eggs (but only on the weekdays--price goes up on the weekends) Silk soy milk half and half frozen chicken breasts frozen salmon fillets provolone cheese parmesan cheese portobella mushrooms button mushrooms oatmeal canned tomatoes flour yeast fruit (depending on season and price)

I agree with all of this. My daughter had a severe reaction to pistachios at age 4 and we have been carrying an epi pen since then. She has had incidents with other tree nuts: --a neighbor gave us some cinnamon rolls that had walnut powder on the bottom, she complained of a burning in her throat when she ate a bite. She threw up, took a benadryll and was fine a few hours later. --a friend had muffins at the pool, my daughter asked if there were any tree nuts, the girl said no. About 10 minutes later, my daughter told me that her stomach was upset and she was worried about having eaten tree nuts. I call the mother and find out that she ground up almonds in the batter. My daughter took benadryll, slept and was better later that day. I will say that she avoids all tree nuts even though I don't think her reaction would be as life and death as others in the same scenario. I wish you the best of luck in finding a helpful doctor and managing the allergy.

I was born in Tucson and recently returned from a trip there. I will add that I have traveled to Sedona as well many years ago. I am familiar with both places though I will state up front that I am a bit biased in favor of Tucson. Sedona is beautiful! It is pretty self-contained. It is a great place for hiking and biking. The drawback that I found was that it has a certain element of being exclusive and ritzy (to a certain extent) and therefore lodging and restaurants tend to cater to a crowd that likes to pay extra. Tucson is a much larger city but has a lot of options for hiking and biking as well. You will have to drive to any one of the outskirts to do those things. There are lots of lodging that surrounds the city (resorts as well as B&Bs) so that you are not driving so much. A benefit is that your food options are much more varied in type as well as price. If you decide to go the Tucson route you could PM me and I could offer up several suggestions of hikes as well as bike rides (mountain and road).

At my kiddos school, 3rd graders and below do Shurley Grammar and Singapore for math.

I hope he heals up quickly. I have to share that I did the same thing with almost the same results...only both of my parents were at work and only found out an hour later when they came home to a crying girl and a bloody towel. My dad later said that it was a lesson learned the hard way for me. I hope your son isn't being too hard on himself for the same thing

My two entered a charter school two months ago. It was the first time in a traditional school setting for either of them. The transition has been surprisingly smooth. I had considered myself a slacker homeschool mom ("I'm not doing enough!") so I was delighted that within just a few weeks the kids had a handle on the homework loads and the tests and that their teachers were thrilled to have them in their classrooms. The school is considered to be the most academically rigorous in the city and does not teach to the test yet regularly has some of the highest scores on it. It also uses curriculums that I have either used in the past or that I have at least heard of through WTM boards, so that was a plus as well. So, academically, I have no complaints with their experiences. Socially? Well, it has been mostly positive. My daughter is the one who comes home and tells me about something a kid has said that is troubling to her. We have interesting discussions about how peers say one thing but do another or how girls can act like they are the best of friends and then one day be decidedly not friends. One incident that stands out is when she felt like some girls she was hanging around with were just not as friendly as at the beginning of school. Knowing that my daughter is at the top of the class, regularly finishes her work and then helps the teaching by filing papers or tutoring her peers in class, I asked--as gentlely as I could--if maybe they didn't like her because she always did well. She said, "Oh, because I'm a goody-two-shoes?" (:lol:) Yes, I said. Her response? "Well, I don't care. I think I'm well-rounded and that's all that matters." I think she'll be fine. The downers from my point of view? The time preparing a healthy lunch with snacks. The 15 minute drive to the school. The homework. The bureaucracy. I had to fill out a load of paperwork simply for the school to have an epi-pen in case my daughter injested a tree nut. Then I had to do it all over again--with doctor's signatures--when there was a field trip. Ugh. I will say that for my kids right now, this school is the best choice. I certainly wish it was still homeschooling. I miss them and feel as if my days are lacking a purpose that they used to have. But that is not the plan the universe has for me right now. Best of luck to you as you and your family make the decision.

I agree that there is no harm in letting her hang out with the big sibs and see if she can do it. FWIW, my daughter was a newly turned 4 when we started level A and she had no problems. Good luck!

:iagree: Thanks for sharing the link, OP. I'm sharing it with family and friends that had to listen to my rants last year when I tried reading it and was personally offended by the poor writing.

