When I saw jetted tubs in homes we were looking at, It was not a selling plus. I kept thinking of all the other owners bacteria sucked up in the jets. How can you really clean that? I would keep the tub personally. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We did a pool pass one summer. The best times we could use it were at night because it was so crowded during the day. We would go over to the pool after an early lunch. About an hour after we got there, the kids camp buses pulled up on very random days. Two whole buses of kids got out with not enough counselors to make sure every kid was following the rules. When there's a ton of people in the pool, two things happen. First, there's no place to swim. Mostly you stand there with a bunch of other people. Second, the sunscreen haze. If there's too many people and too much sunscreen, the deep end can get a haze in it which shuts down that portion of the pool because the lifeguards can't see past the first foot down. I would stick with the YMCA pool indoors.

We had a couple behind us in church have an argument while the sermon was being preached. They weren't whispering. They were talking somewhat softly, but I'm sure we weren't the only ones who could hear them. Dh went up to them and told them that maybe this wasn't the time and place and maybe they should go somewhere else. They continued. Dh tried...

I went anti-vax to pro-vax. Two things prompted the action. First, I did not want to have to put the burden on medical professionals to take care of my child if they developed complications from something I could have prevented. Also, on my way to get my child help, I would have been putting doctor's offices and possibly hospitals through all sorts of expense (telling other parents in waiting rooms they have been exposed/ disinfecting whole waiting rooms/offices) because my child had a disease that could have been prevented. I would have to live with the " I did nothing to prevent this" vs. "I did everything I could and they still got xyz". There was an incident in the doctor's office where a child came in with chicken pox and the whole office had to be sterilized. The second thing that prompted my stance was adopting dd from China. I thought that she could come into our house with any number of diseases and I didn't want to have an outbreak of some sort in my home right after adoption.

I will only be homeschooling ds 13 next year (7th grade). He really needs to learn how to read for comprehension better and really need to learn how to work hard instead of finding the path of least resistance. We have been doing Sonlight because I needed something that he could do somewhat independently, but he really needs a more academic road right now. Because he will be my only homeschooler, I have time to work through this jump with him. So, with the above thoughts, what would you recommend?

