#1 can you make pets outdoor pets? I abhor animal hair in the house! #2 write down what you think each child can do (starting w/the youngest) #3 everyone has ONE thing to do/day. That way, it is not overwhelming. Here is my week: Mon-clothes Tues-bathrooms Wed-clothes Thurs-vacuum Fri-sweep/mop Sat-clothes Sun-dust Days I have more time, I do 2days worth so I can relax later in the week. Dusting doesn't get done every week :tongue_smilie: dd1 empties the dishwasher (just silverware right now) just about everyday. So, each of your children could have a weekly list and you could even schedule it into your day: at x time, everyone does their daily chore. Other than that, before we leave a part of the house, it must be cleaned up. ex. we play in the basement on rainy days but before we go upstairs for rest time, it must be cleaned up. Children are fully capable of cleaning up after themselves. If they are not used to it, it will just take a lot of reminding.

ME TOO!!!

I am DEFINITELY a non-mathy mama! I want to persevere! Thanks everyone for at least letting me know this is semi-normal :tongue_smilie:

yeah, sometimes i realize that and I'm more patient and sometimes I say, "are you kidding me? You KNOW your 0 facts!" (yes, I admit, I have said this aloud) :glare::blushing: Oh, LORD, PLEASE grow my patience! MEP is GREAT in the end but it is not fun right now, in the middle [whew! it wears me out!]

I know, I know [sigh] ;)

In a good way, I guess :glare: dd1 finished Saxon 1 so I decided to do MEP 1 before starting Saxon 2. Anyway, she knows ALL of her math facts really well + & - up to 10s from Saxon 1. MEP is taking her through 0+0,1+0,1+1,2+0,2-1,2-0,1-1,etc. It is SOO difficult for her! One of the reasons I decided to do MEP is b/c yall said it is out of the box thinking and it is good for them. I get that but while I am in the midst of it, I want to SCREAM that she has to think SOO hard to fill in the blank: __-1=1 It's driving me crazy! I KNOW it is good for her. MEP is teaching her these facts backwards & forwards & sideways but it is still driving me crazy! This is just a vent :tongue_smilie: Although, if you could let me know I am not the only one and that I will reap good things (or really, that she will), that would make me a little more sane :D TIA! Yall are the best! :)

sorry if I'm repeating... MIRACLE BLANKET!!! http://www.miracleblanket.com/ I get one or two for every pg lady I know! Priceless!!!

I have 4 4& under and the only reason my house is 1/2way neat is a routine/being organized! We have a daily routine so the kids know what's going to happen next & what is expected of them (It goes mainly by activities, not time - first we do x, then y, then z...) For cleaning, I have 1 thing to do/day so I dont' feel overwhelmed: Mon-laundry Tues-bathrooms Wed-laundry Thurs-vacuum, sweep,mop Fri-dust Sat-laundry & REALLY clean kitchen Everyday - toys picked up (kids' job), dishes washed & put away The less there is to do, the less overwhelmed I feel, and the more likely I am to do it. Our daily schedule - just to give you an idea (times are 'ish'): 6:30-fix breakfast 7-feed baby while they eat they play w/baby while i clean up from breakfast 8:30-baby goes down for nap, school w/ 4yo, middle two play alone in their rooms (1hr) 9:30-everyone gets dressed Bible story, read, play, get bathrooms cleaned (on Tuesdays) 10:30-feed baby (they watch TV/play) 11:00-fix & eat lunch sweep, etc. (on Thurs) - they help by moving chairs, moving things off rug, etc. 12-baby goes down for nap/play outside 1:30-child #3 goes down for nap/school w/older 2 2-child #2 goes down for nap/school w/oldest/feed baby 2:30-oldest goes down for nap/play w/baby 4:30-everyone wakes up & plays outside 5:30-feed baby (they watch TV/play) 6:30-Daddy gets home/eat supper 7:30-baths 8-feed baby/everyone in bed by 8:30 it's busy and I'm constantly going AND I only do 2 hrs of school total but it may give you some ideas and it may be a jumping off point. hth good luck!

OOOO I am SOOO going to do that! I am going through mastitis right now. Dry beans in a tube sock + microwave + sleep on it SLEEP (the 1 thing I haven't done) no bra (seems to help me) nurse w/his/her chin on/facing the lump motrin (reduce swelling and the headache - I always get those w/mastitis) SLEEP (I'm tellin ya - it helps SOO much)

I do too! I taught 5th grade A Beka Grammar at a Christian school :) o, and I did masters grammar courses prepping for a masters in TESOL

Thank you for this - I feel like this a lot (the 'ha - i caught you!' part) and I almost feel like if I 'create conditions for them to more easily learn & obey' I am cheating or something...I KNOW this is wrong, I'm just saying this is how I feel sometimes. It's nice to see it in print to see how wrong it is. I am left feeling overwhelmed sometimes b/c I expect perfection (stupid and harmful, I know) and sometimes b/c I set them up to fail (not on purpose, but still). I am very much a type A - want a formula-type person and truly do not like that God won't give me one :tongue_smilie::001_smile: but I pray that he changes my heart and molds my children's hearts.

