Almonds are the only alkaline nuts. I soak them, then dry them in the sun. You can make almond milk. Soak 1 cup of almonds overnight. The next morning, pop them in the blender with 2 or 3 cups of water. Blend well. Then strain. I add a date and some vanilla, but you might not want to add the date if you are staying away from sugars. It still tastes good, and it wont upset your alkaline balance. When I am hungry, a glass of almond milk really fills me up- it's satisfying. I used to have an acid system. I have been eating 80% raw fruit and veg for about 2 months and now my system is alkaline- and feels very good. Even if you don't want to go completely raw, there is a huge raw food community online and it gives me lots of inspiration. A lot of it can be dogmatic ...you just have to take what resonates and works for you. Also, I recommend adding in green smoothies to your juicing regime. Blend 2 parts fruit to 1 part leafy greens, and add some water. You can add your powders to it if you want. It is a great filler, and the greens give your body the minerals it needs so that you don't get cravings. Vegetables do not give you many calories, so make sure you are eating enough (unless you are juice fasting- in which case, make sure you are drinking plenty). I am getting my calories mostly from fruit, and eating as much as I want. I don't feel deprived at all- and I do eat some cooked food and meat when I feel I need it.

Flylady was the one who got me out of baggy trackpants and oversized tshirts. She said get dressed to shoes- and dress nicely. It really makes you feel better and more motivated. Not that I dont appreciate a good day in track pants and oversized tshirts every now and then...but its an exception, not the rule nowadays. It was also having a daughter- mine is also ringlets and all girly and feminine- not to mention now a stunning teen- that made me take notice and dress better. And the other day, my dd15 and I were out shopping and she told me she really liked it when I dressed nicely. (I told her I would take that nicely rather than take it the wrong way! :) ) I think the whole family likes to be proud of how the mum looks. My mother was always a large woman but she has always dressed herself very well, and even though I was conscious of her weight when I was a kid, I also remember just loving how she dressed- and I still do. When my kids were small, I went and did a short grooming course at a modelling academy. I had no idea how to even file my nails properly. They showed us how to put on make up and how to take care of our skin...I was in my late 20s and I really didnt have a clue, and having kids somehow made my inner woman finally override my inner tomboy. I would just play with it. Trust yourself, trust where you are being drawn, and play. I find my daughter great for opinions about how a certain outfit looks. Its less intimidating for me to ask her than to ask a girlfriend and even dh, although I do ask him too.

No, I really value my sleep. I know what you mean though- I used to feel that way a bit, especially when I didnt get so much free time. But now that I get plenty of time to myself, and it's holidays, I am frequently in bed before my kids. I am however usually up well before everyone. I prefer to have the house to myself at 5 or 6am, when i am fresh, than at 10 or 12 uin the evening, when I am tired.

For me its usually my knitting. Sometimes a book, but I feel less anti-social knitting- I can maintain a conversation.

I am very grateful to this board for this reason. In my early days of hoemschooling, as I was learning about various homeschooling styles, I was attracted to natural learning. But something in me told me that my 8yo son, who could barely read and write at all after being in school, was not going to respond to waiting. I didnt know he was dyslexic then- I just presumed he was a late maturer, although I suspected dyslexia. I read here several women saying- if your child has a learning disorder, waiting makes it worse. Better off getting help when they are younger than having them completely lose their confidence when they still can't read or write later. I listened, I heard, and I responded. I used copywork, dictation and narration. I had him read aloud and silently daily. We went through a phonics book. When he was 9- his reading took off. I had him tested 2 years ago now- he was 12. The lady said he was more than mildly dyslexic- in some areas, extremely dyslexic. She showed me how he couldnt really visualise in his mind. She designed programs for dyslexic kids- I was prepared to pay for him to have sessions with her- she said no way- whatever I was doing, I should keep doing it. The one on one attention he was getting from me every day was all she could give her clients for an hour a week. He was streaks ahead just being with me. She gave me some tips, lots of encouragement to keep doing whatever I was doing, and we went home. It was good to get the diagnosis. It was good for his self esteem. But it hasnt really changed what we are doing. And I am sooooo glad I started copywork, dictation and narration from virtually the beginning. They help with that exact skill- visualising the words in the mind before putting them on paper. That, and LOTS of read alouds and insisting on daily reading time, I feel, have made all the difference- for him. If I had waited, listened to his frustrations, gone with the natural learning approach- I honestly still think he would be virtually illiterate.

