Homeade: Vinegar/water is great, especially in areas with hard water. When the solution dries, you can't smell the vinegar AT ALL. I have switched to this in my Bissel steam vac b/c their cleaning solution was making me sick, and I had to pull the thing out a lot recently due to -- ahem -- the girls' stomach flu. I also use a lot of Borax for various things (CHEAP!) and buy baking soda by the 10 pound bag at Costco (SUPER CHEAP). As for commercial lines, I really do love Method. It is widely available and effective. Their "Le Scrub" in the funky squeeze bottle (it has a slot on top to store your sponge) is fabulous for countertops, sinks, tub, shower and tile. It's designed for the bath but I use it in the kitchen, too. It has a wonderful eucalyptus smell, and finely ground marble gently scrubs. It has gotten red-veggie type stains (oil packed peppers!) off of my white Corian sink that stinky headache-inducing S*ft Scr*b didn't get off...and no bleach. Their packaging is cool (so it appeals to my sense of modern style) but don't be fooled. It is NOT style over substance. Their dishwashing liquid (they tested the "go naked" scentless) in first place for effectiveness in Cook's Illustrated's recent test of eco-brand liquids. I like the pink grapefruit scent. The full line is at Target, and you can also get it at Whole Foods, big box home stores, Costco has some bulk hand wash, and even discontinued scents at Big Lots.

I got so interested in this thread after I submitted my post I did more research. I even found one recipe that called for kneading in stand mixer on low for 30 minutes! I think kneading is pretty key. This sounds pretty close to your recipe, Jana.

Mt. Rainier is SO beautiful that it doesn't quite look real...almost like a manmade attraction at Disneyland. It will take your breath away. If your kids like animals, Northwest Trek is interesting, and on the way to Mt. Rainier. You might want to look at accomodations near Olympia/Lacey, as they would be closer to the two mountains and you wouldn't have to deal with the horrendous Seattle-to-South-Sound traffic. Pioneer Farm (also close to Mt. Rainier) is really neat. I still remember going there in 3rd grade on a field trip. I specifically remember churning butter.

A friend of mine just read this in Reader's Digest: "Following a tough day of homeschooling her children, my friend was in the kitchen muttering to herself when her son walked in. 'What's going on?' he asked. 'I'm having a parent-teacher conference,' she growled." Made me smile...and this post just gave me my 100th post! :grouphug:

For me, it's like that episode of Seinfeld when someone paints that portrait of Kramer that hangs in a snooty gallery, and they overhear an art lover say, "He is a loathsome offensive brute, yet I can’t look away!" It's kind of the same thing for me. I just can't look away! I know it is ridiculous, ludicrious, time wasting and perhaps bordering on immoral. But boy, do I feel better about myself after I watch. And I KNOW I will HAVE to watch the New Jersey version. Good gravy they are unreal! HUGE laughs about the fictional Real Housewives of King County. You made my day. I grew up on Mercer Island -- now THAT would be a good place to film. My parents bought from a tomato farmer way back in the early '60s...believe me, we weren't a typical "Poverty Rock" family. :lol:

This technique was from Fine Cooking: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/easy_pizza_dough.aspx?nterms=50146,50050 I use bread/high gluten flour. When it comes to baking, if you have a stone, use it! And don't be afraid to use the highest temp your oven will go. I don't have a peel, so I just form my pizzas on parchment which I slide off of the back of a cookie sheet right onto the stone. This makes for a wonderful crust.

We just got a bike for our 3 year at a real bike shop, and they suggested (and offered) to take the pedals/cranks off, lower the seat all the way down, and treat it like a Skuut-type bike. We didn't do that for our 3 year old (I wish we had), but when it came time to teach our 4 yo to ride w/o training wheels, we just lowered the seat all the way down and she figured it out herself, in about 3 days. Now she rides her bike without fear! (Although she is afraid of her NEW bigger bike.) BTW, she was asking US to learn to ride -- her daddy is a cycle-commuter, so cycling is just a part of our life, which probably accounts for her learning quite young (while still 4).

Did it show mating too??? :blushing: THAT would lead to a conversation that I don't think the girls are quite ready for! (We have had to touch on death of animals, though....my 5yo DD wants a pet SOOO badly, but we just aren't in a position right now to have a pet. So she took a Gladware outside, found a moth, caught it, named it (I can't remember the name but it was something super duper sweet), and then witnessed it die. She was surprisingly sad, but now she has an understanding that she didn't have before, and I was able to share our worldview on animals versus humans. (Not that animals are devalued whatsover, but that they are different than us...)

Truly, I don't mean to be an argumentative stinker, but at what age do you think children SHOULD start learning about the true cycle of life? Farm kids have witnessed this forever. My parents never batted an eye while I watched Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom when I was a youngster (early 70's -- I'm 40 now -- you can do the math. I was pretty little). There were some pretty graphic scenes on that show. I don't know that it is necessarily a bad thing for them to see this. Of course, every parent knows what is best for their own children, but I do think many parents in 2009 shelter our children from some things that they should see, and allow them to see things that they shouldn't. Just my two cents... :) Please no hard feelings!!!

