:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5: I do love Cake Wrecks!

:grouphug: Will pray. I hate the dentist too.

:grouphug: It's hard for me to imagine why someone would threaten a book store, but I suppose there are enough litigation-happy people for everyone to have some. I'm sorry you're having to deal with them. I'm glad it's via email and not phone!

:lol: I think about this every time I sign something without reading it.

:lol::lol::lol: I used to work for a company that makes the databases for 411. My job was to call numbers that had been reported as not working by 411 operators. (Did you know that if you call 411, and the number they give you doesn't work, you can call back and tell them and get your money back? ) One time, I called a number, and did get an answer from the person who was supposed to live there and everything. In explaining why I was calling, and finding out the number was accurate, I said, "Oh, good! I'm just checking on this number, and now I won't have to shut off your phone." (Or something to that effect.) I think I nearly gave the poor woman heart failure. Mind you, I had NO POWER to do anything to anyone's phone. I do not know what made that come out of my mouth. It was one of my finer moments. :D

We have around 1.5 acres; I forget if it's a little more or a little less than 1.5. It's HUGE compared to our last backyard which was, I think, about .24 acres. We decided to live in a neighborhood to have, well, neighbors. Honestly, there are no other homeschoolers in our neighborhood and I'm kinda wishing we'd gone for more land. We like lots of things about our neighborhood, but there aren't lots of kids like I'd hoped and I grew up in the country, too, so I dream of being out where neighbors aren't so close. Next house, maybe. :)

We don't use the books online - I have hard copies. She just doesn't like the older language. I suppose I should just make her learn to read it; we've gotten more used to the Synge book this year and she has to admit it's gotten easier to understand as we've gone along. She resists mightily every time I tell her she has to read for herself, no matter what it is, because she doesn't like it. I don't mind audio books for some things, but she *does* have to read. You've given me some great ideas - having her share reading with her sister is awesome. She does try to get her sister to read to her when I tell them they need to read something. :) Maybe if they share the reading, the sister will be more willing and it will give Abbie practice too. I've actually been wondering if I had her read on my iPad, how she would like that. It sounds silly, maybe, but I have an easier time reading "hard" stuff on my iPad/iPod. I don't know why. It could be the smaller screen - I tend to skim when I read books, but with the little screen, I don't seem to do that as much. I've considered getting the girls Kindles for school; iPads are fabulous but expensive. The nice thing about the iPad is that we could just use the Baldwin Project for so many of the books. I'm going to print out Pre-Year 3 again and take a look at it. The fun thing is that we would get to do Paddle to the Sea and Pagoo, which we've not done yet. Everyone I know who uses AO loves it. I want to love it, too, but I know it will take a lot of hard work to get the girls into it. It's not that I'm against hard work but right this moment I'd really like it if something could be easy! :lol:

I have looked at AO again, and again, and again. The main problem I have with it is that they use so many books in the public domain. *I* love the books, but my younger dd in particular does not. She would rather listen to audio books than read for herself, and getting her to read AO books for herself would be such a battle... I'm not sure it would be worth it. We did not care for This Country of Ours, but I suppose we could try it again. The girls were a lot younger when we read it; younger dd in particular was not a fan. I was looking at using the pre-year 5 schedule for next year, thinking that would get us where we needed to be in the history cycle. I do like having a schedule made for me, which is one of the things that makes LBC hard for me. I was thinking about making a weekly schedule for the girls and showing them what they need to do, but I still feel like there is a lot that needs my involvement. I *like* being involved, but the fact is I have a 3 year old boy who is determined that we will not do any schooling while he is awake! Since he's about to give up his nap, this becomes even more problematic. Bless his little pea-pickin' heart. :lol: I suppose I could take another look at MFW also. I moved away from them after K/1 because I wanted a more purely CM approach, but since that's not working...

