Here's an article on eating healthy and organic for $7 a day, with a week's menu http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100153740&page=4 If you search the forums at this site: mothering.com , there are some wonderful, very long threads on eating cheaply, freezer meals and much more!

Speaking of group things, in the late spring (we're up NORTH here!) I schedule tennis lessons/time twice a week for a month for the teens. Another mom follows up with weekly softball in the summer, and a couple other moms play goalie while the kids play hockey for a couple hours every week. Just some ideas...

Thanks so much for asking this question! I just plan to do the virtual frog dissection in our biology class, so now I feel much better. A friend just told me that her son only did one dissection in college! I'll just make sure we do lots of other lab work. :)

I made a list of all the chores I needed done daily, and gave one to each of the boys daily. My 16 yo and 13 yo takes turns Monday through Thursday cleaning up dishes during the day or vacuuming the living room and entry. They do each job twice a week. I also made a list of jobs that needed to be done weekly, and gave the boys a couple. They do their own laundry (for the last year), and they clean out the vehicles once a week,sweep the stairs and basement, take out the trash and recycling, and clean-up 'somewhat' after supper every night. (I need to push harder on that one. ;) ) They also help in the kitchen weekends some as requested, work with dh in the garage or whatever as requested, and other last minute things I come up with. I feel they need to realize it takes all of us to keep this place together. Dh is self employed, so they see all he pours into his work, plus I am dh's office staff, doing lots of paperwork/phone work. I figure with the rest of the chores, cooking, shopping, billpaying, etc., I'm doing all I can. They're just doing their fair share. I do wish we had chores like they do in rural areas, as the hard labor would be good for them, too. :D It's time to figure out some regular chores for dd besides the dog and loading the big trash can once a week. She's starting to help unload the dishwasher--silverware, pans and plates. I think the boys will start cooking once a week around here, too. All good skills for the future! I should see if they'd like to clean the fridge weekly or sweep the floors daily or something for a change of pace....

Guilty of not reading the book here. blush I listed the movie because the boy gives his prize for his sister's medical problems. (It's been a while since I've seen this, too. :) ) Along your lines... We watched Mrs. Doubtfire last week while dd was sick. Ds had picked up the book somewhere, so I started reading it. I was turned off by the snottiness of the kids at the beginning of the book! Not that it's good literature anyway... lol

How nice and thoughtful! Enjoy!!

Radio Remember the Titans Pay it Forward (definitely for hs only?) To Kill a Mockingbird Summer of the Monkeys? Maybe not necessarily for church, but just ones I want to make sure my boys see, anyway... My boys have seen clips of these at their youth meetings: Lord of the Rings Return of the King The Patriot with Mel Gibson the show 24 The book That's My Son has a list of recommended movies for boys, too.

I just started putting some bigger mesh bags I got in Mexico years ago in the car to use. No point buying bags when I have lots of tote bags I've gotten free over the years, too; they seem to multiply! I just have to remember to take them in the store. Hard to start a new habit! lol I use paper bags at the grocery store, but WM only has those darn plastic bags which I hate. And then they seem to only put two items in a bag. Grrr! They are the only place with a box to recycle the bags that I know of tho...

Just gave myself a facial (steamed my face and then used a mud mask and moisturizer) for the first time that I can remember in probably 20 years. It got me wondering if others are like me, or if everyone else takes proper care of their face. :) I own a few skin care products, but they're not a set and I hardly ever take the time to use them. Like the makeup I own. It's probably time to toss it all and start over.

I can't open the second link, Librarian. The first one looks great. Thanks for sharing!

Several hours north of the Cities here. Wow, haven't heard anyone mention broomball for years!! My boys play hockey (without skates) on a weekly basis with friends here to while away the winter. :)

The wtm one is by invitation only, I think. I have a group that's public--the homeschool swamp, if you want to join there. I haven't had computer access for a few days, but we're getting going again there, too.

I think you're thinking of In A Pickle.

Just try to keep where you found the info out of his hands. He might just keep updating his MySpace for years! lol

I'm reading that second Kyosaki book. He also co-authored a book with Donald Trump that's very interesting--Why We Want You to be Rich. Talks about there being no middle class in the future, hence you want to be on the rich side. There are also some online lessons and such for schools Kyosaki has out there at http://richkidsmartkid.com/. Nice to hear that someone else is trying to learn all this stuff. :)

I had lots of magazines when the kids were born, but gave them up for lots of years. Last year I had Shape (I was losing weight, okay? ;) , Simple and Delicious, Organic Gardening and Guideposts. My tastes have changed a lot over the years. I've gone from Glamour and Self to Parents to Midwest Living, and now I'm heading into a new phase with Ready Made, Countryside & Small Stock Journal, and Health. Guess getting into healthier whole grain lifestyle changes everything. lol The kids enjoy Nickelodean Big Backyard Boys Life Tried National Geographic and Popular Science, but they don't look at them. :(

I cut the kids hair, dh gets his cut regularly, and I go in very sporadically (4 - 6 months?) to get mine cut. I'm cutting my bangs all the time, and sometimes the sides or back. I ended up with shorter layers on the sides the last two cuts, so have been cutting it myself while they grow out. :)

The soups are my first choice. Then I like to make this: ham and potato bake 3 tbsp butter 1/2 c chopped onion 1/2 c sliced celery 3 tbsp flour 1 tsp salt dash of pepper 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1 1/2 c milk 3/4 c shredded Cheddar cheese, divided 4 c frozen french fries 1 1/2 c cubed, cooked ham Saute the onion and celery in butter; blend in flour and seasonings. Add milk, stirring and cooking , until thickened. Stir in 1/2 c cheese until melted. Layer the potatoes, then the ham in a shallow 2 qt dish. Pour sauce over and bake, covered, at 400* for 30 minutes. Uncover, top with remainder of cheese, and bake til melted. 4 servings

My ideal is 8 a.m., but dh sets the alarm for 6:30 or 7. Ugh. We are night owls here, everyone staying up til 11 or 11:30. Seems to be getting later!!! I've got to reverse this trend, as I really function best with 8 hours of sleep.

Thanks for those great links, ladies! A friend is loaning me a microscope and supplies, along with some biology videos that sound like they go along with the SWB book recommendation perfect. I'll get that PCRM virtual dissection from digitalfrog.com, too. It's all coming together!!

I'm working on that using TWTM biology suggestions, but wondering about the lab portion. She doesn't show any lab for the high school science classes. I have found lots of experiments online, and I want to include microscope work and at least a virtual frog dissection. Can anyone give me a hand here?? I really don't want to do lots of dissections as ds is not into that kind of thing, nor is he a science major in any sense. Just wondering what we need to do to include a decent lab portion in the class.

Another vote for the Zo here, tho I have the older upright pan version (lucked out at Goodwill!). I had the breadmaker Walmart sells, but once my family tasted the bread in the Zo, they all--dh included--said to dump the other one. I make bread most days, too, with mostly fresh ground wheat.

I actually only fill the paper cups 1/2 full. I usually get at least 12 muffins. I like to use the Pampered Chef medium scoop as a measure.

Hungarian beef stroganoff over noodles with leftover bean soup for some of us, since I'd used leftover beef from Monday. :)

What state is this in? We missed that part...