:lol::lol::lol:

That's always confused me too...where are they? I am not sure I have ever met any either. I really wonder where doctors get figures like that- they really probably just make them up. ETA I see, after reading the previous posts, that they do exist. Amazing.

The same thing has happened to me lately! I lost 5kgs and no one- not even dh or kids- said a thing! When I told them and asked why, the kids said, but you're our mum, we dont notice stuff like that. DH said he loves me no matter what. All very sweet and all, but still! No friends said anything either. Oh well. I feel better.

I think the most important thing you need is willingness and a strong desire. And even then, it's a tough road for many. Without a willingness and desire to give it a good go, you haven't got a chance. So no, it's not for everyone because by far most people don't even want to. Many people dont want to be aorund their kids very much at all.

I dont adore an American accent the way I do a lovely Irish one, but I think Aussies like to make fun of American accents- you know, take the mickey out of them :) I know an American woman who is visiting at the moment and she is always playfully trying to imitate an Aussie accent- she seems to love ours. I don't adore a German accent though- I have many German friends. I like Scottish, English, Irish- I have Swedish friend and I love her accent. I do enjoy meeting people from all other cultures, though.

Nothing. I like to opt out of commercially driven holidays as much as possible, if I can without hurting whoever its directed at- in this case, dh also doesn't like commercial holidays and so I dont think either of us even said Happy Valentines to each other.

Ever since my mother bought them for my brother and I when we were teens, I have only used doonas on our beds. So, we have a bottom sheet, and a doona in a doona cover. It's pretty easy to make the bed. I make mine almost all the time- although sometimes I will fold the doona neatly back instead of pulling it up, to let the bottom sheet air. The kids make their beds sometimes. Takes all of 5 seconds, but still, if I dont say something, ds wont. Dd will on a day where she is enjoying making her room all pretty, which is just sometimes.

Oh yes,I can relate. I tend to change curriculums a fair amount, but I keep our structure- the 4 year history cycle, and being literature and history focused. Maths is first in the day. Together work of an hour or so each day. Curricula come and go around here. The workbox system is working well here though...I am loving that I can put ANYTHING in their boxes/drawers. Today I have crossword puzzles and a documentary I have been wanting them to watch. I could never work out before how to use all these resources I have floating around, or how to add in fun things without destroying our routine structure which works well for us. And grandad has come to stay for a week, so on Friday we went to the beach, had breakfast at a cafe then on to the markets. I am not one to skip school lightly, but Grandad wont be around forever. Yes, curricula can be restrictive for sure. Many times i have felt something was busy work or just not effective for the time it takes, or not good for my LD kid, and ditched it. I dont think I am a slave to curricula, although I am not at the point of writing it all myself either. Ideally though, I think I would like to.

Ours is around $1200 a month for a family of 4. We don't try to budget on food because we don't really need to but its been about this much for years. I get organic fruit and veg delivered, plus we go to farmers' markets every week. As we go more raw, I go to the supermarket less and less.

Weve always tended to do a lot of activities- my two are very social- and over time we have settled into a few. I woudl play it by ear- do several, cut back if its too much- add in more if its not enough. My kids like to have something other than school every day- but yours is still so young. Some families do hardly any activities- we have always done lots.

Thats why restrictive diets generally dont work. You need to find a way to eat that is sustainable over the long term.

