I agree that you made a commitment but they also made a commitment to you. I know I homeschool because I want what is best for my child. If I was in a situation like yours I would run. You don't need a coop to be a successful homeschooler, I am sure your dd will be fine. And perhaps you can find a co-op that places kids into classes based on abilities rather than age.

:iagree: yep they work well

It really depends on the week as I have 5 kids to help out with the housework. My 12 year old is responsible daily for picking up his mess. My kids are all old enough and to pick up after themselves. My kids are responsible for on a rotating schedule: lawn work sorting, folding, putting away laundry (dh or I do the washing) unloading the dishwasher (only I am allowed to load) setting and clearing the table taking out the trash feeding the animals changing litter-boxes vacuuming cleaning bathrooms and just general cleaning as needed basically I am not a maid but I don't mind keeping a clean house, I just want reasonable help and I think that they should learn to do basic house chores.

This gave me chills! What an amazing daughter you have. Bragging rights totally deserved.

My male cat cries at night unless he is locked in the room with ds (15) and ds (13). He loves to come up to my room in the attic but our three female cats don't like him and attack him if he comes near them. I told my husband he would cry less if we got him a kitten as a friend. he won't go for my brilliant idea though. :001_huh:

Have a support system in place (friends, family) and don't be afraid to ask for help when it's needed.

I don't have twins but my 3rd and 4th were 13 months apart. I imagine they were easier that twins because at least I was only nursing one at a time. I might be considered slightly crazy though since I think it's much easier to have kids close together. I had all five of mine in less than 6 years.

Thanks guys. I am just getting everything in order so that I can send the notification in on Monday. I should have clarified the whole mom time thing. My ds (12) had a really tough year last year, involving teacher bullying which in turn caused his horrible anxiety to worsen. Anyhow this was supposed to be our year to be supported and have desperately needed one on one time. We were planning on possibly pulling ds (9) out next year but I just don't want to waste another year of educational growth. Anyhow thanks again.

:iagree: Sorry I have nothing to add, I don't know if cats are like kids where they grow at different rates. Enjoy your beautiful cats.

A direct quote from a website sums it up pretty succinctly: "because Wall Street’s actions made tens of millions of people dramatically poorer through no fault of their own."

I shower so quickly that I don't turn the water off. I actually wash the entire time I am in and then rinse so I don't think turning the water off would conserve anything. I am usually only in for a maximum of 5 minutes but usually less than that.

Congrats!!! We had our only girl 4th and then had another boy. I love having a daughter and I am sure you will too. They are a little different especially when they get older, but not too much. Honestly at first the only weird thing was changing her diaper because at least for me it seemed harder to get clean, iykwim. Anyhow enjoy your daughter, enjoy buying dresses especially until she stops wanting to wear them and enjoy buying pink things if that's what you want.

Over the past year we have been getting each of our dc ipod touches. They love them. We got them from apple because we worry about getting electronic devices from other sources but to save money we got refurbished ones. We got them 3rd generation ones (they don't have cameras) and they only have 8gb but they are perfect for kids. They keep them entertained in long car rides or when have to sit in waiting rooms. We prefer them to ds or any other handhelds because they can grow with them. In fact ds (15) reads his scriptures on them every night in bed because then he doesn't need a light. I don't know what I would do without my ipod touch, I love it.

Should she have to be afraid because she is Muslim? How many of us have to worry about how we will be viewed because of our religion? Not many I think. Look back on 9-11 of this year a suburban housewife was detained for 6 hours because of her ethnicity, not because of anything she did. This world post 9-11 is insane and people are okay with it. That frightens me. Leaving thread now, I don't want to say anything that might get me in trouble around here.

King James, it's what I have always used and it's what our church uses.

What amazes me is when people thinks it makes you a liberal if you recycle. I was amazed when our community started talking about mandatory recycling and everyone was up in arms about it. They weren't up in arms about being told to do something by the government because I could totally see that but they were up in arms because they thought recycling was a waste. That kind of floored me. Yes I am a liberal, hippie, greenie but I guess I have never understood why anyone would think recycling a can would make you a liberal. Not sure I understand the logic. I mean my grandpa was a conservative logger but he loved the environment because he relied on it and wanted a clean world for his grandkids. That didn't make him a socialist, it made him a respecter of God's creations.

Slightly off topic but I am so sorry that you have to be afraid. That should speak volumes to all and it does to me. The fact is our freedom is becoming less and less, and when citizens are afraid to google something because it is about a supposed muslim terrorist and they are afraid because they themselves are muslim we should be very afraid. I am so sorry.

My youngest child (ds, 9) is in public school in the 4th grade. He is bored to death, the school refuses to put him in the self-contained gifted class even though we have asked repeatedly. He tests in the 99% percentile and has a full scale IQ of 143 but he is autistic. The district doesn't think they can serve him in the self-contained class even though he is in a mainstreamed class. I think it's a cop-out but I really don't want to expend the energy to fight them. What I really want to do is pull him out and homeschool him. He is bored to death. He is so far above grade level but is being held back because they aren't set up to allow him to move at his own pace. He does have an awesome teacher who brings a lot of science into the class but the reading and math is just way too easy for him. I am sort of worried about his services such as speech, OT and social skills but I can work those out at home. Honestly I haven't been impressed with the quality of the services. So what do I do? We went out to lunch just dh and ds (9) and we were asking him about math, he said they do some multiplication but it's all very basic math. I showed him a few basic equations and gave him no assistance and asked him to solve for x, he did it with no problem. He totally gets it. I feel like I am missing this window. I feel like he could learn so much at home. He wants to be at home. My ds (12) doesn't really want him home because he enjoys his mom time which I understand. But dh and I really think that starting monday we should just keep him home. So what would you guys do?

:iagree: I agree completely. My children are not at dating age yet, we don't allow dating until age 16. But even then I don't see the value in it at a young age. I think it's hard to know what you want in a partner when you don't yet know yourself.

Ugh...I have dogs that need to be trained. But I have children that need to be loved and taught but not in a million years will I ever see the need to train a child. Yeah I read the first few paragraphs, that is as far as I have ever been able to get in the Pearl's books. The thought of children growing up being treated like that just makes my soul weep.

I married young, I had just turned 20. I had no direction from my parents. Had I had some direction I may have made other choices but alas that doesn't matter as I am happy where I am. But marrying young isn't always easy, I know my marriage has had it's ups and downs, it's difficult when two young people get married and don't really know what the other wants out of life. I would not discourage my children to marry young, I just hope that I can be there to talk to them about their choices and give them advice and some direction. I think the best advice I could give for a successful young marriage would be for them to truly know themselves and trust their instincts. I was not sure of myself, I needed someone else to tell me what I wanted, and I don't want my children to be like that. BTW I was forced to work at a young age and take on loads of responsibilities that I was too young to handle. I don't think it made me stronger or better adapted. It made me go looking for love in all the wrong places. I am trying to raise my children in a loving, respectful, secure home and I hope that when it comes time for them to marry their security will help them be prepared.

Good luck on your surgery. And please, please, please take the time to let your body recover which is such a hard thing for moms to do. :grouphug:

Wow! That sounds like an awesome experience that your kids will always remember.

My heart aches for any child being raised in a home using such methods. How does one even get to the point where they would think any of that is ok?

:lol: Spoken like a true cat owner...oops I meant spoken like one who is owned by a cat.