It started out as super dry skin and then turned a dark shade of brown, many shades darker than her skin color. So dark that I tried wiping it off last weekend at Brownies camp because I thought it was dirt. I've been using Aquaphor and/or Weleda Skin food on it and it seems to be getting better. Most of it flaked off but there is still some of it on her scalp up into her hair line. According to her it doesn't itch or burn or anything so I've just been treating it topically. Any idea what it could be? Tracy

I think you can tour them all just fine. I was just saying that you would want adequate time to see each region. And having driven through those areas I know that, once off of the motorways, the roads can be very slow and narrow. One lane, literally, in some smaller towns. But the smaller towns are lovely and a must. I just thought I would share our mistakes of way underestimating the driving times based on focusing just on the mileage. And if you can fly open jaw you would save yourself another 7-9 hour drive, which is pretty much a day, driving all the way back down to London (or wherever you choose to fly into), to catch your flight. We've driven all over Europe as we travel overseas frequently. We love to rent a car for the flexibility. And I hear you about London. We are headed there in just a few weeks, for just a full day on our way to Venice, and that's plenty for me Sounds like a great time!

My one concern is that you have quite a few places to visit in not really a whole lot of time given what there is to see in each area and the time it takes to get from one region to another. London alone would probably easily take up 3-4 days depending on what you would like to do. I would highly suggest an open jaw flight, flying into one city (say, London) and flying out of another (Edinburgh perhaps). If you rent a car, the roads can be narrow and slow and it takes considerable more time to get from point A to point B.

Hello! So I'm getting ready to place our curriculum for the upcoming school year, which we will start in a few months. My twins are currently in 3rd grade. We've been doing BJU 3 with good success. They are retaining what they are learning and it's fairly short and painless lessons. However we do not like the writing chapters so we skip them and do WWE instead. So basically I'm paying for half of the book. We did FLL 1 a few years ago and they liked it ok. Haven't done it since, and not with the workbooks. FLL is much less expensive than BJU, especially considering we only use half of it. I looked at some FLL workbook samples and I like what I see. Not sure if my girls would be in 3 or 4. Anyways, if you've done both how do they compare? Do you have a preference? We are a secular homeschooling family, btw, but I just ignore some of the religious components of BJU and it hasn't been a big deal. But we do like BJU and it's working so I'm not sure what to do at this point.

Since most of the other posts covered a wide variety of tips (and I agree with them all, having been to all of the locations you are going to), I'm going to give you a piece of advice that caused a huge assortment of problems on our first trip to London way back when. BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR NAP WHEN YOU ARRIVE! Yes, in my opinion that deserves all caps! We arrived in London (our first trip abroad) on Easter Sunday. Most things were closed (obviously) so after a few hours of walking around decided to head back to our hotel for a little nap. 4 hours later....seriously. Due to jet lag our nap was over 4 hours long. That long nap screwed us up for the next three days. We could never properly adjust to the time change because of it. That long nap meant that we were up til like 4 am because we weren't tired and utterly exhausted for a good portion of the day. Then we would be wide awake til 3 or 4 and it started all over the next day. It was awful. So long story short, if you are going to nap on your arrival day set an alarm for an hour or so and stick with it. My personal advice, after two dozen plus trips abroad, is to avoid the nap altogether. Most flights to Europe are red eye so just try to get some sleep on the plane (easier said than done, I know. Melatonin is my BFF on long haul flights) Get out and enjoy the fresh air. Do some light sightseeing and keep yourself busy. Grab an early dinner and allow yourself to go to bed early that first night, even as early as 6 or 7 pm, if necessary. You'll feel much better the next day. And try not to think about the time change. Switch immediately to the local time. I think the big reason why my younger children handle jet lag better than us adults is because they don't try to mentally figure out what time it "should" be at home and just go with the flow.

I would hands down do that trip with my younger kids. My girls were 7 when we went to Switzerland, France and Germany a few years ago. They are 9 and we are doing Venice, Berchtesgaden (near Salzburg), Piran (Slovenia) and the Istrian peninsula in Croatia in early May. We've always traveled with my kids and they are good travelers because of it. They were much better in Europe then they were on our Disney trip when they were 6. I've been to all of the places you've mentioned. Most kids like trains and I think so many people assume that they can't take their children to Europe for fear of them not getting enough out of it. Never understood what that meant but my kids have enjoyed all of our family vacations.

We have that card! 🙂 For Japan, we used a combination of bonus miles and we went through an AA program when we sold and then bought our new house years ago. We just went with an affiliate agent (Coldwell Baker) to sell our house and again to buy our new house and we received a ton of miles. I'm not sure if that program still exists, but it allowed DH and I to go to Japan before we had our kids. Japan is pretty expensive once you are there, so having to not pay airfare made the trip doable. ETA: We used Miles for Home https://www.myaffinityservices.com/aa. We've traveled to Europe on miles probably half a dozen times. We typically try to fly during the miles saver dates so miles go further.

Switzerland for us. I just love Europe. It's where I want to be always and many of our vacations over the years involved a jaunt over the Atlantic. And we love the mountains. My girls absolutely loved all of the gondolas and various mountain lifts. We just like being outside, hiking and enjoying the scenery and the cute towns. Our favorite was Murren, a small town perched on a mountaintop that is car free. The views were just stunning. And of course all of the Swiss chocolate! Closer to home we had a great time at the Outer Banks one year and Cape Cod another.

I have SIBO, IBS-C, gastritis, fibromyalgia (I question that diagnosis) and I'm in midst of testing with my Rheumy as he thinks I may have Ankylosing Spondylitis. I started Keto in January and it's been life changing for me. The super annoying 8-months pregnant SIBO belly is gone. The aches and pains are gone. The fatigue is mostly gone, and the mysterious rashes have all gone away. I've tried Low Fodmap, Paleo and AIP in the past and while I felt better it was never that drastic. Keto, for me, has been a game changer. I've learned along the way that sugars (I have a major sweet tooth) and carbs cause a lot of my problems. If I cheat on keto that becomes obvious immediately. The bloating is back and I deal with back and leg aches. It's frustrating because I miss baked goods (I love to bake) and donuts and french fries and pretty much all the things I can't eat. But feeling better makes it worthwhile. I don't have a lot of weight left to lose (I lost the 10 pounds I wanted to lose pretty quickly) so that will eventually be a concern. It's hard enough trying to get enough fat and protein in each day (I'm not a huge meat eater) so my calorie count is relatively low based on my activity level and daily gym visits.

Like Mommyoffive we too use travel cards and will open cards to get the bonus miles. We tend to fly AA/One World. On a flight last year we were offered an Aviator card that came with 50,000 miles after putting $2500 on the card. That's enough for two round trip domestic tickets. I just opened a Citi AA card literally last week to get the same miles (50,000). So now we have 100,000 miles just in bonus rewards. That doesn't include what we put on the card monthly (that we pay off). We will also close cards we no longer use when we open a new one, so it's not like we have 10 travel cards. In the past we've used the miles for free trips to Japan, several free trips to Europe and what would have been a very expensive same-day flight back to my hometown when my dad passed unexpectedly last summer. Our family of four is going back to Europe next month (flying RT Charlotte to Venice). We didn't use miles for this trip because we got a great deal on the airfare, but will get miles for the actual trip itself. Hoping to save up all of our miles for a New Zealand trip next year. Another bonus to the credit cards, in addition to the free bonus miles, is perks like free checked luggage on domestic flights and being able to board the plane in an earlier group, ahead of general boarding, no foreign transaction fees, extra insurance on car rentals, etc. Our flights to Venice were basic economy seats so we would have to board in the last group, but because I have the credit cards (both Aviator and Citi offer the same perks) we get to board in group 5 . We are traveling carry-on only so this will ensure we have space to stow are carry-ons. You can look around for credit cards that suit your needs. Some travel cards come with perks like access to lounges, credits for Global Entry/TSA Pre Check etc. There are cards for hotels (I believe Hilton Honors has one out now that will get you 100,000 bonus points, enough for 20 free stays at lower budget chains). I also have the Amazon Prime Chase card which I use for all of my amazon purchases. It's always nice to get those Amazon credits! I have about $40 of them right now.

I've done it both with keto and without. Let me preface by saying that neither was for weight loss. I have a lot of GI issues going on (mainly SIBO, IBS and gastritis) and gave both of these a try to reduce the symptoms. I'm on Keto now and it's working wonderfully for my GI system. I have lost weight, but I don't really have much I need to lose so I'm happy. But I will say that intermittent fasting is MUCH EASIER when on keto (or paleo, as ktgrok suggested) because reducing the cards naturally keeps your blood sugar regulated and leads to natural hunger reduction. When I tried IF on its own I would end up shaky and nauseated at various points and I could not stick with it. I did not limit my carb intake with it and that was my biggest downfall, but I didn't realize that until I went keto. Now that I'm on keto I find myself IF without trying simply because I'm just not that hungry. It's 9 am EST here and I last ate last night around 8 pm. I probably won't be hungry for at least another hour or two. I find myself IF without any effort or giving it any thought. So I would suggest that if you want IF to work you really need to consider your carb content. I don't think you need to go full blown keto. But having a big bowl of cereal as a snack in the evening isn't going to help in the morning when you are trying to fast. It may work for some people but IF is most successful when making dietary changes so you can stick with it. Try a reduced carb (maybe under 100, which is still much lower than the standard diet) or paleo/primal diet along with it and see how it goes.

AAS was a complete bust for my twins as well. I think it just had too many moving parts and just frustrated them. I'm a natural speller myself and found all of the rules to be tedious and overwhelming but that's just my experience. We tried Sequential Spelling and then moved on to Spelling You See. We have been doing SYS for a few years now and it seems to be working. My girls love the stories that come with SYS (we are in level C now, which is wild animals) and they look forward to reading about the new animal facts weekly. But the memorization due to repetition works for them.

I liked it. My kids absolutely did not. They couldn't pay attention to the DVD (despite the short lessons) and so I still had to go back and teach the content before they could complete the workbook pages. However, my kids (especially my DD with HFASD) has a really difficult time with independent work so that may be part of the reason why it didn't work for us.

We are a secular homeschooling family by choice and I've yet to find anything as effective as CLE for my girls. We switched to TT for this school year (3rd grade) and it was a disaster so we are back with CLE and everyone is happy. Fortunately their prices are pretty reasonable, especially compared to a few other popular math programs. I'd stick with it if it works.

Thank you all. I just ordered the complete sets of CLE. My girls were so excited when I told them...which means I made the right decision! One thing I've learned, the hard way, is to stop getting sucked into all of the glowing reviews and just go with my gut. Easier said than done! Tracy

I can kick myself right now. Why I ever decided to give Teaching Textbooks a try is beyond me. My twins, age 9, have never been able to work well independently. Especially the one with HF ASD. This is a big reason why I pulled them out of public school halfway through first grade. So I read all of the rave reviews on TT, and several homeschooling bloggers I follow swear by it. I got sucked in and decided to try it. Now here we are, halfway through the year, and I feel like it's wasted. We are on lesson 66 and I get tears and whining every day and, what is worse, they don't seem to be memorizing the work. I'm so frustrated right now. So last year we did CLE, despite being a secular homeschooling family, and loved it. It just worked for us. So I'm thinking about throwing in the towel with TT and going back to CLE. However I'm looking at the samples for grade 3 and I'm at a loss as to what to do. The curriculum is just so different. I feel like we would have to start with LU 301 and try to skip around until we get to where we need to be. I guess I'm just both venting and looking for advice. I had feeling like I wasted half a year, even though I know that isn't really the case. It just feels like it right now. Do I just continue on with TT until we finish and then switch? Do I go ahead and stop and make the switch now and try to salvage the rest of the year? Any other suggestions? Thanks! Tracy

Thank you all! So sorry for the delayed response. I ended up with a cold and then a busy weekend and haven't been online much. It's been a week and it still aches, especially when I come down a set of stairs. I walked around Ikea yesterday and think I overdid it because it really hurt. I'm trying to elevate it and I've had to take ibuprofen a few times which I try to avoid unless absolutely necessary. Thank you all for the advice. I'm going to try some exercised and massages and see if I can get it to go asap. Its so annoying! Tomorrow I'm doing a barre fusion class which I think/hope should be okay. I'm just going to avoid going on my tiptoes as that too hurts. I'm really hoping it calms down before next weekend, as we are heading up to the mountains (I'm in NC) and plan on hiking the Linville Gorge and a few other places.

