We homeschool year-round, and we take breaks as needed, anywhere from a day or so if company is visiting, to a week or so if needed. Learning doesn't really stop anyway, even if it takes different forms; spending time with grandparents, traveling, watching good-quality movies, or even just pursuing their own creative play/art/etc. all have value, IMO, as does "book learning." Since our state requires 180 days, using all twelve months to accomplish the formal work makes everything much more flexible for us. The real world doesn't generally run on a summer-off schedule, and neither does my DH's schedule, so neither does our school schedule. (Now, otoh, my own dad was a public school teacher, and his summer schedule was different, so I think my mom did have a distinct summer schedule for my younger hs'ed siblings, like maybe just a bit of math and reading, and that made sense for them.) My kids have plenty of time to play outside and to visit with their public-schooled friends. But at least one of DD's favorite playmates, who lives across the street, is in daycare anyway during the summer, so she's only available in the evenings/weekends anyway. Plus, it makes more sense to do heavier formal work in the summer and winter, when playing outside isn't happening as much, and then we can spend more time out in the spring and fall.

Desk, like a desk in their room, away from the main flow of the house? No. DD has a desk in her room that matches her other furniture; it's for storing her doll stuff, though, so that toddlers can't get into it, not for schoolwork at this point. Now, otoh, we do have desks in the schoolroom. I have a huge old desk that holds all of our books, workbaskets, and the computer. This, I use daily. I do move around the room, or sit in an armchair for some reading, but often, I just sit at the desk (with the toddler on my lap). The boys don't have a desk; they have a table with a couple of chairs (because often the toddler insists on doing schoolwork too, preferably alongside his big brother). There is also an art table. I try to keep it fairly tidy, but it does sometimes get piled up with art projects. Art projects are generally kept off of the school table though. DD has a desk in the schoolroom, tucked into a little alcove, because she gets distracted easily; it was her suggestion -- she likes to be able to have her back to everyone, but still be near enough to get help as needed.

I do tend to use a lot of free, older materials, and I really like them. I think there is good quality and bad quality stuff out there, both newer and older, so it really just depends. Thus far, we've done very well and have needed to spend very little, thanks to so many free, older items. I also don't mind taking the time to write out my own schedules and lesson plans, but ymmv.

I'd check the list at askpauline.com as well; I like that they have a little blurb that tells you about each evaluator's philosophy, so you can find someone who will mesh well with you. In my case, my intended evaluator is not on that list, so it may not be completely updated, but I know her because she runs our co-op. We talk fairly often about educational philosophies and are pretty similar, and she knows our family (and has spent time with DD, my only evaluatee at the moment), so I think she will be a good fit for us

Our support group is very inexpensive to join the general group, and then you pay for whatever things you do with the group that have fees, whether it's bowling day or co-op. The co-op the past couple of years has only been a few dollars per kid per semester, and the teachers' children are free. The teachers can also be reimbursed for copies or other supplies, but mostly things have been donated or borrowed as needed. I do think the high school biology class is a bit more expensive, though, because of the supplies needed. Other local co-ops charge more like $60 per child but do heavier academic programs; ours is meant to be more of a gentle academic, gentle social sort of thing. We also do fundraisers throughout the year -- boxtops, grocery store rewards, food sales (bake sales, subs, pizzas), running a booth at a local fair, car wash, recycling ink cartridges, a few non-food sales, Script cards. Some local restaurants do fun nights too. It sounds like a lot, but it's actually not been too bad, and there's absolutely no pressure to participate in any of them. Often, if there's a specific thing, like a bus trip, we'll earmark a fundraiser for that thing, and people can choose to participate in that one or not. We've made a lot of money through fundraisers, particularly the kinds where we aren't selling things.

You do need a special hairbrush, either from AG, or a wig brush, and I would recommend getting a set of ponytail holders that is only to be used on the doll's hair, so oils from human hair don't wreck the doll's hair. And a small spray bottle; the hair brushes better when it's damp. We have Kirsten and one of the Just Like You dolls; the JLY doll's hair is more manageable -- Kirsten has a TON of hair. DD keeps her dolls separate from other stuffed friends, and I encourage her to keep them sitting up if the hair isn't braided (particularly Kirsten). I think 7 is a great age for the AG dolls!

I can't imagine you're ever too old to wear what you want, including jeans (exceptions being if someone else is needing to help dress and groom you, of course -- but dress pants or anything else with zippers and buttons might well be too difficult, just like jeans). I've never seen my 80-something grandparents in jeans, but I think that's more of a personality thing; they're rather formal people in general, and I think jeans are just not their style. My MIL (61) wears jeans all the time, and she always looks nice -- classic with a slightly trendy flair, never frumpy. No mom jeans, but not skinny jeans either, just the classic sort of jeans. She definitely doesn't look inappropriate in jeans. Most of the 30- and 40-something moms I know wear jeans as well, except for those who only wear skirts/dresses. I was in that category myself, didn't wear pants/shorts except for pajamas for well over a year, until I got pregnant and didn't want to buy maternity tights for the winter. I am happily enjoying my comfortable maternity jeans (but am looking forward to skirt weather again). :) I look youngish anyway for nearly 34, because I'm short and refuse to have "mom" hair -- it's long and often loose, and I intend to keep it that way for a long time still. My DH wears pretty much nothing but jeans (and often has a ballcap on too), and when he throws a hoodie on, I call it his "frat boy" look (which is funny because he never was a frat boy), and I think it's cute on him, even though he's almost 36. Definitely not too old for jeans!

Congratulations! So glad you are both okay, and we love his name!

I had my first baby in a freestanding birth center (and then my subsequent babies at home), and I loved it, really couldn't have asked for a better experience. It's a lot like having a homebirth in someone else's house and combines the best of both hospital and home, IMO. They had more medical equipment available than at home (though my one set of homebirth midwives did carry oxygen), but they also had an ambulance on speed dial and a protocol to follow should hospital transfer be needed. (In their case, the hospital was across the street.) Typically, with the early release, they do check on you frequently, with calls and phone checks and such. CNMs are trained to look for problems, and they did intermittent fetal monitoring and other checks to be sure the baby and I were doing well. They told me that there was very nearly always some indication of a problem before a problem actually happened, and that even a hospital couldn't prevent all problems. Things do happen sometimes, unfortunately, regardless of where you birth, so you need to choose where you will be the most comfortable. I really encourage you and your DH to talk to the birth center midwives about their emergency protocols; perhaps that will put your minds at ease. Also, wrt the water birth, I would definitely make sure the MWs allow water births and not just water labors, before you make your decision. My MWs at the birth center did not allow water births, and neither did the MWs who attended my first homebirth (who also ran a freestanding birth center).

My first labor was 11.5 hours, my second 7 hours, and my third just under 8 hours. However, my first baby was posterior and took a while longer because of that. Of that 11.5 hours, 1.5 was pushing, whereas with the second, pushing was about 20 minutes, and with the third, it was just a couple of minutes. It also happened much more suddenly with the second and third, whereas the first was more of a gradual build-up to pushing.

I saute some garlic in butter and then add the brussels sprouts, lowering the heat, covering them, and letting them simmer until they're just slightly browned; then I sprinkle them with a bit of sea salt. (If they're large, I cut them in half before cooking them.) My 6yo LOVES these and when asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner a few weeks ago, replied, "Brussels sprouts!" immediately.

It does sound like the beginning of mastitis, or it has the potential to become so. One thing to try is to adjust the baby's position so that the chin is right under the plug; if need be, get on all fours over the baby. The baby's lower jaw has the greatest suction power and may be able to dislodge the plug in the duct. Also, you can massage behind the plug in hopes of dislodging it. The nipple soreness could be related to a bleb. This might help: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/nipplebleb.html

With my 9yo, who is also easily distracted, I do have to sit with her sometimes. She, per her own request, has a little desk in an alcove where she's less distracted by her brothers. I do limit what she has to write and do things orally when possible (she's also not a kid who needs to write something to remember it; she remembers just from reading or listening). For math, I only ask her to do enough problems that I can tell she understands the concept. I also break up her work so that she only has a few subjects to do, then a break before the other subjects. Math is first on the list. So our schedule looks like this (and it occasionally deviates from this order, but generally not much): math, history, memory work, handwriting practice, foreign language, break, science, literature, Bible study, and free reading of her choice -- it breaks up the different types of subjects, which helps keep her from getting bored and therefore distracted. She always has to write for handwriting practice and Bible study, but the others may or may not need writing; I try to limit it so that if, for instance, the history assignment requires writing, the science won't. But yes, sometimes I do just have to keep turning her back to task. :)

:iagree: I don't think that's mean; I think that's logical. (My DS, age 6, does like to build the specific items and keep them intact, or rebuild them if they get broken. Then they become playsets -- the pirates and soldiers battle, or the good knights take on the bad ones, or whatever. Tbh, that makes the most sense to me as well, since we've paid for the more expensive specialty sets. It's a different style of fun than the generic Legos, I think. He has plenty of generic Legos for inventing his own creations too, and it seems to be a mix at this point of which he prefers.) Also, if pieces go missing, many of them are available pretty cheaply from the Lego site (I've been looking into that, but IDK about shipping costs yet); some of the specialty pieces are pricier though.

