I had forgotten about vitex- chaste tree berry. It helps regulate the menstrual cycle too. It helped mine go from months apart to much more regular- a big improvement, although it doesn't take much for mine to become irregular again. I have considered what I would do if my daughter has problems and I would probably use vitex and EPO.

Is Lasagna gardening another name for no-dig gardening? I just made one of those. Layers of different materials- in my case, mostly green lucerne hay, sheep manure and good quality bought organic compost. Also blood and bone and a mineral supplement. So far, so good, everything is growing well.

I always take care during my period and wouldnt even consider running on the first or 2nd days, even though I have light periods and only get cramps sometimes. It's just the TOM I am especially gentle with myself, and take it easy and get extra rest. I suggest magnesium for the cramps- all month and especially just before- and look into progesterone cream for easing other symptoms.

Thai coconut and vegetable soup.

I dont think of my kids as having a strong love of learning what I want them to learn,as in "school" learning, yet my mother assures me that compared to their cousins, who we rarely see but she spends a lot of time with, my kids are passionate about learning in general because they have interests and passions and they read and they just have a passion for life. They're not badly behaved or moody or rude (much). SO its not obviously to me but it is to her, that my kids are not disheartened and given up on the whole learning process altogether- even though they may complain on any given day about any given subject. I gave up a few years ago trying to get my kids to love everything we do. Its a quick path to burn out for me. They have been to school and perhaps if they hadnt, their attitude would be better than it is.The like some subjects. They complain, they do their work, they try and get out of their work, they do not read encyclopedias in their spare time- they go and skate board, surf, paint, draw, read good novels, play computer games, talk to their friends, go on camps, go sailing with Scouts....any of a miriad of things that balance their lives. They are happy people, generally, and they dont like putting the garbage out much or washing the dishes, but just like their chores, they do their work, and it doesn't hurt them to have to do things they dont like some of the time. Character building and all that.

I would try anything else, too. I was put on the pill as a teenager by a well meaning doctor. I did not enjoy the experience. I would go and see a natural therapist of some kind....chiropractor, chinese medical practitioner, naturopath, herbalist. Truth is, the doctors don't have a clue, and they aren't educated in health, they are educated to get rid of unpleasant symptoms. So they might get rid of your dd's irregular cycle temporarily, but they are masking an underlying condition, and they are possibly causing more problems. FWIW I have had irregular cycles all my life. I would encourage your dd to get more in tune with her body, appreciate it, care for it, rather than just try and do a quick fix to get rid of a condition that is really not such a big deal, although it can seem like one at 15 I am sure. On the other hand, if thats what she wants to do, she can do it and you could feed her moe information and take her to a naturopath or someone as well, to see if something is out of balance. Doctors treat our bodies like machines. It is not such a nice way to treat your own body.

Yes, I tend to consider it as my job.

Because it gives context and meaning to our lives. Otherwise we are just floating adrift in a shallow culture of selfishness and greed. History gives us perspective, direction, teaches us lessons, it humanises us. It is not just enriching as if that is a luxury- I feel it is essential to our ability to live our own potential. I recently did a workshop where we connected with our ancestors, and it was amazing to me to consciously think of all the people I descend from. All the women in whom I was a future potential descendent. Their lives, their joys and suffering, their dead children, their plagues and their rejoicing in rain and sunshine for their food. All the men whose seed fertilised the next generation. To really consider this was new to me and very heartening- it made me very grateful to all the people whose lives made mine possible. And that's just my family tree. "History" is an even bigger story, and it includes us- we are part of it, just the most recent part.

I like your perspective. Many people do have gifts in different areas. However I am not sure that many kids nowadays grow up with much more than a rudimentary idea of history and culture beyond their own, if that, and awesome computer gaming skills. My feeling is that in many ways, apart from the homeschooling movement and certain progressive schools, the general trend is to mass produce kids for jobs, not educate people for a rich life. So education has become narrow and bland and childhood is a place to prepare for the big world of adult work, where millions live in stuffy offices shuffling paper for 40 years, as if that's something to look forward to. Yuk. That's what attracted me to Classical Education- education for a rich life. Thankyou SWB for bringing it to the masses, so to speak. But it is of course not the only way to get an education, and not the only education worth having. I often wish I was brought up in a tribal culture which kept me in harmony with nature so I didn't have to undo my conditioning and learn basic things like what the names of the plants in my area are, and how to live in community. I could have handled being unschooled, too, and following my interests. I would have learned more than i did at school, and I went to a good, fairly classical school. Our values are screwed up and general knowledge is probably going through quite a transformation as the world goes through big changes.

