We love ours. We got it when it first came out, and use it all the time. The only down side is I HATE scrolling through our que. But it probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have so many movies in it! lol. The kids are really getting a kick out of watching some of the older series too.

Probably slunk off to the same black hole that ate my connectors to TWO of my wire shelves. (that were carefully bagged in a ziplock)

I just asked a piano teacher if she was interested in bartering. It felt weird to do it, but I'm willing to, if it means reduced lesson fees :) Anyway, I was just curious if that is still done anywhere any more? Could it be coming back into style with the economy?

I've had it in the basement, and now in a dining room right beside the kitchen. Both have worked well. I like having it on the upper level better though. I can keep tabs on everyone better without being tied to the basement. (Plus my girls do their work all over the house, and sometimes outside.)

Arkansas: Cabot, Little Rock Tennessee: Westmoreland, Rock Bridge, Portland, Cottontown, Rapids, Orlinda, Oak Ridge, Powell, Clinton (2 times) Minnesota: Mounds View, New Brighton Texas: Fort Worth.

My girls cook their own breakfast. They are 9 and 13, and they all cook. They have either oatmeal, cereal, eggs, toast, egg 'mcmuffins', bagels, etc. They usually opt for eggs and toast. Poptarts and frozen waffles happen occasionally. On weekends I'll usually make pancakes or waffles.

I spend about 15 mintues on Sunday clipping coupons. I buy the double edition of the paper which has two sets of coupons. Then on Wednesday I get the grocery sale ads for the week. I spend about 30 minutes matching coupons to sales and planning my menu and shopping list for the week. I plan my meals and shopping around the coupons and sales, not the other way around. I have 3 stores I shop at. They are all on the same road, so I just start at the one farthest away and then hit the other two on the way home. It does take up a few hours, but I also will go to Target or Wal-mart and do any other running around I need to do. If I was just hitting the stores and was by myself, I could probably get it done much quicker.

I went through this a few years ago. Not the wanting to wear a dress, but wanting to look better. I look back at pictures and I'm horrified. (I still am with recent ones, but it has more to do with my weight..lol) I was a 20-something dressing like a grandma. Anyway, I found that feminine cut t-shirts in cute colors and some stylish jeans go a LONG way. I bought a flat iron and got a cut that tamed my frizzy, frumpy hair. I don't color it...I'm letting the gray have it's way...but I do keep it styled neatly. (most days) I only wear makeup on Sundays or if we go out somewhere nice. I just do not see the need for it most days, and it's very hard on my skin. I DO shop at thrift stores, and we all have some very nice name brand clothes that I paid less than $10 a piece for. I think what you do, or how much you spend matters much less than just simply putting in some effort to take care of yourself. It is hard to keep myself from getting into the "I don't care" mode. Especially since my dh works from home, and we are ALL at home all day. It's easy to walk around in PJ's and bed head. :) But I have tried to make us all get dressed and groomed every day. We all seem to feel better when we do.

Nah, the real TN test is if you say MARY-ville or Murr-vul ;) Then when we got to Fort Worth there was Crowley. I had been pronouncing it CROW-lee. Apparently it's CRAH-lee.

I would just watch it. My dd had a tooth die after she got kicked in the face by her sister. We spent a lot of money and several dentist visits having a pulpectomy done. This was at our dentists recommendation. My nephew had the same thing happen, and 3 years later, the tooth is still gray, but nothing else has happened. Since talking to our doc, he said that it would have been fine to leave it as is, but just keep an eye on it for infection or decay.

I knew you meant brother ;) I never had sisters so I can't even really relate to sharing with a girl...other than what I've seen with my dds. I just know it wasn't a big deal around my brother. My dh and I just never were in families that were very modest I guess..lol.

Hmm...I wouldn't have thought about that. Although, I know it wouldn't be an issue at our house. We all do ALL the laundry, cleaning of bathrooms, etc. and those things wouldn't be secret items anyway. (And weren't in the homes dh and I grew up in.) But I guess I could see that if that weren't the case in your home, then it would be an issue.

I have all girls, but currently they all share a room. Up until very recently, my oldest had always had her own room. She wasn't happy about the new arrangement at first, but she didn't have a choice. (We've moved to a smaller, temporary house, and we've all had to compromise on things) But NOW she talks about when we buy our house how she still wants to share a room with her sisters. The twins have always shared a room, and a bed (by choice) and can't imagine it any other way. And on the modesty/privacy thing. My girls do NOT like to undress in front of each other, even though they are all girls. It's just not an issue...they dress in the bathroom.

For the fine chopped, buy a cheap ice tray or two, and freeze them in the trays. Pop them out and store in a freezer bag. (double bag if it's smelling up the freezer) Then you can just get out as much as you need.

Yes! In fact, she's redoing an entire math lesson today because apparently she was off in space while doing it yesterday.

I keep all mine in a bread box. Right now in there are tortillias, english muffins, and 2 loaves of bread. If I think the bread is starting to risk molding, I'll stick it in the fridge to prolong it's life..lol. I also keep extras in the freezer.

We don't even really have a schedule anymore. I try to have everyone working on something by 9:30 most mornings. But we take breaks during the day for walks, chores, etc. Yesterday we were doing science experiments at 4:30. We also walked to the park and had a picnic for lunch. The day before that we were done with everything by 2 because the girls wanted to spend the afternoon playing outside.

That's almost a normal week for me. Seriously. My SIL even carried around an extra car key for me for years because I was forever losing my keys or locking them in the car. I've lost wallets, phones, etc. I forget stuff all the time. I'm just scatterbrained, and no amount of organizing helps. It gets MUCH worse if I have a lot on my plate, or if I'm sick. That said, if this is a NEW behavior, I would worry. If it's just a close together run on the same old thing, then I wouldn't worry too much.

First of all, I'm so sorry that this has been piled on to your already full plate. :grouphug: and prayers for you and your family. On telling the kids, I'm going to be on the other side of the fence here. I would not hide the word cancer from them. They WILL hear someone slip up and say the C-word before it's said and done, and if they think you are hiding something from them, it will only make them more afraid. Tell them what is going on, but be matter of fact about it. Tell them that there are different types of cancer, and all of them do not = death. That this one is very treatable. Reassure them BEFORE they have a chance to panic. My kids have been through this with family they are very close to. My mother and step-father have both died from cancer. My MIL, whom I cannot imagine their grief if they lost, has also had cancer and is fine after surgery. We were open with them about it all, although we never gave them more info than was appropriate.

I second not buying too much yet, they are still very young, and you have no idea yet what they'll need. That said, some good things to purchase if you really have the itch: Art and school supplies (notebooks, specialty papers, pencils, crayons, powdered tempera paint, etc.) Maybe some Kindergarten things. The first math curriculum you'd like to try, a reading curriculum, etc. You could also just tuck away what you would be spending into a savings account earmarked just for homeschool things. Might come in handy later. (All this coming from someone who has curriculum for the next 4-5 years on hand...but my kids are much older and we are pretty much set on what we'll be using..lol)

My twin DD's had it, probably since shortly after their birth (We think they got it from my MIL) Anyway, one exhibited no symptoms, but Sarah was ALWAYS having stomach aches and frequent vomiting. The doctor had our entire family tested for it after he found it in Sarah. They were on a Anti-biotic/antacid combo for 6 weeks, and things improved greatly for her. She still has occasional stomach issues but I believe it's either from the damage 7 years of dealing having it, or genetics (DH's side of the family has a lot of stomach issues)

If you have a middle schooler who is at different grade levels on different subjects, how do you transition over to high school? My dd is on or slightly behind grade level in math. (she's come a long way since I pulled her from PS where she was over a year behind, yet was an A student) I'm thinking she'll pull on ahead in math over the next year or so. She is advanced in science, reading, history, etc. Anyway, we were considering starting her on high school work next year, a little early. How would you handle credits and transcripts? Would you just wait until everything was high school level before starting? We plan on year round schooling..following up with the next level whenever we finish one. She had a late birthday, and if we stayed on PS track, she would be 18 for most of her senior year. She would love to be turning 18 just as she's finishing up her senior year, not at the beginning.

My humble and not professional opinion...yes I would try to correct it. My oldest dd has a horrible grip. It was never corrected properly in PS, and now it's just plain too late. Her hand writing is horrible, and it just looks painful to write (although she says it isn't)

I feel your pain....times 3. I have one that is on the second half of puberty, and two that are just hitting it. I told my dh that they take turns. So I have at least one moody, weepy child EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. But this too shall pass....right?

My dd had a dwarf that she adored. He lived to be a VERY old hamster...like 5 years, which is ancient for a dwarf hamster. He even turned grey and looked like an old man. Anyway, he only bit her once, and it was just a few weeks before he died...he was getting crochety. However, he hated me. He would bite me every time I touched him. Thankfully she was good about dealing with him.