My 15yo daughter has just finished her first serious relationship - it lasted almost 6 months. She is a free spirit- he was too intense for her, texting her every hour and not giving her any space. She is now thrilled to be single and not in any rush for another relationship. I am happy with how the whole thing played out- we folded her boyfriend into our family as much as possible. We set boundaries- no being in your room with the door closed, no overnight camps without adult chaperones. He had a car- at first we didnt allow her to drive with him, but after a while, we did, but only on a day by day basis- they always had to ask. He was a very lovely young man- just too intense for dd. I honestly feel it was worked out better than if we had controlled her excessivley- because she herself has seen the pitfalls of serious relationships too young. We are not against premarital sex but we are still very protective of our dd and dont want her throwing herself away on anyone. Fortunately, she is also very protective of herself and so it hasnt been an issue there- so far. Dh and I know perfectly well we can't stop her if she wants to, so my approach is just to keep the communicaiton channels open, and so far, so good. The main issue for us has been parties, not relationships. Binge drinking is huge in the teen culture of where I live, and we feel she is at risk there. We don't want her going to parties where her friends that she knows through Scouts are getting sloshed and putting pressure on her. So far, she's against getting drunk- her boyfriend wasnt allowed to drink or brag about it in front of her- but "everyone" does it, and she is very social with lots of friends who keep inviting her to parties. We say no to parties, mostly, except with her homeschooling friends, but we can't keep her back forever. She is a natural party animal/ wild thing. Ds14 is much more private and secretive than dd15. It will be interesting to see how it plays out with him, but so far he isnt seriously interested at all. I think he will take a relationship very, very seriously when he does finally get involved with someone, though. I hope he is mature enough to handle any heartbreak if or when it comes. We will see. We dont do coutrship. Dating is a strange concept my kids don't seem to have. They dont date. They go out with groups of friends and chat online. Dd met her exboyfriend through Scouts- they had known each other for years- and one day they just decided to be boyfriend/girfriend. Nothing in between, no going to movies or anything. Since my oldest is 15, I can't say yet what regrets I may have about how we are handling it all. But so far, so good, and everyone feels respected and not overly controlled (except about the party thing- dd definitely feels we are too controlling of her around that, but she also understands why and feels loved).

My perfectionist son was like that about any sort of game, as well as schoolwork- he wouldnt even attempt art. He has always been a highly emotional child. I have found with him that too much talking to try and "talk him down" doesn't generally work. I have had to just leave him to his tantrums many thousands of times, and then reconnect when he has calmed down. Finally at 14...I think he might be maturing out it of. When I see teh area he is frustrated in, I look for more appropriate resources or approaches- but there is rarely any point trying while he is upset.

Mine are older and have had their own computers for years. We dont have any special filters or anything. They have never had a computer in their bedroom till my son recently got his games computer in his bedroom so that we could have a guest room- but his bedroom is situated such that we know when he is on the computer- we walk past it to get to our bedrooms- and he knows the hours he is allowed to use it. The rest of our computers- mine and the kids' - are in our school area, facing so that we can always see what is on the screens. We also insist on being friends with them on Facebook. MSN got a bit out of hand for a while during schooltime as other homeschooled friends would send messages while they were also supposed to be doing their schoolwork. I had to get them to turn off their MSNs during the school day. I think it's just an issue of out times and we are the generation that needs to learn to deal with it. We are having to make adjustments, negotiations and give consequences regularly, and issues like porn have ocasionally come up but nothing that hasnt been resolvable with discussion.

I dont stay ahead. I've never read more than a few books ahead of them- except the ones I read in highschool or for my own interest over the years. I love homeschooling for the 2nd education I get- filling in all the gaps. It does seem a shame though that I dont have any younger ones coming up behind to benefit from all I have learned- I have mostly learned alongside my kids, and when I get out of my depth, either they go ahead on their own or I send them to a class or another teacher, or we find a different curriculum! For me, it's more important that I relax and enjoy the journey alongside my kids, as well as have time for some of my own interests and to clean the house and cook meals, than to learn it all ahead of them, which I am not motivated to do and which would stress me out, timewise. However, I did receive a reasonable education myself including a little Latin, and I can remember a lot of Algebra, and I am not too intimidated by writing...so I feel confident to wing it with them. Science was the main area I felt unable to motivate them and get it together, and a science class has filled that gap for us.

I'd eat it, but then, I can't remember when I've had food poisoning except in Asian countries. I would just reheat it really well when I was going to eat it- and keep it at a high temperature for a good couple of minutes. .

I'm more inclined to suggest that you trust your own intuition about it, and while it could be a physical condition, and you should perhaps check it out medically....there are thousands, perhaps millions of people on the planet who can see or sense light and beings on other planes that most people just can't see. Including Christians. It's not normal but it's not so rare either. I think we all have the potential.

I think maybe you are trying to enjoy "classics" and just havent found the right popular novel to addict you! I have to "make" myself read classics too. I don't read many novels at all because if I am not totally hooked in the first few chapters, I don't read any furher. And if I am hooked- well, forget feeding the family, forget a normal life, until the book is finished. With my kids...rather than preread classics, I read aloud the ones I want to discuss with them. I read a lot of things I wouldn't normally get to, because of reading them TO the kids.

