When my oldest was that age, the sleeping thing got so bad I hired a therapist to get us through it. It turned out that at 5 she had never made the break. She had co-slept with us for a couple of years, then she got a bed, but we'd let her fall asleep our bed, etc. It took several months and it got a lot worse before it got better, but the issue was resolved. She had to learn to get to sleep by herself. With our second we knew better. We created a wonderful bedtime routine, took a warm, relaxing bath, cuddled, read books and enjoyed the time together. Then I turned off the night, kissed him goodnight, closed the door and left. He never knew there was any other way to go to sleep. He does like getting into bed with us when he's sick, but that's natural and we always allow that. The bottom line is that this can be fixed, and she can learn to go to sleep by herself, and happily. When it gets that bad, I recommend seeing a family therapist. They have great tools that can help you work through this quickly and effectively. Good luck.

It's what first came to my mind. She knows what's coming. This is such a sad thing.

Having done the childbirth thing repeatedly and in different ways I can tell you that there is no way to have a child painlessly without drugs. Sitting in water during labor did not help. (Although it has helped some friends tremendously.) Standing up did not help. Lying down did not help. Breathing exercises are a joke. The nurse my first time around (27 years ago) actually told me they promote Bradley and the other method (forget the name -- it's breathing thing) because it keeps the mom occupied. To have a child without severe pain you need to be 1) incredibly lucky like my cousin who has never felt a labor pain, or 2) get drugs, lots and often. You should speak with your doctor or midwife. They will give you all your options, and may even have something new I never heard of. I haven't done it in over 10 years. ;) Same here. My last one was at home. Just being home with no strangers milling around, safe in my own environment and with only hand-picked attendants made all the difference in the world. It was still excruciatingly painful, but I was in control and I dealt with it. If I'd known then what I know I would have never, ever gone to a hospital to deliver my first.

:iagree: But... I'd never ask someone if they planned their pregnancy unless they were really, really close -- like my daughter or my sister. When I got pregnant with the last one, someone asked me if I'd had an accident because I was just too old to get pregnant on purpose (I was 43). :blink: Another person asked me if I'd gotten married pregnant because I had just married. She was actually counting out days from my wedding on her fingers while we talked. (I didn't get married pregnant, but I wouldn't have cared. I'm not sure why she did.) I told both ladies that it was divine conception, that I hadn't had sex in years and I couldn't explain it. I figure if people are going to be incredibly rude, the least I can do is mess with their heads.

What a delightful old woman. I had a great-aunt like that once. When she died, her children had her buried the same afternoon and not even they showed up to put her in the ground. They paid the undertaker and were glad to be rid of her. Nobody missed her.

I never met a fruitcake that didn't make me gag. Just say no to fruitcake.

It wouldn't bother me at all. If a guest wants to put shoe polish on their spaghetti, it's fine by me -- in my opinion, they're ruining their meal, but not anyone else's. And if they enjoy it -- wonderful. My husband is Canadian and they put vinegar on their french fries and mayonnaise on everything else. Go figure.

I'm surprised that when she said, "I got a Wii for all the grandkids," you didn't tell her that ds was her grandchild too. I'd tell her to take her broken ds and shove it where the sun don't shine, and explain to your ds that some people are just rude and mean and it has nothing to do with him.

We had this. Ds had just come down from a common cold and one day he couldn't get out of bed. He called out from his bedroom and his dad went in. He told his dad, "I had to drag myself to the bathroom last night because I can't stand up." You never, ever want to hear your son say this. We rushed him to the ER and after many jabs and consults they determined he had toxic synovitis. It is most common in boys in the "tween" ages, but it can happen to anyone. There is no treatment other than pain meds. Almost always it clears up by itself. If your child is diagnosed with this, you don't have to worry about anything unless his/her urine becomes dark -- muscle breakdown. Our little guy was up and around within a week -- but all those days he was either carried to the bathroom, to the couch to watch tv, everywhere. It was heartbreaking. Sometimes he tried to walk and he could do a hobble with his legs spread out wide. It still makes me want to cry to remember him in that much pain. After a week he was fine. His dad and I, not so much.:tongue_smilie:

Yes, schools keep children of varying abilities in the same classroom sorted by age as if that somehow makes sense to anyone but a bureaucrat. That is why schools are such dismal failure. What's the point of going through the expense and trouble of homeschooling if one is going to cram all one's children in the same mold for for the sake of convenience? That's what public schools are for.

