Beautiful! I don't have any pictures to share, but my garden is doing okay. I live in NC and this is our first year in a new (old) house. We dug the garden in spring, and I wasn't sure how it would do since I've almost exclusively done raised beds until now. I guess overall it is going well, but we have had a few problems. One exciting thing, for me, is that this is the first year I have started everything from seed, and I've been very very pleased with how that went. I bought seeds from a NC heirloom, organic seed company and they all have done fabulously! The first month or so in the ground went well and everything was growing well. Then, the basil started getting munched like crazy. I thought it was slugs, but my normal beer traps didn't catch slugs and didn't solve the problem. Soon my peppers and sunflowers were also getting eaten! I couldn't find anything during the day so went out one night and found out it was Asiatic Garden Beetles, a relative of the Japanese beetle. I went out several nights in a row and killed lots of beetles by hand, and the kids and I gently dug up around the plants during the day and got lots more. Eventually I pulled up all the basil and planted it in a huge pot. At this point that problem seems mostly solved, although the peppers and sunflowers are still getting eaten a little bit. Then the zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers started coming in and we had tons. We went away for a few days and came back to powdery mildew. I tried to take care of it organically, but it's been a couple of weeks now and most of the plants do not seem to be doing well. I pulled out a few yesterday and might pull out the rest tomorrow. Now the tomatoes are coming in and except for a few little bites here and there, they seem to be doing well. We have lots of baby bell peppers that seem to be growing well too. I love gardening, even though it can be sooooo frustrating sometimes!

Thank you all so much for your replies! They are very helpful. There are a few groups in my area, so it is possible that one will be a better fit for us than another. I just got the catalog in the mail, and it has a lot of focus on religion, IMO. I am especially unsure of how it would work for us as my kids get older, which is unfortunate, because that is really when I would like them to have more outside accountability and peer school relationships. I really really love the idea of CC, but I don't think it will be a good fit for us. I definitely don't want to just use the materials on my own because the group aspect, and the somebody-else-teaching part is what I really am looking for. I sure would love it if there was something like this that was secular! Thanks again for all of your input!

I am wondering how NON Conservative Christians have liked CC. We are Episcopalian, and I am not sure how that would mesh with CC. There are a few groups within a half hour of us, and it sounds very intriguing, but I am worried about the religious aspect. Thanks for any input!

Praying for your dh, and you too Jane. We have dealt with very similar stuff here, and it is HARD on both spouses. :grouphug:

I tried ToG at the beginning of this year, but found it way too hard to secularize. Currently we are using History Odyssey and we all like it very much, and it is very affordable. You would probably have to buy two or maybe all three Levels, but you could all do the same time period. There is a good bit of writing involved, as well as history, geography and literature.

Yep, swimoutlet.com

Oak Meadow 5th grade

Love it! What a handsome boy!

So much of it depends on where you are... and luck. That said, definitely tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, bell peppers and other sweet peppers.

thanks so much! i'll go check it out!

I'm thinking ahead to next year, and considering Oak Meadow 5th grade for my oldest. I am wondering if others who have used it could let me know how they liked it. Also, how independent is it? Thanks!

We always do fondue on New Years Eve. We always do a cheese fondue with bread and apples and chocolate fondue with berries, bananas, pound cake, marshmallows. Sometimes we also do a meat fondue, but it is a pain in the neck, so we often skip it.

absolutely not! It's not the way I teach my kids, but it's not something I would alert the authorities about.

no, we don't have one, don't want one.

butter! it is one of my favorite foods.

I voted "other." I usually keep ours in the fridge- we have 4 cats who get on the counters when we aren't around. I would rather leave it out though. If we are having bread with dinner (or any meal), I will take the butter out while I am cooking, so it has time to soften.

We made these last year, and they were really cute: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/turkey-luminarias-783823/

No advice, just hugs from me. I have 1 less kid than you and I am still struggling big time this year.

Praying for peace for you with whatever happens.

praying for your family.

We call each other "babe." Our little kids always call us "babe" for a while too, once they start talking and haven't yet figured out that its a special nickname.

No, I wouldn't. I don't really understand why a 21yo would want to hang out with a 14yo in that kind of situation.

i love Oyin's funk butter.

I think it is totally fine that the son give some percentage of the dog walking money to the family. I honestly don't see the problem with it at all. Sure, if the mother were making the son panhandle on the street corner, or go work in a factory all day, then that would be different. But, a 9yo earning $100/month for dog walking? I think he *should* give some percentage, half maybe, to the family. Yes, I would talk to my son about it, rather than take it. Absolutely! But, I don't see anything wrong with a child contributing to the family, especially when the family is struggling. I can't imagine allowing my 9yo to buy an Ipad, when I was worrying about how to feed and clothe him and his siblings. In years past, 9yo children and younger spent many of their hours helping the family; cleaning, farming, helping take care of younger siblings, etc. I often think kids these days (my own included) are seen as too entitled to free time. Work isn't bad for kids, and being useful members of the family isn't either.

Hugs to the OP. I have been asked this question many times, when I'm not pregnant, and it always bothers me too.