So now that you have it in hand, would you recommend purchasing if one owns the next most-recent version? I'm a brand new HSMommy to a 5 and 3 year old -- haven't started anything formally except for 100EZ and some Bible, which I have been doing all along...

I posted a similar thread when my daughter was on lesson 5. It has actually not improved :( We have cut out the writing portion (at many people's suggestion) which has helped somewhat, but now that we are into the reading comprehension, she is soooo antsy to see the picture, and just won't sit still until that part. It's all she cares about. I have to physically cover the picture with my hand for her to even try to read. Oh, we are on lesson 18 today.

I like balsamic vinegar, a bit of olive oil, dijon mustard, kosher salt, a pinch of sugar (you can omit b/c good balsamic is actually sweet), cracked pepper. I shake it all really well in a screw-lid mason jar. Tastes different every time because I don't measure salad dressing :001_smile:

Oh, I forgot EASTERN Washington! Spokane is a great area. Has everything that Seattle has, just less of it (except for major league sports...) Still some very reasonable parts, but it, too, is creeping up. Just over the border into Idaho is nice. Lots of mountains and just beautiful.

I have two suggestions. One will make you think I'm a crazy woman :lol:, and the other not so crazy, but you will just need to do a bit of searching: 1) Minot, ND. I know everyone complains about the HS climate in ND, but I just DON'T see it! My girls were tiny while we were there, but I had a large circle of HSing friends while we were there, and not one complained about a negative climate towards HSers. If you can survive the winter (and it is BRUTAL believe me) you will love it. Besides, you get some BRAGGING RIGHTS that you live someplace as cold as Siberia. The people are the most amazing, wonderful, genuine I have ever met. The only reason we moved was because Uncle Sam told us to. :001_smile: The summers can be warm, with a few days well above 90, but are humid, certainly not blistering like here in Almost Mexico AZ! Some crazy weather -- at the north end of Tornado Alley. It has 4 Seasons, a nice farmers markets for 6 months out of the year, a really old-fashioned zoo (that would drive PETA nuts), a decent mall with a Barnes & Noble, multi-plex, a decent sporting good's store, Norsk Hostfest in the fall (North America's largest Scandinavian festival...really fun and folksy), a real State Fair (not big, but fun), a Starbucks (we cheered when it opened), a good hospital, a beautiful Y, lots of churches (I can recommend there, too), parks, curling clubs :001_smile:, extremely low crime, a civic opera that's half decent and arts in the park in the summer. Bismarck (90 mins from Minot) is a decent-sized city, but honestly, Minot has almost everything that Bismarck does and the housing is really, really affordable. I can even give you the name of a real estate agent...a really decent single Dad who is HSing his kiddoes. He chose that profession so he would have flexibility with his time. 2) Olympia, WA. My husband and I are both from Washington State, outside of Seattle. It is SOOOOO liberal there that you can do whatever you want! HA! But I wouldn't suggest Olympia proper, but the areas outlying...towards the coast is beautiful (Montesano is a really cute town, and west) and not difficult to get to multiple big cities -- Olympia, Tacoma, etc.) South of Olympia is rural and agricultural and still quite reasonable in areas. In fact, we have been looking to buy land in this area when DH retires out of the AF so that we can spread out a bit and have a bit of rural buffer...we've had enough of living 10 feet from our neighbor. God bless your home sale! We're facing this challenge next year as we anticipate Uncle Sam's phone call again soon.

You overwhelmed yet?? :lol: I love Don't Make Me Count to Three: A Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline by Ginger Plowman. It takes the principals from Shepherding Your Child's Heart (I have a love-hate relationship with SYCH; I tend to become quite legalistic when I dwell on this book...but I know in my heart it is a Biblical way to child-rear...I guess it's my problem, huh!?) and gives practical day to day application. She also has written a handy chart (like a small calendar) called Wise Words for Moms. The reviews on Amazon are evenly split between 5 stars and 1 star! Ha! People either love it or hate it, as it is strictly from a Biblical perspective. For a wrong action, she provides a "correction" Bible verse, an "encouragment" verse and heart-probing questions. Some of the wrong actions include lying, whining, selfishness, etc. I also have several friends who have read and LOVE Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining and Bad Attitudes...in You and Your Kids by Scott Turansky. It is an "honor-based" parenting philosophy.

When I sit down with my 5 yo, my 3 yo ALWAYS plunks down next to us. When I sit down with my 3 yo, the 5 yo NEVER tags along. So 3 yo is getting it twice :) I do them separately, and let my 3 yo know that this is Ingrid's lesson time, but that she can listen if she would like to. Technically, my 3 yo is on lesson 10 while my 5 year old is on 17, but the 3 yo knows almost as much as the 5 yo does.

