Wow! This is the first time I have seen this. I have two boys who would LOVE it, and the eldest will be in 3rd grade next year....perfect timing! Many thanks to jenbrdsly for the review!

Thank you for this link!

The crockpot365 blog has some breakfast recipes. http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/12/breakfast.html

Thanks! So far, so good. I'm having a harder time with the kindergartener than the baby. :tongue_smilie: He's not fighting doing the work, but it just takes him so l o n g to do everything! I thought waiting until he turned 6 to start K would help with that, but I think I'm finding that it's just his personality. I'm just going to focus on reading, writing, and math with him and let him join in on the rest if he feels like it.

We're starting tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous, as this is my first year with two students AND I have a 12 day old baby!

This is exactly how it's working out for me, too! I had prodromal labor for a month before Olivia was born. There was no way I could manage school while I was basically in early labor every other day. She was born 6 days ago and we're already falling into a routine again and I'm thinking that we'll start school much, much sooner than I had planned.

Mae is a popular middle name right now! We're expecting a girl and will be naming her Olivia Mae after my grandmothers, Frances Olivia ad Bertha Mae.

I'm 32 weeks along and expecting my first girl. My due date is August 15th, but due to blood pressure issues that crop up with each pregnancy I'm expecting another early baby and planning for an end of July birth.

These free coloring and activity books from Physics Central might be a starting point. I will be using them with my 8 and 6 year olds this year.

I would make sure to have your thyroid tested. Rage can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, and pregnancy is a common time for thyroid levels to fluctuate.

Beans and greens: lots of garlic cooked in butter, top with swiss chard or kale until wilted, with cannellini or other white beans and broth added. Sometimes I make it with lots of broth as a soup. Marc hates it. :-(

That chicken and fruit salad sounds SO GOOD! Thank you for the link! I don't have a lot of fancy dishes, but my "china" (my everyday dishes) is white and pretty. I do have some very pretty crystal cups that would look great with some chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream. Maybe I'll stick a brownie in the bottom of each one!

Croissants! Mmmmmmmm. Excellent idea! This is the second brownie mention. Now I want brownies. And cornbread. And croissants. For someone who doesn't normally eat a lot of carbs I certainly do seem to be craving them this pregnancy! And I think we're having quiche for dinner tomorrow. That sounds great, too! Asparagus and ham, I think, since it's just for us and Grandma is the one who can't eat pork.

Chicken salad is a good idea, especially if I use Mrs Mungo's idea for a rotisserie chicken to make it with! The fruit dip sounds great, but I have none of those liqueurs. Maybe I'll do fruit salsa with cinnamon chips instead. It needs to be super simple. I have a prenatal appointment this afternoon and the boys have their first soccer practice this evening. Time is going to be tight between the two, and afterwards we'll still have dinner to get to. We won't get home until 7:30 or so, dinner done by 8:30, then I need to get the sewing supplies set up and do a quick tidy of the house. They'll be over bright and early tomorrow morning, so I probably won't have time to do anything but clean the bathroom sink after the boys brush their teeth. Setting the alarm to wake early isn't happening for this having-trouble-sleeping pregnant woman! :tongue_smilie: They aren't expecting anything fancy, I just thought it would be nice to do something a little special with my 3 favorite women in the world. I'm going to use Marc's great grandmother's linens and have tea and pastries (not homemade) set out when they get here. Thank you for all of the ideas!

I'm due in 9 weeks with baby #3, but need to be prepared in 5 or 6 weeks because both of her big brothers were born early. My mom and both grandmothers are coming tomorrow to help me finish cutting and sewing the cloth diapers that are the only major project I have left to finish. I want to thank them by having a nice lunch prepared. What would you serve? It needs to be simple, because all of my prep will need to be done in the morning before they arrive or while they are here. And if I'm in the kitchen preparing food I won't be helping with the sewing. The only other requirement is that is needs to be pork and shellfish free. I'm going grocery shopping this afternoon. Will someone please help me come up with a menu before then? Many thanks in advance!

Homemade refried beans and a fruit salad. Maybe a leafy green salad if I was very hungry or feeding a lot of people.