Yup!

The program is terribly overpriced. While the books are interesting and some kids enjoy it, paying $430 for language arts curricula seems unconscionable to me unless one has too much money and is looking for ways to throw it away. I'm very happy it worked for the OP -- I wonder how her dh would react if he found out what she spent! I've heard good things about the program, but I wouldn't even consider it for that kind of money.

Thanks!

This place is like a living encyclopedia.

I have never had a problem with dumping curricula that doesn't work for us. God knows there have been a few -- more than a few. Take the stuff you can get rid of, post it in the FS forum and move on to something that works for your family. Life is short enough without spending significant portions of it trying to make lousy curricula work for you.:tongue_smilie:

Exactly! I find images I want on the Internet and paste four to a page. Then I upload the whole thing to FedexKinkos and in an hour I go down the street and pick up my beautiful cards. For next to nothing they'll cut them also -- I always have that done. This way I always have cards for whatever piece ds and I chose, instead of those that the publisher thought I'd like to use. ;)

How is this any of your MIL's business? Does she support any of the ones you already have? Frankly, in your place, I wouldn't tell her until I'm showing so much there's no denying it. Why deal with that lousy attitude during a time when you should be (theoretically) showered in love and approval from everyone around you.

My advise: Quit the church. They feel strongly about the boyfriend's perceived "sin" and who they will welcome. That is their right. The boyfriend doesn't seem amenable to dumping his partner of 14 years to please this bunch. I agree with him. Dump the church and it's pastor, and either find a new church that fits in more with his lifestyle, or turn his back on the whole thing and live a happy life with your mother. This church has brought nothing but grief to them. It's nobody's business -- too bad he had to get involved with that bunch.

I use an evaluator in Florida. Here, any licensed teacher can evaluate a portfolio. I call her a couple of weeks before we're ready, she shows up and spends an hour or so reviewing our portfolio. She signs a document which I send in to the County and we're done for the year. The easiest way to find an evaluator in your state is to contact several homeschool support groups. They'll have a list of teachers who do this.

Thank you! I'm off to chase links.

I do get a little bit creeped out when dh isn't home, but not too bad. I have my dogs. One is fierce, and the other is loud. One or the other should do the trick. The worst night I ever had was when dd was a baby. Her dad was out of town on business and I sat to watch Stephen King movie very late at night. I don't remember which one it was, but I was freaked out. Finally, the movie was over and I used my remote to turn off the tv -- and guess what? The thing turned right back on!!!!:eek::eek::eek: Soooo... I picked up the remote, turned it back off and started to walk backwards out of the room (no way I was turning my back on that thing). And it turned back on! I don't know how I didn't have a heart attack. Finally, I walked up to the tv set, pulled the plug out of the wall and sat there waiting for it to turn back on. The plan was, if the thing went back on unplugged, I was going to grab my baby, and run out of my house screaming in my t-shirt and underpants -- no way I was going upstairs to get clothes. Fortunately, it didn't turn back on. The next day dh returned and I told him the story. He took the remote to Circuit City (remember them?) and they told him they'd been having trouble with the remotes picking up airplane signals. I was living right by the airport. They gave him a new one and it never happened again. I still have gray hairs from that night.

We've never done a book with a study guide -- so far we've only read for fun. Ds loves the Magic Tree House books and has heard several on his iPod. Now we want to read one and study along. I know it's not "literature," but we'll call it that for now and just ease into it with a book ds is comfortable with. Can you help me find good study guides for these books? Thanks!

:lol: I feel your pain. :lol:

http://fantasticcontraption.com/index.php The kids think it's a game. It's actually physics. When I introduced it to the kids in my co-op last year (we were doing physics), the kids LOVED it. And so did the moms. The game is free and kids can save the solutions to the different problems and share with friends who have an account. In that sense it's a "game" -- it's FUN. My husband who is an engineer, insists that our son have as much access to this game as he wants (during his scheduled computer time). I'm curious, why don't you allow your children to play computer games for more than one hour per week?

Now that you mention this, the Key to series is available at most educational stores. They are widely available. If there is a store near your home, you could just swing by and see if the books appeal to you and your child.