I was just thinking last night that I need to figure out what happened to my copy of TWTM! :) I haven't seen it since we moved and I don't know where to look - there are a few more boxes of books. I will also request it from the library. We are definitely going to do some "real world" math. I've been looking at Living Math and some other things. I think that's the only thing that is really going to help oldest dd with math! And, we desperately need some logic. I'd forgotten about that. Thanks!

They are fabulous! You did a great job! I am so impressed!

I have been trying to do CM for several years now, and I just don't love it like I thought I would. We're using Living Books Curriculum, and I have to tell you, I hate switching back and forth between books all the time. We are supposed to cover American history and World history, but the spines are not working like I'd hoped they would. The spine for world is On the Shores of the Great Sea by Synge (and the next one in this series if we ever finish this one). There doesn't seem to be a spine for American history, which is making me crazy. No one likes On the Shores of the Great Sea and I'm not sure we're getting much out of it. We're going to finish this year of LBC, because we have it, and I'm not buying any more curriculum for this year. I tried really hard to do my own thing this year, and it was a flop. What I'm considering for next year is Mystery of History. If you've used it: - Do you read a lot of extra books? I am OK with reading more books - I just want them to make sense with the spine. Also, I would like to have the option not to do so. Schmooey doesn't make a lot of reading aloud possible. - I've looked at the samples online, and love that for middle school ages she has them reading scripture to illustrate lessons. We will still do our own scripture memory, but do you feel the need for additional Bible study? - Have you used the audio? I have one who would really prefer the audio option but I'm not sure, after listening to the samples, if we will like them. - Have you tried the art projects? It says to consider them enough for a half credit of high school art. Are they going to be too hard for my rising 5th & 6th graders? - Do you use the folderbooks? I HATE lapbooks. I would really rather use notebooking. Along with MOH, my other thoughts are: - Timeline - I have HTTA CDs & notebooks ready to go, if I would just print the silly things out and USE THEM. - Grammar - FLL/WWE - as much as the scripting bugs me after a while, I think they work, and we're going to stick with them. - Spelling - Spelling Wisdom. This seems to work for older dd, and younger can use about anything and be successful. - Math - Teaching Textbooks for older dd, MUS for younger. Long story about why they're doing different things but I think it's important that they do that. - Science - not sure - should be an astronomy year. Maybe Apologia or Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space? Would love some input here. - Art - God & the History of Art, or Artistic Pursuits. Both look really good. What I'd love is to be able to GET to art. Sigh. - Music study - not sure, could just follow along with Ambleside suggestions. - Geography - I have Map Trek and will probably pull that together with MOH, although I have not been good about that in the past. I was looking at Mapping the World by Heart, which looks great, but something entirely different than anything else I've seen. That might not be a bad thing, but how much time is it supposed to take? If you've gotten to the end of this - thank you so much. I appreciate you taking the time to read it all! I'm going to bed now, but will check back in the morning.

Phonics Pathways - made oldest dd cry. Younger dd is open to trying anything but MFW K worked so well for us that we didn't go back to PP. Singapore Math - just shoot me. I didn't get it AT ALL, even with the HIG. I called the local homeschool store and asked for the AIG for level 1, and they said they didn't carry it because no one needed it. Boy, did I feel stupid! Simply Language Arts - I was SO excited about this program, but it did not work. We're back to FLL/WWE. I am not crazy about the scripting, but it works. All American History - oh. my. goodness. Could it be more boring? I could not get the girls to read it to themselves (oldest would try but would retain nothing, younger cried) and it nearly put me to sleep to read it. I found myself going to the library to get a book that we liked better about each explorer - and we didn't get past the explorers (who KNEW there were so many? Gah!). I am still trying to decide if I want to sell it or use it for timeline/reading lists; I think it's very thorough. All About Spelling - I *wanted* to love this program. I *do* love this program. However, oldest dd was retaining nothing. She could do everything perfectly during the lesson but never applied it anywhere else. My younger dd LOVES this program; both girls think it's fun, but it's too much teacher time for something that isn't working for anyone.

