Father Brown! ~ so good Midsomer Murders Bletchley Circle

Eaglei, Your family is continually in my prayers.

How can that even be legal!!!! :mad:

I stopped making my kids breakfast on a regular basis once they were old enough to pour their own milk and cereal.

I used to have enough to last our family of seven, at least 6-9 months (probably longer), but then the big recession happened and we had to move twice. So we used a lot of it and gave a bunch away with the moves. I haven't replenished. I think we might have enough for 2-4 weeks, and we'd be eating pretty slim. I do have a book called The Forager's Harvest and another called Edible Wild Plants, so there is that :lol:

Yes.

Congratulations!

I have to say as a relatively new grandparent these threads always freak me out. My kids already know I'm not the "fun" parent ;) but their spouses won't. I hope they give me some grace. I don't see me fundamentally changing my personality just because I'm now a grandparent.

peanut butter!

The two things that have cut down the most on our "user fee" ;) has been signing up for email reminders (I think we get these 5 days before the book is due?) and ONLY going to the library on Saturdays. It could be any day of the week, the key is going on the same day every week. I only pickup our holds on Saturdays. That way you don't end up with books due on a day you're not going. I've also made all of our passwords the same, that way I can easily check everyone's cards to gather books.

So daughter has hair like you described. She washes it once or twice a week, brushes it out before getting in the shower. Once she has conditioner in it, she finger combs it. She does not brush or comb it again afterwards. Instead she gets the excess water out and then piles it on the top of her head in a loose bun. In the morning she lets it down. It curls/waves nicely. She usually wears it up/braided on the second and third day.

Maize, my daughter has hair like yours. We're on our way out, but I'll get back to you with how she deals with it :)

Do you have to brush it? Can you just comb it out after you wash it and leave it at that until the next washing? eta, that curly hair really truly doesn't need to be brushed everyday.

And esp. for the parent who is NOT a planner! There's a reason, besides cost, that my kids have only ever been to Disney with my parents ;) OP, I too hope you have an amazing trip!

I'm not, but all my siblings are ;) I'm the grandma :) My oldest was seven before he had any cousins, so it may be a few years before I reach great status. Once I do though, I suspect that they'll start rolling in, as I have 15 nieces and nephews. I'll most likely start adding a couple grands around the same time. For the next decade at least one will turn 18 every year.

That would be awesome if it worked like that! Unfortunately, it doesn't. Unless other people know some secret that I haven't discovered yet (which could always be the case ;) )

It doesn't matter where you go. You still have to file US taxes every year, plus the taxes for the country you now live in. It's a real bear filing when you're as ex-pat!

I want to like this a bajillion times!

This is my suggestion as well. As a btdt person, it is what I had to do. I haven't owned a scale in 25 years. I don't want to go back to that place, it was scary, and I know that I could easily become obsessed with my weight again if the tool to do it was here in the house. It's much easier to tell yourself that you're going to stay in a size 6 or 8 jean than to tell yourself you'll never weight more than 134 lbs. It gives you some flexibility, and it gives you a concrete way to know when you maybe aren't eating enough.

That's one of the hardest parts about having been homeschooling for so many years. I could feasibly school ds10 & ds13 next year for almost nothing (shhhhh....don't tell my husband ;) ) because I do "technically" own everything that I need for 5th and 8th grades..... in fact the only thing I actually have to buy are replacement workbooks and the next level of R&S English because the other kid that used it stopped at grade 5. Aimee, I'm so glad that your new books look like they're going to be a good fit. What a relief that must be for you!

I've been homeschooling for 19 years. If I could go back in time I would use the workbooks!!! The first bonus is that it keeps all the work bound and in one place, but more than that there's no telling if the next kid will even use it. Chances are that if you hang on to it for the next one, and they don't use it, there will be a new edition out and you won't be able to sell it anyway.

I used to not look forward to summer at.all because we lived in the deep south i.e. south of I-10, first out west and then back east. Out west it was so bright. Ouch! And back east so humid, you just about wilt unless you're on the water. Now we live really far north and I look forward to summer again, like I did when I was a kid. That said, my favorite seasons are definitely spring and fall. During the spring I love the the green popping up after the snow, the new leaves and the hint of warmth in the air. When fall comes I love the crisp air and the colors. I do prefer grey, overcast days. My all time favorite though is watching a storm roll in over the ocean or the desert. I don't care what time of year :)

also Mrs. Mike by Benedict & Nancy Freedman http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Mike-Benedict-Freedman/dp/0425183238/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426452318&sr=8-1&keywords=mrs.+mike and these two by Francine Rivers (Her Mother's Hope & Her Daughter's Dream) http://www.amazon.com/Her-Mothers-Hope-Martas-Legacy/dp/1414318642/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y http://www.amazon.com/Her-Daughters-Dream-Martas-Legacy/dp/1414334109/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y

http://www.amazon.com/Margarets-Story-Florida-Trilogy-Book/dp/1577362144/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426452018&sr=8-1&keywords=margaret%27s+story Margaret's Story by Eugenia Price

OM 3 is not written to the child. I found myself struggling to get it done last year because the set up was so different from a standard curricula. I really like the middle school years of OM. Just know that they're not set up by "day". So you don't get a here's Monday's schedule, here's Tuesday etc. Until you get into a rhythm it can be difficult to get everything done each week. Also, your daughter will need regular access to the library. It would be good to look through the assignments 2-3 weeks ahead of time, because you'll be getting a lot of books out! Have you considered Moving Beyond the Page? www.movingbeyondthepage.com Once you get to the age 9-11 level, it's written to the child, and it's by day. It includes every subject except math, so you can use whatever math program you want.