Well, I sort of agree. I know that my husband is beginning to show health issues, and I wonder, is it my responsibility to nurse him through illness after illness through his old age when he refuses to take care of his own health? Refuses to eat vegetables- eats a diet likely to lead to diabetes? My dh does try to "please me" by eating more healthy food...but I certainly think there is a case for encouraging the one one shares one's life with, to take care of their health. Surely most wives who are at all health conscious try to "take care" of their family in that way, even against some resistance? I do think that there is a line past which one shouldn't push at all. But I do think its worth a good try.

My friends' ages vary a lot- spanning a couple of decades both older and younger. When I was young, I always had lots of older friends. Now I am "middle aged" I have friends both older and younger. I imagine when I am "old" I will have lots of "young" friends.

My dh's and my experiences were totally opposite. I can't recall ever being bullied at all- 2 public schools and an all girls private school. Dh however was bullied to the extreme by both older kids and teachers at his Catholic school (beaten every single day by the priests)- and he turned into a bully himself- a "defender" of the weak so to speak. It shaped his life immensely, actually.

I have only recently started wearing a watch, but no I don't sleep with it on. I prefer to sleep with nothing on :) Dh doesn't wear a watch but he prefers nothing on at night too.

I just have a quiet time for myself- I felt the kids were getting to old for me to enforce one for them. I go to my room and rest, read, sleep if I am tired. Everyone knows not to disturb me or else I will be very mad with them. Dh and I trained the kids to let us rest quietly from a very young age. When things get too much, Ive always been able to retreat to my room for a while- well, since they were school age, anyway.

This has been an ongoing issue for me with my husband, although the details are different. I have been on quite a journey with it. My husband however works from home and has plenty of free time. He wants me to cook for him, yet he wants to control what I cook, and therefore what I eat- while he watches TV. I have got to the point that I refuse to compromise my own health for him. I will try and make meals that are easy to adapt for everyone, but its just not always possible. I do love to cook- but not unhealthy foods. I eat what I want to eat- lots of fruit and vegetables, a little meat, very little grains and no dairy. I give my kids fairly healthy food with some compromises- and plenty of dairy, whole grains etc. DH is vegetarian (honestly, it would be easier if he werent because he doesnt like vegetables and cant eat beans) so he gets various things but often has to fend for himself. He is learning to accept a healthy meal rather than no meal. I did go on strike a few months back- I was so tired of everyone being fussy and unappreciative, when everyone is quite capable of cooking for themselves. I am not a short order cook or a servant- I work too. This is the 21st century- men and teenagers are allowed in the kitchen! After my strike, dh started appreciating what was put in front of him much more. My favourite sayings were "the complaints departments is closed" and "every day I give my family two choices for dinner- take it or leave it". Its not like dh gets home from a long day at work out in the world somewhere. He has it easy. Just because I am married to a man, and I love him dearly, doesnt make me his doormat, if he has that tendency. It's good for BOTH members of a marriage to get clear and strong and stand on their own two feet. Who cares what your husband thinks? I love my husband AND I disagree with him on many things. It doesn't make our marriage weaker, it makes it stronger that I don't give in to him. He has learned to adore me for my differences. And there's a big difference between trying to control your man by trying to get him to think differently and eat differently, and just doing your own thing and letting him respond however he does- he is an adult, he can cook, he can have cereal, he can do whatever he wants, he can complain too. My dh adds sugar to my soups! Ugh! He drinks Pepsi and drinks coffee, he has terrible digestive issues and has developed a wheat sensitivity- so I go out of my way to make wheat free meals and then he goes and eats pasta or pizza while out! What a girl to do ! I try and keep my sense of humour and offer him a salad or a fruit smoothy, and if he's hungry enough, he'll say yes. Hes come a long way over the years but it hasnt been easy.

Homeschooled kids usually still have plenty of interaction with other people, and theyre not all going to be nice people. My two are very involved in many activities which have them rubbing with all sorts of people. I think that is one of the unfortunate presumptions of people who aren't familiar with homeschoolers- that the kids dont ever get to deal with bullies. I have seen bullying in homeschool groups- by the parents too, no less. They also get to deal with peer group pressure. Thats the problem with the term homeschooling. I am sure many homeschoolers do spend a lot of time at home...but I think most of us spend a fair amount of time socialising as well. We are not over protectice. We are supporting our kids to learn how to handle difficult situations, rather than handing them over to the cattle yards of schools. ETA And the truth is, how many kids does homeschooling save from turning INTO bullies. We all like to think our angel wouldnt, but for every bullee, there is a bully. By homechooling we are helping both sides of the coin have a healthier start.