We have a GE Cafe range and it's fantastic! No problems in the 3 years we've had it, it warms up quickly, and it's pretty to look at:) It's a gas/electric combo.

I'm glad you called. Everything you posted gave me goosebumps and made me feel a bit sick. Something bad is going on in that house, and I'm hoping that *something* can be done to help those kids. I'm always so shocked, and therefore upset all over again, when I hear how some people treat children. I can't believe this stuff (and so much worse) goes on. :(

My kids generally listen and obey. They pretty much always have. But I NEVER went down that "first time obedience and with a cheerful smile on your face" route that I think is common in Protestant circles. I have a friend who "trains" (she uses that word) her babies to instant obedience beginning at age one. It's….creepy. That's all I can say. Obedience is important to me, yes, but I'm not a dictator, and it's not a virtue. As a Catholic, I'd define virtues classically, as in cardinal virtues and theological virtues. Obedience isn't one of them :)

Agree so much. I HATE that word, and I especially despise the tone used to fling it at books. It's a totally judgmental word, like "Harry Potter is twaddle," which basically means, "I don't like Harry Potter and so I'll demean it to feel better about my choices." Those CM groups are FULL of people wringing hands over doing it just the way "Miss Mason" would have. Shudder. BW is amazing.

Ok. I really appreciate the quick feedback. It seems like the Shark is the favorite! I thought it might be, but I was open to the Dyson argument:) I just ordered the Shark Rotator Power Lift Away with the pet attachment. It wasn't as expensive as the Dyson, but had better reviews, so I went for it! It'll be here Wednesday, and I'm excited to see what it's like to use a bag less upright! Oh, and as to how the canister broke: the swivel ball attachment thingie which connects the vacuum head to the arm snapped. It's hanging by some electrical wires, and the plastic that surrounded that "joint" broke off in several pieces.

Well, my 7 year old Electrolux canister vac broke yesterday and needs to be replaced. ASAP. I have done a bit of looking around, and I'd love some opinions before pulling the trigger. Here are some specifics: We have a Lab puppy and she sheds A LOT. The vac needs to be great at picking up pet hair. We have all hardwood floors, with only a couple of area rugs. Our house is about 1800 sq feet I'd like an upright this time, to avoid pulling that canister around. I've read enough to know Miele's are awesome, but we're not in the market for a $600 and up vacuum. I've looked at the various Shark models, and it seems like people love them, but I've read they tip over a lot. Also, are they good for hardwood and pet hair? I'm also considering the Dyson Animal Compact, since our home isn't huge. But is the Shark just as good for less money? Give me your thoughts! I need to order something soon, as the dog hair is going to be piling up! Angela

I really need some feedback. Our days have been so crazy since we started back to school last week, and I just lost it on my kids this morning. Not feeling like a good mama :( Both kids need my help with their work, so I can't just hand things off for them to "go do." They both have math, copywork/dictation/writing, daughter has Latin, and then we do history and science together. There's a morning basket with read aloud and rotating subjects. I don't think I have too many things on the docket, but the whole school day (roughly 8:30/9 to 1, with breaks for lunch and puppy care) I am bringing their attention back, one kid needs the iPad and the other does too, someone needs math help, someone can't move on until I explain the writing assignment. It's just like putting out fires all day, and nothing feels like it's moving in a nice rhythm. Partly I'm sure it's being back to school after summer, but partly it feels like we just don't have a good schedule. I'm an INFJ (if you know MB), and I NEED calm, order, and routine, and I feel insane dealing with all the various energies being thrown at me (kid who doesn't want to do x, kid who's frustrated by y, dog barking, kid who was playing with something and is mad about having to practice piano, etc). Some people probably are able to cope with all that and have a bit of grace, but I feel all that energy as chaos, and I want to run and hide. I'd welcome advice and commiseration. This is our second year hs'ing, and I'm usually really good with organization and logistics. But we had such a bad day today, and I don't know how to improve things.

It's like they all take such joy in throwing that term around. Shudder. I just can't. CM was interesting, she had some good ideas, we can use them or not, whatever. The quoting her and discussing what or is not "twaddle"? Again, viceral. It all just creeps me out.

Panic and anxiety? Of course don't rule out heart and other issues, but panic attacks and anxiety can make you feel short of breath, clammy, tingly, like you're having a heart attack, etc.

I have pretty much thrown off all CM resources because I'm so turned off by AO: the dusty old books, the website design, the attitude from the forum/higher ups. Can hardly even read CM blogs either. Lol. Totally ridiculous, but it's a viceral reaction at this point.

I think this is true: I feel like it's a muscle I have to re-engage. Every time I sit down to read, my mind wanders, I can't concentrate, the book feels hard, and I give up. I have started and failed to finish at least 6 books recently. Just flat out gave up because it felt like work, and not like the pleasure it used to be.

Sigh. I got an MA in English Lit. I was an english teacher for a couple of years before I had my kids. Then I switched to staying at home once I had my first, and of course I was tired and my reading lightened way up and I moved through books less quickly. BUT. My kids are older, 9 and 7 now, and though we homeschool, I do have time each day to read. But I find that my attention span is nil (thanks, internets), and my comprehension has gone way down. I just feel dumb! Lol. Ok, I'm older now too, but seriously. I want to work back into reading good, solid stuff, but even relatively approachable things feel so hard. I can basically manage a Philippa Gregory novel, at best. Help! Commiserate! Offer me hugs and tell me my brain is still in there somewhere!

