:party: Here's hoping for many more good days! We are starting Grade 3 next week. Wow. How did we get to 3rd grade this quickly??

Tacky. Bad grammar annoys me... and isn't it just a shortened form of "baby's daddy"? ETA: please excuse my own bad grammar in the above! LOL

Oh! I was just coming back to say, "Don't vacuum!" but I see someone beat me to it. :) Give vacuuming a big, wide berth. It really does use muscles we don't expect. FWIW, DH and I moved cross country 2 weeks after my hyst. Not that I would recommend it, but ... It can be done. However, mine was laparoscopic, unlike yours. Obviously I didn't do any lifting, but there was certainly extra stress. Whew. I just remember driving through AR, feeling every bump on the highway. Ouch! If you have trouble finding the CDs, let me know, and I will try to overnight mine to you. I have used mine as recently as 2005, when I had GB surgery, and each time it's a matter or clearing it with the doc, then with the anesthesiologist, then mainly making sure the nurse knows when to put the "recovery" CD in. We put tape over the volume control so it doesn't get changed during surgery. My neighbor's mom used them last year, and I think it went well. Mine was for endo, too. You will feel better. Hang in there! Wishing you an easy surgery and a stress free recovery. Reach out via pm if you want more info on anything... I was on the volunteer support call list for the endo assoc for years... It's tough. It will get better though, you'll get through it. ((Hugs))

Wishing you well! My hyst was in '99, and things have probably changed since then... But it wasn't as bad as I feared. I used the Hemi-Sync surgical support CDs, and even my surgeon (who has known me through many, many surgeries) thinks they are fabulous, and now recommends them. He saw clear differences in my stats when we used them. I wish I could send you mine but it sounds like there's not time! If you want me to try, just pm me. I have loaned them out many times over the years. My father uses classical music during surgery. I find waking up and coming out of anesthesia easier that way... My father and I both do not recover well from anesthesia, so anything that helps is good. No lifting, as others have noted. Take that seriously. Eat healthy foods as you recover. Plan for a few days of help, if you can. At least a few days, more if you can swing it. Tell DH to plan on pampering you. :) Plan to rest and sleep. Read a distracting book when you can. When I had surgery, I wanted my Mom, I must admit, but I was young to be having a hyst, and it would be different now. DH and I were newly married at the time, and he might not have known how to take care of things the way I wanted... Funny, how we want our Moms sometimes! Now, I'm all about DH after surgeries, so it just depends on you... But if there is anyone who can help out with kid care, that would sure help! Hystersisters is a wonderful resource. As for school... If you don't have to start immediately after surgery, give yourself an extra week. Or go slowly. ETA: invest in a great heating pad before you go to the hospital. And when you are sitting up from lying down, use a pillow pressed to your abdomen. Also, I needed a stool to help get into our very tall bed at first. Hope your surgery goes well!

I'm in for this, too! On the warpath against dog hair right now.

That story makes me snort coffee, then suppress screaming laughter until tears roll down my face Every.Time.It's.Posted. Thank you! I needed that tonight. Now I will be picturing all the Olympic swimmers glued to their tubs!

:grouphug: Our second adoption was so much harder than the first! Something about doing it again, knowing what can go wrong... Makes it worse. It will be worth it. Hang in there.

I'm guessing you are dealing with some type of nerve-related pain, since you mentioned Neurontin? :group hug: If so, when Neurontin stopped working for my neuropathy (this was years ago), I tried a round or two of Topamax. It helped more than the Neurontin. I finally went to Cymbalta for the nerve pain, and had the best results that way (yes, Cymbalta is also used for neuropathy). It's been a few years, but I remember that there were a few other options mentioned as possibilities, too. B-12 injections helped a bit, as well, though it took time to feel the effects. Oh, and if the prednisone is for reducing inflammation, you might consider supplementing that with some inflammation reduction measures on your own. There are lots of supplements to help with that, too many to throw out here. Feel better soon!

