I'm late to this party, but I'll commiserate. I'm allergic to coffee, first of all. BUT, I've been unable to drink tea in any form since getting pregnant. Ugh. I'm sure that contributes to my frequent napping. It surely doesn't help!

The baby wasn't feverish (at least no one noticed) during nursery, but Mom took her to Urgent Care after lunch with 103 fever and blisters in her mouth. I have to believe she had those during church, too. Unless they have rapid onset? She was very picky during snack time, and did not eat much. I do not blame Mom at all - I'm sure if she suspected, she wouldn't have brought baby to church. She let everyone know as soon as she got the dx, so we could be on the look out. My youngest dd rocked baby to sleep right before parent pick up time. We also pay for co-op classes, which are quite pricey. Plus, being the first day is a big deal. It's a new experience for all of us, and my youngest dd is very nervous about it. It also takes a lot of preparation, and I'm trying to decide if I should make all the necessary preparations tonight or not. :crying:

How worried would you be? We are supposed to have our first day of co-op tomorrow, but a baby in the nursery had HFM this morning. I'm trying to decide if we should attend, or stay home. All three of my kids and I held or played with this little one. Plus, I'm early in a pregnancy, which is another concern altogether. Anyway, would you attend an all day co-op with your family in the morning? Or, wait at home in case someone develops the illness?

I did take New Chapter Organics during the last pregnancy, but I learned that the brand was bought out by P & G....and some reviewers believed that it lessened the quality of vitamins. I was leaning away from extra ingredients, like herbs/fruits/veggies. Rainbow Light does have some extras. I had a terrible reaction to magnesium oxide during my last pregnancy, so I'm also looking at that on the labels.

Thanks. I had considered the Rainbow Light brand. I'll take another look at them.

Help me choose a prenatal vitamin....there are so many choices! :willy_nilly: synthetic vitamins vs. wholefood derived gummy vs. capsule vs. tablet iron vs. none DHA added in vs. separate supplement added herbs vs. none I had settled on MegaFoods Baby and Me Herb Free, but Amazon wouldn't deliver until Aug 12, and I need one, like, yesterday. :p Thanks! :D

I have 4 credits on Audible that need to be used before we cancel our subscription. I would like classic books that are easier to hear than read. (Written with accents, etc) We really enjoy hearing Winnie-the-Pooh in an authentic British voice, for instance. We are enjoying Black Beauty right now. Kids are 10, 7, and almost 3. If there are really good books that will go along with our studies, I would be open to those too. We are in Tapestry of Grace Year 1, Unit 3. In August we will start CC Cycle 2.

I've tried meeting with others. It works out for a few weeks, then it fizzles. Thank you for your thoughts. I haven't made a decision yet, but I feel like I'm closer to one. I also am very concerned about having good tutors, and being a good tutor myself. And I really like having 'down days' whenever we feel like it. Plus, I really wanted to try ToG this year. Either one could be a flop, but at some point the decision has to be made. I just go round and round and round with myself. <_< :willy_nilly:

I’m looking for suggestions, advice, encouragement, etc. Brief summary: We planned on jumping into ToG this coming year, with ages 10 and 7 and 3. Now we are considering joining a CC community. I’m not sure learning & using two new programs will benefit us, so I’m considering the options. Reasons for joining CC: the biggest factor is community. We move frequently and my girls need a place to connect. I also appreciate the idea of their memory work, small art introductions, science demonstrations, and the presentation experience. We are strongly leaning towards Essentials for oldest, thus supplanting our current grammar/spelling choice of Logic of English Essentials (second edition). The communities around here are exploding and seem very sweet and generally welcoming. I have only visited one, but know several people involved in others. Hesitations about CC: the biggest one here is that I would want/need to tutor, and that takes time. I also worry about getting half-way through and feeling like dry toast. It would take away the ability to experience things in our current city - field trips, theater shows, park days, church Bible study, extra-curriculars. Also a long day on campus for my younger 2 if we enroll oldest in Essentials. CC content may feel too disjointed for my kids. My 10 year old may feel "behind" the other kids if they have been in CC for awhile. Reasons for using ToG: We were strongly leaning towards ToG for history/lit/Bible. I love the idea of having so many books on each child's level. The ability to mold it to our family. The D and R levels look meaty and rich. I could repeat it with all my kids - every child would be in the same time-period. (We’ve used MFW and MoH - neither fit for various reasons.) Hesitations of ToG with CC: Cost and content. I feel that it would just be too much. I have other curriculum at my finger tips, so instead of buying ToG, I could pair CC with any of the following: Five in a Row & Beyond Five in a Row, Beautiful Feet’s History of the Horse or History of Science, SOTW Vol. 2, or Truthquest Middle Ages. I also have many PDF’s of Amanda Bennett’s Unit Studies from when we first started homeschooling. My children really loved to be immersed in whatever we are studying. I have very fond memories of FIAR from when oldest was 5/6. I'm not sure if I would actually use any of these, or if I would feel compelled to go into more depth with the CC content. If there were other co-op options around, I would happily consider those. But CC is pretty much it. I feel like the weekly reinforcement that a group would bring could make a big difference for all of us - me included. Especially in winter, I tend toward depression, so as much as I dislike being in groups all the time, I really think I need to be out and encouraged more. SO, talk me into & out of one of these!

