I'm using SOTW2 for my 3rd grader and kindergartener. The kindergartener gets most of it; occasionally I need to stop and clarify something for him. The 3rd grader likes it pretty well, though she could handle something more difficult. I think it's a good happy medium for both of them.

Chiropractor. A chiro can give him adjustments but can also suggest exercises and such to strengthen his abdominal and back muscles. Does he carry a wallet in his back pocket, so that he's sitting on it all day? My DH had some back issues a few years ago, and the chiro told him that that was really bad; at the time, he was sitting in traffic for several hours a day. When he started taking his wallet out of his back pocket, the back issues cleared up.

Sound of Music Lord of the Rings trilogy Dr. Dolittle (the original -- my children loved this!) the old (1980s, I think) adaptations of Frances Hodgson Burnett's Little Princess and Secret Garden, if you can find them. maybe Oklahoma DH would say some of the Monty Python stuff, though much of it is not appropriate for young children. But it gets quoted fairly often 'round here, as does The Princess Bride.

I know pretty much nothing about vehicles (and our most recent several vehicles have been Fords -- we've been pleased with the combination of reasonable purchase price plus reasonable repair costs), but I was just researching vans recently. I found one for sale that was very cheap but said it needed a new head gasket. In looking, I found estimates that said about $2000 for that repair, and DH (not a mechanic, but he does pretty much all of our car maintenance, as much as possible, and he's pretty familiar with all of that stuff) said that sounded about right -- it's a pretty complicated and lengthy repair (and really probably can't be done at home). So you may want to factor that into your purchase price, or look for something without that known issue.

Ours isn't quite that big, but that would be cool. :) Are you thinking of radiant floor heating? That would also be very nice and makes total sense. We've been really pleased with ours so far. Edited to say that DH says it can sometimes go three days, though it's going to depend on the size of the boiler, the size of the area you're heating, and the outside temperature. As for going away, that is a tricky thing. We have oil as a backup so that if the boiler fails for some reason, our pipes won't freeze. It's set to come on automatically if the inside temp goes below a certain point. We've not had to use it thus far. We normally don't go away in the winter, but we did this year, and we just had the neighbor's teenager come over a couple of times to fill it, with instructions to call us immediately if the fire went all the way out. We set the inside temp to be lower than we need when we're there, but high enough to prevent frozen pipes. Came back, and everything was just fine. We also watched the weather, and if our area had had an extended power outage, we'd have returned home asap to hook up the generator. (And if the world fell apart, and we couldn't get back, well, frozen pipes might not be the biggest worry on our minds.)

I have great ILs (and great parents too)! We have our moments, but they're genuinely good, caring people who really do have our best interests at heart. They might do some things differently than we do, and we may frustrate each other sometimes, but we do truly like and respect each other. I could be friends with my MIL even if it weren't for the fact that we have a mutual love (and sometimes mutual exasperation, LOL) for the same boy. ;) They may not always understand the way we homeschool, for instance, but they definitely support it. (I think they just don't know that many homeschoolers and imagine more of a structured, school-at-home approach than we actually do.) They are wonderful grandparents and adore the children. They only had two children themselves, but if they were anything other than thrilled about our 3rd and 4th children, nobody would ever know. (We announced #4 a few weeks before Christmas. MIL immediately asked what I needed and surprised me at Christmas by having a gift for the baby -- she went to the effort to buy exactly the cloth diapers I like. She also shopped a couple of weeks ago and sent me a surprise package with a new maternity top and some other little goodies, with a note that thanked me for carrying "another precious grandbaby" for them.) I really have been blessed with great ILs.

I'd say the same thing about the non-AG dolls. We have one of the Madame Alexander ones, I think from Toys R Us, and she has a lovely face with a sweet expression, and her body is fine, plus the AG clothes fit her. But the hair is really not the type you can fiddle with; it frizzed very easily. DD plays with her plenty but does prefer her AG dolls, because the hair can be styled more easily.

