Aquaphor and Cetaphil (cream). We use both for my dd with eczema, at our dermatologist's suggestion. The Aquaphor works well for the really dry areas, but leaves a greasy feeling. We use the Cetaphil cream for less dry areas, and it's less greasy. To help, you might try taking a ~15 minute warm bath, stepping out and patting dry lightly, then putting on a cream within 3 minutes of stepping out of the tub. This was also our dermatologist's recommendation. I also like Mary Kay's Extra Emollient Night Cream, but it's expensive. Erica in OR

I did book 4 with my dd at the end of 2nd grade/start of 3rd grade. It wasn't for the phonics, but rather for the syllabication rules, and knowing how to use the rules to attack harder words. It was really a slog to move through all those lessons. I think the suggestion to skip ahead and then come back to 4 later would be a good one. We had a difficult time in 2nd/3rd grade with it, even with an established reader, and my inexpertise with the rules. Erica in OR

...although I wouldn't necessarily call them "must reads" were: 1) Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen Fiction about a 21 year old that joined a Depression-era circus interwoven with his 90 year old self musing about the past. The author did lots of research about what these second-rate circuses were like - very vivid. 2) Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill The author started a company that are like shopping anthropologists - they study shoppers and their behavior. It really opened my eyes to a lot of techniques stores use. I'm also finally plugging through Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I have to admit part of the interest lies in seeing how they converted the dialogue and characters into the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet/Hugh Grant movie. :001_smile: Erica in OR

My husband and I put it all together once just to check that it worked ;) and have had it put away waiting for Christmas. So, no advice on whether it gathers dust or not. I found the website wiialerts.com very useful, both in providing up-to-date recommendations on which online retailers had it in stock and what they view as a "good bundle". We purchased ours through Circuit City online. Using the wiialerts.com, I was also able to locate two Wiis for our church's youth ministry, through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Erica in OR

We did two: First Thanksgiving of All by Nancy Byrd Turner Peace and Mercy and Jonathan, And Patience (very small), Stood by the table giving thanks The first Thanksgiving of all. There was very little for them to eat, Nothing special and nothing sweet; Only bread and a little broth, And a bit of fruit (and no tablecloth): But Peace and Mercy and Jonathan And Patience, in a row, Stood up and asked a blessing on Thanksgiving long ago. Thankful they were their ship had come Safely across the sea; Thankful they were for hearth and home, And kin and company; They were glad of broth to go with their bread, Glad their apples were round and red, Glad of mayflowers they would bring Out of the woods again next spring. So Peace and Mercy and Jonathan, And Patience (very small), Stood up gratefully giving thanks The first Thanksgiving of all. and also the one mentioned by an earlier poster: Over the River and through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child Over the river, and through the wood, To Grandmother's house we go; The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifted snow. Over the river, and through the wood - Oh, how the wind does blow! It stings the toes and bites the nose As over the ground we go. Over the river, and through the wood, To have a first-rate play. Hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ding", Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day! Over the river, and through the wood Trot fast, my dapple-gray! Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound, For this is Thanksgiving Day. Over the river, and through the wood - And straight through the barnyard gate, We seem to go extremely slow, It is so hard to wait! Over the river, and through the wood - Now Grandmother's cap I spy! Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

We used the lessons from http://www.clclutheran.org/godshand.htm when my first dd was in the early grades. Both she and I really liked them. We would spend nearly a week doing one of the lessons, for example, reading through the story and coloring the cover page the first day, doing one of the activities the second, doing another activity the third, recapping the story the fourth, and whatever else they had. As I recall, each story also lists the Bible reference, so then you can read through whichever Bible version you have. They have both Old Testament and New Testament lessons. I forget which we did first - we chose the opposite of whatever our Sunday School was doing at that time, for variety. Erica in OR

As the previous poster suggested, Walgreen's is a good place. It's typically in the first aid aisle (Band-Aids, first aid creams, etc.). Tincture of iodine is in a very small bottle so it's easy to overlook. I think once I had to ask the pharmacist because they had it behind the counter, since it's poisonous. Erica in OR

I really recommend the use of the web site wiialerts.com if you're trying to buy one without the hassle of locating it in a store near you, and for advice about what's a decent bundle. We're Wii newbies too, and I was able to purchase a reasonably-priced bundle with free shipping from Circuit City, and to get a Wii Fit from Barnes & Noble's web site.

I attached the newsletter as a pdf, with color photos and such. If someone wanted to print a hard copy, they could easily do it. But, this is from the point of view of one who has only sent Christmas cards once in the past ten years or so, and that was to include a newsletter that said we were moving. I decided it was either do an email or not at all. The cards we've gotten in recent years are less personal. We received one with handwritten text inside "To all of you" and "From all of us". That said, I'm a bit of a Grinch about cards to begin with. My husband and I prefer not to buy and send birthday cards. Erica in OR

The economy provided a very good excuse for me to say no! The kids loved his presentation though, with all the meat boxes laid out on the floor. They pretended their stuffed animals were munching on it. Erica in OR

...especially the link to the co-op class suggestions. Where was all this information when I posted two weeks ago asking for election class ideas? :tongue_smilie: Erica in OR

When I was a teenager and our family was on city sewer, we had to have the RotoRooter guy come do some work at our house. A lot of the work was apparently caused by flushed tampons - his term for them was "sewer rats". That phrase has stuck in my head a lotta years! :tongue_smilie:

