Our church ladies' group changed to this rummage sale style a couple years ago. Before that, we had spent hours pricing everything. It all evens out—some will give less than you may have hoped, and some will give more than you thought you would get. Erica in OR

Not sure if it fits the appetizer/side dish requirement, but I love this recipe: Broccoli Ham Ring. You might be able to line a muffin tin with the crescent roll dough and fill it with the broccoli/ham filling for appetizer style? At our church potlucks, someone's signature dish is this Ham and Pea Salad. Very tasty. Erica in OR

Hugs in a wearing situation. Is a treadmill an option for you to keep for your use in their home during your visits? Could be one way to get the self-care that you need while providing care for her. Erica in OR

I'm no help with any suggestions, but your title gave me a good late night laugh. :) Erica in OR

I used this two-book set from Remedia Publications, based on recommendations in the second edition of The Well-Trained Mind. It takes it step-by-step at a fairly gentle pace. She could probably do it independently, with you checking her work. Erica in OR

For breakfast, you could do THM pancakes with a berry topping, or the THM stovetop granola recipe in whatever version appeals. I like the one that uses pumpkin spice flavoring and throw in a chopped apple. It does have sweetener, but you could either leave it out or cut it back to a bare minimum. Or, just egg white omelettes with a sauteed non-starchy vegetable on the side. For lunch, my favorite E is the THM Waldorf salad, although I don't add the spice to the nuts. A lot of the Progresso Light soups are THM-friendly, and I like the ease of using them for a quick lunch with my DH's homemade whole wheat sourdough. Erica in OR

I bought a Shark Navigator Lift-Away when Costco had it on sale last fall and have been very pleased with it. We also have hardwood, carpet, plus wood stairs. I like how easy and light it is to detach and carry the canister to do the stairs. Suction power is great overall. Erica in OR

Sounds like your hunt time is already set during the daytime, but I saw an event on Facebook for a school/church hosting a night-time egg hunt with flashlights. Erica in OR

I just put this year's tax software on the computer this week, so yes, I feel your pain. Erica in OR

Maybe choose a level of The Well-Trained Mind's "The Creative Writer" and do either the 18 poetry lessons or the 18 writing lessons? Erica in OR

Another option to make the fix only involve sewing in the front would be to attach the chosen fabric to the front of the dress, and then tie it at the neck, halter-type style. Erica in OR

I usually do a site search through Google rather than using the forum's search box. The search below brings up multiple threads. berean science site:forums.welltrainedmind.com Erica in OR

Do you have a stroller already that you like? Otherwise I'd save it and see what comes up. Erica in OR

I've used the first two books and am using the third right now, teaching it as a class at a small classical school, with homeschoolers invited to join in with us. I feel the quality and style has stayed the same throughout. It's definitely Jay Wile-ish. Most experiments are easy to do with materials around the house and don't take a lot of prep work in general. I do modify some of them to fit better with my materials or a different experiment that I'm familiar with that I feel would be clearer. For me, the multi-age treatment has worked. The first two years, I did the class with K through 5th graders. This year, we have it broken up into K–3 and 4–6, which allows for a deeper discussion with the older group. The younger / older / oldest review questions help to point out what each level might be comfortable with. One might say that it jumps around a lot, because instead of focusing on a specific area of science, it follows the paths of natural philosophers through history, linked with the particular concepts that each one was studying. I hang the concepts on the hooks of the history, rather than the specific science types (which have overlap anyway). I do like how the books revisit certain topics at later points in history—the scientific revolution book discussed Galileo and his telescope. We are now on Huygens and how he improved on the telescope and was able to discern that Saturn had rings instead of what Galileo described as "ears", and extends to what we can tell with our telescopes today. The school will likely purchase the Age of Reason set, to use as a four-year rotating series. I've been pleased with it and likely would have used it with my teens when they were younger if the series had existed, over what we did from TWTM second edition recommendations. Hope that dispels some of the crickets... :) Erica in OR

You might look into taking MSM powder as a supplement in a glass of water. A friend lent me a book "The Miracle of MSM", and one of its potential benefits is for seasonal allergies. I figured it's worth a try and bought a pound of the powder on amazon yesterday. Erica in OR

If he did take speech in his final year, that is an English-type class to me. At the private high school I attended, it was part of the 12th grade English curriculum. Erica in OR

Pulled pork sandwiches from a Nesco-type roaster. People could add BBQ sauce afterward to their taste. Add a few sides. I went to a Chamber of Commerce event, and the meal was pulled pork sliders and fruit. Erica in OR

I don't know if I'd necessarily judge by the National Latin Exam. I too was a bit worried by how quickly my two oldest went through it last year. I didn't have anything to compare it to, since it was our first year doing it. I'd wait to see the scores and the exam, to determine if they were silly mistakes or items she truly didn't know. For mine, the speed for that particular test didn't result in any silly mistakes. I agree with others that some are just speedy test takers. In elementary school, I tended to be one of the first finishers, even after thoroughly checking answers. It did not affect my accuracy. Erica in OR

FLL 3 didn't exist back when my oldest finished FLL 2. We went into Rod & Staff 3, pretty much all orally except the diagramming. Erica in OR

I so agree with your last sentence. I see many posts in a local classified group where someone is trying to sell something that is not usable, but "It would be easy to fix." If it was that easy, why haven't you done it? Erica in OR

I've never used the worksheets. If your student needed some extra practice, you could always purchase them after the fact, or do similar exercises. I think they are also in the back of the teacher guide with answers, so you could do them orally with a student. There is not a worksheet for every single lesson either. Erica in OR

I was gifted "The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook: Make the Most of Your Growing Season." It's meant to be written in. You find out what your area's average last frost date is, then make note of it in the book, and from there you can date each week in the book. For each of those weeks it then gives suggested guidelines for what it might be useful to do at that time of the year, whether starting a certain type of plant, planting a particular crop, putting the garden to bed for the fall, etc. I found it useful, although I did make notes about what did/didn't quite work with their suggestions for our area. Erica in OR

I haven't had that experience at Fred Meyer (a Kroger store), but I remember that when I used to shop at Albertson's when it was in our area, if they overcharged you on an item and you brought it to their attention at customer service, their policy was to give you the item for free. If you had purchased multiples of that item on the receipt, they would give the first one free, then a refund for the overcharge on the others. Erica in OR

My kids didn't purchase formal black. Our family bought a white blouse and black skirt or flowy pants for each at the thrift store. Or go with white uniform polos ($4–5 each at Walmart) and then jeans if that's what they have. I just don't think it has to be an elaborate option that requires fundraising. Our schools here are in the same boat—all public elementary and middle school students are automatically on free lunch. Erica in OR

I'd focus on just doing the choir and honing their abilities—the singing is the main thing, not having (yet another) special shirt for them to outgrow or to attend somewhere else to sing there. This, even more so, since you say it's the first year for the group. If you're looking for additional singing opportunities, I suggest looking for a local adult choir that already does concerts and ask if your group could add a song or two to the program, or if the adult choir would be interested in a joint song with your students. My children belonged to a local community choir, and I appreciated that it was all about the music and getting to be a better singer. They participated in two local concerts a year as a small part of the program for a community adult choir. Outfits were just a white top, black pants or skirt, that did not need to be identical to the other children. Erica in OR