That was a good, creepy, cool read.

I have The Help on my list too, but my library can't keep it in for me and I'm not quite ready to hold it yet. It sounds great!! Can you tell me more about Kristin Lavransdatter? Is it hist fiction or what? Time period? If it's now your mostest favoritest then I have to know more!!! :D

Ohhhhh Moira, I have this on my list as well, but every time I look at it it's so dang huge that I think I just don't have the time to delve into it. Page turner, eh? Good to know, may have to bump it up on the list!

I'm into historical fiction so I have read: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (quick read, lovely book) The Other Boleyn Girl (like it a lot) right now: People of the Book (just started, seems great) next: The Blood of Flowers (abt 17th century Iran) and next: Christ the Lord:Out of Egypt (by Anne Rice about the boyhood of Jesus) or: Outlander - by Gabaldon (heard phenomenal things about this one) or: The Killing Way (a Merlin murder mystery) What kind of books do you like?

I just did it too. Mwaah ha ha ha ha!!!

I've bought frozen squash before and thought it was pretty good. I would guess it'd be best to blanch in first, then I'd drain it and lay it out in wax paper on a cookie sheet to freeze. That way it won't freeze into a big chunk. Then you'll have it all winter for use in soups and sauces and casseroles and side dishes.

:smilielol5:I don't know why, but this just struck me as hilarious! I guess I'm not in the "geek world". Just a funny sentence!

We're just starting our first full year (I started mid-year last year) and so I am filled with doubts and worries. I feel SO pressured that I am to keep a perfect house, have lovely perfect children who are working 2 grades ahead, be a devoted (and sexy) wife. I. CAN'T. Your blog post was an excellent reminder that no one is putting these pressures on us, we are doing it. And what a supreme relief I would feel if I really knew my friends IRL felt the same way. I bet they do, but they're also under the self -imposed pressure to create the perfect homeschool life. I agree with a pp that I rarely read other blogs because they make me feel inadequate. It's nice to hear others keepin' it real! It think that's why I like this forum so much. At any given moment you can sign in and find dozens of moms going "I don't know if I can do this" with dozens replying "Yes, you can!".:D

My dh smokes a cigar a few times a week, and is now trying a pipe (I like it better). But he does this outside in the garage in his "man cave" after the kids are in bed. They know he smokes them and he has no problem explaining the difference between smoking a cigar occasionally and being addicted. I have seen him give them up for weeks at a time when it's either too hot or too cold to sit out there, and I know he isn't addicted. I don't think there is anything any more wrong with this than the occassional drink. It's all in moderation and making sure this type of thing has it's place. I am certainly more "addicted" to pizza and potato chips and they have a far more negative impact on my health than dh's cigars do! And he is also one of the strongest Christians I know, growing in holiness every day. If he truly thought he was in sin in this area (and usually we know) then he would walk away from it and never do it again.

I'm starving now too! Maybe I can sneak out for some Taco Bell....:leaving:

Kelly, I'm pretty sure we all think we're going to screw them up! I wasn't abused but I was treated badly by my father because I was/am overweight and did suffer some emotional abuse from this reality, so I am CONVINCED that my daughter is going to turn out just like me unless I change her right now!:001_huh: But she is a different person, and I am different than my parents were. Your guy sounds like a deep thinker and it seems like the age when more complex thoughts about ourselves and our surroundings really starts to happen. Like he's really internalizing that he is his own person and can have his own thoughts about things. I'd just encourage you to keep him talking. Let him let it lead (or not) to where it will. Him knowing he can talk to you even when he thinks his thoughts might be weird is a good, good thing. :grouphug: You're doing a good job mama!

My fav thing to do is buy a 1lb bag of pinto beans (they're my favorite), soak them overnight, then in the morning I pour them in my crock pot, toss in one diced up smoked sausage, one can of diced tomatoes and one large can of chicken broth. I sometimes season by adding some cumin and certainly garlic. The smoked sausage adds enough salt. Then I just let it cook all day and serve this "soup" over rice. Delicious, nutritious, cheap, and makes enough to freeze for a whole other meal. Even my kids like it!

