Pork is really cheap here. At least certain cuts. Everyone is suggesting these delicious Mexican foods like tacos, and beans and rice. Just not so doable here. I miss Chipotle! Unless I make garbanzo refried beans and spread yogurt on top of them for sourcream and blue cheese in place of Cheddar (so pricey here -- the cheddar that is) By then it'll just be gross. Are there any bean recipes that aren't soup that I can do with garbanzos, lentils or navy beans? Or anything I can do with tofu? Or more egg or cheese ideas? Pork ideas would be cool too.

A chicken lasting three nights sounds good to me. I need to try homemade pizza. Doughs really intimidate me.

For breakfasts I always do Quick Oats raw with raisins, dried coconut (super cheap in Asian stores) and milk. My kids don't mind the monotony and a week of breakfasts is only 10. It's lunch and dinner that stumps me. Snack is always fruit and yogurt (1 euro a litre).

Fritatta sounds awesome; why hadn't I thought of that. :) Eggs are cheap here. I can get 30 for about 3.50. And there's always the accompanying baguette. I would live on soup but dh hates it. He'll eat it once a week, but if it starts showing up more he claims he's not hungry and then keeps looking into the fridge.

I should add that we live in France where black beans, tortillas, sourcream and all that lovely-ness are EXPENSIVE. (Sniff) Peanut butter is 12 euros a kg. Crazy!

tomatoes lettuce or spinach or mache cucumbers garlic carrots broccoli green beans eggplant or mushrooms zucchini cauliflower My ds(3)'s favorite foods are eggplant, zuchinni, roasted peppers, mushrooms, pasta and tofu. He doesn't like to chew if he can help it.

My son(6) is going to begin school here in France this fall. I think he will most likely follow most of his education in French and I want to make sure he doesn't forget his English or remain at the level he is at. The goal is for him to be completely bilingual. To this end I plan to only speak to him in English and do SOTW and FFL with him. I'm not sure what to do to keep the reading progressing though. He is currently at a U level. Would you recommend a certain program or reading list? Or how should I go about it?

We're in between jobs here and trying to stretch our money. I've managed to stay under 100 a week, but it's kinda boring to always make the same meals. Meat is expensive here so I try to have more less often rather than a tiny bit at each meal. Any ideas would be lovely. Veggies(seasonal), fruits(seasonal), cheese and beans are very cheap. The veggies and fruits are about 1 per pound. And the cheese 2 per pound. Beans, of course, are next to nothing, but I never know what to do with them. Any ideas would be lovely. We're a family of 5. Three boys (6, 3, 1) Ds(6) eats like he's constantly in a growth spurt and is skinny as a rail. Dh is in the same camp.

Could people with different beliefs please explain to me what they believe about origins. I was raised reading Genesis and that's it no scientific explanations at all. Honestly, from the little I've heard, no theory seems too logical to me and I've never pursued them. Now though, I need to teach my kids something and don't know which path to pick. If people could just give me a quick summary of their train of thought I'd super appreciate it. No reason to agree or disagree with each other I need to hear lots of points of views not how they relate to each other. Thanks.

Yes, this is the one I had my eye on but dh says it's too expensive. We are a thrift store shopping family. https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQlSzyCPGTF8iHxla6Y--rTStilhwy7YMoB-0b3znyD0cvjvmzE I signed up though maybe I'll get a discount good enough to change his mind. The girl's ones are not generic I offered to buy him one but he told me big polka dots are very girlie.

I want a regular raincoat for ds (6). I don't want one with transformers or thomas the tank engine or any other super hero. I had an awesome one from Ralph Lauren when he was younger (plain red, snaps up the front, totally waterproof with cotton lining, hood, reached his thighs) , but I can't really afford $100 for a rain coat right now. I've looked in a lot of stores like Target and such but they only sell for girls. Any suggestions? I don't mind used or new.

