I think that is extremely rude. If it were me, I'd run out and buy the most obnoxious toy I could find. (How's that for mature?) :D

I do a treasure hunt for my kids...leading to one of those small heart-shaped boxes of chocolates (you know, the $1 ones...) and a handmade valentine where I list a bunch of things I love about them. They *love* the treasure hunt...and I can't back out of it for anything. Dh and I exchange cards, he brings me flowers, and I usually make a yummy treat of some kind for him or buy a bag of dark chocolate candy. Oh, and usually before Valentine's we cut-out heart-shaped sugar cookies and decorate them. We tend to only do these at Christmas and Valentine's so it's a big treat for my kids. (I should probably do it more, I just never have the energy or desire!!!) The kids love to do the cheap dollar valentines from the store and deliver them to neighbor & church friends.

You can always accept him as a friend, reconnect (meaning, find out where he is, how he is, what has happened over the past years, reminisce (sp!) about something, etc...) and then 'de-friend' him later. That's what I've done with a few guys from high school, elementary, etc--it is so fun to reconnect and find out how people have 'turned out'...but it's not like I'm going to want to have social contact with them for years to come. Does that make sense? I don't have any concern with dh being in touch with old girlfriends on facebook--but honestly I'd be a little uncomfortable if they were online chatting frequently or something. I will say that I find it weird when my girlfriend's husbands ask to be my friend on facebook. I don't know why, but it's just weird. It's not like I'd call them up and chat. Of course I'm friendly to people, but I consider it a bit inappropriate for me to sit & talk with my friend's hubby in my living room when nobody else is in the house...so I'd say having an online chat would be borderline appropriate-ness, too. Just my opinion, of course. I kind of look at it as avoiding even the appearance of evil...and preventing anything inappropriate from ever happening. Not that I can seriously see myself suddenly making out with my friend's husband and starting an affair, but I think many times little things could lead to other choices...

I was also in tears. The most touching part to me was at the end when all of the kids came in to meet Josie. I had been feeling a little confused by why they had all been so excited to hear that she was born--of course, I understand the joy of a new gift from heaven--but they all just seemed unconcerned about the ramifications of such an early birth. Like a little clueless about the challenges that are up ahead--the cousin was like, oh, she's going to be so tiny & so cute. And when Josh was on the phone, he didn't react like I would have expected...granted there was a camera in his face...but if I had just learned that anyone I know (much less my mother) had given birth almost four months early, I think my reaction would include more of concern & worry about if she is going to be okay rather than simple joy at her arrival. I don't mean to knock the Duggars in any way--I admire a lot about them. And I did love when JimBob said they were going to praise God through the difficult time, too. Perhaps it was just how the show was portraying it all-- Did anyone else feel like me?

Hawaiian Haystacks: Cooked, shredded chicken in cream of chicken soup (add a little milk to get a gravy consistency) Pour over cooked rice Toppings: pineapple olives tomatoes green peppers mandarin oranges green onions water chestnuts almond slices coconut shredded cheddar cheese chinese noodles (the crunchy kind) In our family, we typically just have pineapple, olives & the crunchy chinese noodles. I don't know that most people put everything on, but you just kind of pick your favorites. That's funny, I never would have thought it was a Mormon thing, but yes, I'm Mormon, so maybe it is. :001_smile: I think it's a great recipe to have with a large group because the meat goes a long way and everyone can fix it to their own liking. Plus you don't have to do too much to go with it...maybe a green salad and rolls. The rice can be all ready in a rice cooker, the meat & sauce in a crockpot, and you can have people help you cut/chop.

I like to do taco salads or Hawaiian Haystacks with a large group of people--then set up a buffet table where they just walk through and pile it on their plate. Or potato bar or several different soups, veggie tray & rolls. Hope you get some suggestions that you like!

We pay $10 for 1/2 hour violin lesson. Although, teacher and I are doing some terrific bartering here...I teach her dd beginning piano while she teaches ds violin/and for dd's violin lesson, I prepare four make-ahead freezer meals for her.

We love William Bennett's Book of Virtues. There are several options--a picture book type of anthology (actually several--Children's Book of Virtues, Children's Book of Heroes, and others), one for teenage level, and the adult level. We have all of them...around 10-12 'virtues' (Compassion, Work & Responsibility, Honesty) are presented with several pages of true stories, legends, poetry, etc to teach that virtue.

I love having meals in my freezer. I've tried several variations of the OAMC. Taking one whole day is overwhelming and seems impossible with little ones underfoot. I have divided things up a bit and take just a few hours at a time to do different parts. I typed up a list of every step I needed to take for each recipe--so that if I was interrupted, I knew where to pick up. For example, I'll prepare all of the ground beef recipes that I do on one day: enchiladas, lasagna, spaghetti sauce, tator tot casserole, taco meat, meatloaf, ground beef for soups. Mostly just browning the ground beef and assembling the casseroles/mixtures. On that same day, I will bake a bunch of chicken in my oven/crockpots and put in the frig. The next day, I'll shred or dice the chicken and prepare the chicken recipes: chicken enchiladas, sweet & sour chicken, bbq chicken sandwiches, hawaiian haystacks, white chicken chili, chicken pot pie, chicken bundles. I've also done twice baked potatos and a ham/shredded potato casserole. Another day I might prepare a bunch of breakfasts: muffins, french toast, pancakes, breakfast burritos. For some of these I make 4 of the recipe. (I trade frozen dinners for violin lessons with a friend, so I need extras). My easiest to throw together are enchiladas, lasagna & tator tot casserole...I don't bake any of them before freezing, just assemble & freeze. I always do at least four of each of these. So if I do both the ground beef & chicken days, my freezer meals last about 2-3 months...because I don't necessarily use a freezer meal every single night. Typically once a week we have potato bar, homemade pizza, and soup (which is easier to have the meat ready to toss in, but open up the cans or dice the fresh veggies that morning and throw it in the crockpot). I've also had times when I couldn't do the entire process--but even if I brown the ground beef and bake the chicken it helps so much! It is much easier to pull out ground beef ready to go into a casserole. My dh thinks the ground beef tastes funny when I do this, but he's learned not to complain too much about it...because it is just so much easier. Although it costs a lot more up front (simply to buy all of the ingredients at once rather than throughout the month), we definitely save money when I do this. You can buy things in bulk size (usually less) and use up every little bit of the ingredients. And it really saves us from buying fast food or packaged/prepared food at the store. I bought a whole bunch of the aluminum casserole pans and just re-use them, covering with new foil each time. I like being able to just thaw them and put them right in the oven. My biggest tip would be to get an electric can opener if you have lots of cans that you use in your recipes. And to put the kids to work in an assembly line--my kids love to slice olives with the egg slicer, open the cans, dump cans, measure spices, layer ingredients...

Not sure if it was already posted, but you could go on a Color Hunt...choose one and 'hunt' all around your house to find objects of that color. You could even add in a magnifying glass or binoculars to make it fun.

I play the flute...and yes, there are tons of flutists out there! If she is wanting the orchestra-type experience, it is very difficult to get one of the spots. When I transferred to a new university, I couldn't even play in any of the groups because I wasn't a music major...there were way too many music majors that needed the experience for their degree requirements. What kind of experience is she looking for? If it's band or jazz band, I'd say a saxophone might be a good bet...I think it's the tenor sax that has the same fingering as flute. (?) I think finding a good oboe or bassoon player is hard...so either one of those would probably be in demand. My kids take violin...their teacher has said if they play viola and get good at it, they can pretty much guarantee a music scholarship as they are in great demand.

Our ds started boy scouts at 11...and is on track to get his Eagle at or around 14. My dh says there isn't necessarily a required age, but you do have to be in the other ranks for a certain amount of time in addition to meeting requirements...have to have 1st Class for four months + complete requirements to earn Star; need to have Star for 6 months + complete requirements to earn Life; need to have Life for 6 months + complete requirements to earn Eagle. The Tenderfoot, 2nd & 1st class ranks can all be worked on simultaneously and you don't have to be at each rank for any specified amount of time. So...ds12 started scouts at 11, completed Tenderfoot, 2nd & 1st ranks shortly after he turned 12. He is about to earn his Star...and in the next 6 months, he'll complete requirements for his Life (which will happen around his 13th birthday). Then he'll have that year to work on his Eagle requirements & project...so if all goes according to plan, he'll get that around his 14th birthday. Scouts is part of our church program for youth...so that is one reason for our sticking to this time table/plan. According to dh (who has worked in scouts for years through our church), it seems that often the older the boys get, the less interested they are in scouts and/or sticking with it until the Eagle. The younger boys are more into it...and it makes sense to push forward while the interest is there. As they get older, there is just more they get into (working part-time, dating, friends are more involved, etc). At the age of 14, the church program goes more into Varsity scouts...so they do continue on in Scouting. Just our experience with it...I'm sure you'll get other perspectives on it. But that's the track we're on...and the reasons we're doing it. We love the scouting programs!