I actually stopped reading the LOTR trilogy. :leaving: I just couldn't take it. There are SO MANY WORDS! Even when the characters are speaking they are describing something. Gah! My dad says this is the beauty of Tolkien but it made me insane. The audio books are much more tolerable. Although, even those made me so sleepy in the car while I was driving I had to turn them off! :lol: I agree, there are too many good books to waste time on the bad ones. Don't worry about it! Find something more enjoyable!

My sister's BIL got married last summer, and they had her 2 yo TWINS in the wedding. I thought that was quite... erm... "brave" of them considering that the boy is a wild man and the girl is such a princess, but I guess it worked out OK. Not my choice and I didn't have to go. :D I get that it's your dh's only sib, Aub, and I'm sure you are going to end up having to do this crazy thing. I hope you are able to do the wedding and take the kids home. Let dh go to the reception. Bleah.

Mine was 5 also, and I wasn't going to force her. She always sucked her thumb while rubbing her satin-edged blanket. I took her blankets away, and she stopped sucking her thumb. It was really easy... almost too easy, LOL! I did giver her blanket back when she had surgery for her broken arm(s), and by then, she didn't suck her thumb and just rubbed the satin. She still has her favorite blanket at 11. :)

Kittens can get fixed much younger than that now. I think the youngest age is maybe 12 weeks, but I'm not sure.

I Don't Want to Hear Anymore by the Eagles. What a stupid, pathetic song. The lyrics drive me nuts. The music is pretty but that's its only redeeming quality. (Why are we posting links to songs we hate? Do we want to torture each other? LOL)

I LOVE SATCH! Oh, my goodness. I may have to torture my children today. I love Crushing Day and Always With Me, Always With You best, probably. And Flying in a Blue Dream. Why didn't I think of the Eagles? Best of My Love is one of my all-time favorites.

OOoh, I like that one too. Definitely Buckley's version.

I love, love, love Mary Kay! I do have a MK business (because I love the products and hence the discount) but I do not push it - my mom, my sister and one friend are my customers who support my habit. I've used it since I was a teen and been very happy with their products.

You need a back brush! That's what I had to do. I can't reach all of my back and it was driving me nuts. You can get a back brush about anywhere.

Have a good move! See you when you get back!

My middle child is getting pickier as she gets older. I try to remember that dh has some texture issues and it seems she is developing them as well. I know taste buds change but I really don't understand why food that has been fine all along has suddenly become unacceptable to her. I really don't serve anything she cannot stand, so my rule is that she has to eat what we are having for dinner the first night we have it. If she doesn't like it, she doesn't have to eat it for leftovers. We have also had the discussion about being rude about what is served. She's usually not too bad but now and then she likes to see how far she can push me. She does pretty well with meals now. I do try to give her a head's up if we're having something I know she doesn't care for, just so she can prepare herself. I can remember having liver for dinner, which I detested. I also remember throwing up into my plate. I would not serve things that made her want to gag, but she does have to learn to eat things that are not her first choice.

Where do you find info about what/how to eat while you're taking HCG?

I vote for a kitten. I love guinea pigs, but you already have a cat, and cats and guinea pigs don't make very good buddies. Guinea pigs are nocturnal and messy. Do you have a place to keep it that it won't keep anyone awake? They can be a lot of fun, but you have to handle them a lot to make them friendly and if you get one that is already an adult you might be out of luck. Their cage is a big pita to clean, IMO. Of course, the last time I dealt with it I was pregnant - that could have had something to do with my impression of cleaning the cage. :D We got a kitten in the fall (we had 4 other cats). She adores my girls and pretty much ignores me. She seems to like dh; she rubbed on his legs when he came home tonight. She is very sweet though. She never uses her claws and never bites me, even though she hollers a lot when I hold her. I have stated that I will not have rodents, birds or reptiles in my house. I might be persuaded to get a small lizard sometime but NO SNAKES. Kittens are so much fun, and they purr. That's my vote!