We memorized the poems in FLL 1 when dd was in kindergarten. She could handle them easily enough with repetition. Now, when we reach the poems this year in 1st grade, we take one more look, and then take the poem time in a lesson to do a new poem, particularly those that are in "What your first grader needs to know". I didn't wish to rush into the grammar portion. Erica in OR

To give an answer and also piggyback on your original question... I used FLL 1 & 2 with dd these past two years and have now moved into Rod & Staff 3 as suggested in TWTM. It seems as though a lot of the FLL information, for example, about verbs, adjectives, adverbs, didn't stick with her. It was a decent oral introduction to many grammar concepts, that she can use as a gentle entry into the concepts she'll cover with more retention later on. It may just be a question of interest - we both remember the poems she memorized from FLL, but both came to dread the repetition of the preposition lists, definitions, etc. This past week my husband and I attended a classical education conference (geared more toward school environment than homeschool), and I was quite taken with the Shurley question-and-answer flow that was described. They had a video of students using the method (1st and 2nd grade) to label various sentences, and I agree with you - it seemed very rigorous. I wondered how I might integrate that part of Shurley with what I'm doing already. Is there a way for me to learn more about the specific questions asked about a sentence and how to label it? I think it would really help dd to have a method like this, to really question how the sentence is put together, and to practice it. Erica in OR

It was recommended somewhere (naturally can't remember where). It's a can of crushed tomatoes, preferably with "tomatoes" as the first ingredient listed rather than tomato puree or anything else. I put in some olive oil and minced garlic, then let it sit while I work on rolling out the dough, cutting up stuff, etc. We've enjoyed it. A 28 oz. can covers two pizzas and leaves some for freezing. Erica in OR

Like you say, relaxing and fun after a long day. :001_smile: Erica in OR

I'm starting my fourth year (started with oldest in K), and now that my middle child is hitting some of the same books, I've found I still have enthusiasm for them. I also feel more comfortable about tweaking the parts that we didn't enjoy the first time around. For example, replacing/skipping certain grammar lessons with something more effective and switching to a different math program. It also makes the planning a bit easier, since you already have a foundation for that grade level's lessons. I'm interested to see what will happen when my youngest comes up into school age as well. Erica in OR

A friend gave one to dd last year for her birthday, which brought it to my attention. That resulted in other dd wanting one for Christmas, etc. etc. I was logging into their accounts and using them to play some of the video games, and so got one of my own. Yes, I am somewhat addicted, although I seem to have switched my screen time from reading this board to Webkinz instead. It's a wash. I do enjoy sending virtual "gifts" to the kids and mail for them to read. Erica in OR

I purchased the 2003 text and ordered the revised CDs to use this past school year. I read along in the text quite often (although we didn't get past ch. 34 or so), and didn't notice a ton of differences. Most of what I noticed, they had maybe inserted or deleted a date or two, or had incorporated one of the notes from the bottom of the page into the text itself. It didn't happen very often, and wasn't particularly bothersome to me, but YMMV. You might just give it a try first - if it bothers your son, go for the new text. Erica

My husband is self-employed as well, and we also have opted for a high deductible policy (although only $5,000), which was cheaper than our past policy. We put the difference in premiums into a health savings account - contributions are tax deductible. We still use Town Bank in Delafield, WI for our health savings account, because they don't have many fees except the start-up fee. Are you also deducting your insurance premiums on your taxes? We do that each year, and it helps at least a bit for us. No experience with Humana One, although when we lived in Wisconsin a few years ago, we used WPS, but during the last year we used them, the rates jumped a lot. So, not a whole lot of advice - but I know how you feel!

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting by Louise Riotte can be helpful. Our library had an older version of it - lots of good info. on which plants can be beneficial together, and which aren't. Erica in OR

State Farm insures our house, no problem. It was a stove recently installed by the previous homeowner. Be sure you're willing to work with the wood itself, though. My husband always says it provides you with heat three times - the time to split it, the time to load and carry it into the house, and the time it actually burns. Plus, we get exercise by chopping wood in our local national forests with inexpensive permits. If using it for heat all the time, which we do, what I dislike is the mess the ash eventually makes, and also the woody bits left on the floor from transporting it to the stove. It also is going to be a fixture in your yard when it's stacked. All that said, we really love it! Erica in OR

Regarding the original post, I'd stick with what you agreed to. I recently had the problem flip-flopped and found it irritating. I emailed a seller to ask to purchase books if they were still available and said I could pay through PayPal. The seller emailed me back, said yes, and gave me the email address for payment. I sent the payment almost immediately, and thought the deal was done. Later, I got an email through PayPal saying the money had been refunded, with a note from the seller that she wasn't going to sell after all. Erica in OR

We liked the cookbook "Pretend Soup" at that age, to use for an activity. It has pictures and recipes appropriate for preschoolers, and they can actually do most of it independently. My kids were so proud when they produced something that we could all eat and enjoy, and liked to shop for the ingredients at the store. Erica in OR

I recently saw him in Love Actually and really loved it. He was part of a much larger ensemble cast, including Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, and others. If you don't mind seeing him in something *much* less serious, get Galaxy Quest. Rickman plays a classically trained actor who played an alien in a long-ago Star Trek-type TV series and now despises doing personal appearances in costume and repeating his tagline "By Grabthar's Hammer..." Erica in OR