I've had my Miche bag for years and I love it! The handles have held up well. I have both types of handles, the short ones and the long shoulder strap ones. If there is a problem with the handles you can just replace the handles without having to replace the bag. The magnets work great but don't hang a clip-on watch on the side of the bag in place of wearing a watch. It won't work when it's attached to the magnet. :laugh: I love being able to change the look of my purse without have to move everything from one to another.

I got an email with a coupon code for 20% off everything at Answers in Genesis. I don't think I've ever seen a sale there before but I haven't really watched for sale either. Do they usually have sales throughout the year or should I take advantage of this opportunity? We are planning on buying the remaining 3 sets of the God's Design for Life series. I checked and the coupon is good for what we want to order and it will save me $58.20. I wasn't planning on purchasing this right now though and I am wondering if there will be another sale later that I can wait for or if I should take advantage of this sale while I can.

I have to be very careful when I use my crock-pot because it's so easy to overcook and burn things. There is no more all day long cooking, even on low. Recipes have to be adjusted for the time difference. They are definitely hotter than they used to be. I prefer my old one but it's not big enough for some of my recipes. My husband was telling me a couple of days ago (after I nearly ruined apple butter in my crock-pot by using it overnight) that Alton Brown says that there in no temperature difference between High and Low. The difference is in how fast they reach that temperature. I am going to have to seriously consider that Nesco!

Nope, didn't feel a thing here in Western Washington. Of course, I was asleep at the time.

He teaches one subject and oversees a couple more one day a week while I am at Bible study (that is the reason we chose that day for him to telecommute from home). The rest of the time he is my sounding board and substitute teacher when I am sick. If we have had a difficult day I may save science for him to teach in the evening or on the weekend.

We eat around 6pm, give or take a half hour.

We are taking the whole week off. If they really beg I may agree to a couple of quick and easy subjects. :D

I highly recommend this soup. It's called Virus Killing Soup. My daughter requested it last week when her cold first started. I only used 15 large cloves of garlic and we all decided that I needed to use at least 20 large cloves of garlic. I cut the cayenne down to 1/4 teaspoon. I also add in lots of onions, celery, carrots and a leek to the first step. Then I toss those mushy vegetables after the broth is done. I add in new vegetables and noodles after dividing the broth in half. Sometimes I make dumplings instead of adding noodles. There is usually enough to freeze half and still serve us for two days. I freeze the broth without the new vegetables or the noodles.

Pictures taken - Washington

I'm on there with the same user name. I haven't been on in quite awhile though and I definitely haven't updated my projects with pictures. I love looking for new patterns on Ravelry.

I'm not sure how to answer because it depends on the type of pencil she is using. If she is using a mechanical pencil she can be snapping tips all over the place. If it's a regular pencil then she only snaps it when it is first sharpened. My dd presses too hard and so duller pencils seem to work better because they can take the pressure without breaking.

:grouphug: I'm so sorry! You are doing the right thing for her. We had a similar situation last December. It was hard and it hurt us but we didn't want him to suffer any more. :sad:

I had a similar problem with my 4.5 yr old. When we started school in September I realized that she didn't know her letters or any of the sounds they make. The Letter Factory was recommended to me by several people. I bought the 3 DVD set (Letter Factory, Word Factory and Go to School plus it includes a set of flashcards) and let her watch the dvd while her older sister is having her one-on-one time. She loves them and they work! It's been just a few weeks and my dd can say most of the sounds of the letters when I show her the flashcards. She still won't say the name of the letter but that will come later. I'm thinking that it's a great fit for her learning style. Another benefit is that she learning how to write the letters herself! She says that "Leapy" taught her. :lol: Okay!

We are getting my 7.5 yr old: a jewelry box a Spirograph (vintage from Ebay) a collection of science experiments from Timberdoodle She is asking for more crafts, stationary and chapter books so she might get those as well.

We bought the purple softcover for our 7 yr old and we really like it. We ordered it from CBD and had her name imprinted on it as well. I like that it has questions and mini-biographies. She uses it in church without any problems.

I'm so sorry! He's a beautiful dog! :grouphug:

We do AAS 4 days a week with a lesson a day. We just started using AAS in September so DD is working quickly through Level 1 and will start Level 2 in a couple of weeks. It's really easy for her right now so it only takes about 10 - 15 minutes. We will see if that changes once she reaches the upper levels.

