I really need to clean out my fridge. I need to do it sooo badly that I'm actually willing to do it on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but only if I'm able to share the misery. Anyone want to clean out their fridge right now? I'll get up and do it if you will! :tongue_smilie:

Hey, Sophia(I love your name, btw!), I hope the spa week can be as memorable as I'm thinking it might be. I could really see it becoming a yearly tradition every time school's out for the summer.

Hey Tracey, *Yikes* on the eyebrow waxing! I'd have to go to a real spa to recover from that, lol! I will definitely have to give some thought to our music for the week. I'm thinking that classical would be great during "beauty treatments", and some fun music for pool time would be good. Quiche would be great for our spa cooking lesson/lunch one day. Thanks!

I did find some recipes for homemade facial masques, etc. Some of them sound...yummy! :D The chocolates are a good idea too, and I had totally forgotten how much my girls *love* to get out my great-grandma's tea set in the afternoon. Thanks so much, Julie

I'd like history for my high school freshman that is interestingly written, (maybe in a story-like format) but which will also include a lot of analysis about *why* things happened the way they did. What things led up to particular events, etc. I don't care really if it's a textbook or something else, but I need it to be pretty much independent. Open the book, read the info, then come discuss it with Mom. Ideas for additional assignments including essay suggestions would be a big plus, but not absolutely necessary. Any ideas? Does it exist? ETA: Please forgive the horrible writing/grammar in this post. Usually I care, today--not so much!

My favorite..... Any kind as long as it's covered with ALFREDO SAUCE!!:drool5: ETA: Lol about the "superhero shapes!"

I will be spending about $3200 for our educational expenses for the fall for five kids. I budget $800 per month May-Aug. If there are other things to buy during the year, they will be minimal. The $3200 includes all curriculum for 5 dc, a new computer, as well as college textbooks for my oldest ds. I've found that many of the resources for high school are extremely pricey, but are non-consumable, so my budget should be reduced for subsequent years.

The week of June 16-20 is our first official week off from school. I am going to make my boys work hard on the farm, and take 4-5 days to have fun times with my girls (10 & 12), and my niece (19). We are doing this at home, and I'm looking for ideas. So far, I think that on Monday we'll shop for the things we need for the week's activities. I'm planning that every day we'll do a different combination of the following: "beauty treatments"-home manicures & pedicures, maybe a haircut in town if our budget will allow, homemade facials, etc. healthy "spa food" cooking classes (at home) fun exercise like the batting cages, climbing walls, aqua aerobics relaxing by the pool in the afternoons (my sil will let us use her pool) Do you have any other ideas about what I could add? I'm thinking of extra small details too, like: fresh flowers(from our yard) on their nightstands when they wake up scented candles & soaps for their evening baths (99 cent store) (would have to be very inexpensive!) slippers & robes to wear during "spa treatments" What should I add?

I put the little feet on, and now the weight is right on. I did my first 18 minutes on the WiiFit yesterday, and today I am *so sore!* I think I'm going to wait until tomorrow to try again. Even though I've always detested running, I think it's actually one of my favorite WiiFit games.

I'll check out your ideas. I'm not unhappy with my articulation of words, or any particular accent (I personally feel that born & bred Californians like me have *no* discernable accent :D), just unhappy with the timbre/lack of depth in my voice. First thing in the morning, my voice is a little lower, a little huskier, and more pleasant to the ear. Maybe I could concentrate a little bit more on that, figuring out how to keep that depth longer and longer throughout the day. Thanks again for the ideas!

I *tried* to like it. I feel really, really left out when y'all have these "I Love Mike's" threads. I never drink alcohol, not because of any particular moral objection, just because I haven't really tried it. After thinking it over long and hard, I bought a six pack, and tried one. Ummm.... It still tastes like alcohol to me! :ack2: I like the idea of settling down with an "adult beverage" on the occasional weekend when I'd like to "cut loose" a little (whatever that might mean), but I guess I just can't acclimate to the bitter taste (?). Is there any alcoholic beverage where you really can't taste the alcohol? -just wonderin' :D

I was in your situation, and what I did was: Build a library of classics for all ages, mostly from library used book sales (cheap!) Start setting aside a bit of money for homeschooling materials for later on. Read a lot about child development. Read a lot about educational theory. Spend as much time as I could in the company of successful homeschool families. One thing I wish I'd done differently: Spend more time arranging my life, my home, and my organizational skills, to better suit a lifestyle where I could accomplish housekeeping *and* homeschooling.

