My DD slept 5 hours straight her first night and by a month, she was sleeping 7 hours, nursing a bit, sleeping 3 more hours. My boys were up more frequently. All of them have gained well, and as long as he's eating plenty during the day (which it sounds like he is), I would let him sleep.

Unless the 7yo is wanting to get away from the littles, I'd probably just move the 3yo into the room with the big kids and let her share a bed with one of them. Or if the 7yo wants a break from the others, when the baby is not waking up so much at night, move him to a room with the 7yo and let the two middles stay together. Eventually you'll probably need to do boys in one and girls in the other, whenever your oldest wants some more privacy, but at that point, the current baby should be big enough to sleep safely with your older son, if your older son still wants to snuggle with someone. (My bigger boys are both snugglers still.)

We use TCOO and generally like it. It stops at WWI. We've been using it off and on since my oldest was about 6 or 7; she is now 10. Sometimes I do have to stop and explain parts to the younger kids, and often the 3yo doesn't listen much at all, but generally they like it. I like that it doesn't talk down to them (I couldn't stand Hakim, for instance). I find that it varies -- sometimes it's nice and scholarly and sometimes it's overly wordy. It was written by a British woman, so sometimes it omits things that I would have thought would be mentioned in a standard US history book; there's no mention of John Paul Jones, for instance. Otoh, there were things mentioned about the American Revolution that were new to me. We have really liked it as a spine; we read a chapter and very often add picture books to reinforce names, get a deeper perspective, etc. I did edit some of the things like calling the Native American savages.

This is such a happy post to read, both because it gives me hope that we'll not be in our own difficult financial situation forever, and because I'm really happy for your family! Congratulations, and also, well done -- throughout the difficulties, you've worked hard and kept your family together. Enjoy the goodness. :)

I just have to laugh at the bit about the landline vs. cell phone. We share a cell plan with other family members, so we actually pay less for our TWO cells (none of which are fancy; DH's is an older one that someone gave him, and mine is the almost free one that I got for re-upping my plan) than we do for our landline. DH needs a cell for work, because he's in and out of the office, and clients and his boss need to reach him. I probably could manage without a cell, but our landline is useless; our local calling area is really tiny, so for pretty much anything, we pay long distance charges. To get unlimited long distance, it costs as much as one of our cells, and I can't take it with me. So given the choice, I'd rather have my cell (which is completely free to call DH, my mom, my MIL, and most of my friends). Why do I have a landline at all? Because I live 15 minutes from a library or anywhere with internet access, and if I want internet at home (which really is a fair necessity), I either pay for a landline+dial-up, landline+DSL, or satellite. I opted for landline+DSL; dial-up really isn't more than a few dollars cheaper.

LOL, I was thinking exactly the same thing! Or how about the dental word search I made my DD do so I could put it in her portfolio to prove that we did health? I do consider it to be busywork, but it's for a specific purpose. (I find it completely ridiculous, but amusing, that PA does not care if you do reading or math every year, but they mandate fire safety. So absurd.)

I'm not saying that it's unfortunate that the seniors are doing so well because of their subsidies, when the young families are struggling, because that's lousy. However, at the same time, what are the older people supposed to do with their large houses and lots? If their homes are paid off (and I would suspect they are), that's money they're not having to spend on rent/mortgage. If they sold their homes, they'd have to pay for something else, unless they moved in with their adult children (which may or may not be an option). And that's assuming they can even sell their houses. That's an issue for a lot of people -- they can't just get out of their houses. Some of your seniors may be abusing the system, but there may be others who are just stuck.

In my state, WIC still gives paper checks. Each check has the foods printed on it, so the cashier checks for each one and then has the user sign the check. Anything non-WIC has to be paid for separately, and the cashier has to punch in before starting that it's WIC, so if you saw the checks, you might know that someone was using WIC. For SNAP, my state uses a debit card, but the cashier has to punch something in to indicate SNAP benefits. And then anything that isn't SNAP-approved (like toilet paper) has to be paid for separately. It's not impossible for someone who is using a couple of WIC checks plus SNAP benefits to have five separate transactions, and it can take a while, even if the cashiers are good.

Yes, indeed! When we were first married, we lived in Boston for two years (1998-2000), paying $700 for a small one-bedroom basement apartment (though not a studio; it had three rooms and a good-sized bathroom), plus electricity and phone, and with no AC, no parking, and laundry only in the building. And that was a steal. When we moved to southeastern PA after leaving Boston, we paid less per month for a mortgage on a 1200 sq. foot house with a nice unfinished basement, off-street parking, small yard, and two bathrooms. It's all about location -- that cute apartment sounds like it is comparable to other places.

