Thank you! Each of your responses helped me fill in my thought process on what wasn't working and what to do to make it work. It's not any huge radical change, but I just couldn't get to a solution on my own. :-} I'll look through the IG to figure out the focus areas/animals for each week, hit those from the other resources and then do a combo of looking at the encyclopedia briefly with her and letting her look for things that catch her eye. Wow, weight lifted -- I'm pretty confident now that we can find a way forward.

THANK YOU! I have a solution that I think is workable. I know that sounds like a dumb question, or a newbie one... I'm not a new homeschooler, so maybe it *is* dumb, lol! Dd (8yo) and I have picked back up WP's Animals and their World study, which was supposed to be our science this year but which we totally flopped at after a couple of days. And I'm afraid we're going to flop again. This child LOVES animals. And knows a great deal about them. And while some of the materials in this curriculum is old-hat to her, I know there's plenty left to learn. But the "spine" is the DK Animal Encyclopedia. The first week has about 6 pages scheduled per day. When a DK or Usborne encyclopedia has been scheduled in other curricula we've done over the years (like SL), it's usually supplemental to the spine and we look at some pictures and captions and move on - unless the kid wants to read all the words him/herself. Since it's the spine, I've been trying to read all the words. But even as interested as she is, her eyes are glazing after the first few chunks, and she's done well before the end of the assigned reading. And then there's still other readings, the fiction reading, the hands-on stuff... If you've done this study -- or used an encyclopedia in this way -- or a similar study, *how* did you do it? Or if you just have suggestions for me, I'll all ears! Thanks! (I'm willing to greatly modify but not entirely ditch this -- I have a lot of $ invested in it and it has a lot of good stuff, I think. I like the journal pages and One Small Square books and so forth.)

I have Mikasa white china and I love, love, love it. It's heavier than special occasion bone china only-at-Thanksgiving kind of dishes but way way way lighter weight and sturdier than stoneware. I hate heavy plates! And I hate the look and feel of Corelle. The noise your fork makes on a Corelle plate! EEGH! It's a simple but pretty design. I got it at Costco a few years ago to replace my white octagonal ironware (can you tell I like white plates? easy to dress up or down, work for any occasion). It has a bit of an octagonal design which for some reason delights me and is the main reason I collected ironware for year. But ironware crazes like crazy, and chips easily too. There was a deep contented inward sigh of "finally" when I found my Mikasa. I bought enough to last my lifetime so I never have to dish shop again. I have what I need in my cupboards and approximately 2 sets packed away to account for inevitable breakage (although I think I've only lost one dessert saucer so far).

My youngest (and i) are really enjoying the new Carmen Sandiego right now. At my oldest's urging (young adult), we are all watching Avatar: The Last Airbender as a family too. She loves How to Train Your Dragon and we watch Nailed It! together a lot. It has occasional adult references that go right over her head. She watches the series Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I'm underwhelmed. There's a lot of silly teeni-ness and not a lot of positive imo but she likes it. She loves watching Chasing Monsters with her dad (about catching monster fish), Sea Rescue and Ocean Mysteries. These are great for kids that love(d) Wild Kratts. There's also a whole series of nature shows -- Dolphins: Spy in the Pod, Animals with Cameras and others -- where scientists watch animals in their natural habitats putting Go-Pros on animals in the group. She also loves Extraordinary Homes and Tales by Light. HTH!

