I usually get all the things I ordered at once. The exception seems to be if I order during a busy time like in August.

Sounds like it went well considering what you've shared in the past. I'm sure you're glad it's over though! My in-laws have "issues" too and they are coming for 10 days next March but I am already dreading it.

Sandragood1, I pm'ed you. :001_smile:

Hits: -Thinkwell Government -Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra and Algebra Misses: -Bravewriter Online Expository Essay class -Moving Beyond the Page

When we lived in Germany we'd take people who were visiting from the U.S. to IKEA. Most of our visitors didn't have an IKEA near them in the States though so it was something new.

French Camp for three weeks.

I am very pro-breast feeding and all mine were extended bf'ed as well BUT I also feel strongly that the decision to bf or not is a personal one and no one should be made to feel bad about their choice. If you are looking for a reason to not bf then I think your past abuse issues are a very valid reason. Breast feeding is one way of building a bond with your baby but not the only one especially if it's making you miserable. You have this Mama's permission to formula feed. No judgements. :)

Ds1 took the Expository Essay earlier in the year. We were both disappointed. As others have mentioned the interface is difficult to work with but what was really frustrating to ds was the amount of time the instructor took to respond and give feedback. Many times he was supposed to be writing a second draft when she hadn't critiqued his first draft yet. I really wanted to like this class and so did ds because I'd heard so many good things about Bravewriter here but it was definitely pretty much an expensive fail. Maybe a different class or a different instructor would be better but I am little hesitant to try.

My older ds has been to overnight summer camp a couple of times and my middle ds has gone on one overnight trip with dh but dd has never been away from me. Dh travels a lot for work and I've had a few opportunities to go with him: once his whole team earned a trip to a resort in a different country and spouses were invited all expenses paid. However, I've never actually gotten to take any of the opportunities because of lack of childcare. Neither set of grandparents are keen on babysitting even for a few hours. I think it would be hard to be away from the kids but I'm sure I could get used to it pretty fast. :laugh:

I made blackberry cordial last summer. It was delicious. I plan to make it again this year and also raspberry cordial.

Trips to the beach Hiking in the mountains when the wildflowers are in bloom Berry picking Picnics Hot dog roasts Swimming Making homemade ice cream and popsicles Camping Outdoor Shakespeare theater Summer reading program at the library and various activities they offer (puppet shows, crafts, etc) Overnight camp for oldest ds Day camps for the other kids Trying out messy craft projects (last summer we dyed yarn and play silks outside)

My in-laws live overseas. We used to live in their country when my oldest two were younger. They pretty much ignored the kids as babies but once they were about two and could talk they would take them to the zoo and on walks. After we moved to the U.S. they pretty much lost interest in maintaining a relationship with the kids. They send gift cards for birthdays and Christmas and maybe call once or twice a year. We haven't seen them in three years. The last time they visited all they wanted to do was sit around my house and only minimally engaged with the kids. It's disappointing but they don't really come from a hands-on kid-friendly culture. My parents live close to us. They're not really kid people either. They will watch the kids if it is dh or my birthday or anniversary but other than that it seems like a burden. I stopped asking when my oldest ds was old enough to babysit. We still don't go out very often and never overnight. My parents like my kids but need a lot of time for themselves. My dad will occassionally ask one of the ds's to help build something and my mom will have my dd and nieces over once or twice a year for a craft activity. I have friends who constantly drop their kids off with their parents or IL's to go grocery shopping or even a weekend trip. It does make me jealous but it is what it is. I don't know how I'll be as a grandparent. A part of me wants to be a fun hands-on grandma but since I don't get a lot of help from dh, parents or IL's with my own kids I'm afraid I might be burnt out and what some time for ME later on.

Full service gas stations used to be the norm. At one point it would have been considered odd to have to pump your own gas. I live in WA but I love having someone else pump my gas when we're in OR. In the PNW it rains a lot- who likes standing around pumping gas when it's cold and wet and windy? The gas stations that I've been to all have been regular sized with several pumps. Usually a couple of guys working there. They don't stand there pumping your gas the whole time. They start on your car and then go start another car. They usually have one of those hand-held credit card machines that you can swipe right there. If you want to go inside you can do that while they're filling your tank or you can go in afterwards. A lot of times they will wash your windows. I've never seen anyone fill their tires or vacuum their car while they are pumping gas. Usually that is something you do afterwards or beforehand in a separate area.

Our state requires us to test each year. My kids don't mind taking the tests so it isn't a huge deal for us but I don't really think testing is all that helpful. As I am actively teaching my kids every day so I am quite aware of their strengths and weaknesses and have never been surprised at the test results. Also the tests are really only measuring a very small portion of what kids actually know. My dh is very uninvolved in our homeschool. A few times he has voiced some concerns and it's made me feel a bit defensive. However, after I'd given it some thought I realized that he doesn't know what we do every day and is basing his opinions on his own schooling experience. After I explained to him my homeschool philosophy and why I teach what I teach it helped allay his concerns. We homeschool for academic reasons so if I was just going to teach the same things they teach at ps and have the same expectations, what would be the point? Perhaps your dh also doesn't have a true picture of what your children are actually learning? Is he afraid that they are behind in a certain subject? If you can ascertain what his concerns are I would strive to gently reassure him: show him some of the kids' work, have them do a small presentation for him, etc.

