Do you have a RAD kids instructor in your area? My girls took this class and it was wonderful! It might help you feel at ease (although I wouldn't directly link it to this guy and make your kids scared). http://www.radkids.org/

A million times over! Parenting made me a better teacher, but homeschooling made me reinvent myself! As a principal, I hope it will have prepared me to take a more holistic approach to school- something I probably couldn't have done before. It's been an interesting experience. I was a teacher who never "agreed" with homeschooling- as if it were my place to disagree! Ha! I hope we've served as a positive example for all of my other nay-sayer friends.

There are husbands like this?!?!?! I was lucky to get the two I have! My husband loves our kids, but he also knows exactly how long it is before they go to college. :) Tell your hubby to pass some of his enthusiasm this way!

We start tomorrow.

I don't know how you can't get asked this question. We are one of the most social families I know and our closest friends even ask me this! People are weird about things they don't know. It's usually out of ignorance and not feeling comfortable, but it usually comes out in an aggressive way. I have a new rule with myself. I let them be ignorant once, but after that, I assume they are being rude and respond accordingly. :)

You'd think the last dentist you saw would have told you if he had some specific issue. Yikes! Is it the kind of wear that could be caused by grinding his teeth at night? It sounds to severe to be due to grinding, but it's odd that you wouldn't have known about something else sooner. I'd be interested to know what your dentist says!

With all the suspicion on this board lately, I thought I'd better formally introduce myself, which I don't think I've done! We homeschool our twin girls who just turned 9. I was a teacher at their school and one of my daughters, who has dyspraxia, had a horrible second grade experience. So, I quit my job and thought I'd homeschool, "Just for one year, as a last resort." Ha! Here we are starting year two and loving it. I finished a M.Ed. in School Administration last year and I'm sure I'll get around to using it in a future life. We live in Virginia. I guess that's it! I was only on the curriculum board until I discovered this time-sucker! I am mostly a lurker and am starting to post more, but I have a heck of a time keeping up with these boards and I forget to check back! What's the trick?? I don't really get the subscribing thing.

I think it's interesting to hear that so many of you chose international adoption because of the fear of a U.S. child being returned to its birthparents. I haven't heard that as a common thread before, but it makes a lot of sense. I also found this thread very interesting and I think it took the OP courage to ask about it. People ask about all kinds of touchy things on here and it's nice that we can share. Not to high jack the thread, but it's interesting to read about what is going on between the Virginia father and the Utah adoptive parents. I can imagine high profile cases like this don't make adoptive parents feel warm and fuzzy, or birthfathers feel very secure. Perhaps it will spark some changes in adoption laws. I can't understand why these things would vary from state to state in this day and age of internet and travel. Adoption laws should be extremely consistent and clear!

That is absolutely wonderful and probably a testament to a great upbringing. Obviously each child is different and I apologize if you felt I was implying that all adopted children have the same exact needs. But, to assume that adopted infants aren't going to suffer emotionally just because of their age, is naive. Of course they are going to have a shorter amount of time to be exposed to trauma, but it isn't a guarantee. Also, there has been a lot of recent research that shows the need for kids to be able to know where they come from, which is why reunification is so heavily pushed in foster care and why open adoption is most common. Obviously one glove doesn't fit all, but, that's kind of my point.

Our girls are adopted through foster care. A few thoughts.... It always amazes me when people think babies or young children won't have RAD, attachment issues, or psychological issues. Attachment begins in the womb. I wish there was more training for parents who opt for other routes to adoption. I also hope that if you are thinking of adopting, you spend some time reading up on attachment and identity issues so that you understand just how important a child's birth family is and will always be, whether they know them now or not. It's not something you can escape in adoption. One of the reasons open adoptions are so common now is because of how much more we know about the needs of adoptees. (FYI- "Open adoption" simply refers to each party knowing who the other party is. This is why almost every adoption through the system is open. Relationships beyond that are above and beyond and are not always in the child's best interest.) Adoption isn't easy, any way you do it. Our friends who have adopted internationally have waited FAR LONGER than we did to adopt our girls through foster care. Everyone's story is different. People have to do what works for their families. When we fostered, then adopted our girls, we weren't interested in the least in "selling ourselves" (if this is offensive to you, take another look at some of the brochures you get in the mail from agencies- they were incredibly offensive to us) to a birthmom and we were more interested in helping fix our country's problems first. HOWEVER, now that we have two children and are thinking about adding more, we are FAR LESS likely to do foster care because of the impact it would have on our girls. Each path to adoption is different and because of that, sometimes certain paths fit certain families at different times in their lives. While I still see no reason we would ever adopt internationally, I've learned never to say never. :)

My friend and his Korean-American girlfriend did Korea for a year. They loved it. If you PM me, I'll find out the company/school. I think they did high school.

Oh, and as far as it being addictive, yes, I always want to take it to go to sleep because the alternative is not sleeping! Could I sleep without it? Of course, but it's going to be awful and it will take me forever to fall asleep without it just like it did before I ever took it! You are supposed to do 3 weeks on, 1 week off, I think.

