I'm feeling kind of weird - sugar high, I think - is that a symptom of assimilation?

I know...I couldn't believe it. She loves the stuff.

I had never tried Nutella before - not even a spoonful. Curiosity got the better of me, and I searched this board for "Nutella". Next thing I knew I was eating Nutella Cake in a Mug thanks to a pinterest mention by amydavis. In the morning, I'm going to spread Nutella on my waffles. It looks like I will owe my dd a jar...

I'd roast it & eat it. I notice you posted 2 hours ago - where's the turkey? Trash or oven? :bigear:

Some of the pro-homeschool comments made me cringe. One commenter stated that 25 million students are being homeschooled in the US. That's just not possible. I couldn't find any current statistics in a quick search, but 10 years ago HSLDA claimed there were only about 2 million. And there are only about 60 million school-age children in the US today! I don't think 40% of them are homeschooled.

nm

:iagree:

We won't have machines. I just edited my post to say "hand sewing". :)

I need to come up with a hand sewing project that a group of 6 year old girls can do in less than 45 minutes. It's been a long time since I've had a 6yo girl so I wanted to run it by the hive. My leader (of the girls' group) suggested that it could be something as simple as learning how to sew on a button, but that doesn't seem very glamorous to me. Do you think 6yos could whip-stitch around a small felt item in that time frame? I would have all of the shapes cut out and the needles pre-threaded with floss. They would just whip-stitch around two pieces and we would stuff with batting to make a little stuffed animal. (a very simple shape like a fat bird). I was also trying to come up with an idea that they could make for their moms for Mothers' Day but I'm at a loss. Any suggestions for me?

I have been making one lately with: frozen strawberries orange segments fresh or frozen blueberries or blackberries handful of kale handful of spinach 1/4 cup or so of coconut water so it will blend well It turns a hideous brown color but it's tasty. :) Why do they call them green smoothies when they are brown?

We thought so, too. But it turns out churches are exempt.

Our denomination doesn't have "membership". Our church also doesn't congregational meetings. When my dh made his request, he explained that we have been regular attenders/contributors for 4 years.

Thanks for all the responses so far. I'm feeling validated. :) I wondered if there was something wrong w/dh and me - that we aren't spiritual enough, not trusting our pastor's leadership, etc. My dh has pointed out to me 2Cor 19-21 which seems to apply here: 19 What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

This is what dh and I are talking about it...and wondering if we can even attend. I thought the original question we wanted answered was very reasonable - our church supports missionaries, but they ask members to contribute directly to the missionaries. So dh and I wondered if the church's budget includes any contributions to the missionaries. Now we'll never know. :(

We noticed that our church doesn't publicize budget information or financial statements. When my dh asked for them, he was told that they don't give out that information. We've never attended a church with that lack of financial openness - we've always been able to see at least summary-level data. (aggregating salaries, for example). We are now puzzled and wondering what they are trying to hide. :( Do you know your church's financial condition? Would it bother you if you wanted to know and it was refused?

I canceled my iPhone when my contract was up. I went with a Virgin Mobile Triumph. I like it *almost* as much as my iPhone, and it saves me $45/mo ($25 vs $70 - and I didn't even have unlimited data or texting on the iPhone!). The monthly savings paid for the phone in 4 months, since I paid just under $200 for it. I don't think the $25 plan is available anymore - I think it's $35 now. If you *must* have a smartphone (I needed one for maps/traffic, email, etc) you can definitely save money by looking for a deal on a smartphone with a prepaid provider.

We let our kids watch many PG-13 things even when they were much younger. The basic guideline was that fantasy or battle violence was OK, but any of the other things to cause PG-13 weren't (s*x, nudity, language, gang violence). So that made Lord of the Rings acceptable. :D Our dd is 18 now so she can see whatever she wants, but we have asked her to make wise choices. My dh and I have never been big fans of R-rated movies for ourselves, and we've explained why, so I hope she's taken that to heart.

I'd get a DisneyLand annual pass, because it seems like all my friends have them this year. But that only works for you if you're in SoCal. :D

I can recommend many of those already listed: North & South, Lark Rise to Candleford, Bleak House, Cranford, and Return to Cranford. I also loved Wives and Daughters, the Woman in White, and Middlemarch. I could watch any of the above over and over!

No, they aren't. My dc have been in two - one in a previous city, and one in the area we live now. The first one was sponsored by a dance studio which had a ballroom. They had a short series - 2-3 events per year, I think. They went over some basic etiquette rules - meet & greet type of stuff. And then they were taught very basic dance moves, and danced the rest of the evening. The other one had 7 events per season. It followed a similar format. Teens from all walks of life were enrolled; it wasn't just for the wealthy. That said, however, it was expensive - about $200 per child per season. PLUS the cost of clothes. We were lucky that someone gave us a suit for ds' first year, and his second year he could wear one of dh' suits. For my dd it was trickier - she didn't want to wear the same dress every time, plus sometimes it was formal, sometimes semi-formal, and sometimes there was a theme. So she did a mix of new, borrowed, thrift-store, and home-sewn to have a variety of dresses for the 3 years she was in it. That's why when my dd graduated last year, I was a little relieved when my ds said he didn't want to do it. $200 saved for me. :) Girls tend to enjoy it more than boys - but we know families with boys who love it. I think it's worth a try.

Thanks for the recommendation. My dd took Potters School courses way back in 7th grade. I had no idea they'd expanded their course offerings so much in the last few years! I think, "back in the day", that they only offered French & Spanish - maybe Latin.

My ds is a sophomore and will finish OSU's German 1 class in the next couple of weeks. I mentioned to him last night, in passing, that he will soon be in German 2. He wants to switch to Arabic! So. 1. What does the hive think about taking 1 year of 1 language and 2 years of another? Most of the colleges we looked at for dd last year just wanted a minimum of 2 years of the same language. 2. Are there any at-home resources for Arabic, other than Rosetta Stone? I did search the various community colleges in our area - there's one that offers Arabic I and II. But it wasn't my first choice for him. He'll start taking classes at the cc next year, but class offerings are so impacted by the California budget that I was hoping he'd go to the same college dd attended, since we "know the system" there. (I may have to learn a new system)

Thanks for the many thoughtful replies. Dh ended up having a talk with her, just to let her know that we expect a little more helpfulness around the house since she's had a nice break from everything so far. And she's scheduled to work 2 full days a week until she goes back (she's lucky to have a job that she can call in and ask if they have any extra work she can do). Today she wanted to spend the day with some friends, but when I reminded her that the rest of us were going to work at the food bank for the morning, she immediately agreed to come with us, and she's spending the rest of the day/evening with her friends. So I think we are working out a compromise...we'll remember to set some expectations up front before summer!

No, dd's school doesn't require January classes. If she changes majors or otherwise gets behind in her plan, then it's nice to have as an option to get an extra class in. Edited to add that it's expensive to take the January term, between tuition and board (they don't charge extra for the room which I guess is a nice bene)

My dd is home for break. It is 6 1/2 weeks, because her school has a January term. Dh and I didn't set any expectations for the break. Now that she's been home almost a month - with almost 3 weeks left - we need to fix that ASAP! She's not cooking, cleaning, working, or getting ahead on next semester's reading (HER stated goal) unless we cajole, threaten or otherwise force her. It's really discouraging to me to run the household with younger brother back in schoolwork full swing - and dd is sitting around reading the 18th Harry Potter book or watching an entire season of a sitcom on Netflix. I can't take another 3 weeks of this - HELP! What do you expect from your college students?