I have our year planned out, but now I'm starting to worry that I'm not requiring enough of my kids in terms of language arts, and I'd welcome some feedback. I have DD entering 4th grade, and DS entering 2nd. We use Brave Writer, for the most part. Each kid has a book to read each month, with the coordinating copy work/dictation. They each have a month writing project as well. My worry is: should I also include FLL (which I own) for grammar, and do I also need to include spelling? I know that the theory behind copywork is that it strengthens spelling naturally, but I'm not so sure. We have good, strong math, history, science, and latin, but are we ok on L.A.? Thanks!

Wondering who has left FB and what your experiences have been? I'm on mostly for a few private groups, homeschool things, and checking in on old friends. But the constant flow of political articles, religious arguments, and just dumb, distracting stuff. I've never had an argument or been in a comment war, but this morning I responded to someone in a private group with an article I thought would help her, and got REAMED by another member. It caught me totally off guard how hurt I was. I'm on the verge of tears even now! I was seriously being kind and thoughtful and I got attacked. No apology, either. Why am even on FB?! I wonder what I might miss, but it's not a peaceful place.

I need some planning help! I'm trying to figure out how to organize our work in a way that allows me to see what we've got going on, what's on tap for the week, etc. I'm trying to wrap my brain around how to format/print out/create a weekly sheet with my kids' shared work and their individual work. I'm super visual, so I'm hoping to see some ideas of what it could look like. I guess the follow up question is: do you even have a weekly lesson plan sheet? Or do you plan on paper? Or make a spreadsheet? Or in a planner? Last year, I made up a word doc with all our work on it and each week filled in what we needed to do and printed it out. I'm not sure that's the most efficient way to handle it, and this year, we have more going on. The sheet would be 2 pages long each week:/ Anyway, I'd love some planning ideas!

Loved the BFG! Beautiful to look at and very charming. I thought the Secret Life of Pets had a great premise but it ended up feeling a bit more crass, violent, and icky than it needed to be.

Lorisuewho, thank you so much! You have really helped me with my plan for the year. Super grateful!

My daughter will be in 4th grade this fall, and we just finished RS C. We are starting with Beast Academy 3, based on a lot of reviews I've seen which say it's really good for kids who have a bit more math under their belts.

We have been using RS math for 2 years, and I have a DS finishing Level B and a DD finishing level C. I really like lots of things about RS, and I do think the kids have done pretty well with it. But. I am really tired of feeling overwhelmed with math instruction. All the games/manipulatives/prep work area really just too much, and obviously those are the hallmarks of RS. Sigh. There's also the fact that I think the RS creator and I speak separate languages. Often I have to read things 3 times before I get what she wants me to say and do with the lessons. I am really considering switching to MUS, but I am holding back because of reviews I've read which say that it's a bit light, a bit too easy, not strong enough on math sense, word problems, or mental math. Can anyone offer some feedback? I don't want to put my kids at a disadvantage, but I'm feeling pretty anxious about continuing to manage two levels of RS. Really appreciate any thoughts you might have. Angela

Every single time. Christopher is going off to school and leaving Pooh. :(

So, I am working through RightStart levels B and C with my two kiddos, 6 and 9. I really like the program, I'm fine with the prep work part of it, and the kids seem to be understanding what to do and enjoying math. Mama is the one having issues! Lol. I am really lacking in confidence that I can teach them well, going forward. My own math education was dismal, and I barely, barely passed my college math course which was required for graduation. I have a LOT of fear/anxiety/feelings of inadequacy about math. I literally feel physically anxious on Mondays, when I know I've got a week of math ahead, and feel great relief on Fridays when I know I get to leave it behind for two days. I feel ashamed that I'm 37 and I can't calculate a tip on a bill or do mental math. I avoid having to do those things…it's like being illiterate and trying to hide it. I absolutely don't want to pass that on to my kids. My goal is to help them have a great grounding in number sense and be able to move through math with the fluency I totally lack. And, honestly, I'd like to get better at math myself! I don't see us hiring a math tutor until higher levels, if needed, or perhaps my husband will take over math lessons. I need and want to be a good math teacher for them myself. I'd love any thoughts and input you might have on getting over my own issues, understanding numbers better, gaining confidence, etc. I need ideas for how to address this in the day to day…I can't take time out to take community college math classes;)

I'll be your partner! I know that part of the problem is my multitasking and electronics. I do take fish oil daily and vitamin D. Haven't had B vitamin levels checked though. I get good sleep: usually 9ish to 5:30. I drink 1-2 cups of caffeine. I'm sure more would help with the tiredness, but I'm afraid that I'd just need more and more. I eat pretty well I think, and when I'm not nursing bulging disks (which I am now…boo), I run 3-4 days a week. I feel like I have info overload in addition to the household/life/homeschool managing. Guessing the problem is multi-pronged, and so the solution will be.

Oh dear. Yes. This too.

I did actually, over the summer. I went in complaining of this issue, and my dr. ran the tests for me. Everything in normal range. She sort of shrugged her shoulders and said "It's normal to feel tired." For me, it's the foggy brain in conjunction with a huge energy drop after lunch. After that, forget any intellectual work. I'm just not fully "there."

Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!