I do like it. It can be used as a regular backpack without the Ergo, though it's not nearly as comfortable as a regular backpack (no padded straps). I love that it attaches to the Ergo, and I think it would work with at least some mei tais as well. If it's very loaded, it can be a bit tricky to get the whole contraption (Ergo plus backpack) up on my back by myself, but it just takes an extra hand for a second; even my kids can help me with it. Mine is about 6 years old, so they may have updated them a bit, but I found it very easy to access the drink pocket on one side and the internal zip pocket on the other, even while wearing my 2yo. I can put keys, sunglasses, wallet, and phone in the zip pocket without overloading it. The two small velcro pockets on the outside could be a little bigger, and I'm hesitant to put really important stuff like keys in them, but they work for things like chapstick or small nature walk treasures. If I were using it as a full-time diaper bag, I'd probably get one of those changing pads that has the attached pockets, so that the diapering supplies didn't get lost at the bottom. When we were in Williamsburg in the fall, I had the zip pocket filled with important stuff (wallet, etc.), and then a cloth diaper or two (plus wipes and changing pad, I think), maybe a spare pair of pants for the toddler, some extra water bottles, and some snacks, plus assorted other random stuff that the kids handed me, and it was still pretty comfortable.

I'm fairly new to the boards, but I wanted to say congratulations! I hope the whole process is smooth!

On the best of days, and with the best of intentions, our Bible studies have multiple forms: -memorizing Scripture (daily memory work) -familiarity with the general Bible and God's overall plan (daily reading at bedtime from a good children's story Bible and good Bible story books [since mine are mostly still little.]) -learning to study/interpret/apply the Bible to daily life (age-appropriate studies for the older children). -learning about great Christian men and women from history through biographies and such -worshiping God through prayer and singing praise songs -Scripture readings at mealtimes -plus discussion any time it's appropriate Does all of that happen every day? No. It's an ideal, a goal.

In the summer, salads and corn on the cob a lot, not so much right now. I use parsley, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, garlic, onion, and pepper a lot. For eating raw, we love bell peppers and cucumbers. And baby carrots. Most often, our favorite cooked vegetables are brussels sprouts (DS1 particularly loves these), broccoli, lima beans, and green beans. Oh, and sweet potatoes and winter squash; the children love those. I put mushrooms in anything I possibly can, and only DS1 doesn't like those. Sometimes peas, occasionally asparagus, sometimes snap peas, occasionally cauliflower. The kids are fairly non-picky, which helps.

I just sorted through all of our early learning materials and sorted out what would be good for the 2yo. He has: pattern blocks (a couple of types), a matching game (Memory with Dr. Seuss characters, but I just have him look through them and find the pairs), puzzles of various types, a magnetic dress-up set, crayons and paper, and some other stuff that's escaping me right now. He absolutely loves to draw and cut, so that gives us plenty of time for the big kids. Oh, a felt board would be good. I use workbaskets for the kids, and I just made one for the 2yo; he is beyond thrilled to have HIS own basket. Every time I say that it's time to do schoolwork, he comes running and insists that he do schoolwork too. We have a chalkboard and big sidewalk chalk that he likes. Playdough would be good too, or maybe some sort of paint (paint with water, maybe). We also have a magnetic board (it and the chalkboard are part of an old easel), and some animal magnets; he'll spend a while sticking those up too. It's also nice when both big kids are working on something, and I have a few minutes to read a book with the toddler, so I keep a couple of bins of his books in the schoolroom.

I use a variety of carriers, slings, mei tais, wraps, Ergo. . . front and back (I generally prefer a sling or wrap for the front and a mei tai or Ergo for the back, though there's usually a stage where the only thing that gets used much is a mei tai, front or back). I strongly prefer a regular diaper bag to a backpack; I've been using a very basic, but very nice, Skip Hop bag from Target. (Mine is black, but it comes in pretty colors too.) It has a big long strap that lets you use it messenger-style, which works well with most carriers. The Ergo has its own backpack, which is what I bring when we go hiking. It's not huge and probably wouldn't be the greatest for a full-time diaper bag, but it works well for holding a few things.

