there is a documentary titled Under Our Skin that is really worth watching and quite an eye-opener. If you pursue this, please be sure to use a lyme-literate doctor so that you get proper testing done. There is a lot of controversy surrounding chronic lyme at this time and many doctors will not acknowledge or treat it. It is not easy to find a doctor. The good news is that if you get in with a LLMD and you get your daughter treated, she could recover from many, if not all, of her symptoms. We are traveling down the Lyme path with one of my older daughters. She has been forced to take a leave of absence from medical school due to chronic lymes. You definitely want to locate a LLMD, and they tend to stay under the radar as the CDC and Medical Licensing Boards tend to scrutinize them for not following cdc protocol. A blood test for chronic Lyme Disease will often be negative due to the fact that the organism is no longer in the patient's bloodstream but has gone 'under the radar' (so to speak) and is spreading in the patient's organs. Interestingly, when the patient is being treated with effective protocol (many times herbal IVs), a patient will go from not having any positive Lyme Bands (there are five bands that can be positive) to starting with one positive band and then increasing from there. That is a sign that the disease is being driven out of the patient's organs and into the bloodstream, and treatment is adjusted accordingly. LLMDs are often Rheumatologists or Infectious Disease Specialists or Internal Medicine Docs. Do not pass over Homeopathic doctors, naturopaths, or osteopaths. Sometimes, one does best with a specific combination that works best for them. Best wishes -- thoughts and prayers are with you! Also, with a diagnosis, or even prior to that, find a local Lymes chapter -- you will find a wealth of local information that will be helpful to you and will help make this a bit easier to understand.

I wish someone would give me one! When my oldest turned 16 (and that was 14 years ago), I duplicated everything that we had done for her FIRST birthday party! We invited just immediate family who lived in the area (which probably totaled 4 people) and she had a couple of friends and we had a BIG BIRD CAKE, and paper products, and I duplicated as closely as I was able from her first birthday. And we looked at photos from her first birthday and tried to remember who was there and figure out how old they all were by then. It was fun!:001_smile:

We've had our rescue dog for two weeks -- and he is a sweetheart. We did have to complete a three page app, have an interview, and the fee was $350. Best wishes with your new furry family member!:drool5:

That is exactly wht I do! :iagree: My husband hasn't really learned from my doing this, but the kids have definitely changed their ways!

probably all of the time. It has always been a priority for me, and I cannot - literally cannot - do anything if something in the house is out of place. And, everything must be clean - sparkling clean - B/c of this, I have become ruthless about not accumulating anything that we do not need. In fact, today, DH and I are in the final phase of the lower level (our classroom, a media room, and a bedroom/bathroom) purge! We began 4 weeks ago when we 'created' the media/guest room; stopped for a couple for a couple of weeks while we had guests; and started the final 'push' yesterday (DH took a day as he will be on travel next week) sorting books, getting closet kits in, and filling boxes (yes, more boxes) for the Thrift Store. We have been working since 8am and probably have another 2 hours and then we get to go to Lumber Liquidators to look at laminate floors for the 'classroom' - which means moving everything OUT of the room -- but that's okay b/c there is probably 90? less in this room than there was a month ago. SO, the stuff that creates clutter and mess is not allowed to live here (can't do much about the kids, but I am on them constantly). With everything else in order, chores that might give me difficulty (putting away cleaned and folded laundry) become mush easier for me to do.

I really liked the people and the kids that we met, and so did my kiddos, BUT I really want to be in control of the curriculum. We are following WTM fairly closely. I will probably sign them up for 'activities' through the County - which actually runs a great program. DD10 took an art class last winter and she loved it, and the teacher was excellent. I'm also a former classroom teacher and I have a very definite idea of what my kids should be taught....and how. Finally, my twins (3rd grade) DO NOT do the 'get in the car, go someplace, and get back in the car and go back home' thing well -- they have never been good at 'transitions' - so if I make our schedule and have ultimate control (there's THAT word again :glare:) over it, I can make sure it works for them. Gosh, I sound SO anti-social....and I'm not --- but I do like just being with my kids and dh.