You FREAKED ME OUT! I'm SOOOOO gullible!!! Thanks, for the bump :lol:

This doesn't seem to be a very popular topic. :001_rolleyes: FWIW, I think I may have found an answer. I forgot that I subscribed to this blog; ironically, this blogger actually did a post about this very subject on Saturday! http://oldearthcreationism.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-geology-cluge-job.html

Anyone out there know of any Christian-based science curriculum that does not stress a young earth/young universe point of view, but is not theistic evolution? I'm looking for something that teaches the Biblical account of creation, but not strict 24 hour days, or dinosaurs on the Ark. I know that Reasons to Believe has something in the works for high-school level science, but I'm looking for kindergarten/grade school science. Or a secular earth science curriculum, that is not evolutionary that we could interject our faith into easily?? Thanks!

We're looking at the very same purchase right now! I can hardly wait...I ground enough WW for one loaf of bread the other day in my BLENDER and it took forever, but the bread was astoudingly amazingly wonderfully delicious!!!! My DH, two little DDs and myself ate an entire life in one sitting. I haven't done a ton of research on purchasing yet, but I did see that it was $20 off plus free shipping over at Urban Homemaker: http://www.urbanhomemaker.com/productcart/pc/showspecials.asp?pagestyle=p

We, too, aren't 100% organic shoppers -- I reserve most of my organic shopping for fresh goods because I too am a "must cook from scratch person!" I have found that we spend a lot less though when we do go to the organic-type store, such as Whole Foods (I don't go there but a couple times a year) because I'm not tempted by all of the prepared foods! Today I went to my "healthier food store", Sunflower Market (a small chain in here in Arizona, I think southern Utah and maybe up in Colorado). I bought 4 big bags of fruits, veggies, bulk dry goods (flour, popcorn kernels, etc.), a package of good kids' cereal, organic dairy items, and spent about $60. At the local Kroger-brand store (ours is Frys), I would have easily spent over $150 on that same trip -- because I'm much more tempted to get the other stuff like condiments, etc. That being said, we are a family of 4 and probably spend close to $500 a month... (Last fall, my husband and I held an experiment -- we gave ourselves $50 a week for groceries for a month. We DID IT! It was amazing. And we mostly shopped at Sunflower...I blogged about it here: http://bikebookandbread.blogspot.com/search/label/Experimental%20Eating

I was picking up my soon-to-be-exclusively-homeschooled 5 yo dd from pre-K today, when her wonderful teacher Mrs. R. asked what we had planned for her education in the fall (I have to assume that she saw that we hadn't signed up for Kinder at the private Christian school that she currently attends). I told her that we had decided to homeschool. She smiled big and said, "I was going to talk to you next week and suggest that for Ingrid. She's doing really well, but I think she would do GREAT homeschooling." Isn't that refreshing coming from a professional, longtime preschool teacher? Just had to share :001_smile:

I love my Kitchen Aid, too! Got it for my birthday. The bigger, the better, when it comes to food processors. Really. I'm not a "bigger is better" person at all, but in this case it is really true. Find the brand you want and get the biggest you can afford. I've heard Cuisinart is very good, as well (they did invent them, after all). If you are a member of Cook's Illustrated online, or can check out an old copy from the library, they did a pretty thorough study of them a while back, and KA just nudged out Cuis. by a hair...but both were great. They did say to stay away from the cheaper ones. I chose mine on Amazon, and because it was white instead of black, was $50 less!!!

How about bruschetta? Get a high quality loaf of italian or french baguette-shaped bread Slice on an angle Rub each side with a smashed piece of garlic Brush with olive oil, and then toast in a pan until crispy Combine: Finely chopped fresh tomato or oil-packed sun-dried tomato Finely diced red onion Chopped fresh basil (or make ribbons/chiffonade and place on top afterwards) A bit of fresh garlic if desired (but it is already on the bread, so might want to hold off) A bit of good extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar fresh cracked pepper Top each toast slice with a bit of topping and sprinkle with a pinch of crunchy sea salt. Depending upon the type of tomato topping and heaviness of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, this could pair with either white or red.

HIJACK again! :) We are WA residents currently living in Arizona, previously in UT and ND. In each state we have re-licensed/registered a newly purchased vehicle to Washington. We have had no problems. But just don't let them expire, because it is a PAIN, but not impossible, to get tabs re-issued while expired in another state. (Voice of experience!) Amd while in-state visiting, I had my driver's license re-issued to Washington, as well, and they allowed me to get an non-expiring license that says "military" on it, even though I'm the spouse. Back to the real subject...I do not desire a DOD-wide standard, either. I guess I'm too much of a Federalist. I know it's a pain to have to figure out all of those rules, but as noted previously, they have enough control of our lives as it is.