I know I'm late on this thread, but today is the first day of school for us and I thought I would take pictures of our learning room before it's trashed for the rest of the year! :lol: You can see pictures by clicking on my blog link below 'Our Particular Harbour'. Cheers

I have not done any of the research but I have copies of all the documentation that my grandfather (maternal) and my father have done one each side of the family tree. Maternal side: My grandfather traced back to a minuteman from New Jersey and had it authenticated by the DAR, but hit a dead end around that time... Paternal side: My father's family are all swedes and danes. He traced back to the 1400's (maternal side) and found out there this is a monument dedicated to one of our ancestors. He (ancestor) was a war hero of some kind... would have to dig out the paperwork to find the name of the monument/ancestor. This subject is so fascinating to me...

Here we go! Last week managed to get a math lesson and some reading in daily to try and 'jump start' the brains a bit... Monday is our official First Day of First Grade :)

This sums it up for me... I would like to think we could go "all the way", but also want to make sure that my desire to homeschool does not blind me to potential 'realities' we might be facing. Hope that makes sense...

I usually do a combination of the following: Fresh flowers (I do this for myself all the time as well... just love them!) Magazine based on the guest's interest Basket filled with fresh fruit/healthy snacks in room Basket of toiletries and of course fresh towels in bath Large buffet style breakfast on the first morning and last morning of visit (in between I just make sure there are plenty of options i.e. bagels, yogurt, granola, cereals etc. and I always offer to make more if they would like). Having visitors is a rare treat for us. Since we move all over the country, most of our family and friends wait for us to visit them...

I workout daily (but this is for me and not my DH) I eat 'clean' (whole foods/ some organic) but this is to control my migraines. Because of the above, I have lost a considerable amount of weight, which in turn has made DH's attentions increase rather than decrease *ahem* I wear make-up 99% of the time and have since highschool. I straighten my hair often but not daily. I used to color/highlight my hair, but have not in over a year. I wear heels often. (My mom did as well, and I always thought she was so beautiful... I blame her for this one!) I keep my clothes classic and this allows me to wear them thru the years. I get compliments often when I am wearing clothes that I have had for over 10 years! I keep a current hairstyle and switch it up every few years... Besides general 'upkeep' (shaping brows, painting nails/toes etc.) That's about it. I don't think it's too much, but I'm sure others might consider it to be more than they would want to do!

The whole 'swingers' question put aside, personally I think in the times we live in you can't be too careful. If you only have had a few interactions with them, but perceive them to be people you may want to establish a friendship with, I think that's great. However, I think I would want to 'ease' into the friendship a bit more to get a better "lay of the land" so to speak, before heading off to a 40 acre retreat. That sounds pretty isolated to me. Maybe I've seen one to many horror movies, but unless I was really good friends with the couple I'm not sure I would want to put myself in that kind of position. I agree with one of the pp when they said "go with your gut"... As for the swinger thing? I have no idea... !?!? (I'm pretty clueless about picking up on those kind of things though!)

Thanks for this! Will be looking for it in our local library... I do believe (just from my 'Mommy Intuition') that boys are wired differently in general (ha ha) and it only makes sense that they learn differently as welll. Thanks!

:iagree: I haven't read thru all the comments, but pretty much this sums it up for me. My DH is one of those lucky guys who was fantastic looking in highschool (when we met) and has only gotten better with age... I on the other hand have to work at it a bit more, but I do the work for myself first and the rest (DH chasing me around the house:tongue_smilie:) is a bonus! With that said, there was a time that I gained a 'bit' of weight (if you call 75lbs. a 'bit) and my DH was just as loving and cuddly with me then... he of course admits now that he is much more attracted to me physically as I am now. But the love and support have always been there regardless of the # on the scale. As with anything in life, I have found that 'balance' is the key!

We have some great wireless speakers from Sony... They just plug into the wall and are routed thru our computer. No yucky wires (big irritant for this OCD mama) and sound amazing! I have a Pandora subscription and several different 'stations' saved. Currently I have on my 'Light Classical' station. One of my boys said yesterday "I like this music Mama... it's so relaxing!" Right on kiddo... right on.:001_smile:

Capt Uhura~ Popping in to say "you were right!"... Just saw another clip of P90X2 and it does indeed show him doing pushups on 4 medicine balls! Yikes, I'm scared but I'm still game come this fall... Just wanted to admit my "bad". Cheers!

Capt. Uhura` I think that clip you are referencing was actually from his "One on One" series. (Impressive tho' eh?) The P90X2 clips are in a studio much like the original studio's look and there are two or three people behind him doing the normal/modified moves as well. It looks like there is some additional equipment that you can choose to use, but on his FB page he was quick to assure that they are "optional" only. Still, I do think P90X2 is for the P90X grad. who is looking to mix it up a bit... Which I will be wanting to do come November! (Again, HOPELESSLY addicted to this thing :lol:) If you want more info., The P90X FB page has a tab at the top for P90X2. You can put yourself on the 'waiting list' and get periodic updates as it moves toward availability. Cheers and Keep Bringin' It Ladies!

