I thought about keeping the old one for that reason, but then that's just one more piece of equipment to bulk up the office area (and space is a premium around here) and I lose $50 off even the sale price of some of these printers. Thanks for your input!

Sorry, but when you said "look so comfy and resemble jeans" I thought of those pajamajeans I've seen on the infomercials. :lol: I love ON jeans. I'm a tall gal, with bigger thighs, but I've managed to lose a little weight and was actually able to get in a size 12 skinny jeans there (which are perfect for tucking into those trendy boots. The skinny jeans are the Diva cut which does tend to be low-rise but not so that they're flashing anything. I also have some Sweetheart jeans but they're getting too baggy around the rear (also size 12). The Divas seem to fit better now. Go figure.

The copier/scanner part of our printer has died so now we are looking at a new one. Staples and Office Depot have this deal for trading in the old printer for $50 off certain new ones. DH thinks we should get a b/w laser printer because it'll be more efficient than the inkjet but I'm not entirely sure I want to lose the color printing capability. I don't often print in color, though, and I almost never copy in color but then I start thinking of the "what if's". I guess what I'm asking is how often do you print in color at home for school and would it be more/less of a pain to have to send color print jobs to, say, Kinko's, if we couldn't print at home. Thanks!

I honestly don't recall reading a book that I absolutely HATED. There's one of those Janet Evanovitch (or however her name s spelled) that I never finished because it just didn't grab me. I love many of the "pop" writers like King, Crichton, Clancy and loved, loved The Hunger Games series. I'm intrigued by the Games of Thrones because there seems to be mixed review about it here. I read The Handmaids Tale in my early 20's and liked it (working through Year of the Flood right now) but I think reading it again now that I have children might provide a totally different perspective. I saw the movie The Road and was so depressed by it, I just don't know if I can read it. I love seeing how these books can bring out so many differing opinions!

:lol::lol: I really like your suggestions, as well as the Regions of the USA text, so I have much more to think about and look into. I think my DD is turning into a "worksheet" girl as opposed to a "lets sit down and discuss" girl, so these suggestions really work well for us, I think. And I love the map in the bathroom idea :)

Got it! Thanks :)

What sort of books to you supplement with? We're doing BJU 4 next year so DD will have a "formal" reading subject, but she devours books and I'd love to be able to find her more reading to go along with her program.

What would you suggest for grade 4? We're doing Beautiful Feet Geography now, but we're not taking it "in depth" with the notebooking and side research projects. We're mainly taking time coloring the maps and labeling. She's liking it ok, but i'd like to see something a little more in-depth for next year. Any suggestions? Thx

I just checked with my friend (we're staying together at the Millennium - she made the reservation) and she said they have two places to park: valet for $22/day but you can come and go and another lot for $10/day but there's no going in and out.

Haven't BTDT to the extend you have, but it isn't a "normal" school day here if my DD doesn't cry at least once. I'd love to hear how others handle this.

I still get that question from my dd who is 8 years old. All I do with her is remind her that we take extra field trips, finish our school day usually by 1:00 (and her friends in ps still have an hour and forty-five minutes), have "fun Tuesdays" when we can, and take gymnastics in the morning with a small class being taught by the owner of the gym. That usually shuts her up. On another note, a friend whose son had similar questions in 1st or 2nd grade took a different approach. She and her son visited a ps class for a few hours so he could see what it was like. It worked for her (probably because of all the restrictions someone listed a while back, like no talking and sitting still) and as far as I know, he hasn't brought it back up.

:lol:

love that! I just posted it to my FB page.

Awesome!! Back in college I used to use cherry koolaid to dye a pink streak in my hair. It would stay FOREVER! (And my friends started calling me Kool Aid.)

I thought the same thing ;)

I LOVED Ender's Game! I think it would be a great novel for a teen. There's also a series by Susan Pfeffer that starts with Life as We Knew It. Really, really good. The first book is written in journal form from the perspective of a 16 yr old girl. The second book follows the same time/tragedy but in a different location and focused on a 17 yr old boy and his siblings (narrative form, not journal), and the third book is what happens after the first two. Make sense? It's in the teen section of the library.

I'd also suggest the Smokies. There are oodles of cabins to rent that might even be a little less than what you find in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Try looking in Wear's Valley or Townsend. You're still in the mountains but not in the "touristy" part like you find in Gatlinburg/PF area - although there are a LOT of fun, educational places there like WonderWorks, The Titanic Museum, Ripley's Aquarium. There is a lot of "history" to find, too, like the afore-mentioned Cades Cove, with homes, churches and cemeteries dating back to, I believe, the 1700's, and a lot of museums and historical homes in and around Knoxville (about 45-1 hr from the mountains - depending on what part).

@MamaSheep - I don't have the same issue as amo_mea_filiis but I have struggles with my ds that has me wondering what to do and how to encourage changing his behaviors (a lot of it is attention-seeking) both at home and out-and-about and your thoughts and ideas were like lightbulbs! I know I wasn't the one you were aiming your ideas at, but I sure do appreciate what you've said. Thank you!

I can't really speak for 4th grade because my dd is still in 3rd but I did pick up Wordsmith Apprentice for her for next year. It looks fun because of the way it's designed as having the student being a journalist for a newspaper and writing articles and such. I tried WWE for 2nd grade and dd and I were bored to TEARS with it, so we quit that early on and just stuck with CLE 200. This year, we're still doing CLE but I've added journal writing in a notebook with different prompts everyday and it seems plenty. I know it's not much, but I hope it helps you a little.

Love that!!

:bigear:

Believe me, I'm not looking forward to the dirt and stains but we're actually putting our house on the market very soon and right now the carpet we have is really dark. We need to lighten it up a bit. I'm actually looking at some that are closer to a dark khaki and less like a cream but hardwood laminates (like we have downstairs) just isn't in the budget. It sure would make cleaning up after dogs/kids much easier, though!

I've been searching through the threads and have found several helpful discussions, so I'm sure this will have some repeat responses, but here goes: We will be replacing the carpet in our house very soon. We have an older upright that seems to get the job done (but we have hunter green carpet now, so there's no telling how dirty it *really* is) but I'm looking at a new vacuum for the new carpet. Silly, I know, but whatever. We have two dogs and two children, plus I tend to be a bit messy, too, so we would definitely need a good vacuum - we're planning on a light beige color carpet. We also have solid-surface floors in our downstairs area, so it would be nice to have something that I can use there, too. Which vacuums do you prefer? I've seen most people talk about canisters, but Dyson and Kirby have come up, too (both with positive and negative reviews). Thanks!!

I think I must have missed something. What are you guys talking about with a showerboard?

:bigear: