Grapes of Wrath To Kill a Mockingbird A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread. My Super Walmart carries it. It's right by the peanut butter. My dd loves the stuff! Her favorite dessert is a ricotta and nutella stuffed calzone with strawberry glaze. YUM :drool5: Here's the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ricotta-and-chocolate-hazelnut-calzones-recipe/index.html

Our 50lb shepherd mix usually sleeps in his crate (door open) in our bedroom. Sometimes he ends up on the floor at the foot of the bed. Our 45lb cocker spaniel who passed away several years ago used to sleep in bed with us. She usually slept at the foot of the bed but one night she decided to curl up right next to me. I think she wanted to be close because she wasn't feeling well. Sometime during the night she peed all over me and the bed. After that night she started sleeping on the floor. :tongue_smilie:

:grouphug: I'm sorry :grouphug:

I think that most middle school students would understand that these posters are just a play on the "Obama/Change" poster that was made popular during the election. And if you teach in a private school were most of the kids come from a conservative family, I would guess that some of the parents are part of that "extreme, fringe political group". But as a pp said, I would check with my principal first.

Here are my favorites in order: Persuasion Pride & Prejudice Sense & Sensiblity Emma

I wore contacts for close to 25 years and then 2 years ago, they started to really bother me. I tried many different brands and none felt great. I have extremely dry eyes and within an hour or two of putting them in, my eyes felt sore. My eyes would even hurt after I took the contacts out. Now I just were glasses but I still wish I could wear contacts. Just not worth the hassle.

Before we were married, dh sold meat from a truck for about a month. He had been unemployed for about 6 months and was looking for anything. His boss was professional and very friendly and the company trucks were refridgerated and well taken care of. The salesmen/women were expected to dress nicely and be personable. The meat was high quality and tasted great. But I was so glad when he found something else in his field. He's a computer guy. I've only had one meat person come to my house since then and it was just a few months ago. I didn't buy anything because he was pushy and the meat was in the back of his personal van. YUCK :tongue_smilie:

How adorable!!! It put a :001_smile: on my face.

:grouphug: Praying :grouphug:

I make our bed most days. Actually I wait until dh is up and out of bed and then he helps me. With 2 of us it takes no time. My dc are supposed to make their beds but their rooms are upstairs and I don't go up there everyday to check. In college, my roomate always made my bed because it bothered her more than me. :lol:

My dd used to say lellow for yellow My ds would say kack for quack. We would always ask him what does a duck say just so he would say "kack, kack". :001_smile: He would also say cimmunum for cinnamon. The whole family still says pooter for computer. Sometimes I forget and say pooter when we are out in public. :lol:

:grouphug: Praying :grouphug:

I have never boiled an egg in my life. My mom had an egg cooker that she used while I was growing up, and when I got married she gave me one. Hard boiled eggs are so easy to make this way.

Praying :grouphug:

:grouphug: Praying

You are in a tough spot, so :grouphug:. My bedroom furniture is from my dh's first marriage. Think early 80's waterbed with the mirrored headboard and large nightstands that were connected by overhead lighting. I hated it and replaced the waterbed with a regular mattress and removed the headboard and overhead lighting. Still hate it but can't afford anything else right now. :tongue_smilie: Our dining room furniture is from my ILs. They gave it to my dh before we were married and told him that he was not to get rid of it because it is an antique set. My mil still has the china cabinet so I have an incomplete dining room set that I don't like and can't replace. Our guest bedroom set is also from my ILs. Once again they told us that we could not get rid of it. I'm appreciative of their generosity so I just act very thankful and know that one day I will be able to replace what I don't like.

My parents were weren't very original when they named my brother and I. (Michael and Michelle) We even had the same initials. We were born in the late 60's and there were always lots of other Michelles in my class. At one of my first jobs out of college, my employer asked me to go by my middle name because there was already a Michelle in the office. I hated that job and never learned to answer to my middle name. I only lasted a month. My parents names are very cute together: Mary Lynne and Larry Glen When ds was in ps, there were 3 boys in his class with the name Zachary. The teacher called them Zachary, Zach, and Z. DH's first name is a family name that I had never heard of before. Luckily he never went by it and wasn't hurt when I refused to give the name to ds.

Praying for your whole family. :grouphug::grouphug:

We started leaving them home for short periods of time when dd was 11 and ds was 9 1/2. Last December my dh had surgery on his knee and we couldn't find anyone to watch them, so they stayed home alone until about 7pm. They did great and felt very grown up. Now that dd is 12 and ds is 10 1/2 we can actually go on date nights, but we are home by 10:30. We always say that they are old enough to be responsible for themselves so we don't consider dd to be the "babysitter". There are 2 computers and 2 tvs in the house so they each can have their own space and not bother each other too much. The only down side for them is that they are not allowed to have any friends over nor are they allowed to go to someone else's house.

When I first was thinking about homeschooling my 2 dc, a very good friend of mine, who was a spiritual mentor to me, told me that I should send my dc to ps so they could be the salt and light. Unfortunately I actually listened to her and sent my dc to ps. Huge mistake for my dc and my family. My dc did not infulence anyone, in fact they were influenced negatively by others. When I told people at my old church that I felt God was calling me to homeschool, they did not believe that I was actually doing what was best for my family. In fact I was only 1 of 3 families that chose to homeschool. It is a large church and the vast majority of kids go to public school. They were a little weirded out at my inability to fall in line with what everyone else was doing. In order to be salt and light to the world, my dc must first be trained and prepared by myself and dh. The faith that we are teaching them must become their own. And even when the time comes and they are ready , they don't have to go to ps to be salt and light.

Last year I was in the same position you are in now. I came from a Southern Baptist background and was questioning the Protestant theology that I had always been taught. Just a few of the books I read were Born Fudamentalist and Born Again Catholic, Rome Sweet Home, The Four Witnesses, and Catholicism and Fundamentalism. I also started listening to a radio program called Cathoic Answers Live. I found answers to questions I didn't even know I had. It was very eye opening to study the Christian faith from a Catholic perspective. After many months of reading, prayer, more reading, and more prayer I came to the conclusion that the Catholic Church is where I belong. So I can't offer you any intelligent arguments as to why the Protestant faith is the way to go but I can give you encouragement as you continue on your faith journey.

I had my first mammogram last fall and it wasn't painful just uncomfortable. Don't be too alarmed if they call you back for more extensive pictures. They saw some possible problem spots and since they didn't have any previous mammograms to compare the current one with, they needed better pictures. I had the results of my second mammogram before I even left the office. It was all good.

My soon to be 12yo dd can wear lip gloss and very light colored eye shadow. She wears glasses so you can barely see it. Most days she wears nothing. She can wear light colored polish on her fingernails and the darker colors on her toes. She has asked when she will be allowed to wear more and I'm just not sure yet. I hate to get her started on foundation too young because I don't want her to feel like she can't go out of the house without it.

I am so impresssed by the fact that you had the presence of mind to formulate a great reply and the guts to actually say it.