Well, if this truly is her dream. She would have to enlist before she turns 42 because that is maximum age. That being said, I can't imagine enlisting in the Army at 41. I enlisted when I was 18. It is physically demanding. I hope she is in decent shape. Deployments can destroy families. I've seen it happen over and over and over. I'm not saying it happens to all, but even those you think can make it sometimes don't. Divorce is rampant. Not to mention how traumatic it can be not seeing your kids for an entire year. I would encourage your sister to actually speak with someone who has done this before to get the "real" story and not a fairy tale that a recruiter will tell you. Hindsight is always 20/20 and if I had the choice to make again, I would have stayed far, faraway from the military. I was medically retired at 26 after my last tour in Iraq. The amount of therapy I needed was extensive. I've been home for three years and still have nightmares. I've attacked my husband in my sleep and have no recollection of it whatsoever. This is serious business. I hope she knows what she is getting herself into. I'm not saying the military is bad for everyone, but the demands required from a woman in the military these days is no joke.

I didn't have placenta previa, but I have been on bedrest 4 out of 5 pregnancies. It is miserable. I would suggest setting up shop right next to your bed (or the sofa) or wherever you will be hanging out for the day. I made separate baskets for each of the kids and their curriculum with all the materials they would need (to include pencil, paper, crayons, etc). If you have the room to set up a table for your little ones to work, next to where you will be I would definitely do that, too. That way you don't have to send them somewhere you can't see to do any independent work they may have. It can be done. It just takes a little organization. Make sure you follow your doctors orders. I know placenta previa is a big deal. The more weight and pressure on the uterus.....the more likely for preterm labor. Try to keep that little one in there as long as possible. I only say that because the first time I was on bedrest I thought I'd be fine to do things as long as I took it easy. I was VERY wrong and ended up with complications because I'm hard headed. Anyway, I will keep you and your one in my prayers. Blessings, Andrea

What are your opinions on Earobics? Is it helpful for those that need help with phonological awareness? Would you recommend something different? My son loves the computer so I would really like a computer program that would help develop these skills. All suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

I took Matthew to have a neurodevelopmental assessment. The report I was given states that he has developmental delays and and not a specific LD. They used the WIAT-II to assess him. The doctor didn't feel like he had any specific issues except that he just seems to take longer than other children to do things. He always has. He didn't crawl until 11 months. He didn't walked until 20 months. He didn't talk until he was almost 3. I put him in PS in hopes of helping him "catch up" and that was a nightmare. The school system had issues with him in a regular classroom because he is very busy and constantly did things to isolate him from other children and it made him feel inferior and stupid. It was the hardest 6-months ever having to send him to that place. The sad thing is he really wants to go back. He loved being around other children and really loved school with the exception of learning to read. I say that he is bright because I think he is bright. Maybe I'm bias. He is good at things that he takes an interest in. I was told he doesn't have a good memory, but the child can memorize things he likes. He loves computers and I'm amazed that he is able to just figure out everything without help. I suppose it just my opinion. There is nothing to really base it on. He is such a special boy. He's very kind and sweet. He loves making new friends. Learning to read is just crushing his spirit.

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to ask for prayers for my DH. He is employed now, but his job has been making him crazy lately. Long story short, he works for a christian web design/marketing agency and has been expected to work extra long hours and not be compensated for the past year. Technically he is salaried, but when he took the job they told him 40 hours a week, not 60. Plus, he works 1 1/2 hours away. So he's gone 15 hours a day. It's not an ideal situation and doesn't look to be getting any better in the future. Anyway, a job has opened up where we live (only 15 minutes away) that he is qualified for. The agency actually contacted him before they even posted the job after seeing his website/portfolio. He has an interview Thursday and it would be soooooo great if he could work closer to home. So please pray this goes well and that it's financially feasible. (Another problem we've ran into looking for jobs closer to home. They just don't pay what he makes in Raleigh.) Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble. Can you tell I'd really like for this to happen. Anyway, please pray for us. Blessings,

