I had some mucous last night a few times, when I wiped. Definitley mucous, no pink show at all though. I am not sure if I should be excited that things are drawing near (I'm 39 weeks 4 days), or if it is just because I had an internal exam yesterday (2 cm, 50% effaced, soft and mushy, baby high). I can't remember if sometimes you lose some mucous just from those cervical checks. My sister is having her baby tomorrow morning, via c-section...I want to hold off until the end of the week at least, if only for my poor mother's sake! She's staying at my sister's house to watch my niece, and will go absolutely crazy if there are two newborns that close together. My last baby went to 41 weeks 5 days, so I had hoped there'd be more time. Plus, my midwife is out of town until i'm 41 weeks 1 day, and I'd rather use her than the back up midwife I haven't met.

Um...that's a sign of your cervix dilating...bloody show. Totally normal at 38 weeks. Look forward to a baby soon :)

I think that skate time will REALLY help. She is at the age where they start wanting to "fit in" and "be normal" and if she only knows kids in public school that seems normal. She needs some homeschool friends so that feels normal. She needs to belong.

Just wanted to clarify that the midwives in your state, like mine, are NOT lay midwives, they are Licensed Midwives. This is the info: http://www.washingtonmidwives.org/for-consumers/midwifery-wa.html

OH yes, loved the Happy Hollisters! I read them and the Bobbsey Twins before getting into Trixie Belden. And LOVED the Cherry Ames books as well, although never found more than a few of them to read.

yes, definitely. I don't think it is the particular kids, just that they don't get good practice with appropriate behavior when they are not around adults. I have explained to DS that if he acts awful after too much friend time I will limit friend time!

I agree with this. Also, as a kid I found her lifestyle totally unbelievable...she was on a different jet every other day it seemed, with no concern for money. That was the big reason I preferred Trixie Belden books....much more realistic to my own lifestyle. Family that set boundaries and struggles with schoolwork, having to watch her baby brother, etc etc.

I was all about Jim, LOL. But I do love that the boy/girl thing was NEVER stressed...the most they said was they were "special friends" and there was never any kissing/hand holding/etc...so I think they are suitable for even the most conservative of readers. Well...the girls do wear pants around the house, although skirts to school, lol. I have several of them, and even tried to get my son to read them, poor boy. So glad I had a daughter I can save them for! Oh, and in in elementary school I read the whole series 3 times in one year. I was a bookworm, and was given a special library pass that got me into the library before school house so I could check one out.I would read it until school started, in class (oops!), and at lunch, then after lunch could use my special pass to take it back and get another one, that I would read that night. So I was reading two a day!

:iagree: But the best is Trixie Belden!

:iagree: Structured activities may not leave time for just hanging out. When my son started demanding to go back to public school in 6th grade I started a middle school homeschool group, just for socializing. He made great friends and no longer complains. Also...does she have any homeschooled friends?

Costco has them, and it is a pet series one, with extra brushes and filters and 2 virtual walls for a great price..I think it was $279? Definitely the best price, and works great. I had 3 shedding dogs when I got it (chow/shepherd mix, border collie, and lab/shepherd mix) plus 2 cats and a toddler that gets crumbs everywhere. We are down to 2 dogs/2 cats and still LOVE it. I have hard floors everywhere too.

Clomicalm is a chewable doggie version of an old human antidepressant...clomicalm was the first antidepressant to be marketed/tested for dogs. There is a better one now (personal opinion, and the opinion of the Veterinary Behaviorists I know), called Reconcile, which is a doggie marketed version of Prozac. It is chewable, and brand name, but can be pricey. If money is an issue then ask for a script to a human phamacy for the generic prozac, which is cheaper. (call around, some phamacies are less expensive than others). That said, these kinds of drugs take 4 weeks usually to effect the brain, based on studies of neurochemicals, and can take up to 6 weeks to see a change, hence the idea of starting sooner rather than later. In the meantime you need an emergency, short term med like xanax (alprazolam) or valium(diazapan) to keep the dog less anxious when you are gone. The reason the drugs are important, and waiting is a bad idea, is that stress hormones build up. When the dog gets anxious certain neurochemicals build up on the blood. They take 48 hours to go away. So if the dog gets stressed again in that 48 hours he goes even further into the anxiety pattern, and further, and further, as it builds and builds. Plus, he then starts to associate that crate with that feeling of panic, and makes the separation anxiety worse. edited to add: realized I should share my "credentials" so to speak. I'm a Certified Veterinary Technician, and when I was practicing (home full time now), I was a a member of the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians.

We stay inside in the summer, like you guys do in the winter.

