Peela is the common Hindi word for the colour yellow. A spiritual teacher of mine gave it to me. I used it for years as my name, but recently went back to my birth name of Susan. I still like to use it here though :)

Native Americans see tobacco as a sacred herb. I would just accept the situation and see the blessing side of it, and give my vegies a quick rinse before eating!I do realise there are many poisons along with teh tobacco in a cigarette, but my understanding is that they still see it as sacred) I honestly dont think I would worry about it, and I am an organic gardener. I would be more concerned about breathing it in while I was in the garden. But I think the garden can handle the smoke.

I clean under appliances in the kitchen probably once a week. ETA I am referring to movable appliances that sit on my countertops, like my juicer and super blender and coffee maker. I never clean under the fridge or dishwasher unless we are moving house. I have never washed all the walls in the house. I spot clean them sometimes if I see grubby handprints. Someone washes windows for us maybe twice a year. I purge continually. Every day. No specific method or system.

I think I have had an afternoon nap most days. I went clothes shopping at the mall with dd15 just for fun (we dont do that often). I have had some long walks along the river. I just pulled down my winter clothes from storage and put away my summer ones, so I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe! And some of it has gone straight to the op shop bag...what was I thinking? I've made my home made raw chocolate recipe, and eaten most of my share. I've made several vegetable juices and one green smoothie. I caught up with a girlfriend on the phone.

I would always go with the larger size for comfort, and then I tend to wear an extra pair of underpants over the top to hold the tights up. But, I really dont like things that are too tight around my hips or waist.

My older got $20 a week from her dad from her 13th b'day. Before that, I gave them both a couple of $ a week each. It was a huge step up . We waited till ds was 13 before extending the same privelege to him. They both get it now, same amount. No, we dont make them save any. Its their money- we dont control it. Both can save for something when they want to, though. Dd saved $1000 for a camp when she was 14. She asked everyone to give her money for b'day and Christmas, and saved every cent. Ds is a good saver too. At first, when my kids started gettng money, they spent it all on lollies. After a while, that wore off, and they started managing it more maturely.

Splenda is poison. Dont touch it. I just discovered a brand of stevia in my supermarket called Natvia (this is Asutralia). I love it. I never liked the aftertaste of stevia either, and dint use it before now, but they say on the Natvia packet that they only use certain parts of the plant and thats why it doesn't have that aftertaste. I can use this stuff the same as sugar and the taste is fine. I used some to make my home made raw chcolates and they taste great! Other than that I prefer to use raw honey because I feel its the most natural and unprocessed sugar. But its not low in calories like stevia. Another one is xylitol. It is low calories and made from plant bark and husks. I get that sometimes.

I would just mix it in. Mostly kibble or whatever their present food is, with a little raw food. Then slowly over time, change the proportions until its mostly raw. Just like its hard for people to go from junk food to a healthy diet overnight- it just doesnt taste right, and its unsatisfying- I imagine its the same for dogs who are highly domesticated. Do it gradually. Also, dont be afraid of a dog starving themselves to death. Its highly unlikely, and even 2 -3 days without food- but plenty of water of course- can be a good thing for their digestion. Dogs should have a completely empty digestive tract between meals. Its also important not to leave food out. Put the food in front of them- then take it away after half an hour or less if they didnt eat it all. The smell of food disrupts their digestion. Better they have no food available, rather than kibble available all the time. ALso, feed them irregularly- not at the same tme every day. In the wild, they dont eat at the same time every day. Its sporadic. It also makes them surrender to you, the boss. They are not people- they are dogs, and respond well to being treated like dogs rather than people.

All 4 of us do our own laundry nowadays. DH always did. There is a basket in each person's room, and we basically do a wash when its full. Dh and I do separate whites washes for ourselves, but the kids jsut dont have whtes. Easy. We dont have a dryer. We don't hang outside either except that on sunny days in winter, we take our drying racks outside because its gets a bit slow drying them inside. We have 4 drying racks, each of which hangs a load of washing. Our laundry room though is huge- the size of a normal bedroom- so all the racks can be in there at once. The hot water system is in there- it keeps the room a little warm. The key for getting ds14 to beable to manage his own laundry was to limit the number of his clothes. He still needs to be reminded reguarly to wash his clothes- and himself- when we notice the smell. No specific laundry days. I do a load maybe 3 times a week- my clothes and sheets and towels. The rest is up to everyone else. When I was the kids' and my washing, it did used to pile up- not the washing- but the "put away" pile. A mountain on the spare bed. Flylady helped me deal with tha, 15 minues at a time, and its never been an issue since then. As for ironing- I iron once a month or so. THe kids don't have anything to iron. Dh irons a shirt here and there, not much. No routine around ironing at all, since we just dont tend to buy clothes that need ironing.