I have two IRL friends who are left-handed knitters; one of them is on here, so maybe she'll see this and speak up. One knits exactly the way I do (continental) and does not reverse things; the other does reverse things, I think. When I asked them about teaching the girls at our co-op, they said for lefties, have the child sit facing you, so that she sees things reversed.

We have an outdoor wood-burning boiler, and we've been really, really pleased with it (this is the fourth year we've had it). Most of the time, DH only needs to fill it once a day. In the coldest weeks of the year (like right now), he checks it twice a day, though it doesn't necessarily need a complete fill both times. And sometimes in the fall and spring, I think he can sometimes skip a day between filling it. It usually takes him 5-10 minutes and is just part of his evening routine when he gets home from work. (And the kids help.) I can do it too, if he cuts the wood small enough for me, but it's generally a lot harder for me to lug the wood from the storage shed to the furnace than it is for him. Drawbacks: it's more expensive than a woodstove (I think), and it does need some electricity to run its pump. So we have a generator that we can use if there is an electric outage. But it does run our hot water in the winter, so that saves a little money. You do have to go outside, even when you don't feel like it, to feed it, but it sounds like a woodstove would have the same issues. But no mess in the house, no worries about children getting burned, no concerns about smoke in the house. It's been great for us!

I have a tight budget as well. This is what works for me: -I write my own curriculum, using suggestions from places like Ambleside and simplycharlottemason.com. I spend hours scouring the internet for free ideas, activities, worksheets, etc. -I use a lot of free books. Librivox.org and mainlesson.com are two of my favorite sites. I'll spend the time to download to my mp3 player or to cut/paste/print. Currclick.com has had some really great deals too. -I'll buy used for some things, and for others, I just budget carefully. I watch amazon for sales, 3-for-4 promotions, etc. Our tax refund will buy a few things for next year too, probably. -We have supportive family, so they will get stuff for us, or (very often), I'll ask my mom if she has a particular item in her own homeschool library, left from my siblings. -I budget a small amount of money every month for homeschooling -- it isn't much, but it covers the smaller stuff that creeps up now and then. -I make my library work for me! I buy the spine books, like SOTW, but I use all sorts of supplemental books from my library. I can get stuff from three county library systems easily, and from the rest of the state with a bit more effort. A supplemental book has to be pretty amazing for me to buy it outright. -Next year's math book for my 4th grader is probably going to be from our co-op's lending library. (It looks pretty decent, and really, I'm comfortable teaching math; this book will just be a guide for topics/skills and for ease of practice problems.) I think I tend to invest a lot of time into putting together our plans, moreso than investing money. I don't think it has to be expensive; people did homeschool at one point with little more than the Bible, so I figure everything else is icing on the cake.

Plastic over the windows. Put something behind the exterior doors to block any drafts. We have an old house too, with two old wooden doors. Last year, we put storm doors in front of them, and it was amazing, the difference in temperature. Do you have rooms you could close off and not heat regularly? I'd be looking into alternate forms of heating, like wood or something. Even if you heated part of the house with wood, that would reduce your electric costs, though IDK about your wood costs. A programmable thermostat has helped us a lot too. Also, if you have no other options, talk to your electric company about an equal payment plan. For us, we have slightly higher electric costs in the summer due to AC units, and much higher electric costs in the winter because of the electric heat, but with the equal payment plan, we pay the same all year round, so that in the spring and fall, we're paying ahead for the higher costs. (They do settle it up once a year, so we can still get a higher bill one winter month, but this time, it was only a few dollars higher, not astronomical.) Are you in an area where you have options for suppliers? Check into those. My ILs have a thingy that turns off their hot water heater during most daytime and nighttime hours, just leaving a few hours in the morning and evening. That wouldn't work for us, but it might work for some other families.