I'm not redheaded, but my DH is, and we're both very fair (I'm actually fairer than he is and more prone to burning, partly because he spent years working on construction crews outside). Our poor kids have no hope of being olive-skinned! So far, we've got one with dark hair like me, two blond boys, and a baby who looks like he'll either be dark-haired or maybe (finally) redheaded. My oldest son doesn't burn terribly easily, but DD, DS2, and I do. I insist on hats as much as I can, but I generally just keep them out of the sun between about 10 and 3. I also try to build up their immunity by having them out for short periods in the spring, working up to longer periods by summer. If I can't avoid sun during those hours, we do use California Baby sunblock and put it on liberally (though not for the baby; I keep him out of the sun).

I use a version of workboxes, using plastic mesh boxes from the Container Store. These are nice because they stack and don't take up a lot of horizontal space. Each child's boxes are color-coded for him/her, as well as a color for group subjects, and next year I am adding a card to each one as well, with the subject on it. I like the workboxes because it's easy for me to tell what subjects still need to be decided upon for the next day. So each night (in theory; sometimes I don't do it until the next morning, but things really go better if I do it the night before) I put the appropriate items in the boxes, books, papers, etc. With some subjects, it's just "open and do the next thing," so the book just sits in the box all the time, but with others, the workbox lets me put supplemental books and other materials together so that they're ready to go. I don't have a separate strip and all, though; when they finish each subject, they're supposed to bring me the workbook/page/etc. (and I'm going to set up an "inbox" for next year to keep all work I need to check together, rather than piling it randomly on my desk), and they're supposed to put the workbox back in the stack. If it's not in the stack, the subject isn't completed. Having the boxes also encourages me to pull out new stuff for my preschooler from time to time too. Their workboxes go next to their individual workspaces, with things that require my assistance going on my desk. I don't put things that are used daily in the workboxes, like pencils. Instead, each of the big kids has a portable plastic box that holds pens, pencil sharpener, eraser, colored pencils, scissors, and glue sticks; those stay next to their workspaces (and double as their boxes for co-op). That has cut way down on wasted time spent looking for pencils and such. Unusual stuff like paint I would put in the workboxes on days they're needed.

So many great words of wisdom in this thread already! My children have completed their state-required 180 days for this year, and they will be finishing up the last few items next week. My plan is to give them about five or six weeks (until the first week of July) where they have a break. I'm still going to limit screen time like I usually do, but I think having a mental break will help them be fresh and interested in new books and new topics come July. In the meantime, during that break from school, I want to work very hard and drill our routines. We've gotten a bit lazy about getting morning chores done in a timely fashion (a lot of which is my fault), and this year in general has been a little chaotic with a new baby in the house. So I am hoping that getting back to reasonable bedtimes and waketimes and everything will help us be set in stone so that when the new school year starts, we're ready. I am also working like a dog to have things planned, so that it's easier for *me* to have things ready to go every day.

Lori, LOL! My DD didn't like Miquon. She didn't want to play with the rods, didn't want to experiment, didn't want to look at the patterns. The "make up your own" problems didn't appeal to her at all. My oldest son likes Miquon pretty well, and we're going to try it plus Singapore next year. He likes experimenting and stuff like "oh, see, this is really this plus this and if you add this rod, look what you get." He "gets" the patterns, and he does some of the "make up your own." I think Miquon actually encourages him to think outside the box (whereas for DD, she's already thinking so far outside the box that the box isn't even in the same room). I'm thinking of trying some of the early Miquon stuff, or at least just experimenting with the rods, with my little guy who will be four in the fall, as I think he'll like making staircases and stuff like that with them.

Yes, this.

Honestly, I don't think you were that all bad in your response. She *was* rude to you, no question. Your time took what it took, and personally, I'd have been thrilled that you took the time to thank my children for being patient. She was rude in her response to you, and you called her on it. I do hope she was just having a rough day and isn't normally like that. (And going shopping without any kids was lovely, I'm sure. Whenever we're in the self-checkout lane, I have at least two of the three big kids attemping to help me scan stuff, which makes it take at least twice as long, and grocery shopping is usually the last of several errands, so everyone's exhausted, and I'm trying so hard to be patient with the little helpers. I'm sure our circus is great entertainment, though!)

Shoot. :) Well, it came as a package deal with one of the other books, and both were still cheaper than buying the other book new. And if I decide I don't need the HIGs for other levels, at least I'll have the answer key.

