Boardgamegeek.com is a wonderful resource for checking out games, reviews, etc. My boys (5-10) recommend: Sorry Sliders Apples to Apples Memoir '44 Starship Catan Animal Upon Animal Zooloretto Ticket to Ride Dominion Pandemic Apples to Apples Pictionary DVD Chateau Rocquefort

Memoir '44 is a really fun 2-person battle game. If he goes to Boardgame Geek there is a list of many variations. Several of them are faster. There's also a darts version that looks fun.

Coop by Michael Perry..non-fiction memoir about a northern WI man starting a new life with a wife, step-daughter, baby on the way, and a farmette. Funny. Interesting in the way he tries to live green and come to terms with his religious raising as a new father. Anathem by Neal Stephenson..speculative fiction about a planet where scientists have been separated in monastery-like organisations from the general population for thousands of years. Math, astronomy, philosophy, neo-platoism, geometry, parallel universes, aliens, religion. Has some flaws but a really fascinating tale. Three Way Tie: A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons by Robert Sapolsky...non-fiction story covering 20 years with a baboon troop in Kenya, plus wanderings through Africa. Funny, full of human (and animal) foibles. Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic by Reinhold Neibuhr ...an early work from the famous theologian and social activist. Thoughts/memoir of the time he spent in Detroit as a pastor of a small church. I was shocked at how his feelings on WWI were similar to my own feelings about the Iraqi War. Breads from La Brea Bakery by Nancy Silverton...sourdough primer

More water, less stress, sit down a bit. It is normal, but as you have more children you usually have more going on and less time to think about you.

I used to have a great blog post on file for this subject, but it has since been deleted. I also use Shelfari. LibraryThing costs $10 or $25. When I input our collection in late '07 they were very similar but Shelfari was totally free. I use a series of subject categories. picture book/early fiction mid-grade fiction classic elementary fiction (some go a bit older or more girly in our boy household so they stand on their own shelf) juvenile biography/history juvenile science/other non-fiction homeschool/reference History ~memoir ~biography ~travel ~general ~American (chronologically) ~World (by culture/chronologically) ~Religion & philosophy Nonfiction ~garden ~biological science/ecology ~other sciences (geology, paleontology, archeology, astronomy, etc) ~cooking ~building/making ~politics/culture ~linguistics/patterns ~~language dictionaries ~~cryptology ~~history of language ~~literary criticism ~reference ~general ~yearbooks Literature-fiction ~Classic American (chronologically) ~Classic British (chrono) ~Classic World (by culture/chrono) ~Classic poetry/drama (by culture/chrono) ~Literary fiction ~~favorite rereads for quick access ~~by time period/author ~Mystery/Horror ~Science Fiction/Fantasy~I arrange this one the weirdest. Bottom shelves hold general anthologies. Mid-lower shelves hold boy-appropriate classics. High shelves hold my favorites that are appropriate for older readers. Boys are most likely to want to pull Lord of the Rings or something off of this shelf so I group authors together but ignore anything more structured. We also have a few shelves of business, computer science, coding, and old text books in the basement. I find that the most intuitive arrangement relies upon the interests of the family and the available areas for physical display. Once you have some ideas about that, then you can fill in with spheres of use (for school...in bed), subject headings, chronological, and alphabetical order.

Bob Dylan Indigo Girls Jethro Tull Johnny Cash the Beatles Neil Young Cowboy Junkies Norah Jones The White Stripes Shawn Colvin Gillian Welch (alt country) Van Morrison Dire Straits Derek Webb BB King PFR Sting Tom Waits Darrell Scott & Tim O'Brien (bluegrass/country) Thrice Sixpence None the Richer Steve Earle (country) Marc Cohn Simon & Garfunkle Nina Simone Magnolia Electric Co. Neko Case I keep most of my classic rock on record so the 2 worlds don't meet in my Ipod. My ipod is definitely more singer-songwriter. ;)

We have the small, electric Cuisinart brand one (1.5qts). It's nice. Frankly all ice cream is good ice cream but if you have a request I have a book of recipes. :)

Same thing happened to me, it was stress and 'reaching a certain age' (for me 35). I lost 5lb in my hips and butt and my stomach got bigger. When I asked the same question on an online community most of the women told me it was a natural consequence of aging. I didn't notice how much you lost. 5 or 10lb? Or more like 20-30? There are several intestinal problems (food allergies, irritable bowel syndrom, colitis, crohns) which also can mean an increase in waistlength. If you have abdominal pain, constipation/diahrrea, food sensitivities, gas, that can also be a factor.