Things at our house sound just like what Anj described. We discuss things just as conversation, not so much as a purposeful checking-in with each other thing. We would also discuss purchases over about $75 with each other, not to get permission, just to bounce ideas off of each other. I think when we were younger, and had been married not very long, it was more important to us to know where the other was all of the time. I think perhaps we trust each other more now, so now it's just conversation, not 'cause we feel like we "need to know".

The sound of my voice is a little nasally, and I think it also sounds whiny and weak. Is it possible to gradually improve your speaking voice? If so, how? I have allergies and a little bit of a sinus thing going on, but still, I'd love to have some improvement. I don't think my voice accurately reflects my personality, iykwim. What do you know about this?

I HATE dvd's! They seem to scratch if you just *look at them funny* or breathe in their vicinity. I long for the bygone days of videotapes. You could pretty much do anything to those except run them over with your car, and they would still work. Still...what a bummer for you! Perhaps give them a good inspection before you leave the library with them, that way you wouldn't end up disappointed at movie time, and the librarian could be informed immediately.

One of the best gifts I received was a hand-written letter, where the person wrote down for me what wisdom they had regarding marriage and love. I still have that, even after many of the gifts that were dishes and other trinkets are broken and gone. I may be in the minority here, but I don't think you should send a gift at all other than a card, or a letter (as I mentioned before). I don't think you even need to send one next month, or even within a year. A gift is just that...a gift. Not an obligation. I would be *extremely* disturbed if someone I knew (other than Jesus!) gave me a gift they could not really afford without cutting their own family a bit short. I don't think the happy couple will even notice you haven't sent a gift. If they do notice, I'll bet they don't care a bit. If they do notice, and they do care, then they're not the kind of people for whom you should worry about hurting their feelings. -just my .02...

The job today was continental breakfast, morning snack, taco salad bar luncheon, and afternoon snack (for 100 people). The things that sound the best for snacking right now are wildly varied. There are butter croissants and homemade scones with strawberry jam & devonshire cream. There's also seasoned taco meat with black beans, and every possible topping for taco salad including a HUGE bag of sliced black olives. Yum. BUT.... Instead I'm going to unload/reload the diswasher, shower, smooch on dh, and GO TO BED! I don't need any of that food. I don't need any of that food. I don't need any of that food. I don't need any of that food.... (Is the chant working?)

I don't know what the Chef Boyardee tastes like, so this may not be helpful. We like our pizza sauce a bit spicy. Just a tiny bit of zesty zing... Here's the recipe I use: 28 oz. crushed tomatoes 1/4 t. crushed red pepper 1/2 t. onion powder 1/2 t. black pepper 1/2 t. salt 1 t. dried italian seasoning 2 cloves garlic or 1/2 t. garlic powder 1 t. brown sugar. Stir all of these together, without cooking. Top your pizza, and bake.

I'm reading stuff here, shopping CBD for small father's day gifts for the dads in our church, verbally "prompting" my dd's to go to bed, deliberating on the correct $ amount to include in my nephew's graduation card, marking which workshops I'd like to attend at the homeschool conference (next month!) and procrastinating on all of the following: reloading the dishwasher putting away 3 boxes of leftovers & gear from a catering job showering & giving dh a little "attention" It's now 9:30pm my time. What are the chances of me actually getting all of this done before I fall over? My day was very busy...:svengo:

This is too funny!:D

I go to the homeschool convention almost every year. My homeschooling "homies" and I go away for the weekend to listen to inspiring speakers, pamper ourselves, indulge in lively conversation, and sip wine coolers (not all of those things simultaneously though!). It's a winning combination for me, and I come away with a new resolve regarding my homeschool journey. Any one of those things alone just wouldn't have the same effect, I don't think. Well, okay, you could skip the wine coolers if that isn't your thing--it's not my thing either, so I just sip a teeny tiny bit (just enough to feel like a "wild woman").

