We're loving Copper on BBC and Revolution on NBC. What shows are on your must-see list? And of course, Grimm, Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time, Community, Parks and Rec, and my guilty pleasure, American Gypsies on NatGeo.

Happy for you and your back, Astrid! :001_smile:

I walk about 6 miles most mornings. One Sunday, the kids wanted to go to the roller rink a few hours later. We played on our blades for about 3 hours and I felt fine, absolutely normal. We walked out to the car, sat down, and my chest filled with spastic butterflies. I couldn't talk. I gagged down a bottle of water before it was finally done. That had never happened before. I feel little butterflies frequently at bedtime, but this wasn't the same. My weight's fine. I have low cholesterol. My blood pressure's really low. The EKG and stress test were fine. They put me on a Holter Monitor for 30 days. They found that I have Wolff–Parkinson–White. That means that instead of sqeezing side A, then B and starting over again, my heart occasionally skips one side's turn. That confuses it and it has a spastic loop until it gets back in gear. They said it's most likely no big deal. If it becomes an issue, they can run a tube up from my thigh to my heart and zap that additional route my heart's taking so that it has to do as it's told.... It gave me peace of mind, but I did get a $6000 bill for the testing. (doctor ordered it and thought it was necessary and insurance would cover it, but they didn't...) With health issues, I'll just take the bill. Better safe than sorry.

Standard w HIG -- and the challenging word problems books are wonderful!

Hi! About the nighttime eating, I've found that it helps me to add a new habit in when I'm trying to remove one, so you've got something to focus on other than a void where the bad habit was. Maybe 30 minutes on the treadmill instead of that nighttime snack. Then you'll be taking 200 calories off (for a walk, more for a jog) instead of adding any on. I'm sure people will have lots of nutrition advice for you. I like Dr. Weil's Eating Well for Optimum Health. Instead of a big list of off-limits stuff, he's got a simple list that he wants you to fit in. It's a good choices more often approach. Salmon, beans, broccoli, greens, whole grains like brown rice or quinoa, olive oil, fruit. The more healthy stuff you're fitting in, the more junk falls off the menu. :001_smile:

These are a bunch of our favorite protein salads. :001_smile: Apple- Herb mix, apples, celery, cheddar, pecans or walnuts, chicken with red apple vinaigrette Asian- Leaf lettuce with peppers, snap peas, carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, cashews, sesame chicken w peanut dressing and crispy noodles Asian Orange- Leaf lettuce with mandarin oranges, onions, snap peas, cashews, sesame chicken w peanut dressing and crispy noodles Italian Caesar- Caesar salad w tomatoes, cukes, onion, chicken and croutons Italian Pesto- Romaine, tomatoes, peppers, olives, mozzarella, basil, pine nuts, chicken or shrimp, balsamic vinaigrette, croutons Pomegranate- Spring mix, pomegranate, celery, kiwi, alfalfa sprouts, grapefruit, pistachios, chicken, lemon vinaigrette. Prickly pear- Spring mix with peppers, onions, corn, chicken, tortillas and prickly pear preserves with EVOO Ranch- Spinach, tomato, peppers, cucumber, carrots, snap peas, celery, cheddar, chicken, croutons and ranch Strawberry Spinach- Spinach, strawberries, pistachios w 2 ½ T Splenda, 1 T sesame seeds, ½ T poppy seeds, 1 T minced onion, ¼ t worcestshire sauce, ¼ t mustard, 2 T raspberry vinegar, 3 T olive oil Taco- Leaf lettuce, tomato, corn, peppers, onions, avocado, chicken or black bean patty, tortilla chips, southwestern dressing, greek yogurt. Tempura Shrimp – Herb mix, peppers, snap peas, shredded carrots, water chestnuts, scallions and tempura shrimp in a sesame oil, cilantro and soy vinaigrette Tropical- Herb mix, peppers, onions, cucumber, avocado, island chicken, cashews, coconut vinaigrette w cilantro, onions and garlic Veggie- Spring mix, tomato, cucumber, pepper, avocado, broccoli, artichokes, carrots, snap peas, chicken w honey mustard or vinaigrette Wisconsin- Spring mix, tomato, cucumber, pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, cheddar, summer sausage, red wine vinaigrette w garlic and seasoned salt