I'd try leaving her out of the crate but just for short time periods. (again, preferably with some xanax on board, just in case.). As in, walk out the front door, walk back in. Walk to the mail box, walk back in, walk out for 3 minutes, walk back in. Go out to the car, turn it on, turn it off, walk back in. Go out, drive to the end of hte driveway and back, go back in. You get the picture. Ignore the dog TOTALLY for 20 minutes before leaving and upon returning home. That is HUGELY helpful...it balances out the highs and lows. Hope this helps! (oh, and bitter apple spray is great for stopping chewing of stuff.)

my son is 13, and in 7th grade, if that helps.

I'm ALL for natural meds, I am. My dog with the broken foot is on a bunch of homeopathics, some herbal stuff, etc. But in this case, every single time the dog experiences panic it makes the problem that much worse. It has to be stopped ASAP. Not to mention the dog could seriously injure itself or die from this behavior. This is the time to go whole hog. Do the supplements, but get into the vet ASAP for meds. Sorry if I came off too strong....this is a really touchy subject for me. The weimaraner I spoke of...she came to us at 4 years old with bad separation anxiety. We ended up having to bolt plywood over the windows at first, as she went through the glass. We had to hire a baby sitter to stay with her after that, and I took her to work with me, we never left her alone for MONTHS as we worked on this and the drugs kicked in. We fixed it, but years later, after our other dog died and she was getting a bit senile it came back, but worse. Even drugged up she tore out all her teeth in her panic, and I came home to a bloody disaster. I had to put her down that night. I still feel awful about it, and am crying typing this. I actually started crying at the North American Veterinary Conference in the middle of a lecture on separation anxiety, as it STILL torments me. Call and ask a few vet clinics if they have experience with separation anxiety. Read up on practice departures. Leave her alone as seldom as possible, and only with anti anxiety meds. Every time she gets anxious she wires her brain to do it more and more. Feel free to message me for more specifics.

Depends....will he sleep all night or will it be a nightmare? Mine was worse in the car when it was dark...she would have screamed herself hoarse.

If you can't spend the money on a trainer or at least on meds, you need to rehome her. She is going to get hurt otherwise. Seriously, at least get the dog to the vet for some valium or xanax...they are generic and not expensive.

You need to see someone that specializes in separation anxiety right away if you are keeping her. And you have to stop crating her unless she is highly drugged. I love crates, I crate train my dogs, but they do NOT work for separation anxiety dogs...they generally make it much worse. Seriously. My weimaraner at her worst tore out most of her teeth..from the roots...chewing through a crate. She needs to be outside if she is comfortable there, or not left alone, at all, except when drugged. Do NOT NOT NOT let them give you acepromazine. It does NOT reduce anxiety, just slows them down physically, which makes the panic worse. She needs valium or xanax or something in that class, AND Id' start on prozac or paxil or one of the doggie versions right away. Separation anxiety is miserable for the dog, they have full blown panic attacks, and can of course cause great injury to themselves or your house. My weimaraner went through two different glass windows. Please, quickly...find a veterinary behaviorist, or someone with lots of experience in this. It is heartbreaking.

expect to take a LONG LONG LONG LONG time. I hate how it is like a maze, it makes me claustrophobic. But..once you get the hang of it it is pretty awesome. I like the organizational stuff downstairs, the pillows, the kids stuff (plastic bowls/plates/etc), and as for food I like the potato/broccoli things, not sure what they are called.

I'd go with the white beans.

exactly. Why does that matter for field trips, group outings, etc? I run a support group and co-op, and we have everything from unschoolers to virtual schoolers. Hasn't made a bit of difference in how the kids interact, the fun they have together, etc. I can't imagine telling those that use the virtual school that they can't come hang out with us as they are not "real" homeschoolers. I can't even see a point to it, at all. What really makes the whole thing silly is two kids could take the EXACT same courses from the virtual school, and depending on how they report one could be technically a public school student, and one would be technically a homeschool student utilizing the virtual school classes as such. But they'd be doing the same thing. I can't see telling people they can't hang out with us just based on which box they check on a form.

Look at Noeo. It uses real books, with lots of info on famous scientists thrown in.

Oh, and I've explained to my son that this IS a character issue. I flat out told him one day, as he was moaning and groaning over math, that at this point I no longer care about the math, the math isn't the issue. The issue is what kind of person he is going to be. Is he someone that gives up when things get hard? Or someone that buckles down and pushes through to the other side, even when things are tough. (this REALLY is probably the biggest thing i need to teach him...both because he has a tendency for things to be easy for him, and because his father has a horrid work ethic and I don't want him to follow in his father's footsteps...my ex dh for those wondering.)

9 is when they turn awful. Sorry, but it is true. Search the forum for threads about 9 year olds....seriously, there are a ton of them. Mine was the same way. Best thing was when I would just leave the room. Turns out having a tantrum is less fun if mom isn't there to see it.