@2smartones - at this point, and given DS's propensity to want to know everything, limiting him to one discipline in science for a year isn't going to work well for us. I started this year with that approach and we blew through RS4K pre-Level 1 biology in less than a month, moved to pL1 chemistry - same thing, quickly finished it up, then pL1 physics - that we spent a good amount of time with building lots of contraptions to visualize the concepts, but that wasn't from the books, but from digging around to find things and getting a ton more books to work with, then he pooped out with the physics and wanted to do plants, yeah!, we moved to RS4K Level 1 Biology - so much was review, I could have simply skipped pre-level 1 all together, I was disappointed, but we're now in that, along with the Harcourt books, DE Science, DE Streaming+ and a ton of projects, along with a science journal. Spring is a great time of the year to be doing this now, so I think I'll have his interest kept at least through the end of June, maybe July, then hope we can move to earth science and astronomy, which is what is planned in WTM. Who knows, maybe he'll want to do it all year, I just doubt it. So far as memberships - we have one for the local children's museum which gets us into all the participating CM's around the country, and one to the science center that gets us into all the SC's around the country...neither do much here though for programs, but when they do, we do those. We travel some during the year and I'm always on the look-out for a program or exhibit we can do on the road too. We're also members of the anthropology museum which has a monthly program for kids that DS does, as well as the archelology museum, which does some programs, but they're sporadic. @JennW....it's a lot of activities, but as long as DS is interested and keeps doing them, I'm game for continuing to find them and help him with them! Right now what we're doing seems to be working well, so maybe to just keep piecing things together is a better approach - to do, rather than to just memorize - DS has a great memory, so in the doing it's really just reinforcing things he understands.....I guess I was/am worried about trying to keep him at the level he's able to work and finding materials is what's proving difficult since he's not reading at an advanced level, but understands the advanced level.....finding the right curriculum may not be really what I'm after now that I've read your post - maybe just finding the right pieces is a better way to do this, and heck, I'm already doing that - I just don't want any gaps if I can help it, ya know?

I just looked at our preliminary return - Federal, FICA + matching FICA and State ate 51.5% of DH's income (broken down, since DH is self-employed, it works out as 9% to the state, 12.4% for SS max portion of income, 2.9% for medicare...so the "federal income tax" portion was 27.2%).....it's obscene....he works more than half the year just to pay the taxes!

DS doesn't like bread, or starchy foods like rice, pasta or potatoes, so we do a meat, veggie and fruit along with something dairy for lunch - yesterday he had some leftover roast chicken (cold, he didn't want it heated up), cucumber slices with ranch to dip, cut up strawberries and a glass of milk. Today he'll probably have some ham, a total greek yogurt (cherry), broccoli florets with ranch to dip, and cut up melon, probably milk or water to drink.

Four acres, about 10-miles outside of town in the county - about three acres is grass, the rest woods and we're one of eight houses around a fairly large private lake - in the winter, when the trees are bare, we can see two neighbors across the lake, but from now through fall, we see no one due to their trees along the lake; we're clear to lakeside, about 1.5 of the acres are from our home to the lake, so it's an awesome view and full southern exposure all day - the reason we bought this house! We're on the last lot of the lake, so no neighbors to our west, just a pond and access to the lake from the road, about two acres away....one to the east that is blocked by trees, the one to the north is also blocked by the woods that separate our homes....the other neighbors are around the lake but we can't see them, except the two across the lake in the winter.

I don't usually post over here, but am coming to understand my DS6 (will be 7 in August) is advanced in a couple of subjects - math and science. He's on grade for reading, first grade. Math I have covered with SM - we'll finish up 2B by end of June and just continue along into 3A and so on....science is where I'm stumbling along trying to find a good fit for him. At this point, we've blown through all the RS4K pre-Level 1 material, the RS4K Level 1 material and are working with a grade 5 textbook and workbook from Harcourt - DS is doing well with this level and when I go back to review material with him he's retaining at or above 90% of the material. I've slowed things down a bit to go deeper in areas, but with so much of the material review of what he knows (are all public school texts like this - a bunch of review and then some new material?) this set is likely going to hold us until July. With science he's very curious and wants to do, do, do....visual-spatial learning seems to be his style. To give you an idea of what's going on here - at the moment we have five different plant projects in progress, butterflies, frogs, ladybugs and ants....we're also starting dissection (asked for by DS - I thought we would have waited, but he asked and got through the earthworm with no problems) and have a tree-of-life in progress on our wall as we continue to work through the classification system in depth. This can most definitely keep us occupied until end of June - but when we move on to earth science and astronomy, which we've covered in depth this year too, what do I use to keep him challenged? What I have on hand includes BSFU (both books), which I'm using as the baseline topic order outline - I like the flow of the material, not using it so much though. Just doesn't fit well with my style or DS's....but it's a great resource for me to use and get ideas from. While we're mostly following a classical model of education, DH and I don't want to limit science to one discipline each year - the year will focus on the classical model suggestion, but we'd like to continue including new concepts and work within each until DS is older. With that said, our new year officially starts in July and we'll be starting, for record keeping, second grade - so with WTM in mind, the focus for the year will be Earth Science and Astronomy....but also include elements of life and physical science and chemstry where they intersect with earth & space. So....I need to find material that will challenge DS, but not overwhelm him.....I can adjust output requirements, but want to also make sure I'm not going too crazy with the level expected for input to him. Any ideas are welcome and needed!

The wedding money ($5000) doesn't sound like a pressing issue to even bring up at this point - while the DD is in a serious relationship now, things change over four years and if her goal to get her degree before getting married, then the parents have four years to set aside some money to help with the wedding. The car is a pressing issue - parents promised a good reasonably priced car upon graduation with a GPA of 3.0 or better....she's got a 4.0 and now parents haven't set aside any cash to make good on their promise and are struggling financially due to unforseen circumstances. Such a situation, IMO is one where the child should be able to understand that perhaps she should voluntarily approach mom & dad and say I understand things have changed, please don't feel you have to keep that promise, I understand why you can't - your intentions at the time you made the promise were good and that means more to me than the car or the money. What is the likelihood she is mature enough to reach that on her own, or with some gentle suggestions from siblings and/or family friends - is there someone who can talk to her, without her parents, to make such a suggestion to her? Will she be disappointed or resent her siblings/parents if she doesn't get the car or at least the same money? On the other hand, do the parents really want to try to do this? Can they get creative? Are there other family members (maybe one of the siblings who got a car) willing to give the car to the DD, if it's still in good condition, and buy another car now that they're out and moving up in the world? Is their a friend or family member with a car whom they could buy it from, on a monthly payment plan, with little or no interest to make this happen? Something else?

DH and I attend weddings of friends and family...family even if it means travel, even if they're cousins or not super close to us, but we wouldn't go if it was someone we never hear from except for a wedding invite. Friends we'll travel for if it's someone we are in touch with on a fairly regular basis and local friends. Family gets cash gifts (since that's what our families tend to do traditionally), friends get regular boxed gifts unless we know their financial circumstance would be better with a cash gift from us. For those whom we give boxed gifts, I look over the wedding registry (if they have one) and try to find something they asked for, or something similar if nothing on the list is what I'd like to spend money on. It sounds like your husband is a social butterfly and enjoys spending time with friends and acquaintances, much more than you do - which is understandable, not everyone likes to go to social functions all the time. That said, perhaps your and your DH can come to some compromise of sorts? You start to see these type functions as 'date nights' for you and your husband, to get out, have some time alone without the kids, and enjoy yourselves in a social environment your husband really likes. He compromises in that he'll wear his suit to a black-tie affair, or purchase a used tux to have on hand, that way, if a black-tie invitation arrives again, there is no unexpected expense to attend. I'm not sure if his gift is cash (or check) for $100 or a gift that cost that much. A compromise would be, if it's a cash/check that you'll switch to a gift-gift....many give gifts and not money, so that's not being cheesy, but practical. Then you find a few items that are unique and heavily discounted, tuck them away in the closet and have them on-hand for these occasions. Various sites online have some excellent close-out deals on very expensive, perfect wedding gift items - things like high quality crystal, lenox, etc. - pick up items when you find really good deals and have them available to give as wedding gifts....that way you get to control the money spent when he wants to go to these functions and not have an unexpected expense.

:iagree:

Wow, she's already starting in on you when a lot can change in two years - that's nuts! I'm not saying you're going to not homeschool, but really, she doesn't even need to know if you will or won't - your DD is going to be three....!!! I'd not make it known what I was planning to do for education - it's really none of her business at the end of the day. But she knows and is obviously going to try to covert you to her thinking, depsite that not being her business. You may want to remind this woman that part of the mission of EFEC is that "Recognizing that parents are a child's first and most significant teachers, ECFE offers a variety of classes and resources for parents and children birth through kindergarten age. ECFE helps build healthy families and sets the stage for parent involvement and children’s success in Kindergarten to Grade 12 education." She obviously cares little about the purpose of her role - facilitator to involve parents more actively in their child's education throughout their growing up years....and that isn't just going to public school when they hit K age, that's any kind of education, including homeschooling or private school. What she said is in direct conflict with the mission of ECFE - perhaps you can take that up with someone who is above her?

I've noticed recently, with the rise in gas prices, that when I fill the car, the amount pinged for possible sale is now $100....it used to be $50....that sits as pending until the real total is batch-closed by the station- very annoying!

We have dinner together every night except when DH is out of town, which is extremely rare, like one or two nights a year since we usually travel with DH, or when DH and I go out to dinner sans kids, which is about six times a year, if we're lucky! So far as breakfast - DH is on his own....he wakes and is out the door, between 5:30-6:00 AM, well before we wake up. I'm not a breakfast person, but will make and then sit with DS as he has his breakfast....lunch we have together without DH since he's at work. 1. DS is 6, DS-baby is 12-weeks now. 2. DS6 is involved with outside activities - swim lessons, cub scouts, edu program at local museum. DH typically doesn't get home until around 6:45-7:15 at night (rarely earlier, sometimes later) and since we HS, we don't have any real pressure to have DS6 go to bed by say 7:30 or 8:00, so we normally have dinner around 7:30 each night, +/- 30 minutes....which fits in nicely with DS's outside activities. On nights where an activity brings us home close to or after DH, we'll either have a crock-pot dinner night (den meetings) or DH will cook dinner (pack meeting night) or we'll do leftovers or meal that was prepared and frozen, just heat and eat type dinner....that's only once a month though.

We have a septic too....before buying a house, you'll want to know the size of the tank, who is currently contracted to service it (if anyone) and when was the last time it was pumped. Before we closed on this house, we contacted the septic company under service contract and asked how often they serviced it and what problems the system had in the past (if any)....our contract to buy included that the system would be serviced prior to closing (with receipt), inspected (with receipt) and cleaned (with receipt). We have an extremely large tank and close to two acres of field since the house was built for a family of seven with 4 full bathrooms - it has three large drain lines from the house to the tank - two are grey water drains and one is sewage - the two are not mixed, which is a good design so that if water in the kitchen for some reason backs up, it isn't mixed with waste. You'll want to know how many drain lines are going out to the tank so you know where you can have problems if something gets backed up along a line. You'll want to know if your sewage is mixing with your grey water also so you can take care in what goes down the drains from the kitchen versus the bathrooms. You'll want to know how old the house is and ask, if the house is older than 10-years, when and if the lines have been blasted (not just snaked) since grease, hair conditioner, food particles, hair, shaving cream, hard water particles, etc. will build up over time inside the drain lines and slow (and eventually block) exit of water....this was one thing we didn't know to ask and we wound up having to have one of the drain lines blasted and it's not cheap! Ideally the septic system should have an alarm on it - if it doesn't find out how much it would be to add it. Routine maintenance for us is RDX down the toilets and Bio-Clean down the kitchen drains monthly (two week intervals between the two since you shouldn't do both at the same time - they're both enzyme solutions to maintain bacteria, but different types of enzymes); when we moved in we replaced the salt-based water softener for a Pelican to continue to reduce the hard water deposits that can and will accumulate in the pipes; and due to the size of the tank, have it pumped every three to five years...annual service and maintenance is through a service contract and happens automatically. We moved here five years ago and just had it pumped six months ago - since it's really large, we still were only at 45% capacity but the septic company recommended we pump it since it hadn't been pumped since we moved in, so we did.

YMMV - what worked for us was that we stopped offering options other than what I'd made for dinner except when dinner was someting we/I knew DS6 doesn't like (ie. Spicy food) - in that situation, I'll prepare the same food, sans the spice, for him to have plain. For example, if we're having chicken korma, he doesn't like Indian food, but he'll eat chicken, so I'll make him a piece of chicken to eat for dinner, along with some vegetables from the dish....what I won't do is make something totally different, like burger or sandwich instead. We also have the 'one bite' rule....when something is new, and you haven't tried it before, you have to take at least one bite to see if you like it - if you don't, that's okay, simply say 'no thank you' to having anymore....but, you might like it and if that's the case, you can have more. We don't ask DS to try another bite for the 'one bite' rule on something he's tried and said he didn't like until at least a month has passed - then he needs to take one bite to see if his tastes have changed - sometimes they do, sometimes they don't - but at least he tried it. Lastly, if DS says he's full before finishing his dinner, that's okay - if he feels hungry later, he can finish his dinner....but cannot have anything else if he says he's hungry later since he didn't finish his dinner. We don't battle over meals anymore, he doesn't have to clean his plate, and as I said, if it is something I know full well he doesn't like, I'm not going to make him eat it -- but I'm also not a short-order cook....I'll accomodate to a point - same food, different preparation that isn't crazy -- but the basics of the dinner meal are the same for all of us. We don't do dessert nightly, so taking that away isn't an option since we just don't do dessert for the most part....so our approach is this is dinner, you can eat it or not eat it - up to you. The vast majority of the time, he eats his meal without complaint....

...moths? http://www.ehow.com/how_113375_deal-with-clothes.html

Anohter option may be to enroll in a clincial trial? http://www.trialcheck.org/cancertrialshelp/membership.aspx?memid=4255

The closest Cancer Treatment Center of America is in Illinois - are they in a position to pay out-of-pocket for a consult? That may be their best option at the moment since their insurance sounds like it is out-of-state and not going to work in IL. Perhaps your family can pool resources to at least get a consult to have an evaluation and treatment options laid out and then tackle the next step once you have that information?

This is a hard question to ask, but have the doctors said there is no more they can do because no matter what they do now remission is unlikely? I'm sorry your family is facing such difficulty :grouphug:

I have 2 sets per bed and since we have two kings and two queens in the house, we have 4 sets of king and 4 sets of queen sheets - they match each room & bedding set, but in a pinch I could use them on whatever bed they're needed.

LEGO sets all have two features - one is the set instructions, the other imaginative building possibilities. The first is to show children (and adults) how to build with the bricks, what is possible...the latter is the child (or adult's) imagination taking that base knowledge and expanding the possibilities from their own imagination and experience. To expand on this, LEGO recently started selling sets that provide a 3-in-1 set of instructions, one can build three different things with one set - and much more once the basic knowledge of how to bring the bricks together is formed in the mind. No, I don't work for LEGO, but do use LEGO bricks in my programs - both set building (specific instruction) and imaginative building (use your knowledge to create). For example, one program I did was building a small cityscape....we used a couple of the LEGO sets for buildings and vehicles, but the rest of the landscape was to be designed and built from imagination - we wound up with a playground, roads, a lake area, and a variety of buildings the kids thought should be along the city roads. Encourage your DD to build from imagination - at the end of the day, that is the goal of LEGO!

Our school year runs July 1 to June 30....that's the state's definition of the school year. We homeschool year-round because it's easier than taking a long break and needing review and because the state has an hours requirement rather than a days requirement. If instead of year-round I opted to do 180-days, we'd need to do 5.5-hours per day - at six that's a lot for DS.....with year-round we average around 3.5-hours a day, so doing that over the year works out to 285-days and incudes days in throughout the summer months. What I like about doing the year-round schedule is that we can take days off as needed, schedule vacations and weekends away based on DH's schedule, not the PS schedule, and just keep going.....no need for review to get started up again.

I totally agree - it can't be about your 'feelings' - once you go there, you open yourself up to lots of emotional stuggles....your feelings aren't the issue, the inlaws moving is the issue - so that needs to be the focus! :iagree: And I'll add, you and your husband are not responsible for making or keeping your inlaws happy, nor are they responsible for your happiness. Staying focused on the issue, rather than feelings, works well if you can do it....but your DH first needs to recognize the FOG issues to be able to clear that away and hone in on the issues because the emotions being stimulated are having the exact effect your MIL wants - his attention and his placing her needs above yours and your marriage. That isn't to say he should throw her under the bus - but he does need to make it clear to her that you and his marriage are priority and that this, their moving, is in the best interest of your marriage and your ongoing relationship with them.

What she is doing isn't being 'honest' with your DH about what she's feeling - what she is doing is parentifying your DH, a form of emotional incest, where she goes to him with her problems rather than her husband. Doing that to a child, a minor or an adult, is wrong. She is supposed to be his mother, and she is placing him in a role to rescue her - not only from her own bad choices (financial), but from you, his wife, who is supposed to be priority number one! Your DH feels trapped because it is the dysfunctional dynamic he is used to and you are now pointing out how unhealthy such a dynamic is - not only for him, as an adult, but for your relationship as a married couple with your own children. What your MIL is doing is effectively triangluate you and your husband and ASSIGNED you the role of villian in the triangle - she is victim, your husband is hero. This dynamic sets up a loyalty bind for your husband - does he victimize his mother by switching you to victim and her villian, or does he save her? Because you're accepting the role of villian, and continuing to play your part as assigned, you're enabling the designation of villian to perpetuate and giving your husband permission to save his mother instead of you unconsciously. Triangluating is one of the most effective tools in a narcissist's toolbox - it divides and conquers any set of people (a couple, children, friends) whom they apply it to, to their advantage. Your MIL sounds to me like a waif - the woe is me type - who will use triangluation to effect getting their way at any cost, even the happiness of their child and their relationship with their spouse. Waif, waif, waif....your MIL is specifically pulling a waif to stimulate the response of what's called "FOG" - fear, obligation and guilt in your husband. And it's working. Having each of these emotions is healthy and necessary in normal healthy relationships - they're unhealthy when used for manipulation of another - and that's what your MIL is doing - manipulating your DH, her son. She installed the buttons and knows which ones to push and that's what she is doing now. I bet if she doesn't get her way she might also assume other personalities - has she gotten angry (Witch) or said things to the effect that she's entitled (Queen) to be taken care of by her son? That he has an obligation to her as she is his family? IMO you and your husband need to evaluate your boundaries and mutually agree to what you will and will not tolerate....keeping in mind that boundaries are not controling another or making them change their behavior - but changing your own reaction to bad behavior by taking an action different than you have in the past to reinforce your boundaries. For example, if your MIL begins to discuss her finances with your DH, your boundaries may be that such is unacceptable - your DH, rather than engage, may ask her how she is going to resolve that, instead of falling into helping her or saving her financially - giving her back her responsibility to solve her financial situation, not him. Or, when your MIL begins the pity-party, you and DH agree that you'll note to her that her doing that is unacceptable and then (while she's still in your house) you, he and your kids go out for ice cream and will return later, removing yourself from the discomfort she is setting up. You cannot be allowed to be assigned a role, your DH is allowing this from his mother......you can point this out to him and let him know you will no longer play this game, your marriage is not a game and it is and must be priority!

:iagree: This is what I'd suggest....the CD's add up to 8-hours of listening time and can be listened to even in the car. I'd get the CD's and use those for the listening part and pick 18 chapters to focus on for activities.....doing that keeps the story in full for the kids, but also allows you to condense the activities and work into something more manageable for the time you have left.

I haven't started a free reading time with DS6 yet - he isn't fluent enough at this point to not be frustrated trying to read on his own. Instead his reading time is aloud, to me, during his phonics lesson....he has recently started, on his own, grabbing various books off the shelf and paging through on his own, books like DK Eyewitness science or history - lots of pictures. I'll make a decision on free reading being part of the schedule or not come June!

DS has his "Science Journal"....it's really just a coil bound sketch book that I got on sale. In it he draws pictures of what he's doing, learned or wants to figure out....there's also pictures, collages, and other items glued in that he likes or finds interesting. At this age (6) I don't think it needs to be complicated - his is simple and he likes it a lot.