I do use coupons, and I do cook from scratch. I use only the coupons for the products that you will use. Yesterday, for example, I bought 3 lbs of cheese, 2 bags of croutons, 2 cans of frozen oj and 4 jars of natural pb for $4. Why do people love to bash coupon use? There are tons of coupons out there for dairy products, toiletries, etc.

My sister and my neighbor give me the coupons from the newspaper though. Also the best coupons often come from the internet. You can generally print two coupons per computer. There are tons of printable coupons out there for organic products now. You are allowed to use one coupon per item, or one manufacturer's coupon and one store coupon per item.

There are so many coupons out there now for healthy/organic foods. Last week I got 12 lbs. of organic carrots and 15 lbs of organic, whole wheat pasta for free. I don't use processed food either. I do save tons by getting paper products, HBA stuff, etc. free or extremely cheap. I get great deals on lots of healthy foods. We don't do all organic, but I feed my family of 6 really well for about $50/week.

One suggestion on the money issue- make her pay for anything she buys and does not wear (unless the tags are left on and the clothes can be returned). This solved our problem of buying too many clothes. Give her a small clothing allowance if you need to. I spend very little on clothes, because as a previous poster mentioned, she only has 2 pairs of pants and a few shirts she will wear. Get rid of everything else and do laundry more often. It is not worth the battle.

That is pretty rude, especially during Adoration. I would not knit during the lecture either.

I usually get up about now (5am East Coast), but I haven't been sleeping lately. Too much family stuff going on and also medication issues.... I should be cleaning or something.

She might be thinking long-term, not just kindergarten. My husband and I both have Masters ( a few each), and every day I think I am not qualified to teach several different subjects (writing being one of them).

I have been invited to a wedding. I am going to a funeral. I also need to send a belated graduation (from high school) gift. I know that it depends on how close you are to the recipient, but I would appreciate ball-park figures as to how much $ to give. Also, how much do you generally spend at a bridal shower? I am not super-close to any of them, but I want to give them a nice gift. It has been so long since I have had to do this, I have no idea how much to give.

If you don't mind, I am currently in treatment for thyroid cancer. I had the surgery and I will have the radioactive iodine treatment in about a week. I am really struggling with the decision to keep my kids at home or not. I have 4 (13,11, 6 and 3). I really have a hard time with the 11 year old dd. I am not super-organized or motivated school-wise to begin with. On top of it all, we bought a puppy the day before I found out about the thyroid cancer. I am thinking of getting rid of her (the puppy, that is). I don't know what to do with the kids though. Obviously, you don't know my family situation, and I don't have the energy to go into it all right now. I just don't know if I can deal with it all, but on the other hand, I don't want to stick her in ps and regret it later. She can be very defiant and disrupt the whole house. Did it take a really long time to feel well again? Any advice for someone going through this? Thanks for any wisdom you can share. Feel free to pm me.

However, I went this past fall 3 years after my last dd was born. The OBGYN found a thyroid nodule which turned out to be thyroid cancer. I am currently going through treatment. It is very curable, and I am thankful for that. I am also glad that I went and I am getting it taken care of. I also visited the dermatologist this past summer and had some (malignant) moles removed. I know you were not looking for advice, but mine would be to go every couple of years, at least. We had always been very healthy as well. I take no medications and had NO previous medical issues. A little voice was nagging me to go, and I am glad I did.

I am allergic to some cats and not others. Cats are really low-maintenance and cuddly-enough.

I can stop the search for Laurentiens. Now I need to decide between the other brands.

I have been researching all the colored pencil options...lyra, derwent, prismacolor, etc and then I read a review that said that Laurentien (made in Canada) were excellent. I checked them out and they are very inexpensive (between $13 and $20 for a 60 ct). The only problem is that I can't find them in the US (NY state) and I can't find a place that will ship them here for a reasonable amount either. Are these pencils as good as they claim? Does any one have any advice on buying them? Thanks for any help you can give.

We eat canned tomatoes several times a week. Last I heard canned tomatoes were supposed to be great for you. Now they change it all. It is very frustrating. I can't worry about this too much anymore. I do the best we can, but after a while it just too much.

What is the difference between the scholar and the premier colored pencils, other than price?

Which religion books were you unhappy with? I bet I went through the same thing. My mistake is that I keep purchasing them thinking I should like them because everybody does. I should have quit years ago.

They are not fun. What your grandmother did was not right. But as an adult, you need to be able to support your friends and family when someone they love dies. I think that yes, you need to force yourself to go. Just say a quick "Hello, I am so sorry," and leave. Or go to the service and sit in the back. It will get easier, but never easy. You can't avoid funerals your whole life. I guess you could, but you might really hurt people unintentionally.

I took all 4 of my dc (12, 10, 6, 2) to the wake and funeral Mass. I did talk to them before everything so they would know what to expect. They had cousins around too. They were very close to my dad. I think it's good for kids to see the whole cycle of life and death, especially if you explain it in the context of your faith. We did have an open casket, which I wouldn't have chosen. My kids seemed to deal with it OK though. I didn't make them go up to it, but they all did anyway.

I have a 7th grader and a 5th grader. We have not done vocab. I was thinking of English from the Roots Up. Would I need the cards and the book? I am open to other suggestions as well. Thank you for the help.

You do not want too much stuff in there, but basic furnishings in excellent condition do help. Remove the clutter. I disagree with the PP who said that open houses do not sell homes. I bought all 3 of our homes that we found through open houses. I also sold 2 homes through open houses. They do work.

I just took my ds (6) to the dentist for this very reason. Dentist said not to worry-it will push the baby teeth out eventually. HTH

I agree with the previous posters also. I do understand how you are feeling though. I have had a few shockers recently as well.

is that all teachers would need to be able to teach all subjects. For example, if all students take Spanish at the same time, all teachers would need to be able to teach Spanish. Maybe it could be done with just the core subjects (English, Math, etc) and that is when the other teachers could have their breaks or supervisory assignments. Just a thought.

I don't know. I have never waxed or plucked,but my dd does have thick eyebrow. Some kids have already made fun of her "uni-brow." I wouldn't know how to help her. It doesn't seem to bother her yet. The other day, another homeschooled girl (I thought she was the nicest girl around before this) told my dd (10) she was fat and had big bxxbs. I am not ready to deal with all this. Aack!

do you always send money along for the entrance fee, snacks, tickets, whatever? I don't want to say that my kids can't go along with people. I am just getting tired of spending all this money on activities I didn't plan on. I don't really know how to handle this. If we take any other kids with us, we would expect to pay. Then again, I usually just have the kids over here to play. How do you all deal with this?