DD12 attended PS through 2nd grade. She generally did well, enjoyed being a peer helper (listening to/helping other struggling readers), but as her math papers came home I saw double digit subtraction where she had to draw pictures to represent the subtraction. So, she was drawing 40-something circles and then erasing 25 of them to show how she got her answer...well, her answers were wrong because she didn't know how to subtract and then she miscounted the drawn circles in the first place...she never would have come up with the right answer. She didn't know her basic math facts to give her a strong foundation. I was so frustrated with how HARD they were making math for a 2nd grader and how LONG it was taking her to draw and count and then erase all those circles. She came home grumpy and hungry and any homework was a battle...I was getting grumpies from her before school and then after school and NONE of her happy times. I had HSing friends whom I thought were a little crunchy, but one day I happened to wander through the non-fiction section of the library and looked to my right and at eye-level were books about homeschooling. What a blessing! So I checked out lots of those books and realized I could school them with far less time than public school. We kept DD home for 3rd, DS came home for 1st (he had had a wonderful K teacher in the same school, lots of playing and learning but when I told her we would be homeschooling him for 1st, she complimented me and said she was excited for us!). Only after HSing did I realize how it would provide continuity for our military family. We've been lucky with mostly summer household moves, but we can take extended vacations to visit my parents when necessary. My only regret is that I sent her to PS at all. In K they relied heavily on sight words and it has had a huge impact on how she still sounds out new words and spells. Because of that, my younger 2 have had heavy phonics as young readers.

If I could have re-done our last van purchase, I would have gotten a cheaper model. No DVD, no navigation. Our kids aren't into DVD movies so much anymore, they have too many electronics and books to entertain them. I don't care for the navigation in our Odyssey, it's just not user friendly. A few other people I've come across have agreed about the Honda system. I use a Garmin, I prefer that format anyway. The power gate is nice but I've seen some cars where you can just wave your foot under the back bumper and if you have the keys in your pocket, the gate lifts--no buttons! I know when both hands are full with heavy grocery bags and I have to REACH UP to press the gate button, I curse Honda under my breath. We have leather seats and...meh. Easier to clean but we rarely eat messy snacks/meals in the car in the first place. Leather is freezing cold in the winter and sears your legs on a sunny summer day. When we lived in Florida I got seat covers for the front 2 seats because I didn't like burning my legs. One thing I do recommend is getting all-weather mats as part of the purchase package...Car carpeting gets trashed easily. I do like a van instead of an SUV because I know my kids will ding other cars with their doors, so the sliding doors mostly avoid that issue. Hope you find something you like!

I didn't even know this about Afrin. We've used saline spray for the kids for years, seemed like a better choice for toddlers. That and Vapo-Rub have helped the kids (and therefore, ME!!) get a full night's rest when they're stuffed up.

If there was enough snow to play in, we would still do most of our school day. I look forward to the spring days (late March/April/May) here in VA before it gets too hot; we'll do our work now and go adventuring outside when it warms up.

DH is not afraid to use whatever "tool" he can find to assist...this is the man with extremely dry ear wax who unbends a paper clip to clean his ears. :glare: He asked me for a thumb tack last night, planning to teach DS his dermatology skills.

DS is 10 and has 2 pimples on his nose. They're taking forever to resolve themselves! I use Paula's Choice for myself and it really helps with my blemishes (deep painful cystic lumps around my chin) and not too drying on the rest of my face. DH wants to teach DS to pop his pimples and I don't really want to encourage that b/c of scarring and risk of infection.

At that age, I'd keep her home. Little ones can fade fast when they get sick, you'd probably be back to pick her up by lunchtime. Hope she feels better soon!

Exciting!! I should read that book again, might as well buy it this time :)

I voted monthly...but let me explain. I usually wear sports bras around the house, those can go in a mesh bag in the machine, no problem. I wash those after a day's wear or if I actually work out (which hasn't happened lately!). My underwire demi cup bras are hand wash and I have about 8 of those. So I rotate through my pretty bras when I'm out in public and want more of a bustline but overall, I'm only wearing them for a few hours. About once a month I'll go through and wash them all.

I've tried to apply the narration approach to the kids' stories. I tell them they need to sum it up in one or two sentences. When that fails, I tell them that my ears are bleeding, my brains are turning to mush, I'm too old for this topic, tell your father, etc...those are my excuses. Maybe I should offer them a cookie, because they still try to teach me all they can about Minecraft, Pokemon, Blockheads, Cops & Robbers, and any other iPad game they're currently into.

This is my fear when it comes to coloring at home!

Never silverware. Mostly clean plates that have only bread crumbs or a bowl that held sliced fruit...ok. And that's usually if the dishwasher is getting full or we're about out of plates. I've never been good at eating after others.

And after clicking all those links, my recommendations section is all mathy baby stuff. :tongue_smilie:

DD8 was ok with Charlotte's Web, Charlotte's death didn't faze her (although she already knew the story line from when DS10 read it for school). DS10 LOVED Where the Red Fern Grows up until the last 2 chapters...he was happily doing his assigned amount of reading and even remarked to me, "I don't know why they call it Where the Red Fern Grows, there's no red fern anywhere in this book!" I was really worried the ending would just crush him...instead, he threw the book across the room and said it was stupid and why did I "make him read that whole book if the dogs just die at the end?!?" I think DS needs to get in touch with his feelings. Shiloh was hard for him to read, also. I was thinking about adding Old Yeller and Bambi to his reading list...instead we went with Adam of the Road...which seems to feature a boy searching for his lost dog. No wonder DS10 enjoys Pokemon graphic novels when he reads for fun.