I did this with my ds12 for the second half of last year...our principal was a little leery of it, but willing to give it a try. My son went to school only on Fridays (which were from 8:15-1)...so he got to go to PE, recess, orchestra, lunch. Ours was mostly for social reasons. The way I convinced my principal was telling him this way he could have my ds take the end-of-year standardized tests still...otherwise they'd lose his awesome score to help their average. :001_smile: It worked. I'd suggest having a frank discussion with the principal--discussing your child's giftedness & need for additional challenge. I'd just approach it as, hey, we're looking into all of our options and are wondering what the possibility would be for little Johnny to attend for just half the day next year. Good luck!

I don't know about any kind of a swap, but here is a website you can check out: www.music-scores.com They have a lot of arrangements for differing instruments, ability levels, ensembles. Some of them you can print for free; you can pay to print a single piece or you can join for a membership fee and print all you want. I needed some Christmas music for our family string ensemble and found some great things there. But I also teach beginning piano and have found some terrific things to add to my lessons.

:iagree:

Well...I'm working on organizing my house first...then I'll start on the projects! I have a huge list of ones that I want to do, but feel so overwhelmed with the mess of my house that it is most certainly my first project to tackle. But you inspired me with that quilt. I love it! You did a great job! And yeah for finishing it! I was just going through dd2's baby clothes today and I am having SUCH a hard time getting rid of them. I think this might be my answer. First of all, I never knew you could use fleece like that--instead of batting & a back--I love it. Just seems to simplify the whole process. (I'm not a huge quilter...but have done a few...I love making the tops but then feel overwhelmed with the rest of it). And folding it over for the binding. Thanks so much for putting all of the steps on your blog! One quick question...did you have all kinds of different fabric of clothing that you used? And it worked okay? Denim, sweats, fleece, corduroy, cotton?

Look at how on the ball you are! You ask for ideas...and then you get right to work! Way to go! It looks terrific. If only I could get something done like that...

I really love these carseat tents: http://thethriftychick.blogspot.com/2009/07/simple-car-seat-tent-tutorial.html I made one not too long ago and it didn't take too long (I'm not extremely crafty, but can sew a straight line on the sewing machine...mostly straight!)

Precious! Definitely worth writing down to remember forever. My dd2 (and a half) has suddenly become *two* lately and it helps to think of those delicious moments often.

I'd suggest that you do a little research into specific religions--by going directly to the source rather than relying on opinions of others. Look for official websites of some of the churches/religions you are interested in and learn directly from them what it is they believe. You could even create your own chart to keep track of various denominations. As you do this research, you'll start to see whether you agree with certain doctrines more than others. In addition to this kind of research, another huge component to it would be praying to know where the Lord would direct you. To those who truly seek, He will lead you. On the other hand, if you are looking more for what programs are offered for children--that you'd probably discover by word of mouth or by calling around to various churches. With the topic of religion, I'm always willing to offer my personal witness of what I believe...so if you want more information on the LDS Church from an active member, feel free to pm me. Best wishes in your search.

This is what I do...although I throw it all in various baking dishes and bake it for an hour...then dice/shred & divide into ziplocs for the freezer. (In fact, I just cooked up 10 pounds last night!) I just pull a bag out in the morning, let it thaw & use it to make lots of things: white chicken chili, chicken pot pie, chicken enchiladas, bbq chicken sandwiches, hawaiian haystacks, chicken noodle soup, chicken pasta, etc.

Have you ever tried having the couch facing the blue wall (and parallel to it)? And creating a walkway behind it from front door to dining area. Just a suggestion to try it and see if it would work. The room looks plenty big and you could put a sofa table behind it. (This advice is NOT coming from someone who knows anything about decorating, by the way...). Have fun!

I feel the same way quite often. Poor dh--he does his best to listen to all my yakking, but it's just not the same. Don't know what I'd do without him!

:iagree: Just state matter-of-factly that the downstairs rec room & bathroom are for the girls; the living room floor & guest bath are for guys...and then stick to your guns. I think you are being so gracious that nobody would think to question you (well, they shouldn't!). I'd also give the brother & family of 7 a phone call and kindly mention you'd heard they might not be staying at the house...say you're more than welcome to again...and if they still prefer the hotel, say, okay, then I'm going to offer the room to so and so.

If you don't mind my asking, could you elaborate on how it is affecting him now? We also didn't redshirt our July/Aug birthdays due to academic abilities. I'd like to hear from someone who has btdt.