Giving someone a hand while they are down is usually an attempt to help them up, not hold them down. The government's welfare system, though initiated with the best of intentions, has failed the poor.

And for some, any argument they disagree with is illogical and no amount of logic will convince them otherwise.

The pet food is such an irresistible draw, isn't it? We just got a cat for Christmas and my little guy makes a beeline for the cat's dish whenever possible. His primary goal--at this point--is putting the food into the water dish. Grrrrr. I'm sure he has eaten some along the way. This is all new to us, too, so I'm curious to see how others have handled it. I've been nonplussed about him ingesting a bit...but do try to keep him away from the area. However, if I'm ever distracted and then notice he's very quiet...there's a 98% chance he's made his way back to the dish.

Mine's up...a quiet moment of sibling love captured. Melts a momma's heart. :001_smile:

I wish I could have said it first, but I didn't. So, I will say :iagree:

Still proud to be a Titans fan...though I REALLY wanted them to crush the Ravens.

Boy, I have missed a lot. So sorry, Peek a boo. :grouphug: No private jet here, but I will be praying for you and for him to find stable employment.

LOVE it. Obviously, as this thread has shown, it doesn't work for everybody. But, in our experience, it was no more difficult to teach, and I think it looks much neater than ball-and-stick. It's also a great pre-cursor to cursive writing.

I would think they might go faster in spring, but I would start listing asap. Some people, like me :001_smile:, might have some extra Christmas spending money they use to pick up items for the next year.

My dd is a lot like that as well. I think a lot of it has to do with her personality; however, I did learn that I had encouraged some of it by praising her "smartness" instead of her hard work. This increased her fear of failure, not doing things perfectly. I was a first-born perfectionist myself, so much of it comes honest through genetics and birth-order. Intelligence was my thing, so appearing dumb in any way terrified me. This may mean nothing to your circumstance, but in my case I have worked very hard at praising her work ethic, encouraging her that mistakes are how you learn, reminding her that everyone makes them and that practice is what helps you succeed. It's a slow process, but she has definitely made progress in this area. HTH in some way, Dawn

Congratulations! That is awesome. Enjoy your new, precious addition. :001_smile:

Mine's up, too. Happy WW!

Molasses? That's the only sorghum I know...it's not like maple. Deeper, darker flavor, if that makes sense. Very, very thick. Growing up, we had it on biscuits. I'm sure there are a myriad of uses, but that's the only thing we used it for. :001_smile: Off topic--My grandmother said that during the great depression, molasses was one of the only things that was plentiful. People ate it over cornbread when they had nothing else. (This is in the Deep South) It always makes me think of To Kill A Mockingbird when the poor little boy visits Scout and stays for dinner. They have a delicious meal of plenty, but the boy asks for the molasses and pours it all over the food. Scout screams at him but is hushed by Atticus who later explains why the boy did what he did.

When Dh was in law school we lived in a tiny apartment sandwiched between two fraternity boys. They partied often, but were actually both really respectful about noise...we only had to ask them to quiet down once, and they were very responsive. One night Dh and I were sitting on the couch watching tv when a young guy came busting in to our apartment, beer bottle in hand. He stared at us, we stared at him, he apologized and quickly exited to enter the appropriate apartment. We laughed, but it did make us more cautious about locking the door.

Kind of reminds me of when they started slapping "Zero Trans Fat!" on mayonnaise labels. (not comparing the Bible to mayonnaise, though I am a big fan of both)

Wow! I'd love to know where you live...that's definitely not the case with the public schools here--and I live in the so-called "Bible-belt." My friends that are teachers have very strict rules against even mentioning anything Christian related, and they abide by those rules. As for the priest, I'm sure the catechism class is a choice just like Greek Mythology was an elective in my public school.

Honestly, it would mostly be watching and protecting. My ds loves pushing cars around. My advice would be this: start out as much like normal as possible, and see how he does. Put him in the chair with toys or on the floor with a few. He may be fine while you school. If not, then you will need to try the alternate plans.

More than viable...having seen them both, I much prefer Living Memory. I sold my copy of Harp and Laurel. I understand, though, that each person will have particular preferences. That is part of what makes homeschooling so fun--so many great materials to choose from.

Whew! I am not liking all the comments that it gets harder with a 2 or 3 year old. :001_smile: I think it will greatly depend upon the personality of this particular one-year-old and his adjustment to the arrangement. My little guy is currently 18 months, and the 6 months since he turned 1 have definitely been hard, very hard. We still get most everything accomplished, but my guy is a daredevil climber extraordinaire. He is not so easily contained as some one-year-old children may be/have been. He is a handful, but that doesn't mean your nephew will be. Take all the precautions to baby-proof your home--'cause they get into everything--and try to provide an enclosed space--using gates or closing doors, whatever. Throw a bunch of cheerios around--just kidding. :D Letting the older kids take turns with him will be the best bet, I think. Have fun!

I have been an abysmal failure, but I think my mindset must have been starting on Monday, January 5th, with the school week as opposed to January 1st. I'll give myself that grace and hopefully get off to a good start on Monday. :001_smile:

Here at Lulu ETA: I can't believe I was the first one to get the link up! I was even diaper-faced in the process of typing!

I have had great success with the recipes at Ree's blog. It helps that she takes photos of each step and talks you all the way through. The Olive Cheese Bread is wonderful and easy. It's listed in the appetizer section, but it is very hearty. Dh loves it, and paired with a salad, makes a yummy meal.

I've said it before....but it really is a treasure. There are many things in it that I would have missed completely on my own. And, having it all there in one big book is wonderful.

There is also a Scramble cookbook. I loved the recipes from the scramble and so did my family, but it became too much of an expense since I often substituted some of our favorite meals instead of those on the plan. We got the recipe for many of our current faves from there: Black-eyed pea tacos, roasted asparagus, french fries (boiled then baked--Yum)...the list goes on. After a while I began to become more confident in my ability to put together my own plans from the recipes we tried and liked as well as our old favorites. However, it was nice having everything laid out for you weekly with a ready-made grocery list.

I agree wholeheartedly. Dawn, another conservative Christian