I don't know any adoptive families who have the "rescue" mentality. They all adopted because they wanted to expand their families. That's why we adopted and it drives me crazy when people tell me how "lucky" our kids are. I'm like, "no, we're the lucky ones! They're great kids!"

Oh, DH and I just sit all evening and watch them, I love them. I love the one about the border between the US and Canada. I had no idea there was a "no touch zone". And of course the one about "what makes a country a country" was as hilarious as the continents one.

It's nearly 2pm here on the Left Coast. - banana bread baked - zwiebach and sandwich rolls baked - folded laundry mostly put away Now, I gotta get the house picked up. Haven't seen the kids all day. The whole neighborhood is on President's Day holiday, so there's just a mob of kids doing whatever on our street. I figure, someone will tell me if someone is doing something they shouldn't or is hurt, so I'm not being a helicopter parent today. Actually, the neighbor kids' parents are helicopter parents, so I'll let them do that. :)

I've known a lot of people who do it. It does irk me a little, since we adopted and didn't want to pay those costs so we went the fost-adopt route. I know that's not what everyone wants to do, but I kind of wonder why I should have to fund their adoption if there are other less costly options. But, I don't dwell on it. I also don't contribute.

We adopted through the foster care system. It's free, and they pay you while the kid is in foster care. There are risks, and you'd have a better chance of being placed if y are willing to take an older child and/ or a sibling group, but we went through 3 adoptions in the past 10 years. #1 - two boys, ages 13 months and 4 months # 2 - 2 day old baby girl #3 - 10 month old and 2 1/2 year old sisters Yes, we did have to wait, especially in the last adoption, but it can be done. Lot of it depends on your particular county and the attitude toward adoption amongst the Department of Social services. Some are very pro-adoption and some want re-unification with birth parents at almost all costs, so kids languish in foster care.

Tress, my 3 year old just finished potty training, so I feel your pain. It took her forever because she does everything on her terms, so if Mom wants me potty trained, then that's the last thing I'm gonna be doing right now.

Sorry about that. You know, I have never been able to make good poll questions. I made up a questionnaire once for a grad class and it was the same way. Hmm. Thanks for your input!

Morning ladies! I's President's Day today. No school for us. Or the rest of the neighborhood. So I am expecting the kids to play outside most of the day with the neighbor kids, while I try to get a handle on the abject clutter and mess that had a stranglehold on my house. It is bad. Very very bad. ** Mil is coming over the morning, so she will fold laundry for me ** I want to get some baking done ** clean up and de-clutter **'get some school work done - planning for the rest of the semester type of things ** get my allergy shots if they are open today ** bell choir rehearsal late afternoon. We're getting ready for Easter already. Brandi - I'm sorry about your rabbit! And Lizzie - sorry about your cat! Hope everyone has a delightful day!

Many times I'll do half-caf and let people know that's what I'm serving!

I am seriously considering switching my three oldest to Teaching Textbooks for math next year. I'm going to be adding a kindergartner to the mix and just need something that can be done independently. I hear mixed reviews about the curriculum, though, and want to make sure my kids are staying at grade level. So, here's the poll....

Hi Jean! Well, as for popcorn..... I love Carmel corn with peanuts. We don't do Netflix, but we have Amazon Prime. I was hooked on Alias for a while (never watched it when it aired, but was always fascinated by it, I quit after the third season... It got waaaay too intense for me, though I've always wanted to be a spy and I love Jennifer Garner) and now I'm hooked on Suits. Evergreens - yes. We have some evergreen shrubs. Nandina, Rosemary, mugo pines, and a couple others I forget their names.

It's been tough. I try to set rules for myself. No grocery shopping on Sunday, so I have to do that in Saturday, whether I like it or not. I don't plan things for Sunday except maybe social things that I really want to do. Picnics, that sort of thing. It's just a commitment I made to myself. I realized it one time I was praying for strength and it was like God told me, "I give you one day a week to rest and you don't take it, then you pray for strength. Take Sunday off, and if you still need strength, then we'll talk!" So, I always have that in the back of my mind as I go through my Sunday.

Good Morning Gals! "This is the day that The Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!" ** church ** that's all. I've really been convicted over the past couple years about making sure I take a day of rest. I go around complaining about how tired I am all the time, and yet I don't take Sunday to rest. So, I'm trying hard to make Sunday a day of rest and leisure and not a day that I catch up on all the work I didn't get done the rest of the week.

Congratulations! That's awesome!

No, I don't. I wish I could, but there's always something I feel like I should be doing. I hate being like this!

