What about acid reflux? It sounds like something my dd did around age 5. After about a month of meds, she was good to go. No more problems.

If this was the first time your dd had been on this particular horse, then yes, I would be upset that she was left alone. But if she is familiar with this horse and he with her, then I would think she was fine and quite able to be left alone for a short period of time (5-10 minutes). I understand what you mean about trusting the horse.... I find myself guilty. Our horses have their own distinct personalities and you can easily tell what type of mood they are in. And, it took me a long time to acknowledge that, in most cases, the horse is not sitting there waiting for an opportunity to hurt someone or do something crazy. It sounds silly, but horses really do seem to take their "job" seriously and I would bet big bucks that the horse would do everything it could to keep your dd safe. We have had several situations where our horses have literally put their bodies in between my children and another horse that was acting up. Another situation involved a rattle snake and my 12 yo dd's horse completely refused to allow to her go another step. So, all that to say....I don't think your dd was in danger and if the trainer thought she was capable of handling the situation, I would trust her. And trust your dd to make good decisions too. And, finally (the hardest one to do), trust the horse :)

I find it very annoying when I am trying to have a conversation with someone and they use my time to deal with their children. If it wasn't a good time to talk, you should have said so to her before disciplining your children and arranged to call her back. If she is trying to run a business or charter school or whatever, she is probably very busy and doesn't have time to deal with that type of thing. I am a SAHM and I don't have time to deal with that nonsense. BTW, I am not LDS and I find it rude when people say butt.

Sounds like gall bladder problems to me. Hope you get some relief soon! :grouphug:

This is a completely bizarre question, but here goes... Is there any way that the radiation from last year's Japan crisis could be causing our crazy weather patterns? It just seems to me that all this weird stuff started happening after that.

No, I keep wondering when i will feel like an adult. I am 37.

I agree with the above and in fact, will say that once you go to the beach, you won't feel so bad about yourself. I am really hard on myself regarding body image until I go to the beach and realize that I am not so bad after all. Sure there will be a few size two's be-bopping around, but the vast majority will not be. Go, relax, and enjoy your vacation!

You are paying for a service that is not being provided. I would definitely complain to someone in a higher position. It sounds like the guy is there as a babysitter. He is teaching the kids to have that "just wing it" personality. I would definitely complain and even ask for a refund for the class.

I did not mean to imply that my dd does not have dyslexia. Without a doubt, she does. That was evident as early as five or six years of age. I tried every spelling and reading idea out there. What I did, though, after trying all the different approaches and getting little results at that time, was to take a break and let her mature on her own without the constant barrage of expectations. I completely backed off of any reading requirements and during that time, she decided -on her own- that she wanted to learn to read. She was self-motivated, whereas before, she had been fighting me every step of the way. Once she reached a certain maturity level, she had the capacity within herself to make the connections. I allowed her to find the love of reading on her own. I am firmly convinced that had I continued on the same path, she would have hated reading and learning to this day. There was no joy...and if waiting a year or so can allow a child (even one that struggles with dyslexia) to have the desire to conquer this without feeling like they are not smart or that they are not able, then that is a small price to pay, in my opinion. I did not kill my child's self-confidence by constantly working and correcting what she was doing wrong. Taking time off from any reading expectations worked well for our family. It seems that some folks don't agree with that approach, but that is the beauty of things...we each get to decide for ourselves and our families.

I do admit, it was so painful to just sit and watch. I wanted to be doing something! But, I had tried everything else and it hadn't really worked, decided to just stop it all. I am amazed at the difference in my dd, but I do realize how hard it is to do nothing. But sometimes, if all other physical aspects have been ruled out, then it is prudent to just wait and see. I encourage you to read the book I listed earlier. It was very helpful to me. :grouphug: I know it is hard!

I haven't read all the replies, but I am sure you have gotten excellent suggestions. Another that I will throw out there is to just completely remove all pressure to perform. Let her read for enjoyment sake, if she wants to but don't require any kind of question/answer type situations. My oldest dd did this same thing around the same age, but just couldn't master reading and comprehension. My research took me to Barton Reading and Spelling System for dyslexics. We worked on it for a while and got through level 2. Around that same time, I read the book, "Better Late Than Early", by Dr. Raymond Moore. It was clear to me that my dd fell into the category of kids who were not ready to read until later. So, at that time, when she was 10, I decided to completely remove all forms of reading. Everything. I didn't even make her read the directions to her math lessons. Once I removed all pressure from her and gave her the time it took to develop at her own pace without my demands, she actually blossomed and developed a love for reading that I never could have imagined. She is 13 now and cannot get enough of reading. She rushes through her schoolwork so she can get to her latest book. I think that I needed to be more careful about snuffing out her sense of self, because I was constantly demanding something from her that she wasn't able to give yet. Once I convinced myself to relax and just wait, she became happier and not so judgemental of herself, not so harsh with her assessments of herself, and freed up her mind to allow her to move to the next level. And I am proud to say, that at 13, she is doing beautifully. She has at least two books going at all times. For full disclosure, though, I must admit that the poor child still cannot spell very well. She realizes it and uses spell check for everything.

:iagree: With every word.

I had a very similar thing happen to me with my first dd. Around 6 weeks, I began bleeding. At first it was a copious amount, but then just a very small amount for about 6 days. They did an ultra sound, which showed that all looked ok with the baby. We did a few more u/s to make sure and it was always ok. She is now 13. The doc said that maybe she had implanted on an artery and it caused the bleeding ??? I don't know. But I pray this gives you hope because not all bleeding indicates miscarriage, as I had thought at that time.

