:smilielol5:

Yep, totally didn't read the rest of the thread before I posted that. Oh well... On a side note, I don't think a tankini is in any way revealing. And I'm with the pp who said that having a nose ring/belly button ring/earrings/etc doesn't give anyone license to come within inches of them to look at them. It's just kind of weird...people have those things not to show them off, but because they want them for themselves (in my experience, anyway.) Just sayin :D

:iagree:

Question: We are going to VA beach the beginning of September. If we were to, say, move the trip to VA beach to around the time of the homeschool day, does anyone have any idea if the water is too cold to get in at VA Beach in mid September??

Let me ask this: If we were to, say, postpone our beach trip to around the time of the homeschool days, does anyone have any idea if it's too cold to get in the water at VA beach in mid September??

Well, in general the thought of a co-op kind of makes me gag. :lol: I think I'm not going to worry about it for now. He has only been out for the summer, and once he starts karate it'll give him something else to do. We're already gone atleast 2-3 nights a week, and he sees plenty of other kids - no 'socialization' issues here lol :D

:lol::lol::lol::lol: If this hasn't been mentioned already: "So how do they graduate? Does the ps send them a diploma?"

I'm not sure what all is in Newport News. We're going to VA Beach on Sept 1, so Idk what we would do other than the Museum if we go then that we wouldn't have done when we went a couple weeks before, kwim? Thanks for the info, though! Any more, keep it coming! :lurk5:

Ok. So my thoughts were that I really didn't have any interest in a co-op. I still don't really have any interest in a co-op. We don't have a ton of time for one (but we would probably have enough) and I don't need one for the teaching aspects. I really would try to stay away from that part, if possible. However, I'm wondering if I shouldn't reconsider my position because DS7 has been getting a little antsy, I think he might be having a hard time adjusting to being home as opposed to ps. He had a good time in ps, was well liked, etc, and Idk if he just misses having friends outside of our family that we see on a regular basis? But at the same time, he loves hsing and everything, and I don't know that he is actually having a hard time adjusting or if he's just in a mood. He does that sometimes, too. :D He is going to start karate next month, which should help. His friends from church are all in school all day, and the people who we are friends with who hs their kids, the kids are younger (5-6). Anyway, I don't really think its a big deal, I guess I'm just kind of talking to myself about it and just wondering what people's experiences are? Is there any such thing as a co-op that doesn't involve classes of some sort?? I don't even know what we have in our area, I know there is one (or more) but don't know much about it. Anyway, I'm kind of rambling. He's doing great, I'm just wanting to make sure I'm doing everything possible to keep it all smooth sailing. :)

Yes, I posted this on two different boards. I hope that's ok?? Anyway, the Mariner's Museum in VA is having a homeschool day, which I assume they do every year. What I'm wondering is if it's worth the time/trip (we're about 2-3 hrs away) I don't mind the trip if its worth it. Anyone know anything about it??? Link: http://www.marinersmuseum.org/education/mariners-museum-s-homeschool-day :bigear:

They are having a homeschool day. (I'm assuming they always do). Does anyone know anything about it, if it's worth the time/effort or not?? Here's the link: http://www.marinersmuseum.org/education/mariners-museum-s-homeschool-day We are about 2-3 hrs away, but I'm willing to go if its cool. If its just so-so, then...:confused:

I voted other. I don't know what to consider myself... I don't really LIKE to cook, but I don't really NOT like cooking either. Idk, it just needs to be done so I do it. But I do most of it. Well, ok, all of it :D

:lol: I don't have the slightest idea what that says... :lol: (my husband is the tech guy in our house.) I'm thinking something that is basically about homeschooling, but a little of everything, at the same time...idk, something like that... :)

Ok, so it seems like almost every homeschooling parent on the planet has a blog. (Not literallly...you know what I mean :D ) I've had a blog in the past, before homeschooling, and deleted it because I just found that I didn't really have much to write about. It seemed like a waste of time. But now I'm considering doing one again, since we're homeschooling. I'm just kind of wondering, for those of you who have blogs, what made you decide to start one?? What do you tend to write about? TIA. :lurk5:

In general around here it runs $30-$50 per kid for the public school (and that is if they need backpacks, etc, and getting them nice stuff) The classroom supplies alone are probably 20-30. That sounds crazy, especially for a public school, supplies only. We do have a private school in town that has a little more specific of a list (aka twistable crayons/colored pencils) but at the same time, they don't have quite as much other stuff on there.

