Last night we watched the first episode of Raw to Ready on PBS -- it was outstanding. DD10 was mesmerized. You can watch it on the PBS website, and there are more episodes airing in the next few weeks.

Bunnicula -- now, while you can get away with something spooky. Molly's Pilgrim -- perfect before Thanksgiving. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever -- the best thing I have ever heard another teacher do as a read aloud, back when I was a student teacher. This one is an annual event at my house.

I can't answer your question, but I am relieved it has nothing to do with mold on Halloween candy. :scared: ETA: I can't answer because I think all chocolate sounds pretty good, so I'm not the best judge of what would be weird.

Lots of Legos, books, and Snap Circuits (8 yo boy, 10 y o girl). A few board games and things from the Mindware catalog. Some American Girl stuff for DD. I have most of my shopping done because we do Hanukkah and Christmas, and Hanukkah is in less than 2 months! We may get a PS3 now that the PS4 is coming out -- we have always stayed a step behind with gaming systems, which doesn't bother the kids and definitely helps with the budget.

My Dh stumbled across TI calculators (83 or 84, I don't recall which) marked down drastically at Kmart a couple of years ago. They must have been considered a back-to-school item, and he found them doing early Christmas shopping. He grabbed two, for my stepson and niece, for under $25 apiece. He found them while wandering through the electronics department, so it was a lucky accident. I would definitely check around before paying full price for one.

I have ham and bean soup in the crockpot right now. Other favorites here are white chili, chicken with either rice or noodles, carrot soup (DD likes that chilled even better than hot), butternut soup, and mushroom barley.

I made a pork roast in the crockpot with wedges of cabbage. Sides were steamed carrots, mushroom risotto, and salad. Brownies for dessert.

I had forgotten about Derek Owens -- maybe I should look again. I had planned on using TT for geometry, so maybe doing that first, then using their algebra II when some review might come in handy would make more sense. I'm not really worried about things not being honors level at this point since none of it is going on a transcript, and she will have time to cycle back to topics she wants to do at a higher level by the time transcripts are an issue. One of my problems is that she has moved through things faster than I had expected, and some of the choices that made sense when I was planning don't seem like good fits for a younger math student. To complicate things even more, she is an odd mix of being really good at math while not enjoying the subject at all. If I go with TT algebra II I have 3 possible paths: 1 -- Switch her to TT mid-year since there is so much overlap. 2 -- Finish up Lial this year, expect tons of review at the start of next year, but let that just be a nice confidence-builder. 3 -- Go with Geometry next year, then cycle back to algebra II.... or maybe alternate algebra II and geometry?

I have tried searching, but can't find anything about this being done..... DD is in chapter 4 of Lial's Introductory Algebra. She is doing well, but doesn't love it. She doesn't always get the instruction directly from the book, but does fine if I explain things using different phrasing. She has expressed an interest in trying something she could do more independently next year, and I have to admit that it would free up more time I could use with DS and for the subjects that are teacher intensive that I have them combined for. TT looks like it would fit the bill, but in looking at the table of contents for algebra II, it looks like a ton of the material is topics that we have covered or will cover this year in algebra I. I haven't given her their placement test yet, but it looks like she'll breeze through most of it. So, if anyone has switched between these programs, is the overlap that significant? Also, DD is on the young end for taking algebra, so taking extra time won't be a burden.

I am so very sorry that you are going through this awful situation -- but so glad to know that those kids had the chance to know the love and care that you were able to provide.

I have one and run it every night - I set the timer on it after supper and we wake up to clean dishes.

My kids went to a birthday party in our neighborhood this afternoon, which meant they walked themselves over to it. They stayed for 4 glorious hours. DH and I watched Netflix and took a nap. I feel much better now.

Models! I loved putting them together when I was that age, and every time I am putting together something from IKEA I think that it is just a large-scale version of the same activity.

I keep mine together, but have higher expectations for the older child's output. When we do an experiment she has to do a more detailed write-up, she has to write longer responses to history readings, create more detailed outlines,etc.

I would use it. I'm not proud of the fact, but I am frugal to a fault. If the conditioner was for one of my kids I would replace it and repurpose the remaining conditioner. If it was for me, I would just cope. I do see that this might not be the healthiest approach.

Both times I knew I was in labor because my water broke. I went to the hospital, they found that my cervix was dilated to 9 or 10 centimeters, which confirmed things. My first child was born just past 34 weeks, my second just past 36 weeks. I had contractions before labor with both, but water breaking was the real clue each time.

Marks and Spencer carries those sizes, and they have free shipping to the US at present.

My grandmother really likes mysteries by M.C. Beaton, which she says are light but engaging, and not racy. She also likes the Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy Sayers, and biographies of interesting women from various eras

3 - 4 hours per day. Third grade.

All things Paddington Bear.

A slight variation on what everyone else suggested -- cranberry sauce (the jellied kind) and chili sauce. Last year I was given a couple cans of the cranberry sauce, and my kids refused to even consider eating it (they like my chunky homemade stuff). I googled to find a way to use them up and the cranberry sauce and chili sauce combo ended up being a huge hit.

Tonight I served sliced chicken (I roasted two yesterday to use throughout the week) and everyone could either have it on a roll or over salad greens. Sides were avocado, tomatoes, and grapes. Blueberry pie for dessert.

We have no home mail delivery! For the past 8 years I have lived in a village that has a small post office that employs one individual, which means a clerk at a desk, but no home delivery. Our houses are close enough that we don't seem truly rural, but we are pretty far out in the boonies. We have a lot of retirees, and on weekends and in the summer we have lots of kids around to visit grandparents, which is great for my kids. Sometimes the neighbors' sheep or piglets get loose, and we have a lot of wildlife wandering through at any given time. We can use DS's telescope to watch them stripmining across the river, less than half a mile away.

I have Country Cottage. It was a gift, so not really what I might have chosen for myself. I love the weight and that it is dishwasher/microwave safe, but I just don't love Corelle the way some people do.

One set of Corelle for everyday use, and Mikasa stoneware (French Countryside) for holidays. We used the Mikasa as our regular dishes for years, but they really are heavy and take up much more space than the Corelle.