A tad under 1% of our income on average, including tree, food, etc.

Well, I "work around" Sonlight's lack of grammar by backing it up with Writing with Ease and FLL. I do like some of the Sonlight LA so I read it each week and pick out what I like for the kids, skip the rest. We do the copywork from WWE so I don't do SL's. I do not feel with my particular child that he would learn any grammar at all with SL only. He is typically poor and picking up grammar rules despite being an avid reader. He needs direct drilling of topics and then gets it.

My son is 8 and diagnosed bipolar (likely, given he is a child), along with associated ADHD and anxiety. Yes, he has periods like this. His manifest as incredibly creative, building incredibly complex items and describing in minute detail how they work. His psychiatrist also states he is incredibly bright (gifted? who knows) so it is hard to tease apart what is what is in personality and what is his diagnoses. He is what he is.

It would depend on the unemployment rate then frankly. My youngest is 2 months old right now, I've got a while. I will be in my mid 50s when she hits college age, so hard to tell. I do have a degree and a business background but will have been out of the workforce quite a while so that is why I say it depends a lot on the work climate. People in their 50s coming back into the work force are not exactly the most desirable of candidates for employers. DH is working on getting a business going on the side while working. If that happens and is remotely successful, he will probably semi-retire early and we will combine that with our investments, travel, garden and finally spend some time together again!

I get to enjoy 3 Wednesdays of the month off (one Wednesday a month we have something) and all Saturdays off. I wish it were more, but DH has gotten bitten with the bug that feels that our kids need more "socialization" and activities, which of course I need to drive them to and back again.

Yep, we had exactly this same situation in our last parish. We left. I think of a cry room as something you utilize only when necessary to quiet an infant, not as a place where you let your kids run around screaming with no intervention like it is the play area at McDonalds or something. It was really frustrating too because the congregation did NOT want young kids in the general assembly so you were glared at if your child made a peep in the pews and gestured towards the cry room, which was absolute screaming chaos and no place for a child or toddler to see training going on with regard to how to behave in mass. We left that parish. Our new one has no cry room at all but has an area at the back where parents are often seen pacing around with small ones. That works pretty well most of the time. I have to admit though finally I have given up going most of the time now that we have an infant and a 2yo. It is just too hard to deal with both at the same time in terms of noise. My 8yo is doing great, and my 5yo has always been generally cooperative in the pew. We have coop childcare, but they never really seem to get enough interest to go for it. The 3s and 4s do have a nursery class during mass. The parents rotate teaching that class. The 5s and up have a children's liturgy for about half of mass during the readings, then rejoin the parents in the pew.

Did you do WWE1 already? If not, maybe backstep. The complexity of the sentences is a lot for WWE2, IMHO. WWE2 does use studied dictation though, at least to the point we have gotten in WWE, about week 20 I think? On the day prior to the dictation, you have the very same phrase as copywork and are supposed to discuss elements in it (detailed in the teacher portion) so the student keys into the dictation passage and really studies it. I figured my DS would realize that he was just writing what he copied the prior day, but that fact seemed to escape him totally. :001_huh: Once I began reminding him on the copywork day that he would be writing the passage on the following day, it did help because he paid more attention.

Was off for a couple days so just getting back to my post here. Thank you all for the insight. I think I'll pass on the book for now. Our system I set up is working so I'll go with it and continue reading blogs to tweak it. :)

For those of you using a workbox system who own the book, do you feel that I really *need* (relative term I know) the ebook/book to get the full benefit of the system? Background on us - we did start a workbox system based on what I have read on blogs, here, other forums ... I'm just wondering if I am missing out on really valuable info and tips by not going back and getting the book or ebook. Thoughts?

Good for you ... said as I sit here nursing my smallest. LOL I have changed a lot too since my first, in a whole lot of ways.

I learned this lesson the hard way. DH told me DS's handwriting would improve with time and just let him write. It didn't improve, and now he has all kinds of bad habits and forms his letters in a strange way for a lot of them, which doesn't seem to be efficient for speed or clarity. The next one I'm really drilling on the proper way to form letters (We use Handwriting Without Tears but I don't think specific curriculum is all that important honestly). We don't write a LOT, but what we do I now insist on being done sloooowwwly and carefully, and DS #1 has improved a lot. Given your son's age though, does he draw well and have good fine motor? Or just clumsy overall? Maybe some of it will improve with time as he matures if he is overall lacking in fine motor. My second DS tries very hard and forms his letters in the correct manner, but he is slower in gaining fine motor overall than the first so it is taking a while. We just do less, slow down and do lots of fun stuff to build hand strength.

DH doesn't help unless asked, but then I'm of the mind of the others who mentioned he has a 40 hour per week job (ha, more like 60!) and my "job" is the kids and house. When I'm really swamped, I do ask and he helps out, but the premise is I'm really trying and busy during the day too.

Yes, the zoo is in Balboa park, which is awesome. If you like art, there is a nice art museum there, and also a free art museum with some really nice pieces that is right next to it, much smaller (Timkin museum). Depending on ages and genders, there is the Fleet Science Museum (grade school age for the main part pretty much and under 5 for the kid zone upstairs). My boys love the Aerospace Museum, a little bit of hands on but mainly just looking so not so good for toddler age. Old Town is a nice place to visit, and good restaurants. It is only a couple miles from downtown/gaslamp. Seaport Village can be fun, and is nice when it is hotter out. It is walking distance from gaslamp. It has little shops, and you can view the water, the boats, and so forth. We like to ride bikes along the wide sidewalk down there and end up in Seaport Village. There is Sea World if that is your thing. You can just go to the beach. :) Point Loma has an old lighthouse that is fun. The park there also has a visitor center with books and information, places to sit and look out over the water and a junior ranger program. There is a hiking trail that goes down over the hill that we do. Even my 4yo travels along on his own, so doable by most. There are a couple benches along it. We take a lunch and eat at the bottom. Take binoculars as there are tons of various ships out there and the kids like to view the various ones. On the other side of the lighthouse area you can walk to tidepools.