Sure. We love it. Dh and I also have our own rooms. We all love our space around here. Ds and dd shared a double bed until they were about school age though- then they shared a room after that until dd was about 12 or so. Then they got their own rooms. Dd would have liked one before then but their half sister was living with us and we preferred she have her own room. When big sis moved out, dd got her sister's room. We all find that our rooms express our own personalities and creativity. Dh's room has a big screen TV at the foot of his bed, and a computer screen to the left of that. He stays up late watching movies and cable TV, while playing spider patience on his computer. I go to bed much earlier, and my room is full of golds and yellows, Klimt's The Kiss and Van Gogh's Irises are on my wall along with various other pictures, a beautiful buddha, crystals, essential oils, and my spiritual books. Dd15's room is full of her girly trinkets and lots of her own artwork (nature watercolours) on her walls. And ds14's room is full of dragon statues and pictures, and an ornamental medieval sword collection. We couldn't imagine having to share. But I realise we are lucky.

See if your library has any books by Dr John Lee such as this one : http://www.amazon.com/What-Your-Doctor-Tell-About/dp/0446615390 Even the one about menopause, even if you are not menopausal, is good informaiton about progesterone and bio identical hormones. I used progesterone cream for several years and it REALLY helped. It made pre menstrual times bearable. After several years of it...I jsut felt to stop and I seem to be fine without it. But it seemed miraculous at teh time. Its something you need to find your own way with. I used a small dose and only in the evenings. Others need it twice a day, and need more.

I wish upon you all a good dose of sunshine! I am on my summer holidays- I cant relate to this thread at all, but I do have vague recollections of feeling like this in the middle of our year. As far as I am concerned, the new worbox system I am enthusiastically setting up with my new laminator and velcro, is going to save me from all previous problems with my two this coming year. They are going to learn enthusiastically, they are going to LOVE the new orgnaisational system, they are going to sit there like little angels doing their work, they are going to do all their chores including their washing without being nagged at all, they are never going to argue with me again! Also, they are going to LOVE all the healthy snacks and meals I make and they are going to start making them themselves! So, sunshine and holiday vibes and naps and happy thoughts to you all! We start Monday week and this year is going to be FANTASTIC!

Id probably put the kids in school and become a very involved parent, as Sandra said. Now that I have homeschooled I would approach school differently- certainly wouldn't have those teachers up on pedestals :). I am also pretty good at finding way around things, so if there was still a way to homeschool, somehow, I would do it. There are plenty of people where i live who arent registered- so are homeschooling illegally. If they get caught, all that happens is that they are told they must register. So, it would also depend on what were the consequences of breaking the law on this issue. If they werent so bad, I might still homeschool under the radar.

:iagree: I would give him your individed attention. Dont expect him to be able to do anything independently. If there are some serious gaps...he might feel really bad about not having understood anything taught him after those gaps- he might be telling the truth that he doesnt understand, but its also a defense because hes upset about it. Its humiliating to not understand when everyone aroudn you appears to. Can you help him know it's not his fault he cant do it? I would literally devote a few weeks to sitting right next to him every day- get really in tune with where he is at in his skills. Mybe he cant do division. Maybe he cant do all sorts of things. He probably cant self teach yet, either. You cant just hand over the reigns. He will want to become independent as quickly as possible. Hes 15. I still have to sit with my 14yo son a fair bit at times.

Well, I had my son tested when he was 12 and he was told straight out- it never occurred to me not to. It was a huge relief to both of us that there was a name and an obvious brain wiring difference- and he said to me on the way home, Mum, that means Im not stupid- I am just dyslexic. I nearly cried because he really has had such a thing about being stupid because he wasnt able to learn as quickly as others. The lady who tested him was so positive about dyslexia- and I am still not decided if its an actual disadvantage- it obviously makes school difficult- but there are so many famous people and entrapreneurs who are dyslexic- it seems to make them think "differently" and more out of the box than others. I think it's a wiring difference rather than a defecit. Since it was presented so positively to my son, and since his dad and halfsister and also dyslexic, he doesnt have a problem with the label, and he doesnt give himself such a hard time about not being able to do things. I cant imagine keeping that sort of think secret from a 12yo- I think they have a right to know- but I understand your concern at labelling.

I would pack far more than I need, and still forget something important :)

We have a credit card and we dont usually pay it off each month. But nor is it usually maxed out, and we only have a small limit on it because we use it online. I always presumed that people went without credit cards simply because they couldn't trust themselves not to use them unwisely. And after all, the bank only benefits if you do use them unwisely, so it's not like they encourage you to pay them off. It seems a practical thing to me not to give banks any more money (in interest) if you know, or suspect, you can't pay your cc off every month. Better off using cash. I would say its more a personality thing...some people are better off without the temptation.

Kristi, it was your posts on using workboxes with teens that came up when I searched workboxes on the boards here, that inspired me to give it a go. Its good to hear its still working well. I like your idea of the library box on top. My system is also 10 drawers and it hasnt arrived yet...but in my planning, the 10 drawers are filling up very fast. :)

No, I dont. Some of them I have already read, some I read ahead, but not many. We have an ongoing read aloud and that's the book we discuss in depth. Other books- they come and give me a narration sometimes, but we dont do "work " with them. They just read. I am really not into over analysing everything we read. I know their comprehension is good so thats not something I worry about. They do some literature courses- ds with LLATL, dd with home2teach- and that covers some literature aspects too. Its not perfect. But it works for us.

Oh, absolutely I would eat it. My cast iron pans rust a bit sometimes. I need the iron, no problem :) A bit of rust wont hurt you. And you can slice that bit off.

What I intend and have so far set up is a general schedule at my desk, that I can tweak each week. I have allocated a subject or theme per box, and some will stay the same, like the maths box. But others, like the spelling/vocab/word puzzle box will change daily. But beyond that, I like the flexibility. So I have printed up a bunch of word puzzles and have resources for that box- but it will be up me each day as to what actually goes in the box. If we are having a stressful week, it will be something the kid can do alone. If I am ready to work, we will do some Spelling Power. So, so far, I have a general structure, but within that structure, lots of room for spontaneity. I am guessing it will take me a good 5-10 minutes each night per kid to fill the workboxes- but I think I can manage that. If worst comes to worst, I could fill the later boxes while ds is working on the earlier ones- that wouldnt be ideal. But this is all theory of course. I havent live it yet.

I am a workbox newbie. I suddenly got inspired a couple of weeks ago, and I am currently setting up our system for our new year starting Feb 1st. I am excited. I am like a kid with my new laminator :) I never had one before. I have teens. It's mainly for the younger- 14yo ds who has a terrible time reading instructions, staying on track, staying focused, being organised, understanding sequencing. I have high hopes this will help a lot. I am also hoping it will mean we get to all the miscellanous resources I have around the place. I am hoping it is a good way to break the day into segments, including things like art and exercise and more hands on things, which I have been too slack about. I havent started yet so I am no use to you whatsoever except in my high hopes and enthusiasm :) If it's anything to go by...I put a laminated chore chart with velcro cards on it, on the fridge door. I put the chores of the day for each kid- these are TEENS mind you- on the top of the chart, and when they finish, they take it off and put it on the bottom half of the chart. I was really expecting a lot of complaints that it was too babyish. Who knew what a hit that would be? They love it! They love the velcro effect! The visual of seeing what chores are still left to do is AMAZING. I can tell when they have done their chores without asking because the cards will still be there. I can just say "chores not done" instead of finding out at the end of the day that the rabbit has no water. When I finally decided on a system of workboxes, after a lot of searching...it was a multicoloured set of drawers like you might see in an elementary classroom. 10 drawers. At that stage my dd15 was not on board. When she saw the picture of the coloured drawers- her eyes lit up and she asked a few more questions and decided she wanted in too! Did I mention these are TEENAGERs? :) Well, we will see how it goes in practice.

That would be Yogini :) Female yogis are called yoginis. I agree with the others- rest it for a bit. Do your other postures. I have hurt myself doing yoga over the years at times- whenever I push through, it backfires and I have to take even more time off. I even had a dream about 6 months ago about this. I have lower back issues due to scoliosis. I was having an aching pain over a few weeks and I was doing a LOT of yoga stretches and twists to try and "fix" it. I had a dream where I was told to stop pushing myself so hard and stop doing yoga so intensely- I was hurting myself. Instead, do gentle exercise. I stopped the yoga and after a couple of days- the back pain went too! I was actually making it worse by trying to fix it.

Of course I have "marketable" skills and I challenge anyone to say they have none. I can wash dishes. I can clean houses. I can pull weeds. I can buy or collect 2nd hand things and sell them online. I could work in a shop. They mightn't be my ideal but my 21year old steppdd is getting $30 an hour to clean houses. Its a good, independent job. Could be flexible around homeschooling. I also have a diploma as a naturopath but I think that would be next to useless in any kind of crisis need to make money- although I could use the massage diploma part of it to make some. It takes years to build a client base. And they are pumping out hundreds of natuopaths from several colleges in my city, yearly, and it's not a big city. One needs some creativity and imagination and some willingness to think out of the box, and one can make some money. Maybe not doing their ideal job, maybe not enough to support their family straight off. But something. No one has no marketable skills, particularly homeschooling mothers! We are made of tough stuff!

