I haven't seen the other threads yet, but I have to say I got an electric blanket for Christmas and now I don't know how I lived without it. My bed used to feel "wet" it was so cold. Now I have it all toasty when I climb in and turn off the blanket so I don't overheat. The greatest invention EVER!:D

I use reg half and half because the FF stuff has high fructose corn syrup added and I don't want that. But, then I use Splenda. :confused: I swear I can't keep up with what I am supposed to eat half the time. Mostly I guess I would rather have the Splenda than the carbs from HFCS and sugar. During the holidays we splurge on a few flavored creamers and I love the one called Vanilla Spice Rum. Yummmmmmmm!!!!!!!

Things are not going our way. Disappointing. *sigh*

WHAT!!!??? There have GOT to be more Texas fans 'round these here parts! HOOK 'EM!!!!!! :D:w00t::hurray::party::001_tt2::boxing_smiley:

We went to Playa del Carmen last year but we stayed in a timeshare resort, so I don't think it's open to the public (Playacar Palace). It was fun to be "in town" in Playa, but when we go back (not IF) we'll stay farther down the coast in someplace like Tulum. I loved the seclusion there and I have never - ever - seen anything like those beaches and the color of the water. *sigh* Have fun!!!

Awww, we love our Piggie! Hornblower is right. The cages they sell at the pet store are too small, although Harry did fine for 6 months. But he's SO much happier now that he's in a larger cage. We made ours from instructions at the link provided by hornblower at guineapigcages. Our doesn't smell. Males can "mark" their territory, but since we only have one, he doesn't do that. We also have his cage divided (I posted a pic once in another guinea pig thread) so he has a "kitchen" where his hay and veggies and pellets are, and he does most of his poops there. It's super easy to clean. Our only squeaks when he wants his salad for the day, usually around noon. He pops around ("Popcorning") and runs laps in his cage, but it's not disruptive. He's in our school room, so he doesn't bother the rest of the family and I can close the door if we have guests and he's not part of the decor of the house. He doesn't run away but if he is left to roam around he will try to hide under something. They are VERY timid and sort of nervous, although ours is getting better over time. He also doesn't bite at all. That was a concern with us with a hamster. He's a nice pet, but honestly I would have just as soon gotten another dog or a cat. We already have a dog, so that would have been easy, and my dh is allergic to cats. Harry does seem to bother him a little if he holds him and then rubs his eyes. My dd wanted a GP so we went for it and haven't regretted it at all, I just don't know that I would replace him if something happens. Not sure.

What she said.:ack2::leaving:

Breathtaking. Just missing a comfy chair and my Snuggie!

:grouphug: That's scary. Unfortunately the Catholic church is far from the only church that this is a widespread problem in. It's devastating and all you can wonder is whether or not your kid was violated. My dd had a home daycare provider once or twice a week when she was little. The lady's dh was a cop, one of those on-campus cops at a high school. Caught for locking a girl in his office and forcing her to let him take nude photos. I was shocked, appalled, worried, etc, but there was no reason to think anything had happened with my dd. Still, I was glad she had long since been removed from that environment. I don't know what to say about letting your kids attend there. Who is to say it will happen again with different clergy or staff? Who is to say that this kind of thing couldn't happen anywhere?

NO! You are evil! EEEEEVVVIIILLLLLLLL!!!! :lol::D

That is all, really. I didn't eat much for dinner and am now fighting off the muchies BIG TIME. Late at night is my baaaaaddddd time for sneaky snacking.:leaving: I want some :lurk5: but I better :chillpill: and have a cup of tea instead. he he - fun with smilies

I agree with specialmama. You might want to start with a "bible" church or something non-denominational so the belief is more basic. Once you grow and learn more you could decide to stay there or move on. A slightly larger church is going to have a better kids program, but sometimes you can get lost in the shuffle. Do you have any friends locally that you could ask about their churches?

This is us too.

Did you crawl inside my head this morning? My dd attends a one day enrichment program (art, music, pe, etc). We had a huge blow-up this morning because her pants didn't fit right, and her shoes weren't tied right, and she forgot her recorder, and she was all in a twist about having missed the 2 weeks before Christmas break. She fell apart and I have to admit I got mad at her. Her personality is so different from mine and I just don't get all this anxiety over nothing! I have friends with kids on the Autism spectrum that they say have sensory issues. Can this be true for a kid who does not have Austism? Sorry if I sound dumb. :001_huh: My dh is an anxious, worrier type and I always assumed she got it from him. He's now on Paxil and is fine, so why wouldn't I think I should look for more helps for my dd than just getting mad at her for being so sensitive? I started to read Spirited Child and that didn't seem to fit. Then I read Highly Sensitive Child and that didn't fit either. Maybe Sensory-Sensitive Child? I always assumed that sensory sensitivity manifests itself in sensitivities to environment mostly, like food texture, temperature, noise. She does have the noise one to some degree, and is very sensitive about her clothes fitting just right, or shoes being just right. She can not do school if her brother and I are talking. I have to create a bubble for her to work in! She gets distracted very easily. Aside from the clothes and distractions issue, her biggest thing is emotional sensitivity. She falls apart if I correct her behavior because she says I'm "mad at her". She gets her feelings hurt very easily, is very tenderhearted. Sometimes a scary image from a commercial on tv can stay with her and cause her not to be able to sleep (but I suppose that's any kid). She gets very anxious about new situations and needs to know exactly what is going to happen and that she's prepared. Does this sound like sensory sensitivity? I hope the OP and I can get to the bottom of this!

Definitely seek wound care specialists in your area. My FIL had a wound this fall that they treated pretty simply with a pad containing silver, and some zinc oxide (diaper cream) all over his legs, then wrapped them tightly. The wound healed on it's own once we got the leg swelling under control. It's nothing to take lightly as I am quite certain you know. :grouphug:

I'm still pretty new to homeschooling but I can tell you what I like. I pulled my dd last January from ps 3rd grade. I put her in Singapore. I don't know exactly what it was that we didn't like, but she hated it and did not do well at all. Afte searching and reading lots of posts, I decided to give CLE a try and we love it! She likes the graphics, we like the small steps approach to learning new material. We like that there is so much review built in in small chunks. I like how built in to each lesson is a timed drill for math facts, work with flashcards, and the actual lesson. This way we don't forget it. I like that the workbooks are small enough to take along without a bulky math text. There's no endless rewriting of problems, and the drill and review is in few enough problems to keep it fresh and not overkill. At the end of each LU is a test and we move on to a new LU, it gives us a feeling of accomplishment. My dd is doing 2 lessons a day right now because much of 300 is review for her (she's in 4th grade) but this way I am making sure there aren't any gaps. When we need to slow down, we will. HTH!:D

:iagree:I see the fulfillment part and the $$, but how unfulfilled will he be seeing his kids so much less? How about how unfulfilled his family will be with him gone to work more, or deployed risking his life? I wouldn't want my husband to sacrifice his time with his kids, or quite possibly his life, for career advancement. Sorry. This kind of thing is tough. :grouphug:

:iagree:I never thought homeschooling would cost me my friendships, but in a weird way it has. We have just drifted apart now because my life is so different, my priorities are so different. OTOH, I have lots of great new friends that I have met through homeschooling, so I feel enriched by that. You'll just have to accept that being a homeschooler makes you "different" and some people can't understand you anymore.:grouphug:

I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll try. I started with Bigger, so I don't have any insight into redundancy with Beyond. Frankly I hadn't heard that before. I know they both cover American History, but Bigger is a little different fromBeyone (in my understanding) because it covers the history from a biographical approach. So the whole year we were reading stories about great Americans and it was pretty engaging. We liked it a lot and I felt like a lot of the other projects were right on target skill-wise. New we are using Preparing and looking forward to using CTC next year. I don't see how there could be redundancy at all. Preparing is a sweep through history, so we are only touching on the highlights. CTC will go really deep into ancients. I am loving this year. I too got a little bored with American History, but part of that is just me. I prefer other periods in history better. I absolutely can't wait for next year to get to ancients! Really, RTR will wind up being my favorite! Also, remember that the key to HoD is not so much the history cycle, although that is important as Carrie does like to save more mature content for the more mature. No, the key is the way the guides build on the skills of the previous guide. Not to say you can't pick one up and do it, but the beauty is in doing them each year in sequence and seeing how the writing, research, project, science, timeline, geography etc, skills all build up to more and more independence. I am loving that. And I have yet to find a "prepared" curriculum that weaves in the bible the way HoD does. And I have always really liked the book choices. Not sure what else I can say that would help. Maybe you're just not a complete curriculum kinda person. If so, I could totally see how you would think much of it was wasteful. I hope you find what you are looking for!!:)

Is it better to Freecycle or Goodwill stuff? I ask because I have heard so many times that Freecycling is a pain because you have to wait and count on people showing up to get the stuff. I guess I could try. I also have some stuff to craigslist and I can't decide if I want to fool with it or just give it away. Stuff like dishware. It's a pain to move a bunch of plates and glasses around and I just want it GONE!

Me either, er...me too! My dd is coming down with something and my friend needs my help watching her 4yo. I am using tomorrow as a catch up day since DH won't be around to mess things up. I can fold clothes, straighten the house, and work on the school room in prep for school on Tuesday and a realtor to come list the house next weekend.:willy_nilly::blink:

WOW!!! Terri, congratulations! I am SO happy for you that you have a beautiful new bundle of love and that all's well. I can't even imagine having a baby in my car! I agree to rest! I know the kids are stir crazy but you'll just have to get the olders to help with the youngers and just take it easy with school for a while. They'll catch up, even if you call this your "summer" right now. Congrats again!!!

I intended to get my son some KEVA blocks for Christmas but waited too late to order them, then when I got to the store that supposedly carries them locally they acted like they didn't know what they were until someone could tell me they sold out. I was SO disappointed. So I got him some Magnatiles instead and he LOVES them. I am going to head back to the store to get another set because one is a bit small. Those things are so much fun and really teaching him a lot about shapes and spacial relationships. :thumbup1:

I think your idea of a "Mug and Muffin" is terrific and a LOT less pressure than dinner. And it's appropriate for the pastor's wife to entertain the women of the church. But I do agree with Tap that it seems like a Saturday morning would be better. My DH would stay with the kids on a weekday, but he wouldn't be happy with the wrench in his routine, and honestly I'd feel rushed (he leaves by 7:30). If it was a Saturday, he and the kids could sleep in and have their lazy morning and I could enjoy visiting without feeling rushed. It's funny that you posted this today as I just saw an invitation in today's bulletin that our pastor's wife is hosting a cookie exchange in January for women of the church. She's doing it on a Friday night between 6-8. And I noticed that the RSVP was to someone else, so she has help. I am thinking I will go, not to scope out her home, but to meet some women as we just joined the church in December and don't really know anyone yet. I'd be going to see the other women, not to scrutinize her decorating!! I think you should do it if you truly want to, not because you feel obligated. You are doing enough as your dh's supporter in his ministry!

I can't find it locally so I thought I'd get it from Netflix. How violent is it? I'm not too concerned if it's not too scary/gory. My kids have seen and enjoyed Indian Jones (not #2) and all the Star Wars but one (#3). They saw the first Harry Potter and liked it but I haven't moved on to more because they get progressively so dark. We have also not watched LOTR for this reason - those movies scared ME! Do you think Legend would be okay? I guess I could get it and watch it myself...duh! I was also thinking they might like Hercules or Xena, but I recall Xena was more violent and a bit more sexy.