LOVE IT!

amen sista! i think i'm going to put that on my facebook status!

thank you for posting this! I sent it to dh (he's at the end of phase 2). He noticed definition in his triceps during phase 1 but not much belly fat loss so this was encouraging :) not that he was going to stop, he LOVES it (he is morbidly obese but used to be a wrestler so he loves the high-intensity workouts). i'm thinking about doing it w/him when he starts round 2 - I'd love to lose some of this prego weight but don't want my milk to deplete so I am thinking if I start when baby is 4mo, I'll be okay (milk will be well established, etc.)

there are many diff. views on this but for now (:)), I've decided to do more than 1 curriculum in each grade to slow down dd but also to have her learn math in a different way. She is 4.5 and is finishing Saxon 1 in a week or so. After that, we are going to do MEP 1 and then do Saxon 2 whenever we finish MEP 1. I know others have found this to be beneficial for their accelerated learners as well (doing more than 1 curriculum).

I voted other b/c I have felt upset many times when I *thought* I was pg, but it turned out I wasn't (timing reasons-when I was nursing and wanted to continue to do so) but thankfully when I got pg with all of mine, I was expecting it or was pleasantly surprised :)

My 6 week old was on Nizatidine (1 mL 2x/day) for a week. It did NOTHING so now he is on Lansoprazole, which is a tablet that has to be dissolved in 1oz water and then given by syringe (both were given by syringe). I am hoping this will work! I wonder if you just gave him too much at once and that is why he threw up? 1 mL is NOTHING but still, I only gave like .2 of a mL at a time so he wouldn't throw it up...just a thought.

I am RIGHT where you are - dh pack rat & 4 ages 4 & under. 1. Clean the kitchen everyday. 2. Teach the kids to clean up after themselves (toys & dirty clothes) and their daddy (dirty clothes, etc.). 3. This is my week as far as chores go: Monday - wash clothes Tuesday - clean bathrooms Wed - wash clothes Thurs - vacuum, sweep, & mop (4 & 3yo help by moving chairs & picking up so I just need to focus on the act of vacuuming, sweeping & moping) Friday - dust (4yo helps get low places) Saturday - wash clothes I have a newborn - hence the constant washing. Before the newborn, I would wash Mon & Thurs., take Tuesday off, and clean bathrooms Wed (dh is home Wed. mornings so I would clean bathrooms then - I LOATHE doing that). Other than the kitchen, there is only 1 thing to do/day so it feels easier, which means I am more apt to do it :) hth! Clutter: rotate toys (I have a closet upstairs just for extra toys) have a certain # in each room so they have "new" toys to play w/every quarter (or so) and the room never gets too cluttered (I have about 10 toys & 10 books/room, give or take). dh packrat: I clean up after him (he doesn't expect me to but it wouldn't get done if I didn't do it - it doesn't bother him b/c he's oblivious to it - MIL's house is GROSS!) I leave his office a mess and only clean up in there periodically (not a priority) I discourage him from buying more stuff (which is not too incredibly hard since we have NO $$)

I did it 2 years ago - tomatoes did well. Parsley & broccoli were horrible. Lettuce was okay. The aphids were EVERYWHERE so I had to take the beans out. Strawberries did okay and corn did less than okay. Overall I was so displeased, I didn't do it last year. I want to try it again this year so I will be checking in with you guys as the summer progresses! :)

dd1 is finishing up Saxon 1 at the end of the month and we are going to take a break so I can focus on potty training ds. After that, we are planning on doing MEP 1 and continuing w/flash cards so she doesn't forget and to stretch her mind, math-wise.

So I see EVERYONE has an opinion - just thought I'd give you one of these :grouphug: :) My ds is 22 mo and just last week said, "What's that mamma?" Before that, he would ONLY speak when prompted and even then sometimes he refused. For example, instead of whining & grunting, I would make him say 'mamma' to get my attn before I would give him what he wanted. He would sign all done, please, and milk but would grunt if I wasn't looking at him. Now (and this is within the last 2 weeks) he says his favorite sentence, along w/a new SLEW of words and phrases (he just randomly said 'lady bug' this morning and began to sing along w/the leapfrog magnet when it sings the ABCs). I would say (b/c this is what I have thought about my son all along) that as long as he is understanding what you tell him and has no other delays or areas of concern, it will come! :)

Just had #4 in December! :)

OPGTR is cheap and you can start at whatever level you think she is and go from there (it finishes at 4th grade level). Also, if you are wrong in your thinking about her skill level, you won't have to buy anything else (another level of another book/curricula); just go back however many lessons (since it starts from pre-K and goes to 4th grade/mastery).

nope, I had to finger sweep a roach out of my 3yo's mouth when she was 1 - the ONLY time in my life I have touched a roach w/my bare hands! :tongue_smilie:

do they ever start putting it back again? I thought my 3yo was just a destructive kid but then I realized she was taking things apart just to see how they worked - however, she doesn't know how to put it back again - hence all the broken toys in the trash:glare: