I haven't had any of the problems you've mentioned with shipping. Mainly because...I can't find any books I want that are actually available on PBS. It's been disappointing. I posted a bunch of books which were wish-listed, and immediately shipped them all. Now I have credits sitting out there that I can't use, and a ton of books on my wishlist.

We just finished listening to The Hobbit. It was so wonderful that I picked up FOTR from the library to start next.

My teens and I read this book last year. I was disappointed in it because I was hoping for inspiration for rising above mediocrity. But the discussions about working hard, doing your best, serving your family and God on a daily basis, etc., seemed to be more of an afterthought to their stories of their own exciting opportunities, and other examples of doing unique things. Here's an example: They featured a story about a teen who started a charity. That's great - except - aren't there a lot of charities out there already that could use your teen's help? My kids and I had spent lots of hours volunteering at a food bank, but I got the impression that something like that doesn't meet their criteria for doing hard (i.e. great) things. And as for clerking for a state supreme court justice - nice! - if you can get it! If your dad is famous and you know Chuck Norris. I think we can all do "hard" things, but there just isn't room in this world for us all to start our own charity or business, or pull strings to get a great internship, etc. I have friends who love the book and who have hauled their teens to the Rebelution events. I'm glad they get encouragement from it. But my kids and I didn't much. I guess this was off-topic as to whether this book would be offensive to your faith. Sorry I can't answer that. But I just wanted to point out, I personally don't think your teens will miss out on too much if you skip the book.

And I'm ready to faint over the fact that some of you are only using 2900 gallons/month! I really think our indoor use is conservative, but we use about 20,000 in the summer months. We have a pool which probably loses a lot to evaporation. It's discouraging to me b/c I'm fanatic about saving water indoors...but it's such a tiny portion of the bill that I wonder if it's worth it to, for example, nag my hubby about running the water while he brushes his teeth. Perhaps I should leave the man in peace with his toothbrush...

I was going to suggest this, too. When we lived in Fresno, our AC bills were so high that the last thing I wanted was to put all that radiant heat from the slow cooker into the air in my house. So I set the cooker on a table on my back porch.

I think it is over-reacting to send them to their rooms for the entire day because of some morning bickering. An hour or two (or until lunchtime as another poster suggested) is more reasonable. Do you want them to remember that for mom's 40th birthday all she wanted was for them to be shut in their rooms? Before lunch, I would call them out, give them a big hug, and ask them if they can help make lunch cheerfully. Tell them what you really want for your b'day is for them to be cheerful and helpful for the rest of the day. I hope your day gets better. Edited to say that I see it's already past lunchtime where you are. I would still let them join the family and try to make my b'day a nice day instead of a lonely one.

We still love Hank the Cowdog, and my kids are teens now. :) Our favorites when they were younger were: Anne of Green Gables The Wheel on the School Ginger Pye Winnie the Pooh stories & poems read by Charles Kuralt Charlotte's Web read by the author

I don't agree that end-of-life healthcare dollars are always wisely spent, so your point is valid. But the reason I value people is not because of my "emotional attachment", but because they are PEOPLE and I believe they have an inherently greater value than, say, dogs. After seeing the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina, I told my husband that I wouldn't have left our dog behind (you might recall that some of the evacuation buses wouldn't allow pets). Because my emotional attachment to my dog is so strong, I'd have done almost anything to make sure he was rescued along with my family. But in an emergency situation if I had a choice between hanging on to my precious pup, or grabbing hold of a complete stranger - no emotional attachment - I'd choose the random stranger over the dog in a heartbeat, because I believe human life is more important than a dog's life.

I imagine the reason it's so hard to exclude parental income is because if it were easier, EVERY student would declare independence even if it weren't true. If family means were ignored, every 18yo in America would be eligible for full-ride need-based scholarships. How tempting it would be for every parent to declare, "You're cut off! Wink-wink, nudge-nudge," and let the student get the scholarships. I don't know what the solution is, but I guess the PTB decided it was better to stop fraud by making it very difficult, even knowing that there are some 18-23 year olds who would fall through the financial aid cracks because of their family's refusal to help despite the means to do so.

