Was certain I'd never co-sleep and co-slept with both girls. It was/is the best thing ever!

Any chance of a dairy allergy?

I'd really recommend an elimination diet. Sometimes food allergies are missed with testing. He could also have several food allergies. I couldn't recommend it more :-)

I have a regular Kindle but don't use it that much. I'd reallly like dd 10.5 to be able to watch Discovery Streaming when she's waiting for me when we're out of the house (meeting/waiting for sibling's activity to be over). I only found one thread that mentioned someone being unable to link Discovery Streaming to the Fire. Has anyone had luck with it? I'm trying to assess whether a Fire might meet our needs or not. Our girls don't play computer games and we have no smart phones or anything with apps. I have a laptop which I use. Our older dd also uses word to write stories. Would a Fire meet our needs or do we need to shell out the bigger bucks? TIA!

Dh and I would have freaked out even earlier :-) Hives are a big, big deal to us, so that would have clinched the deal. We absolutely would have wanted to have been called if there was an allergic reaction to anything.

That really depends on your personality. If you've come to terms with getting rid of it, I'd just ditch it. Otherwise, I think it gives the message that your body is sort of a garbage can. On the other hand, if you feel as if you'll mourn something and need to wean off of it, that's a whole different thing! I've done both approaches with different things. I really think it depends on your outlook and your personality :-)

I just looked at the Arise website and it says that you can't work for them if you live in certain states (one of which is where I live). West At Home won't reveal if it takes candidates from all states until you fill out an application. Does anyone know why? I'd love a job from home like these.

Italian

We're using Hakim's History of the US with dd who is 10. She loves the books, and we've been doing our own activities/questions along the way. I don't know how I missed it initially, but just saw that they have Teaching Guides to accompany each book. I ordered one from Amazon and thought it was okay, but found the price to be quite steep at almost $19. For those of you using History of the US, do you use these or something else? It's a harsh change from purchasing the SOTW Activity Guide!

Congratulations to your whole family!

I defer to the comfort of the birthday boy. It sounds like MIL was very concerned about him staying at his father's with whom he hasn't spent a great deal of time. From a complete outsider's perspective, I feel like everyone should put their own likes/dislikes aside and be fully focused on helping that little guy feel as comfortable as possible. Neither of my children at that age would have been comfortable with a sleep over with someone that they hadn't spent much time with. And, as a child with divorced parents, that type of situation would have given me a great deal of anxiety. IMHO, step-mom should have been supportive of anything that made the situation work for the little guy.

Almost no sugar :-) I use a teaspoon in my coffee in the morning. Sometimes I put honey on puffed rice in the morning as breakfast. Other than that, no sugar. I do eat fruit, though. We have a very limited diet because of food allergies, so I'm already cooking everything from scratch. We don't eat chocolate anyway, so I'm no help there, lol! My rule is that I can eat as many apples or as much watermelon as I want because I'm not eating sugar or chips. The quantity helps to make up for the lack of something sweet to eat. If I cheat and eat some sugar I'm ransacking the house looking for more until the craving goes away. It's absolutely crazy! Even things like using the toothpaste that my girls' dentist gave them that they dont' use (bubblegum) made me start craving sugar. We're allergic to cane sugar and corn, so it's maple sugar or honey. Maple sugar is too expensive and they're both soooo sweet. If you can get through the first week, you're home free unless you cheat again!

You may not only have celiac or a gluten sensitivity, but other food allergies as well. You mention eating corn flakes. Corn is one of the top allergens. My girls and I have many food allergies. My first was diagnosed with GER when she was a baby and all they wanted to do was medicate her. I did an elimination diet, and she was fine. Your diet is already pretty restrictive. I'd pull out the corn and see how you do. Oats can be problematic as well. Because you're eating such a small variety of foods, finding your triggers will be fairly easy. Have you done any reading on elimination diets? Potatoes are also a nightshade and can cause problems for people. Rice would be a better choice if you can tolerate it.

I also think some kids have a difficult time remembering to take care of going to the bathroom, getting a drink, getting the jitters out before class. My oldest has always been fine. My younger who is now 6 is a different personality. I ALWAYS have to remind her to go to the bathroom before we leave for ballet, and she's the one with the tiny bladder who WILL need to go during that hour long class if she doens't go right before class. I think there are a number of factors that could be making these kids ask for the break. I'd allot time at the beginning and tell them all to go to the bathroom/get a drink in those first five minutes and then it's time to begin. I also don't know how kids in ps don't go crazy being cooped up all day without the ability to do what their bodies need to do.

The withdrawal period won't be that long. Maybe 2 weeks? We have lots of allergies and an extremely restrictive diet. My girls have almost no standard treats - baked goods, cookies, chips, etc. There have been times when we tried something new and had to cut it out afterwards. It was either because they had never had one of the ingredients and we weren't sure how they would react or there ended up being a trace amount of something that wasn't listed in the ingredient list. It's been very hard when we make the initial removal and from time to time they'll sigh and say that they wish they could have X, but day to day, life is fine without it. I vote that you just don't buy it in the future and don't make a big deal of it unless they keep pressing you. Then tell them your reasoning and let it be. After a few days, they'll be okay. Also, if you decide to cave at any point, buy an individual serving so that it's done and over...nothing left to have to finish another day!

Jane Austen. I don't think she's amazing, but prefer her to Twain.

I think having a good support system, not choosing to spend time with people who don't parent well is vital. I know that I'm a much better parent when I'm surrounded by good parenting and can give in to less-than-stellar parenting when around others who don't parent well. La Leche was a great place for me to meet like-minded mothers, and while my girls aren't babies anymore, I still find the type of women it attracts to be more my kind of mothers than less :-) Raising our Children Raising Ourselves, Unconditional Parenting, any loving guidance books are really helpful. I find that if I'm not reading at least one a year I begin to slip and get grouchy. I've waited my whole life for a loving family, so I love spending time with our girls. My challenge is getting grouchy over stupid things and not letting go. I had a very intense father and find myself looking more like him than I'd like at times. As for personal hygiene, I consider it a huge accomplishment that my girls brush their teeth every day and look put together in clean clothes that match. I'm sure some people think I'm over involved, but coming from a home where no one really cared about me, I want my kids to know that I care about them. I think the fact that you're concerned means a great deal about you. My mom reads and reads and reads and yet still hasn't read a parenting book! Your children are lucky to have you :-)

I think it's a personality type. My girls play with every imaginable doll and always have. Recently my 6 yo and 10 yo turned these tiles with pictures of people on them (pieces for a game) into families and spent days playing with the tiles, despite having lots of dolls. The 6 yo also spent about a week standing crayons up on end on the floor and playing with them as dolls. Outside play is just an extension of family play. Everything turns into role playing. While I love Playmobil, at least you won't have all those little pieces around the house!

How nice to hear something wonderful happened :001_smile:.

I understand where you're coming from. I'm involved in a non-profit and get irritated at how some people assume that it's okay for my kids to miss school repeatedly in order to meet more frequently than I'm comfortable with. When it comes to fun things, though, I see hs as a benefit. I'd rather attend a bday party during the week than on the weekends :-) I think it probably depends on the people involved and what the intent was.

We don't do a spelling program at all.

We don't because of the BPA. Have heard there are problems with the non-BPA ones, as well.

We have two girls with a very restrictive diet. I really understand your comment about not being able to afford the elimination diet, but at some point, you may feel that there's no way you can afford NOT to do it. Even the most trace amounts of problematic foods have a very dramatic effect on both girls.

Twice a day but hoping to make that three times a day!

I agree about the privacy issues. There is someone I'd prefer not be able to find me. Although, in this day and age, I'm sure it wouldn't take much. As someone else said, "once bitten, twice shy". I don't want to expose my children to anyone who may have some issues. I have a friend who bought something off ebay years ago who was harassed by the seller because she gave him negative feedback. Just too many unknowns... One of the reasons we homeschool is because I love to read. And while I'm very outgoing in person, at home I prefer to read! I've been a member of several boards for years and have incredibly low post counts. Some of us are busy learning from all of you and don't want to post something if we don't feel we can really add to the conversation.