Here is a quote from one site that I could find... the year was 2000 when The Pleasant Company sold to Mattel........ http://collectdolls.about.com/library/blast53.htm I think the emphasis has obviously changed.... bummer.

:D Mee too! My girls wanted to sell their Angelina stuff as well as their dolls, etc......... I said, "No way!" The funny thing is that I was never one to play with dolls when I was a girl (my brothers would have teased me unmercifully if thye saw me with dolls).... but now I love them. :lol:

Wasn't American Girl (owned by Pleasant Company) bought out/sold to Mattel or something like that? We have the older Angelina Ballerina dolls and when they changed them they aren't nearly as nice.... they are sold at Target now. The older ones are smaller and jointed and just beautiful.... the new ones... not so much.

I love the pics......... do you think the dog is worried that he may be next? :lol:

My daughter and I just watched this and are laughing so hard! "Maaaa Maaaa! They're gonna eat me!! What are these things? Maaaa Maaaaaa!!!!!" :lol:

Use the books I already owned. (which is why I am now doing AO) Library. Nature hikes/parks/etc. Create a group for homeschoolers/interested parents that could pool resources.

Apparently, according to my Mom, I didn't start talking until I was 3 years old....and "haven't stopped since!" :D My oldest didn't start doing much of any talking until her sister was born and beginning to talk...... the oldest was about 3 years old also. She is still a quiet sort of girl...but does fine with her school work, etc.

This might give you some ideas.... we are reading Weston's "Caesar" right now. If you scroll down to the bottom you will see some thoughts on the different easier translations and in the text on the top you will read about North and other translations. We're new to Plutarch.... so I can't give you much first hand knowledge. Sorry. http://www.amblesideonline.org/PlutarchSch.shtml

Leave the husband at home? :D :lol::lol:

Heidi has memorized and sings the words to "Its the end of the world as we know it"............. absolutely hysterical. :lol:

Wow! I could have written all of this about my daughter who is 13!!! She is sure that she is going to go to Japan for College/University...... she is loving drawing Manga/Anime...... she wants to learn to speak Japanese..... she converted my computer to Japanese Characters the other week... (I wasn't happy...I had to figure out what she did and undo it). We have a language school/camp up here... Concordia Language Camp, or something like that... she has found out about it and is dying to go.... I am stunned at her tenaciousness for this fascination with Japan.

I haven't read all the posts...... but I wanted to say something that may help your son, maybe. I was also a victim...with a family member... for over 10 years. I went through a lot of mental anguish...never told anyone until I was in my twenties. What finally helped me through all the crap I was mentally going through was this thought..... When I wake up in the morning I shower, brush my teeth and get dressed.... I define myself by my care about myself and by the way I dress. Well, it dawned on me that I also define myself emotionally by how I choose to think of myself... am I going to "put on" the clothing of a victim? Am I going to "dress myself" in the outfit of fear? Shall I "clothe myself" as an angry and mentally challenged individual who will never get over this horrible act? NO! I decided to dress myself as a strong young woman who had this happen and moved on! Every morning I decide who I am! Not the brother who behaved badly. I make a conscious decision to be loving and kind and move past the events of my past. I find my strength in my religion and understanding of God and myself..... I define myself as God's child, untouched and unblemished.... not as a victim and not as someone who has to carry the burden of sexual abuse the rest of my life. I am 49 now and my brother and I have a pretty good relationship....he is still a jerk.... but I can be in the same room with him and its okay. I define who I am....no one else does ... well, other than God. :001_smile: Good luck and my warmest prayers for healing and peace to you all..... :grouphug:

I would RELAX......... and let the kids be kids. I would worry less about them "doing" school and spend more time reading to the kids and going on nature walks. I would be more Charlotte Mason and less TWTM/LCC/Hewitt/anal. I wouldn't worry about "keeping up with the __________ Homeschooling Family". I would hug and love my kids more and stress less.

We are going to start this in the spring! I can't wait!!! I have plans for 4 beds at first and then growing from there each season. :D

Yup! We're Christian Scientists and the religious stuff just doesn't work out well with us... too many things to tweak. So we tend to try and keep it Secular.