I'm sorry Jen. :grouphug:

Jen, What a lovely idea! He will feel this loss too, and it will help him to have something to do. Lisa, I am so sorry for you and your friend and her family. I agree to just be there for her to support her and help her process. :grouphug:

YES! It works on a Mac! Hmmmm...Now I'm off to try to think of a tid bit I can share!

There have been some other threads around here on this, but I'll tell you what's been helping me. I have been cooking one large dish and freezing 1/2 of it. You know how typically a casserole will make a 9x13? Well that's way too much food for my family, so I have been getting those foil cake pans in 8x8 either round or square, making a normal dish and splitting it in two. This week I made baked ziti, chicken tamale casserole, and chicken spaghetti. i cooked a bunch of chicken in the crock pot with onions and garlic and bouillion one day, chilled it, shredded it off the bone, and had enough for two large casseroles. I have a bunch of potential recipes I am going to do this with so that in the morning I can pull out a casserole either the night before to thaw in the fridge, or at lunch time to thaw on the counter. If they are frozen solid they take too long to bake. In your case you might have to take one day a week and do some batch cooking to fill up the freezer. Our favorite quick meals are: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, scrambled eggs and toast, tuna salad with crackers and fruit, baked potatoes (bake them the night before) with taco toppings, spaghetti, taco soup. I'd also second the idea of using your crock pot. I love to make a gigantic batch of stew or soup or chili or beans, so it's ready for that night with enough to freeze. Also, make batches of rice and pasta you can freeze. I like to get turkey meatballs (already made), make up some brown gravy - add a cup of sour cream - throw in the meatballs - and serve over butter noodles. Super fast and a kid pleaser. I always have a veg, so I keep cans of green beans and tons of frozen veggies I can pull out and microwave quickly. HTH!

"No more drinking the dogs water!"

So I watched the video and as a total musical boob, I don't get it. The kids they showed on the website video were playing songs, but not to sheet music. Is it just memorization of moves to play songs, and that's what hooks them, so they'll go on to keep learning? Help me understand, por favor!:D

:iagree:We are in the midst of revamping our local group. It used to be open and loose, anyone could join. Even though we were published under our Yahoo group info as a Christian group, it seems others of differing faiths felt free to join too. Of course this caused some issues, so we are moving to a closed group. Statement of faith, code of conduct, dues, etc. I just think it makes sense to find a group that has similar philosophies and goals when it comes to these kinds of IRL groups. We've also had the flakiness problem and it's very disappointing. OTOH we don't want to require attendance. Just wish folks would step up when they say they will!

My dd is Lucy Evelyn. Your category is what I call "grandma names". :D I love 'em. If we would have had another girl she would have been either Charlotte, Ava, or Stella. I LOVE Stella! Wouldn't sisters named Lucy and Stella have been SO cute?! Grandma names are very popular. Girls (under age 10) that I know IRL: Lucy, Charlotte, Caroline, Adeline, Annabelle, Ruby, Olivia, Hannah, Emma, Laurie, Julia, Ella, Mary, Elizabeth, Valerie, Jenna, Natalie, Lily, Eleanor, Jemma, Kate I will also vote for Charlotte. I think it goes very nicely with your other girl names, and has that literary feel too: Charlotte Bronte!

Definitely praying here. :grouphug: Feel free to share more as you are led. Bitterness is not easily overcome. This I know.

I'm still in my 1st year! :w00t: Just beginning a wonderful journey!

Fat Brain toys has Rush Hour. It looks like a really cool toy!

I've been trying to follow this story as it was posted to my local group to pray for the family. The police actually do not expect foul play, so they are pretty much staying out of it. They think he's a runaway. The odd thing is that the kid is 15, 6'2", and 190lbs. He would not be any easier to "abduct" than my husband. It's a very strange story and I hate to say that I have a feeling he just took off.

These are good ideas. We never used audio books much before, dd prefers to listen to me read and doesn't like it when there's music in the background,or sound effects. But I am planning to start a quiet time in the afternoons a nd I think having them listen as they draw/color or even let my son play with Legos while listening. Good ideas!