Hey Everyone! How on earth did I miss this thread since MARCH??? So "Hi, My name is HL and I'm a P90x addict..."(imagining everyone saying "Hi HL!") So I'm on my fourth consecutive round of P90x. I will finish up one solid year of the program on 7/20. I LOVE IT!! I started it last year after coming off another military move across country. The boys were maxing out on the average age for childwatch at the local gyms, so I wanted to bring my workout home. I had been running 5k's on the treadmill and doing a very light weight routine at the gym and I thought "Hey, I'm fit. How hard can it be?" Oh my... was I in for a RUDE awakening! I did not really need to lose weight (I'm 5'9" and at the start of this last year weighed in at 148-150) but I have lost some. I am currently 140-142lbs. and have gained muscle and definition that I did not think my body was capable of having. I literally thought, "Nope, I do not have those kinds of genes..." I plan on continuing this program into the future. I have plans to purchase the new P90x when it comes out late this year, but really I think this program can continue to work as long as you continue to operate above and outside of your comfort zone. Really... it's that good! Anyway... just wanted to poke in and share that their is another BB gal among you. I check in at BB's website all the time... I'm NavyWifeTwinMom over there. Friend me if you'd like (I am not a coach... just hopelessly addicted to the X :)) Cheers!

I am currently in my third round of P90x (yup, I am totally addicted!). I went into it in pretty good shape and a clean eating lifestyle firmly in place. I really didn't need to lose weight... I was in it more for toning up and building more muscle. I felt I was a "fat skinny" person. I did the diet anyway. The reason for this is that even though I was eating clean I was still eating more carbs vs proteins in a day than I should have been. I wanted to learn the balance my body needed to be in better shape. Personally, I would say if you are looking to lose any weight at all that you should do the diet. I would also say that if you are skinny but you eat processed foods you should do the diet. The results you get will be better than if you do the workout without the diet... and really, if you're going to put in an hour + in each day working out, shouldn't you maximize the benefits for yourself? Just my opinion... Good Luck on your P90x journey!

Just so you know... I had settled into my chair with a cup of coffee when I read your post headline. I then looked over at my black lab who had a very hopeful look on his face and then out my window to a very grey, windy, 40 degree afternoon with daylight fading fast. My dog thanks you... he got his walk.

For the most part I can't say that I go out of my way to intentionally shield them from popular culture. They watch playhouse Disney, but also are fans of many PBS shows... (i.e. Wild Kratts are HUGE here right now). We have a Wii, they play games on the computer (mainly PBS and Disney again, but they also love LegoLand games). With that being said, they are five and so I try to limit how much of the day they have access to all of these. They get a 1/2 hour of playhouse disney in the a.m. and then no computer, t.v. or wii until after dinner. At that point they have 1 hour to do what they please. Then its books, bath and bed. I do feel that they should have some memories of these things that are popular with their peers so that down the road they can have a point of reference when others discuss "the good ol' days". I've had plenty of laughs about the Brady Bunch, leg warmers, and swatch watches over the years and can see the positives in letting them be a part of the coversation in the future. Just my POV:001_smile:

I'm doing P90x for the third time so 6x/week...(considering moving on to Insanity or other Beachbody workout) and before moving here last summer I had a Y membership and went 5x a week. When I was at the Y, the boys were the perfect age for their childcare (3.5-4yrs old) and now that I do my workouts at home I do it first thing in the a.m. after fixing their breakfast. They just play in their playroom while I do it. They get time to wake up and I get time for myself...works great :)

Murphy's Law right? Every time... EVERY time he leaves for more than a week, something major will happen. Heat will go out in an ice storm, garbage disposal breaks, car gets a flat on the way from dropping him off (literally on the way home!) You name it and it will go wrong... You get used to googling home repairs and muddling your way thru. After the garbage disposal broke I mentioned it to a neighbor and that evening her husband showed up to help out with tool box in hand... I thanked him for the thought, but I had already fixed it. He just stared at me in shock. He couldn't believe I had already fixed it... the look on his face was priceless!

I haven't read thru all the comments, but our boys are very rarely sick... and have never had a fever longer than 24hours. I think the last major sickness was when they were around 18mos. (nasty stomach bug got us all) but in the past 3+ years, really nothing to speak of. I credit it to vitamins (daily multi-vitamin with additional chewable C each morning), clean eating (they get very little "white stuff" all whole grains here with plenty of veggies and fruit and water rather than processed snacks and soda) and good old fashion genetics. I'm a bit of a clean freak so the house is well maintained but I am by no means squirting sanitizer gel in their hands all the time. I rarely get sick either (been that way my whole life... migraines used to be my thing but clean eating fixed all that) and my father is the same way. I think genetics do play a pretty significant roll in that, but the rest does help! My best advice tho' is what my grandma used to say... "Push the (vitamin) C!"

