Thanks, Mad Charity and Slippers. I will start asking around again. That is how we found our last, great gem-of-a-cleaning-lady. This time around I asked on our local community lists. I suspect that the people who were referred were people who needed work, and our experience has been much like Slipper noted. [sigh] ...Back to the drawing board... I do miss our old cleaning lady!

Those are excellent ideas. Thank you.

Oh, that's a good idea. I've tried all sorts of local lists, but not our local homeschooling list. That might lead in to the other idea, too, of finding a home schooled teen, if all else fails. Thanks!

Thanks. I hadn't thought of a homeschooled teen. I can check into that, although I have no leads at the moment. My main concern is making absolutely certain that s/he feels that we are not taking advantage of her/him (parents included), but I think we could alleviate that by paying the same amount we'd pay anyone to do the job. Thanks for saying that we're not asking too much. I really started to think that maybe it was just us, and hearing a bit of validation that we're not searching in vain for too much helps.

I'm running up against a wall here, and frustrated. I know, I know... lots of people don't have cleaning help, but DH and I have made the choice that this is a priority for us. Between his career & travel, HSing, our business, and my long-term chronic health issues... It's a necessary luxury. We have had weekly help for years. Years. It was all fine, until our long-term housekeeper had to move due to a family situation. Now we have run through a string of housekeepers who don't work out due to one reason or another after several months: they cancel at the last minute on various weeks; radically inconsistent work; or just a slow decline in their work. The latest, who has been with us several months now, has child care issues. Okay. So now we are on the hunt again. Ugh. Now I'm wondering if we're just asking too much? Are these people not working out because we are looking for too much? Or is this just ... bad luck? Are we making bad hiring choices? We want someone who will come on the same day each week (preferably toward the end of the work week, but we are flexible); someone who can come later in the morning due to DH's work schedule (he works from a home office, so we need quiet mornings) - that part is not negotiable. I want someone who will do the basic housecleaning, with a few extras (leather conditioner on couches weekly; once a month put a wood conditioner on a few pieces of furniture). I also want (but don't have) someone who will rotate a deep cleaning for each room every few months; do baseboards; and vacuum under the couch cushions. We are fine with paying extra for these. Am I looking for way too much in a house cleaner? If my hopes are absolutely not reasonable - just say so. :) And if they are not... How on earth do I find someone who will be consistent? Any thoughts or advice here would be welcome.

Story of the World and the Activity Guide. We love the CDs, also. We also love a lot of the book suggestions in the AG. I love history, so this is one area we do a lot of extra reading. This book is a big favorite, too, and one we come back to revisit with each time period we study. Jim Weiss CDs ... many of them ... Oops, ETA we started SOTW in 1st.

Since he's logged back on, why don't you get his mailing address and phone number, even under the guise of needing it for some other purpose? That way you will have your, a-hem, holiday card address list updated, and most importantly, should you need to call the police, you'll have an address. Also, his partner really needs to know about this... Do you know her? Can you all talk? You can't handle this or stop him from following through alone. This needs help, bigger than you can offer him on your own. One question that is often asked, as far as I know, is, "Do you have a plan?" ...But, again, this is something that needs more support than you can offer. All you can do is take his words at face value, for what they are, and try to help him get the help he needs. :grouphug:

My sister and her family are Orthodox Jewish, and the girls only wear dresses/skirts. They have never qualified for frumpy, dumpy or out of style, yet they are always within the Orthodox standard of modest. They don't show knees, elbows, collarbones. If they stand out, it's because they are beautifully dressed, at least to this doting aunt. :) And my sister's married friends, who don't show their hair, are also some of the most stylish people I know. They shop at cute stores, they buy cute clothes. They layer, they use accessories. They are covered, they are modest, but boy do they know how to dress. I wish I could pull off what they do, alas, I am most often in my jeans and Birks. :D Maybe it is more about style choices here, than just modesty? (Oh, and they do ride horses and run in skirts, but they have special skirts for these purposes, and I have no idea where they buy them, but they do seem to work well for the purpose!)

Find a way to have someone check on him. Police, if necessary. Don't hesitate. If he commits suicide, there won't be a friendship to salvage, and you will live with regret. If you save his life, you'll work through it later. If he was just spouting off, then he'll learn that spouting off about suicide is not a socially acceptable way to vent. He might be angry at you, but his life is worth more than that. I speak from experience. 10 years ago, long-term friend acted the same way during an online chat. I called the police in his town, just in time. He was in a coma, but survived. Our friendship survived, too. He is healthy again, and I am grateful for our friendship.