I think what you mean by the transcript "game" is doing EVERYTHING that a traditional academically-inclined student would do. I don't think it's an either-or. You don't have to do EVERYTHING to get a decent traditional transcript. We have chosen to homeschool through an accredited program so that my dc will have a "real" transcript. But the program is very flexible, so we've done *mostly* what we would have done anyway - just had to re-arrange some things to meet the school's requirements. For example, my dd has to take a 10-credit computer skills course before she can get a diploma - which simply means she has to demonstrate that she can use Microsoft office products, and pass some simple vocabulary tests. So in that sense I guess we are playing a "game". As far as AP tests go - we decided they would be great for dd's college applications, as well as giving her possible college credit. We tried APUSH in 10th grade and it was a disaster for the reasons you mentioned re: the world history test; you have to teach to the AP's idea of history. But in 11th grade dd did AP Art History. The material was much less subjective, and she did great on the exam. This year she'll be doing AP Human Geography. Again, from what I've seen of the test, I think it is somewhat less subjective than the history tests. So if you are committed to doing AP tests, you just need to find the ones that work for your student.

I wouldn't argue that digital books are less real or worthwhile. But so much popular wisdom argues the opposite - that it's printed books that are less worthy, and becoming obsolete. I strongly disagree with the statement from the linked article that "The Age of Books is ending."

Me, too. And I don't think it's because I'm an old luddite. My 17yo dd loves real books, too. (don't get me started on the 14yo who won't read it if it's not on his iPod touch)

This. For the last house we sold, we got a really low offer. The realtor told us we should reject it instead of counter-offering, because with the terms of the offer (in addition to the low price, they were asking for other special terms) he didn't think they would ever come to a reasonable price.

Fresno - the miniseries from the mid-'80s starring Carol Burnett. It was making fun of Dallas & Dynasty and was HILARIOUS. When we moved to Fresno in 2000, I searched for the video in vain. 10 years later, we no longer live in Fresno, but I sure wish I could see that show again.

I would like to hear their answer; please post if they call you back. I think the textbook is wrong.

I found out the weakness in the privacy settings a couple of months ago by doing an internet search on my name. I have my privacy settings pretty much maximized. But I found a FB post I'd made on a business's page. My post included a link to a photo my dd had taken of one of their products on her photo blog. The problem being that now everyone with Google now could link my daughter's blog to my first and last name, thus providing information about her that we didn't want out there. Of course I deleted my post, and now I don't post on any fan pages.

Hmm. Are you sure the book says a single chlorine atom and single sodium atom can have a covalent bond? I don't think that can be right. The general rule is that compounds of metals and nonmetals are usually ionic, especially for Group 1A and 2A metals. Sodium is a group 1A metal and chlorine is a nonmetal. A good example of a polar covalent bond is Chlorine and Hydrogen, which are both non-metals (two nonmetals generally form covalent bonds). The chlorine atom is highly electronegative. (Electronegativity increases from left to right across the periodic table). So it has a stronger pull on the shared electron. This makes the molecule polar - negative at the chlorine end, and positive at the hydrogen end. Do you have any other resources around that you can look at? I usually have to read about a chemistry topic from at least 2 different sources/textbooks to understand it at all!

Wow! Did you send all of it? I would have refused. I would have sent only 1 each of the boxes of crayons, markers, pencils, and tissues - which is what was requested of us when my dd attended PS 1st grade. (When we withdrew her in the middle of the year to homeschool, she actually came home with her crayons and a few other things).

That's hilarious - I almost spit my coffee out! I'm glad your dh has somewhere to hang it where he can see it, but you don't have to.

I love Natalie Merchant - I have a couple of her CDs from the '90s, and saw her in concert back in '99. I had forgotten about her and am going to check out some of these new tunes on iTunes!

That's funny. I'm glad he wasn't snarky. :) I used to request a whole library, but our current library system charges for holds. :( So I use more discretion now.

I am. I've never had a package lost. The only times I've ever had media mail take longer than a week or so is when we lived in a house w/ a rural route carrier- my mm packages would never arrive until I went to the post office to inquire about why I hadn't received a package. I'd be told that media mail takes a long time, etc. etc. Then the next day I'd get the package. So I learned to go to the post office on day 7 after I thought the package had been mailed. So I could get my stuff on day 8. I really think the POs have a LOT of discretion about delivering or sending media mail. When we lived in that town, I also found that the packages I was mailing would arrive VERY quickly if I mailed from the local contract post office. They would always take the full week if I mailed from the main post office. I suspect the ones that came from the contract post office got put immediately into the next truck, while the main PO ones sat around for a couple of days first.

My dh lived in Mexico for 9 years as a child. He took Spanish in high school, back in the US, for easy As. :) He also tested in college and got credit for at least 10 hours of college Spanish. So I am wondering why you want to use a curriculum at all?

I sometimes use regular Tide powder in my LG HE washer. I only do it when I'm washing a warm or hot load. And I use a small amount...about 1/3 less than the first line on the scoop. I haven't had any problems with the detergent not dissolving. (I dislike my HE for many reasons...but at least this is not one of them.)