Does anyone know the reason behind this? When my dc get their teeth cleaned, the hygienist applies some type of fluoride to their teeth. It is painted on and will wear off within a day. Why do they not do that for adult teeth? I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason but I have no idea what it is. And I think they put sealants on my dc's teeth once, but I may be wrong about that. Why do they not put sealants on adult teeth? Finally, does a fluoride rinse help adult teeth? TIA

I have been struggling with many similar types of issues and I have realized that much of my struggle comes from the bad theology I've been fed for the last few years. My dh and I changed denominations, and it seemed on the surface to be just fine, but as time went on I began to get very confused with things that people would say, and much of it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Someone gave me a book to read and it has real helped me begin to re-acquaint myself with God, Jesus, suffering, and life's purpose. I highly recommend the book. It is The Promise by Father Jonathan Morris. I have heard people say that God will take away something that you love more than Him, and that makes my toes curl. I think that is baloney.

:grouphug::grouphug: I can't imagine, but when I tried to imagine myself in your place, tears immediately came to my eyes. I know she did it out of love, but I can see that it would hurt in ways I can't even imagine. :grouphug::grouphug:

Maybe I am having a mid-life crisis..... For a few years, I have been feeling uneasy about my life's path. It is strange, because I have wanted to Homeschool since I was a teen, and so I should be happy. My kids love homeschooling and would be happy to go all the way through high school at home. This is our 8th year of hsing. I will turn 40 this year. When our first child was born, I had graduated from college but only had a out a year of work experience. I decided to stay home, then decided to Homeschool. My dh was always very supportive and in agreement with our plan. I am looking at my life and I realize how much I've changed, and not for the better. Homeschooling has fed my introverted personality, yet I am lonely for deeper connections with others. I feel like I have been under a rock sometimes. Since I chose to not pursue a career/grad school, /etc., I now have no marketable skills if I should want to work. I guess I would have to go back to school. I know I am intelligent, yet I feel completely intimidated by what I would need to do to pursue a career at this point or when the kids are in college. My dh has built an amazing career, is very successful, and is well-loved by all that know him. He is a very hard worker and we have both made many sacrifices for his success, which has paid off for us. I don't know how crazy this will sound, but I feel like we both have worked so hard, but now it is as if he did it all and I am still stuck back where we were 20 years ago. There are so many things he can do that I can't because he has focused so hard on his career while I've been at home. Now I realize we did it together, but in the end it is his career, kwim? I am feeling confused that I made the wrong choice by staying home. I wonder where I would be, what would I have done in my life if I had let the kids go to school. I am jealous that he knows interesting people That he can go have lunch with, that are dressed up and look nice and so on. He gets positive feedback from his peers and from his boss, he gets praise and recognition for a job well done. No one cares what I do, unless of course I do it wrong, and I especially feel the pressure of teaching the kids. For a few years now I won't even mention that I Homeschool, and if it is brought up I try to change the subject as quickly as possible. I especially don't want to talk to anyone at his office about it. It is like nails on a chalkboard to hear from some nice looking businessman/woman that he/she "could never do that". I wanted my dh to be successful and I'm proud of what we have done, but I feel like my dh has outgrown me and I feel like we are in different worlds. 10 years ago our paths seemed a little different but as the years go on, the gap just seems wider. I also regret that while I have given my heart and soul to homeschooling that I didn't have anything left over to just be me. And honestly, I don't mean having a girls' night out or going shopping, but something real and meaningful that would help my self-confidence and build up my soul. This post is too long at this point so I will just ask is any of you have ever had similar feelings and how did you reconcile them? I am planning to go and talk to a counselor because I just can't get past this and it is having an impact on my relationships with my family. Thank you for listening and I hope it wasn't too depressing to read.

We stayed at the Cowboy Village Resort. We even grilled out for dinner. It was so much fun. http://www.townsquareinns.com/cowboy-village

I had a thought about the guilt you feel in reference to your child with cerebral palsy. Think of it this way....instead of feeling bad because your dc won't be able to do those types of poses, consider it your obligation to do yoga because your child can't. To not do yoga or to feel bad about it is doing your dc a disservice. If your child could do those poses, he would. So you owe it to him to do it just because you can. Do it for the both of you! I hope that came across the way I meant it, which is with a big hug.

I have been eagerly awaiting ALL! I have been checking Amazon weekly see if anything had changed. I was hoping to start it in January. Back to the drawing board....

Remember the mailman from the movie Better Off Dead?

Does anyone remember the discussion over the video of the toddler that was killed in (China?) and no one came to his rescue? I know it isn't the same situation, but I can't help but draw some parallels.

I have a bottle of perfume but I rarely wear it. My MIL wears the nastiest perfume---Youth Dew---- and it stinks to high heaven. If you hug her you are doomed to smell like it until you change clothes. It is bad. I swear she must bathe in it, and it is a really offensive smell. Dh has told her to tone it down but she still wears a ton. When he has to take her somewhere in his car, he covers the seatbelt with this contraption he made because it will smell on the seatbelt for months! Seriously.

Store bought canned.

I cooked a triple batch of chili today for a bonfire. I used canned red beans (not kidney, just regular red beans). I was having a taste test after it had cooked in the crockpot all afternoon and some of the beans are hard, smaller, and deeper in color, and are definitely undercooked. They are as hard as a peanut. My chili is ruined ruined ruined. But I am curious and concerned about the beans being canned and undercooked. Would that be a toxic combination? My dh is going to the grocery in the morning to complain and try to get reimbursed for this $30 worth of chili I ruined because of their stupid beans. I've googled and can find several things about undercooked beans, but nothing about undercooked beans that were canned. And I'm SO bummed because the chili was really good and I hate to not bring it to the party. :nopity:

My dd is not a strong reader, but I am at a loss as to what to do about science. We are doing Apologia's General Science this year, 7th grade, but she is drowning in this book. To be blunt, she can't comprehend the reading. I have to go over everything with her, which causes me to have to read the chapter and take notes, digest the information, and teach it to her on her level. It is time-consuming and frustrating for both of us. I am so discouraged about school in general, as her difficulties in reading and comprehension cause her more trouble every year. She has been in private tutoring in the past for phonics and reading remediation, and it helped tremendously, but she just struggles so much with everything she reads. I feel that we will need to look into additional help for her struggles, but in the meantime, what should I do in regards to this science course? I hear about other students that just read the book, do the experiments, the study guide, and test and sail through with no problems. Is it really that easy and my child is that far behind or is there another science program that would be better suited for a weak reader? If this helps, she is doing MOH for history and can do most of that on her own.

Oh thank you all so much or this much-needed inspiration. I was so excited to come home from running errands and see these wonderful posts. When they were small I had several long lists of ideas for activities and I would read through them occasionally to keep things fresh. I think I will take these suggestions and make a new list for the dc that is more age-appropriate. Thanks again!!!

My dc are in the tween and teen ages, and things are rapidly changing for us. Instead of afternoons filled with tea parties and barbie dolls, they are texting and trying out new hairstyles and bickering. I was just looking at a few blogs that I love, but I felt a sadness when I would look at each post of cute finger painting afternoons, big book baskets full of picture books, and the like. I am missing that time so much already and I want to savor anything I have left of those experiences. Also, I want to know what your teens, especially girls, do in their free time. I need ideas. The oldest (13) in particular does not know what to do with herself. Finally, if you have tweens and teens and have a blog, I'd love to add it to my list of blogs I read. Maybe it will inspire me!

Great advice so far. You might want to listen to Susan Wise Bauer's lecture "Homeschooling the Real Child." It is encouraging and full of good ideas.

Thank you for your replies. I feel that I should remove this.

I would unfriend her. Homeschooling is hard enough without having to hear things like that from so called friends. I haven't received a negative comment about homeschooling in years, (so I'm sure I'm overdue one) but my standard answer is "Wow, all I ever hear are positive comments from others when they find out I homeschool. I'm really surprised that in this day and age anyone would still think that way." :D

I want to know how on earth they were able to adopt children if they were using these methods with their other children. Wouldn't the home study evaluator have uncovered some of their techniques? And don't they follow up after adoption?

Brag away!! That is wonderful!

We love Jim Weiss, but I liked Barbara's voice for SOTW. The kids and I love the way he says "YELLOW FEVER" in Vol. 3. :lol:

She is 13. So far, I've been referring to the answers in order to steer her in the right direction. I'll admit that I am not so great in answering the questions either. I usually have an acceptable answer in my head, but I feel compelled to look at the author's answer to make sure I'm on the right track.

questions question...;) Have any of your dc had difficulty answering these questions, or is it just my dc? The OYO questions require a more critical thinking approach, and I do not know how to get my dc from point A (which is the mentality of filling in the blank) to point B (which are the OYO questions). How can I help guide my dc into that type of thinking? Any tips? We discuss the questions before an answer is written, but there is still a major struggle to comprehend what is being asked and how to answer well.

I just yelled at my kids. I consider myself longsuffering but I have had all I can take. They DO NOT get along anymore. I have two girls, three years apart, oldest is 13. My younger one has been a highly sensitive child since birth. She cries at the drop of a hat. Everything bothers her. She is difficult to get along with. But she is also very sweet and gentle at other times. My older has typically been easy to get along with but more rowdy than her sister and she can really get on your nerves if she is in a hyper mood. The two have played together for years and I've enjoyed many years of them getting along for the most part. But for about the last year my older daughter has really changed as she has become a teen. I understand that it is normal, but she no longer wants to have anything to do with her younger sister. Times when they are happy together have all but disappeared. The younger one's emotions are still so out of control. She has days when she acts like a bratty little 4 year old, throwing tantrums and making whimpering sounds when she doesn't get her way. Other days she is just fine. No rhyme or reason to it, I've been trying to find a pattern for years and can't find any cause/effect. Homeschooling has become increasingly difficult because they act like they HATE each other. It feels like teaching two pit bulls that are ready to fight. They make little snarky jabs at each other all day, they don't even try to get along, and they compete with each other for things like "who gets the eraser they have decided is the most special". All.day.long. I am so stressed and so tired of it. I feel that their animosity is no longer healthy or conducive to homeschooling. I have been praying about it for a long time but I told God this morning that I am at the end of my rope like I've never been before, and that I have no more ideas or strategies. It's like they fight and I no longer have any idea of what to do because nothing I've done seems to work. So I yelled (really mature, I know) and told them that this is the last year of homeschooling if they don't start being amiable to each other. So they start pointing fingers and crying and I told them that school was over for the day and I left the room. I've never done that before. So far they are still in the school room, and I presume they are working on their work. My oldest needs lots of guidance but I told herthat she was on her own if she didany work, that I was finished for the day. I have no one IRL that I can share this with, so I really appreciate you taking time to read this. I need advice on how to get through the next 8-9 months with the two of them. Fortunately, they are in tutorials so they are apart for that time, and I did that because I felt that they needed time apart. But it isn't enough. They have never been to school so this is a big deal for us to put them in school if that happens. But I am not going to put myself and them through years of daily craziness. Thanks for reading.

I'm so bummed! I've been cooking a roast in the crockpot all day, and I just went to check on it (6 hours later) and I accidentally cooked the absorbent plasticky pad that they put on the bottom of meat along with the roast. It is in one piece, not melted, but I am not sure if we should still eat the roast. Did I mention that I am SO bummed? So...would you eat it?