We use canvas tote bags, ones from REI right now. REI also has plastic (PET?) bags that I LOVE. I can't do one huge bag, I just don't have the strength to deal with all that weight. We load into 3 or 4 bags; everyone carries a bag and I usually leave the lightest one for myself ;) In the rare event we have more books than bags, I keep backup Envirosax in my purse. At one time I did have a folding-crate on wheels but then I was having to carry the crate over our home's bumpy threshold, down the front steps, over the driveway gravel since the tiny wheels didn't roll so well there, lift it into the back of the minivan, then lift it down from the back of the van at the library, then deal with the double doors at the library. And the wheels would pick up dirt from the driveway/parking lot and bring it into the house. The crate was too heavy for the kids to help out with so it was all on me. A trip to the library was exhausting me! So we switched to a bag for everyone.

I bought my DD12 who is also 5'5" an XL Squall Jacket from Land's End for this year. I was worried about it being too short in the sleeves but they're just fine and it still has the wrist guards so she won't get snow in her mittens. Ladies' coats don't have that, and I'm sure if I had bought her a ladies' coat, there would have been griping about the wrist guards. Sigh. Anyway, DD is pretty average build, broad shoulders and long legs. She could layer with a sweatshirt if she needed too, plenty of room in the tummy/hips.

Thank you! DD8 found the DK Natural History (Smithsonian) at Costco and added it to her Christmas list but I won't ever be able to buy it without the kids along...and then getting it to my parents' house for Christmas will be a pain too. So the $10 off brings it down to just a $1 more than at Costco BUT gets it delivered without me having to hide it and travel with it. Great deal!!

DD12 (7th grade) did the first 16 lessons of WWS1 as a 6th grader (fresh out of WWE 1 & 2) and it really took it's toll. I allowed her to get to week 16 and then put it away for the summer, planning to restart it as a 7th grader. This girl loves to write and read and but was just overwhelmed with WWS1. (I think it was the "Write XXX down. Then go through your paper, edit and rewrite the whole thing." Very frustrating for my DD who writes (physically) very slowly. I dreaded starting WWS1 again this fall so I got her Wordsmith (not Apprentice, it looked too easy for this girl). DS10 is doing Wordsmith Apprentice. I will add that she's done grades 3-6 of Rod & Staff English and we've been very grammar heavy for the last few years. For SotW, we are following the WTM method but she has chosen to write historical poems for each topic instead of a page of information. Would that be something your daughter would try? For my DD, I think she puts in more time on editing than she would on prose. DS10 is doing Wordsmith Apprentice, and I really feel it is so ridiculously easy for him...not sure I'd get it for a 7th grader?? I'm going to add Bravewriter to my "to consider" list, I don't know that I've ever researched it!!

My DS10 read this over the summer, he picked it up on his own and read it. He loved it. I was surprised (and thrilled!) that it had caught and held his attention.

We had this problem with our AppleTV last week. IPads and Macs worked fine though. And now you know just how spoiled we are with our streaming/technology :blushing:

I've done the same thing to my son but got about 1/2 way through and wondered why it looked so short. :confused1: Good thing hair grows quickly!!

This does not address the OP (sorry!) but I use Mason jars for my own drinks, food storage, and I love the 12 oz smaller jars for the kids' drinks. Much easier for them to put on a plastic lid and store their extra milk in the fridge instead of having an open cup in the fridge or them having to chug down 1/2 a glass of milk when they've poured too much. For some reason, water in a quart Mason jar at room temp is the perfect temperature for me all the time...not too cold from the fridge, not too warm from the tap. I had my husband drill a hole in a plastic lid so I can put a straw through. I wish my Odyssey's cup holders would accommodate a quart jar though :( So bummed about that! I'd much rather try to rearrange glass Mason jars in the dishwasher than Rubbermaid/Tupperware that seems to take up so much room and are only top-rack wash.

following...we are using LifeLock and we have not had any issues with them or identity theft. I misplaced my birth certificate and social security card during our recent move, so I am being extra vigilant for the next year. So stupid of me to have lost them, I know. :cursing:

Our 12 year old cat was in a similar way last year, dragging both hind legs and non-responsive to touch in his tail and hindquarters. We took him immediately to the ER vet who thought he had had a trauma to his spine, even though his feet pads were still warm (circulation was good). We tried overnight with anti-inflammatory meds but it was still the same the next afternoon. Sadly, we put him to sleep. Before the final decision was made, the emergency vet suggested we take him home and use a cookie sheet as a litter box and keep him in a small room so he didn't injure himself further (nothing to jump on/off)...but, we couldn't see that that long-term arrangement would improve his quality of life. They did suggest the possibility of surgery but spinal surgery is not a guarantee even for humans and it's obviously not cheap. So....after that cheery story...I really hope your kitty improves!