Maybe you could check out the recent thread on how we with older kids would do things differently if we could go back in time. Most people, including me, tend towards thinking that we could have spent a whole lot more time beneficially doing more fun things when they were younger, and worrying less about how important formal education was at that age. Remember, even SWB doesnt follow TWTM completely, and she has been known to say that one couldn't possibly do it all, and that the publishers made her put the schedules in the book. If its taking you all day now, your 1st grader may be being set up for burnout. I would say, prioritise the play time, but at the same time, let your frends- or parents of your daughter's friends- know that say, mornings are out, because thats when you do school.

Trial period of 6 months here...he was converted within 2 weeks I think it was. Pretty quickly. If your dh isnt convinced after 2-3 years...maybe some standardised testing might keep him happy? He probably needs to see the kids in relation to their peers in some way. My dh is not an academic person and he was conviced homeschooling was the best option more for social and self esteem reasons than academic. He trusts me to keep the academic side afloat- whether his trust is always warranted, I don't know, because it IS hard to know how they are doing compared to their peers if they arent in some sort of situaiton that makes it clear. And also...my dd is a fairly top student..my ds is not. So, ds not one of those homeschooled students who would necessariyl do well on testing or if put back in the school system, so comparing him is not reasonable. We keep him out of the school system so we can cater to his individual needs and protect him from the negative side of the system. A friend of mine - husband of a homeschoolng mum- said to me the other day that it has always been clear to him that the homeschooling was for his wife, not the kids. His two bright girls would have done perfectly well in the school system- probably private schools. It may sound unfair but I totally understood what he meant and could relate to it too..and I suspect many of our husbands see something simlar. Homeschooling is to a great extent for us the mums- we get so passionate and obsessed in it, and it feels so noble to sacrifice our careers etc for it...the side benefit is that it also usually benefits the kids so it is easily justified. So not every dh is going to be convinced it is the best option. Mine was because he related to my son's learning difficulties and struggles in the system, and he didnt want his son to go through what he went through. So, in a way, he was comign from his own wounding (since dh was in a catholic boarding school where he was beaten every day and ds was never going to be in that situation) and I made it work in my favour because I wanted to homeschool. I wanted to be the main influence in my kids' lives, and I felt it was a cause I could devote myself to it.

Some will have a feel, many wont. "We" want them to know because it makes it easier to herd them like cattle into the correct production line so that they can be shaped into proper little citizens, obeying the system. As homeschoolers, we dont have to do this, but many people are so influenced by the system, they will anyway. And some kids will know. And many wont. And many who plan for one career will not stay in that career, because our society is changing so rapidly that "careers" are also in great flux. Well yes, I believe that happens a lot. People project their desires and fears and their unfulfilled lives onto their kids all the time. Homeschooling parents have the opportunity to do this even more. I don't know if focusing on electives helps every individual...I think our teens- or at least 12-14yos, if they can, should be allowed to experiment and express and try different things- they need to broaden their horizons, not narrow them unless they are really clear of their direction. But then...every kid is different and you can't set rules for everyone. Of course,if you prepare a student for college, they will also be prepared for technical college etc...but not all are going to be college preparable. You just do your best with each child. Hopefully, we do what is in the child's best interests, not our own, even if the child is heading in a directon we dont think is going to be best financially or status wise. Well, the school system is all about producing more rats for the system, generally speaking. It is job market driven. We have a different possibility for our homeschooled students. I think the classical model is about educating kids for the sake of educating kids- so that they have a hightened appreciation of life all their lives, whether they have a career or live as bums on the street. The side benefit is also a heightened access to the system to do whatever they want, but I dont think that is the prime reason for education, ideally, or in the classical model. Even future housewives should have been exposed to Shakespeare, history, poetry, many good books etc. We are such a career focused society, and in todays economic depression, it's understandable that people want to insure their kids against poverty...but both are possible. If we focus on the career rather than the education too soon...I think we do our whole society a huge disservice. Well educated housewives, plumbers who write poetry, builders who have an appreciation for classical architecture,....we have so much potential. We tend to define our whole lives by our careers...but we have so much more inside us than what we do to make money. Well, of course. He's not ready. Not many kids are at that age, in my experience. And even if they think they know what they want to do, they often change their mind. Trust yur parenting instincts and your own reality, not what the crowds are doing. My own approach is to let it take its own time...while at the same time, exploring and exposing the kids to various possibilities. I took dd when she was 14 to do a computer generated career guide and it wasnt much help. I was a bit stressed about what direction to head her in. As a parent, it IS easier if your kids knows clearly what they want to do, after a certian point. But dd had various ideas and nothign solid...then suddenly at 15, we got a clear picture, an inspiration, and that is the direction she is going in. Its not her life long career, she feels- it is training that will give her many options (mass communication and journalism) to branch out later. It just feels right for her. Ds14 wants to be a business man, or a vet. He is not academic...he would have to work very hard to get into vet school, but I believe anything is possible so I don't discourage him. Business is more likely his direction- entrapreneur. He just needs time to mature. He will create his own path, I think, and it probably won't be a well trodden one. I do a lot of research on possibilities for my kids- possibilitie of courses. I think that is part of my responsibility. They have a lot more options that the kids in school- and we think differently which keeps our options even more open. Its not that making money is not something we dont need to focus on for our kids- it is. But its not the be all and end all, and teh better foundation they have, and the more we let them dream and dream about their futures, and open up their possibilities rather than close them down for financial reasons...the more likely they will live rich lives, no matter how much money they make. We are probably heading for difficult times. Maybe there will be great poverty. Things are changing rapidly. I think the best thing we can do is give our kids a broad and solid education. Being able to be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances with emotionally collapsing is a huge asset in the coming times. It is their attitudes, possibly even more than their actual skills, that will determine their potential.

