My 11 ds has a large white pustule on the outside of his upper gums. It is swollen around the tooth (which is an adult tooth with a filling). I have never seen something like this. He said he just noticed it this morning and that it hurts about a 4 on a scale of 1-10. I'll call dentist in the morning but he is closed today. I am thinking it is some kind of infection or absess in that tooth. Something that is going to cause major inconvenience, pain, and expense. Any chance it is something else more benign than that? He had a good checkup a month ago. Thanks. Marie

I do want to hit a beach so I will check out the ones listed. We were just at Disney a year ago and while we enjoyed it, I have no problem passing it up to do something different :) I don't think we would get enough out of those pricey tickets without my dh. We'll do it another time. Thanks for all the suggestions. It is surprisingly hard to get that information because every Orlando visitors website I've gone to is so dominated by all the big theme parks (and we do really enjoy the parks, too). Marie

Dh has a conference in Orlando in November so we're all going to go. We'll go a few days early and do Sea World, Aquatica and Busch Gardens (and save Disney until dh can spend the whole time with us). I am looking for some more low key attractions to take in with the 4 ds (ages 11, 9, 6, and 1) while dh is working. What off the beaten path or lesser attractions should I check out? The kids want to check out Gatorland. We are pretty flexible and like a wide variety of activities. We will enjoy the condo and pool but we get a little stir crazy and would like to get out somewhere almost every day even if for just a few hours. Thanks. Marie

I heard more details through the grapevine that did increase my level of discomfort. There is more and I don't want to discuss it here (on the chance that there are others here that go to this co-op I don't want to spread rumors). This seems like a very troubled kid in the least. I doubt that anything really would happen but there are enough warning signs for me to just keep them home. I would be worried all day. If I just had the 2 dc, dh would have just stayed with one and I would have stayed with the other and I would have been comfortable with that. But, we have 3 dc in classes throughout the building and I have a toddler I couldn't haul around there all day. I feel for the board members that were put in this position. Reportedly, they were trying to arrange for an undercover police officer but weren't sure if they could get it. The level of concern from the board seems real. Not enough to cancel a whole day of classes but they are conveying some genuine concern. Not panic, just caution. Thanks for everyone's input. It caught me off guard last night and I needed to bounce it around in my head a bit. I didn't have much time to make a decision and track down much information so I just played it safe. Marie

We wont be going. I'd be surprised if anything really happened but I just can't get comfortable with it. I don't know any board members well but a friend of mine does and the bits of information she got made me more concerned, not less. I also would like to spare my kids the drama that will be today with kids talking about it in the lunch room, etc. You know how kids can talk and I really don't even want them to have that experience. One of them had something really special planned in one of his classes that dh had taken off of work to attend. I was able to email a report one dc was supposed to give to another teacher. I feel bad that they have to miss but I explained it to the oldest ones and they understand. They just want dh to rent a movie to watch with them this afternoon. Thanks, Marie

I believe that the student has already been expelled and they are concerned about how he reacted to that information and that he might retaliate in some way. I don't understand it to mean that they will just be informing him of this tomorrow.

I just got an email from the board members of our co-op. They were giving a "heads up" that security would be tight tomorrow. The message said that they had to expel a student and that there was some concern about the student's reaction so there would be tight security tomorrow ( everyone has to enter through the main entrance, teenagers who are normally allowed outside during breaks must stay in, etc.) I don't know what to think. I am generally impressed with our co-op leaders and would trust their decision making. We only have one day left so I don't imagine a student would have been expelled for something minor. I have to think if they thought there was a very serious threat they would not even hold classes. My first thought is that it is probably nothing and they are just being extra vigilant. That I shouldn't worry. If this student was a problem it is probably safer there now that he has been expelled than it was last week. I am not one to be overly fearful. But, what if something terrible did happen? What if I had a "heads up" and went anyways? Opinions? Thanks, Marie

At the time the dentist told us that we had until they were about halfway in to deal with it. Up until that point they will get where they need to be but beyond the half way point their position can be compromised. They recommended we wiggle his tooth every day and try to get it out on its own for 10 days. Those teeth didn't budge and we got them pulled. Same thing second time around. My third ds is 6 so I am waiting for it to happen to him. I imagine it might have been fine but I don't think those baby teeth were coming out any time soon. With the treatment we chose they came in very straight and haven't been any more problems. It is a pain to have them pulled though. Good luck. Marie

That was just what I was looking for. It was hard but I could do it. 20 minutes later I'm really wiped (in a good way). Wow!! That was an intense yet doable quick workout. I like Jillian's style, too. Of course, the perfectionist in me doubts that I will see results with such a short workout... Thanks. I'm going to look for some of the other ones too. I know my On Demand Cable has some of Bob's Biggest Loser ones and I'll look for that Walk Fit. Marie

The 30 day shred is on my Cable On Demand right now so I'm going to give that a try. I wil also look at the Leslie Sansone dvds again- maybe the particular one I had wasn't for me. Jillian Michaels is probably more the personality I want to work out with than Leslie Sansone...that probably has as much to do with my feelings about her dvds as anything :) Thanks. Marie

I have only 30 minutes to fit in exercise right now. I am 20 lbs overweight and not fit but active and can handle a decent workout. If I'm going to do this I need to feel like I actually accomplished something in that 30 minutes. Something like 30 minutes of walk away the pounds doesn't really feel like much exercise to me. I know some people love it. So, what DVD will kick my butt in 30 minutes? I need to be sweating the majority of the time. Not warming up and cooling down for half of it. I hope to work in some longer walks and longer workouts when we break for summer but right now 30 minutes is it. Thanks, Marie

Ds joined a competitive travel baseball team. Dh agreed to a trip out of state for 5 days in the summer a year in advance. Dh is going to be out of the country for work at this time so I will be on my own, with 4 kids, out of state for 5 days just for some ball games. The expense of this is just sickening to me- especially when we can't even turn it into a family trip. I'm upset about it and I've had it hanging over my head for most of a year. I'm mad at my dh about it. But we're doing it. It's just too late to back out now. It's not fair to the team or other parents that are spending their money. I'm just going to bite the bullet and do it. We just should never have agreed to do it. We did make the mistake of agreeing to do it and now we've got to follow through. I know it's not exactly the same but I can relate. I don't feel good about it. I think of the other things we could do this summer with that $$$$. We made a mistake but we can't leave 9 other families holding the bag. We will hopefully learn from this and plan better and not be so cavalier about making committments in the future. I think dh was just so honored and excited for ds to be given an opportunity on this particular elite team that he just went along with it- not really thinking it through. Good luck. I know it's not the same. I just am dealing with this today as well and I can relate. I consider it a financial mistake we've made. We've made them before and we'll make them again. Hopefully not the same ones over and over! Good luck. Marie

but I was in this boat for my dd Baptism. What I did was make a cajun turkey breast ( just inject cajun marinade and roast) and then slice it up and put it in some broth/ marinade in a crock pot. I also made the crock pot italian beef the day before and had that in the crock pot ready to go too. We had the choice of meats, rolls, baked beans, salads and easy sides/ finger foods that cold just come out of the fridge or be at room temp. It was well received, and easy and relaxing for me. And very forgiving as far as time goes. Easy clean up, too! Good luck and enjoy. It's a special day no matter what! Marie

My mom is eating herself to death. She is morbidly obese and I feel she is on her way to being bedridden and unable to care for herself. I know she has to decide to change herself and this late in the game it is unlikely. Is there nothing at all I can do? This is so hard to watch. I don't know what to do. Her health is deteriorating and I will be physically unable to care for her or even assist her in getting around. A simple fall would require paramedics to help her up. Has anyone ever helped someone with this. It is heartbreaking to watch. Thanks, Marie

I liked it. I took 11yo perpetually hungry ds with me so I ended up with a few extra things but I liked the prices. We'll see if we like what we got but we are not usually brand picky on very many things. I'm much more price picky :) I'm looking forward to going on a week day when it is not so crowded and I have time to look a little closer at things. Definitely milk, cheese, eggs, and produce were good prices. Thanks.

I need a break this afternoon so I'm going to drive a town over and check out the new Aldi's. I know about the quarter for the cart and that I'll need to bring or purchase bags. Any favorites or great deals I should make sure to look for? Thanks. I know there are alot of Aldi's fans on here.