ETA: I do agree with the other posters to make sure you are following a healthy diet and not starving yourself. There are no "magic" diets. Eat a balanced, well portioned diet with an acceptable calorie intake in your day! Change of any kind is uncomfortable. Change is not easy. Change is work. Change is not for the weak. Change is good. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Get comfortable with something not being easy. Get comfortable with being in charge of your body. If your body were a child and that child was having a tantrum over not getting a candy bar, you would have a choice to make. You could give into the child and fork over the candy and next time you could expect an even bigger tantrum... OR you could hold the line and tell that child that you love them too much to give them something that will ultimately not be in their best interest. Non-negotiable. Also~ Be kind to yourself. You are doing something wonderful. Celebrate your achievements. Don't dwell on what you CAN'T have, focus on what you have ACHIEVED already. I say this because years ago I was there... doing all that. I have conquered it by loving myself enough to put my health first. You can too!:grouphug:

I first came to "clean eating" about two years ago... I had never heard that particular term and it was introduced to me as an option to help control my chronic migraines. I read a book by Tosca Reno (avid weight lifter and health nut/author/mother) and I really liked her straight forward description. My grocery list looks very similiar to Kelly's above. (We eat mostly fresh or frozen fruit as the dried fruits have more sugar and instantly kick off a lovely migraine for me, but for the boys I do have apricots, and raisins around) For the most part I stay out of the center aisles and shop the perimeter of the store, HOWEVER my DH still loves his chips-n-salsa so I do ramble down that particular aisle for his sake (and our marriages sake). For myself, if man has had a hand creating (read "processing") it then I try not to eat it. Most of my friends wonder what that leaves, but the truth is if you are feeding your body clean, whole foods that it was designed and built to digest... well, you just don't need as much! I have several of Tosca's recipe books for the family, and I really like them (mixed reviews by people, but that is bound to happen). Most libraries have her books, so I would start there for ideas. I hope that helps!

As of yesterday we are both elligible for our "new every two"... just need to wait a few more weeks! :party:

Our public middle school in my hometown (grades 6 thru 8) used an open model. No walls or partitions (although rolling coat closets ultimately were put in place by teachers to make a "classroom"), rotating "color groups" for each grade, "pit meetings" in the morning (really just an excuse for us to all socialize and ignore the poor teacher trying to relay the morning "news" to us), mini-courses etc etc. My friends and I have discussed over the years how those grades were "the lost years" for us from an education stand point. I honestly don't believe I learned anything in those three years, as I was busy sliding notes under the coat closets to friends next door and keeping my eye out for friends to talk with or boys that I had a crush on. Needless to say by the mid 90's the whole school had been revamped and good old fashion walls and doors were back in place. I agree that this seems to be an old "trend" that comes full circle every 20 years or so.... Unfortunately these children are being used for the newest version of this "revolutionary technique".

I'm also in the midst of deciding on 1st curriculum... I have twin boys (5) and we did Singapore EB for Pre-K and I switched to Horizons K for this year and really love it. We also did SonLight this year but I'm not sold on it again for next year. Currently I'm contemplating the following... feel free to comment, I'm all ears! STOW Vol. 1- Ancients w/workbook finish up OPGTR (on lesson 128 now, so it won't last all year for 1st) Horizons Math HWOT First Language Lessons Sonlight Readers (really open to suggestions here!) I'm looking at Elemental Science and spelling programs as well. We belong to a homeschool group in my area and they will do Art, Spanish, piano, Tae Kwon Do and Soccer thru that as well as possibly a science program. Didn't mean to hijack! So anyway, this is what is on my "plate" so far...you're not alone! LOL

Capt Uhura- I have completed two 90 day rounds and have just started my third round. Haven't missed a day of pushing play yet... even do the stretch dvd on my "rest day". My DH says I'm certifiable, but he seems to be enjoying the fruits of my labor!:blush: After this next 90 days I am contemplating purchasing Insanity or another BeachBody program to do a hybrid between that and P90x. Really I'm waiting for MC2 to come out which is a new P90x style workout by Tony Horton. I've been working out for years, but have never had better results, so I am hooked! Prior to this I did some weightlifting (but had no idea what I was doing and basically was wasting my time!) and ALOT of running. With DH being military and gone so much, running has been difficult to maintain with some consistency with the boys and they are getting a bit old for the gym daycare. Now I just roll out of bed, fix breakfast for the boys and head into my "gym"! LOVE THAT! Anywho~ enough infomercial for everyone til I go buy some P90x stock!:lol: