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She hasn't been sick at all this fall/winter.

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For question 3, yes a classically trained pianist can learn to play chords. I was classically trained for 15 years, and currently play with our church's worship team. It was difficult at first to learn the chord way, but their classical training will help them. I'm sure they can already name the notes in each chord, and it's just a matter of making it automatic when they see the chord letter to know what notes make it up. (Kind of like learning math facts, it needs to become automatic). This part they can study and memorize. I worked a lot with our guitar player (who can't read music, only chords) to help with learning this way of playing. So, basically, yes it can be done. But, it's a bit of a learning curve. :)

Thank you so much for this post.....it is very helpful for me also dealing with my not so pleasant ds11. :)

My sister had to get numerous replacement retainers (due to her losing them, stepping on them, etc.) that I remember being around $200 each, and this was 20 years ago. I remember my parents arguing about it. :-) Agree that replacement costs should have been made clear upfront. If you do think there was something wrong with the retainer itself, I wouldn't hesitate to take it in and ask the orthodontist about it. It shouldn't be so fragile that gently wiping it off causes it to break.

We're looking at getting ds (11) some 'real' tools for his birthday. I've looked around online, and most of the child-sized tool sets get poor reviews and are basically toys. What would you include in a basic tool set for a child this age? Is there a good set anyone knows of, or would it be better to just buy smaller, real tools and put together our own set? Thanks!

Thanks....they both look really good. I probably can't go wrong either way.....just need to choose the one I think will actually get done. :-)

I've decided I'd like to do botany with dc (5th and 3rd grades) for the rest of this year (June). It needs to be easy to implement, easy experiments, and we really only have time to do science 2-3 times/week. I'm looking at either doing Apologia Botany with the notebooks and lab kit, or the botany lessons on Guesthollow that use McHenry's botany, Botany for Dummies, some library books, and TOPS Radishes. WWYD? Thanks!

within 24 hours with both ds (35 weeks) and dd (38 weeks).

Well, ok.....let's just say I will be far more cautious before agreeing to meet with someone I've never met in real life. :)

She didn't respond at all, but I put a read receipt on it, so I know it was seen. I'm sorry if I offended her, but I just didn't have a good feeling about going into something that was starting out so weird. Lesson learned, that I will never agree to get together with someone I have never met IRL.

Dh is 8 years older than me.

Didn't happen to me, but to my friend I was with....we were in college and attended a large church. Right before going up for communion, she had gone to the restroom. She came back in and walked all the way up to the front of the sanctuary with the entire back of her skirt tucked into her pantyhose....they were sheer and she was wearing a thong! She was absolutely mortified. I'm still mortified for her just thinking about it!

I have sympathy for her, too, but something about it just doesn't sit right with me. I'm not willing to get into an unhealthy relationship for either myself or my ds. If she is on the up and up, there are plenty of options to get her ds involved in social activities. We're not in a rural area, and have many active co-ops and support groups.

Got my flu shot back in October. I've had one every year since having the flu in 1995. Haven't had the flu since.

Updated in first post.

The books go through a lot of hands, so I would assume there are germs on them. How much of a risk it is, I'm not sure. I work for our local library, and the children's books are frequently wiped with a Clorox wipe as they go through check-in. I suppose that helps some. I would be more concerned about the surfaces you come into contact with at the library--tables, computers, etc. than the books themselves.

Our public libraries are paid for by property taxes and are free to residents. There are also reciprocal agreements with almost all the other library systems in our state that are also free to get library cards. We have a few cities that do not have their own libraries and do not pay property taxes toward public libraries. They cannot get library cards at our public library. There is no fee system. They can use the library and services within the library, but cannot get a card or check anything out.

No advice, just :grouphug:. We have the same thing here with ds(11), only our main problem subject is math. He is a very outgoing, extroverted child, and I've been wondering if he just learns better when in a group situation. He seems so much happier in his co-op, PE and music classes than he does doing any work at home. He adamantly does not want to go to school, but my patience with his attitude at home about doing school work is wearing thin.

My ds was complaining of intermittent blurry vision last year. It would mostly be when he was doing work close-up, like reading, writing, on the computer, etc. We took him to the dr. He did a very thorough exam, asked lots of questions, etc. Ds's vision was fine. The dr. thought he was not blinking frequently enough-- causing his eyes to be dry and causing the blurry vision. He told him to give his eyes a break frequently and make sure to blink when reading, etc. This seemed to have solved his problem, and he hasn't been complaining of blurry vision any longer. However, as with anything, if you don't feel comfortable with the dr. and the diagnosis definitely get another opinion.

:iagree:

Thank you all for the suggestions.....I really do think she is probably a nice lady who is just overeager. She did also say she has several very young dc (baby and two toddlers), so she said we would mostly need to come to their house for get-togethers. I also have a dd(9) who is not going to be interested in this, and I'm not going to feel comfortable dropping ds off there until we know them much better. I'm just thinking we may not be compatible enough to realistically get together other than park days. It's just feeling a little too 'forced' and pushy to me. And, I have a hard time telling people 'no'. I'm concerned about being pushed into things we really don't want to do or have time to do. That is my issue, though, that I need to work on. This 'group' is fairly new and hasn't had much going on yet.....there is supposed to be a planning meeting in the near future to discuss having more organized activities. I'm wishing I hadn't said anything to this lady and just waited until this planning meeting to go meet some of these people IRL. I also do understand the desperateness to wanting friends for your kids. We were in that same boat about two years ago. I'm very quiet and have a hard time getting to know new people, so it was really hard to get involved in activities and groups, invite people over, etc. But, we did this slowly, over time, and relationships seemed to develop more naturally. I also learned that just because kids are homeschooled, that isn't enough to make them best friends. My dd's closest friends, that she met in dance, both go to ps, and their moms are ps teachers. Ds's closest friend is homeschooled but lives about an hour away. We see him weekly at co-op, and usually at least twice a month outside of co-op. I don't think 'socialization' is problem for homeschoolers, but 'socializing' certainly can be. Although, I think that may also be a general problem in our society today....and not just limited to homeschoolers.

I don't know how to make a Poll but am wondering what others would do in this situation....I don't know if it's weird, or I'm just being paranoid and antisocial. :-) I'm part of a local yahoo group for homeschoolers that posts field trips, park days, etc. in the area. A mom who posts fairly regularly (but I have never met IRL) posted about her ds(12) being lonely and looking for friends. I have a ds around this age and mentioned he would probably like to meet her ds sometime. Mom immediately jumped on this and wanted to make immediate plans for ds to come to their house. I suggested we meet at a park next week when the weather is supposed to be nicer, and let the boys meet there. She agreed, but still wanted a meeting sooner. I said we weren't available before then. She then e-mailed that she'd like to invite ds to her son's birthday party, which will be a sleepover. Obviously, I am not going to let ds go to a complete stranger's house for a sleepover. Plus, the boys have never even met. They may not really like each other. At this point, I'm thinking I don't really want to even meet with these people at all.....but, not sure if I should feel this way or not? Maybe they're very nice, and she may just be a little too enthusiastic to help her son make a friend. On the other hand, we have a lot of activities going on, ds has several good friends, and I don't know that we will have the time she seemingly wants to spend on developing this 'friendship'. I really don't want to get into some drama situation. wwyd in this situation? ETA Update: I received two more e-mails yesterday from the mom trying to set up activities for the boys. After talking with dh, he didn't understand why I was letting a complete stranger make me so stressed. :-) This morning, I sent her a very nice but brief e-mail explaining that we would not be able to get together next week, and that our current schedule just doesn't have room right now for additional activities. I did include information for a couple co-ops/classes available in our area I thought she may be interested in for her ds. I feel guilty for canceling, but I'm also feeling so relieved to not have to meet.