We like it pretty well. We bought it used and it now has about 70,000 miles on it. We have not had any repairs on it yet. It's not really the right car for us right now. We have 4 dc (we weren't plannin on the 4th when we purchased the car). I liked using it as a wagon with the 3 dc in the second row and the back flipped down for cargo room. It was great for hauling sports equipment, coolers, groceries,, etc. Now with a 4th dc it is too small. With the back seats in use there isn't much cargo space with a stroller back there. I have started letting my oldest ride up front with me so I can use it like a wagon again. When dh is with us we have to flip up a back seat. So we can haul people or cargo- not both. That said, the seats do reconfigure easily. When we replace dh's car we'll get something bigger for the family car but I think the Freestyle will still be good for the daily running. I like the gas mileage and it is a nice car overall. Just not quite right for us as a main family car. We have had some problems with non-engine repairs. One of the seats has never flipped down properly. We have a car seat there so we're not flipping it anyways but when we wanted to haul something large we weren't able to flip it down to maximize the space. When we called the dealer about getting it fixed they didn't know how (????). We didn't pursue it. The other thing we have just gotten used to is that the rear sensor device ( I don't know what it is really called- lets you know if there is something behind you when you are backing up) drives me crazy. It is fairly loud and beeps whenever I back up because it detects things so far away (like the mailbox at the end of the drive when I am way up at the top). Dealer claims there is no way to alter it or turn it off! Again we've not pursued it and just gotten used to it but everytime someone is riding with me they comment on how loud it is. I have had a bias against Fords after growing up with my parents and their Ford Aerostar van (windows didn't roll down, gas gauge didn't work, car left us stranded all the time). I would say that I am happy with the engine performance and quality of the car but I do feel like some of the other stuff is Ford glitchy or kinda cheap. (There are places in the car where plastic has come off, the seal on one of the passenger windows has come off etc). We are hard on cars, though. We aren't really in the financial position to worry about all the luxury or convenience issues. If the cars runs reliably and fits everyone then we are happy. I guess we like it, we don't love it. I think we'll be much happier when it is our second car and we have something bigger for the family outings.

I am beginning to consider that my 9yo has something going on (besides being quirky, different, slow to catch on, disobedient, etc). I don't know where to go for information. I really am at the very beginning stages of investigating this. Where do I go for information? What websites/ books, etc. I have little confindence that my pediatrician will be helpful:sad: I don't know where to start but I keep wondering if there is a way to make things a little easier for my boy. Thanks, Marie

I'm not sure what to do with my 9 yo ds. He is my second child. He is bright, athletic, and pretty social. He is not nearly as athletic or social as his 11 yo brother. I feel like he is a typical middle kid and I worry about him having a complex about his older brother (who is one of those for whom everything comes easy- exceptional athlete, very popular, etc.) I have always believed that kids need an interest or a "thing" as they are getting older. While I don't necessarily believe a 9 yo needs extracurricular activities I do believe that older kids do and lots of these activities are very difficult to get into if you start late. We have done karate, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis. He has liked all of these things okay (except karate) but hasn't loved anything. He doesn't complain about going but it is clear from his demeanor he'd prefer a rain out. He never wants to practice on his own or with the family. Doesn't hustle, marginal attitude, etc. He basically likes it as long as it is just silliness and playing around but as soon as a coach puts any kind of expectation on him he's over it. I have told him he has to do something. I have offered him everything I could think of (scouts, music, art, academic competitions, book clubs, chess clubs, etc). He says if he has to do something he will play sports but he is driving me crazy with his apathy. I wonder why I am spending this money and running him around to do something he's not even into. he does like sports and will play outside but I feel like he is just lazy when it comes to the organized activity. I told dh that I think he needs the expectation on him these coaches have and that he needs to overcome the laziness/ negative attitude. In a way the fact that we are making him do something even though it is not cheap or convenient may in some way reinforce to him that we love him and are not letting him just be a lump because we know he can do better. This child has amazing potential just a sour attitude in general. Am I wrong to push him to grow up a bit? Am I wrong to insist that he has some sort of activity? Is it really okay for a 9 yo to want to spend his time playing with super hero action figures and nothing else? I know I've rambled and I'm not even sure what my question is. Does anyone have any insight? This kid is so hard to peg sometimes. Marie

