I know of memory joggers and times tales that both have stories.

I'll be right there with you. It's frustrating, but we won't age at all this way.

Anyone ever done a short sale before? In college I worked at The Gap and at the end of the summer we would have sales on all our summer apparel, including shorts. You wouldn't see them this time of year though.

LOL Considering I'm from the South, I should have thought of that before making the post.

Have you played Ticket to Ride yet? We really enjoy it.

A year or so ago I watched the first episode of Mad Men and the sexist attitudes toward women reminded me too much of an old boss (who worked during that era and still thought it was 1960). I couldn't bring myself to watch more until about a month ago. Well, after the second episode, I was hooked. Over the past few weeks I've watched all four seasons available on Netflix. I'd get the kids in bed and then watch one or two episodes before I went to bed. I'm now in withdrawl feeling lost without my evening Mad Men fix. I'm ready to watch all the episodes again, even though my husband will tease me mercilessly. I can't wait until season five is on Netflix. OK, I'm not sure if it's a Mad Men withdrawl or a Don Draper withdrawl. He is a philandering sexist pig at times, but how I would love to have him look at me with that intense gaze he gets when he's seducing a woman. Mmmmm.........

I like the idea of having a large timeline we can see all at one time, however, we don't have the wall space for what I wanted. I bought several sheets of poster board (one color for BC and one for AD) and cut them lengthwise. I punched holes at the top and bottom of each end and then tied them end to end. I made the ties loose enough so they can fold up. I have plenty of floor space to spread it out when we need it, but it folds up nicely for storage.

Oh god, I'd LOVE to see a show if I could afford it. How much are tickets through TKTS? Im not picky about what show either.

Not a Chipotle fan, but perhaps I can find a good deli or pizza place (I've heard NY pizza is good). I'm not sure exactly what I'd like to see. Some items that come to mind are the Statue of Liberty (even if it's just from a ferry ride around the island), central park, possibly the Empire State Bldg, 9/11 memorial, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I imagine that's too much for one day, so I'll have to prioritize.

I'll be staying at the Affinia hotel by Penn Station.

I have to travel to NYC in a few weeks for a work meeting. The plan is to go up Monday evening, be in the meeting all day Tuesday, and then fly back home Tuesday evening. I've never been to New York today and I'm contemplating staying an extra day and night to see some sites. I'm really not sure though since I'll have to pay for the extra night in the hotel and food the extra day (we don't have a ton of extra cash lying around) and then will be on my own to sight see the next day rather than with my husband or a friend. Any thoughts? Would you do it? I need to make my reservations by tomorrow COB, so any input would be appreciated.

I'm curious to hear responses too. I was planning on getting that for my son for next year.

Thanks for posting this. It looks good and I can put up with a few typos for FREE!

I wonder how much their children will spend in therapy when they're older. By chance, did any of them wait in the pumpkin patch for the great pumpkin? Or were their pumpkin patches not sincere enough?

I almost spit out my drink reading this. The valentine chicken???? Really?? That makes me think of this post: http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/.

I'm not able to answer your question, but the bolded part makes me think this is what many religions have. For example, the Catholic church is steeped in rituals, and isn't that to ask God for something (peace, forgiveness, a new toy (if you're a kid praying))? I've seen some people around where I live think the pagans are devil worshipers when perhaps their rituals are perhaps just their form of prayer (or whatever each individual wants to call it).

Troll Press? I find using trolls is the best way to work those pecs at the gym.

Thanks for posting this. It made me laugh, which I needed. But thinking of the emotion posts from a couple of days ago, laughter is usually what I go to when I'm stressed rather than crying. So perhaps it stressed me out that I agree with Pat Robertson. Nah, it must have been somthing else, please let it be something else...

Thanks for starting this thread. I like seeing what others are doing and getting ideas. Here's our plan so far: READING INSTRUCTION: Barton (book 8 and possibly 9) SPELLING: lists from the Barton lessons LITERATURE: I'm thinking he will finally be at a point where he can read some more challenging (for him) books, we'll see how this goes and use library books on anything he wants to read. Really, I'd be so happy just to see him choose longer chapter books, be able to read them, and want to read them WRITING: WWE 3 GRAMMAR: GWG 4 MATH: Singapore 4A/4B, CWP 4 HISTORY: native American study from library books, Homeschool in the Woods American History up to right before the start of the civil war SCIENCE: ???? He has recently started with Mr. Q life science when what we were using for this year was like bamboo slivers under the fingernails. We might continue with that next year and then go into chemistry or electricity, two other areas he's interested in. I keep coming back to Elemental Science chemistry and was thinking of using that. Has anyone used the lapbooks with that or just stuck with the classic program? ART: Home Art Studio 1st grade LOGIC: Logic Liftoff Enrichment programs at weekly co-op

I'd call Susan Barton. She's very accessible and will certainly have dealt with this numerous times.

Yep, your eval is due on the anniversary of starting homeschooling. I pulled my son last February and just did the eval a couple of weeks ago. The nice thing is that the evaluators aren't slammed now like they are at the end of the traditional school year.

I haven't used either of these yet, but I'm thinking of using A Sentence a Day next year with my son. A Sentence a Day Phunny Stuph

A few ideas I have: 1. Like others have said, use cash. We have a set amount of cash we take out at the first of each month for groceries and eating out. When the money's gone, it's gone. We are usually fine with grocery money, but eating out money is more difficult to make last. We really think before just grabbing something to eat now. 2. Before making any kind of splurge or unplanned purchase (even if it's just for a small amount), I try to wait at least a week to see if I still really want to get it. Often, the cooling off time is enough for me to think that I don't really want or need it, or there's a cheaper way to get it. 3. Menu planning is key, and I also tie that in with shopping sales and couponing. I'm not one of those crazy couponers that are on that show (I don't have TV so I've just heard about it), but I can regularly save at least 30-50% a week on food, and it's food we would actually eat. I use SouthernSavers.com and IHeartPublix.com to help me match up the coupons with the sales. If you don't live in the southeast, there probably are other sites for your area of the country. 4. Learn how to make minor fixes around the house or car. I recently had a car repair that needed to be made. The mechanic estimated about $400. A local shop estimated about $200 for the parts. I ended up finding them on line for $75, watched a You Tube video on how to make the replacement, and in about two hours, fixed it myself. Not only did I save a bunch of money, I felt pretty proud of what I did. 5. Barter or trade services. We almost never pay for babysitting. Instead, we trade with friends. The kids have fun getting to be together and we get to enjoy time out without forking out a fortune for babysitting. This summer, I'm looking at doing day-long kid trading with several families as a co-op summer camp for a few weeks. The kids get to go to a camp-like environment with their friends and it's free for us.

I think this is one of the most brilliant ideas I've heard of in ages. What a simple way to keep track of what my son reads. This is the biggest PITA for me to assemble when his annual eval is due.We usually browse our bookshelves and write down what he's read from that, but I never remember what library books he's read. Thanks!

I haven't gotten to that point yet with my dyslexic son, but I've read that IEW is a good program for dyslexics and plan to use it with him in a couple of years. If the physical writing is too difficult, I'd let her dictate to me and I'd do the writing or typing.