I just keep track of our days of school. I am always amazed that this state, that regulates everything, including what kind of sheets hotels can use, makes it surprisingly easy to homeschool. My theory is... if it is too hard to homeschool, we'll put our kids in public schools and they'll actually have to spend our tax money to educate them, which they can't afford. Regulating homeschoolers will be a drain on the system. As it is, they take my tax money, and I educate my own kids. Can you imagine the nightmare of public schools if all the homeschoolers all the sudden enrolled? And probably homeschool parents are people they don't want to contend with, because we're the ones who know you can opt out of the standardized tests, and we'd probably make waves about everything else.

11:00 check in. ** 3 year old is screaming because I won't let her fill up the cat's food bowls to the brim. The problem is, then the rest of the neighborhood cats come over for lunch and I just can't afford that. ** 10 year old is mad because I a) won't let him kick basketballs and B) I won't let him kick a basketball at his brother's face ** 4 year old is mad because she got a time-out for saying, "I'm going to kill you" to her sister. Does anyone want to come over and babysit while I go get a massage and a facial or something? On the upside... I got my yardwork done. Nothing gets rid of a little frustration like working with a pruning shears!

Good morning ladies. I love these Saturday mornings when I can lay in bed for a while with nothing urgent to do and no place urgent to go. Doesn't happen very often. Dh is at work this morning. They have a machine they have to get ready for the trade show in Vegas in a couple of weeks, so it's time for over-time. Today's agenda.... ** do a little housework ** do a little yardwork ( dormant spray my fruit trees, pull a few weeds) ** work on Children's Church stuff ** watch some Olympics ** do some baking ** look through the box of VBS curriculum my co-director picked up and take some notes I don't know what else. I kind of want to take it easy today. I've been feeling tired and a little achy and I'm trying to decide if there's a correlation between that and my completely falling off the low-carb wagon. I did low-carb quite well (a few slip ups, but generally well) since New Years, then, having lost only a pound in 5 weeks I got very discouraged and just said forget it about the middle of this week. And now I have trouble getting up in the morning, am slightly achy.... And before when I was doing low-carb I really had no trouble getting up early to walk, etc. so, I guess I'll experiment and go back to low-carb and see if that's what was making the difference.

My oldest will be a 6th grader and here's my tentative plan: Math: Teaching Textbooks Bible: God's Great Covenant Grammar: R&S 6 Spelling: Spelling Workout Composition: Memoria Press Classical Composition (finishing Fable, beginning Narration) Literature: I have a book list that corresponds to history History: a very very revised version of History Odessey: Middle Ages Science: I have no idea yet, toying with several ideas Latin: Second Form Latin Greek: Greek for Children Spanish: Getting Started With Spanish Logic: not sure yet

Hi everyone! I'm checking in at the end of the day. Had a bit of school this morning and then it was off to our co-op's annual Valentine's Day party at the bowling alley. It was fun. I had a nice time visiting with the other moms. DH and I don't "do" Valentine's Day. I feel like it's such a contrived holiday, an DH is always relieved when I let him off the hook for these things. He hates holidays. Or I should say, he hates the pressure of having to come up with something on holidays. Right now, I'm the only one up. Just sitting on my comfy chair, watching the Olympics. Hope you all have a restful sleep!

When I hear people use that term, it seems rather condescending. I do "school-at-home" and I'm not ashamed. We do school in the morning. My kid need the structure. We can't sleep in, and then do whatever, and then do math in the car and history before bed. We'd never get anything done. We have a structured, scheduled morning. We do Bible, then Greek, then spelling and Language Arts and math. After lunch it's history/Science, Latin and then the school day is done and the kids play and I do my thing. Maybe I'm just being defensive (probably am), but sometimes I get a sense that because I am not a relaxed homeschooler there's something wrong with me. I'm not quite as good as everyone else. And what's worse, I have been known to use A Beka.

We go to the same place every year, but that's because it's convenient and inexpensive. DH's family has friends who own a beach house and they rent it cheap, so we've been vacationing there since we've been married and it's nice. There's always lots to do and we love the beach, and we don't have to eat out every meal like you would in a hotel. However, this fall they are selling it (we'd love to buy it, but don't have close to that kind of money), so after this year (we have 2 long weekends planned) we're gong to have to try something new. For me, there's something comforting in going to the same place year after year, and it certainly builds good solid memories for the kids. Going some place different all the time the kids might forget where they've been unless it really made an impression.

Mine does. He loves conflict. He thrives on it. He does anything he can to bug people, get a rise out of people, argue, mind everyone else's business, and then he just gets this grin on his face.

Another almost 11 year old griper here. It's gotta be the age. Wow!

3:30 pm check-in ** soup - on the stove ** dessert (brownies) in the oven ** focaccia - done ** dd - should be in her way home from Kingdom kids (my mom brings her home) ** school - done! Trivia for today (it's on the talk radio show I listen to in the afternoon) : who is the most forgivable liar? Survey says.... Bill Clinton (is anyone surprised?) (this was taken from an article the host read)