I really do appreciate all the perspectives. I also love that there are so many ways to homeschool (I'm not one to get hung up on who is technically homeschooling). I think it is going to be a great experience for the older ones. We have gone to this co-op for two years but next year we are ramping up the number and the rigor of the courses there. The 6th grader will have a lot to be responsible for and I think that's a good thing. I'm also looking forward to having someone else read his writing and I'm happy to take a pass on the dissection labs :) The 4th grader is going to be challenged as well and it will be good for him. I think what I needed to do differently is not allow my youngest (1st grade) to participate just because we are there. It is fun for him and probably good to be in the classroom setting a little bit. It is not worth the fees I will pay for him, though. It's not something I ever would have considered for the others at such a young age. But we're there and one class turns into two classes and all of a sudden I'm spending more for him than I should. But it's all about tradeoffs. It's guess it's worth something to me not to have to entertain him all that time and I get to run some errands without him. Of course, his fees aren't nearly as high as the older boys' but it would have kept it down a little. Two years ago I worked as a paid substitute and recouped a little of the expense that way. I may look into that again. Thanks for all the input. I'm glad there are at least a few others who see these activities as worthwhile. I wish I didn't feel like we needed it. We could take a vacation for that $$$. Marie

There will be plenty of at home work for the older ones. Oldest is taking a 2hr dissection class with homework/ tests, etc., an English class using Shurley that will have weekly homework/ writing assignments, a literature class that will have outside reading/ writing assignments, etc., a chemistry lab course that will have homework/ quizzes. I really am outsourcing science and language arts and just helping to oversee homework. So the upside is that I am relieved of my planning on those subjects and I am ready for a break on some of that. The older 2 are taking classes from 8-3:30 and the youngest is going from 11:30-3:30. It is a full day of classes with just a half an hour for lunch. I don't think I would think twice about it if it were just for one child. It sure does add up, though. Marie

Oh- I know it's high. The prices per class are reasonable (IMHO) but not when you add up for 3 kids. There are the 3 day per week private schools around here but they are about $3000 per one child plus other expenses. It's a big co-op, so there are definitely others spending that much. There are at least 5 or 6 co-ops in the area that are once per week that run at similar expense so I know it is not unheard of. I was just wondering if anyone on here was involved with something similar. It definitely is more of a one day per week school for us as we are using it to fill academic needs. I'm only spending about $500 for curriculum for all three next year so it is definitely more than I spend on that. I guess I can't figure out how I feel about it. The teachers are good and take their jobs seriously and it is all very well run. The kids get so much out of it that we don't do at home. Obviously we've decided it's worth it to us but it's still ALOT of money. I'm still looking for someone to tell me that it's not nuts :001_smile: I probably won't find that here! Marie

I am spending a ton on co-op next year. For my 5th, 3rd, and 1st graders I'm going to spend about $3000 by the time all is said and done with registration fees, course fees, material fees, etc. Dh works a second job (online at home thing) to pay for their extracurricular activities and this will come out of that. This is not a true co-op. It meets once a week. Teachers and rent are paid. Parents volunteer 16 hours each semester. Most classes are academic- not just enrichment. The older students will have homework, tests, etc. The kids love it. We've decided it's worth it. There is still a knot in my stomach when I add it all up. I know most of you think I am crazy. I am just wondering if there is anyone at all out there that is spending this on a co-op? It is taking some pressure off at home because some subjects are being completely outsourced this way. Kids love it and they are learning things I wouldn't be teaching at home. Anyone else spending this much? Anyone care to make me feel better? Marie

and was pleasantly surprised. I will be ordering again in the future.

I'm tempted by this resource but trying to keep expenses down. Is this worth the money or should I just get out TWTM and Sonlight catalogs and make my own lists? I'm trying to make reading lists for a 1st, 4th, and 6th graders, all avid readers, and I'm finding the task daunting. Opinions?? Thanks, Marie