I want to say thanks again to each of you who responded earlier -- your help was ... well, helpful! 🙂 We have a place! We're going to be in Kensington (near Wheaton) just east of Rock Creek Park. Dh's commute will be about 4 miles by bike, and nearly all of it in the park/dedicated bike path. If there's bad weather, there's a bus stop a half-mile from the house with an 18 minute trip to work. Very, very workable -- and we'll only need one car! It's a single-family home. A Cape Cod!! (I was pretty resigned to having to go to a split-level, which I -and I promise I don't mean to offend anyone who has one or loves them!- hate.) Four actual bedrooms (one small, which works out just fine for us). Family room with fireplace in the basement, as well as an office room with a door and a closet. Storage room in the basement also, which helps with the lack of a garage. Nice backyard with a playset for youngest and trees along the fenceline; neighbors behind are on a cul-de-sac separated by the trees. A tree fort may be in our future! And about a block and a half away from Rock Creek Park. Also only a mile from the library, and a farmer's market, and some shopping. Four miles to Trader Joe's, and 2.5 miles to the nearest Metro stop for trips downtown. A really nicely updated kitchen! Yay! I have looked at so many horrifically bad updates on houses over the last few months. I would've loved gas, but I can live - once again - with a glass top stove. Full baths on each level, and the adult son/guest room is even on the main floor -- an added blessing for when our aging parents visit! So many, many pros and not too many cons. 🙂 Major downsizing is in order, as the square footage is a pretty substantial decrease from our cookie-cutter Texas McMansion, but I'm totally okay with that. We've been here less than 3 years, and some of the stuff we accumulated was stuff we knew wouldn't move with us from the beginning. We stayed nearly in the budget we were hoping for, and enough below our housing allowance to account, hopefully, for most utilities. I think selling a car and dropping the insurance on it will help too, plus dh can qualify for a mass transit subsidy/reimbursement for bus fares, so I think we'll find it works out okay money-wise. We are excited -- and the kids are getting there. I'm looking forward to field trip Thursdays!

Around here, only ds is really into strategy games. Dh enjoys them, but not like ds. I don't care for them at all, and middle dd is *very* resistant to board games in general because she always "feels stupid." I like games like Scrabble, but I'm the only one who does. Dh, ds and I all find fast-paced games like Dutch Blitz, but again dd doesn't, and youngest dd can't keep up at all. With all that, it's next to impossible to find a game we all like. And yet I persist! I got Bob Ross Happy Little Accidents specifically for middle dd, the artist. And it was a surprisingly good game that really was nearly a hit all the way around. Each player draws squiggles on 3 pieces of paper. All the pieces of paper are put into the center face down, and then each player randomly picks one. The host takes a game card, calls for a number between one and six, and reads the corresponding word. It might be an adjective, noun or verb -- you name it. The host turns over the timer and everyone has 30 seconds to try to turn the squiggle in front of them into something representative of the word. Because of the squiggle starts and the very short time, the pressure is completely off of everyone, especially the non-artistic types, to really produce "art" - although artistic dd did manage! The results are hilarious. After times up, everyone goes around and explains/argues how their drawings interpret the theme. So funny! Laugh out loud, tears rolling funny. You're supposed to play three rounds, then each player picks their personal favorite and everyone votes on it. With squirrels. That part got a little fuzzy to me. Rule-oriented ds liked it but the rest of us are considering some sort of family modification to end the game. Nonetheless, the whole drawing on the squiggles thing made it worthwhile.

Dutch Blitz!

I'm so glad this was a helpful suggestion! They were such a wonderful find for us -- and I'm really surprised and impressed by the amount of solid science in them. I did a little inward giggle of delight when my dd asked me how to pronounce " a-g-a-r" and started telling me about how they were testing for bacteria!

This looks great and I just ordered it - thanks! (I found it easier to find new copies on eBay).

science, dragons, magic, unicorns and tabby cats or even some of those 🙂 and who's maybe around 7 or 8 or 9 and ESPECIALLY if she's needing a push into chapter books, speed click to your Amazon tab, or run to your nearest bookstore, and get her some Zoey and Sassafras books! They are SO good. My young lady loves them, and read through them faster than the Dragon Master books (which is saying something) and was very sad when she got to the end of the 6th book and found out there's not (yet) a 7th.