I've seen his happen to. Anti-vax homeschool mom brings her sick child to a group activity attended by a majority of non-vaxed homeschoolers. She suspects whooping cough because her child was exposed to it, but she's "not that sick", so she brings her daughter. Later, an email goes out about how dd has whooping cough and you've all been exposed. Sorry! I decided to vaccinate my children(they were older) because I realized that if my child got a preventable disease, I would expect the medical community to do all they could to help my child. Once I realized it was more than just my decision and did affect others, I vaccinated. I only gave one shot at a time every two months until they were up to date. No reactions. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've done Potters school classes with my 16 year old and have been very very pleased with how his writing has progressed. My 12 year old will be doing a write at home class. I have a friend who has done those classes with her children and has had successful college level writers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes! Just taking care of my son qualifies as a full time job. If I could, someone would get paid 60 hours a week just to take care of him. I have this super woman persona with people I know. They wonder how I do it all. Well, I just can't anymore . We are sending dd to school. I keep hearing raves upon raves for the school and it does sound wonderful for being a public school. I will only be homeschooling one child again. Last time this happened was 7 years ago. But I also had two preschoolers when I was doing that. This will be a lot more relaxing and I really think my middle ds will also thrive. I really think him having my attention without being over run by his extroverted siblings in either side of him will be great for him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ds has his license and can drive himself so that takes a load off. Dd doesn't want to go to school (I haven't mentioned it as a real possibility) because "why would I want to be away from my family all day?" She is VERY social so I can see her enjoying it possibly. She did do well in a classroom setting with her one day program and liked it. It's how do I balance my own obvious needs with my children's obvious needs. I can't stay on this current path. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Homework is minimal from the experience of others I know and the school is two blocks from our home. If I walk out to the bottom of my driveway, I can see her. She could easily walk it with a whole group of friends. I could walk with her to school. I know this won't solve the whole "find my own life thing". I am trying to figure out how to reduce my stress. I wish I had an outside life coach person who could assess my life properly and help me. I know I am not looking at my life properly now. My ds is not that horrible. I know this. But something has got to give and her personality has always been hard for me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We've decided to keep the oldest home for now. He is home because his public school became neglectful at best and even life-threatening at one point due to not properly staffing his classroom and not changing the situation. In his own way, he's asked to stay home for over 10 years now. We need a break from wondering if he's safe for now. I've written here before that dd is very spirited. Today, which is typical, she argued about how a word should be spelled. I keep asking her if she would argue with her one day a week enrichment teacher. "No! I would never do that to Mrs. Armstrong!" I have two other boys. One will be going to community college full time and the other is on his way to independent learning. I will farm out science and writing and will mostly just be teaching him math. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My daughter has a spot in our nearby charter school if we want it. She would do better with homeschooling. She sings while she does math(it helps her think), she goes outside when her brain needs a mental break, and does well when she can talk out answers. I on the other hand am not doing well with homeschooling. I have no outside interests, no passions, no dreams. I am also taking care of my 18 year old "baby" with special needs full time. A lot of days I've been getting dizzy from stress. I've also very seriously considered taking medication for anxiety/depression just so that I can make it though my day. Not every day is like this, but enough are getting to that point. I really am not a fan of public school for multiple reasons. But, private school is way too expensive and I'm not sure how to balance the rest of my life at this point. Anyone btdt? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've had children come up to my son and ask what was wrong with him or why does he have those things (braces) on his legs or why does he use a wheelchair. I don't mind the questions at all and answer them in a way the age of the child would understand. I try to make them comfortable with my son. I had one mom and her son come up to us in the parking lot because her son wanted to know how we got my son in the car. I have no problem with these questions. I showed the son how cool my son's seat was and a little bit on how it worked. I'd rather have the questions and have other children learn to be comfortable around kids with wheelchairs and different equipment.

Here's what I do. Heat milk to 190 degrees. I add about 3/4 c dry milk powder to a gallon of milk while it's cooling. I let it cool to 110 degrees (I use a candy thermometer). Then I add about 3 T of plain organic yogurt for my starter. I stick it into quart glass mason jars and stick it in my oven with the light on for 12 hours. The only time I've gotten runny yogurt is when I put the starter in when it was too hot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had a child say something very rude to my disabled son once. He was 11-12 and his mother made him apologize. My son is very young mentally and doesn't get it when people are rude, but I was proud of the mom being a good parent in that instance. If a 4 year old did that, I would shrug it off. When my kids were that little and said something rude about another person, I would just have a talk about others feelings and how we are to always talk kindly about others. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had hip pain that was due to a spastic muscle. Some days, I couldn't walk without pain and some days, I couldn't even lie down to relieve it. I have been to chiropractors and physical therapists multiple times to relieve this. I recently found out that if I stay away from gluten, my muscle doesn't turn spastic. Since I stopped eating gluten, I have been pain free for the first time in 15 years.

I finished registration to place my daughter into a waiting list for 4th grade next year. We missed the lottery deadline and there's a decent chance she won't get in, but this is the closest I've ever been to sending a non-special needs child to school. I've had almost two years of me wearing down more and more to the point that I'm getting concerned about my long term health. My oldest son with severe special needs has come home full time and it's made me question everything including the super mom status I have with many people. She's not naughty. She's just high energy and high drama and an extreme extrovert. I'm not sure we'll actually accept a position if she gets one, but I've never ever gone past the researching of schools point. My 16 year old will be doing full time dual enrollment at the community college and my 12 year old is getting to be more independent. We are also looking at a university model school that the two youngest could go to. My daughter will only need to complete math, science, and spelling at home and my 12 year old would have all of his subjects taken care of. That's the back up or if we like it well enough, our first pick. Either way, things are changing. I am feeling like I "should" be able to handle all of this, but I am coming to the realization that I just can't. This is a very upsetting change but I feel like it's needed.

