Congratulations!

My kids love green smoothies. I didn't think they'd like them so I was leaving out the spinach in theirs but my 2yo kept stealing my drink so I started making extra for my 2 and 4 yo's to have just a little of Mom's special drink. They think it's a special treat now. My 6yo took a little longer to be sold on them but now he loves them too.

Thank you!!

I've got one! http://www.homeschooltracker.com/refer.aspx?Z2JNS It's a great program, I love it :)

Congratulations!! I am 43 and would absolutely love it if the Lord blessed with another. Our oldest daughter is 24 and married and our youngest is 2 yo. It's a strange place to be when you have older and younger kids like that. People always assume I'm in my early 30's because of the ages of the kids I have with me (generally my 6 yo, 4yo and 2 yo). It's great having older and younger kids. We've gone through one wedding last year and two more daughters are engaged to be married next spring and summer. I'm hoping for grandkids in the near future :D but I'm enjoying my little guys while I wait. Many people see me and groan and say "You are doing it all again? You must be crazy!" I don't think that at all. I feel beyond blessed to have what I have. I just don't have as much energy as I did 20 years ago but other than that it's not much different. Thank you for giving me hope - we've been trying and I've lost the last 4 pregnancies very early on. I just need to keep praying and wait to see what He has in store for me. Sounds like things are going very well for you since you've had your NT scan you must be at the very end of your first trimester (or past). That is wonderful news!! Many prayers for a continued healthy pregnancy!!

Thank you for these suggestions. I'm feeling overwhelmed with changing things right now. I want them to change and I'm willing to do what I need to but it's hard to not be a bit frustrated as we go through this and that really isn't helping anything. Thanks for the step by step instructions. That's exactly what I needed! I'm going to try all of these things including the whispering and see what works best for us. Ellie - you are exactly right, this is what I do! I ask them instead of telling them. I guess I thought it sounded nicer this way. Then after "asking" them in a frustrated voice and yelling by the 3rd time it definitely doesn't sound so nice anymore. I'll read the article during quiet time today. It looks like a good one!

These sound neat! Where can I find them?

I've just started working with my 4yo. He's been doing Starfall for a while and loves it. Reading Eggs is good too, he begs to do that! We are using bits and pieces from HOP and OPGTR very, very slowly and I recently bought Reading Made Easy which we just started and are enjoying very much. She has printables that go along with it and my son loves that part of it. How do I get to the free I See Sam readers? I keep finding ones that are not free. Also, can you link the Dancing Bears site? I saw that months ago and now I can't find it. Thanks :)

I'd recommend checking into Dr. McDougall's plan. http://www.drmcdougall.com I've seen so many good things come from this plan. You'll be able to have grains and potatoes (which I love!). Fifty pounds of weight dropped off almost effortlessly, I eat all that I want and I am being proactive in keeping myself healthy to avoid heart attack or diabetes. He has the whole plan on his site for free and there is a good message board as well. Eat to Live is another good program but the grains are very limited. Let me know if you have any questions about this program, I absolutely love it, it's been such a blessing to me and to my family.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give your thoughts, I really appreciate it! I think I'll buy it, it sounds like something I could benefit from and the price isn't bad for 2 hours worth of tips :) BTW - I love your blog!! I use workboxes too and I feel the same way about ziploc bags lol. I'm going to follow your lead and get some plastic shoe boxes. Besides looking nicer on the shelves, it will be easier for the kids to see what's in them. I already use clear hard plastic pencil cases for smaller things for the kids so this will work very well for the larger things.

There isn't much action in the social group so I thought I'd post my question here. I really love how this is going so far with RGT, I've seen a lot of positives from it but the problem I'm having is that I want to expect my kids to obey the first time I tell them to do something like she says in the book I'm just not sure how to get there without yelling. I absolutely hate that I do this. How do I go from the way I was (yelling, loud, demanding) to being able to speak softly and sweetly to them and have them obey. Plus, half the time they can't hear me unless I speak very loudly (or yell) because they are being so loud!

Those tests from yesterday sure look positive to me! Can't wait to see what today brings!!