I guess the reason that this still concerns me is that in the months prior to my ds's diagnosis, and with increasing frequency in the 4-6 weeks beforehand, everything happened in bouts. Because sometimes his body could keep up the insulin production, and other times it couldn't. So he'd have days/meals where he'd eat like *crazy* but most of the time, he ate normally. He had times when he had sudden, uncharacteristic meltdowns/moodiness/tiredness (coming in abruptly from play, grumpy, laying down, resting for an hour or two and then back to himself) and days when he was just fine. He'd have times when he was thirstier than normal, or even frantically thirsty, but then they'd go away. So I'd definitely still encourage ruling it out, especially since you've already got "see the doctor" on the table. PERSONAL STORY ALERT: Although looking back we could see subtle hints going back 6 months, in a single week my ds's symptoms went from concerning to alarming. The day I called to get him an appointment, the appointment line wanted to give me an appointment two weeks out. I still wasn't thinking type 1 but I was so unsettled that I insisted on a same day. Because we caught it early (by Type 1 standards), he was only in the hospital 36 hours. He wasn't in DKA. He didn't already have any permanent damage to his eyes. That's not how it usually goes. It can get bad so quickly, and often even doctors miss it.

Weight loss, thirst, hunger, sleep disturbances -- you need to rule out Type 1 immediately. Honestly it seems a bit unlikely because at his age his age I really think you'd be seeing urination issues also, but it is SO easy to check and SO dangerous to ignore.

My 8 yo is Lego obsessed. She loves the Lego Friends sets, and the Elves sets. She especially is always looking for sets that have animals she doesn't already have. She also likes sets with Technic pieces (a lot of the Elves and Friends sets will have these) for making working mechanisms -- winches, hinges, that sort of thing. She does have the advantage of being able to raid big brother's stash for Technic pieces when she has to, but she really prefers the brick colors of the "girl" Lego sets. And by that, I mean, not just pinks and purples, but because there tend to be lots of trees/tree houses/gardens/houses, there are more browns and greens and whites too. Today she re-purposed pieces into a working crane with an adjustable arm and a winch, as well as a rotating driver's cabin. I'm pretty sure they were all originally Friends pieces, so don't worry about being limited by them! There are plenty of base plates, plain bricks and fun specialty pieces to do lots of interesting builds! (It's perfectly okay to end up with multiples of Lego Mini-Dolls. My dd likes to be able to change out outfits, but what she really loves to do is completely remake the dolls. She paints their hair, paints new clothing, makes and bakes on new hair using Sculpey clay, etc...)

I have a pair of Reef flip-flops for my "indoor" flip-flops. I love them because they have good cushion and arch support and come in lots of cute styles. (To be honest, because we frequently move, I still have a pair of warmish real slippers from colder climate locations and I break them out a few days a year here, but if I didn't have them already, it really wouldn't be worth it to get them. I'd just add a pair of socks to the flip flops.)

IF you can see your PCM in the next few days, I'd give him/her one more chance to do the right thing -- lay it out: sudden onset stuttering, vision disturbances, and the lesions he's unconcerned about. If he doesn't work right then to get you a neurology referral (preferable would be to CALL neurology directly -- my dh's PCM did something similar for him earlier this year and he was seen within the hour), then go to the ombudsman, and then go out the building and back in to the ER. This really doesn't sound like anything to futz around with! You're at an MTF? Is it a major medical center? If you're in driving distance of Madigan, Reed or BAAMC, I'd go to the ER there instead of a smaller MTF.

I have the red and black one. It's fabulous. My favorite mop ever. I love being able to use whatever solution I want, and to pull a dirty pad off and throw it in the washer and put a new one on. And did you know you can even get a dust mop pad for it? I would spray paint it and have a good mop.

Spryte, I read your post in the middle of the night last night, and responded at about 3 a.m. It was pretty raw -- it's the first time I've ever written any of that out -- and I'm sure it was not easy for you to read in the midst of the crisis. I'm very sorry if I caused any pain, but I also know for me one of the worst parts was assuming that everyone would be both willing and able to help us, and the fact that the reality was so very different was a trauma in itself, on top of the obvious trauma occurring that brought us to the ER in the first place. My situation had a lot of similarities to your current situation. Please feel free to message me if you'd like more info or a BTDT ear.