Thanks, everyone! I wish money was truly no object, but with all of the recommendations here, I am going to try Singapore 2A and see how it goes, integrating it with Miquon. I've got the HIG, workbook, textbook, and answer key coming, and if those go well, I'll look for the CWP as well.

I don't think any of those names are too unusual. Julia and Bethany have both been on my short list for all of my boys, but of the five you listed, Abigail is my favorite. Had DS3 been a girl, he'd probably have been either Abigail or Katherine. I also love Susannah, Elizabeth (actually, I prefer Elisabeth, but it's a much less common spelling), and Anna (but my DD's middle name is Anne).

What a great idea! For those who feel that their stuff isn't worth the time to sell, why not try starting a lending library in your homeschool community? Our co-op has one, and we have a lot of great stuff in it now. It's been a real blessing to myself and several other people. I will often just buy new, especially if amazon has it on sale and with free shipping; I'm not thinking so much resale value as I am getting it through several children. If it's got any value left when they're all done with it, I can donate it to someone. I buy used when I can find a good deal (and I have found several of those, but it can take time).

I'm not sure what's available on Audible, specifically, but we very often borrow CDs from the library. (We also own mp3 players, and DH and I use those in the car via radio transmitters -- an imperfect but reasonable solution.) This year, we have listened to and liked: -Neil Patrick Harris's readings of Socks and the various Henry Huggins books -- really excellent. -part of The Lord of the Rings and part of Redwall -- both very good, but between the accents and longer sentence structures, they are more for older kids -Laura Amy Schlitz's The Night Fairy (short, but sweet) -B. D. Wong's readings of The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ralph S. Mouse, and Runaway Ralph -- particularly appealing to my 3 and 7yo boys. -Cherry Jones's reading of These Happy Golden Years -the Wayside School books -From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler -- my children loved this book. -The Sixty-Eight Rooms -- currently, and it's a fun story. My children also very much enjoy listening to the librivox recordings of Our Island Story and This Country of Ours, particularly if they're read by Kara Shallenberger. Oh, and DS1 really loves the Alfred Molina reading of Treasure Island.

My DH's answer was, "It's not a science question; it's a writing exercise. There's absolutely no reason they couldn't have faked something, even to say, 'I jumped on the camel, and we flew off into the air' if they really didn't know what a camel was. It didn't say it had to be realistic; fantasy would have been totally okay." (Okay, he also said, "Has anyone in this town ever even SEEN a camel?," which was a parody of one of our favorite lines from "Arrested Development.") My answer was, "And people wonder why I homeschool. No, no they don't, not after reading this."

We'll be starting Level 3 with our 10yo this year, and I really like the looks of the program in general, though I haven't seen Level 1. Level 3 looks very basic, lots of review, so I'm thinking Level 1 is going to be very easy, hopefully good for a 6yo.

I have not loved MEP the couple of times I've glanced at it; I'm not sure why, but it really didn't appeal to me. I also don't think I'm going to be good at using three curricula, so I'm going to put that particular idea on hold for a little while. I do, however, love the recommendations to combine Miquon and Singapore. How does one do this, though? Best way? He's in the beginning of the Miquon blue book -- which Singapore book should I get to start along with that? Also, what Singapore stuff do I need? There's a student workbook, a textbook, and a Home Instruction Guide, I think? Do I need all three if I'm using Miquon too? Sorry for the many questions, but thanks! I'm glad to see that nobody so far has screamed that I really must have MUS or something. The Dreambox thing looks cool, not sure if I can swing that or not. I will look into the CWP for Singapore too; he'd probably like that.

If money really, really was no object, what math program would you choose for this second grader? My 7yo son is going into second grade and seems pretty intuitively mathy and likes math but is not a very strong reader yet. We've been using Miquon, and he likes some of the experimenting with the rods but not all; often, he really just wants to figure it out in his head without the rods but is generally okay if I use them to illustrate a new concept. I am thinking we'll use the Miquon until he finishes all six books and/or gets tired of them, and then we'll switch to CSMP, but I'm mainly looking at that because it's free. I also picked up a Singapore 3A book at the CHAP convention last week because they were so inexpensive. On the one hand, the budget really matters, and he's only a second grader, but otoh, I really want to do right by him and give him a good start.

15-20 minutes these days. Might be a bit more or a bit less, depending on his interest -- some days he wants to read a lot to me, and other days, not so much. I'd say 15-20 minutes was about right when I was directly teaching him to read; now he reads to himself or to me and asks for help as needed.