Relaxed here means there is structure- we are early risers, kids are up by certain time, chores, school starts pretty much on time each morning. Our work gets done. But we work for about 20-25 hours a week, and the rest of the time is personal time, social time, recreation time. Since my kids are ages almost 13, and 14, that is considered "relaxed" I gather, from hanging out on the highschool boards a bit. I prefer to think of "relaxed" though as a way of living, and a style, rather than how many hours we work. The western world is caught up in thinking if you are not stressed, you are a lazy good for nothing. We don't value just being, we don't value ourselves intrinsically, we only value being productive and our self worth is centred around our career, our productivity, our contribution to the machine of consumer society. I want my kids to enjoy their lives NOW not spend their childhood preparing for later and then the rest of their lives preparing for later until they die. I don't want to train them for the treadmill of consumer society- I want to train them how to live well within it without being caught up in it- in other words, how to be happy. To me relaxed means this is our life NOW and we are going to enjoy it to the best of our ability. That is the best training for a happy life for them. But to be self disciplined is also necessary for a happy life- not disciplined to fullfil someone else's ideas of anything, but able to be disciplined enough to get where they want in life. Discipline is part of happiness. So relaxed doesnt mean undisciplined. It just means not driven toward some future goal to the extent where one doesnt enjoy and savour the present. I truly think that the world would be a better place if everone workd a few hours a day. There would be work for all and everyone would have plenty of recreation.

Why would anyone not want to be relaxed when homeschooling? Do we want to be stressed and pass that on to our kids? Whether one's children work from sun up to sun down, or only half days or less, our society is waaaaay tooooo stressssssed. We buy into the "more is better" syndrome- more money, more busyness, more education, more stuff. And most people caught in that are living for the future their whole lives. They cant enjoy the day, the moment, and be happy. I didnt used to think of myself as a relaxed homeschooler but nowadays I think I am, and I realise I am twisting the meaning here. By both standards I am relaxed- we have a rich and varied life which includes schoolwork but is by no means limited to it. And, we are pretty relaxed in our lifestyle and cruise through our days. I dont care what other people think any more. I think Classical education does foster elitism in some people and I don't really care about that any more either. Many peoples' priorities are different to mine.

I compromise big time on nutrition. When I am tired, its cereal for dinner. My fussy child eats barely any vegetables. Both kids eat too much sugar (by my standards- maybe higher than others). When I am feeling enthusiastic, its green smoothies and vegetables hidden in spaghetti bolognaise. When I am tired, it's whatever they can find in the cupboard.

For the handle, I made a chain and joined it back in on both sides, then continued to crochet above that all round for another inch or so. It leaves a hole on each side. So the bag is basically crocheted around and around until you get it to almost the height you want. The "handles" are not appendages- although instead you could sew on straps. But what I did is make "holes" large enough for my 4 fingers to slip through, on both sides of the bag, near the top. Does that make sense ? To make the "holes", instead of continuing to crochet along the bag, I made a short chain and joined it back in, on both sides. So at this stage there is the bag with this funny loop of a chain joined back in at the top of the bag. Then I just keep crocheting around and around as with the rest of the bag- over the chain- which leaves a hole in the space between where the chain left off and joined back in again. Another inch or so is plenty. I wish I could draw a picture because it would be so much easier than words! OK, I have taken a photo of the bag and put it on my blog. http://shobbrook.blogspot.com/

oh gosh, I dont know how to read a pattern yet :) A friend who is into Waldorf stuff showed me while the kids were doing a science class. Basically, I crocheted a chain maybe 6 inches long. Then I went back and forth on that a few times to make a rectangle maybe 1.5 inches wide. Then I crocheted around that in a circular way (just kept going around it) for the bulk of the bag- it naturally curls up into a bag. Maybe 12 inches high. For the handle, I made a chain and joined it back in on both sides, then continued to crochet above that all round for another inch or so. It leaves a hole on each side. I am sure it sounds much more complicated than it is! Even though it looked good just like that, I put it in the washing machine and washed it several times (stopping it from draining, just restarting the machine and putting it through the agitation bit 3 times ). Voila, a felted crocheted bag.

I have heard that it has been used to prevent miscarriages. Basically, the reason it works and we feel so good on it is because it raises our progesterone levels- which rise naturally by hundreds of times during pregnancy. When we get pregnant our progesterone levels rise a lot naturally. And I dont know if the U.S. is different but most doctors here wouldnt have a clue about progesterone cream. Only a few do, so you may not get a good response from your doctor. The reason is because doctors are educated by pharmaceutical companies (yes, vested interests) and natural progesterone cream cannot be patented by a pharmaceutical company. It is made by compounding chemists. Here in Australia however it is only available by prescription, so I do need to find a doctor to prescribe it for me every year or so. If my normal doctor isnt available I usually end up just asking for a prescription and educating the doctor about it.

