:iagree: I haven't been here in a LONG time, Abbeyej, but we go WAY back. This was the first thread I saw tonight. Wow. It's like going back to the house you lived in when you were young, and everything seems so ... different! (I was going to say "small," but there was just too much going on in that thought, so I reconsidered :D!)

The Tallis Canon ("All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night") over and over and over. And over. All verses. And over. (Plus a few I made up just for ds.)

I am so glad that you're back to share your wisdom with so many more families in the living room. I offered sincere (although clumsy) condolences many months ago, and still have a heart that is heavy for you and yours. He is not forgotten. Reading: Bitter Lemons, by Lawrence Durrell (a wonderfully written account (from 1957) of the author's move to Cyprus) - highly recommended, even if only for the evocative language, the vocabulary that's making me reach for a dictionary, and the deft turn-of-phrase.

I agree with JudoMom and Crissy: http://www.amyjosoap.com (Amy's a WTM mom!) I have sent her soaps as gifts that were GREATLY appreciated, and I have kept a fair amount for myself. It's really good soap!

I usually write ya'll (contraction of ya all (grammar rules notwithstanding)). My dh is a linguist and he would agree that language is dynamic, not static, and thus, ya'll will eventually make its way into the language. My problem is that my email "auto-correcter" is apparently not from the same part of the south that I am: it consistently changes my "ya'll" to "y'all!" Maybe you're right, Daisy, and I should just stop writing it altogether!

Yup.

Hi, Laura, Welcome to hs'ing! We have done most of our hs'ing in MD under an umbrella group, but did have one year with the county (Montgomery). My understanding is that it really depends on what county you're in. Our co-op was in Howard County (but our review was in MoCo), and they seemed to be more strict from what I've heard. At any rate, it looks like your 5 yr old will be the "reviewed" child, and when my son was that age, the reviewer about fell off the seat with how many read alouds we'd done that first "semester." I think we had four single-spaced pages (2 columns each) of books we'd read (keep your printouts from the library, if you're using the MD Public Libraries), along with regular seatwork-type items. My Mont. Co. reviewer was very nice, and not at all antagonistic towards hs'ing. I have heard that some in other counties might be more adversarial (read: picky). As I've heard moms of older kids talk about it, it seems that they want to see an example or two of writing and of math at the beginning and the end of the semester. If you're just working on handwriting/spelling, for example, just take the workbook that you've used to show progress along the way. Many moms will take pics of (e.g.) field trips, PE-type activities, etc., since these might be the most difficult to document - or you could have your dd draw a pic and narrate the activity. Make sure that you have a "health" unit of some sort each time (I recall doing a food pyramid, and having my ds cut out pics from each group and glue them to the chart). If you have items like lapbooks that show ongoing learning of a topic, those seem to be well-received, too. One other tidbit: do not give them more than they're asking for, even if you've just done a stunning unit about astrophysics or whatever --- if it's not 'required', then you just (potentially) make it harder / more stringent for every OTHER homeschooler out there. :) Document well and thoroughly, but don't worry about it - I'm sure you'll do fine! From what you have written in your siggy that your dd is doing, you're very similar to where we were 8 years ago. (PS - the reason we switched to an umbrella from portfolio review was that dh thought it would be easier --- however, my umbrella wanted monthly summaries of each week, and quarterly evals, etc. To me, it was more time-consuming and made me feel guilty since I was always 'behind'! The portfolio review took several hours to compile (for me), but only once per semester.)

Check this site: ellenskitchen.com (or this page: http://ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/quan100.html) She mentions "hot dog chili" (or sauerkraut), and says you should count on ~1/4 cup per person. I can't imagine that you could get THAT much on a hot dog, considering all the other condiments/toppings you have. So maybe 1/8 cup of the beef topping and 1/8 cup coleslaw? HTH!

Not to hijack the OP, but we just had this recipe (below), and it was a HUGE winner in our house (not ... ahem... very healthy, but REALLY good). It looks involved, but really was easy. It has the cheese under the sauce, and I had my doubts, but ... really good! Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Ingredients Dough 3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt 2 teaspoons sugar 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast 1 1/4 cups water, room temperature 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened 1 teaspoon plus 4 tablespoons olive oil Sauce 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used less.) 1/4 cup grated onion , from 1 medium onion (grate on box grater) 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano Table salt 2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons) 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1/4 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Ground black pepper Toppings 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups) (I used less, but next time will use even less, although the pizza wasn't greasy - I just don't like that much cheese.) 1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup) Instructions 1. FOR THE DOUGH: Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add water and melted butter and mix on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.) 2. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl, turning once to oil top; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes. 3. FOR THE SAUCE: While dough rises, heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar, increase heat to high, and bring to simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and oil, then season with salt and pepper. 4. TO LAMINATE THE DOUGH (This was the key, I think, to having a flaky pizza crust, not a bready one. However, it wasn't TOO flaky - I really hate a "short" crust for pizza.): Adjust oven rack to lower position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto dry work surface and roll into 15- by 12-inch rec-tangle. Using offset spatula, spread softened butter over surface of dough, leaving 1/2-inch border along edges. Starting at short end, roll dough into tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18- by 4-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Working with 1 half, fold into thirds like business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Repeat with remaining half. Return balls to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes. 5. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into 13-inch disk about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough to pan by rolling dough loosely around rolling pin and unrolling into pan. Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 1 inch up sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball. 6. For each pizza, sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella evenly over surface of dough. If you're adding toppings, add them on top of the cheese and under the sauce.)Spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce over cheese and sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

I don't know that I'd say it's "offensive," and I don't think I'm a prude, but it's just coarse and unnecessary, imo. I would probably try hard to not give my business to that company, too.

"Oh, hi, Dr. ABC. We only see Dr. XYZ. We'll reschedule! Bye!" As a doc, I ASSURE YOU that you are not hurting ANYONE'S feelings. Dr. ABC is doing a happy dance inside since he now has extra free time to catch up on paperwork! (No lengthy explanation needed: if you talk too much, you're taking up HIS time :)!) Ask the staff to put a big note on your chart: Dr. XYZ ONLY.

Admittedly a bit different here, since dh is a linguist, but he and ds have been (very casually) learning !Xhosa, and he and I are planning on learning Swahili (well, he probably already learned it when I wasn't looking). Dh is not here right now to ask, but I think he would say that Welsh is a GREAT language to learn. (At least that's what he thought when he learned it :), and when I first met him and saw a Welsh flag up in his den, I was intrigued :)) The more languages you learn, the easier it is to learn the next one --- even if they don't seem particularly related. Sure, Spanish and Mandarin might be more "useful," (maybe, someday) but if your child is really interested in learning Welsh, then the study of it will come more easily. I'm not necessarily advocating "delight-driven learning" for basics, but for a foreign language? Why NOT?

Apparently, it's more than I thought, given the number of things I have on the For Sale board that say "never used." Ugh.