Awesome.

:lurk5:

Thanks, justamouse. You are an inspiration to me.

I'm in the USA. The kids clothes usually get pretty filthy, so they are usually washed after one wear. My younger son often wears his day clothes to bed. (Yeah, I gave up fighting that one.) I'm a slob, and usually spill something on myself at least once a day. If by some miracle, this does not happen, I will wear the clothes at least one more time before washing. My husband doesn't cook, only eats things without sauce, and does almost nothing that would get his clothes dirty, so he wears most things more than once.

When our side by side fridge died, I bought a French Door one, and even though it is a little smaller, I love it so much more than the side by side. I hated not being able to put a party tray or a large pizza in the side by side. And the freezer on the bottom works out so much better for me.

My heart goes out to you. I'm so sorry. :grouphug:

I truly want to get into the whole Circe ideology, but I just can't. When I inevitably have a yearly freak out that I'm not providing my kids with the ideal education, I force myself to take a step back and see where we really are. I'd love to be able to wholeheartedly follow at least one educational philosophy, but real life gets in the way.

I do feel that way about certain homeschooling families I've met. I think their kids are going to be at a huge disadvantage to others when it comes time to find employment.

This. I asked a close friend who lost a child for advice when another friend lost a child. This is what he said. Don't be afraid to mention the child's name. Don't be afraid to remind the parents of the child's likes and dislikes. Don't be afraid to remind the parents of the child's birthday or other holidays. The parents are already thinking of these things, anyway. After taking this advice, I wrote out a sympathy card to the other family, and in it, I mentioned how that child had changed their lives. I mentioned how their faces lit up when they talked about the child. I mentioned how the child's smile was brilliantly beautiful. Several months later, the father told me that my card had touched them more than any other sympathy card they had received. I am so sorry for your family's loss. My heart is with you as you make this sad journey.

I like the foodie basket idea. You could put peanut butter, maple candy, pumpkin butter, something made from marshmallow, etc. If you pack the items in your suitcase, then you wouldn't need to worry about liquid limits.

I have that same talent of being able to pick up languages fairly easily. Except Cantonese. A good friend from high school speaks a dialect of Cantonese, and her entire family would laugh hysterically at me when I tried to speak it. :lol: My older son has retained quite a bit of the French he's learned, and would probably be more like me with the language acquisition skills. The younger one- not so much. He seems to have inherited my husband's "language deafness". We've been casually working on French and Latin, but I don't have plans to introduce other languages unless they want them.

I don't like the description "behind" when it applies to what kids are doing in school. Behind whom? Kids learn at very different rates and have very different interests and abilities, especially when they are that young. I have a kid who has been tested as "way ahead" in some areas, but "behind" in others. I would recommend what others have said and have him tested for learning disabilities if you think there could be a problem. Other than that, pick good quality materials and use them at his pace. I also second the high quality read alouds.

I've always wanted to read Treasure Island and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the sea, but never did. I plan to do them as read alouds with my kiddos.

Interesting list. Thanks.

Yikes!

:bigear:

I eat a gluten free diet, but I can still get constipated if I'm not eating enough fiber. I need to eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and non gf whole grains to be regular.

Unfortunately, you can't use the 40% off coupons with the Cricut nor with the cartridges, but sometimes they have really good sales. I got mine on sale for about 1/2 off the normal price. People sell used ones on ebay, too. It is really cool, because you can make your own letters and words with various font cartridges. You can make them whatever size and color you want, which is very versatile. There are often good sales on the cartridges, too.

Do you have a Cricut or some other die cutting machine?

We're not doing it this year, but I started a homeschool book club, and each family took turns choosing a book each month. We met at the library, and one of the children's librarians led the book discussions. It forced my boys to read things that they may not have otherwise read, and they usually enjoyed what the other kids picked. We also do a lot of audio books. This year, I started something different with read alouds. We rotate the picks, so my youngest son picked the first book, my older son picked the next book, and I picked the third book. We keep this rotation going, so they get what they want, and I get to put things in the mix that I want them to read. We've had a lot of chaos in our lives over the past two years, so I'm just encouraging my kids to read what they want to read. I haven't made literature a priority this year. My younger son is currently devouring all the Rick Riordan books, and my older son is just finishing up the Maze Runner series. And, I'm perfectly okay with that.

I love you, Tibbie.

I feel this way, too. I love historical fiction, and have read some very good examples of it. I think classic literature is great, and I've read quite a bit of it with my kids, in addition to historical fiction. I have a problem when people hold classic literature in reverence over contemporary lit. As I've said before, all classic lit was contemporary lit when it was written. It became classic by having an enduring message and good writing. I think there are many modern day books that fit this bill as well.

I voted pumpkin, but pecan is a really, really, really close second.

My advice, as someone whose well planned out school year was derailed by my own cancer diagnosis last year, is to temporarily not worry about school work. Do what you can do school-wise, but let the rest go. Focus on getting your husband and family through this period of time, and when things have calmed down a little and your schedule can get a little bit back to normal, THEN worry about school. The kids will be fine. You might even be surprised by how much you/they actually ARE able to accomplish, even in the midst of chaos. Just focus on your husband's health and your health. The rest will wait.

Congratulations! :hurray: