My MIL bought me this Clorox Scrubtastic for Christmas (cleaning supplies from my MIL.....ok, I get the hint!) https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Brushes-Sponges/21202/subcat.html?featuredproduct=15950407&featuredoption=30311218&cid=209797&fp=F&track=cseshopzilla&utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=shopzilla&countrycode=US At first I was mildly offended, but considering how easily my shower floor got clean I decided I puffy heart love her.

My oldest will be in 9th so I'm in panicking mode, but need to start planning mode. I'll be following this thread closely!

Our stockings, which were made by my parents. They are huge!!! Filling them costs a fortune. But it doesn't feel like Christmas without them.

My guitarist husband has a Kala KA-15S Mahogany Soprano Ukulele from Amazon that he has been very happy with. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LU1SFO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I started helping my mom around that age and by 13 I was doing most of the meal by myself! Mom would do the prep work of chopping bread, onions, and celery for stuffing. She would also make the pies. Dad would take the turkey out of the oven and carve it. The rest was all me and I was always so proud of myself. It's a great memory.

I need this IP recipe, please!

If you want to put fruit in why not get some starfruit, dragon fruit, or a pomegranate? Any fruit you don't normally buy.

Food sensitivities can cause bedwetting. I would try eliminating dairy first.

My 11yo son goes to bed between 10-11pm and wakes when he is ready between 8-9am.

This shrimp is delicious served over pasta or spaghetti squash. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/220597/simple-garlic-shrimp/ I leave out the caper brine, because I'm not a fancy cook and never have capers on hand.

Ukraine?

Appeal to family and friends? Offer lunch in exchange for their help.

My 34yo single brother died 2 weeks ago. He was technically still married, but they split almost 2 years ago and life insurance isn't something they would have thought about. My parents paid for his cremation, but we chose not to have a service yet so the costs weren't exorbitant. It was still around $2,500 on my father's credit card.

Yes! Imagine what the world would be like if *most* huge business owners were as generous as that!

Thanks! I'll add it to my list.

Another recommendation for My Side of the Mountain. I read it last year for the first time and it is now my favorite children's book. On a related note, I received a new book today titled The Natural Navigator: The Rediscovered Art of Letting Nature Be Your Guide by Tristan Gooley. I've only flipped through the book since I just received it, but it looks really fantastic for a kid interested in outdoor adventuring/wilderness survival. (We are doing a geography focus next year and I thought this might be a fun book to add as our nature study.)

If you want to continue with the geography idea perhaps the Trail Guide to World Geography would work for you? Adding in Around the World in 80 Tales http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0753413477/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=would keep the number of books to read down, instead of reading from multiple books. My older kids are both boys, so I can't help with AG ideas. Animals? Perhaps Animalium http://www.amazon.com/Animalium-Welcome-Museum-Jenny-Broom/dp/0763675083/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460641453&sr=1-1&keywords=Animalityand the activity book? http://www.amazon.com/Animalium-Activity-Book-Welcome-Museum/dp/1783703431/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51FI48uihgL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR117%2C160_&refRID=1D7304P285MQQC4KWW1M

The information from each student book is included in the teacher manual. The teacher manuals are basically the student book with added bubbles of teacher text and an added section at the back with suggestions for how to teach, answer keys, etc. You can just purchase teacher's manuals for everything, except Practice Island. I forgot to add that it definitely isn't religious in any way. A few of the poets may mention god, for example Emily Dickinson, but there is no discussion. Here is an example: https://goo.gl/photos/zFHxZwAK1E1hj1CX6

We use MCT language arts. I am not at all fond of Sentence Island, though I love the rest of the series. Unless you have a child that can't take the concepts learned in Grammar Island and apply them to their own writing, I don't think it is necessary. Plus, this is the only book of the series that is falling apart, which annoys the heck out of me. I wouldn't skip The Music of the Hemispheres, though! We still do poetry tea times, but the info in the MCT poetry series is so much better than what I would think to talk with them about. Maybe you remember all of the stuff about foot and meter, but I didn't remember it well enough to teach it. It has added so much to our poetry time, and my kids have written some pretty amazing poems for their age! It doesn't take much time, either. Here is a link to some pics of the pages. https://goo.gl/photos/tf8Ygguao2SiLVWk8

I think I would suggest she talk with the employer to verify what light cleaning means. Something like, "I was a bit surprised at the tasks you considered light cleaning and wondered if we could clarify so I know what to expect going forward." It may not change her pay, but at least it may make the employer think about how much she's asking, and your daughter will have clearer expectations.

It sounds to me like you already wanted to homeschool, this is just one extra reason for starting now. You've already thought it all out, you've already started planning. Your oldest that is still school age is only 7, and reading well above grade level, there's not much you could do that would screw him up. ;-) I would go for it.

Ketogenic diet. High fat, moderate protein, low carb. Fat makes you feel full longer. I'm rarely ever hungry anymore.

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart

There is a newer Frozen version of chutes and ladders called Surprise Slides that my 4yo loves. My 12 and 10yo boys happily play it with her. http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Frozen-Surprise-Slides-Game/dp/B00J0ZFA9W

I'm an atheist and I haven't seen anything that disappoints me in the books so far. We love them. We tend to use tons of resources, though, so evolution is covered that way. The zoology book is basically about taxonomic classification.