I just buy a vegetarian gravy powder that you mix with water wile stirring on the stove. Takes a couple of minutes to thicken, and tastes great to us. I am in Australia- I presume they have such things as gravy powder in the U.S.?

We are lucky because our Scout group hires out both of its halls, one of which is on the river's edge and so in prime position, and makes a decent income from that. So the Scout group can subsidise camps, and also buy new equipment, which is important since it is a Sea Scout group and boat equipment costs money. I know other groups in our city where the parents fudraise. I dislike fundraising with a passion- and I have a moral objection to selling junk food to raise money- so I am very glad we dont need to. I get my kids to pay for half of each camp they do. Dd just went on a 12 day camp a thousand kms away..it cost $545 because it wasnt subsidised...I paid half. Both the kids have part time jobs and can afford to pay, and it makes them appreciate their camps more.

Dh has also ordered frm Zenni and been very happy about what he received. He got thousands of $ worth of glasses for $400- 4 pairs, all with different features- no glare, sunglasses, titanium lenses etc. He is stoked with them. I am gearing up for an eye check and know I need glasses now- although I am using the $2 magnification ones presently. I will be just getting the prescription and orderng from Zenni.

We do roasted vegetables with gravy, and a salad, often. I would make something on the Saturday, and reheat it, or do an egg meal. Sundays for us is eggs. We get home around 9am and dh cooks everyone eggs on toast. Could be an omelette too, or scrambled or fried or poached eggs. He is vegetarian, and it is a lovely family ritual. (Its also the only thing he cooks!). Not sure if your "vegetarian" includes eggs though- ours does! You could do fresh orange juice and even a salad if you wanted to make it more lunchy. But we have no problem eating eggs for any meal of the day.

I loved your whole post but this bit especially caught my eye. Its so true. I have tried to live by this, but I still sometimes lose sight of the forest for the trees. Those little misdemeanors, those rough days, those times when I yell in frustration- *I* know I still love them, but these are sensitve young beings and *they* dont always feel loved when they have made a mistake and are being corrected. Sometimes I lose perspective, and those little things like not doing chores seem like really big things. And, they really are not big things at all, in the big scheme of things.

I was involved with someone who was not good for me for way too long. I wish I would have seen the light about that earlier than did. I feel i had kids at exactly the right time- late twenties. No regrets there- I do wish I hadnt supported dh to get a vasectomy after my 2nd though- he knew he didn't want another, but an "accident" would have pleased me very much! But who knows. My bladder has barely handled 2 pregnancies, and my youngest has needed a LOT of attention which he might not have got if I had had another. It's been one of those things though- what if? I wish that instead of being obsessed with the above unhealthy male in my early twenties, that I had gone and studied something at college- anything, even if I never got a degree at the end. I did go later, but earlier would have been nice.

I would have worried less. I came from a lot of fear (fear of ruining their lives!) and I think it directed me to make decisions that were fear based rather than intelligent. Since I started homeschooling later (the kids were ages 7 and 9) I felt I was "behind" already, paerticularly with TWTM, and so was too panicky about "catching them up", especially my ds, instead of solidifying where we were at before moving on. I would have worried less about the perfect curriculum and just used what I had and maybe spent the money on getting myself a decent massage regularly instead :) I would have done more field trips and enjoyed the kids more- done more cooking with them and camping and bushwalks. We did do plenty of socialising and I am glad we did. And I think it would have been healthier for me to have stayed caught up with my own friends and social life more than I did. Nourishing myself and keeping myself involved in my own interests more would have been healthier than being quite so obsessive about homeschooling. But...its all turning out pretty well anyway. It's lucky kids are so resilient!

