I'm seen at the complicated OB clinic in a military hospital due to some complications (pulmonary embolism) during my last pregnancy that risked me out of my usual homebirth midwife care. That being said, I've been seen less frequently than is standard. Early on most of my appointments were 6-7 weeks apart instead of 4. Next week will be my first appointment at the 2 weeks spacing (I'm due in early October), not sure if I'll make it to the one week spacing or not. All they do is check fetal heart tones and fundal height, along with refilling any prescriptions I need. I decline any internal exams or growth scans, so no need to be seen more frequently and if something comes up then I can call and be seen. The providers and I are all comfortable with it.

The ash falling and yellow light is eerie, a bit dystopian. My 4 year old keeps asking why the sun is orange. When the air quality was bad last month I became extremely itchy, bad enough (with no relief from Benadryl) where I called my doctor to see if I needed to have my bile acids tested for cholestasis. My doctor felt like it may have been related to the air quality, I'm expecting it to happen again.

We've had constant issues with our huge LG refrigerator also, I'm glad we have the extended warranty. That's really put me off buying any more LG appliances. That being said, we do have the large capacity LG washer & dryer we bought after our previous Whirlpool Duet died. We haven't had any problems with them. We're a family of 8. I'm happy with the amount they hold, though the problem is me actually getting the laundry going and then put away.

I know my type, and they verified it at the hospital last December when I was going into a surgery where they were suspecting I would need a transfusion. (They were right, it was needed.)

I would go ahead and replace it. We replaced our old fridge about 3 years ago because we needed a larger one, but unfortunately this new one (an LG French door with bottom freezer) has given nothing but trouble. I'm glad we bought, and then extended, the warranty on it as we've had the repairperson out here several times. We're already saving for its replacement, and we'll do a better job reading reviews before buying again.

I started with my primary care doctor, and luckily he was able to handle it for me (this is in a military hospital). After one of my boys was diagnosed, I was reading the symptoms of inattentive ADHD and a light bulb went off. This wasn't something new, the strands of chaos had woven themselves throughout my life since I was a young girl but never recognized. It wasn't until I was 40 and juggling 6 kids plus a bunch of medical appointments that I started dropping medical/financial/social balls enough for it to be a huge issue. I don't remember the name of the test I did, it was over a few appointments. For me, medication was the right route though I'm currently off of it due to pregnancy. Good luck!

Still $0.27 by me too (WA). I did grab enough to hopefully keep my 2 & 4 year olds busy for a week or two, though my 4 year old seems on a mission to color them all today!

Both Vocabulary Workshop (which I loved, DS1 hated) and Wordly Wise were flops here. Now DS1 uses Vocabulary From Classical Roots - he doesn't mind it, I like it, and it gets done.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I've had a newborn several times after we started homeschooling (2010, 2013, 2014, and coming up again in October) and it's always the toddler that has made things more challenging. I can do math with a baby on the boob, but it's so much more difficult to figure out why the 2 and 4 year olds are suddenly suspiciously quiet. :huh:

When I tried that they shipped it media mail anyway. :mellow:

:grouphug: I'm so sorry, that's terrifying! 10 days of Lovenox does not seem like enough to me either. I had a PE during my pregnancy with #6, after my 6 week post-partum Lovenox time was up my doc had my stay on Pradaxa for another 6 months as a precaution. I'm now back on Lovenox for this pregnancy. I don't feel like I ever recovered fully from the PE, my lungs have a really hard time with any cold/cough type of illness, my heart rate spikes up to the 140s, and the smoke in our area from wildfires across the Canadian border is really making it difficult to breathe.

I'm wondering the same thing. We've used Easy Grammar in the past and did not like it, Hake was a really good fit. I don't know what we're going to use once DS1 is finished with 8.

I have a recurring spot that I've had frozen off at the dermatologist several times now. I won't make a special appointment for it, but will have them take care of it if I'm in for another reason. Otherwise, I've had luck with the Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away Wart Remover. It sometimes takes a couple applications (I hold it on until it stings), then after a couple days it scabs up and falls off. It always returns, but that's true whether I treat it at home or have the dermo do it. https://www.drscholls.com/products/wart-removers/freeze-away-wart-remover/

This was my thought too. My next thought was "hmmmm, wonder if I could fit some blueberries in my macros, that sounds good."

My only bad experience was buying through a 3rd party seller. I ordered a gift for DS1 last Christmas and when it arrived the (internal) box was flattened and damaged, marked "As Is" (though that was not mentioned on the item page), and missing several items. The seller wouldn't return my communication, Amazon refunded me.

We're traveling about 4 hours away. We have reservations at a campsite that's in the path of totality, but we'll be arriving on Friday and staying for several days. I'm excited, but the idea of camping sounded better before I was 7.5 months pregnant.

My kids loved the Olympic Game Farm when we were there several years ago. Graysmarsh Berry & Lavender farm is fun for u-pick berries, if you have someplace to put them. http://www.graysmarsh.com/ Hoh Rain Forest, Hurricane Ridge, Dungeness Spit, and the other things mentioned are great options too.

We're getting ready to make some room changes here. Right now I have my 3 boys in one room and my 3 girls in another, but the age differences with the youngest two are causing some issues. We're going to clean out the office (aka, "room of doom", "I don't know, just put it in the office for now" room) and move my 7 and 12 year old sons in there. Their old room, which is slightly larger, will be shared by 4 year old DS3 and 2 year old DD3, along with Thing 7 regardless of gender once s/he is about one. I'm hoping that by the time the younger three are old enough for puberty to be an issue with wanting more privacy that at least one of my older two will be in college and we can reshuffle as necessary. I'm 11 years older than my brother and moved into the same house (with my dad and stepmom) when I was 14. We shared a room from the time I was 14 until I left for college at 17. It was difficult at times, but moreso because I didn't really feel like it was my home than because I was sharing with an opposite sex much younger sibling.

Oh, I wish my Instant Pot was the 8 qt model! I bought some small LED lanterns for when we go camping next month and an additional water bottle, so just things we already needed. Letting each kid carry around their own lantern saves so many squabbles. I did take advantage of the bonus $10 for reloading my Amazon gift card for the first time. DD1 has asked for a camera for her birthday next week, so I was happy to see that little deal.

I've been thinking about this myself. I was a nuclear engineer before putting my career on hold to raise & homeschool the kids, and I would need to go back to grad school before going back into the field. It's been 14 years since I stopped working and I feel woefully out of touch. I'm 41, and will be 42 when this last baby is born, which puts me around 60 when s/he finishes schooling. That's... rather terrifying at the moment.

I've got one that is doing fine without meds, and another where meds were absolutely the right choice. For the one that didn't need meds, he was progressing fine with his schooling, it wasn't interfering with his safety or the safety of others, and we could find enough ways to accommodate him (mini-trampoline, wobble seats, exercise balls) where he could channel his energy and focus long enough to get things done. And my other one, well it quickly became obvious. He was a danger to himself, to others, was breaking property, and nearly tore the family apart. Even my DH, who has always been adamantly against meds (even though I'm medicated for it myself), changed his mind. I had doubts because of his age, but in this case it was so far beyond the "oh, he's just a wiggly little boy" objections that it wasn't even in the same ball park. Heck, not even sure if it was the same planet.

I have a child that's on a combo of Dexedrine and Intuniv. We can only get 100 days worth of Dexedrine at a time, but it's nice to be able to have refills on the Intuniv since it's not a controlled substance.

Ohhhhh, that's good to know. I would love to get this done, even if I do end up needing reading glasses in a couple years. I've been pregnant and/or nursing since 2003 and still looking at another couple years.

We have a basic emergency kit in the van. Emergency blankets, food (nothing great, but the emergency rations in case we get stuck in the mountains somewhere on a trip), some bottles of water (though the kids keep raiding this after outings), and a water filter. Emergency shelter that's probably way to small for our current family size, a portable emergency stove, and first aid kit. In the house we have an emergency water barrel in the garage, water filter, emergency food supplies, and a medical kit that needs to be updated and restocked. We live in an area that could be isolated after an earthquake and I want to be prepared. I grew up in hurricane country and a couple days after my 21st birthday, one changed paths and we were without power for a week and were woefully unprepared.

Our windows that can hold an AC unit are very tiny, we ended up with two very small units. One in the master bedroom helps keep the other bedrooms reasonable and the one in the living room keeps the main level... not totally miserable. I hope you guys get some relief!