I did NOT want to go back to FLL 3; my oldest and I did not like it the first time around. However, in reviewing our grammar options, I think this was the best choice. Both girls can do it, and we will hopefully get a lot done quickly as it is a fair amount of review. It has everything I want in a grammar program, we needed to add the writing component, and I will have much greater peace of mind knowing that something is working like it should. I love CM, I do, but some of it seems odd to me. I love the living books for most subjects, and we will continue with that, but I do believe in more specific grammar and writing instruction. Phew! It's a load of my mind, anyway. Now off to give the girls their pages and get started!

A couple of years ago we had a wreath on our door that seemed like a good place to nest to a pair of house finches. My mom told me we would have birds in the house. I laughed at her... until the day someone forgot, used the front door, and freaked out the mother bird who flew in the house, straight up the stairs to the bonus room! :lol: My dad and I chased her until she got tired enough to let us catch her and put her back outside. Those little birds grew up and flew away on our front door, so apparently we didn't permanently scare her away. :D

Do we get to pick a new one every day? How I am supposed to just pick ONE? I just don't know. This is a very hard decision. I do not know what to answer. :willy_nilly: Almost Hear You Sigh by the Rolling Stones is what comes to mind this very minute, but I have to tell you, my dh would look at me like I'd lost my mind. Let's blame it on the cramps.

:iagree: This is what happened at my house. My kids think the program is a blast, and both girls did well on the tests while we were actually doing spelling, but my oldest applied nothing in other areas of school. However, I read recently on the AAS board (or was it here?) that while it is tempting to rush through the easier levels, it works better to take things more slowly and let them sink in. I wonder if that would have worked for us. I was trying to push us through so we could "catch up." We are using Spelling Wisdom now and I think it will work really well for my dd who does not apply rules. :) It's spelling through studied dictation, which makes her pay more attention to what she's doing.

I am in the process of trying to figure this out myself. What I'm currently working toward is having a shelf for each specific curriculum year; I have a lot for MFW K & 1, and then we used LBC 2 & 3. I have Schmooey coming along behind here so I'm trying to see what we have. After that, I have lots of other books that I would like to group by subject. I'm trying to decide if there are books I can get rid of. :svengo:

It took my dh many years, and the threat of divorce, to understand that we needed boundaries with his parents. In some ways, I know he knew they were unreasonable, but he grew up with them and really did not see what the big deal was. To me, they are toxic (still) and a threat to our marriage. I do not trust them any further than I can throw them, and cannot allow our boundaries (which everyone but me thinks are extreme) to relax, because they would fall back into the same patterns and I would not be able to handle that. I hope once they are actually out, things will improve. Encourage them to see a financial advisor, if they are so worried about finances. I don't know if they would be comfortable attending something like a Dave Ramsey/Crown Ministries/Good Sense Budgeting class, but they need to do something that will allow them to see what they need to do and help them make a plan to get there. We went to one and it helped us a lot. The ball needs to be put in THEIR COURT. Unfortunately, until your dh sees that he needs to tell his mother to knock it off, nothing will change. At least in my situation, the ILs do not listen to me - no matter what I am trying to tell them - and in cases involving boundaries, particularly, dh has to handle it. Can you go back to counseling and specifically discuss the need for boundaries with the inlaws, and why dh feels you are being unreasonable? I told my dh after the poo hit the fan a few years ago that I would not sit down and have any kind of discussion with his parents about our relationship with them without a mediator. They are that crazy - any discussion is pointless. Someone else needs to be there to translate and help come to an understanding. It would be interesting to see how your MIL responded to telling a counselor that she burdens your dh with her finances. :grouphug: Inlaws - can't live with them and sadly can't shoot them either. I'm sorry, Sweetie.

I was going to say, ham and deviled eggs, of course! :D

If you want to look at a living grammar book, you could look at Grammar-Land by M.L. Nesbit (link to PDF). My girls and I are working through it right now, using these worksheets (look under February for the rest). They're very simple, but give you a place to work through the info in each chapter. We like it a lot so far. We're using it while I figure out what on earth else we're going to do with grammar.