Try Melatonin. It's a natural supplement. I only take 1 mg and it is just enough to take the edge off and let me fall asleep. I also read right before bed, which helps my body to relax without my brain being allowed to go crazy. My friend sees a sleep doctor for insomnia and he actually said you are only supposed to take 1/4 mg!!! He says we are all ODing on Melatonin. :) It can cause vivid dreams, but I find I only have vivid dreams if I am taking too much. I love the stuff. I had 30 years of tossing, turning, and stressing for hours before falling asleep. I wish I would have discovered this a long time ago!

We loved Juliettes! There were quite a few in our area and we had Juliette events quite frequently. I loved that they were able to do group events, but we could work on the badges we wanted to. I have been a leader before, and honestly, I prefer Juliettes. That's just my opinion. :)

That's odd. In Utah, our medicaid didn't change at all from fostering to adopting. It's interesting how it can all vary so much from state to state.

Update- Our friends who live there said that Sandbridge has to be out by tomorrow at noon. Our friends live in VB and haven't been evacuated yet, but they are planning on coming to us in Charlottesville tomorrow just in case.

We've only been denied through Medicaid once for speech. Their reason? Get this: She wasn't bad enough!!! I felt like calling them and putting her on the phone so they could try to have a conversation with her. I was so mad. Luckily the hospital had another program. I felt SO guilty about taking advantage of it, but they insisted she come every week and it would have been $500 a month! We could have done that when I worked, but not while I'm staying home and hsing to try to meet all of her therapy needs. Ugh! It's neverending.

Hi! My daughter completed the tongue thrust program when she last 8 (last year). She did it for speech reasons. She also has a very long tongue and can put it up her nose. It's totally gross. If possible, I'd just pay for a private speech evaluation and get someone who knows what they are doing. Don't go through the school. Plus, they wouldn't normally have a tongue thrust expert anyway. A lot of private insurances will pay for one speech evaluation per year. Just call your insurance company. Oh, and you mentioned "state health insurance." If you are referring to Medicaid, then they most certainly should pay for the evaluation. This is what we have because we adopted through foster care. The tongue thrust program is VERY intense. We had up to an hour of homeswork each day. You are retraining a muscle, so it's like physical therapy (it is PT, actually). Yes, it's very common for dentists to refer kids to the tongue thrust program, according to our SLP. Even if there is no speech problem, a lot of these kids push on their two front teeth when they swallow, causing orthodontic problems. If you want more specifics about what the therapy entails, please feel free to PM me. I have a friend who is a SLP and she feels like the tongue thrust therapy is "out of date." All I know is it did wonders for my daughter. She doesn't hang her tongue out at all anymore and she chews and swallows much better. I'm hoping she won't have to have so much dental work now, as well. (Sorry if my spelling is off today- my spell check isn't working and I really don't want to proofread. :) )

I do not like animals in the house. I do not like other people's animals. I don't like the way most dogs smell. I hate the smell of dog food. I swore we would never get a big dog or a dog that sheds. That said... I LOVE our border collie and she cuddles in our bed. :ohmy: I never thought I'd love a dog this much! We had Aussies growing up and I love them too. She was hyper as a puppy, but she is a GREAT dog. We got her from the pound at 6 months old. I've never met a smarter dog. We did a trial period with my grandma's bichon and I realized we are not little dog people. I want a dog who will listen, learn, and catch a frisbee!

While I never advocate Goggle over going to the doctor, I do understand where you are coming from. I realize there is SO much to know and one person can't possibly know it all. But really, unless I need medication, I've never really left the doctor's office with more information than I walked in with. Although, I've never had any major problems, thank goodness, either. My daughter has special needs and every doctor I've taken her to has given me different advice. It seems like most patient rooms are now equipped with laptops and they can pull up all of your records right there. Perhaps there is (or needs to be) some sort of database they can turn to when they don't know the answer. Wouldn't it have been nice if the doctor could have typed in "poison ivy eye reaction" and had the latest information at his finger tips? We should be there by now!

Oh. My. Gosh. That makes me want to vomit. So sorry. :(

I LOVE Math Their Way. The teacher's guide is pricey, but you can use it through about 2nd grade. The newsletter is available free online and has TONS of activities and explanations. http://www.center.edu/ I taught it for 6 years in K/1.

I'd bet Target! They shouldn't be too hard to find. I've seen them lots of places.

No worries! If it makes you feel better, here are a few stories about TEACHERS! 1. When I was in my undergrad "Science for Teachers" class I was shocked at how many pre-service teachers couldn't explain why we have seasons. 2. During my first year teaching 1st grade, a fellow teacher had to come to my room to ask me what "nocturnal" meant. 3. I had to stop and very carefully correct a teacher who was quizzing her students (individually!) on 3D shapes. She kept calling a cone a sphere. I wonder how many confused kids there were that day! 4. I always kept a dictionary near me because I KNOW I am a horrible speller. 5. A co-teacher sent out a letter to ALL of her parents and instead of apologizing for an inconvenience she apologized for the "incontinence." There is SO much to learn and, even as adults, we have to relearn things! It is funny when we have those moments, though, when we think, "Whoops! I'd better focus a little more on ___!"

Thank you everyone! You are making me feel more sane! I was really struggling with feelings of ungratefulness, but we'll just quietly deal with things as they come in and hold to our guns about what we deem appropriate.