I get the point, but I dont think we need to put a "should" onto it. I know there is a minority of people who raise daughters to be SAHMs but when I have come across that concept it is usually paired with giving the girls a lot of skills that could be used to raise income if it was needed. And for the rest of us....well, as far as I can tell it is inherent in human nature to want to be of some use, to share some talent, to be a part of the community in some way...its not something we need to impose onto ourselves and make a "should" out of. It seems like a natural thing to me and for most people. What that looks like for each person...well, its going to be different. I think the western world is way too focused on work, personally. If we all worked a bit less, and played a bit more, and valued our non productive time as much as our productive time, there would be enough work to go around and society would be less stressed. More able to focus on family. Less desperate need to compensate for lack of parenting time with focusing on the kids in an unhealthy way. Well, maybe in homeschooling worlds, to be a SAHM mum is normal. But it doesnt seem to me to be normal anywhere else I look- of course I am in Australia- is it so different in America?. And I dont understand where this is coming from because isnt it just a small minority that dont find something "productive" to do once kids have flown the coop? I think these things are reflections of a guilty society, and not a particularly child centred one. And yes, a lot of that stuff is just a waste of resources but when people are sooo squeezed for time, and always exhausted...yet cashed up...they turn to easy solutions to things. Yes, there is time for more, even while homeschooling. I have a social life, I have a part time cooking job, I go on holidays, I do courses. However every time I think of going into a "career" mode....I feel that although my kids would do perfectly well- they are resilient....I would not handle the pressure of having my attention in two places very well, and homeschooling would suffer. So as much as a part of me would like to..I let go and come back to homeschooling as my primary role for this season. Because I can. You could say, I feel God supports me to do this for now. But whats the problem here? Most older women I know are glad to move on to follow their passions after the kids have left home. I know of no one IRL who sees mothering as their sole role in life. The only issue I have with what you are saying, Joanne, is that I dont feel the "work" is the answer to the world's, or America's, or civilisation's problems. I don't see a lack of work anywhere. Our civilisation is work obsessed. I see a lot of stupid, meaningless work, though. Sure, it brings home money, but I dont think we are meant ot be robots working for the system, satisfied to eke a living. We are far more noble than that. I think it is inherent in human nature to want to express, to give, to have a purpose, to take care. That can express in so many ways. We are not here to "work" but to live.

We even rent and dont have a huge yard, and we have 4 chooks. I suggest you get a more old fashioned variety rather than a modern one. Ours lay really well for about 18months- an egg a day each- but then it trails off and basically within 2 years they dont lay much. Next time I am going for a more old fashioned variety, which may lay less, but lay for longer. (Its the modern breeding that makes them lay well but for a short time). The spac we have is only about 2 by 2 metres, but they've also been in a much smaller space- a rabbit cage. You dont need a very big space. I love our chooks and its great to have somewhere to give the kitchen scraps.

I was and am a self learner....I just found a lot of what they wanted me to learn at school ...well, I had no interest in it. I got by. I would have been a great homeschooler, even unschooler. I would have been self motivated to learn what I wanted to learn. And that could have been all sorts of things if they were presented well. Private Christian Girls school was great academically, but it was enough to turn me off learning and school for life...and I just didn't fit in. My kids however have quite different personalities. Neither is very interested in learning except in certian areas. For dd15, she wants to write and to learn more about photography and to paint watercolours better...but the desire to learn certainly doesnt run across the board. With a structure in place, she learns well enough. he enjoys things like history and literature but wouldnt be motivated to learn much without me encouraging and pushing...I dont think, anyway. Ds14 is still suffering from low self worth since leaving school at age 7. He is a perfectionist who wont try anything he doesnt feel he can already succeed at. It takes a lot of work to keep him moving forward. Hes great at working our computer games though, and he studied snakes when he was planning on buying one. But again, when put in a structured situation, he can learn. I think I coudl have learned without the structure more than my kids are motivated to.

I think there are some parents who keep a very tight control and the kids (adults) have never broken away properly. But then my ideal and my experience may be two different things. I am having challenges "controlling" my wild 15yo who wants to party party party, so while I feel it is appropriate to set strong boundaries at 15....I can't imagine being able to maintain the same control by the time she is 18 or later. She is desperate for her freedom now, and so is ds14. I think its healthy- they are both extroverts...it just takes a lot of work to balance how much to let them have what they want and how much to say no, not yet, and deal with the flak from them. I think parents can only maintain that much control if they have formed an inapropriate bonding all through childhood and teh child is "co-dependent" and wanting the parent's approval to an extreme, or feeling terribly guilty, well into adulthood. But, who am I to say what is not appropriate. We dont get kids with an instruction manual and I may have made big mistakes I dont find out about till much later. And if you think about it, in other more native cultures, the inbuilt respect for elders means that adult children will often listen to and obey their elderly parents...however, in a healthy society that interaction would never be abused.

I amazed more people haven't said that field trips exhaust them! I think they can be beneficial but I really dislike the disruption to our routine. I am fairly rigid about sticking to our routine. I even plan ahead for field trips but then when they get closer I just skip them and don't tell the kids! I often feel we have more than enough unscheduled disruptions without adding in extra scheduled ones. I do think they can be great and we used to do more of them- but I guess I thought of them as homeschool zoo days or various other things we would sign up for with other homeschoolers.We did more when the kids were younger. I think I had better factor in some this year. I like Laura's idea of one a month.