DH is gone around 10-11 hours a day, sometimes a bit longer. He usually leaves the house before 6 am and comes home around 5. Honestly, it's very hard; he's gone a lot and is trying to fit a lot into the few hours he has, and a lot falls on me. But right now, it's the way it is, so we deal. We never believed that both parents should work, and we believe that it's best for him to work and me to be at home with our children. But paying for daycare for an infant and a toddler would be very expensive for us, so we're not really at the point where it would be worth me working. (And having me leave an infant for several hours is a pretty unacceptable sacrifice for us; we'd do it if we absolutely needed to, but we're not at that point yet.)

:grouphug:, so sorry for the loss of the one twin, prayers for you and the other.

I know less than zero about meth, drugs, and residue, but in the two states where I've sold houses and worked in real estate, drugs were not part of the disclosure; it just includes known material defects. If there is damage from meth, that might need to be disclosed; I just don't know enough to know what kind of damage that might be. However, foreclosures often do not have disclosures. I'm not sure about the drug use death either; I don't remember ever seeing anything like that on any of the listing information for any of the houses my office sold. It may depend on your state; disclosures aren't even required in all states, so the other info may vary as well. I would not personally discuss the house's history or anything with potential buyers unless I was directly asked. That seems like it could leave you open for potential trouble with the bank that's selling the house.

I usually use a product called LemiShine for the same reason, to remove hard water deposits. Tang is cheaper, and I have used it when I couldn't get LS (it's only sold at a couple of stores, none of which is very close to me), but DH was concerned that that was too much sugar to be dumping into the septic system at one time. Anyone know about that? Also, we've tried vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser but not lemon juice. Good idea!

I'm learning along with my children, having never studied Latin before myself. We're using Getting Started With Latin and liking it a lot.

I'm not too bad. I have cooked more "gourmet" at times, not so much these days, but I do generally make fairly tasty meals that are also generally pretty nutritious. My family usually seems pretty happy, anyway. (Though it cracks me up when the simplest meals get the most rave reviews from the children!)

Cultural literacy, mostly, and a desire to have my children have a general appreciation for multiple music forms.

Another blessing that this baby has brought -- my regular clothes are extending their wear because I'm wearing my maternity clothes instead! (Most of which are good, simple, sturdy, yet attractive, pieces that I bought on sale during my first pregnancy, and even the fourth time around, they are still being worn and still looking good.)

Can I just say that I really appreciate this thread? I checked quite a few boxes, and our budget is extremely tight right now; this thread is making me feel not so alone, even while I'm grateful for what we *do* have and know that it definitely could be worse.

We see a pediatric dentist that lets us go back with the children. I wouldn't even consider a dentist that wouldn't allow that! (Maybe for teens but not for young children.) Our pediatric dentist may be the only person who ever gets full cooperation from all three of my children at once, LOL -- one has always hated doctors/dentists messing with her personal space, one is very shy, and the other is a two-year-old. They've got a cheerful office, three chairs in a room so that I can have all three of them back there at once, a big fishtank for the kids to watch, hand-held games and books, and just a really great demeanor with the kids. We started with a regular family dentist, and they ended up referring us to the pediatric place, particularly for my very shy then three-year-old. Cost -- I'm not exactly sure, as our insurance covers it, but it's over $100 per child per visit. Last time, my older two got full exams and cleanings, the middle one got routine x-rays as well, and the toddler got just an exam; I think the total bill was over $300. ETA: It definitely sounds like it varies. I like my dentist and his office just fine, but while my children do just fine when they're there with me (there's a TV at every station, and the hygienist turns on cartoons for them), but it's more clinical than the children's dentist, and the dentist himself is nice, but doesn't seem like he'd have that particular manner that is great for the kids, and he's got a heavy accent, so I think that would be off-putting for the children.

I can't be the only one who grew up playing the Carmen Sandiego games and who has kids who enjoy them now! Library sales, yard sales, etc. might have the old CDs available (my dad has found several for us, and I think library sales and yard sales are most common for him). I learned a ton of geography from those games, plus thinking/reasoning skills (if the clue tells you somewhere with mountains, you can reason out which states might have them, for instance), and my 6 and 9yos love them as well.