I average 50 loads/month. (I know this because I am prompted to run a clean-the-washer cycle every 100 loads, and that happens every 2 months like clockwork.) We are a family of 6 with 4 very dirty boys.

My darling recently opened a tube of fancy watercolor paint that belongs to my oldest. Not only was the tube up high (so there was climbing involved) but since the seal hadn't been punctured, he climbed (again) and found a swiss army knife, opened the corkscrew and poked holes in it. Obviously we've had to re-childproof some things. (I'm never going to the bathroom alone again. It just isn't safe. <sniff>) On the bright side, he's a resourceful little dude...

Our two favorite trips there were in May and October. May was nice, but the October weather was fabulous and there were fewer crowds. (Lots of local field trips in May.)

I feel your pain. And as if managing the clothes isn't bad enough, you have to wash the darn things, too. :glare: I have 4 boys that are all born in the spring and are almost exactly 3 years apart (not planned, just happened that way.) I have saved every.single.piece of (intact) clothing to pass down. At one point, when we still had babies, I had 18 large plastic tubs of clothes in my basement. And 4 full dressers/closets upstairs. We get hand-me-downs from a cousin on top of what I save. The kids are not turning out to be the same size/shapes, which complicates things. I am NOT an organized person and managing clothing is a huge struggle for me. Thankfully, youngest (and last kid) is now 2 so we've been able to get rid of everything he has outgrown, eliminating 5 bins to date. I recently purged the bins and got rid of anything that was too worn or had duplicates and that eliminated another 2-3 bins. The only kid I needed to buy clothes for this fall was the oldest, and since he's growing so fast, his wardrobe is has a nice minimalist feel to it. Hand-me-downs have saved us a ton of money, they are just really difficult to manage. .

Congrats! So exciting! I'm sorry you're not getting a good response from your family, but I hope they come around. This is great news!

We work well together and have (successfully!) completed a whole bunch of projects.

DS#2 had a CPC (plus 2 other soft markers for Trisomy 18) but everything resolved on its own by the week 30 ultrasound and he was born perfectly healthy.

The thins are fabulous. The thinner cookie makes it easier to enjoy the filling. (This from a double-stuff die-hard.)

I get mine in October (work at the hospital, it's mandatory.) DH will his at work, the kids at the pedi. One kiddo has asthma, we do our utmost to avoid the flu. (The only year I didn't get the flu shot, I ended up with the flu. I was six months pregnant and it was one of the most miserable two weeks of my life. Then I got H1N1 (yay, working in the ER) and it turned into pneumonia and that superseded the other flu as the worst month of my life. I hate the dang flu.)

Our parent-led co-op is $40 per year per family. It meets every other week, each kid takes 3 classes. Some classes have additional costs for equipment/books/lab fees, though I've never seen one above $25. Our co-op requires each parent to teach a class and assist in a class. It's an extremely well-organized co-op with great class offerings. I was surprised at how low the costs were until I learned that we don't pay a rental fee for the facility. Makes a big difference in the budget.

This is a struggle for us. (Says the idiot mom who scheduled an orthodontist appointment at 10am on our first day of school. Oops.) We are learning to deal with interruptions in our day. The kids are doing well with it. Youngest has preschool 2 mornings a week (we stay at the preschool and bring schoolwork to do in their lovely, empty basement rec room.) Oldest has band every other day with the public school (we use that time for running errands, eliminating the need to go out in the morning.) Coop is every other week and we count that as school for the day. I've tried to move extracurriculars to evening times only. We try to keep a chunk of solid time each day to be at home and do school, and so far, it's working. The olders in particular are starting to understand how to maximize school time, rather than dragging everything out over the entire day. I think, though, that learning to schedule around life stuff and interruptions is a valuable skill. It's certainly something I've had to learn as an adult.

We lived in Pittsburgh for a few years....moved there with almost no parallel parking ability.....left as a parallel parking Jedi master.

Yay! Welcome home!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

We haven't required it, but we have encouraged it. DH and I were both heavily involved in music growing up (and continue to play as adults.) DH was a band guy, I was an orchestra girl. It's been an unspoken rivalry in our home. So far, I'm losing. Our 2 oldest kids asked to start taking lessons last winter. Both wanted to play the trumpet. So far, so good. Both take private lessons. Oldest is playing in public school band this year. The younger of the two plans to switch to a different brass instrument (french horn) at some point, but for now, he's really too small to think about it. He's just barely big enough for the trumpet. (Stinkin' cute tiny trumpet player is what he is.)