I started with a bread maker. I used that for a year or two, baking occasionally. Then I took the final step and started making it by hand. The variety is better. I can make more loaves at a time (just 1 in the machine) and freeze them for later. I can do a cold rise overnight, adjust the times for the heat/humidity, do sourdough, crisp the crust...all things I can't do with the machine. I had a bread maker. I gave it away. If you're interested in having one I'd recommend yard sales and Goodwill. Many times people have good intentions (or they get a Christmas gift) and don't go through with it. I have seen many bread machines over the years and had several offered to me. There's nothing wrong with preferring one, but I would recommend getting a cheap one first before deciding if you like it or you'll use it on a regular basis.

I like after lunch (but before resting time) chores. That way they're snappy during school and if they're tired after chores and lunch they can nap. Some smallish chores: put away silverware put dishes by/in sink after eating fold washclothes/hand towels put shoes away put toys away wash windows (lower half) wipe out bathroom sink bring small room garbage cans to kitchen on garbage day put recycling away water plants feed pets put dirty laundry in basket push wet laundry in dryer (while you load) sort dirty clothes by color My 6 year old feeds/waters the dog, picks up own things, sets the table, clears the table, collects trash on trash day, brings trash cans back up. My 4 year old wipes out sink and washes windows. He also helps others with their chores so he can learn.

Freaks and Geeks~this is an amazing series, must see. Lie to Me Life If you liked Battlestar Galactica you'd like~ Babylon5-invented the long story arc BG used so well Firefly-space western, a little rough at first but like most things Joss Whedon is worth holding on for the charcters and humor once the cast gels If you like fantasy, LOTR type stuff, Legend of the Seeker on Hulu is a fun way to pass the time.

They each have a 2-3 shelf bookcase in their own room with books at their level. When the boys were babies I had only 2 bookshelves in the living room where they could reach them. I put the sturdy, not-used-very-often ones on the bottom 2 shelves and we covered them with something. All my other cases were in rooms they didn't use. I organize mine by subject (and sometimes chronologically within a subject). I have a history shelf, a sci-fi shelf, English and American lit shelf, poetry & drama, science & psychology, religion & philosophy, world lit, favorites, non-fiction, gardening & nature, cookbooks, reference, to-read, homeschooling reference, homeschooling in use, homeschooling future, picture books (age birth-7), chapter books (age 7-12), and my husband has 2 cases of programming and business books in the basement.

The boys have little bowls of syrup for dipping (so technically they cut it up before..or roll it up but they never pour). I put apple sauce on mine and roll it up. No syrup needed.

Applesauce increases the moisture. It does not help the flavor or tenderize the way oil does. I would use the olive oil with the applesauce. Use less olive oil if you're worried you'll notice its flavor.

10 year old~put away silverware, sweep kitchen, vacuum living room, clean toilet, pick up own things 8 year old~unload dishwasher, feet/water cats, take out compost, take out recycling, pick up own things 6 year old~set table, clear table, feed/water dog, collect trashcans/bring back empty trash barrel, pick up own things 4 year old~clean windows and mirrors, wipe out bathroom sink, pick up own things On weekends I take on dishwashing tasks and we ignore floor cleaning tasks and all boys work on cleaning their rooms. Every 4-6 months we redistribute tasks. Everyone gets to chose one of their chores, occasionally more depending on what's popular (or unpopular).

First of all, nephew is not SIL. Nor is any particular behavior (irresponsible, etc) a given. Second, this is your husband's family and if he's agreed, even if he wishes he hadn't and grouses about it to no end, the likelihood is that he won't do anything to change this. From your words it sounds like this is part of his generous (and sometimes passive) character. Personally, I think the best response is to buy a cheap set (garage sale/craigslist) and have dh call nephew and offer to take him out golfing before you go. "I was excited to hear you were taking up golf and thought you might prefer your own set. Since you've called I've thought about taking these with me. Let's get together when we get back so I can watch you beat me." A cheaper solution than the worry and bad blood within the family, not to mention replacing the expensive clubs if something does happen.

I received my secondary degree in the mid-'90s. There are things I thought were helpful. We had some great Ed Psych guests who were very interesting on stages of development and how that relates to what you can expect from children. Bloom's Taxonomy. Learning objectives. Learning styles. As a whole though I don't feel its added to my ability to homeschool. It did make me much more confident, and I feel that I'm more aware of ways to make subjects in-depth, more ways I could do things, more ways to drive myself crazy with making this perfect. I do notice 'workbook' homeschoolers more than my peers. I worry about people that just order curriculums and see that as the end of education, but I don't find that to be a homeschooling problem. I've met enough teachers with the book-notes-homework-test philosophy so I know its a human struggle, not just a homeschooler struggle.

There are men who are very child-oriented and who form bonds with children outside of their families. Dh's family is very much like that. However, even with very affectionate, child-focused people there is line where you get to know the parents, receive their permission, and keep the child within their sight. This is not the case here. Even if he is an innocent man he will not keep normal boundaries and so is dangerous to himself and your daughter. What I find more frightening is that your daughter is being taught by you and your husband that it is correct to be picked up by strangers, to kiss them, and perform other affectionate acts upon request. This is not healthy for a young child. You certainly wouldn't expect your 13 year old to give a relatively unknown adult man 'some sugar.' It's just as inappropriate for a 2 year old who is still learning how to interact with people appropriately. At 2 she should be learning about privacy and her body. She should know who is in her family and who is not. She should be learning appropriate behavior to each. She should know that she doesn't have to obey strangers requests (or commands) and that she should not go with them. Right now she is learning that it is necessary to obey the requests of any person who encounters her, at least if she's met them before with you (most molestations are done by people who are known to the child). Even if this man is completely innocent that is a bad start which could make her passive and open for molestation in the future. Please, help her learn healthy boundaries now so she can protect herself in future years. You can protect her now and be so passive that she learns this behavior is okay.

We mix different sets and reboil. You can also boil down a pan and then add fresh/cold sap. We don't own the sugar gauge and I've never been able to get it up past boiling (I don't think we have enough sap..we're at the bottom by then). I usually start it in the morning and boil it through schooltime. By lunchtime it's down to the last inch. Then I watch it carefully. When it thickens (won't run through a coffee filter or paper toweling) or starts to foam I turn if off and filter/squeeze it through a piece of cloth. I agree with Bee on everything else. We do tap our front maple though. It runs the faster then our backyard maples. And we try to keep our taps on the southern side of the tree and we move them around year to year. When it warms up at night you want to stop tapping. The sap is no longer sweet.

When I'm making broth I just use any thin cloth. I have a few old kitchen towels I go to in these situations but a thin pillow case would work.

Have them redo the panel..for your peace of mind. If her cholesterol is elevated in the second test then keep a food diary to help you pinpoint areas you can improve. Red yeast rice is also a healthy supplement that can lower cholesterol. You can discuss that with your daughter's doctor. My son is on a special high fat diet so this is one of our constant problems.

Yes, we started out that way. I spent under $30 the first 2-3 years for 1 child. This year I had 3 schooling (K-4th) so I thought I'd need the extra time and invested in more curricula. I spent $100-150 total for all 3 boys. That includes a math book and workbooks, a grammar/writing curriculum, history, and a science program. I didn't need anything for the Kindergartner so all of that money was spent on the 3rd and 4th grader. I don't count garage sale/library sale finds. I pick those up as they come. I've also received cast-offs from other homeschoolers as we go along and I've passed on things I couldn't use as well. It's a very sharing community. I don't count the new printer/copier we got this year (dh purchased it) or ink. We'd be buying those anyway, even if we would be replacing them much more slowly if we weren't homeschooling. :tongue_smilie: I think it's fairly easy to do with an 8 year old, and as time goes on I think her dh will feel more invested in the process and be open to more expenses...although maybe not the expenses everyone here puts into their homeschool. That's okay, we're all different.

I love the book and consider it a must read. It really does a good job of showing cyclical human patterns, but I personally find it a little mature (in content, not language) for a 13 year old. Because of the sexual situations, the starvation, the cruelty, etc. I would wait a year or two (14-16). Most students I know aren't ready to take those subjects on fully and this is a book worth savoring.

The nunchuks are used pretty often for 2-handed games. You steer with the nunchuck and point of gesture with the remote. If you want the whole family to play I think the extra controllers and nunchuks are well worth it. Just seeing 4 people up there playing at the same time is wonderful. We also have some more traditional controllers (like nintendo) that we use as well. It just depends on the game. We personally didn't like Wii fit. It is more of an adult fitness program. I thought it was kind of boring myself. The new Wii Outdoors is a hit with the boys and they do a much bigger range movement. I like that one for excercise or the Mario dance one which is like Dance Dance Revolution. Which games depends much on the ages and interests of your children.

I found this post on the subject really interesting. It covers the author's research with: Readerware Delicious Monster Collectorz.com Book Collector FinderWare and his final decision.