She is not an only. Her brother, who is now 12, used to play with her all the time and they had great fun together. He's an introvert also, but seemed to enjoy playing with her which helped me out a lot because she got her play time in. That is now coming to an end as I knew it would. Her brother is enjoying other pursuits now and seems to need more time away from her also. Every once in a while, they have a play time together but they are more rare than the norm. Yes, I am thankful for the neighborhood kids who aren't over scheduled. One mom is a stay at home mom whose kids go to school and are home by 3:30, and the other works at the school so her kids are home also. A lot of the other kids are just around on weekends. I find it interesting that with each move we've done, God has taken care of my extroverted children's needs. Last time we moved, my 2nd ds had a ton of boys his age in the neighborhood. This move, there seem to be a ton of girls my daughter's age. There is a university model school that is about 20 minutes away, but they only have school in the morning 3 days a week and I wonder how stressed I would be trying to get her there, pick her up and then try to do the rest of the subjects in the afternoon (like math, spelling, and homework). They do a classical model education with Veritas press (I think) and classical academic press materials. I have to talk this over with DH and possibly schedule a visit soon.

She does go to a full day enrichment program at a charter school once a week. It helps for that day. Now, for the rest of the week...

A few things about ds. He really really really doesn't want a desk job. As in - it makes him depressed to think that he could have a desk job. He wants to be creative and is a kid who needs to move to find joy. He's always been a kid that needed to move in order to think. He hates science (or claims to hate science - at least he's never found a science that he liked lately). He tests high in mechanical and people skills. We were considering industrial design but everything about that field is not positive. It's an oversaturated job market and to get a decent job doing it, you have to be very very good at it. Ds has never been an art person. He likes building 3d type structures but has always used patterns or a picture to do so. I'm not sure he would be very very good at design. Nothing in his life to this point has indicated a love of art and drawing. So, what are we looking at?

IEW. But don't do it as recommended. Just do simple paragraphs until he can do them easily, then move on. With IEW, the child doesn't have to think of "what" to write and can concentrate on "how" to write.

I got strep from a doctor's office and it kept coming back. It got to the point where they were going to put me on some antibiotic for a month or more. When I started to feel like my throat was getting scratchy again, I gargled with colloidal silver twice a day for a couple of weeks and that took care of the strep returning.

My 16 year old also knows everything. Drives my husband up the wall. I can mostly ignore it. He can enjoy the road of cluelessness for now. Reality will hit him soon enough.

I have come to a realization. My daughter is one who wears her emotions on her sleeve and can be very "in your face" all the time. She's an extreme extrovert and I am a pretty average introvert. I feel like emotionally, she sucks me dry. I've realized that it's not so much the homeschooling her that exhausts me, it's the having her all day in the house that really is becoming the reason I have researched schools she can attend for two years. After school programs wouldn't be the answer because after school, she does tend to play with the numerous kids her age in the neighborhood. I need something 2-3 days per week for 3-4 hours just so she can get her social time and I can get a break from her intensity. Has anyone ever found this type of solution?

Here's what I've figured out. When I was in a small town and the choices were homeschooling or public school (no co-ops, no private schools), people tended to stick with homeschooling. Most if not all of the people I started homeschooling with when ds was 5 are still going strong at 16. We moved two years ago to a large metro area and the choices are vast for co-ops, charter school homeschool programs, private schools, charter schools, and good public schools. There is a lot more moving of kids from one program to another. The other thing I've thought of recently is that homeschooling is HARD. Personally, we are thinking of sending our youngest to school because she is so social and it is wearing me out. If I had a private school 5 minutes away, I would jump at that so fast right now. As it is, we figured out the cost of sending our daughter to a private school would be about $10,000 a year. The tuition is not too bad, but you add registration fees, activity fees, and the "every family has to raise $1000" thing, it gets really pricey really fast. I think between having real choices and just the exhausting nature of homeschooling in general can affect the homeschooling turnover rate.