Incredibly horrific, in my experience. But I think an ER visit is the standard route to inpatient care. Especially if you are in a poorly served county or state or an understaffed hospital. And if you are dealing with a juvenile or an elderly person. In our case, we brought the person in to the ER already dehydrated and not eating. The ER was full so there was a long wait on a gurney in the hallway for initial evaluation. Then more hallway waiting for psych eval. Then an more hallway waiting for a ER psych room, which opened about 12-14 hours after arrival. A psych ER room is a shell, no way to turn off/dim the lights, no TV, locked door. If you are sitting with a loved one, you are highly restricted in what you can have with you (i.e. no phone charger). You have to flag someone down to get in and out. If at all possible it would be better to have someone in the room with the patient and someone outside to advocate. For (safety concerns) /edit: I just remembered, the patient was conscious and therefore had to give consent and wouldn't/, the hospital wouldn't start an IV for fluids and the person continued to refuse to drink. Staffing quit offering after a few hours and quit monitoring vitals a few hours later. I'm pretty sure without family member presence, patient might have just been left alone until dead. About 30 hours after arrival, a bed opened at a facility about 3 hours away. After the ambulance arrived (a couple of hours later), the patient was transported. A family member rode along in the ambulance and I followed in another vehicle. Admittance to that facility happened at about 2 a.m. and then we went to find a place to stay for the night. I'm sorry if this sounds brutal and scary. It was, and I hope no one else's experience is ever as bad. But I wish I would've had even a tiny inkling that it could go this way when we headed to the ER that morning. Lessons learned: avoid weekend admit if at all possible (less staff, social workers, etc to work on placement). Better (far better) if there's already a relationship with a psychiatrist. Bring comfort items for yourself for a potentially long stay. Bring things to do. I translated every Spanish hospital brochure I found into English just to keep myself sane while waiting. Be prepared to advocate like you never imagined you'd have to and realize that despite that you might have very few options and very little control. I'm sorry you're in this position.

Thanks to each of you -- I appreciate having more things to think about and areas to consider. Some more background info: We used to live in Anne Arundel, south of BWI. There was a lot I liked about that area but it's too far away from dh's work this time, plus if we wanted to use public transportation into DC, we either had to take a MARC train to the Metro and that got expensive, or drive quite a ways to get to the New Carrollton station. We were in a townhouse before. I don't mind not having a yard at all, but we loved the fact that our unit had a line of trees behind it -- not much but enough to give the impression of some green space. So that's what I'm referring to with "wooded views." It really helped my dh cope with townhouse living better to have trees out back. And our townhouse community had walking paths through it, which we also enjoyed. Our (young) adult son will likely move with us. Our girls are very widely spaced, and the older one has pretty serious anxiety and insomnia, so having her share with a younger elementary age kid is just not a good idea. Hence our need for four bedrooms, even if they're closet-sized. We won't be moving until the summer (or maybe even later, if dh moves first without us, depending on what happens with our current house), and we're just starting to work on budget. But this was not expected, and the troops aren't excited, and the only way I can exert some level of control over the situation (in my mind, at least ? ) is to at least start trying to narrow my search area. We're not even sure if we'd rent again or try to buy, but (getting personal here, lol) I'm guessing if we rent we'd want to try to stay at a max of $2700/mo. I kind of like the idea of buying something older and doing some reno, but that's also a pretty scary thought. All things being equal, I'd rather live in NoVa than MD, but I don't think dh or I are willing to deal with the commute. We do homeschool (and I've hs'ed in MD before, so the portfolio process is familiar) but I'm not sure what my high schooler will end up doing. She does "class days" where we are now (like tutorials) for a couple of classes. The youngest and I will probably resume our previous schedule of Field Trip Thursdays. I'm a bit burnt out on co-ops at the moment so we'll probably do our own thing, at least at first.