Heather, I just noticed we are both wives to super computer geeks. That is too funny. :lol:

Heather, I like your ideas. I actually bought AAS 1 a few months ago and just wasn't sure if he was ready. I know that my son learns best with a multi-sensory approach. That is the way he finally learned all of his letter sounds (after an entire YEAR of work). I appreciate everyone's responses. This has really been helpful. I guess I'm just looking for reassurance. DS is almost 8 and when I realized this, I started to panic because I thought he would be reading by now. The most frustrating part is I have 4 other children that learned to read with VERY little effort. Everything just clicked for them and they have no issues. I assumed with DS developmental delays that eventually it would be easy and it would just click. I just makes me sad because he tries so hard and he really wants to read. I hate to see him struggle so much and not feel "smart" even though I know he is very bright. :crying: How do you guys perservere? If I'm this frustrated, I can't imagine how he feels. Anyway, thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it. Blessings, Andrea

Heather, My son is having the same type of difficulties you described. He knows all the proper sounds, but he cannot BLEND. It is so frustrating. We have worked on this forever and he just doesn't get it. He also has problems segmenting and with medial and ending sounds. He's getting better with medial and ending sounds, but he totally doesn't get segmenting. So did LiPs actually help with your little ones blending? If not, what did help? I would just hate to spend that much money on something if it's not going to be helpful. He has made progress over the past year. Just not as much progress as I had hoped for. Thanks for the replies so far. Andrea

Okay....the nitty gritty. I have been homeschooling for 4 years. My children are DD 11, DS 7, DS 6, DS 6, DS 5, and DD2. Recently all, but my 7 yo have started public school. They are all extremely bright and doing fantastic so far. The reason DH and I decided to put them into school is because DS 7 has been struggling for awhile and I wanted to focus my attention on him. I have taken him to be evaluated. It didn't really help much, in that, all that we found out is that he is "developmentally delayed." This wasn't very surprising because I already knew that. He's been "developmentally delayed" in all milestones since he was born. Anyway, DS7 went to public school last year for about 6 months and it was unbearable for him. The teacher was snotty and rude. She actually told me that DS would never learn anything unless we medicated him. (He has ADHD and we have chosen not to medicate at this time.) Anyway, it was bad and he's been home ever since. Now to my issue. We just finished ABeCeDarian Level A-1 and we were getting ready to move on to A-2 when I discovered that DS has memorized all the words. He can read them while doing the lessons, but when it comes time to read those same words in a book or elsewhere he has no idea. He is very easily discourages and needs a lot of praise to get through a lesson. I don't know where to go from here. I'm starting to panic because he is almost 8 and can't read at all. He can't sound out anything and I don't know what to do. I've been trying to stick with the same program. I thought things would eventually click, but they haven't and I'm really freaking out. I went back and assessed his phonemic awareness and he still has issues with rhyming, segmenting, manipulating sounds, medial, and ending sounds. He does well with syllables. I have looked LiPs. It is very expensive and I'm worried about the learning curve as well. I have also looked at Earobics. I'm thinking we should address the phonemic awareness issues first. So any suggestions would be great. I'm really freaking out here. Has anyone BTDT and on the other side? Thanks! Andrea

I know that feeling. I'd like to start charging my toddler for cleaning crayon off her wall. I don't know how the kid keeps finding crayons! To make it worse, she always says, "but I drawed a pretty picture." So she does something wrong and then I feel guilty for cleaning it off the wall, too. :)

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I have an outlook that I love, but I do want to warn that the trunk space is very limited. When we went on vacation getting three suit cases in the back was impossible. They were medium size suitcases, too. So if that is important to you, go with something bigger.

I had an endometrial biopsy done after I kept getting large ovarian cysts. The way it is done is similar to a pap. It is more uncomfortable than a pap, but it's not the worst thing ever. It doesn't take very long...maybe a minute or two. It really sounds worse than it is. Hang in there.

OUrs is 200 per person who has a card. It's awesome.

Sorry to hear that you're feeling bummed. I hate letting others down as well. Especially when they've spent time organizing events and such. I've been on both sides of the fence on this one so I understand both points of view. I have a tendency to over commit myself and have had to back out of a coop class at the last minute recently. I felt like I was going to lose my mind if I had one more thing to do. I've organized events as well and had people back out at the last second, too. It can very frustrating, but I knew who was being flaky and who really had issues and weren't able to attend. It's best to do what you think is right for your family. Something that is stressing you out is just going to end up being a burden anyway and you'll find a lot less joy in doing it. (Ask me how I know.) If this person is a good friend, she'll understand you having to drop the class. Life happens and people need to be willing to understand that. If something this small ruins a friendship, you are better off without it. Imagine how he/she would react in a real crisis. KWIM?

For the age of your kiddos, you may end up doing some of the work. I have one child who doesn't like to cut and paste anything. I had to do a lot of work for his lapbooks. All of mine found them very fun and love to show them to anyone who walks in our house.

Leslie, Sorry to hear that your sweet baby is sick. We've had something similar go around our house. Sadly, it started with me and at first I thought I was getting a migraine. Turned out to be all the symptoms you just stated. I tell you it was one of the worst headaches I have ever had. The next morning, my 2 yo went through the same thing. Then all the rest of my kidlets were sick. (We have six so it's been fun.) Today the last sick one is laying on the coach watching Sleeping Beauty....I think he's okay now. It's really weird because despite the headache, fever , and chills, the only one who got sick to the stomach was me. The biggest complaint here was the awful headache and fever. Weirdest flu-ish symptoms ever. I hope your little one feels better very soon. Blessings,

Ours play soccer, basketball, and will be playing baseball/t-ball in the spring. All of our kidlets really love sports.

Well it sounds like the boys will like it. I just didn't want to fork out a lot of money for something they don't really like. I think we may give this a try.

I have four boys ages 7, 6, 6, and 5. A friend vaguely told me about Cub Scouts and I kind of want to get an idea of what it is. I also wanted to know about cost. Also how much does it cost. The uniforms looked a little expensive. Is that the bulk of the cost or are there other things as well. I'm very challenged when it comes to activities for boys. I had 3 sisters growing up and never heard of these things. Thanks!

I have had great results with Pep Boys. We had to replace the brand name tires on our two year old car that has only 35,000 miles on it and had all the recommended services done. I've read numerous reviews about the tires that come on newer Saturn SUVs and they are crap....brand name or not. My dad is a mechanic and told me that he's had the best service, prices, and tire quality at Pep Boys. I agree. They were really fast and very friendly. Plus, if you buy 3 tires you get the fourth one free (by rebate....I got the rebate in four weeks). I called Wal-mart, Costco, and Sam's on none could beat the price after the rebate. HTH,

It is possible to get full custody. I have full custody when x-dh and I divorced. He wasn't a bad person or anything, but I wanted to be able to make decisions regarding his education without it being a battle. My sister has joint custody of her children and there is a clause stating that if they can't decide on any specific issue the person who has primary physical custody (my sister) gets the final say. Maybe that is something you can pursue. I'm sorry your going through this. I know divorce turns everything upside down and sometimes the things people do to be spiteful is atrocious. I hope everything goes well for you.

I started using Happy Phonics with my 7yo DS. We just started at the beginning and I checked to make sure he was proficient in area and if he was we would move on. If he wasn't we would keep practicing in that area. You could probably skip the initial step which is the alphabet because if he's reading then he obviously knows the alphabet. This really worked for us because my son has some developmental delays and this allowed me to forge ahead and focus on areas that he needed more help on at same time. Hopefully that makes sense.

I laminated everything. It's kind of an obsession I have. I punched two holes in them and attached them together with brass fasteners. I have used mine with 4 children so they really needed to be laminated. I guess it just depends on your preference.

Impish, I have read several of your post over the last few months. While I have no advice to give, I just wanted to tell you that you have the patience of a saint. My mother does similar things and that is why I live 6 hours away from her. I love her dearly, but she drives me nuts. Anyway, :grouphug:'s for you.