I am very sensitive to body odors so even when others don't think someone else has an odor, I notice it. We always shower daily, sometimes twice. Personally, I recommend daily shower/bath. Even if you don't smell it, others may notice an odor.

Gall bladder?

We love ours but it did take a few weeks to find the right setting. One or two nights in a hotel may not be enough.

I periodically look through the WTB to see if there is something on my shelf that I have not gotten around to listing that someone is looking for. That way I can help someone out while clearing my shelves. I don't like to PM someone if I am listing it for sale since it can delay a quick sale. I often do not hear back from people too when I PM so this way I am not out anything.

We just move on to the next lesson and take breaks as needed, whether it is a vacation, a daily activity or family visiting. A break can be anywhere from a day to 2 weeks. By schooling year round I don't have to feel bad about taking time off as needed. The key is to limit activities. Since we don't have a schedule it could be easy to not get school done if you are too involved in other activities and not home enough. I am really impressed by the organization that others have and can see the benefit of the structure of scheduled breaks. We use separate curriculum for each subject so there is no end of year for us. Math may be finished in December and English in April. I like to think of it as conditioning for the work force in which most people have to work year round. Molly

I understand about not feeling appreciated, but if he didn't get you something would you really have been okay with that either? My guess is that he thought if he didn't buy something he would be the bad guy. If he did not get a gift I would guess that you would still be just as disappointed, if not more so. I have learned that most men just don't get it, we end up feeling hurt that they don't do what we would like, even when we tell them, and they feel like their effort is unappreciated and wonder why they even try. Why they don't just do what we ask is beyond me. We are left feeling like the bad guy for wanting a little thanks in a meaningful way. It doesn't usually end well. Long ago we just agreed to not get gifts for me and I can buy what I want without feeling guilty about the splurge AND I get what I really want. If you want to make it more family oriented take the family with you when you pick it out. I set my expectations low and take care of it myself so I don't end up feeling the way you do today. But then again I am a bit of a controller. LOL If your kids really feel that bad about it and they know you just want something handmade or that could be done at home they could certainly do it on their own. I think they are just picking up on your disappointment. We all have our moments of feeling sorry for ourselves and the reality of motherhood being a thankless job takes its toll especially on the one day that we are supposed to have recognition:grouphug: (Tone is always hard to pick up on online so please know that I am not judging or trying to be harsh. I have been there and will be again so I totally understand the hurt feelings but try to look to the effort-I am sure he loves you dearly and that is what really counts:001_smile:) Molly

I love Pavlov! You could study conditioned reflexes based on his studies. http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/pavlov/ Molly

There is a version of Marley and Me for younger readers age 9-12. I have not read this version but I would guess it is a "cleaned up" with mature topics omitted. It's called Marley: A Dog Like No Other: A Special Adaptation for Young Readers. Molly

You know, I am so used to having Windows that I am not sure what it would be like without it? I am having flashbacks to the DOS days. LOL I am sure it is not like that, but what is it like not having windows if I go with an ipod or the Virgin LG Optimus? Can I still Google everything I want to know?

Thanks, I am leaning toward the ipod touch and hearing that the Kindle is slow for browsing eliminates Kindle. A few more questions... If I load my Kindle books (I use the computer version occasionally) on an ipod can I read them without any internet access? What can and cannot be used without internet? Is there anything that ipad can do that an ipod touch cannot and vice versa? Aside from price and screen size any differences between the two? So why the Toshiba tablet?

I am not up on technology but would like to add some and wanted some opinions. I would like something that we could use at home to look up all those questions that come during school that I am too lazy to go downstairs, start up the computer and look up. So I am thinking an ipod touch would be great but the screen is kind of small, at least for my old eyes and especially if we want to see pictures of what we look up. There are more and more questions that would be nice to conveniently look up. I don't want to pay a monthly fee, just something to get on our home router (is that considered Wifi if it's in the home?) If we are out an in a Wifi spot that's great but not a necessity. I would also like to have a Kindle which I think ipods have a Kindle app, but again the screen size is an issue, or is it? Can a Kindle be used to surf the net and look up stuff and how effective it is? I like the size of an ipad, not the price so I would definitely wait until the price comes down. So if you have opinions of these or other devices and maybe ideas for other uses I would love to hear. Thanks Molly

Virtual Twins Mom-Could you break it up some by having math in the middle and maybe split the other parts? It looks like copywork, dictation, spelling/vocabulary could be considered separate. Maybe mix those between the geography, history, etc. Another idea is to present the letter divisions as different subjects. Maybe have a separate notebook for each section or a different location for different subjects i.e. kitchen table for copywork and dictation, couch for reading aloud, etc. I have only looked at the examples (extensively) and am looking into it for next year so these ideas may not be doable in actual application. Thanks for posting this since any info about this program is very helpful to me. OP-could you scale down some of the activites? Maybe have the geography less involved, do more independent reading instead of reading aloud or have them read to each other where you can tend to little ones but still the story and lead the discussion? Have the older ones dictate to each other and to your 6yo. Just ideas off the top of my head.

I have been thinking along the lines of lessons. Would it best one-on-one or is this something that would work well in a group class? Our goal is that they can carry a tune and learn some basics. They do not enjoy singing but maybe it's because they are not skilled at it yet. Thanks for the input.

Heather, Let us know what you think after looking through it more. I have been looking at this one for next year too and would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for the suggestions. I came across Singing Made Easy but only found audio samples, nothing with the actual instruction. I will have to look into Rod and Staff, I never thought of them for singing. Any other suggestions are welcome. Molly

I cannot carry a tune and neither can our dc. Is there something that can be used at home to teach singing to 9 and 11 year olds? They both play instruments so they can read music, just not sing it. Thanks. Molly

As long as I agree with dh, which we both said green and for the same reason (no red in it):001_smile:. I can see the argument for most of the answers given as being logical. I think the person who came up with that was either a moron who could not see the different possibilities, or a genius to get such a discussion going. The answer is green in our house no matter what that book says!!!

We like the Keeper's of the Faith character studies. I also do not tolerate inappropriate talk. If they are not getting along they have to stop what they are doing, look into each other's eyes, hold hands maybe, and say something nice and heartfelt to the other one. It always changes the mood and things move on in a positve manner. We have done this for years and rarely do they argue (but the teen years are still ahead so we shall see;)). Also talking with them about God and His expectations helps. Molly

I read this way too. I usually read a few chapters so I know who the characters are and what the story line is, then I skip to the last chapter or two. I CANNOT enjoy a book without doing this. By knowing the ending I can better understand the story and flow of events because I see the bigger picture. If time is an issue, let her have the book early to read in her spare time the parts she wants then she can read it "on schedule" doing school time. I can understand the frustration with the time issue so hopefully this would help with time constraints and still let her enjoy the book in her own way. It very well may be helping her comprehension by reading this way. (It does for me):001_smile: Molly

Wow, it must be something in the air (or the hormones) because your post sounds alot like what I have been feeling since turning 40 this year. I don't know how to make you feel special but at least know you're not the only average person with an average family and home. We are very average too! Someone has to be average and at least we are not below average. ;) Hope you feel more special soon!

Working in the healthcare billing field, I can say it is a HUGE pain when using different names. (Having the same name as the father is a mess too). If you are going to call him Rand then use it as his first name. I like unusual names so I like Rand. Since you prefer Rand and will using this as his name why would you not want to use it as his first name? In the day to day, I don't think it is a problem if you do choose it as a middle name but on documents, forms, etc it can be more of hassle. I would personally never do it. I think there are trends in names that come from movies, books etc and while I am not big on trendy names it is a common practice. How many Ariel's are out there now after the Little Mermaid? KWIM? My vote is for Rand Christopher (or whatever middle name you like):001_smile: Molly

I did not have any other issues but I did not talk until after I was 3 yrs old. When I did start talking it was in complete sentences and very clear. It was assumed that since my siblings were doing everything for me (I am the baby and all I had to do was point and make some noise and they would get whatever I wanted) the need to talk was not there. It was the 60's, so I don't think speech therapy was very common. Once everyone quit getting everything for me, I was forced to talk. I doubt this is the case here but hopefully it will encourage you in seeing that even late talkers will not have necessarily have long term effects.

http://www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/science/otters_science/science_human_body.html This is a free guide for a study of the human body using several different books and other misc resources. It is planned for 33 weeks which will give some extra time if needed. HTH Molly

We used ALOT of Bitter Apple to keep our puppy from chewing on just about everything. When she chewed on something she shouldn't we corrected her and redirected to one of her toys. Constant supervision is needed and when we could not watch her it was time for her crate. When it was bedtime, in her crate, she always gets a treat and now she loves bedtime! If you don't want a certain behavior as an adult don't let your puppy do it, like sitting on the furniture, jumping up on people, licking you (adult dog breath is alot different from that sweet puppy breath), etc. Don't bother with soft fuzzy toys because they will be shredded by the time your puppy is 6 months old. Be patient, it is alot of work for the first year!! Enjoy:D Molly

The hardest part was keeping ours calm! I forget the number of days they are not supposed to run or jump but after the first evening when the meds wore off she was back to her crazy puppy self. We used a leash alot even in the house to slow her down.