You can use Italics with kindergartners. We started with HWOT for my 6 yo and after using it for about 6 months we switched to Italics. First was Penny Gardener's program and then we switched over to Getty-Dubay. He is doing very well with it. I started my 4 year old with GBI Book A recently and it's going well.

Thanks for the info! I'm in the seminar room anxious to listen :)

Thank you so much! I can't wait to hear back :)

My son finished HOP K-2 last year when he was 5. I started with Master Reader and it was just a little too much for him. He could read most of the words but some of the concepts were a little too hard. I bought OPGTR and started somewhere about halfway through the book. We've been taking it slow and doing 3 or 4 lessons a week. I agree that there were definitely some holes in HOP. He only has 20 lessons left in OPGTR and then we'll try Master Reader again now that he is 6.5 and see if it's a better fit. If not, I'm not going to worry about it since we've made it all the way through OPGTR. Either way, I plan to start WWE with him when we finish the last lesson in OPGTR. I know we could do it concurrently, but we've got too many other things going right now.

I'm thinking about ordering this DVD on organizing http://susanevans.org/OrganizingForAFunHomeschool but I always like to read reviews before I do. The only reviews I can find are written on her site. Has anyone here ordered this? Was it worth $15?

I didn't realize this! I found that I could read the RGT book right on her website. Hopefully I'll get some good tips there as well. I just know that things must change around here. I have 6 kids but this is the first time I've had 2 preschool boys so close together (ages 2 and 3) and they are getting out of control.

Thanks, I'll PM her :)

Sure, here is the link. http://goybparenting.com/

Thank you! I'll probably get both of these, they are available in eBook format so I can start reading right away.

I've been over to Joanne's GOYB Parenting site reading like crazy and I love the sounds of this. I desperately need something different than what I've been doing because what I'm doing isn't working and is turning me into a mean person. I am so excited that there is another way besides yelling and time-outs. I had looked at buying the book Raising Godly Tomatoes but the spanking part scared me off. Does Joanne sell a book? I looked around on her site and couldn't find one. If not, is there another book that is recommended to get the basics of what how to do this? I'm praying there is an ebook out there that I can read and start right now.

Thank you for the replies! I think I'll print a diploma for her, that sounds easiest :) Can you recommend a diploma printing service or do you just print them on your own printer? I don't necessarily think the guy is treating her unfairly, I just think he doesn't know the law very well for an admissions counselor :) And I agree, I'm not sure why her college transcripts aren't acceptable at this point.

I need to make a phone call today. My dd (23 yo) has attended a couple of colleges previously and is applying for another one that better fits her schedule. She talked to the admissions person the other day and he asked her for proof of her diploma. We are in Illinois so we don't need to report or record anything. I suppose I could come up with a diploma but it's strange that no one has ever needed it before. His comment to her was that if you don't need proof why wouldn't everyone just say they are homeschooled. I guess I can just point him over to HSLDA and give him the basics of the law. I need to be nice since he is applying to the college and I'm just not what to say or how to handle this. I'd greatly appreciate any advice you may have. Thank you :) eta - I feel kind of strange calling the school about my adult daughter, I'm just not sure what else to do.

We are a vegan/vegetarian family. One of my daughters (21 yo) has been vegan since she was about 12. She is very healthy, extremely intelligent, successful, well adjusted, no cavities, etc. Personally, I believe that a whole foods, low fat, vegan diet is the healthiest way to eat. I think that the research has proven this to be true but you'll have to do your own reading and do what you feel is best. I would recommend reading The Veganist by Kathy Freston. In her book she interviews different doctors and specialists and puts the information out there for you. You can get some good information and then decide what to read after that. She talks about doing what you are talking about... starting with a cutting out one kind of meat at a time and going from there. I'd also highly recommend (as others on here have) the movie Forks Over Knives and the books by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Find out more about Dr. Esselstyn too, he has dome some amazing research. Anyway, my advice to you is to keep reading and researching and form your own conclusions. There is so much information out there and much of it is conflicting. You need to feel comfortable and confident in your decision. :iagree: I wholeheartedly agree with everything SwordedHip wrote.