Well said. I think you might consider giving yourself permission to feel sad for a set period of time - an hour, whatever feels appropriate, then hop in the shower, wash it off, make yourself beautiful, and go be with your DH. You are making it through this! That is a feat. Oh! And since you have kids at home, if this helps... We always celebrate our wedding anniversary as "familyversary." We started because I didn't just marry my DH, I also committed to his kiddo. So our wedding anniversary is the day we became a family. I know that's not the norm in marriages without step kids, but maybe in this case, "familyversary" might take some of the pressure off of the romance aspect, and put the focus on the family that you've created together?

I've been wondering too, and just wanted to pop in and wave at you from VA! Glad to hear the new little one is doing so well, and not so little, either. :) Happy thoughts to you! ETA: DH and I just watched a documentary on coffee houses, and how they started out as a social place, and have morphed into a place where people basically ignore each other and don't speak, much like an elevator. Your crazy lady story reminded me of that film! We are supposed to read and talk in a coffee house, of all places. Silly people.

All About Spelling. :001_smile:

What a cool idea!!!! What about buying or making some square stencils, and painting the squares on with fabric paint? Actually, any paint would probably work. Then once that is dry, you could either use a Sharpie or black paint and letter stencils to put in the letters, etc? Or... What about iron on transfers? I wonder if you could make those on the computer, then print them off and use those? Seriously cool idea.

15 minutes per day here, too. We set a timer. Well worth the time investment. :)

This might be a long shot, but since your DH works from home and needs internet... If he has an employer, is it possible to ask that employer pay for all or part of your internet service? They are still saving on office space, wear and tear on basic office type furnishings, etc. My DH's employer pays for internet, phone, etc, so this might be possible. If he does not have an employer, is it possible to increase his fees somewhere to cover the internet cost? Just a thought.

This is what we are planning, though I'd prefer another option, if we can find one.

I use generic, with good results. But I know lots of people have noticed a big difference. If you do try it, it may take some time to adjust the dose correctly, I would think.

Thanks! Ordered ours, too. :)

Ditto to all the above. :) Make sure she's placed correctly. We started using TT in 2nd grade, and I did find that at first, kiddo would do several lessons at once. But the novelty wore off, for us, and we are doing one lesson per day. It could be partly because he is now past the review stage, and into new material... But I think it was the novelty. We don't supplement with a full math curriculum, but we do a lot of "living math" type activities here. We read math readers, talk about math, and generally try to incorporate it daily. We also do LOF.

:grouphug: It's hard to see our furry friends get older. I think it sounds like you are doing a lot to keep him comfy. You're doing most of what I'd have suggested. (We recently lost our 16 year old big furry soulmate, and keeping him comfy was a top priority for the last few years.) The one part of your post that sticks out, for me, is that he growls softly to let you know that he doesn't want to be cuddled... That, to me, sounds like he doesn't feel well, and maybe a trip to the vet is in order. Gentle hugs to your pup.

:grouphug: Hoping he comes home safe and sound, soon.

Another loner here. We are secular fish in a desert of conservative Christian homeschoolers. My friends and family are supportive to a degree, in the sense that they get the medical reasons behind our homeschooling (severe, life threatening allergies that our school district does not handle well), so they view it as a necessary evil, but they don't get that we've moved way beyond homeschooling for those reasons, and would now do it for academic and family reasons. An old college friend is the director of the gifted program at a magnet school, and I actually get the most support from her. She's invaluable as a cheerleader and resource! Other than that... This board is it, for me. Thank you!

Thank you! I will look into both of those. :)

I didn't use Singapore, so can't speak to how necessary it might be for the lessons, but I can tell you that our bucket balance has not seen a lot of use during school time. It does, however, get occasional use during free science time, and it is a nice component to have in our science bin. We've also used it with a set of weighted coins that I found on clearance somewhere. Not necessary for learning about money, but a fun little extra.

Kiddo is heading into 3rd grade, and excited about starting Latin. I, however, have no idea which Latin program to use! I had considered Song School, but it seems too young for 3rd grade. We are secular, and prefer curricula without a lot of bells and whistles, although DS might like a DVD. He loves short and sweet lessons, a la FLL. What did you use, and did you like it? :bigear:

We used Lentil Science, as a fun supplement when kiddo was in K - 2. It was fun, but not a stand alone. But it was a lot of work to set up, even with the kit. If you opt for it, definitely go for the kit, but be prepared for a big time commitment.