I ended up with a concussion last year after I had an, ahem, accident with my fire place mantel. As in it ran into my head ?. I went to my regular physician practice, as they have a concussion specialist on staff. I did not require a scan however I did some kind of computer test to test my ability to comprehend and respond, which together with my symptoms made it clear I indeed had a concussion. It took a full 6-8 weeks for it to heal enough that I could go about my normal daily life. During that time we mostly had to homeschool in my bed because I would get dizzy, and I could not do any read alouds to my girls. Even now, a full year later, I find I can no longer ride many amusement park rides because that feeling returns and stays for a few days. My doctor told it would take at least 6 weeks and he was right. Take care of yourself and, yes, rest! I can't stress this enough. If you have a concussion you will get dizzy and disoriented easy, making you feel woozy. Not a pleasant feeling! Best wishes to a speedy recovery!

I think I may have this. I'm a regular exerciser, and have been for years. I typically work out at the gym 4-5 days a week and we are active, hiking and walking, the other days. A few days ago, out of nowhere, my achilles area started to hurt. It doesn't hurt when I'm not doing anything, but when I walk up/down the stairs, or in the mornings when I wake up, it's very sore and difficult to walk. Does anyone have or had this? How long does it take to go away? It looks like I have to refrain from working out to keep it from getting worse. I can do that, but exercise is my escape, the one thing I do for myself where I can be with friends or zone out kid-free, so I hate to give it up for too long if I don't have to. Thanks! Tracy

Thank you all! I do think it may be an age thing. Neither of my twins are really great at paying attention. Hence the reason I pulled them out of public school a few years ago. We are working on it, and it's getting better, but its been a real, ongoing struggle and we've had a lot of curriculum misses. They kind of seem to zone out during the EIW lessons. I'm questioning if grammar is really necessary at this age or if we can just focus on writing and worry about all of the grammar rules in a few years. If I can work on getting them to write well enough I would imagine the grammar would just kind of fall into place. Or at least that's what my rational mind thinks ha! English and grammar has always come easy and naturally to me so I'm having a difficult time putting myself in their shoes. Thank you! I'm going to check out the suggestions, particularly Writing Strands.

My twins are 8 and in 3rd grade. We started back to school about a month ago and this year I decided to switch from CLE to EIW. I like EIW. My daughters seem to like EIW. But it doesn't seem to be working. We watch the short lesson together and then when they look at their workbook page I am met with blank stares and, after prompting, wrong answers. And we are only at the run-on sentence lesson. I think they like it just because it's much shorter than CLE and less monotonous. I'm not sure if they just flat out don't know how to do the subject or if there is just a lack of interest. They are both great readers. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do and play catch up because I feel like I'm wasting our time. I'm considering BJU English 3. We are a secular homeschool but I've heard great things so I'm okay with the religious content, as was the case with CLE. For children who struggle to grasp grammar and composition do you feel that BJU may be a good fit? Any other suggestions? I need something with repetition/spiral and will stick? Thanks! Tracy

Thanks everyone! She doesn't like pudding. She does like chocolate milk so we keep the whole fat version on hand at all times. She also likes those Danimals kids yogurt smoothies so we keep those as well. Unfortunately she will not drink a homemade smoothie, and not for lack of trying. I, myself, have a green smoothie every day for lunch so I always have lots of fruits on hand. No matter what I do (with yogurt/without, various fruit combinations, more/less ice, chocolate, etc) she will not drink more than a few sips. I made an appointment with her pediatrician as the first step. She recently switched practices and doesn't start until the 20th so that is when our appointment is scheduled. I want to rule out any kind of potential underlying health issue first (thyroid, intolerances, celiac etc) before we move on to the therapy route. Thanks again!!! Tracy

Thank you all! It's so nice to hear from momma's who have been there and to know that I'm not alone. I'm sure you all can relate to the (no offense) know-it-all parents who think that forcing her to sit at the table until she eats is going to solve the problem. She has little interest in food and is most definitely not motivated by it. She could care less about missing a dessert and would go to bed hungry if I tried to force her to eat, which I will not do. She just doesn't have the extra weight to afford to lose.

Thank you Arctic Mama! She is neutrotypical and developmentally on track. Her identical twin is on the spectrum (HF ASD) so I have a lot of experience with therapy. Other than a year of speech, which she ultimately tested out of, she has been on track. But she has struggled to eat since she was an infant. When she was two I had to revert back to feeding her purees because she stopped eating solids. My twins were born at 33 weeks so that could play a role.