, is going to be a great adventure as long as God is in control!

If you feel the need to "catch up" I would suggest doubling up on 1 or 2 subjects a day until your back "on schedule" (exa. M: 2 math lessons, T 2 English/grammar lessons, W: 2 history lessons, TH: 2 science lessons etc.) If you stretch this out over several weeks, then you'll have the extra work made up with out having a major overload. Or another idea would be doing only 1 or 2 diff. subjects per day until you are caught up. Do a weeks worth of science and/or history one day, then catch up math the next, then English etc. You will just have to decide what will work best for you and your dc.

We used Christian Liberty Press Building Spelling Skills with my 3rd grade ds this year and really like it.

14 gallons of milk? Is this what you use regularly? I've had a friend tell me that we don't use enough milk, and I'm just curious. I buy 2 gallons of milk per week and when it's gone, it's gone.

Thank you for the info. I hadn't thought of the time it would take to get our stuff. We are just now starting to look into this, so it is still probably 3 or 4 years down the road (unless God decides different). I tend to like to know WAY in advance everything I can so I/we will be as prepared as possible for such a big change.

Hi, I am wondering if there is anyone out there that is homeschooling in Africa, or knows about homeschooling requirements etc. for Africa, specifically the Niger area.?. I am looking down the road a ways at the possibility of going to Africa to do missions work and would like to get a feel for how life works there, especially where homeschooling is concerned. Thanks so much,

Strength is what I was going to say. Strength is a very important gift we need to get through life.

Abreva! My husband gets nasty cold sores several times a year, and if he uses Abreva as soon as he feels one coming on, it usually goes away before it gets big and nasty! Hope this helps.

Jennifer, I have been making our laundry soap for the last year and a half. I also started selling it last summer at the farmer's market. Yes, toiletries and household things are included in our grocery budget. I started looking through the coupons about a year ago, but rarely found any for the things we normally buy. Most are for name brand foods, and I usually buy generic, or the Aldi brand. We have a Walgreens, but I rarely get in there to shop their sales or use their coupons. I have heard that CVS has better coupons than Walgreens. I wish we had one nearby.

We used to shop at Sam's all the time, and loved it. However, now the nearest Sam's is 80 miles away so I don't know if I could justify the membership cost, cost of gas etc. for the savings I would get. But I keep thinking about it. I am going to do the garden thing again this year, also. Last year we grew TONS of tomatoes and tried to make our own ketchup (DO NOT TRY THIS!!!!!). It was quite an expensive DISASTER! We ended up selling the rest of our excess tomatoes at the end of our road, and the farmer's market. This year, I am going to try to grow things we can eat fresh, and mabye try canning something other than tomato products (HA!HA!). I do bake most of our bread, as well. And we try not to buy pre packaged or processed foods. Thank you all for your thoughts, I'm starting to fell like mabye I'm not doing so bad. I guess after so long of trying to cut back and get out of debt etc. I just am not sure if I've cut all I can.

Mabye I just seriously have spring fever, but it just seems that I can't get my mind to focus on anything lately! I sat down this morning and tried to make a grocery list, and it was REALLY HARD! I just couldn't focus. Usually I make out a menu for the week, then compile a list of what is needed. Anyway, I'm just going to be totally honest, and hope that some of you will share your thoughts with me. We are a family of 7 and try to usually spend $100-120 per week (however there are some weeks, usually 1-2 every 2 months that we only have $60-$80)on groceries. When I have the full $120, I try to only spend $100 and put $20 aside for stocking up when things go on sale. If I may ask, what do you spend on groceries, and what do you buy/eat? I'm not trying to be nosy, just trying to get a new perspective on the grocery thing, and mabye some new ideas. Grocery shopping used to be one of my favorite things to do, but anymore it seems to be such a struggle to make the $$$ stretch far enough, thus taking the fun out of it.

I cant actually plant anything yet either. In Oklahoma we could have suprise freezes even in May. But I am itching to get out there. I have already dug up half of last years garlic, seperated it and re-planted it.

Praying for Gods will to be done, and for Him to comfort and protect you and your baby!:grouphug:

My neighbor is the only person who occasionally knocks on my back door, anyone else would have been eaten by my dog. Mabye you should get a dog!?! I think it's creepy and rude for a stranger to use your back door. If he wanted to ask you a favor at the very least I think he could have gone to the front door.

YEAAAA!!!!! Today is the first day of spring! It seems like it took forever to get here, but it's finally here! I'm reafy to start planting. Anyone else?

Mabye you could just add this book in if you decided to use MFW?? Then you could get the best of both worlds?? I switched away from MFW after ECC. For us that was a HUGE mistake! After coming back to MFW my stress level has gone way donw, and I am "back home" so to speak. I hope you find what works for you.