Danestress put it much better than I could have. I wonder how long you think a room will be put aside for your mother? A year? 5 or 10 years? It is a beautiful idea, but perhaps one day it will be time to let the external focus go and honour your mother within your hearts, and perhaps your brother has reached that stage of the grieving process before you have.

I think Flylady helped me in this area, although I am by no means fashionable (as in, caring what this year's fashions are) and have no intention of being so. Sometimes by coincidence fashion happens to coincide with my own style, but that's about it. I like certian styles (fairly bohemian) and wear colours according to my mood- so my wardrobe is quite colourful but also has black and white and beige. Flylady has you put out your exercise clothes AND your nice day clothes the night before. Then in the morning, after exercise and shower, you get dressed to shoes, and moisturiser and any make up you wear. jewellery, perfume, whatever. getting your clothes out the night before means you dont have to think about it when you get up (although you are always free to change your mind, which I have to remind myself sometimes). The step of already choosing your clothes and them just being out there ready to put on, makes it quicker to get dressed and much easier to put on a little lipstick, eyeliner, ear rings, necklace, perfume, make your hair nice, whatever. I think its just the little things that make a difference. Not wearing exercise clothes during the day. Jeans and a t-shirt and sweater are fine. I buy 90% of my clothes 2nd hand. Sometimes I write a seasonal list of things I want- I wanted another pair of blue jeans this winter, and a pair of black jeans (wearing black is new for me) and I ended up with 2 more pairs, just from going into a particular op shop while my kids were in a class. For this summer I would like a couple of nice white t-shirts. You dont have daughters but my son liked nail polish on his toes when he was little! I only do that sometimes but it's fun! I think just have fun with it and do it step by step.

Yep, this is me too, although I am not even sure if my "friends" share my life philosophies, either. Who knows. I have many friends, apparently (thankyou everyone) but I have never initiated a friendship because I just don't get it, and I also dont have the spare time to work it all out. Once upon a time I would have felt like Sally Field, but I don't, really, nowadays.

I have a keeper. I also have a slightly prolapsed uterus, and it comes very low during my period. I found the Keeper tends to pull it lower still, and it freaked me out to feel my uterus so low. So, I use the Keeper at night time (no gravity) on the first two nights, along with cloth pads at night and only cloth pads during the day. I have never heard anyone else have the issue I have about the Keeper puling the uterus lower- it may have just been as I was pulling it out. I empty the Keeper in the shower. Easy peasy.

It could be asthma but also just a weather change...we recently went through a spate of night time coughing (me too) and we used the vapouriser and lots of echinacea for the immune system. It cleared in a few days.

I just learned how to crochet, like, 2 days ago, and I have already crocheted a bag which I am presently felting. I am so thrilled with how easy it is to crochet a small bag, I am thinking everyone is going to get small crocheted/felted bags for Christmas this year :)

Oh, I can so relate. My most recent cycle I was thinking where are the depression, the irritability, the moodiness, the sore booKs? Gone. I have been using it for over 2 years. Some months are better than others but all are better than it used to be. I use it most of the time, a small dose, only at night usually. I take a break during my period but I have found sometimes my body doesn't like the big hormonal shift of my period and no progest cream, so often I will use a miniscule amount even during my period. It's a very individual thing though. If I use too much, I get very sleepy during the day, which is why I shifted to night use only.

I just think our society has become over-protective. A mother knows her children well enough to know which of her children can hold the baby. I think its becoming such that people just have to be strong in themselves and not worry what other people think. Otherwise we all just become sheep.

I have the elementary and middle school books. I realise many people here have had great results with them, but with my two, they were just busywork. I have kept them and may try them again later. I guess my kids just didn't engage with them. For my older what has worked better is an online writing class- feedback from someone other than me, on her sentences and paragraphs. I don't know yet what will work for my younger :)

I use the Wonder to Wisdom list that Sandra gave, frequently. It is a good list that covers a lot of things- history and literature, nature study, etc. In the last couple of years my kids and I have also watched some good mini-drama series which are good for Australian History- For the Term of His Natural Life and Sara Dane are two that spring to mind. The movie Gallipoli with a young Mel Gibson is a good classical Australian movie too, as is Breaker Morant. hope that helps