Oh yes - if you can get around to the Handbook of Nature Study, it is fantastic! We used it for snails and had a wonderful time. I am generally not one who thinks snails are all that interesting and was pleasantly surprised by how much we learned! We're currently using it for amphibians and I have a bowl of tadpole in the kitchen right now. I think they are bullfrog tadpoles which means we could have them for a LOOOOONG time. :D Also, handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com, which is Barb at Harmony Fine Art's site, has wonderful nature studies posted - I think she calls it the Outdoor Hour. You can follow along on her blog, and she has also made ebooks availble for each of the 4 seasons.

I have the 106 Days of Creation study! We like it, but haven't been doing it very much. A lot of the books were OOP, I think. I was able to find them used for the most part. I think it's a great study. We just don't get to it very often because we are constantly trying to get MATH DONE. :glare::D

The eaglets are so funny! There is one that keeps picking on the other two and he will NOT sleep under the parent bird that is there.

:grouphug: I have no advice for you but will be thrilled to meet your new little person when they get here!

I would LOVE it!

Definitely call the pharmacist. :grouphug:

:iagree: I love my Birkenstocks. I can't do plain ol' flips. I am going to check out some of the other kinds mentioned though, just for variety. :D ETA: I would spend what I needed to so that my feet/hips don't hurt. I can't deal with that anymore.

Our old house had 1850 sf, I think. It was fine for 4 of us. It felt too small when Schmooey came along. I know I have too much stuff, and with homeschooling, it was a little overwhelming. I think you will be fine! (We did move to a larger house when we moved last year, and I love it. I don't want to downsize. I don't want anything bigger, but I like this house a lot.)

There are alternatives to peanut butter now - sun butter (made with sunflower seeds) comes to mind. Maybe look into something like that for easy protein? Here is a website with some info on the amount of protein in some vegetables. It says brown rice is high in protein, too. I didn't know that. So, you do have some options!

I have to believe that wine and hormones cause lots of kerfluffle all on their own. :D :grouphug: I'm glad you are not really gone!

Dh attended a student chapel in college, and kids from all kinds of backgrounds attended. The pastor had wine, grape juice, little cups, the common cup, bread, and wafers. He wanted everyone to be able to take communion in the way they were most comfortable. :) He did say specifically that he wanted to be sure anyone struggling with alcohol issues could take communion with no concerns in that area. Is it irreverent of me to say that I *really* liked the communion wine and would have loved to find some for home consumption? :D

Can you get a large container of bubbles? I've seen, at Wal-mart, containers with a whole bunch of different kinds of bubble wands. My kids (11, 10, 3) have had a blast with it! We got ours 2 years ago, I think. 57 is warm enough to play outside with bubbles!

Thanks! Alas, we live about 1.5 hours away, so probably won't make it. Bummer. We live near Hickory. Surely, there must be art classes here, too. :D

I am sure it's different for a man, but I know our pastor said during one of his sermons that has was NOT SICK because he'd lost a fair amount of weight and the entire congregation (apparently) was concerned. I think last year the church we attend did the Daniel Fast for Lent (we started attending right around Easter) and he did really well with it. I'm sorry that you get mean comments! I don't get many about being overweight, but sometimes I think people are overly cautious in that direction. I am sure that most of the comments are borne out of jealousy. Practice thinking "Pfft! You WISH you looked this good!" and ignoring them.

I'm guessing these are the people with the... extravagant registry? :D I would be ready to tell them that my kids can't be in the wedding. I foolishly assumed they wanted the older kids because they know that toddlers/preschoolers don't make the best wedding party participants. Silly me! I am sure they would make completely adorable ring bearer & flower girl, but seriously, they cannot be IN a wedding that starts at NINE. (Please forgive me. I have cramps this morning and am in a rather kick-a$$ mood. What is WRONG with these people? Why on earth would anyone START their wedding at 9pm?)

:iagree: Prayer is the answer. If *I* were in your shoes, I would stop. First and foremost, because you don't want more kids, but just as importantly, because you need to get healthy to take care of the children you have. I have a dear friend who has one child. He was a preemie and has a lot of health/developmental problems because of that. She had a very rare form of eclampsia, which would most likely come back if she were to get pregnant again, and could kill her. She thought about having more children, but finally said to me, "My son needs his mother more than he needs a sibling." At first, I was a little taken aback by the way she said it, but she is right. (I think she stated it rather vehemently because she feels defensive - she's Catholic and while she never really wanted children and waited a long time to have one, she was still raised Catholic, KWIM?) The children you have NEED YOU. Take care of YOU so they can have you.

The eaglets are poking their heads out! :)