What a wonderful idea! I am not low income and I stay at home, but I would benefit SO much from a class like that.

Ha! That is hilarious,

It really is okay to cry at the doctors. It will not be unusual to them at all. Make the call. I know it's hard. Once you begin to feel better, maybe you can get your husband to come around.

I hate the way people drive on icy roads too. I'm afraid of driving too slow though because I'm afraid of someone rear ending me. I live close to where that 193 car pile up happened. I do everything I can to avoid driving when it's bad out.

Oh, I have gotten an email like that. Supposedly, I had left a poopy diaper in her trash can. (I didn't- the diaper I put in the trash was actually not even wet- I only changed the diaper because I was putting a swim diaper on the baby) I borrowed something a couple of times that she said I did not charge after using, but my BIL told her that he had seen it plugged in, apparently it plug was lose and would come out after awhile. Anyway, I get it. I was really irritated. Not only did we get emails about these, she also complained about me to other people. There's nothing really to do except say "sorry" and let it roll off your back.

I take meds. On the plus side, they really, really help! Not every situation is the same, but there is a good probability that after you see your doctor, you will feel MUCH better and wonder why it took you so long to call!

My kids are almost always up before 6. They watch TV or play quietly until I get up around 7:30. Of course, if we have to actually be somewhere in the morning, I can't drag them out of bed. They sleep later in the summer when they are able to be more active.

Of course! I don't know why I didn't think to do that! I don't know the blogger personally or anything. http://www.raptitude.com/ It's his newest one, about self esteem. All of his stuff is very thought provoking.

I just read a fascinating blog post about doing the things that make you like who you are when you're doing them. He talked about someone taking a vacation to a cabin in the woods and when asked why he would go there, he said "I like who I am when I am there." The author talked about himself and how he would get in a rut of doing things he wanted to do - like junk food and TV- and he started to like who he was less and less. I'm not explaining it very well, but I found it very inspiring. We have also been feeling a bit displaced because I have an infant and there isn't room for his exersaucer or swing in the school room so we've been in the dining room and everything is a mess.... Anyway, I bought these AWESOME plastic boxes at Costco the other day- they are 12 in by 12 in, they have a hinged lid and come in fabulous colors. I put all the stuff for each subject in a box. It has helped so much! It was fun organizing things and now things are more portable. I LOVE having a box that contains all the little pieces like the clock and the abacus for math and the tiles for spelling. But if reorganizing excites you, that could help!

I totally agree with this! I have heard you say that in a workshop too and I did not have that misconception.

I would go if I had the chance!!!

Hey, if they ate it, that's a big victory. My kids sit at the table and cry (and cry and cry and cry) and steadfastly refuse to eat anything they don't want to eat. Which I would be fine with IF what they would/wouldn't eat was consistent, but it is so not. Something that was a favorite last week is trying to poison them this week. Even when I do let them choose what to eat, they eat three bites, declare that they are so stuffed they can't possibly eat another bite and ten minutes later they are "starving". Ugh. I hate food.

My book 3 for the year is AD 30 by Ted Dekker. It's okay so far. Nt spectacular, though. A horrible thing happened to an infant right at the beginning, and infant that is really close in age to my own. I was so upset I couldn't sleep. I'll try to post more of a synopsis when I finish reading it.

We have not had any problems. Sometimes something says it will be a very long wait, but it's not.

Have you considered getting a sitter for overnight? It's not going to help him sleep, but it would help you get some sleep knowing that he was safe. Even if it was only a couple nights a week, I bet you would feel like a new woman! I can't imagine getting that little sleep. Can you make his room completely baby proof and then just sleep on the floor and let him do whatever while you just lay there? Hope you find some answers.

Oh, I've got a 1st world one though not related to homeschooling. I am supremely irritated when anyone (dh or the kids) watches Netflix while logged in under my profile. It screws up my recently watched list and the recommend because you watched list and when they add things to my to watch list, I have to scroll through a bunch of crap before I can find what I have saved. (Dh put a bunch of HGTV shows on there yesterday.) yes, I realize how petty that sounds.

Well, I have a kid crying right now because she's NOT hurt. Her brother fell onto something and hurt his side, so he's on the couch with an ice pack and she's crying because she's not.

I wish the science museum was free! It's not terribly expensive though, so I suppose if it is awesome, we could go back a second day. The hotel does have breakfast and we'll definitely do dinners out, since dh doesn't mind driving even in bad weather. Plus, his company is paying for his food! I doubt there is a subway, the city isn't that big - but since it will probably be quite a bit below freezing, public transport is not an adventure I want to have this trip. We can save that for the summer. The pool is indoor and we'll swim a lot. I was feeling a little anxious about this, but I think I've got a handle on it now. I'll take a bit of school stuff, a couple new books, markers and coloring books- with that and their electronics, I think they'll be happy when we're not in the pool. And hopefully the weather won't be too bad and the science museum will be great. We can be open to spontaneous adventures too!

This was very helpful! I would not have thought to take disposable plates and stuff, but that could be a lifesaver! And squeeze cheese and pop tarts would be the kids favorite thing of the trip. That is usually reserved for camping in the summer. I wouldn't have thought of a cutting board/knife either.

The kids and I are going to go with dh to a nearby city where he has to take a week long class. We're going because it's been so cold and we've been cooped up in the house too much. There is a pool at the hotel, so the kids can get a lot of energy out and I think the change of scenery will be good for us. There is a science museum near the hotel and hopefully we can find some other things to do- I have never been to this city, so I am completely unfamiliar with it. BUT the possibility exists that the weather will be bad and I won't feel comfortable driving in it. Which means we would be spending a lot of time in the room. So I want to be prepared with lots of food and activities in case we can't get out as much as we want. The kids LOVE to swim, so we will do that a lot. There is a mini fridge and microwave in the room. Ideas for food/activities? Kids are 7, 4, and 8 months.

My rather large chest means that I *always* wear a bra- even to bed. I cannot imagine going without one. Right now I am nursing, so I wear a nursing tank that has a built in bra at night but that's as unstructured as I ever get. We usually get dressed unless someone isn't feeling well. If I am not dressed, including shoes, I am not very productive. I feel like making the kids get dressed signals the beginning of the day, before they get dressed, they just lay around and watch TV or play video games.

I'm sorry. I was sick last week and when I went downstairs it looked like a bomb had gone off in every room. When I got mad, my dh insisted that he was planning on taking care of it, he just hadn't gotten around to it. That was at 7:00 on Sunday night- he had to be at work at 7 am on Monday.... Just when this "getting around to it" was going to happen, I have no idea.

Game of Thrones (a song of ice and fire) Best books I have read in years- I recently told my BIL about them and he loved them too.

I feel the exact same way. I made several New Years Resolutions and I knew that a resolution to do meal planning would have the most benefit of any for our family, but I still didn't do it. I might as well have a resolution to become an astronaut.

I have friends both significantly better off than we are and friends that are not. It is good to be around both. I try to suggest activities that are inexpensive for friends that aren't because what I really want is to spend time with them. Not make them feel like they have to stretch their budget to do something fun. I remind myself that those with more probably feel the same way about me.