:grouphug: No one wants this. Throw yourself a gigantic pity party and let yourself cry. There is a grieving process to this. Later, you'll throw on your supermom cape and deal. For now, just ... give yourself permission to mourn. You *do* live in a tough area for peanut. But you can do this. You can!

I have family who lived outside of Amsterdam for 12 years... I think both apartments sound good. I would probably go for the first option, in your shoes. I like the canal area. But either would be great. Very walkable city! You will have a wonderful, wonderful time.

I do. ;) Skipping an entire day, for me, is worse than taking it late and after breakfast. YMMV.

We have a 4 year old Catahoula. :) He is the most loyal dog. They are very pack oriented, so they often attach pretty strongly to the "alpha"... In our case, DH. When DH travels for business, our Catahoula is on high alert the entire time, and barks at every twig snap. It drives me crazy, I must admit. That's where I see his protectiveness come out. He is friendly, he adjusts well when people come over. He has never growled at a stranger we invite in, much less attack. He's good with DS's friends, and babies. We have a yard the size of a postage stamp, but we walk him and take him to the dog park. He loves to play with the other dogs. He did have toy aggression issues, but we worked hard on those. He loves obedience classes. I think it broke our trainer's heart when DH was not interested in taking our pup farther, and doing agility. He is such a smart dog! He can be stubborn, and he definitely needed good training. We all had to learn a bit. He also snores loudly and hates to get his feet wet. :) ETA: we also have a smaller doodle-mutt. They are good buddies. No cats here, due to allergies, so can't speak to that.

Yes. ...And in a few months, when all the support has settled down... say her name then, too, and invite him to talk about her. I'm sorry for his loss. How heartbreaking.

We use them, too. No problems. The only time DD has ever had diaper rash, she was in Huggies (we were traveling and ran out of Kirkland).

Can you call his allergist or pulmonologist? Or whichever doc is handling his asthma? I know our allergist stresses, "No Flumist," for asthmatics. If he's showing symptoms, maybe there is something they can do to alleviate it early? I hope he feels better. :grouphug:

We're mellow about schedules here, but generally... We are backwards. DH gets up with the baby and does morning baby duty. Kids then drag me from bed and bribe me with coffee. ...Stumble to the machine and make a double espresso. Sit staring, sipping it, while kids play. Take morning meds (I cannot move without morning meds - my body doesn't make the normal morning hormones that wake other people up, I'm really *not* just lazy). Kiddo makes his own breakfast, and DH makes smoothies for all. I start to perk up. Mornings are play, hands on fun, outings, park time, and exercise. We do a lunch-listen (usually history audiobooks, etc), baby takes a nap and kiddo and I do school. After baby's nap, kiddo does independent school while I make dinner. After dinner we do clean up and I file any schoolwork that needs filing, double check that all supplies are ready for the next day.

:D (No words, just ... silence.)

Gorgeous!

Ooohh, this is wonderful. I am going to pass all of this along to her, and I know she'll have a great time! Thanks!

I use scholaric also. Super easy. I include sections for our "extras" too, so it's simple to notate when we do extra work. Everything can be bumped forward/backward, easy to edit, and it's printable.

Want to trade? :D Our first 7 days of school were beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Yesterday we had a math meltdown. And today was like pulling.teeth.all.day. [sigh] Tomorrow will be better!

I checked, and we stayed at the Embassy Row Hotel. I'm sure there are tons of nice options out there, and much pricier ones too, but we opted for this one after reading reviews and comparing prices (we were in the midst of expensive AC repair, after all). I would definitely stay there again, it was easy to get around, and I think it would be fun to time a trip to visit embassies when they have something going on (some embassies host events for visitors, might be fun for the kiddos). Cherry Blossom Festival is pretty crowded, but we like it any way. We like Chinese New Year in ChinaTown, too, though it's chilly. If your schedule is open, it might be interesting to look at the Smithsonian exhibit/event calendar and see if there are any upcoming events that you'd love to attend, and time your trip to coincide. Check the zoo schedule for events, too. :) Weekends at the zoo will be busier than weekdays, but still doable. Definitely check the zoo's calendar before heading over, so you have an idea of where to be at specific times (feedings, etc).

For one day... What would you do? What would be a treat, not to miss? A girlfriend is going to be in FL on business, and has always wanted to go to WDW, so she is planning to treat herself for one day. (I think that is really cool, btw!) So... For you Disney girls... What should my friend do? What would be fun on her own? Anything she absolutely shouldn't miss? :bigear:

:party::party: Isn't it great when you find what works for your kiddos? We love RSO, too. :)