You guys have given me several great ideas! I had just come to a dead end after 14 years of Christmas and Birthdays. DHs family is funny, they have very strong feelings against gift cards. But Symphony tickets is an excellent idea, I was thinking the other day I should take the girls to the Symphoby!! She has given me a Blentec, and a KitchenAid 6qt professional stand Mixer in the past. I just don't need a bunch of stuff. But your ideas so far have been wonderful!

She really does. I tease DH that she loves me more than him! Anyway, it makes her happy to give gifts. My birthday is the end of October, then 2 months later it's Christmas. She likes us to load up our amazon wishlists with things we want. Here is my problem. I am a simple gal. Not really into music. Don't have a lot of time to read, so I don't want books piling up. I have no hobbies, other than sewing and knitting and I have all the stuff for that. Not fashionable, not a clothes horse. So dear Hive- give me ideas. What should I ask for? :lol:

My MIL likes to call frequently for what I like to call "Health and Welfare Checks". Really interrupts my flow. I feel your pain...

I wish the Classifieds could be subdivided into subjects: math, spelling, english, etc. Trying to search that forum is overwhelming...

"The Great Debaters" with Denzel Washington is good. Also, "Something the Lord Made" with Alan Rickman and Mos Def.

If you stop east of Cali, but west of CO then you are in Utah (if you aren't in Nevada!). Utah is easy- You send in your Letter of Intent to the school district where you are living. That's it. No portfolios, No state assessments. No national assessment tests. Then the next year you will automatically get a copy of your original letter back from the school district. Easy peasy! Best of luck to you!

Could they tag team it? One is the scribe for one section, and then the other takes a turn?

I have the OneNote app on my ipad and the kids have it on their Kindles. I have most of the year's plan on there. I have bought the pdf for our English program, and they will use the app/kindles to do copywork of their English into notebooks. They can check off the things they have done on their kindles, and it automatically shows up in my ipad. Really, the possibilities are endless! I have also had them type in spelling tests into OneNote on the computer before and the I see it right away on my ipad. Do a search for OneNote on these forums.... ;)

Thank you! It looks great- I think I will throw this at them this fall, during SOTW 3!

Maybe this?http://mystudentlogbook.com/set-it-up/

Oh yes! The Frixion pens are great. I started letting the kids use them for copywork the last half of the year, Suddenly I had NO complaints about copywork! :lol:

I have been doing this. When my older was in 1st grade, the younger (who is about 2yrs to the day younger) would sit and copy the older's spelling, and math. Haha! Anyway, now that we HS, we History, Science, English together. My younger does really well in keeping up. They are good girls.

I'm so mean. I don't really stop for sickness. Now I am talking sickness like colds and such. I tell them the world doesn't stop for a case of sniffles! Now their dad on the other hand... LOL! This will be our third year of HS, and I am trying out the "plan the year and put it all in files" system. This way we can just grab the folder and be ready for the week..

Get OneNote for Mac! Works great- I use both my PC and the Mac and haven't had any trouble. Then I use my iPad to check off lessons as we go. The kids use the OneNote app on their Kindles for looking at the English pages that they use for copywork. I can also use OneNote on my phone to remind myself what subjects we are doing so that I can get the right supplies. BIG two thumbs up for OneNote and all it's forms!

So far since May I have read, The Girl on the Train, All the Light We Cannot See, Unveiling Grace, Ghost Boy, Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture. Currently reading Viper Pilot, and after that I have Monuments Men. I have been in a reading frenzy of late....

Hardcore History is great, and also Prof CJ.

I am not a helicopter parent, but I'm almost forced into it sometimes. For example, the town Easter egg hunt. I want to let my kids run free, but the egg field is so crowded by all the other parents observing thier kids, I don't dare let my kids run free for fear of losing them in the crowd. Another occasion I was at the grocery store (regular store- Not super walmart) with my two girls it was mid afternoon and the store was dead. I think the employees outnumbered the shoppers. Anyway, this lady overhears me tell my 7 & 9 year old that it's ok to run over to the drinking fountain on the opposite side of the store. She begins to lecture me on the dangers of letting my kids out of my sight like that and "don't you know they could be gone in an instant?!" I was speechless. I wasn't exactly in the middle of downtown. Very different from how I grew up, out of the house as long as we were home in time for dinner.

Get an eval, meds finally saved our relationship. DD was diagnosed distracted ADHD. She still struggles but taking her pill in the am has made NIGHT AND DAY difference for us. Best wishes to you!

Blendtecs are great! Sometimes you can get deals on them at Costco

Go grain free- dump all grains for 4 weeks and see how you feel. Got nothing to lose right? Also, you may want to read Wheat Belly Total Health....

I made a mistake a year ago and went with ELTL 3 after finishing FLL1. Shoulda went with 2. But let me tell you, by the end of the year my 7 and 9 yr olds can diagram sentences like no other! :lol: I was very impressed. I like ELTL how it ties in with a chapter from the reading. And the kids love the poems and fables.

Refurbed iPod? Two years in a row Santa brought DD1 a Sansa clip MP3 and neither one last past 4 months. She is not hard on stuff and would use it for music and audiobooks. I broke down and gave her my old iPod touch. No more problems!

Some states require it, mine doesn't. But I named it after our street. See signature below :thumbup1:

My sis just got back from there. They stayed in a suite, she had groceries delivered, including diapers and wipes! I thought that was a brilliant idea! Her two are nearly 4 and nearly 2. She read all over the place to go back to the hotel and have a break. She didn't see the point in that after a couple days, esp if kids were asleep in the stroller. Which she also rented and had delivered to the hotel. They stayed in a Hilton, in Disney. There were shuttles, but she said it took 45-50 min to get from hotel to front gate.

If you just want a nice easy to get in and out of hotel (casinos arent) then look at Staybridge Suites. Near the Strip, across I-15 from Mandalay Bay. Nice big rooms with kitchens, large lovely pool, and great breakfast in the morning. My beef with staying in a casino is all the walking to get to your room. Heaven forbid you should leave anything in the car....