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callapidder

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Everything posted by callapidder

  1. When I'm on top of things, I plan and shop once/week. I organize and store my recipes in plantoeat.com I usually sit down over the weekend and plan what we'll eat that week depending on my high-schooler's schedule, my husband's travel schedule, and any other issues that week. I generally plan about 5 nights per week of cooking. Other nights we end up eating leftovers, scrounging, or ordering pizza or take-out. Or it might just be two of us home and we have a grilled cheese and soup, or some other simple options. My guys like to eat meat, so I try to make sure they get a variety -- chicken, fish, beef, and then usually a meatless meal as well. I often use the crockpot once or more per week, too. Lately, I have NOT been on top of things, and I end up running to the store a couple times during the week, grabbing enough for a couple days and then repeating as needed. I end up spending more this way, but it just happens when I'm in chaos / survival mode.
  2. Thank you for this! I have known how to go in and give specific assignments (which works well but can be tedious), but I didn't even know about using the planning tab. I'll have to give this a try as well!
  3. We just started feeding birds this past winter. I put up a number of feeders in December and we didn't have a single bird until they were up for almost two weeks. Once they found the feeders, we had more and more every week and now have a lovely variety each day. I was ready to move all the feeders to a different location after the first week, but my husband convinced me to give it another week, and he was right. We're in Pennsylvania, but our birds' favorites are black oil sunflower seeds and peanuts (not in the shell).
  4. Coo-min and coo-pon here. I think I used to say Q-min as well, but switched. It might have even had something to do with Alton Brown as I used to watch his shows quite a bit.
  5. We've been with the same pediatric dentist since my now-17-year-old was 3. The first visit or two, parents are invited back, but after that, the parent is encouraged to wait in the waiting room. However, if the child is having a difficult time or the parent insists, exceptions can be made. Also, the dentist comes out to talk to the parent EVERY single time, after the appointment, to let them know how the cleaning/procedure went, to give suggestions for improved brushing, and/or to discuss anything else that comes up. While I was surprised by the "no parents" guideline at first, we haven't had a single unpleasant experience, and my kids are very happy with this dentist.
  6. Agreed! I had to read several in high school and have done my best not to think of them since. :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  7. Five Classics that have stayed with me: To Kill a Mockingbird Animal Farm As I Lay Dying Huck Finn Lord of the Rings trilogy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  8. I aim for an equal number of gifts under the tree (usually 3-5, depending on the year), and they are things they've asked for or that I know they will love. Stockings are more random. And I try to keep totals in the same ballpark, but am not really worried about spending an "equal" amount on each. My mom was always determined to spend an equal amount, to the point where she would go buy some penny candy or little dollar-store type toys for stockings to compensate for the last few cents of inequality.
  9. Just adding my votes for: 7 Wonders Kingdom Builder (with expansion) Wits & Wagers Dixit (several options to choose from here) And others we like, but I'm not sure if I saw mentioned: Relic Runners Tokaido
  10. Yes. 6-8 tonight. We live in an area that's primarily rural with a couple newer neighborhoods. However, all the townships/towns around here have designated days/times. Just check the paper that week and you'll see all the towns listed, along with their trick-or-treat times. I don't mind it -- it's helpful to have some idea of when kids will be ringing our doorbell.
  11. Ugh, so sorry you're dealing with this! We have dealt with our fair share of vermin, and I second the Rat Zapper recommendation. Last weekend, my 9-year-old went to play in the basement and found a 3-foot-long black snake. That was my limit. My husband was gone, my teenager was gone, and I was NOT happy. Hours later, we all caught it and got it outside, but I have gone a little crazy with sealing things. If it even looks like it could *become* a hole, it gets sealed.
  12. So glad you found him! We have two indoor boys, and one of them has been more and more interested in sneaking out lately... I'm always worried he's going to bolt one of these days!
  13. When my youngest was 5 or 6, we went to the county fair and happened to spend a long time in the hog barn. After studying a pen of pigs for a long time, my son asked, "When are these pigs going to turn green?" He was dead serious. Though I'm certain he had some animal/farmyard books and toys, his primary association for pigs was the game Angry Birds. Yikes. We spent a lot of time talking about animals after that!
  14. For DS9, our first year homeschooling: Spelling Power--->AAS--->R&S Spelling 4 Abeka Handwriting ---> Reason for Handwriting C Also, we put WWE aside to experiment with Writing & Rhetoric: Fable. I won't call it a switch yet, as we may decide to alternate the two. Considering that it's our first year, I'm pretty happy that these are the only adjustments we've made so far. Everything else is working out well.