There are six of us living in a 1150 square foot townhome. I love it and would not trade back into a larger home. I love the simple living. I say go for it.

There would be no way on God's green earth that I would go back and live with family for six months. What a nightmare! My first choice would be to go with dh, but if that didn't work out, I would sit tight where I was and wait to find out the orders to come.

I would encourage you to read the book, "Better Late Than Early", by Dr. Raymond Moore.

My oldest is very interested in earning her private pilot's license. My dh is a pilot and is considering buying our own plane to teach her to fly in. We owned a plane back in the early 90's, but sold it. Dh would love to get another one and share his love with dd 13. However, we have not gotten past the "thinking about it" stage. We know of an impressive family that taught their boys to fly at a very early age and both of the sons are very successful pilots and provide extremely well for their own families. Our dd doesn't have aspirations of using her pilots license as an income earner, but you never know where it will take her. It is certainly a useful skill to have and I do feel that in our family, our money would be more well spent learning to fly instead of dance or some other thing like that. eta...sorry, I didn't answer your questions... Dh was 19 when he learned to fly. I am not sure about the earlier age requirements, though I will ask dh. I would advise you go to a local Aero Club (AC) and pay for an hour long flight with one of their instructors to get an idea of how your dc feel about flying. Lots of people love it, but it gives me a headache to fly in the small planes. To be sure, flying is not an inexpensive hobby. Each AC has their own prices for instruction and you will find a wide range. It can be priced in different ways: you pay for the hours of instruction and also pay for the gas used during that flight or your AC may have a flat rate that they charge to students, as they know approximately how much it will cost to see it through to the end. My dh (22years ago) did it by the hour. When he saved enough money for the next hour, he went and got another lesson. If you have more questions, feel free to ask. I may not know, but dh probably will. Eta...sorry, I keep thinking of more to tell you. The first part of learning to fly is ground school. That is lots of book learning and simulations. Then, after the instructor feels that those things are learned to mastery, then the actual flying takes place with the instructor for so many hours spaced over time. Then, once so many hours are logged with the instructor, the student has to do a solo flight, which is the final step to earning a private pilot's license. The student can keep going and earn higher ratings that would potentially be income earning type things. Hope this helps.

:iagree:

I also don't have a "finished product" yet. My oldest is 13. I think the term sheltering is very broad and can mean lots of things for lots of people. For our family, we are exposing them to the world with my dh and me as their guides. Just as you wouldn't go on a white water rafting trip without a river guide, we don't expect our children to have to navigate the "waters" without us talking them through it. I am interested to hear what others have to say.:bigear:

I did worry about being able to teach my children and keeping them on track when we first began homeschooling. However, it is not a concern for me at all now. I am sure they will have gaps in their education and areas where we may not be as strong as others, but I do know, without a shadow of doubt, that my dc know how to research information and teach themselves. They are not afraid to "get in the weeds" and educate themselves. They don't wait for me or someone else to spoon feed them. So, now, after our 7 years of doing this, I realize that by having rich life experiences and allowing them the time to investigate and research on their own, we are doing a better job than the public schools. I will admit to some moments of insecurities, but overall, I feel very confident. In the grand scheme of things, I know that my dc will be productive members of society and able to educate themselves on anything they may need to know.

I had one do that at the McDonalds play center. It was a stinky diaper and she wanted it off! Only, she didn't tell me, just went behind the structure and tried to take it off herself. Oh my! I know the other parents and the employees at McDonalds didn't think too highly of us! The good news, though, is that she was a breeze to potty train.

Homeschooler, attending college classes.

I think you should go for it. We got our dog when our youngest was one and a half. She is truly part of the family. It wasn't that bad for us when she was a puppy, because I was already playing outside with the kids, so she was just hanging out with us there. So the potty training issue was pretty easy. It helped that she was a fast learner. The only thing I didn't anticipate was the financial aspect....we have paid for her to be flown overseas and back to the tune of $2000. She also has to be on a certain dogfood due to IBS, which costs about $30 a month. This doesn't include all of the vet stuff once a year. I love the joy she has brought to our lives and can't imagine our days without her. As I am typing this, our dog and my two youngest are playing hide and seek. They are making her sit on her bed while they hide. Then they call her and she runs around the house to find them. What joy it is to hear them all giggling and laughing. What memories!

We are truly blessed and have four wonderful dc. Our oldest is 13, the youngest is 8. I am really, really feeling the baby blues. I would love to have another one and dh is willing, but is somewhat waiting for me to convince him that this is not a passing feeling. I have been feeling like this for a few years, though it has gotten especially bad over the last few months. I can think of a hundred reasons why we probably shouldn't have another baby...we would be starting over, it is pretty easy with our dc now, saving for college or other financial things, I am not at an ideal weight to begin a pregnancy, to name a few. I don't really have any grand reason to have another baby, except that we enjoy everything there is about babies and children and love having a house full. We have a wonderful marriage, so this is not about filling a gap or anything like that. I am just trying to come to terms with how I feel. Do we just take the leap of faith and try for another baby or will this feeling eventually pass? I don't want to always be wishing for another baby and then get to the age where it wouldn't be possible any longer. I will be 37 this year. And, then if we don't have another baby, will I always be sad that we didn't? Any BTDT advice? Which way did you go...have another or the feelings passed?

:D:D. I love this!