UPDATED at the bottom of the thread Apparently a move is in our future, and I want to start honing in on the area where I will look. I'll be honest; I'm looking for the "perfect" neighborhood. Timing is bad for another move and I need to stack the cards as much as possible for a positive experience. "Perfect" means: -wooded views available -walking paths nearby -within walking distance to library, park, restaurant -reasonable commute to a Metro station -an easy car trip to a grocery store and a Target I'm thinking the Gaithersburg/Rockville area near the Shady Grove station is probably most feasible. The commute is to North Bethesda and I'm pretty sure Chevy Chase/Silver Springs are out of our budget. I'm fine with a townhouse but I think I have to have one this time a little bit bigger than what I think of as the "standard" DC-area townhouse. I need 4 actual bedrooms (not using the basement/ground floor bonus room as a bedroom) and an extra room of some kind for a family/game room besides the living room. Bedrooms don't have to be big, though. Of course a house would be fine too if I could find one in budget. But right now I don't need to find an actual place, just start narrowing down the area. Do you know of any neighborhoods/communities where I should look?

You know, you're right! I have two that I made - from wool yarn -- and I had forgotten to mention those. Currently they are all I use -- because I can't manage anything in the mitts we have. They really are wonderful, and the wool is great for heat protection. I guess I've just been fixated on mitts. ? Maybe I should just break out the loom again!

So I disappeared from the thread and went to BBB and Target to try on oven mitts... LOL No great success so far. I do have a new idea though! As soon as I can manage it, I'm going to visit a restaurant supply store and see what they have to offer! Surely professionals have a workable solution to this problem. @kitten18 I missed the ones you linked at BBB; I'll look for them when I go back. @gardenmom5 and @Acadie I'll see if I can find some lined silicone ones to try -- but I have a feeling they won't work for me. I never found the plain silicone ones I had to be flexible/smooshy enough to get a good thumb grip. I guess I'm just really picky! @Zebra and @Annie G I jumped over to the Williams Sonoma site and they have a sale going on. Free shipping ends tonight. Not sure I'm brave enough to try though! @Kassia My dh liked the Ove Gloves more than me. Maybe I should quit trying to be a minimalist on this and have his and hers getting-things-out-of-the-oven devices. Our drawers are really shallow so we've been compromising on a single pair neither of us likes. ? Thank you all for commiserating with me.

I have tried these -- a set is currently in the Goodwill bin. They're fine in that they're heat proof, but they're the worst for leaving dino-sized prints on the baked good edges. ?

Showing my age here, but it seems like when I was first starting out in the kitchen, oven mitts might not have been "heat proof to 5000 degrees!" "made of Nomex and retired firefighter sweat" "extends to your armpit" and all the other claims oven mitts make today, but it DID seem like I could get the *&^$&# things on easily enough, I could reach into the oven and pull out my cookies or muffins without leaving a huge Nomex-sized thumbprint in them, and as long as I didn't try to hold onto the silly baking pan while also doing yoga poses, all was good. I swear I've been through 5 or 6 oven gloves/mitts/variants in the past few years and in all of them, my thumb is at least an inch from the end of the thumb bit, plus it's at least as wide as my two big toes. I even tried the ove-glove but it can't get wet at all and I don't really like the tight cuff. It's not easy on/easy off. I *am* older than I used to be, but I really don't think this is a functional issue on my end. I mean, I'm not lacking coordination or strength to get things in and out of the oven. I just prefer not to do it bare-handed. Anyone have any favorites? Suggestions?

I got two of these a couple of weeks ago to try to (finally) get organized for this school year. So far, I'm loving them. They really disappear when the binder are on them (or spiral-bound TMs, which is what I mostly have this year, so they aren't very intrusive visually, but they do a good job of keeping things in place. But be sure to check your shelf height.