  15. This is very much a local issue, in my experience. Our local Walgreens is okay, but I've had a friend print at her Walgreens and get horrible colors. I don't think there's a whole lot of consistency between stores. That said, I've never gotten good prints from Walmart.
  16. Last night was Sausage and Tortellini Soup with biscuits. Lots of leftovers, but we're going to have pizza with the extended family tonight, so the leftovers will wait.
  17. I voted $1501-1800. This is just for curricula, and doesn't include piano lessons, rec center membership for phys ed, art supplies, field trips, etc. It's our first year homeschooling DS9 (3rd grade) and we are coming from private school. We allotted a percentage of the tuition we had been paying, and just stayed within that. Some of our biggest curriculum expenses this year were Nancy Larson Science 3 ($289), Singapore Math including supplemental workbooks ($215), and Zeezok Music Appreciation ($170). Obviously, we didn't choose the most economical options, but I really needed options that were easy-to-use and didn't require a lot of prep on my part.
  18. We just did this one this week, so I had it bookmarked: http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table Sorry if it's too late!
  19. Public schools use a combination around here (the ones I'm familiar with, anyway), with an emphasis on phonics (including the nonsense syllables to practice and evaluate decoding).
  20. Almost done with The Book of Three, and plan to continue through the Chronicles of Prydain. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  21. This is our first year homeschooling, and we're using WWE with DS (3rd grade). We're using 2 instead of 3, because he has never been exposed to this kind of copywork/narration/dictation, so we didn't want to jump right into 3. DS loves to write, though, so we do include some other things. He does a daily "journal entry," which can be anything from a brief review of a book he's read, to a narrative about a trip we took, to a "how to" about a Minecraft something-or-other. Very casual, not graded, just something he enjoys that keeps him writing and creating. We're also adding in some projects from WriteShop Junior D this year -- again, because DS loves to write and has requested more writing. So while I don't think it's necessary to add in more writing (WWE was our only plan, initially), we're going with DS's interests and requests and adding more. If he hated writing or just wasn't that interested, I'd be happy with what he's doing in WWE2 and the writing that naturally comes up in some other subjects.
  22. This is my first year homeschooling AND I'm only homeschooling one, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but here's what's working for us so far: A 10-minute genuine, physical, "go run around" break after math (his most brain-stretching subject) every day. Changing venues throughout the day, as mentioned above. Reading on the living room sofa, grammar at the desk in the den, Latin in the family room. Using "fun subjects" as transitions. My DS loves doing Latin, Reading, and logic puzzles, so I intersperse them among other, not as well-loved subjects. It feels like a break without actually being a break. Specific, 2-minute, "go get a drink and then back to work" breaks after a stretch. For example, we'll try to knock out all our language arts...then go get a drink before diving back in to the next thing. Incorporating activity into subjects when possible. We've gone for a walk while reviewing what we're learning in History. I let him bounce on an exercise ball while going over math facts. Plus, my son is really motivated to finish the bulk of our work before lunch (he has some independent reading and writing to do on his own later in the day). After about 5 weeks of school, he can tell if we're on track to finish by lunch and he'll buckle down if needed. So he has some "crank it out" in him, but needs the variety and little breaks to keep his mind fresh and engaged.
  23. We have two male cats and they're about 2.5 years old. We spend about $40-80 / month on food & litter for them. They primarily eat dry food, with an occasional wet food treat. Their vet visit each year is around $200 (that covers both of them) -- this covers vaccinations, check-up, worm check, etc. Neutering them cost another $150 or so for both of them. We have 3 litter boxes -- one upstairs, one downstairs, and an extra to rotate in when another one is being cleaned. The boxes were probably about $30 each. We have 2 carriers (one for each) that were about $40 each. They share one food bowl and one water bowl. Just switched them to a self-dispensing water bowl that was $20, but this was a splurge. We have only a few toys -- little mice, a scratching surface, and a ball-in-track kind of toy. They are indoor cats, so we don't do any regular flea treatment. So overall, I budget about $60/month, plus the $200/year vet visit. However, my husband and I had another cat when we were first married and she ended up eating/swallowing some ribbon, and needing a $1200 surgery (and that was a long time ago; I'm sure it would be much ore now). So even though our day-to-day expenses aren't too bad, I always have in the back of my mind that there could be a medical emergency.
  24. I also put "Cupcakes" because it varies depending on who is there. We don't often eat out with extended family -- we're more likely to have them over or to eat at their house. But in the occasional event that we eat out together... If we're out with my in-laws, they usually pay. If we're out with my mother (who is on a very low fixed income), we pay. She insists on leaving the tip. If we're out with siblings, we usually split the bill or get separate bills, unless one family specifically invited the other as a treat/thanks/etc. Once in a blue moon, my teenager offers to treat me to breakfast or coffee. :)
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