My sewing room is half of our office; the other half is an L-shaped computer desk. I've got a set of shelves in one corner that has all of my patterns and books, small plastic shoeboxes for zippers/buttons/snaps/extra knitting needles/machine feet/etc., iron, ball winder, and so on. To the left of that is my sewing table, which holds my sewing machine, serger, and a small rack for bobbins. To the left of that is wall space where I have my racks for serger thread and sewing thread. I really like having the racks! That's the end of that wall. Turn left, and there is a closet (doorless, currently) that has more shelves, with plastic totes for yarn and fabric, plus some space on the end for the ironing board. To the left of the closet is another table that holds my cutting mat and a big ironing pad for large pieces of fabric. It is small, but it is a very nice space and works well (especially when I keep it tidy).

I do happen to have a schoolroom right now. That's not to say that we always do our work in there, but it does help to keep our materials in one spot. There's an art table and free-access art supplies in there, with a rope (and clothespins) across the wall over it, for finished projects. There is a small desk tucked back into a little nook; it also has a hundreds chart over it, and a set of shelves for CDs, puzzles, and preschool learning activities next to it. (DD often uses the desk for her work, at her choice, so that she's not distracted by her brothers' general noise.) We also have a table where the boys work; it has a basket with markers, pencils/pens, scissors, tape, glue, and pencil sharpeners on it (in addition to duplicates of those items that are on the art table), so that we don't have to hunt those down all the time. I also prop applicable science or history books on that table against the wall, to encourage free reading. Maps, charts, genealogy trees, etc. go on that wall too, generally. I have a comfy chair (big enough for me plus at least one kid) in the room. And last, we have my big huge desk. It's sporting a computer, a globe, and our big wooden crate for our current school materials, and our reference materials. I also spread out our workbaskets on this desk, and then stack them up on it as we finish. I keep my office supplies, math manipulatives, extra notebooks and folders, the kids' pencil boxes for taking to co-op (we have a lot of sets of pencils and scissors, LOL), and art supplies that require my supervision (nice watercolors and such -- stuff I want used in careful ways) in the drawers of that desk. Oh, and next to the desk is a small table that holds a wooden file crate -- one folder for each month for DD and one folder for each month for the boys, plus a folder for my planning notes. I am huge on having a set place for everything, keeping it organized, and having multiples of anything that might tend to wander off so that there's no breaking of concentration to go find something.

Lots of water, and coconut oil for moisturizing. Frequently. If you have electric forced air heat, it may be very drying, so you may want to consider a humidifier. Also, I have heard that slathering your hands with lotion and then putting gloves over them or something at night can help; I haven't done the gloves, but I have done the heavy slathering at night.

I like my island a lot, but I don't have much other counter space, so it's really necessary. Ours does have seating for two on one side, and I used it often when I just had two children, but now, it's pretty rare that we use them. I'd probably opt for more cabinet space instead. In our previous house, we put a TON of cabinets, which was so, so nice. Some of my favorite features were the skinny cabinet for cookie sheets and the like, and the bank of nine drawers, some of which were really big (like, big enough for two crockpots and then some). I have linoleum right now, and I hate hate hate it. It's a style that is really hard to clean; my Pergo and hardwood floors vacuum, sweep, and mop up nicely with a string mop, but the linoleum has all these little textured spots, and it really needs me to scrub it on hands and knees with a cloth in order to look good. No quick mops. We've had Pergo and DIY hardwood in kitchens before, and while you do have to be careful that they don't get super wet (so you might want a rug in the sink area), they did work well, and they cleaned up nicely. I know nothing about tile at all though. Trash -- sits in a small corner of the kitchen and gets taken out pretty much every day. We also set recyclables on one small part of a counter, and DS1 takes them out every morning as well. (If we accumulate a lot in one day, we might take them out a second time in the day.) When we lived in a house where taking them out was less convenient, we kept two covered trash cans, one for trash, and one for recyclables, and we took them out when they were full (or if there was something particularly icky in them). My advice is to get as much counter and drawer/cabinet space as you can afford, more than you think is necessary, if possible. We also found that getting extra-tall upper cabinets was not significantly more expensive than regular height cabinets, and we got a good extra amount of space with them. We put in a LOT of counter and storage space, and it was SO nice. (It's been four years since we moved, and I still miss that kitchen!) Also, we put in a dedicated spot for phones, chargers, mail, stuff like that, accessible but not in the main cooking space. It had extra outlets too. Very, very useful. If you use things like tall mixers often, consider that when choosing how far down your upper cabinets will come. I currently have my mixer in a less-than-convenient spot, because that's the only place it fits. Have fun!