Someone already mentioned the Mambo Sprouts booklet, which is fantastic. I also routinely use coupons for some fresh chicken and meats, some meat substitute products (boca and soforth which many would NOT consider obviously), butter, yogurts, cheese, soymilk, etc. I did find some coupons for whole wheat bagged flour last month. I use coupons on some olive oils and so forth (Costco is typically cheaper). This week I got free tuna with coupons. I buy a whole lot not strictly healthy too for which I pay very little - crackers, cereals (organic ones ideally), packaged oatmeal, granola and so forth. I look on a case by case basis at the ingredients on convenience foods. Sometimes when they are nearly free with coupons and not horrible for us, we go for it and give mom an easy dinner night. Someone already mentioned the HUGE benefit though - pay less for everything you aren't eating (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, beauty items and so forth) and save every dollar you can for quality food for which you cannot find coupons. Every season too the drug stores here have coupon freebie/rebate items for even homeopathic type items (cold remedies come to mind), regular saline and so forth if you are into more natural health and beauty. Just keep your eyes open and stock up on the stuff you use and skip the rest. Every little bit helps, even if you are only saving a few dollars versus the huge amounts someone else is doing more processed foods. Even the local health food co-op has coupons from Mambo Sprouts out and available for the stuff they carry - Muir Glen, Cascadian Farms, some of the natural juices.

We use the one from the Handwriting Without Tears series. My son has actually enjoyed doing it, and it is secular and easy to follow.

Anything you can sell quickly on craiglist or anywhere and deposit the cash?

I use a rubbermaid box. It is probably 5 inches x 5 inches?? I file them alphabetically with plastic index-card-size separators labeled with the letter. I tried the binder and couldn't make it work. Also, my little box can fit in the seat of the cart even with a baby seated there too, as long as I can keep the baby/toddler from yanking out the coupons!

Hemoglobin A1c is a measure of long(er) term blood sugar, rather than just taking it at one point in time as typical fasting or nonfasting blood sugar levels do. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycated_hemoglobin A higher than usual level would be indicative of a prediabetes or diabetes condition. Weight, diabetes, blood sugar, insulin, etc., is probably better explained in a book or a search engine. It is fairly complex, and can also involve concurrent conditions such as polycystic ovarian disease, thyroid issues, etc. If you and your DDs are struggling with it, probably a complete physical is in order. I would guess at that followup appointment, they might want to discuss diabetic diet, which is essential to diabetics of course but can help those likely to become diabetic over time. (That is me too by the way with family history and other factors.) baby is waking up but wanted to answer a least briefly.

Etiquette (pronounced [,eti'ket]) is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group. The French word étiquette, signifying ticket (of admission, etc.) first appeared in English in 1750.[1] The above is wikipedia, which I can access while nak. ;) I think the sticking point on this thread is the conventional norms within the group, and I would add that I agree with those who are suggesting within a region as well. It matters very much what area of the country you are in and what your specific social circle does or does not do. So you alone have to decide what is the norm in your circle because we don't know that information for you. If the moms broke etiquette in your circle, then it was rude by your circle's standards. If they did not, then it wasn't. Again, you know that likely, not us. What do the other moms in your circle do? If you did something very different from the "usual" or "norm" in your area, it probably should have been made much clearer on the invite. Someone before me had some great suggestions for how to say it on the invites. I realize it is too late for that at this point. HERE, it would be rude to drop off and run without offering to stay at a pool party type of thing, ONE parent though, no siblings, not eating the food unless specifically invited to do so by the hostess. In other circles, other areas of the country, and other countries, that obviously varies! One mom I knew on a board stated in her area it was implied all sibs were invited and that was what families did in her area. That would be considered rude here, but not there. I'll make note in case I move there. ;)

Group lessons at the city pool are $53 for 10 40-minute lessons.

This. I grew up living with relatives, not my parents, but those relatives had very bad financial problems. They have now declared bankruptcy x2. So my situation as a child was very very unstable. As an adult, I crave security (financial and otherwise) more than my DH, who had a very stable childhood. We are on Dave's step 6 too - paying off mortgage (at the same time as continuing retirement savings and college savings).

We have the smaller sized original Peapod. We used it on vacation in a hotel last year for an almost 2yo. She didn't like it at first, especially zipped up. She adjusted the first night and slept well thereafter. It is certainly much much lighter than a Pack N Play, etc., for travel, and we don't like to use the hotel provided ones personally.

Pretty average 3 bedroom, 2 bath house (1500ish square feet probably) in an acceptable and safe but not higher end/highly desirable area.

I paid for the dresses for my bridesmaids. (DH and I paid for our own wedding expenses.) It was a gift to them. If the family wants to offer, I would graciously accept given they can afford it without really hurting financially. I'm sure there will be instances where you can offer to assist in some other way, financially or otherwise.

My oldest was 7. They had to stay in the cul-de-sac with their friends. Our cul-de-sac is small and we know all the families (the other kids' parents also live here). So everyone keeps watch.