I was about purchase a pair of glasses for $100+ when I saw the post about zennioptical.com. It was awesome I was able to purchase regular glasses for under $30 and that's with AR lens, scratch resistance coating -- the works. It got me thinking that maybe amongst everyone here at the hive we have knowledge to other great money saving store sites. The one I love and know is abebooks.com. It's my go to site for books, and they have a bunch of home school/text books as well. Anyone else have a site to share? A dollar saved is a dollar earned around here.

I just have to add :001_smile: that L'Occitan Eau de Toilette is awesome for men. It has lavender and black pepper, and it smells soooooooo good! A lot of women like to wear it too.

Ralph Lauren Romance; my hands-down favorite!

My husband and I were discussing this, but didn't come to an agreement. When a child, not a baby or toddler, has done something wrong to a person outside our family who should apologize -- the child, us parents, or both. Dh argues that it is rude for the parent not to say sorry, but I think it may give ds the wrong impression that his wrong doing is my fault and responsibility rather than him taking the responsibility for his own actions. What does the Hive think?

My six year old son loves The Picture Bible. I think the author is David C. Cook, or aybe just the illustrations.

Thanks, Diane. This is a very helpful response. Is anyone else up for saying why they do or do not vaccinate? Advise is appreciated, but bottom line is I'll need to decide. Knowing why others choose to or not to vaccinate would awesome.

Searching these threads now. Should of thought of that before. I had chicken pox as a child and German measles too. I was thinking more for the kids though. Would you mind telling me why you are pro-vaccine. If you don't want to start a debate would you just pm me. I need to make up my mind soon and I want opinions. lol Oh, they will find out. No use hiding it! I'd rather have a clear reason why I make the decision I do than tell them to mind their own. Sounds like my childhood. No doctor, dentist maybe twice, and we were healthy. This is why I'll have so much opposition if I break from the path. "It worked on you" is a favorite logic in my family. It'd really help if everyone wasn't so polite. I know that sounds awful. I need some input here.

I'll have to put this on hold and take a look. Thanks.

I grew up in a religious community that did not vaccinate. When I had my kids I was still in this community so they were not vaccinated. Now I'm not there anymore and not sure if I should or not. I'm not really sure why I haven't yet. I guess it's because I'm not sure why I should either. We will be moving to France in June where I know diptheria, polio and tetanus vaccines are mandatory. I don't know if I should choose to only do these which I know will be a battle with the doctors, or go with the mainstream, which I know my relatives will look down on me for. I guess I want to know why I'm pushing for this or letting it go. So... If you do or do not vaccinate please can you tell me why. My kids are all healthy at present; there are no concerns there. Please no taking offense at others choices, if possible. :001_smile: I want to feel I've heard both sides well before making a decision. Thanx.

Can we post what we're needing too? If so boys' clothes 5/6, 3T, and 18months any season. BTW this thread rocks I've been struggling with throwing away some of my old books for sometime. Great to know they will be adopted and loved some more.:001_smile:

I just posted this on the testing board, but I realize people don't go on that one much and this is driving me nuts. So I'm gonna post it here too. I just tried to post on the for sale swap board and was told my post will not be visible until read by a moderator. Am I blacklisted or is this a new policy or did I trigger a check by some word I used in my post? This has never happened to me before and I've been here for a few years. This one went through fine! ???????????

I just tried to post on the for sale swap board and was told my post will not be visible until read by a moderator. Am I blacklisted or is this a new policy or did I trigger a check by some word I used in my post? This has never happened to me before and I've been here for a few years. This one went through fine! ???????????

Have these to give away for just shipping costs: The Well-Trained Mind (first edition) Telling God's Year One Activity Book -- Brand New Janice Van Cleave's Science Around the Year Magic Tree House Hour of the Olympics Practice Book Bears Balloons Boat Saxon Phonics One Literature Extensions DK Children Just Like Me Christmas is Coming with Ruth J. Morehead's Holly Babes Animal Flashcards in Chinese TAKEN

Thanks! I guess we'll wing just it then. I have the book J'apprendes a Lire avec Sami et Julie. Would that level of reading have already been covered in Ecole Maternelle?