I'd be quite annoyed about the tobacco use, frequently in front of the children. I would probably discuss it with *someone,* whether it was the coach himself or the people in charge of the league. I feel that that would be as inappropriate as frequent smoking, drinking, heavy swearing, name-calling/belittling, discussing his sex life, or encouraging extreme dieting -- all things that are not applicable to the game and which do not have a place in his relationship with children. Would I switch teams for the tobacco use? I guess it would depend. If my kids started showing signs of developing that sort of "hero worship" mentality that can sometimes happen with coaches, then I might. (I think that's probably more likely with boys and male coaches, or girls and female coaches, but maybe not.) If my kids were openly talking about how disgusting it was or something, and they and I were otherwise happy with the coach, I'd probably just agree with them and stay with that team. All that being said, the icky vibe would totally do it for me, tobacco or no. You have instincts for a reason -- even if you're being overly cautious, listen to your instincts. Maybe your kids are too naive to notice that something's not right (which isn't necessarily a bad thing or a sign that you've failed), and maybe he's too slick. I believe I have read that pedophiles tend to "groom" children bit by bit, so that they don't realize there's something wrong. Can you talk with other parents to see what they think? (Not that that really matters; even if you're the only one who has the icky vibe, that's still valid, and your job is to protect your kids.) Maybe there's someone in charge with whom you could share those concerns? Even if you switch your kids to a different team, if he's truly icky, other kids may be at risk.

I don't think that kind of short notice is typical of most guests. I think you need to have a good talk with your DH. If need be, write down your thoughts and let him read them first, so that you're calm and able to stick to facts. Perhaps your DH is getting more notice but is afraid you'll say no, so he waits until last minute to tell you, because it's harder to say no then. In that case, let him know that you're happy to accommodate his friends, but MORE notice would actually be helpful. Does he actually realize the effects this is having (ie no Christmas tree)? Perhaps showing him the numbers would be helpful. If his doing this means that the family budget is sacrificing, that may need to come from any of his personal spending money, if he has any. Maybe that would help him to realize he needs to give you advance notice so you can budget. Maybe he does feel like he can't say no, in which case, you need to work together to find workable solutions. Maybe he just doesn't realize what a hardship this sort of thing puts on you, in which case, a lot of statements like, "I felt. . . " and "this is the effect it had on our family. . . " might help him understand. Ask him what he can do to make these things easier on you. If he really won't meet you at least partway and find workable solutions, I would calmly say things like, "I'm sorry, but my schedule is too full this weekend to watch dogs/entertain people/drive kids around," and then stick to it. Let him deal with it.

That I don't know exactly; it's just something I read once a while ago, and I thought the OP ought to be aware of possible concerns so she could look into them further. Quick google finds: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/98079/runoff.cfm http://www.stormh2o.com/september-2006/lead-stormwater-runoff.aspx http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_MS4_MDOT_Hwy_SW_Runoff_Study_91946_7.pdf (I really didn't read those very thoroughly, the last one at all, so the OP may want to do so to see if it's really a big issue or not. The top two seemed to indicate that lead and other heavy metals are concerns, but that was just with a quick glance, so I could be wrong.)

I think I'd be looking into things like lead coming from the highway into your soil and the like. I don't know details, but I remember reading something about playgrounds and preschools located right near highways having higher levels of lead exposure. If that was the case, it would be a huge problem for me.