We're in Utah and there are various homeschool charter options. Several are K12 and depending on which school you can take from 1-6 classes each year. We used one last year that offered Rosetta Stone as well. Independent homeschoolers here file a letter of intent with the local school district and that's it. With the K12 charter we had weekly email contact with a teacher and monthly phone contact. We were required to complete a certain amount of the K12 curriculum and starting in 3rd grade testing is required. We are using a different charter this year which has a homeschool options day for things like art, music etc. We can request a certain amount of books for them to purchase for their lending library which we give back at the end of the year. We are reimbursed for $300 worth of classes, supplies and/or curriculum that we can keep. We are only required to mark attendance and do standardized testing. For 1st and 2nd grade they will be sending a reading test for a parent to give at home. Regular testing begins in 3rd grade. We can use whatever curriculum/method that we want.

Since you are doing games along with MM that time seems about right to me. We take a long time to do school. Part of that is because we also do Spanish. And between pregnant me needing lots of snack and potty breaks and dd being happier with short breaks between subjects it is what it is. Usually I'm a morning person, but right now we usually don't even start school until 12 or later. :) It's part of what I like about homeschooling. DD is happy with how we do things and I am too. Later we will probably go back to school in the morning.

Corraleno, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate reading your posts. :)

In addition to what others have posted I have a master list of library books to check out. We use BSFU and CHOLL so I look at the book list for those on our computer and then check if our library has the books I want. I cut and paste the book location and title into a google doc that is divided by week. When we are at the library I just pull up the google doc on my phone and get the books we need.

:grouphug: I'm sorry people have said such awful things to you! :grouphug:

We've had VM service for a year and it's been great! I really like not having a contract. I have the Samsung Intercept and I love how affordable the monthly plan is. We still have the old $25/month plan and my mom bought the phone for me as a gift. :)

Yep, I'd rather know what I was dealing with now than have them pull a bunch of stuff during labor!

Saying they won't let you leave the office without the shot is a HUGE red flag! That's completely different from explaining why they want you to have it. I would be very worried what the ob would be like during the birth if this is what happens when you want to refuse a flu shot.

I've been able to find Robeez at a second hand store for $5 and we love them! I also have some homemade babylegs that we really like too. Nobody around here seems to think it's weird, we see lots of kids with Robeez and babylegs.

This was the one that worked the best for me: http://oyinhandmade.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=7 I used to split shipping with a few friends. The coco mango smells so good! Their customer service was very slow though. I had tried Tom's of Maine, the crystal role on and some others. Funk Butter worked the best even in the hot summer. :001_smile:

Ridiculous! I would be looking for a website that reviews places like this to leave a bad review. When I've taken my kids to the movies we clean up about the way you did. The movie theater expects to have to sweep a little popcorn!

One of the comments mentioned the possibility of an education bubble eventually collapsing. That's an interesting thought to me and I wonder what the reality of college will be when my girls get there. If it keeps going the way it is now I expect that they will need a Master's Degree or higher for many jobs that today only require a BA.

I think about that sometimes too. We had a computer with dial up when dd1 was born. I anticipate their horror upon learning that we did not have cell phones let alone smart phones, computers etc when I was little. We were pretty happy with one tv in the house! DH's parents didn't even know how to read when he was born. I still remember our one rotary phone. :)

Wow, that's beyond huge! :party::party:

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I'm not from Utah so that probably makes a huge difference. :) And neither of my parents are crafty or DIYers.

My 6yo can unload the dishwasher, vacuum, fold small towels, put her clothes away and put laundry from the washer into the dryer. Next we're going to work on wiping counter/mirrors and mopping. And she can brush her little sister's hair and teeth even though that's not something I ask her to do. I saw it when I went into the bathroom one day and there was dd2 sitting on a chair in front of the mirror like she was at a beauty parlor. :lol:

I think I'd demand the whole thing. :)

For $12 I would consider it. The only thing of concern for me about a pouch sling is getting the correct fit since it's not adjustable. It's harder to find the right size when you can't try them on.

One of the things I like about this board is that there is such variety from really great to really bad. Just like real life. :)

Hooray! :party:

I always had to spell my maiden name for people and everyone assumed that my first name was short for something else. As a kid I learned that when someone asked me my name it was easiest to pronounce it and then immediately spell it. That's what I still do now. I took the last name that DH uses most commonly, he's from Mexico and has two. It isn't a common Spanish name like Gonzalez. Our dds have traditional Spanish names, but they are not very common. We sometimes meet someone with their names. We chose the names because they seemed right for each of them and because they aren't too hard to say in English. We have dd3's name picked out with a very strong feeling that this is her name. But it's also used in English and I hate how it sounds in English. Maybe we will have that be her middle name.

In one of the Star Trek movies, 5 I think, they travel bacl to the 1980's. Captain Kirk tries to explain Spock's out of place demeanor and says, "Too much LDS back in the 60's." :lol: And in Mobster's and Mormons the mafia family goes clean and opens a scrap book store. :) I'm with Xuxi and others that it's a huge cultural thing. I'm not into scrap booking at all or much crafting.

I also would get a new one. We buy used diapers and used shoes, but new carseats. I would also check into what Faithmanor suggested. The health department in our area does car seat checks and gives out age/size appropriate carseats to low income familes.

Hooray! She's so cute!