It weighed me as 8 lbs. lighter than my regular scale, but that was on carpet, without the little extender thingies for the feet.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that although we eat a lot of cheese, we aren't way out of the park on cheese consumption. :D I buy about 10 pounds of cheddar and about 3 pounds of cheese slices every month (for 7 of us). I also use some of that cheese to make meals for other people. It's not that I mind the price of cheese or other dairy products (look at my signature line to see why!), it's just that I think it's unhealthy to over-eat from any particular food category. Balance....I'm just seeking some balance. :001_smile: I feel I must admit that I'm one of the biggest cheese fiends in our house. I'd rather have a piece of cheese than almost any dessert, and I'd rather do without dinner than have my burger without cheese.:001_tt1: -and don't get me started on those poor lactose-intolerant folks who have to eat their pizza without cheese. I think I'd die! Thanks for participating in my decidedly frivolous question :)

How much cheese do you buy in a month, what kinds, and how many people are you feeding? I think our cheese consumption is waay too high, and I thought it'd be interesting to see what other families are like in that regard. Thanks!

I'm surprised that nobody has answered your question with a resounding, "Yes, that is what boys do when they are 13." I can't tell you about girls because my girls haven't reached that age yet, but if you'd told me about your son without mentioning his age, I would have said, "so, he must be 13 years old, huh?" All 3 of my boys have been sweet, wonderful boys all of their lives, and all 3 of them have had that going on at age 13. I think it's hormonal, but it's also that struggle between being a kid on one hand, and learning to be a man, on the other. I've always been a firm-discipliner, but I'm kind of careful when the boys are 13, because I *want* them to learn how to respond in a manly way towards women. By that I don't mean with a nasty attitude, just that I don't really want to crush their newly growing confidence. There's a fine line between learning to be assertive and sassing your mom, and when they're 13 it's sometimes hard to tell the difference. What has worked in our family is to make sure that especially in the teen years, we make sure the boys work VERY hard, and then let them sleep VERY hard. In other words, we have them do a lot of very hard physical labor during the day. It always makes them seem more comfortable in their own skin afterwards, as though they've worked off a bit of agression(?), and just doing that has often turned things around in a pretty dramatic way. On the flip side, we make sure that they go to bed relatively early, and that they reduce any sleep distractions such as books, music, or tv right before bed. After a while, your boy will again be the sweet, loveable boy you remember, but he'll also be different in some pretty wonderful ways. Yep, it's the beginning of losing your child, but it's also the beginning of seeing the beginnings of the man he's going to become, imo. Have you seen the movie "Parenthood" with Steve Martin? At one point in the movie (I'm pretty sure it's the very end), they show him imagining himself and his wife on a huge rollercoaster. His wife is smiling, laughing, and enjoying the ride, while he is worried, unhappy, and feeling pretty sick. Part of the point of that is that you can choose to enjoy the ups and downs of life (or parenthood), or you can let it frustrate you and get you down. It has helped me to remember that scene in the movie, and to choose to respond to the ups and downs with my teens with joy, knowing that this part of the ride will only last so long, and trying to enjoy it while it's here. I'm not saying you're unhappy right now, just offering you a bit of encouragement for when you really want to just shake that bad attitude right out of him. :D Someone else mentioned the book, Boyhood and Beyond, and I have to give a big endorsement to that suggestion. I read it out loud with all of my boys, and we found it very helpful. If it helps you to know, my ds17 is totally human again, as is my ds15 1/2, and my 14yo can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Enjoy the ride! ETA: We still had consequences for negative attitudes, I just want to state that for the record. We just found it helpful to try and understand where they were "coming from" and where they were "headed to".