I've tried telling the meat truck guy that we're vegetarians but he told me that he also has fish. I know some vegetarians that eat fish but most do not so??? At least I was truthfully able to tell the guy that dh is horribly allergic to all fish.

Germany: Run Lola Run The Lives of Others Head-On The Counterfeiters Sophie Scholl Good-bye Lenin The Edge of Heaven In July Denmark: After the Wedding Adam's Apples In A Better World Submarino The Silence France: Amelie Romantics Anonymous Sweden: Everlasting Moments As It is in Heaven Norway: Hawaii,Oslo

I love my Diva cup. I always had a bad reaction to disposable pads and tampons so I switched to reusable pads in my early twenties. After my second ds was born I found out about the Diva cup. I still use cloth pads sometimes but the Diva cup is so more comfortable and convenient.

I have it but we haven't used it yet. It is not really a geography book in the American sense, it is more map reading, coordinates, orienteering, etc.

My 12 year old is the same way. It is very frustrating.

Hans Peter Richter is a German author who has written several books about WWII from a German perspective. I have only read: Friedrich. There is also The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

I don't have any wise words but I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone and I understand your frustration. My middle ds who is 12 sounds very much like your daughter. He doesn't really have any hobbies or interests that he's passionate about and school is a nightmare. He wants me to help but he doesn't want me to help. He doesn't want to show me his work. He's not interested in doing any work except math but then only what is assigned and not beyond. I've tried all sorts of approaches with him and we even enrolled our state's virtual school for a year as I was desperate and thought maybe some outside accountability would motivate him. No luck there either. My ds is a talented artist so I signed him up for art class. He enjoyed it until he was bumped up to the advanced class and then it was tears every time because he never wanted to do any of the assignments. He complained that everyone else was better than him but he wouldn't ask the teacher for tips or practice at home. He does like to read but even with that he will read the same books over and over again and then complain that he doesn't have anything new to read. However, when we go to the library he can never find anything to read by himself. Last summer he wanted to go to camp. I offered him about 20 choices. None of them appealed to them and he asked me, "Aren't there any other options?" It's very stressful and tiring. I really want my son to succeed but he doesn't seem interested in succeeding so that pretty much renders my attempts useless. I am sorry you are going through this. Hopefully someone else will have some actual ideas and strategies.

Elegantlion, Thank you for the textbook suggestions. It seems like there are quite a few high school and college textbook options so it helpful to have some personal recommendations. I will check those out.

My oldest ds will be in 10th grade next year and I am unsure what to do for history. Some background information: He loves history and has an keen interest in the subject beyond what we do for school. He does historical reenacting and has read extensively on certain events or eras that interest him. In early elementary (K-3) we just read about historical topics of interest. Starting in 4th grade we used History Odyssey. We were never able to finish a unit in one year so he spent Grades 5-6 on Ancients, 6-7 on Middle Ages and in 8th grade he finished half of Early Middle. This year he decided he wanted something different and also that the materials (Kingfisher) used in HO weren't challenging enough. So for 9th grade we've been using Thinkwell American Government with additional readings. For 10th grade he would like to continue with the history cycle starting at around 1700. My problem is finding the right materials. We prefer secular books and programs and there seems to be a shortage of those unless I put together something on my own. My idea is to have a textbook as a spine and supplement with additional readings and/ or Great Course lectures. Does anyone have any textbook recommendations for me? If it is a World History book we would only be using a portion of it if we do 1700-Modern. Or does anyone have any other ideas? Should we do something completely different?? I want to make this interesting and challenging but I'm not feeling very confident in my ability to do that.

My youger ds definitely needed braces. One of his front teeth grew in fused to an extra tooth so he had this gigantic front tooth. In addition he had an overbite, crowding, crookedness etc. There was not a doubt that he would get braces. On the other hand, older ds didn't have many obvious problems. His teeth looked relatively straight but our ortho did say that some of his adult molars teeth would eventually shove the other teeth out of alignment. So we also opted to get older ds braces even though it seems more cosmetic at the moment.

For my MIL's 60th birthday we were all invited to stay at a hotel in the country. My PIL had stayed there before and gone on and on about the fantastic modern rooms with flat screen tvs, lights that came on when you walked in the room, jacuzzi tubs etc. So we get there and everyone else in the family had been assigned these cool modern rooms except for us. We got a room in the basement. The decor was hunting themed so there were prints of foxes with dead birds hanging out of their mouths and also actual dead animal heads mounted all over the walls and even in the bathroom. The bathroom was a mauvey pink color and really small. There was a big open fireplace in the lobby and all the smoke seemed to accumulate in our room. Since we were in the basement we only had these little tiny windows way up high so it was very dark and the only other lighting were a pair of candle wall sconces. To top it off I got food poisoning and ended up spending most of the time confined in the room.