Oh, you poor thing. We have pneumonia in the house now, too. My visiting mother, and now DS. DD had something else, and we're hopeful that this bypasses her. I totally agree that you need to accept any help you can find, rely on easy foods, even paper plates to ease clean up, if you are getting sick too. Try to rest, and if you are feeling sick - don't hesitate about going to the doc!

Oops. Double post!

I like the above a lot. Also, love the organizing idea. Our house has an odd layout, and I'd love help with fitting our stuff in better and organizing. Hmmm... Need a volunteer? I happily volunteer as your guinea pig! You can post before/after pics on your blog! :)

So glad the girl was a quick thinker! We had a recent kidnapping attempt in our area, too. It happened at the bus stop. A van drove up slowly, and a man got out and tried to grab one girl. She pulled away, and ran. The bus arrived about that time, and the bus driver helped the girl. I know that the girl actually lost a shoe in the scuffle. She must have been terrified. I will have to see if they caught the men - have not heard more news. So, yes, we do need to keep going over this with our kids!

Thank you so much!

:grouphug: And how are you faring? How's the recovery?

Family member will be in the hospital there for quite some time. I would like to send my nieces some gift cards to restaurants close to the hospital... Anyone know of any good restaurants close to the hospital? Will google as well, just hoping for personal input. :)

Oh! DH just brought home a tin of anise candies that his CEO gave him, stating they are a classic French candy. Hmmmm. I couldn't make it through one candy! I will look up the name for you though, and wish you joy eating all the anise and licorice flavored candy you'd like! He also brought home anise flavored toothpaste for DS. [shudder] ...Want that name, too? :) I confess, my favorite easter candy is absolutely disgusting. Those malted milk robin's eggs - full of bad, waxy chocolate and food dye. Weird, I know.

Here's a link to the FDA page: http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/postmarketdrugsafetyinformationforpatientsandproviders/drugsafetyinformationforheathcareprofessionals/ucm165489.htm All kids don't have issues with Singulair. But you need to know what to watch for if it becomes an issue for *your* kid, like it did for mine. Good luck finding something that works!

Try Claritin first. And if you do try Singulair - please, please do some research first. Our pediatrician thinks it should have a black box warning. It can cause major behavioral issues. Major. Not to mention nightmares (actual nightmares, not just behavioral nightmares). Singulair was a nightmare for our family, on so many levels. :( We are still dealing with after effects.

That must have been hard. :grouphug: But great news that she's all caught up and back on grade level! You must have worked hard to get there. DH and I have talked about hiring someone to come in a few days a week - either to work with the toddler or to supervise some basic science experiments and projects with DS that I seem to push to the back burner. Still sort of kicking those ideas around, and not sure if we're going to go that route, or which approach we'd take. 1st and 2nd grades I made up a lot of file folder games and "centers" to pull out on bad days. This year, though, I didn't do it - it just seemed too fussy, and too much work for not enough pay off. So on bad days this year, I find that we use DVDs, documentaries, computer time, etc. I wish that we were not relying on screen time quite as much, even if it's somewhat educational. I'd like to think of some new ideas to fall back on, on the bad days. On a related, but separate note... We were doing fine, really, until our house cleaner had child care issues. Since we were doing so well, I thought it would be great if I could just do it all. You know how that goes? When you have a good period, and you take it for granted? So we didn't scramble to replace her, and now it feels like everything has fallen behind. I'm frustrated because it seems like there's only enough energy to do one thing well - keep up with the house stuff, or keep up with the school stuff. Only enough spoons for one or the other. When I concentrate on the house stuff, it seems to spark off a bad period of days, and then we get into a bad cycle. ...We have a new cleaning person coming on Friday to give an estimate. So that should help a bit. Till we are back in our groove, though, I'm hunting for independent work ideas. :)

Easter is coming. What do you all do re: Easter? We have friends in the UU who have their own version of spring rituals, pagan friends, etc. But we are not involved in any type of organized *anything*... I understand the roots of easter, of course, prior to Xtianity, and we talk about that, usually. In years past, we have celebrated it as a cultural holiday. We do bunnies, chocolate eggs, spring time stuff. But it feels a bit off to follow a church's calendar, if that makes sense. So... Do you skip it altogether? Have your own spring ritual? Go with the cultural holiday idea?

I am very sad about Kay, too. :(

Oh, okay. I would go with a version of FionaS's approach. Maybe prioritize your monthly expenses in order of importance, and take a few months to build a buffer for extras. We have a variable income, too, but not quite as variable!

Do you have a base salary?

We used Family Tree DNA for ours. We wanted at least 64 markers - not sure how many they test on the one you linked. We also wanted to do the mitochondrial testing. Great experience. And we have connected with so many great people as a result, and learned so much! They provide maps and charts, and an ongoing database with updates every time someone new matches up with you - if you choose that option. It is fascinating.

You have good friends. :) That's like what I experienced a few years ago - I mentioned it above - and it was terrible while driving, etc. It is less often now, for me. When DS was small, and I *had* to stay awake for safety reasons, I had an Rx for a med to keep me awake - I used it sparingly. Probably not the best way to go, if not absolutely necessary, but it helped. How do you all handle the very bad days, and homeschooling? Do you have a plan for the kids to school without you? Do you ever miss a day? Turn to edutainment? Set them loose with special sick-day books or projects? I find that as DS has gotten older, I have less prepped and ready to go for those rough days... He is not quite ready for truly independent work, but some of the things I used to fall back on seem a bit young now, so I'm looking for better ideas.

:grouphug: Hope you feel better soon!

We have several Thames and Kosmos kits, like you mentioned, and they do coordinate. That might be a good place to start. Loving all the other ideas on this thread!

Still pondering the logistics of this... Our basement isn't a dank, unfinished place, but it's not where we routinely hang out either. Trying to figure out if anyone would want to troop down to DH's office to get dressed on a daily basis. :)

Oh no. :grouphug:

Gorgeous! Both of them!

I keep running across this idea. Anyone try it? Like it? Hate it? Our bedrooms are on the second floor, laundry room is in the basement. We can't install a chute due to the configuration of the house, and I am sick of lugging stuff up and down!

Family closet

On our way over! :p