These are our favorites Herb crusted pork tenderloin - I make roasted garlic green beans and mashed sweet potatoes with this. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/herb-crusted-pork-tenderloin-recipe/index.html Broiled salmon with herbed mustard glaze - perfect with a little steamed broccoli. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/broiled-salmon-with-herb-mustard-glaze-recipe/index.html Penzeys brat, beer and cheese soup - we like to pair this with sliced apples and salad or pretzels. http://www.food.com/recipe/brat-beer-and-cheese-soup-37685 Shrimp with Chile-Cilantro Rub - We just use regular skewers and grill with onions and peppers tossed in olive oil and pineapple. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michelle-bernstein/sugarcane-skewered-shrimp-with-chile-cilantro-rub-recipe/index.html

Turkey, chicken or pork Italian sausage is lovely with butternut squash, too. You could grill it and slice it over the pasta and sauce.

We do the ten day tickets, too. Each additional day becomes significantly less expensive. For a large family, you may want to check out their new hotel, the animation hotel. It's a value resort and they offer family suites, that sleep more and include little kitchenettes and couches, and coffee makers for sleepy mamas. Click on discounts and offers on their website - you can get 30% rooms or free dining pretty frequently. There's 4 separate parks there so be sure to check them out on the website and see which are the best fits for your family if you need to narrow it down to 2. Magic Kingdom is the iconic one. Animal Kindgom is our favorite. It includes Nemo and Lion Ling broadway-esque shows, an animal viewing safari ride, the biggest roller coaster, and a bone sandbox that's great for a mid-day breather. Hollywood Studios is movie related. Epcot deals with inventions and space and has a world showcase that is fun for foodies. Happy trip! :001_smile:

You've probably got a savory recipe already, so I'll give you our favorite sweet recipe using five spice, a lovely tea cake. It makes a beautiful, fragrant breakfast. Pairs nicely with tropical fruits and berries, too. :001_smile: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/five-spice-tea-cake-recipe/index.html

Oh, I got a deal when I bought. These are some of the notes I made to myself when I was deciding on books. The first three are spines to consider. The rest are just fun extras if you're into that. Texas History Spine A Creative Look at Texas History for Middle School Students by Vowery Dodd Carlile and Traci Burnett ($21.95) A page at the beginning talks about the TEKS, but it doesn’t indicate whether or not it’s comprehensive. This was a much smaller book and not textbook like. Glencoe Texas and Texans- National Geographic contributions. Texans.glencoe.com ($40.00) Traditional textbook. Celebrating Texas: Honoring the Past, Building the Future – McDougal Little ($50.00) Traditional textbook. Field trip books Exploring Texas with Children Exploring Fort Worth with Children Books Old Yeller 10+ ($9.50 on Amazon for Old Yeller, Sounder and Savage Sam) Sam Houston: The Tallest Texan by William Johnson (Landmark books) Sam Houston Standing Firm by Mary Dodson Wade Up the Trail from Texas by J. Frank Dobie(Landmark books) The Texas Rangers by Will Henry(Landmark books) (Fieldtrip to Texas Rangers museum in Waco) Lyndon B. Johnson: Thirty-Sixth President 1963-1969 (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents) by Mike Venezia (9-12) Remember the Alamo by Robert Penn Warren(Landmark books) (Fieldtrip to Alamo) The Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan ($4.00). Novel. NY Times Bestseller. Booklist called it a heart-stopping, realistic depiction of the battle of the Alamo. Weird Texas – Just a fun collection of folktales. My kid loves these. Here's a link to Frito pie :001_smile: http://pinterest.com/pin/283304632779637284/ Dr. Pepper cake http://pinterest.com/pin/283304632780138354/

We got the McDougal Littell book, Celebrating Texas. It's a textbook - we picked it up used on Amazon or EBay for less than $10. It's got neat skillbuilders with each chapter - looking at population density maps, political maps, military maps, identifying bias, evaluating points of view, reading tables, making predictions, etc. To supplement, we grabbed a few of the Landmark books for a little historical fiction fun. The Landmarks available for Texas history include The Alamo, Sam Houston, The Texas Rangers and the cattle trail (can't remember what that's actually called - we're not native Texans). My daughter chose the Weird Texas book for some fun folktales. We found recipes for Frito Pie and Dr. Pepper cake on Pinterest. There are so many field trip possibilities. :)

No, if I wasn't completely invested in it, I wouldn't do it! I think you have to do what works for you.