My oldest never did well in math.... tried all sorts of curricula. Finally... when they (I keep the girls together in the younger one's grade level) were around 4th grade I went back to square one. I took my girls and put them into MUS Alpha... supplemented with Math-It a couple of times a week. The girls worked quickly through Alpha and Beta and started on Gamma when we switched back to Saxon 54. By the time we finished that school year the girls had just about completed Saxon 54. This year I put them into Saxon 76 and they are doing very well.... A's and B's. My oldest one has surprised me by consistently doing as well as girl #2 (she's very mathy)!! I never thought my oldest would "get it"......... she was HORRIBLE!!! in math... simply HORRIBLE!!! (I can't emphasize that enough). I was at my wits end! Someone on here wrote about similar struggles with their child and they just stopped and went back to square one.... and that was key for me. I suddenly relaxed and we just calmly went back to square one.... and it worked. I thought about putting them in PS and letting the system take control...I was afraid of failing, I guess. I didn't want the responsibility. Some how though, I decided what was important.... that my child learned to work through the challenges and learn the material. She has come through this with flying colors...... ...so have I. :tongue_smilie: It took me jumping off the hamster wheel of other people's (and my) expectations and letting the child take the time she needed to learn the material. Somewhere I read that all the math a child learns from Kindy through 8th grade can be learned in a matter of months. I like that....

I gave up trying to do school early..........at least until springtime. I get up around 7ish........ the kids may or may not be up. I get all my bill paying/playing on the computer/breakfast cooking, eating, cleaning done/any housecleaning I may feel compelled to do........ get the kids doing things... laundry/dog food/water / etc. We eat lunch and start school anywhere between 12 and 1pm. The kids all love our schedule......... When there is more sunshine and more warmth.... we'll start earlier. :D

My husband's motto would be: "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! for marrying me and staying with me and loving me and by the way, did I say Thank you today?" He's a wonderful man...but after 22 years of hearing this I'm beginning to wonder what kind of freak he is. Just kidding..... he's a wonderful freak! ....... and I love him. :D

"Because I said so!" "I'm the Mom and you're the kid! Do what you're told!!" "That's not funny! Get back here and do your work!"

:lol::lol::lol:

Same for us! :D

We tried to do a "Science Curriculum" and it nearly bored us to tears! We tried Apologia, Science Explorer, and a few others. I really, really, really disliked them. Finally it dawned on me that I hated textbooks. :glare: I now use textbooks for Math and Grammar/Spelling but everything else we do in a more CM way. I am loosely following Ambleside Online's Science form. We have always been the "living Science everyday kind of family" and AO falls more into our lifestyle. With me having a degree in Biology and my husband being a Mechanic..... Science opportunities just seem to find us. My advice to someone who loves science is to put down the textbook and "Take chances, Get messy, make mistakes!" I will say........ I have just started using these books we saw used on AO......... A Physics lab in your home ---series. We love them and will do some experiments from them today. :)

Mine is just a blank whiteboard.... no grids or dots. It just has a different feel and it just always feels so good to write on. Silly, huh? :tongue_smilie:

I used to think that my GA (foreclosed) house was my "forever" home. I loved tat house and it will always be a wonderful memory. I truly hope the new family that is in it now fully appreciates all the love and work we put into it. My forever home is now the home we are in now....It is a bit bigger than my GA home and has everything we need. It is the same age as our GA home.... and has just enough work that needs to be done to it to make it fun and interesting to live here without being overwhelming. I love the town! I love the house! I love MN! For us...given our income and family size....it is perfect! (I wish I could keep chickens, though).

I have a white board from Staples.... I think it cost me around $200 -$300. Magnetic/Porcelain... I've had it for about 4 or 5 years. We've moved it from GA to Mn (apartment) to MN (home). I LOVE IT! It has taken the moves well and looks beautiful! I had a cheaper one before and hated it.... this one always cleans off well...no ghosting. Right now I have our monthly budget on it. :D I use it more for household stuff like that than I do for schooling at this point. :tongue_smilie: