I have no idea on IKEA, but I have a (thirdhand) u shaped school/church quality table and that thing is solid. It doesn't wiggle at all. The previous family to use it had 4 kids. I have 2, but one is very, very busy and jumps and climbs anything. Anything. This has held up to everything I've caught her doing and whatever happens when I'm not looking. It's adjustable in height, everything wipes right off of it, and it is sturdy. Even when the 3 year old treats it like a trampoline, it has held. I've also picked up a couple of things from Lakeshore Learning(a front facing bookshelf and a rolling cart with shelves, a white board, and a flannel board on it) from the Habitat for Humanity store and while it's clearly been used(scratches and dings) the construction is solid. No wiggling and no cracks in any of the wood. The downside is my school room looks way more like a school room than I ever intended. The upside is the beating they can take and the fact that I paid $30 total for everything.

Museum passes and a big sturdy child sized table that is great for work and play.

I found 4 of the I Love Math books at my local ARC for $2 each. :). We started with How Do Octopi Eat Pizza Pie. DS loves it and is really interested in the activities from the books. He often wants to vary the activity slightly after doing it once or set up his own activity based on the math concept. Thanks everyone! He was doing well with MEP 1, but this a whole different level of engagement. I could not be happier with using these books. I have started to add in Miquon, but mostly we're doing these or math games for awhile. It's a good fit for him. Thank you!

I ended up needing to make Project Based Homeschooling fit our family and the kid I have. For example, he wanted to learn about fish living in the waters around Antarctica while we were studying the continent. He has a pretty intense interest in fish and fishing. One of the things he wanted to do with the information we found was to write a book. Great, but he does not read, does not write much, and has never composed sentences for writing. He was not even 100% sure what all his book needed in terms of information or parts of a book. I could have let him discover it on his own, but I am felt that would have led to massive frustration and loss of interest. I have the information and he knows that. We broke everything down and I was right there with him for every step. He wanted my help to that extent. He also lacks a knowledge base of just what is available. I find documentaries, show him how to find library books, read them to him, and take him places. I took him to a fish hatchery and he loved it. He would not have known to ask for that, but we still did it to help further his interests and general knowledge and experience base. Sometimes I just mention something and see if he goes for it(fish dissection and no) and sometimes we just do it and see how it goes.

I ended up needing to make Project Based Homeschooling fit our family and the kid I have. For example, he wanted to learn about fish living in the waters around Antarctica while we were studying the continent. He has a pretty intense interest in fish and fishing. One of the things he wanted to do with the information we found was to write a book. Great, but he does not read, does not write much, and has never composed sentences for writing. He was not even 100% sure what all his book needed in terms of information or parts of a book. I could have let him discover it on his own, but I am felt that would have led to massive frustration and loss of interest. I have the information and he knows that. We broke everything down and I was right there with him for every step. He wanted my help to that extent. He also lacks a knowledge base of just what is available. I find documentaries, show him how to find library books, read them to him, and take him places. I took him to a fish hatchery and he loved it. He would not have known to ask for that, but we still did it to help further his interests and general knowledge and experience base. Sometimes I just mention something and see if he goes for it(fish dissection and no) and sometimes we just do it and see how it goes.

I was raised secular so what a relief to know I have a shot at turning out OK. Whew. ;) I am now a Christian though and I can not think of a time I have ever been asked where I go to church unless it's been someone new to the area looking for a church and that's when we meet at MOPS, so pretty safe to assume Christianity there. I have never gotten any negative feedback when I did not attend a church either. I have heard of this happening from Internet friends, so it makes me wonder if it's a regional thing? Or a homeschool thing? So far, I've yet to really plug into a homeschool group and my son attends an enrichment program, but it's through a public school.

My daughter didn't sleep for more than 5 hours a night(if I was lucky she would sleep for 5 straight, but I was rarely lucky) until a month before her 3rd birthday. I just survived on 2-3 hours a night for years. I couldn't really leave her alone in any room for to long. I tried once and she tried to climb OUT her window...on the second floor. I became good at catching cat naps, extreme child proofing, and taught my son how to operate Netflix so I could lay on the couch. She was also a late talker, but she really bloomed and now speaks very well and all the time. She is busy. YMMV, but there are two things that did seem to help. One was concentrated, forced outdoor time. Long hikes, walks, and visits to the park every day for hours made a huge, huge difference after a few weeks. We were all outside a lot. And bedtime routines make things worse for dd, we pretty much go, go, go until bed and then it's jammies, up to bed, one song, lights out, and I am out of the room. The long routine to bed seemed to get her going rather than calm her down. Those two things got her on a good sleep schedule and it has continued to work for 5.5 months.

Essential oils and the people who push them . I swear to Pete, have a cold? Try an essential oil? Have HG? Try an essential oil. Child who can't sleep? Try an essential oil proprietary blend! Lost a limb? Oh, it's nothing. There's an oil for that. Myself, for trying them 3 separate times. People who stop and block the grocery aisle to have a chatty conversation with another customer. It is seriously not that hard to move over.

Love It or List It looks for homeowners who already planning to do renovations and just wraps the concepts of the show around those. The producers film the homeowners saying both they are going to "love it" or "list it" and then pick an ending. Some of these people have no intention of moving at all. I would guess that the list of must haves is padded for drama, but I have no proof.

Yes! My now 3 year old has really curly hair with actual and so many people have asked me what I do to her hair to get it like that. I, uh, wash it and comb it and that's it. And then I got the, "oh, so it's a perm?!" Yep. I permed a toddler's hair. Good talk.

Thanks for the ideas. We love Rat A Tat Cat, my library has a great selection of Math Start books, all the Sir Cumference books, and the Bedtime math books. None of the I Love Math, but I'll pick up a couple on Amazon and see how they work.

Sounds really good for DS's ability and interest. Thank you! I think the variety format will appeal to him. We've been using MEP 1 as our primary curriculum, though we're going to take a break and try out a few different things for awhile. I am looking at these, Family Math books, some Math Start books, Right Start card games, Professor Pig, and board games to possibly mix and match for few months. He loves math, but I think we need to go about it in a different way for a bit.

Is there an age, grade, or skill level for each book or the overall series? Or anything a child has to be able to do in order to for the activities to be completed or does it vary for every book or every activity? If you have a kid who really engages with math done in a story and hands on activity/game format plus verbal discussion, were these books a hit?

From a TV show, but a favorite of ours. Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?!

Put the candle back!

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think? You're killing me, Smalls. Never give up, never surrender. I want my two dollars! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is? "These are my OR scrubs." "Oh, are they?"

Fair enough. I honestly don't know. It is not within my personal definition of honoring the dead. I guess I think that there are a lot of ways to make a statement that doesn't turn the focus to something other than the deceased.

I think the venue is at the heart of the issue. It is for me. Police officer's turned their backs on de Blasio while he was speaking at a press conference. That is fine. Absolutely fine. Even if I disagree with their reasoning for protest(and I did) I didn't think that action was inappropriate. I don't understand their upset, but that's OK. At the funeral, during a speaker that it seems(unless someone can provide elusive proof otherwise) the family asked to speak, and making the time about their protest instead of honoring the dead...that is what I had a real problem with. And, for the record, the people I know defending Ferguson protestors are not defending those threatening cops or rioting. I certainly am not. We are defending the right to protest or the cause they protesting against in spite of the minority of whackaloons and people co opting this for their own gain. One can be upset about the death of Michael Brown, be fine with protestors, and still think it is dead wrong to chant things that call for the death of an officer.

Listening is good. I've about given up on having a regular doctor and just go to whatever walk in clinic will take my kids. The last 3 doctors I've seen or taken my kids to are up, writing, not making eye contact, and trying to walk out the door while I'm still trying to ask questions about the issues I made the appointment for. Eye contact is good. I am uncomfortable when the doctor stares at the wall, his computer, or anywhere but me while I'm talking. It's rude and I feel like they are not even listening to what I'm saying. Pay attention to patient waiting time. We had a pediatrician who was routinely 45 minutes late to every appointment. Had. I understand emergencies, but every time is an issue needing a solution. When diagnosing someone with something serious, like ohh early onset Alzheimer's, a little compassion goes a long way. Talking to the other people in the room like the patient isn't even there is just awful for the patient too.

Me too!

My youngest rarely slept for the first 2.5 years of her life. I was chronically exhausted and I can totally understand losing it and demanding help. I did not, because I had other support. If I did not, we would have been sunk. I can not function on only 3-4 hours a night of sleep for months on end. Now I am lucky an get 5-6 for over half the week, so that helps. I have a friend who had done that, she has a child with multiple special needs. When she says, "I can not control the kids" it means her dc is having an ongoing meltdown that she can not calm him down from and she needs help making sure everyone is safe. Everyone I've ever me has difficulties and needs help in some area or another....

Oh no! I can not get it either. Also on an iPad.

Do you have a source for family members requesting the mayor not come? I was interested in that information, but so far the only thing I've found is a Washington Times article stating the Ramos family was fine with his presence at the funeral. Anyway. I am generally with those who find using a funeral(any funeral) as a day of protest distasteful unless the deceased intended that. I feel that funerals should be about honoring the life lost, not protests. I understand that people have the right to do it, I just wish they would not.

I think it's weird to speculate about Shiloh specifically. Her parents have not released any new information. Get father mentioned her liking to be called "John" when she was 2. Her mother's quote about boy's clothes and haircuts came from 2010. They aren't saying anything now, the whole thing was brought up and rehashed by a tabloid because Shiloh showed up to her mother's movie premiere in a suit, along with her father and brothers. They have not said a word about her gender or her name preferences now. I mean, I know multiple boys who dressed up as Elsa for Halloween, love My Little Pony, and get excited to play dress up with sparkly jewelry. They are 6 and under and it's just that, a preference for toys, clothes, and fun. It's not a big deal or a statement, no different than a girl playing in a Batman costume or with Ninja Turtles. I'm in my 30s, so are my friends, and clothing choices and toys are not, by themselves, statements. I have no idea what I would do in a situation with a child who thought they were born the wrong gender, but I hope I'd do whatever was in the best interests of my child to be healthy and emotionally happy as a child and as an adult.