This is spot on advice. I just went through the whole "man, I don't want to come off as that crazy over-involved ex-homeschooler mom" thing myself. I bit the bullet and contacted the teacher (much about some of the same stuff that you spoke of) and was met with utter friendliness and understanding. Things are going much more smoothly now. I really urge you to contact the teacher in the manner that Cadam suggested. Trust me. :)

Which is what I thought I was doing. I HAVE homeschooled exclusively until this coming August 18th. So I felt like I could see where she was coming from. My kids have endured all the nosiness, the random quizzing and so on. We've lived it and I still say I "get" what she's saying, but I think she's too heavy on the vehemence. Finger-pointing, labelling and what-not are never positives regardless of the situation. That's true. It's hard. But what isn't? I'd rather be positive in what I'm choosing to do, than feel an angry need to delineate what is/isn't homeschooling to validate my choice all the more. That's what I feel like she is doing. Again, IMHO.

This is all too true. I thought I would be homeschooling until high school and in three weeks my two are going to be attending traditional school for the first time. *SOB* Seven years ago--when we were first starting out--I probably would've pumped my fist right along with her. But along the way, things change and while my kids have gone through the inquisition from strangers regarding being homeschooled, I've stopped feeling threatened by others' choices and labels and concentrated on being okay with mine. Maybe the author of the blog should consider doing the same. I mean, why so angry? *shrugs*

I'll back up others suggestions of Yuban--the dark roast. I'm not an ultra coffee snob, but this one is pleasant but dark tasting without being acrid. I can score 33oz for $5.99 when stores have a sale and I have a coupon.

Even better than reading Twilight is watching a 20 year old British guy reading it and posting his thoughts on youtube. He starts with chapter one here: If you can ignore some er, colorful language from time to time, then I say give his videos a chance. He's up to chapter 14 right now.

LOL. A day later I am still upset about how the show ended. Jack was my least favorite character and it seemed as if everyone else was framed to fit his story arc. I'm glad that some people loved it, but I sure as heck didn't. It was like the producers wanted to gloss over story arcs and consistent characterization in order to have all this glowy reunion flashes so that the audience would be so swept up in the emotion of it all that they wouldn't care to think about what was actually happening. Ah well. Give me a few more weeks and I'll be over wondering what those six years of pondering Lost were for. :lol:

My daughter came back from a friend's house the other day and shared a little convo they had about crushes: DD's friend: I bet you'll get a crush this summer (:blink:<--me) DD: Oh? Do you have a crush? Friend: Yes, his name is Jake. DD: Let me guess, he's cute and funny, right? Friend: Yes! Do you know him? At this point in my dd's recounting of the tale, she told me, "Mom, I didn't have the heart to tell her that I've seen enough movies to know that girls ALWAYS fall for the cute, funny, dumb guys." :lol:

Carrot cookies. They are my no-brainer cookies for the summer because they are light tasting and most kids have no idea that they are eating a vegetable at the same time. :lol: Mix: 3/4 cup butter (softened) 3/4 cup sugar (I usually do a mix of brown sugar and white sugar here) Then add: 2 eggs 1 cup cooked, mashed carrots 1 tsp vanilla In a separate bowl mix: 1 cup white flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 2 tsp baking powder Then add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture (about 1/2 cup at a time) until it is well-combined. Drop tablespoon sized amounts onto some cookie sheets and bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. You can add a citrus icing on top: 2 Tbsp orange juice concentrate 2 Tbsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp melted butter 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp lemon zest or orange zest My kids love the cookies without the icing, so if you want to keep it relatively healthier, then don't do the icing.

No, it is ALL about Jack. Sigh. About an hour in, I had this eerie sense that it was going to be all about Jack, the hero treatment, the winning of the girl (despite the previous seasons of Jack/Kate being either ambiguous or creepy or apathetic toward each other--never bought some soul-searing love between them), the saving of the day, the WHATEVER. So, I turned off the tv and went to bed. LOL. It's really strange that I was able to let it go with 90 minutes to go. I now wish I had stopped watching after season three. I get how lots of people loved the reunions (I did wake up this morning and read a synopsis of the rest, BTW) and whatnot--I liked the ones that I saw, but I absolutely despise that it all comes back to Jack. I am on board with the "what a waste of my time" group. I have learned my lesson. I am off serialized television that is still currently filming and will only watch shows that are complete and come with high recommendations. I still cannot get over how laughably bad I thought it was.

I'm Kara. Surlygirlie is what my husband of almost 14 years calls me when I get snippy with him. LOL. I've got two kids that have been homeschooled from the beginning--so I've been at this for roughly 7 years. WTM boards are where I started researching HSing when Surlette was 3 and then hung around for a few years while I got my bearings (I don't remember my username from the old boards). I've recently come back to WTM while going through the internal debate of whether I should send Surlette to middle school or commit to continuing this whole journey. While teaching the kiddos, I have picked up knitting and am relearning how to play piano.

LOL. Yes, it's the little things. I saw this posted on a different site. It was in regards to growing feelings of disappointment with the show. I thought it was too funny not to share.

On one hand, I do agree that not having a kind of certainty to the Lost-verse would be a let down, but I do think that one of the numerous themes has been centered on faith. Perhaps it is enough that Jacob took his responsibility just as he did--who knows? My biggest worry is about the core characters--the character arcs are my biggest love here--and what their ultimate fates will be. I was disappointed in the deaths of Sun/Jin so soon after reuniting, but I am not sure that a fitting tribute would be for them to somehow live on in the alternative universe either. Those two characters are Sun/Jin in certain respects, but not the characters that worked through their issues on the island. I guess I am saying that I don't feel as connected to these stand ins and my biggest worry is that the alternative-verse is going to be the final vision of these characters. Then again, practically everyone still on the island is dead, wounded, or discouraged--not much hope there either. Maybe I don't know what I want. LOL.

Yes, that episode was a disappointment. I think that when you get down to the nitty gritty of attempting to explain WHY, things can go very, very wrong with a show like this. The only thing that I outright HATED about the episode was the heavy-handed use of the season 1 flashback in the cave when Jack and Kate found "Adam and Eve." I mean, c'mon, for a show that has a fanbase that is used to ferreting out clues and making connections, why oh why did the show have to basically kick us in the face with that scene? I pretty much figured out--before they showed that scene---that MIB and his mother were obviously going to be the two skeletons in the cave. Bleh. I can't remember the exact wording, but didn't Alison Janney's character say something along the lines of "every question I answer will lead to another question," I think that was the writers little in joke that we just have to sit back and take what they dish out and stop expecting everything to be clear and understandable. On one hand I get it--there is no way that every element of mystery will be explained. Frankly, after this episode, the less they explain, the better it might be. :lol: The only redeeming thing? Titus Welliver. Deep voice and piercing eyes? Yes, please. [/shallow]:D I think I've said it before, I just am trying to get through the season for closure. Only two more weeks. Yay!

My son started mowing our lawn last summer when he just turned 8. I will grant that we have a reel mower/push mower so I am a little less leery about it. The neighbors have a gas mower and they started letting their 12 year old mow last summer as well. It probably just has to do with your comfort level and the amount of trust you have in your children to not do anything glaringly stupid.

I agree. That's what has really driven me crazy over the years. Now I feel I am trapped and can't walk away from the show without knowing (for better or worse) what happens. It bums me out because I am not enjoying this last season, it feels more like something I have to endure. Like when you have to take antibiotics and feel better after the third day, but have to still slog through seven more days of pills before you can be considered free and clear. Or something like that. :lol:

I don't think they answered who Adam/Eve are just yet. I think it might be coming up soon, but we'll have to wait and see.

LOL. But no, I don't want Sawyer to stay true to Juliet. I'd rather he'd be alone. Juliet was HIS consolation prize for leaping off the helicopter to save the people he cared about. She was his friend and companion for those years in the 70s. But Juliet as his true love? Nope. Therefore, not worth me--as a viewer (a viewer who watched Sawyer/Kate, their chemistry, their kisses and so over the seasons)--getting invested in. YMMV, of course. I'll second this. I think this all sort of boils down to how this show writes about women characters in general. Juliet was ambiguous and kick ass and all kinds of wonderful UNTIL she was stuck in the 70s and got all insecure about her boyfriend's first love. She what does she do? Sets off a bomb so that she doesn't have to meet him and lose him. *scratches head* Sun was an awesome character as well, but last season and this season she was barely present and mainly was there to say, "Where's Jin?" at appropriate times. Again, another waste. Kate is by far the extreme case, they wanted her to be cagey and with the dratted triangle business they had to keep her viable options for both men---with varying degrees of success. I think her character suffers the most under the weight of the back and forth. Look at how many of the women characters have been killed off on this show. It really is a shame.