DH and the kids desperately wanted a dog....I was the hold out......and I held out for approx 2.5 years and through 2 lost dog rescue events. If you dh will not change his mind, perhaps there isn't anything you can do as far as having a dog in your home...but, when I was refusing to change my mind, I did contact the County Dog Shelter (the dogs in our county are kept on a farm) and we would go out there whenever we could to walk and play with the dogs. One can also volunteer for a Rescue Organization and attend their 'adoption' functions where they will hold the dogs on a leash, and be that dog's buddy for the event. There are 'other' ways to get your dog 'fix' until you can bring one home:drool5: for good! Just try to be 'dog-gone' creative (sorry).:D Two weeks ago we adopted 'Guidry' (see my WTM page), and I have to tell you, I cannot think of a single reason NOT to love him. He has barked only twice in 2 weeks, and he is such a gentleman....in fact, he is the MOST well-behaved one here.

filled with baby clothes -- I hand down the girl clothes (toddler and 5s) to my oldest for my two grand-daughters - but I always ask for them back when she is finished with them. I have another older daughter and I hope that one day she will use the clothes too. I also save 'special' outfits that I am saving for the current kiddies to use 'someday.' Why is it painful? -- because it is the end of (for me) the nicest stage of my life....and I was blessed to do it twice.....with 19 years in between....and it still was painful to parse out high chairs, baby joggers, snow suits, etc. :001_wub:

I didn't even think of flea markets, which we have an abundance of jut a short drive away -- thanks for the tip -- that would be a fun search....who knows what else I might find!:D

I think the only thing I can say is that I prefer a chalkboard over whiteboard -- I am a former classroom teacher, and I like a good quality chalkboard. I have yet to find white board markers that don't have any smell, and I don't like the smell. I guess that's the only reason I am looking for a chalkboard as opposed to a white board.

CL netted me three excellent student desks from a local private school -- the desks/chairs were being given away! So that was a great find - I picked those up this morning. And, CL also was responsible for my finding an IKEA desk/bookshelves/drawers unit in white, great condition, that we will use for our 'language center' - for $45.00 which is a great deal. I did look for chalkboards on CL but didn't find any - I will keep looking, but I'm okay buying one since the desks and other furniture has been such a grat bargain.:001_smile:

Sorry to take up space -- I asked this on the Gen'l Board but did not get any answers. If you have a large, school quality chalkboard:001_smile: (I am looking at a chalkboard that is magnetic as well) that is wall hung in your classroom, would you be so kind as to tell me where you purchased it. I am looking for a 4' x 8' size - I've googled a few retailers, and before I go ahead and purchase one, I wanted to know of anyone's experiences with any particular retailers. TIA --

praying for all of you. :grouphug:

folks who care, will want to know. Folks who will want to send a little something, will send a little something. Folks who just want to send a card or who are only able to send a card, will be happy to do that. I haven't done on-line announcements in almost 9 years, but have you been to Dandelion Patch in Reston Town Center? They have tons of stuff to choose from -- you can have them send an announcement out for the 'particulars' to be added OR they have sone that you can add info in on your own computer. But, definitely, your ds' achievement should be announced. :001_smile:

for my 'twirly-girly' on ebay -- I have great success with 'jottum,' 'oilily,' and 'tickityboo.' They are all pricey, so if I can find something that was worn once, it is usually coming to live at our house! 'Tickityboo,' imparticular, has the most imaginative and different clothes.

:grouphug:

that makes sense now. I have everything else: Solutions Manual, Tests, and I wondered why no Teacher's Manual. Thanks again -- mystery solved:D

No, really, an honest to goodness Teacher's Manual -- spiral, humongous, just like the Teacher's Manual that I purchased with the Saxon Math 3rd Grade Curriculum for my twins. I went to the Saxon website, then I started looking on homeschooling websites that re-sell books - they are not inexpensive, but I am reluctant to do Math without a Teacher's Manual at that level --- actually, at any level past Kindergarten! :D

I am planning for my 5th grade DD and 3rd grade b/g twins. I was adding up the hours per day (yesterday, in fact) and I noticed that we will be spending between 4-6 hours a day -- Now, as a former classroom teacher, I can say with confidence, that the 4-6 hours I will be spending with my own children homeschooling is truly 4-6 hours. 4-6 hours in my classroom, at any rate, had a lot of down time simply by virture of 'specials,' admin tasks (attendance, checking uniforms, etc), transition time, etc. I am curious to see if we truly need that number of hours to complete our lesson plans -

:confused: Thanks for taking the time to read this. This may be the world's dumbest (DUH):001_huh: question, but I would love some input from anyone who has used Saxon 6/5 Math. I purchased the Solutions Manual and the Student Text (they are great) - I have begun to do my lesson plans for DD10. Is it me, or do few individuals seem to purchase and use the "Teacher's Manual' for that level? If I am correct in my observation, is the Teacher's Manual too pricey, not necessary? OR, is my observation just all wrong, and I should locate a Teacher's Manual here or on ebay or someplace? Thanks --

Christina: Prayers and Thoughts are with you! I noticed that you are outside the beltway in VA -- I am as well -- please pm me and I will provide you my contact info -- if there is ANYTHING I can do for you, I am more than happy to help out -- anything!:grouphug:

Great Job!!!!!:hurray:

let me know what happens! It's good you found the little bugger -- thoughts and prayers are with you. I'll be waiting for an update!:)

Seems like no matter how hard we check, one of these little critters always gets away with being noticed. Ideally, you will want to see your doctor~~~~~TODAY~~~~~ -- you want 28 days of doxycycline -- they will argue with you that CDC regs call for 14 days or 21 days, blah, blah, blah, long term complications of antibiotics, and other stuff. The patient's response should be that the long term complications of Lyme's disease are much worse than anything that 28 days of doxy would cause, and ask the doctor what they would give a member of their own family -- that usually gets folks 28 days. Don't mess with this -- I do not want to sound alarming or hysterical, but taking the right steps now will head off the likelihood of a medical situation that you will not want to deal with down the road. The doc will want to order blood work - let them - but you still want the doxy. I have friends who went to the ER when their docs would not go along with what they wanted, or they went to walk-in centers. One of my older daughters is suffering (and that is a mild word to use) from Lyme's disease -- you do not want to go there -- trust me! Pls let me know what happens.

which is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine -- he takes a holistic, natural approach to everything. He recently joined a practice with an M.D. who is an internist. I see the D.O.M. about cleaning up my diet and my family's, and for other issues. I take high blood pressure meds (I've had high blood pressure since the twins were born) and my blood pressure is coming down as I am losing weight (35 lbs so far), and I see the M.D. in the practice for blood pressure checks, refills, etc. I see the D.O.M. for my thyroid (I have Hashimoto's) and we monitor those tests - he cannot order blood work, the M.D. orders the blood work, they confer when the results come in, then we discuss. For me, I have found it to be a protocol where I am able to be my own advocate; the reading and research I have done is not dismissed, and my voice is being heard. I did treat with an M.D. in a very large practice, and he was fabulous as far as listening and taking a more natural approach -- but the size of the practice and the ineptitude of the admin staff forced me to look elsewhere for care. I do not know where in VA you are located -- the docs I see are in Loudoun and there is a practice in Middleburg (a husband and wife M.D. team) who are wonderfully holistic and naturopathic. they have a fabulous website. I don't use them because I am quite happy at the practice where I am now. D.O. (osteopaths) also take a more holistic approach. One of my older daughters is in an osteopathic medical school - it is everything that students are taught in an allopathic school, in addition to OMT - Osteopathic Manipulation Technique. I take my ds 8 to a D.O. and she works on him about every 6 weeks - we notice a great improvement in his behavior (he is ADHD) when he has been treated. Feel free to PM me if you would like -- I have titles of book that go into depth about OMT - and if you happen to be in my neck of the woods (northern virginia) I do have names of people you might want to see.