BonaKemi spray mop. If you are nervous about a spray mop, you could just get a regular microfiber mop and use Bona on messes. Even my 2 yo loves to use the microfiber mop.

I've done bedrest during a few pregnancies too.....I agree that I made it through only with the help of large stacks of books and an internet connection Beyond the practical help (asking: I would love to help you out. I can do laundry or clean bathrooms v. "Can I help you) the greatest gifts were: *books--the better engrossing the series, the better *frozen meals *snacks *magazines *handicrafts (I have learned to crochet, scrapbook, and handquilt) *fresh flowers/potted plant * an eggcarton topper for the mattress (about $15 at Wal-Mart) *socks, gum, and mints In terms of practical care items that were essential for me (depending on how well you know her): *body wash wipes *a shower chair and long shower adapter hose *a mini fridge (so I didn't have to go down stairs to get a meal)

Zinnias are BEAUTIFUL cut flowers!

Ecos with white vinegar as the fabric softener and use only half of the recommended soap OR do a double rinse My dd had a number of allergies--including stuff in paper diapers so we had to switch to cloth--and Ecos worked well for her. My other tips are these: 1. Stick a batch of your current clothes into the washer and check mid-cycle to see if you have bubbles. If you do, you have soap residue left behind on your clothing. Cut back on the amount of detergent that you use. 2. Keep a list of what you react to; it'll help you determine if you're having problems with fragrance or coconut based derivates or other common ingredients between detergents.

I would do shorter bits of narration. My oldest really really struggled with narration at your child's age. He still struggles as a writer, imo, because he has a hard time keeping bits of info in his head. Narration exercises have really helped him improve in this area. Narration is such a fundamental skill; I'd rather see her narrate tiny bits (a few sentences to a paragraph) than not at all.

I did it with my oldest the first time around, and it worked great. I used SOTW as my spine and fit everything else around it.

We struggle with that too. The problem for us is that the Christian (meaning super evangelical with a nice evangelical SOF) group around here is the ONLY group in town. Just starting our own group would leave us with a group of two families, I'm guessing. I wish that the statement of faith for a Christian group read something like: 1. I believe the Bible to be the word of God, in as much as it is translated correctly. (Rather than I believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God, and the only scripture that He has given.) 2. I believe in God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. (Rather than I believe in the triune God: God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.) and so on....

My budget is $600/year (what I'm able to squeeze out of the grocery budget). I am able to pass down a lot of books, and I utilize paperbackswap to help get readers. My oldest is in soccer and cubscouts--that's an additional $200 or so a year. I wish we had the budget for piano lessons & other extra curriculars, but I'm also relieved that I don't spend my life in the minivan ferrying my children places.

Ditto the using dry ice or putting it in the freezer. It sounds like your berries came contaminated with eggs, which hatched. I'd give a call to the co-op too. They might not refund, but they need to know that their supply was contaminated. And, ditto to throwing it all out and scrubbing like mad.

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Little Izumi, we are dealing with the same cleaners too. ;) I think part of it may be the cleaners (we checked the ingredient list of the stuff they dilute down from) and part of it may be the challenge that a lot of the buildings have carpet on concrete pads. Carpet on concrete pads = mold. Our allergist has banned us from ever owning a humidifier. There is no way to get them 100% sanitized, even if you clean regularly the machine regularly with bleach or vinegar. The smaller molecules can more easily penetrate the lungs and lodge bacteria and other gunky stuff there.

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Neither of us had any help from our parents in getting our university educations. Our plan is to educate our children well so that hopefully they will perform well on their PSAT/SAT/ACT. Beyond that, they are welcome to live at home while they attend a local university (well-reputed). We will also continue to provide health insurance for them while they are students. In my experience, those who got a free ride to college didn't take it very seriously.

Yes, I actually drive 45 min to our Costco, monthly. The savings COMPLETELY make up for the gas & time that it takes.

$40 registration + $20 gas = $60 if I drive back and forth both days or $160 if I get a room for that overnight. I always debate about whether it's "worth it" or whether that money could be better spent on books.

Our microfiber is 5 years old. They are still in decent condition (despite all kinds of pottytraining accidents, art projects gone astray and boogery kids) but I'm in the market for leather next time.

We are using the Human Body notebook this year. We have really enjoyed it! I will definitely re-buy these with our upcoming children.

Ditto what they all said. It can sometimes take a LOT of persuading to get a doc to write for an infant. And, even if you can get a Rx written, getting your insurance to cover it generally requires a specific diagnosis. Our insurance wouldn't pay for one even though all of the docs on the med team agreed our child needed one. My toddler (2.5) can sometimes get a reading on our insert-the-fingertip kind, but more often than not, we still can't get a good reading.

Yeah, unless you qualified for reduced fees, homeschooling is cheaper here. Although our state constitution guarantees a 'free' education to students: per student: textbook rental $72 instructional materials $15 technology materials $10 activity trip transportation $15 supplemental enrollment (????) $50 co-curricular--like band (each) $50 sport (each) $50 and then there are parking fees, activity tickets ($25!), lunch fees, fundraisers, PTA donations, birthday treats, and school supplies I priced out the school supplies last year, it was about $100-150/student. I'm not sure what's 'free' about our local education system, except that I'm thankful that we've been "free" to not opt-in. :)

I price compare off of Aldi, and Costco is still cheaper. I have membership to Sam's and Costco. I've only gone to Sam's once in the past 12 months (for an item Costco didn't have), but I go to Costco every two weeks. Milk was $2.05/gallon yesterday. $2.05. I'm still in shock. Our Aldi's has it at $2.87, and Target had it at $3.65.

My serger isn't that fancy. I'm saving for a coverstitch machine; the advice I've been given is that it's just best to have two separate machines. My Brother 1034d has been a good basic 3/4 lay-in serger and it has differential feed. I bought it for just under $200. A separate coverstitch machine will run you $500-600. You could use the rest of your $ for thread!

It is frustrating isn't it?!! You either have to decline the invitation or go by yourself; no fun either way for you.

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