Then she'd be all bunched up from Imp throwing a wobbly. :lol: I think you should send whatever you care to, and route her emails directly to your trash folder. Then she can whinge as she likes and you can live in your happy house, blissfully unaware. (but, then, I'm just vicious like that)

I seem to recall - during our admittedly brief FIAR usage (kids HATED doing the same book 5 days straight)- such highly honed activities as "color a picture of a duck". Wow. I have no idea how bad the free offerings might be, if that's where they set the bar. :glare: Honestly, I wonder if they even could take legal action... What would they charge? They don't have any claims to other homeschooling parents' activities and ideas. If I said "here's an experiment we did / taxonomy chart I made while using Campbell Biology 5th edition" would Campbell & Reece come after me? Doubtful.

They have some sort of non-woven ones (like tyvek envelopes but obviously more bedding feeling) at Bed Bath & Beyond. I don't recall them being particularly spendy.

I had the same thing last night: wide awake, woke up at 3:00, got up for work at 4:00, and I've been up and on the move since because I would like to fall asleep at a decent time and sleep until 5:30 or so. Sigh. I hate when my sleep pattern gets messed up. (she types, enjoying her carby corn bread and wondering if that have of dates is still in the fridge :D )

The Mentalist Criminal Minds Masterpiece (most of the time, sometimes not) New Tricks On streaming: Dr Who Downton Abbey (but I'll watch that in US "real time" in January) Wire in the Blood The IT Crowd (I may have developed a crush on Roy) Upstairs/Downstairs There are other assorted things I'll put on and fall asleep in front of, like Monk, Psych, etc. The kids don't really watch tv (it doesn't go on until they're in bed) but will watch Magic Schoolbus on a rainy weekend, or old movies... they had a marathon a few weeks back and watched Little Women (1949), a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes (shocking! They only know Jeremy Brett as Sherlock), and Superman.

Yup, me too. But if I added 16 more people to my house, I would have to move out. Possibly to the Betty Ford clinic.

We closed out all credit accounts 2 years ago. I don't miss them at all. My debit card is a Visa and I only use it as such (I actually don't even know the pin... I should fix that next time I'm near the credit union). If I find myself in a situation where I need a credit card to rent a car, I'll just pick up a prepay one, and the credit union is happy to float us a signature loan for major unexpected expenses, at an interest rate much lower than the credit card companies.

If my dog was barking so persistently that the neighbors had to look over the fence to see what was going on, I would be very thankful if they left me a note letting me know, especially if she wouldn't acknowledge them. We don't leave her out, but she lets herself in and out during the summer and that kind of thing would suggest there's a foreign animal in the yard. I would apologize for the disturbance and thank them for their concern because we would honestly appreciate it. Your neighbors have issues.

We got rid of satellite about 4 years ago, in favor of cable (because they also provided our Internet) and cable about 2 years ago, in favor of antenna and dsl. We thought we would miss it, but we really don't.

Just an added point of reference, people with immunity can also transmit it. I (and my oldest daughter, and my friend's son) got it after my friend transported somebody with chicken pox to the hospital (for something unrelated - an allergic reaction, I think). It was not awesome having chicken pox at 26, two weeks before Christmas. So, moms of the infected, you should be careful who you come in contact with, too.

Nope. I use whatever GF bread I have on hand for meatloaf, no detectable difference from "regular".

I had to tell one of mine "you may NOT poop in the yard". That was followed a few months later by my husband telling the other he may not poop in a bucket in the yard. Evidently, I was not specific enough. :glare: Eta: I'm listening to A Prairie Home Companion and Garrison Keillor is making fart jokes. I guess the novelty never wears off.

It seems that simple to me, as well. However... Has anyone read "Mistakes Were Made, But Not by Me"? I found it quite enlightening regarding how thoroughly one's mind can ignore/cover/justify things that cause us psychic pain, completely unconsciously. Obviously, every single person who came to have this information did exactly the wrong thing, but looking at their actions/inactions from that angle is an interesting perspective.

What a beautiful addition to a lovely family! Good job and I'm so glad you're coping relatively well. Just don't get so wrapped up in new baby fumes you forget to take care of YOU too! :grouphug:

Me, too. And for items that are, by their very nature, "off", the presence of mold is the threshold.

Maryland: file a notice of intent 15 days before homeschooling, then notify annually that you're continuing. Then you must be review by one of two mechanisms: 1. County reviewer - they look at samples of work/resource list twice a year demonstrating you a) have an educational plans and b) follow it. You are required to teach the same subjects taught in PS at the same grade. 2. Umbrella school - by law, a church school or education ministry. Umbrellas are required to also verify an educational plan and execution of that plan, but because they are church institutions, they can determine their own requirements. Umbrellas do the annual notification for enrolled families but do not share other information with the state. Testing is optional. We may not participate in PS activities. There are no financial benefits.

My husband is so concerned, he wears his "DHMO Kills" t-shirt at every opportunity. :D

I just came in from getting wood and hear the 10y.o. saying to her brothers (over cereal, in front of the fire) "... And then one of Dad's sperms joined up with one of Mom's eggs, and it started dividing crazy fast. A cord formed connected to Mom so it could be fed while growing inside..." :svengo: :lol: At least she's biologically accurate, right?

My husband lives quiche. Bacon and carmelized onion sends him over the moon. My dad, too. Neither would put any extraneous condiment on it. And, yes, covering well prepared food with random condiments bothers me.

I have a vine around my left ankle. I will get another, but I have to figure out (and accurately render) the image first.

My daughter seems to gain stitches sometimes. I found that she was sliding the right needle through the back of the stitch below the one she was knitting, as well as the stitch she was knitting. Does that make sense? On the next row, it doesn't look exactly like two separate stitches, but close enough so that you'd knit them both in dim light, and then end up with an accidental increase. Losing stitches, you're either dropping then or knitting two together.

Yup, that's me. I do have one positive gene marker, and I had subclinical antibodies (regarding which my doc commented the non-sensitive people should have NO antibodies). I'm not celiac, though. No GI symptoms. When I have accidentally been gluten challenged, the result has been widespread, deep, burning joint pain within 24 hours. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's most prevalent in my hands, feet and spine (present in knees, hips & elbows, too) and I feel as though I've aged 100 years overnight.

Those are ALWAYS the best ones!!

Yes. I think I bought it at Whole Foods when the boys were teething. You can order it from Amazon, too.

Maybe he was shopping for camo.