My parents bought my dc an Eeepc through woot.com for $160 each. They are great for using the internet as we travel quite a bit. It doesn't have Microsoft or a CD Rom drive though.

I understand where you're coming from. We're trying to give more "experience" gifts. Last year, my dd received a dollhouse makeover. We've been working all year turning her dollhouse into a fairy treehouse. We like to give my parents tickets to a show that we all attend together. We're thinking of doing the PVC pipes and tools for ds this year.

For Christmas: A Tree for Peter is one of our favorite read alouds. Don't let the cover fool you; it's for all ages. Here are some more that we love.

We are starting to view our week in preparation for the Sabbath. We try to complete our cleaning, etc. before Saturday (our Sabbath as dh travels on Sundays for work). It's very comforting not to have to work on the Sabbath. We see it as a blessing from God to be able to rest. :) The kids and I are studying the book of Luke in Community Bible Study and my dh is tagging along. Our Sabbaths tend to look different each week and surprisingly I like it! ;) Here are some ways we've celebrated the Sabbath: * attending a Bible study * discussing what we've been studying in Luke * reading from a missionary story book * taking Communion as a family * singing to hymns or praise music on CD * watching movies as a family * yesterday we celebrated the Sabbath around our new outdoor fireplace (it was amazing!) We've found that prepping and looking foward to resting in the Lord has brought great peace to our weekends.

My ds saw two developmental optometrists. The first one recommended $6000 therapy. I could see by watching the exam that my ds could not track properly. I purchased Diane Craft's Brain Integration Therapy Manual and spent 3 months working hard on vision therapy at home. The second developmental optometrist said he would not have known my ds had tracking problems if I hadn't told him. :) He noticed some convergence issues and showed me an exercise to do at home. We did and it cleared up too. Just by watching the exam, you may be able to see difficulties. I want to encourage you that if your dc need vision therapy and you can't afford the treatment, it may be possible to correct at home. It was well worth the time and hard work we put in to help our ds. He really enjoys reading now.

I like to declutter. I think of it as blessing someone else. This morning, I went through my closet and pulled out a couple of summer shirts that don't look so great on me. Bet they'll look good on someone else! We've started giving "experience" gifts. For Christmas this year, my dd received the Year of the Dollhouse, an idea I learned about from another message board. We took an old dollhouse and made it into a "fairy treehouse." We've had a wonderful time making things together!

We love our ClearPlay and use it all the time!

LOL...that's great!

It's a fabulous place to homeschool! All you have to do is fill out the affidavit with birth certificates and you're set through high school. The Scottsdale area has a bunch of active homeschool groups. There are valley-wide groups with just about any kind of activity. AZ has lots of children's theater and the museums set up homeschool days. Plus, there are wonderful day trips, such as the Grand Canyon! I've never had a negative comment from anyone when I'm out with my kids during the day. A large homeschool community makes a friendly state for homeschoolers.

:yes: I basically do everything Kanga does including the websites. I stock up when things are on sale and shop the sales for weekly meals. Last spring we were spending $150/week just for food. Now, we spend about $200 for everything each week (including clothes, oil changes, gas, etc.). It takes a little while to build up your stockpile but then you're buying many things for "cheap" or free.

How about dishtowels?

Yes, I've been stocking up following the guidelines of this flu manual. In Appendix C is a list and D and E have suggested medications to have on hand.

I'm sorry, I know it isn't any fun. To answer both of your quesitons, it depends on what type of prolapse you have and how severe it is. If possible, you may want to show the doctor while standing up as the prolapse can flatten out when you're lying down. I had surgery in Sept. for a severe prolapse. It was probably caused from a surgery earlier in the year (ovarian mass, and hyster). It has healed well and I'm fine now. HTH!

I ordered almost everything online and had great service. Amazon does top the list!

A place to start may be www.homeschoolkarate.com and try it at home. My kids really enjoy the program. They've learned a lot and gained good skills that would transfer to a class setting. :)

I use soft scrub with bleach and a rag.

I display them throughout Christmas then pack them in the bottom of one of our Christmas decoration boxes. It's always fun to see how families have changed throughout the years when we pull out our Christmas stuff.

Me too!!! I loved shopping online and got great deals. :)

What a fabulous present! I'd love one. Sorry you didn't get on. We're huge Dave Ramsey fans here too.

Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH The Tale of Despereaux

We have a ClearPlay DVD player and really like it. I think we'll probably get TV guardian when the dc are older.

:iagree:I bought two of these, one for each dc's future family.

Money is really tight but my dc want to give gifts to the neighbors. We picked up Swiss Miss hot chocolate packets and will include several with a card saying, Merry "Swiss Miss". I got the idea from another forum. :)

We take communion as a family with my dh or dad reading from the Bible. We eat early and do the movie tradition ($2/movie around dinnertime when the theater's empty). For several years, we went hiking every Thanksgiving morning. We have friends that go to see a live show every Thanksgiving evening.

The Donkey’s Christmas Song by Tafuri The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Wojciechowski Annika’s Secret Wish by Lewis A Gift for the Christ Child by Jahnert Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story by Rylant What Can I Give Him? By Gliori The Little Drummer Boy by Rodanas