My kids have only been homeschooled, and I have encountered every single one of those problems. Just to say, it all sounds totally familiar and normal. Obviously, that isn't to say that you can't or shouldn't attempt to make changes. Problem 1: This sounds like my dd9. I find that I need to keep her near me and remind her to stay on task when she is seeming easily distracted. I also find that she might need an incentive to focus and work sometimes - for example, she can watch a movie in the afternoon if her work is done or she can use her iPad to play some games as soon as math is over. Problem 2: Again, it's sometimes just a fact that my kids need constant reminding to be quiet, because they are distracting someone else in the room. If the person needing to concentrate can work alone, send them off. If the offender won't be quiet, send them out for a few minutes to calm down. Then they must come back and finish what they're doing, which prolongs their own work. Problem 3: similar to number 1, some kids need more hand-holding. Sometimes we have to forget about the kid we expected to have and just deal with what we've got to work with. ;-) There seems to be a wide variation in the abilities of children to work independently. All you can do is take your kid where they're at and work on getting them to move further along. You know where your kid is. Can you maybe add one more subject that they do independently? Wait a few weeks or months and add something else... Problem 4: My dd9 developed a much better attitude around 3rd grade. I'm hoping that is some magic number that will apply to future children as well. ;-)

Cooking/Kitchen Prep Add .25 ounces of vodka to 4.5 ounces of orange juice to make the perfect screwdriver. ;-)

I want you to be my mom!

That was a great article. I liked the last paragraph the best!

I live in the same bubble that you do. A waterbirth is nothing unusual in my circle either. But, the reality is that it's like 1% of births in America. So, yes, it really is unusual. :-)

My SIL made the "sleepover cake" that was featured in Family Fun magazine: http://spoonful.com/recipes/sleepover-cake

Yes, it does. :-( It is such a sad day when someone you have loved and adored your whole life suddenly doesn't even recognize you...

We usually spend about $50 - $100. I have 2 kids that share a birthday. We usually spend $100 on their party. It is usually 15-20 kids and at home. We make the cake and snacks. I plan and prepare the activities/games. We don't do a lot of decorating. We do have favors. I like to have a theme and plan around that. We have done Peter Pan, Shrek, Lego, and Pirates & Princesses. I have a boy and a girl sharing these parties. So, I think the joint parties will be drawing to a close soon.

This thread, like many others on this board, has definitely been an eye-opener for me about how other people live. :-) I'm kind of confused by all of this focus on letting kids stay home alone, kids driving cars and farm equipment, etc. But, I guess it has to do with what you are actually preparing your child for in life. If your kid is gonna grow up and drive farm equipment, then I guess it's good for them to start learning about it while they are young. I'm pretty sure it's completely irrelevant in my kid's life. What is relevant for my kid is street-smarts. And that is what becoming independent means to me. Knowing how to navigate people in this world. I think my kids need help with that while they are living in my house, so they can be prepared when they are older. I'm not worried about my kid being kidnapped by a stranger or murdered by a stranger. I am worried about them (my boys and girls) being molested by someone they know. Unfortunately, this is a reality for a lot of people I know and have known. If they are street-smart about dealing with people, they will have a better chance of knowing how to deal with this situation if it comes up. Also, I get the concern about navigating airports, mass transit, etc. But, again, I see that as needing street-smarts to protect yourself more than the actual ability to read a map??? I want my kid to be able to be aware of their surroundings, know when to recognize someone trying to scam them, know how to converse with a stranger who seems sketchy, etc. They will learn those skills through watching me interact with people. I will be honest here, I grew up in New Orleans. It's not exactly the family-friendly capital of the world. So, of course, my world is colored by that fact. I also have had my fair share of encounters with sketchy, unpleasant people, criminals, etc. That's not everyone's experience on here. And frankly, I'm kind of jealous of you for that. But, yes, for some people, the world is not the shiny, happy place it is for many others.

I think a lot of this depends on your house setup and your children's capabilities. As you mentioned, it can be difficult for a 9 year old to add detergent to a front load washer (we have the same problem), so it might not be realistic to expect your 9 year old to take over laundry at this point. It also sounds like you don't have a dishwasher. So, yes, I could see how it would be hard to turn over dishes to your 9 year old. I certainly wouldn't want to eat off of dishes that hadn't been properly cleaned and sanitized. So, if your goal is to just get your kids involved in helping out the family, you could have them help in other ways. Maybe they help more with meal prep and clean up, for example. If the goal is to teach them self-sufficiency with household care, then they might need to work along side of you to learn until they can handle the chore themselves. To specifically answer some of your questions... My 9 yo loads the dishwasher 3 times a week. She does not hand wash anything. It was a little too much having her load more often than that, so we found a happy medium with 3 times. I load 2 days, and dh loads 2 days. My 6 yo cleans the bathroom once a week. I have a post it note in the bathroom with the tasks listed. He does do the toilet. I don't use harsh chemicals. I usually use baking soda or vinegar for most cleaning. I use baby wipes to wipe off most surfaces. I worked alongside him the first 10 times probably. He's mostly got it now. We use a shark steamer for mopping. It's easy for a 6 yo to use. I fold clothes, and everyone puts them away. I don't like to go out in public with children in wrinkled clothes. ;-) So, for now, I fold. The other chores my kids have are feeding dogs, switching laundry from washer to dryer, tidying the living room once a day, and taking out the recycling. They also clean their bedrooms thoroughly once a week. They do a quick pick up each night. In the end, it doesn't really matter what I do with my kids. Some of it just isn't applicable at your house. I hope you can take something and apply it to your situation, though. :-) I have been helped so much over the last few years on here by reading other people's tips for managing their homes.

I live in about 2600sq with 6 of us. It seems huge to me. But I grew up mostly living in apartments or a trailer. We do have to keep the clutter down, which is a challenge sometimes. We have 3 bedrooms for the 6 of us - no walk in closets. :-( We just have to really pare down. The kids each have 1 coat. They have minimal clothes - maybe 10 outfits each. We have dishes for 6. I think you just have to keep paring down until you are fitting comfortably in the house. Like others are mentioning, use underbed storage, make sure furniture is doing double duty as storage, and purge.

I hate to tell you this, but that was seriously awesome! Ha ha ha! The kid obviously has a knack for writing. You are gonna laugh at this one day when he's a writer for The New Yorker or Rolling Stone. ;-) As others have mentioned, he really did seem to understand what he was doing. He just didn't feel like doing it. He had good transitions. His third point got away from him a bit. Ha ha! This seems like an acceptable rough draft. Can you edit and give it back for revisions? Does he have a rubric ahead of time so he knows what to look for?

I guess what led me to believe she was schooling during work hours was because she referenced taking calls while diapering, as if she has always handled domestic activities and work activities simultaneously. My point was that the reason you wouldn't open up to co-workers has nothing to do with homeschooling but everything to do with having something else taking your attention away from work while you are supposed to be working. I totally get what you are saying, though. If she is in an office doing her job during work hours, she can certainly devote other hours to schooling.

I have some reluctant bathers at my house. ;-) They will take a "shower bath" with toys, though. The will run a shower and plug the bath at the same time. Then they sit down and play. The running shower gets them wet. I hardly ever wash my boy's hair. Do you know that some people really don't shampoo their hair? Have you thought about cutting back on hair washing? My kids still play with toys, so I let them bring stuff in the tub that is plastic like figurines, etc. Does he still play with anything like that? We have had a basketball goal that sticks to the bathtub wall. What about something like that to entice him in the tub?

I would think it would be a no-no to admit that you are homeschooling during hours that you are supposed to be working. But, I would feel the same way about taking care of an infant or preschooler during working hours.

I really don't mean this to sound snarky, but did you know that some people don't use cribs at all? If I was going to put a one year old in a bed by themselves, I would consider putting the mattress directly on the floor, if that's a possibility for you.

I graduated in the early 90's from a public school in South Florida. I did my last 3 years of high school there. It was certainly a better education than I received the first 10 years, which was in New Orleans... College was a bit difficult for me at first, but I did go on to get an MBA in Finance.

Is it possible that she doesn't have anywhere to leave the girl? Or is it possible that she considers her mature enough to join in on adult conversations? Is she bringing her to a meeting with just you - like at a restaurant? Or is she bringing her to your house when your boys are home? Could you set up a mom date somewhere that kids would not attend? Maybe ask her to meet for a glass of wine? Or at a mom's night at a painting studio?

Exactly. When we are in a hotel room on vacation with a few suitcases and a bag of toys, my kids can make it look like a tornado whipped through the room in under an hour.

After reading here for years and reading on Fly Lady for years... I have come to the conclusion that if you have a bunch of kids in the house all day long, you simply must clean up multiple times a day. For example, you might have a before lunch clean and a before dinner clean of all common areas. Maybe each kid gets assigned an area to handle or each kid just grabs their own stuff and puts it away. If things are allowed to pile up for too long it just gets out of control fast. It doesn't have to take long - somewhere around 5-15 minutes depending on the mess and amount of people helping. We usually set a timer. I have the same approach in the bedrooms. You must straighten up at the end of the day for 5 minutes everyday. If the kids don't pick up for at least a few minutes each day, it becomes too overwhelmingly messy. I guess the next most important thing is having a designated place for everything. There's no point in moving the mess from one area to another. So, the kids should know where everything goes. My house is certainly not ready for a spread in Better Homes and Gardens. I'm a clean, type-A person living with 5 type-B slobs. Ha ha ha! But, these are my best tips for keeping the chaos away and having a home that I wouldn't be mortified to have someone walk into unexpectedly. (Which I would have been a few years ago...) :-)

Can someone direct me to some good resources for garden planning? I have 2 raised beds that I had some luck with year before last. Last year we planted a few things, then life got chaotic, and it didn't turn out so well. I think I need to plan better this year. Is there such a thing as a garden journal or planner???

Somebody had started a group on here that was discussing each of the books - starting with Don Quixote. I'm on Moby Dick right now. It took me about 9 months to get through DQ. The next several books went much quicker. I've been hung up on Moby Dick for about 2 months now...

I like www.mousesavers.com for answers to all of the questions you posted. Have fun!

We use the Kirkland brand. They have a grain-free option, which we use.

Another vote for clippers and YouTube videos. I cut hair for dh and all kiddos. I have no other hair cutting experience. I have cut my own hair before as well.