I'm leaning strongly toward Tapestry. It seems to be the only history program with literature analysis integrated in, which I like. Can anyone tell me what that looks like at Upper Grammar age?

Has any had success in using a history program that is supposed to have multi-level learning? Like Tapestry, or My Father's World, Mystery of History, or Story of the World, which can be used for a wide age range? I like to think about the future, and how our school is going to look in 3, 4, or 10 years, and I want to continue to keep my kids together in at least ONE thing. :001_rolleyes: My oldest will be in 5th grade, next one in 2nd, and the third a 3 year old next year. (We are enjoying MoH Vol. 1 right now, but I keep thinking of ToG.) At some point down the road, I'll have a child in elementary, middle, and high school. So, have you used one of these programs to successfully keep your kids learning together? I'm wondering about the flip side too; folks that bought these programs because of the one-room schoolhouse appeal, but it didn't work out.

Has any had success in using a history program that is supposed to have multi-level learning? Like Tapestry, or My Father's World, Mystery of History, or Story of the World, which can be used for a wide age range? I like to think about the future, and how our school is going to look in 3, 4, or 10 years, and I want to continue to keep my kids together in at least ONE thing. :001_rolleyes: My oldest will be in 5th grade, next one in 2nd, and the third a 3 year old next year. (We are enjoying MoH Vol. 1 right now, but I keep thinking of ToG.) At some point down the road, I'll have a child in elementary, middle, and high school. So, have you used one of these programs to successfully keep your kids learning together? I'm wondering about the flip side too; folks that bought these programs because of the one-room schoolhouse appeal, but it didn't work out.

Ooo, yes!! That's a simple approach. Any excuse to buy more books!! :hurray:

Wow, this is a great explanation of how TOG works for you. It really makes the program seem doable. Thanks!

I'm using both programs with my first grader this year. She hit a snag at the Letter Cluster pages (step 16) and slowly got so overwhelmed that we took a break by step 22. There were too many sounds to remember and too much writing - the spelling lists are very long at that point. I took out PP and she's happily reading a two-page spread and getting her confidence back. She is reading well past where we are in PP, but I'm taking her through it at a slow pace so she will practice sounds in isolation. I think both programs are really good. It's worked well to have both for us. SSRW got her excited about reading and she loves the games and songs. PP is helping her gain fluency and confidence when SSRW went too fast for her. If your goal is to practice fluency, either would work. If the goal is to teach phonics rules, PP would be my choice, because the phonics rules are clearer.

A history program that is supposed to have multi-level learning? Like Tapestry, or My Father's World, Mystery of History, or Story of the World, which can be used for a wide age range? I like to think about the future, and how our school is going to look in 3, 4, or 10 years, and I want to continue to keep my kids together in at least ONE thing. :001_rolleyes: My oldest will be in 5th grade, next one in 2nd, and the third a 3 year old next year. (We are enjoying MoH Vol. 1 right now, but I keep thinking of ToG.) At some point down the road, I'll have a child in elementary, middle, and high school. So, have you used one of these programs to successfully keep your kids learning together? I guess I'm wondering about the flip side too; folks that bought these programs because of the one-room schoolhouse appeal, but then real life took those paper plans and threw them away.

Thanks for the opinions. I do agree that 2 sizes would be a bit much for the toddler, but the girls I'm hoping could manage. I've seen the kamik and sorel brands on discount sites, but I'm not an expert in good snowboot brands. I'll have to look for those. Any other good brands I should look into?

I would really like to stretch our dollars on snowboots this year...is there anything wrong with buying a quality boot that is 2 sizes too big? (I'm thinking Land's End - there is a 30% off coupon.) The only thing I can think of is that they may need 2 pairs of socks. Or....Any less expensive but good quality boots that you would like to recommend? I've been to the re-sale stores, but no luck in their sizes. The snowboots at Target and Payless are $49 right now.

Arctic Mama, I've always suffered too. It's too bad now, unfortunately. I'm on overload all the time, and not being able to enjoy (i.e. touch) my animals doesn't seem good for them or me.

LACTmed says "Loratadine might have a negative effect on lactation" and "One mother out of 51 mothers who took loratadine while nursing reported that she had decreased milk production after taking loratadine 10 mg daily for less than one week at 4 months postpartum" I have tried allergy meds in the past. Allegra leaves me feeling like a zombie. Claritin doesn't, and if I take it for one or two days, the effect isn't great. More than that, and I definitely see a decrease in milk production. I've always wanted to try the meds full time after ds weans, but then we're talking about maybe another pregnancy, and allergy meds aren't recommended during the first trimester either. So I don't see a good reason to start them. It's a sadness, and I wish my body wasn't so sensitive to it. :thumbdown: Thank you for finding the information for me, though!

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I have a lot to think about. I will invest in a few air purifiers for our home, and get the kids to bathe the pets more for right now. I've already been trying to keep them out of the bedroom during the day. The NP won't refer me to an allergist until I try allergy meds for at least 2 weeks. I really think moving to a house with all hard floors would be best, but not realistic right now. Any suggestions on how to find a new home for a 10 year old sweet kitty? :(

I had cat scratch fever as a child. This was definitely a hive...started a few minutes after the scratch and went down about 45 minutes afterward. The cat will let us bathe her, but it's definitely not her favorite activity. Did bathing the cat result in less reaction to the dander? Well...I see an NP, and am not very confident in him anyway, but his recommendation is avoidance. He said I could try allergy meds, but it's not optimum. I totally realize that pet hair sticks around for a long time. But we move often, so that may help. Our current house has three levels of wall to wall carpet, which contributes to the problem. It is such a hard place to be in...I really love my animals; they are part of our family and I never expected to be in this situation. The kids will probably take it hardest - they've been doing most of the pet care and loving on them for me. The worst part is we don't have any family willing to take the cat. Ugh. Thanks for your replies.

I have been reacting to our cat and dog for years. Recently, what was a small cat scratch became a huge hive. The dog has also been giving me a rash. I have been avoiding them both for the last several weeks - as in, not petting them/picking them up/letting them sleep next to me. Which is killing me, because I love my animals! So, the allergy test came back and said: The way they score this is that if the allergen is <0.35 it is negative. I will let you know the ones that are greater. Cat Dander 3.34 Moderate level Dog Dander 0.66 Low Level So dog is pretty low but the cat is fairly high. So, my question is...what is the upper limit? The results list it as Moderate, but then they say it's "fairly high". I'm wondering if I re-home our cat, will that reduce my allergy load sufficiently enough that I can love on my dog again. (I am reluctant to take allergy medicine b/c I'm still nursing my baby.)

ManagerMom, Yes! It makes me wonder how many children have it. We had our second daughter tested this past year because of some issues, but her levels are fine. Thankfully our peds have no problem ordering tests and sending us to specialists...almost too comfortable with it, actually. I'm hoping to find an answer for my dd. Maybe there is something else going on. There is only one pediatric endocrinologist in our city and we waited 6 months to see her. I have no idea how long it would take to get back in. I'm having to cajole dd into eating and that never goes well - she is much too stubborn to be told to eat outright. :glare:

The previous threads on Growth Delay and increasing calories got me thinking.... Has anyone else dealt with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in their child? If so, what has been your experience with managing it? How does the disease change as they grow? How many adjustments to their medicine have they had? Has anyone had success with a Paleo diet? DD has had this dx since she was 6. Her medicine hasn't needed adjustment too much. She had a bone x-ray when she was 7; 2 years growth delayed at that time. My dh has Hashimoto's, so does his mom, sister, g'ma, aunt and so on. So they aren't too concerned; it's not unusual for them. But they all were dx as ADULTS, at least in their twenties, so they don't know what this is like for children. I ask because my dd's levels (June) were considered fine. She has poor concentration now and a poor appetite, though, and that leaves me wondering if there is a reason for us to re-visit her endocrinologist. She has another autoimmune disease - asthma. She also had to restart her Flovent (steroid) this year, because we live in a house with carpet from second floor to basement and she is very allergic to dust mites. So I'm not sure how that plays into the overall scheme of her growth/weight gain. Anyway, I guess I'm really just looking for others who have experience with this.