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for my Mother's Day present this year. We are staying for 3 nights, and we can't wait!!

Who are those people? Why did that guy watching the tv have a different name than he did on the island? What's up with the plane in the ocean? Why are they after Ben? What is the deal with the polar bear in Tunisia and the Darma symbol? What did Walt tell Locke? etc. etc etc. I'm starting to think they will never wrap this up. They ruined Alias in the end too - after leading us on for years...

I'm looking for my next book ~ Thanks!

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And what novels would you choose to read aloud for American History before 1800 - ages 6-10. Thanks!!!

Thanks for some ideas. I need to fill up my Netflix que. I'm going to search by actor's names bc we've already seen so many movies that we know are good & appropriate. We want to branch out a bit. If anyone else has any other favorites - keep them coming. I've never heard of some of these actors!

After Heath Ledger's death, I was thinking about why he was one of my favorite actors. It certainly wasn't because his movies were blockbusters! I don't know how to explain it in the right terms, but he was so emotionally expressive - you could really read his face so well. I love Keri Russell for the same reason, almost every movie she's in whether it is well received or not. Who are some of your favorite younger (age 20-30's) actors and actresses?

My 8yo daughter read early and well also. We used this sight to choose appropriate books at her reading level. http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html We also used copywork and narration for writing. The WTM writing ideas work very well. HTH!

GothicGyrl - I wansn't responding to you directly. I haven't quite figured out how to reply to threads yet. I was just posting generally to everyone that even though I want to know how people do things, I kinda don't, bc I just don't have the time, money and energy to do any more ya know?! Thanks so much for responding to my post. I really appreciate it!

There are just so many worthwhile things to do, but there are also constraints of time, energy and money! It was stressful just to host them for the first time with a new disability. It was a lot work to get ready and then extra people to serve. Help and sympathy might have been nice instead of criticism. Venting helped a bit :) Thanks!

My in laws just left. She is a huge fan of Sallie Fallon/ Nourishing Traditions and the Weston A Price organization. She has also done a lot of the Maker's Diet. She talked a lot about Omnivore's Dilemna also. Her opinions ebb and flow over the years but they are STRONGLY held. We eat very healthy in my opinion, but have many health problems. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, my 6yos has type 1 diabetes and my oldest 13yo son has a rare genetic disorder. None of these are nutritionally based, but I think she believes strongly I'm causing all of it! We eat huge, gigantic amounts of raw veggies every day. My kids prefer crunchy to slimy and that's fine with me. Salads with all kinds of greens, carrots, varieties of peppers and tomatoes, onions etc. Also raw broccolis, squashes, cucumbers. I buy some organic, but some I also wash well with a special and safe veggies wash. We eat mostly apples for fruit. I shop at Trader Joe and enjoy a lot of whole grains and some whole grain chips type of things. I make a wide variety of freshly ground whole grain baked goods. We don't eat a lot of meat, but we buy the chicken breasts at Sam's every week that say they are hormone or antibiotic free - who knows. We buy our dairy at Trader Joe's. We had steaks from Sam's that she wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, but that was a rare treat - supposedly to bless them! We DON'T buy a fresh butchered grass fed cows, drink raw milk, eat fermented or pickled (I'm not really sure what she's talking about here) foods, and I use at times yellow (GASP!) cheddar. She inspected every single thing in my pantry and fridge. My husband got a chuckle at Sam's bc I asked him to pick up a large bag of broccoli florets and he told me that she said -"let's see how many preservatives and chemicals we will be enjoying tonight" and they looked, and it simply said: broccoli florets. Ha!! I'm just so frustrated. I can't afford her ways, they are extremely wealthy. I don't think I would do raw dairy unless we owned a family farm anyway. We do quite well with the food budget we are blessed with. What is the deal with the food police? Also, cleaning only with Melalauca (sp?). What's wrong with vinegar & water and the occasional splash of bleach?

My children are elementary ages. Our local classical school is $5,500 per child in the elementary school. It isn't a long established school and the teachers aren't all accredited. That said, I look around at the wonderful home library we have developed already. We have so many resources for art, music, and science. We have many books, puzzles, educational games, building toys, manipulatives and dvds. I know we spend a lot on home education, but rather than paying out the tuition with nothing else to show for it - we have a warm, wonderful learning environment! We would still pay out for activities if they were in school, so I don't count that. So, our budget is 2,000 and I usually spend about $1,000 - $1,300, but that has filled our home with literature and many other learning things for the last 4 years. I know as they get older their actual curriculums will eat more of that budget also.

I was thinking similar thoughts today. When my husband and I were engaged, we railed against the ideals of our "materialistic" parents and upbringing. They constantly baggered my husband to pursue post graduate business or law degrees, management programs etc. We married right out of college and have always had a laid back career path. It has blessed us bc of our many health issues to have my husband around more. Today I was thinking that I see our husband and I starting to sound like our parents did! Wanting our son to have the ability to provide quite abundantly for his family. Wanting to make sure our daughter is in a very stable financial position!

I too am grieving the end of my childbearing/adopting years. I console myself that I'll be a grandma in 10-15 years! A great book that deals with the challenges, regrets etc of mid-life is called Lost in the Middle, by Paul Tripp. http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Middle-Midlife-Grace-God/dp/0972304681 HTH!

Is he extremely thirsty? Is he urinating more during the day? Sudden bedwetting CAN be a sign of type 1 diabetes. Probably not though - he could just be in a super deep sleep lately. I would watch his thirst and how often urinating and take him in for a check up if you see these symptoms.

Travel agent? See the world as a side perk?

1. I have these for daily work. One for each child. More to compartmentalize thinking skills wkbooks, art and drawing books etc. They are labeled with avery silver circle tags hanging off of them. http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&upc=1842140606&pid=_Froogle 2. I use these for science supplies, math manipulatives, HWT stuff, phonics/SSRW stuff, arts & crafts stuff. Each bin is labeled with the same avery circle tags. http://www.target.com/Blue-Fabric-Cube-Set-6/dp/B0009GC7FQ/sr=1-1/qid=1201359927/ref=sr_1_1/602-1968878-5475009?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Afabric%20cube&page=1 I have a wall in our dining room of free-standing oak bookshelves with doors on the bottom that all of this storage is hidden inside. We homeschool at the long table. I have a nice wood desk in there also for me. It looks neat and clean when it is all closed!

I haven't read the other replies, but my guess is that they don't really consider you a "stay at home" mom. They know you have a home business and homeschool your children, so you are working all day too. Maybe?

He's tiny - he was a 24 week preemie and weighed 1lb.2oz. He still has a feeding tube but is the size of a 5-6 year old. He also doesn't talk much and his iq is 55. So, that's why I was thinking 1rst. He can write all of his upper and lower letters (HWT & homeschooling) and can read pretty well! Definately a middle first grade level with phonics. Sigh!! Thanks for the sympathy!

:eek: He is in a TMD class (trainable mentally disabled), but he is educable, higher functioning than the rest. The nurse said one of the more involved boys, Ryan, threw my son out of his chair and twisted him arm behind his back and she thought "might" be broken. I got there as fast as humanly possible! I was FUMING! but trying to be civil. I have homeschooled him his entire life and they can't keep him safe for three weeks! It's not broken, just very very red and sore. I'll watch it. They said he doesn't talk at all in there yet and didn't even cry! I saw this Ryan, and he has Down syndrome but major behavior problems. I felt bad for him. The teacher said it always starts as tickling but then he ends up strangling or getting violent??? Ryan's helper was basically screaming at him. It is an AWFUL situation! My son's iq is in the educable mentally disabled range - and they don't have special ed classes for that. So, his other option was 5th grade with resource. He could never do that - he's at a 1rst grade level at best. But, the principal said on the way out that she did want us to consider a different class for Randy. And that Ryan wouldn't be in the same class until we worked it out. I think I'm hoping for a regular 1rst grade class w/ resource, speech and ot or something like that. Do you think they would go for that? He hasn't had any of his IEP fulfulled yet: no phonics or HWT. Just math and readalouds so far. YIKES!!!

Chess - cool idea! And art, I have a lot of art curriculum that I never get to. Maybe my daughter can lead him through them and drawing more. Maybe we'll get him started on piano lessons also. Thanks!

I'm going to sell them on the boards next week. I'm almost done with them and GTG! They are great - I liked them better than GTG.

http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/literary_elements.htm HTH!