Mine's very supportive of any decisions I make and directions I'd like to head. His contribution is financial. We use his vacation time for vacations, so anything I'd like to accomplish is on my own. Because all of our career eggs are in his basket, we both agree that he needs to focus there - he can get home anytime between 6:30 and midnight, and that's all good as long as he keeps us updated.

I think you should do whatever you're comfortable with and not worry about it. Mine were nursed until they had teeth - that was just what worked for us. I used privacy capes and still had relatives that thought I should stay behind closed doors nursing a newborn - not even kidding. I raised an eyebrow and ignored them. I hate to see any personal choices voted on by the masses. Do what works for you. No matter what you choose, someone's going to be judgy!

Another little bonus here in TX is that the houses are so big (shocking, having moved from NY) that it's pretty easy to have a dedicated homeschool room. We're secular, so it was a little tougher for us to find a homeschool group, but we did manage to find one that accepts everyone. :001_smile:

We've got a No Soliciting, No Trespassing, No Handbills sign up and it has been lovely. There are no more strangers knocking on the door - I always found that annoying and unsettling. There are no more things rubber banded to the door handle. That's a great safety boost for when we're out of town. If those flyers are hung on the door and a shady character notices they're undisturbed for a few days, they've got a flag that no one's around. We live in an HOA community, so we had to go with the 9"x3" approved plaque. If I had a choice, I'd prefer to get a small wooden plaque blank at Michaels or Hobby Lobby and paint an aesthetically pleasing version.

We love The ABCs of the Birds and Bees: For Parents of Toddlers to Teens by Marilyn Morris. She gives sample talks in there that I was able to use almost verbatim with daughter when she was 10. Her approach is to give the kids the information before other kids are able to give them disinformation. One of my favorite pieces of advice in there was to answer all questions with the preface, "That's a great question. Thank you for asking that." It lets them know that their questions are welcome and gives you an extra second to shake off any discomfort you feel with a particular topic. That said, "The talk" wasn't half as bad as I thought and we were both laughing by the end of it. You'll get through this. :001_smile:

My oldest, when she was 9, told me that she knew what the "F" word was. My 6 year old was in the car, too, so I said, "Please don't elaborate on that with your little sister in the car.". When we got home, she told me the word was FAT. She explained, "That's a very hurtful word! Wiggles may be very funny to children, but we musn't ever point them out!". I exhaled... :001_smile:

Thanks! Yes, I've got the activity guide and I was going to get the books listed for my little. For my middle schooler, I'm adding in Human Odyssey and wanted to link up TWTM lit list. I'll just have her do them in order.

We're using SOTW and HO together as our history spine. Someone posted this link that integrates those two plans before if anyone else needs that. http://www.scribd.com/doc/60373372/SOTW-and-Human-Odyssey I'm sure that someone's posted where the lit list from TWTM should be incorporated into SOTW, but I can't find it anywhere. Does anyone have that? TIA!

17 exclusively with books and another three for toys/games/puzzles.

My kid's got the 72" with the drawers under one side and the bookcase under the other. It's really roomy. Two kids fit just fine.

We moved from NY about 5 years ago. It is lovely at Christmas. The tree at Rockefeller Center and ice skating, store window displays, the roasted chestnut vendors on street corners, the Radio City show, the snow. It's all wonderful! But it's really cold. Because Manhattan's an island, the freezing wind is impressive. I remember leaning into the wind trying to walk home from work. And the holiday shoppers make it more crowded than usual. So if you're good with crowds and cold, then you'll love it. If not, fall! Central Park in fall really is amazing. If you're a walker, it's so much easier to run around to all the museums and shows in the nice weather. And you can add The Empire State Building, The South Street Seaport and Ellis Island to your list - all would be unpleasant in winter IMO. Spring's great, too. Summer's pretty stinky (literally) in the city, but it's the least crowded. There's some amazing hiking about an hour north of the city if you go in better weather. And apple picking...

Speechless! I think I'll play back those words in my head every time I think someone's being a juice box! By comparison, I shouldn't have to think anyone's beyond rude ever again! :lol: No - no gift! If you actually like them, I'd probably send the card saying, "I totally understand! Everyone needs to save their money in tough economic times." You'll have a nice clean slate and not have any residual resentment to deal with...