Our feeding therapy was SO gentle (SOS method.) And some weeks, he did refuse things, and that was okay. His plate always had about 50% preferred foods (things that felt "safe" to him) so she would make sure he had good food experiences with those. At first, the goal was to get him to tolerating having unpreferred foods on his plate. That was a big step. The therapist engaged in a lot of sensory play with the food - touching it, smooshing it, throwing it into a bucket, things like that. Forcing him to try a new food was never a thing. Eventually, after playing with it, he would sniff it, touch it to his lips (kissing it), lick it, put a bite in and spit it out, chew once and spit, etc, etc. He had a lot of control but after a few sessions was always willing to play along. The longer he went, the quicker he would try new things. By the end, he popped a broccoli floret in his mouth and that was it. Easy. Feeding therapy was an empowering experience for all of us, but mostly for him.

I am so jealous right now, you have no idea. That is incredible! I absolutely love it!

I would. My grandparents had a very happy, active retirement "next door" in NH. They were avid skiers in winter, they gardened, hiked, and canoed all summer. Visiting them was always great, summer or winter. Then again, I do love snow.

So I'm late to this party, but I like what the OP said, or at least what I interpreted.... I felt intense pressure as a new homeschool mom (pre-Pinterest, but the pressure was still there.) I read every review and agonized over my 2nd grade curriculum choices, mapping out a crazy amount of stuff to do and a huge long-term plan (that obviously never came to fruition.) This was all in the year before we actually started. I finally went to a local HS conference/workshop and a veteran mom there patted my shoulder (not my head) and explained how things really work. And then I found this incredible board and learned more. And I grew more confident and I let go of all the crazy, unnecessary stuff I was so anxious to do and learned how to really teach my own kid. And it's been great. I think some new homeschoolers (me) need someone to tell them where to direct their energy. None of us have unlimited time or means. We may need to be told it's okay to let go of other's expectations. And a new HSer may not listen right away (I didn't), but I think eventually they'll remember what was said, and they'll be glad to remember (I was.)

You may want to look into feeding therapy, specifically the SOS method. Our family has a very similar story with our DS#3 - he started avoiding foods at age 2 (right after weaning) and by age 4 was only eating a handful of things (chicken nuggets, bread, plain noodles, and chocolate milk. All in tiny amounts.) His health was suffering (hair loss, chronic constipation, low energy, slow growth) and it was incredibly stressful for DH and I. We were terrified that by doing something "wrong" he would stop eating completely; and when you don't know the "rules" of a feeding disordered kid, it was hard to know how he would respond to anything. His was a combination of sensory issues (he's a gagger) and behavioral issues (basically bad habits from two solid years of avoiding all foods.) We just completed a year of SOS feeding therapy; the pediatric rehab department at our local hospital has a feeding clinic and it has been amazing. The therapists were wonderful and, in addition to great sessions with him, taught us a lot of tools to use at home. He still has a difficult time with fruits (still gags sometimes), but now eats all meats, most starches, most veggies, most dairy products, and any and all junk food (ha.) We are able to introduce new foods and he is usually willing to give them a try. It really was a life-changing year for him and for our family. My only wish is that we had found out about it sooner and started when he was two.

Oh my. This school year has me terrified. I keep making lists and charts and schedules and meal plans, hoping that by writing things down and planning in minute detail, I will able to get everything done this year. I am not a planner by nature, I don't stick to schedules well. Routines are very hard for me. And this summer has been exceptionally fun, so I have a sneaking suspicion that getting back to "work" might be tough. I am adding in a 3rd kid this year for kindergarten, and my littlest will be doing preschool 2 mornings a week, and my oldest will be playing in the middle school band every other day (so it changes weekly), and my 2nd still requires a lot of hand-holding, and we have co-op, DH is in graduate classes, and I have a job.....I feel overcommitted and I really do want to get the important things done and I really want to enjoy it! In the past, a loose, do-the-next-thing schedule has worked out well, but we didn't have as much to do and the kids were younger. This years plan works out on paper, but reality is always so different. If things don't work out, we will quit co-op for next semester. If it's really bad, band is optional, too. Thanks for letting me get that out.

I will never be that amazing. DH and I tried SUP earlier this month and it was great fun. However, just getting into a standing position on the board was pretty (extremely) tricky. And what would you do if you're standing on your head and a boat cruises by and leaves a decent wake behind? I shudder to think.

We do a yearly family vacation and try to have 2-3 day mini trips in the spring and fall. My family lives in town and DH's family usually visits us, so that frees up time not having to visit family out of town.

Last year we used Bookshark's grade 5 science (human biology.) It was pretty OK. On the plus side, it got done. Very consistently. His retention was good. He could do most of it independently. It was fine as written but we added videos/etc. to make it more interesting. Because, on the negative side, it could be dull at times. Or maybe biology just isn't his thing. Overall, I was happy with it.

Not much to add regarding PA. It may be a high regulation state, but, at least where I live, it's a homeschool-friendly place. We've had a fabulous experience here. (And, frankly, if I can manage the regulations, anyone can!)