My kids get $20 a week from their dad for allowance- but he did that so that he could take money OFF them for not doing chores. So, they dont get paid for doing their chores- but they do get a penalty for not doing them. Dh wanted something over them, because getting them to do their chores can be a trip- they "forget" so easily. It works quite well. I also pay them for helping me do my cooking job. I have about a dozen(sometimes more) people over for lunch twice a week- it is related to dh's work. One kids helps me set the table, serve and cleans up afterwars- about 45 minutes work- for $10. So they potentially get $30 a week, plus their part time jobs. They are older though. Jobs for a 10 year old- dishes, unpacking and packing dishwasher, wiping bathroom sink and cleaning the mirror in there, sweeping inside and outside, dusting (my kids love to dust!), vacuuming the middles, weeding, feeding pets etc One thing I like to do is set aside half an hour on Mindays or Saturdays and we all get assigned jobs- and between the 3 of us we dust and vacuum and clean the bathrooms and toilets. If you, like me, find it hard to be consistent with getting kids to do chores, a good way to do it is to a) only start with one chore at a time, and get that habit going before adding too much and b) have a daily chore time when everyone helps- then you can supervise and teach them HOW to do various jobs, which is important. c) get chores done first thing in the morning before school starts - that may not work for eveyone, but its the only way it works here. If it werent for dh's strictness around chores I would probably have to find a diferent system for us. He is around a lot and definitely notices when the kids don do their chores, so he is consistent with them. For me it would be harder to maintain that consistency, just for the way I am. I can barely be consistent doing my own chores, let alone supervising my kids :)

When I was living on very little money for years, from my late teens to early twenties, I did a few things- nothing major but still stealing. I used to pick roses off people's rose plants regularly,usually at night time, and usually just what hung over the fence to the pathway, in order to have flowers at home. And once, I stole a used bra from a 2nd hand store- I just tried it on and then put my clothes back on top. I told my then boyfriend and he was very upset with me and I never did anything like that again (and I have spent thousands in 2nd hand shops in the years since then).

My dad has a friend in Iceland who sent him this link to photos. I was taken to Iceland (to visit my dad's friend with my family) when I was 7 years old! I still remember parts of it- the short forests, walking on a live volcano- my mother picking up a piece of lava and putting it in her handbag for a souvineer, and it melting a bar of chocolate she had in there. I remember seeing town roofs barely poking up through ash and lava- a town that had been buried a few years before. We also flew over Surtsey. I did the best school project when I got back to school, on volcanoes, with real live lava for show and tell! So, I have always had a thing for volcanoes, and Iceland in particular. Iceland has had a very hard time with the economic fallout. Check out the photos: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

No. I made some real bloopers, but I have compassion for the fact that I didn't know any better.It was the best I coudl do with teh maturity and knowledge I had. That's what getting older and wiser is all about :) I think wallowing inthe past that you can't change is not healthy for you- learn your lessons and move on! Make better choices now!

I dont see why it couldnt work for many kids? The older the kids...well, yes, the more taxi-ing, I am finding- but also, the more independent they are. I am starting some part time work and finding it a struggle to keep up with the homeschooling...all year really (since Feb), but now I actually have an excuse :) Dd15 is fine. She is bascally running her own program. I do not think that is the best thing- I would rather be more involved, and we do do daily together time- but at least she is getting an education. Ds14- he bluthers along doing what he thinks he cant get away with not doing, and basically gets a very mediocre education on his own.So- if I had several kids like dd15, I think unschooling might work ok :) And ds14 may have made a good unschooler if he had done it from the beginning and not burned out by 2nd grade. I thin it depends on your environment and resources, but also very much on the personality of your kids. Some are goign to be go getters, and resource what they need themselves with a little help. Others may read all day and avoid interaction. I dont know. But I woudl have thought an unschooling mother would to some extent get on with her own life, too- as in, follow her own passions, as an example to her kids (and just because thats what unschooling is all about, too). I cant see how unschooling woudl work if one became a slave to one's kid's every whim. I never saw it as following behind a child and if they mention elephant in a sentence, rushing to the library and borrowing 10 books on elephants.That would be way too hard. . I too am too much of a control freak to unschool- and I felt that it way too much of an experiment to practice on my kids- the stakes were too high if it failed. But then, I havent been around a lot of unschoolers either, to get a good idea of how it might work. I am attracted to it. And I am handng over control to my kids more and more. But that just feels like parenting teens.

Sometimes, here, I do it consciously. I bounce off someone's answer to say something else related but not in direct response to the OP. I think its a part of the nature of message boards, and also a way that women commuicate- to go off on tangents- sometimes but not always coming back to the original topic. However, if the OP wasn't getting any direct responses and only tangents or totally out of tune responses - well, that's bad communication- not really communication at all- theres no connection being made.