I have one child that I have to make go outside in the winter and one that I have to make go outside in the summer! Nik would happily sled and throw snowballs and end up with frostbite in the winter months. He'll also happily play outside in the fall when things cool down. In the spring, when it is wet, and in the summer, when it is hot and humid, he wants to stay inside and read. Nate will play outside in the winter if it isn't too cold, but he's inside 30 minutes later begging for hot cocoa. In the spring, summer, and fall I can't keep him inside. He would love it if I served him all meals outdoors so that he didn't have to come inside except to use the bathroom! Most summers I get Nik to play outside by going out, too. I don't know why having me out there makes it easier for him to endure, but it does. So I spend my time in the garden, playing with the kids, or sitting inthe shade reading a book. This year I am pregnant and unable to easily garden, too uncomfortable to play, and too distracted to read. I'm going to hope that one summer of little outside time won't harm him too much. lol

My #1 reason for today: Your MIL and FIL might unexpectedly drop by (which they never do since they live an hour away!) Even if you haven't showered, it might be advisable to wear a bra so you don't feel super self concious when your FIL hugs you! At least mine was a pleasant surprise. The CO2 alarm going off would be scary!

Ok, I spent 30 minutes ripping apart my AAS2 book, trimming the pages, punching with the ProClick and adding a comb spine. Easy, and since I already own all of the equipment to trim, punch, and bind it was free! It takes me 45 minutes to drive to the closest office store, so it was a lot faster, too!

I hadn't even considered doing that, but I'm going to do it today! Many thanks for the idea! I've found the best way to dismantle books is to bend the spine until it breaks, pull out the pages a few at a time, and only then trim them if they need it. Usually I can just pull the glue off of the edge and the pages are perfect, then all I need to trim is the cover and back. There is no way I'm taking expensive curricula to an office supply store where there is a chance they will cut it wrong, and I can't see a craft or utility knife cutting as cleanly as the pages come out the way I do it. My way might take longer, but an AAS book isn't very big so it shouldn't take too long. Now I'm off to find the AAS book and the ProClick!

We're expecting a baby this summer, so simplifying is absolutely necessary for us this year! My 5-year-old will also be starting kindergarten, so I'll be facing my first year of homeschooling more than one child. I'm doing quite a few things mentioned by previous posters. ~ Decluttering: The less stuff we have to clean up, the less time it will take us to make sure everything is back in its proper place. ~ Comb binding: Instead of detailed planning we're taking a "do the next thing" approach. I think comb binding will work nicely with this approach. ~ Audio books: At least half of our read-alouds for the year are audio book format, so we can listen together while I nurse the baby. ~ Extrememly relaxed approach to science and history: I have one son who is enamored with history, and another who is a budding scientist. At this age, formal studies seem overkill for my particular children. I'll have the SOTW audios on hand and we'll watch plenty of science documentaries. I have formal science programs and the SOTW activity guide around for days where we do want to do more, but I'm not planning for them and I won't feel bad if we get none of it done all year. ~ Music/Art/Poetry: Instead of formal composer study with notebooking pages and everything we've done this year, we're simply going to listen to Classics for Kids podcasts, Classical Kids recordings, Wee Sing, and A Child's Celebration of Folk Music for pleasure.......all while enjoying a cup of tea or hot cocoa together and looking at the pictures I've chosen and had printed for picture study. When we're done with the music and art, we'll read poetry to each other. I'm not even planning on doing this at the dining room table together, but having the iPod next to my rocker/recliner loaded with all of our music selections, a comb-bound book of our artist prints, a basket of poetry books nearby, and letting the kids enjoy their tea/cocoa at the coffee table. Frankly, I'm really looking forward to this! Also, the kids recently received art kits so they have plenty of supplies to freely create with. ~ Life skills: I hope to find the time to teach the boys a lot of life skills this year. We're going to work on learning to cook and prepare foods above and beyond the pour-yourself-a-bowl-of-cereal skills that they currently have! lol I'm working a list of other skills that a 6 & 8 year old should/could do, too, and we'll work on those if we find the time. ~ Relaxing my screen time limits: We've limited screen time for most of their lives and I think it is time to give them more. There are so many documentaries that I would love to watch with them, and so many amazing computer learning activities that they would love. I also don't think it would hurt for them to play some math games to give them practice with math facts without more worksheets. So basically, I'm planning less and expecting to spend a lot of time snuggled up reading, listening to audio books, watching documentaries, and just enjoying the ability to be together as a family!

Buy bookmarks?! Who would do that? I just use any random scrap of paper I can find! lol When we give books as gifts we include bookmarks that the kids made. I cut watercolor paper to size and let them have at it with the watercolor paints. They have come up with some truly beautiful creations and recipients always adore receiving them.

My brother and his family live in Richmond. I second the recommendation for Maymont, it is a wonderful place to visit!

I'm pregnant and the thought of getting up to clean is exhausting! The boys are playing outside, so I'm having some wonderful and much-needed quiet time.

The green t-posts come with galvanized metal clips. We used pliers to bend them around the cattle panel.