Yes, I probably am reading to much into this. I might need a vacation. It just came across as, "Our daughter has Friday off from school. We can invite her homeschool friends because they don't "go to school" either." I really don't care how many parties she has, who she invites or even when the party is (except if they are assuming that homeschoolers are available at anytime during the week). They are friends and so I called to verify the date because it seemed odd to me. I would hate to notice that the date was weird and not say something and then have it turn out that I was right and have the party messed up. She sent the evite out late at night yesterday. I will probably work it into my schedule and let the girls go. If it turns out that most of the others can't go I will probably very gently explain to my friend why weekdays aren't necessarily good for homeschoolers either.

I don't know if I am being overly sensitive or easily annoyed today or if I should really be annoyed at this. My daughters were invited to a birthday party next Friday during the day (late morning to early afternoon - right in the heart of our school day). I thought it was strange because the birthday girl goes to a private school. I looked on the schools website to see if they had the day off. They don't so I called my friend to see if she had put the right date on the invitation. I talked to her husband and he said that there was no school that day and that this was the party for her homeschooled friends. There was going to be another party for the other friends. I mentioned that the school website said the day the school was closed was the following week and he should make sure that the dates were correct. I only looked at the website and mentioned it to him because I wanted to make sure I was looking at the right date to see if we were available. He said he would tell his wife and they would double check. The more I thought about it though the more it bothered me. A special party just for her homeschool friends? On a weekday? Are they assuming that because we homeschool that we can drop our plans, cancel school for the day or otherwise change our school time? What if it was reversed? If I scheduled my daughter's birthday party on a school day would they let their daughter miss school to come to the party? I know they wouldn't! One of our friends has already declined because they have co-op that day. I'm tempted to decline because it's last minute and we already have school plans. Would you explain why you can't make it or just decline and say it doesn't fit in the schedule? I don't want to give my kids the impression that we can just dump school when something fun comes along but I also don't want to be inflexible because it IS one of the benefits of homeschooling. Should I just roll with it because I am being to, I don't know, sensitive? That doesn't seem like the right word but you probably know what I mean. I am probably just in a "mood" and should take one of these -----> :chillpill: My DH thinks I am making too much out of this. What does the Hive think? :)

I use Pond's Cold Cream at night, especially if I have been wearing make-up. In the winter I just tissue it off but in the summer I will use a warm, wet washcloth. If I need to use a little toner, then I use a cotton ball with witch hazel. My skin is mostly normal with my t-zone being more oilier than the rest of my face. In the morning, I wash with Dove soap in the shower and then use a little Oil of Olay for a moisturizer. My skin has never been so good since I started using the cold cream.

This is the method that we used with both of our daughters. One learned to ride the week she turned 5 and the other learned to ride a few months after she turned 4. It only took a week of coasting without pedals before they got the hang of balancing. Dh read an article on this method and tried it. It mentioned that not only are the training wheels unsafe but that kids get used to relying on them instead of learning to balance themselves. It really works! Take the pedals off and lower the seat so they can easily touch the ground with their feet. I haven't read all the replies so this may have already been mentioned.

:lol::lol::smilielol5::smilielol5:

I would try and find a no-kill shelter in my area unless you signed an agreement that you had to return them to the shelter where you got them. Living in a garage with little contact isn't much of a life and it's not likely to encourage them to bond to you. Their fur and dander would still get on their clothes. I'm so sorry it didn't work out for your kids.

You can get them at Walmart, Target, Office Depot, Staples, etc. They are made by Crayola. I'm really enjoying them here as well. Dd writes much better and smaller with them and they don't accidentally erase if she bumps the board. I think they are kind of pricey (almost $5 for a box of 8) but well worth the cost.

My dd hasn't asked why but she knows it's on the schedule and accepts it. However, yesterday when we were studying science I pointed out the Latin names of things and mentioned that she is going to learn how to read them. When we see hymns with Latin in them (Adeste Fideles for example) I point out the Latin. I also act real excited and mention that I am going to be learning it WITH her. We just started Prima Latina so we will see if my techniques work or if she will balk at the program. I think the secret code idea is great! Does Indiana Jones use Latin in The Last Crusade? Maybe he would want to relate to an adventurer like Indy.