I think I'm going to invest in a pedometer. I'd imagine one can get one pretty cheap, right? :) I think that it'll definitely help me to see how much moving around I do a day, and maybe just try to keep myself above a certain amount. I started with myfitnesspal.com last week, and was doing the whole counting calories thing, but the truth is, I know what to eat. I know what is good for me. I can see where documenting everything one eats can be a good thing, to see it all 'in action' so to speak - to see all of the calories of the day and realize that one needs to be more regulated with the intake. It did help me out a lot, though, when I realized the smoothies I've been drinking for breakfast every morning for the last 8 months have almost as many calories as 2 pop tarts. o.O So that probably wasn't doing me any favors, weight wise. I'll probably get on myfitnesspal off and on, but I think for right now I'm just going to work, in general, on fixing our eating habits. Its rough getting older - just like, 3-4 years ago I could regulate my snacking (like only eat from the bag of doritos up until the first commercial break of whatever show we were watching that night lol) and I lost 10 lbs!! lol. Now, its starting to get harder. :/ And I haven't even hit 30 yet! :D

I just have to say that the whole Homeschool Days thing got me totally excited lol. I turned to DH and told him and he's like, that's nice. :) (That said, I have had a Disney Vacation planning DVD for quite some time, even though we aren't going for at least another year :D - and I had one before that, too. I absolutely love Disney World... )

So now that I have actually read the replies thus far... I actually fit into the other category. :001_huh: I was thinking of myself as one of the ones who 'doesn't take enough time on herself' because I see people here, all the time, who are DECKED OUT. Like, seriously. Sometimes I would like to look like that. But most of the time...nah. Looks too uncomfortable. I hate really tight clothes. And impractical ones. I'm more the jeans (or shorts, though I look much better in jeans) type. Or skirts. I love skirts. Anyway, after reading everything else I've realized I'm actually on the other side of it - since I do wear makeup most every day, and I don't own any sweatpants (I have yoga pants but they are for working out), and I do TRY to look nice. I would like to look nicer, but I don't have the means to be able to go everywhere searching for clothes that fit me well. My jeans fit pretty well, but I currently only have 1 pair that does, and 1 pair that is a little too big. My shirts are ok but not really 'fashionable' or 'stylish' - I bought most of them off the clearance rack at Kohls, or at Ross. They aren't necessarily my style, but they were what was available in my price range, in my size. I have discovered that I generally dress bigger than I am - like, I tend to buy pants/dresses/shirts/etc too big because I want to be comfortable, and I'm worried that my stomach is going to look too pudgy in a shirt that is a little bit smaller, etc. (I am working on shedding some pounds, but just by changing my eating habits. I'm not going to be dropping massive amounts of weight anytime too soon. Currently, based on the chart for weight/height, I'm about 5 lbs overweight) I'm not in love with my body the way it is, and that is probably why I don't have a lot of clothes that fit well. I keep hoping (I'm sure I'm not the ONLY one who does this :tongue_smilie: ) that I'll lose the weight and fit back into my other stuff! :D But when (if) I do get a little bit of extra money that I don't need for kids birthdays/Christmas/etc, I would like to find some clothes that fit me better. I love doing my hair. Well, I don't love fixing it every day (and I literally had a woman chastise me for that once. Like she was like, 'Kara!' all condescending and such, when I told her I don't blow dry/fix my hair in the mornings. Even for church lol) but I like for it to look nice. Right now I'm growing it (DH doesn't like short hair anyway, though we have discussed that there will come a point when I need to cut my hair short. But I'm still a good 20-30 years from that right now :D ) because I'm going to donate it to Locks of Love when it gets long enough. In the past I've done all sorts of colors, etc. I'm already planning, when I cut it again, to put in some blue streaks. :D So I do love the hair aspect. And I do love getting done up for stuff. One of the things I'm definitely lacking in is shoes. I wear flip flops all the time, which I love, but then when I need something else I'm like... oh.... crap... :lol:

And I forgot to add, I have a lot of shirts that aren't 't-shirts' - but they may not be the most flattering. An afternoon of shopping to find clothes that fit well and are flattering? What a laugh.

To be quite honest, this entire thing is quite inflammatory. I've not read any of the other responses, but I'm shocked to even read that anyone feels that there is a requirement for how everyone should dress and take care of themselves. As long as they are clean and well maintained, who cares??? :confused:

I hate milk. My gma says when I was little, I loved milk. Then when I was maybe 4-6yo, I got sick and couldn't drink it. Not regular milk, chocolate milk, nothing. Since then it's disgusted me. I tried taking a drink of it a few years ago and couldn't. Yuck...

academics, scheduling/freedom...

Make him. We tell our kids that if they make the commitment for a season, then they HAVE to do all that is involved for the season - but they can always stop after the season is over. But no quitting allowed!

how many bottles? I usually had 3-4 of each size (4 oz/ 8 oz) and washed them every day or so. (I rinsed them with hot water after each feeding.) Both DS used the Playtex nursers or whatever they were called, and DD... she was a doozy :tongue_smilie: She was in the NICU and didn't start eating til she was 2 1/2 wks old, and then with her first feeding she took...wait for it... 5 ml. Yeah, it was like, a drop. :D It took her another 2 weeks to learn to eat, and even when she came home she was REALLY picky about what she would drink from - we ended up with Avent with her. I think most babies will just take whatever you give them, though. (I know, you didn't ask that...) a 'normal' feeding? I can't remember. I know when they first came home they did maybe 2 oz. When they started finishing the bottle and were still hungry, I started making more. They were usually eating 8 oz by the time they were 6 months old - I can't remember exactly. Again, DD took longer. But as far as that goes, just make it and go with what they usually eat. It really isn't any more difficult than nursing. :) how often to burp? I usually burped about halfway through. A lot of times, though, they would stop if they needed to burp. Again, not any different than nursing (apparently! lol) Bottle warmers? waste of money. My kids took all their formula at room temperature. That's one of the MAJOR PROS of bottle feeding - no worrying about having to transition them to formula/milk not being warm!!! (Unless you ff and warm the bottles anyway...) My kids NEVER had a problem with a room temperature bottle. I don't even know why people warm them up. Sterilizing? I guess every time you wash it. I just saw that you don't have a dishwasher, which is a bummer. :tongue_smilie: I always just threw them in there. :D what kind of formula? We used Similac Advance. Oh, and a note on the ones with the drop in liners (Playtex nursers? Again, I cannot for the life of me remember the name!) - they may be easier since you don't have a dishwasher - sterilizing won't be as much of an issue. However, you have to replace the liners which can get annoying. Now that I think about it, DS (now 5) used a Gerber brand bottle for awhile - it was one of the best ones ever. Avent tends to leak if you don't get the lid on just right, etc. It's all easy to figure out. It'll be fine. :D (I'm 100% formula feeding here, I don't care if people nurse, I just think there's too much hype about it. Babies are healthy either way, and you can't look at older kids in any way and determine how they were fed as infants - health, attachment to mom, etc. So don't feel bad about not being able to!! :D ) ETA: I am a STRICT schedule feeder!!! Every 3 hours when they were little, moving up to every 4 hours as they got closer to age 1. I also started them with rice cereal at 4-5 months, followed by vegetables, then fruits.

Saxon