Love mine. I'm in heaven as it has cured a lot of *my* back pain but my husband's has not improved. He thinks ours is too firm. Maybe you could go test one out at a mattress store.

The reason is bothers me is because it offended my son. He thought it was rude. He was uncomfortable. He was at the YC under this persons authority and supervision. Even though he answered the questions correctly he felt put on the spot and made to feel stupid. I don't expect my children to be perfect. Just that people would have some manners and boundaries.

Thank you so much for your kind responses this far. I am still so mad this morning. I posted some thoughts on my blog just to get it off my chest. I doubt it will make a difference with anyone but I had to get my thoughts out. The YC worker is there on/off. I don't know if it was just temporary or what. I do plan on speaking with the director, I just don't know what I am going to say yet. Here is what I said on my blog; May I get something off my chest? Homeschooling my children is a personal family decision that was not taken lightly. It is a decision we made because it is the right thing for our family and children. I do not think homeschooling is a good choice for all families. Our family is not in competition with public or private school children or even other home school children. We do not think we are better than others because of our choice to home school. I would not be condescending or rude to other families who chose to send their kids to public or private school. There seems to be quite a few people who assume that home school families really don't do anything. These same people make inaccurate assumptions and feel the need to quiz home school children and ask them questions based on what they think that child should know. This in intrusive, insulting, offensive and singles out the child making them feel less than. There are so many different methods and curricula that homeschoolers use. Most of the time it is completely different that what public schools use. Maybe your fourth grader is studying The Civil War so you think that all fourth graders should know everything about The Civil War. So, of course, if my fourth grader (who is home schooled) is not studying the The Civil War and does not answer your question right, he must not be getting a proper education. I can not tell you how inaccurate and frustrating this is. It would be the same thing as me asking a public schooled child if they know the Latin Declensions, The first Sumerian Dictator, the components of formal logic, or how to apply the Pythagorean Theorem all while raising my eyebrows and thinking they are not educated if they can not answer. Maybe they know these things, maybe not. What an uncomfortable situation for a child to be in. The point is that when others go out of their way to single out a child and ask them questions like this it is really just a person who is not properly informed on home schooling trying to prove their bias. It is rude and hurtful to the child. Most home school moms I know would be happy to talk about their curriculum, method, and lessons. If you are curious, just ask her. You would be surprised what you may learn and how your perception may change.

quiz your children upon hearing they are home schooled? In the past week I had a Youth center worker quiz my 9 year old on math problems and actually had him write down the answers. (I was not there at the time) and a librarian asked my other son (6 yr. old) if he was home schooled then when he said yes, she asked him to read to her. He read her a whole book and surprised the heck out of her. What do you say? I would be very interested in what you would say about the Youth Center worker. I'm in mamma bear mode and just ticked. I don't go around quizzing other people's children. :glare:

Is there a youtube video, or anywhere online that shows a typical public school day? Something you may have shown your children to give them an idea of how it is? I know we could go to a local school to observe but I'm not ready to do that at this point. I just want to show them how a typical PS day would be set up. I have looked but can't really find what I'm looking for.

Hmmmmm. I'm thinking it is probably the same kind of thing. I have not researched it yet though. Let me look it up in my Encyclopedia of Country Living. I'm sure it will be in there. It is my Country Bible. :lol:

Oh, I am so sorry.:grouphug: I hope you feel better soon.

Thank you so much. You guys are just the sweetest. I really appreciate your kind comments.

No animals are allowed inside. We have sprayed the front/back porch and treated with several things as well. These are sand fleas. I don't know if it makes a difference or not. We have a lot of sand around the property. The animals have been treated every month and we are pretty careful about that. I have not heard of Flea Fix. I will have to look that up. I do know that the pest companies have been turning people away because they are so busy just with fleas this year. At this point I am willing to sprinkle salt, borax or magic fairy dust. The worst part is that I am a very uptight/clean person. Having bugs in the house drives me insane and makes me feel dirty.:glare: Thanks for the suggestions. I will look up the methods mentioned that I have not heard of.

Well, I thought my disclaimer at the beginning of this post was enough of a warning. Someone from here left a comment that I was a murderer. Interesting. I'll have to digest that for a while. Everyone has a different perspective. That is certainly not mine. ;)

I never knew you could make broth with the feet. Interesting. :lol: Thanks!

I did everything I could before using poisons. I am against chemicals and endured various failed treatments before deciding to use them. We vacuumed and cleaned very well, very often. As I have said, we have no carpet anywhere in the house. I used diatomaceous earth (which is organic and made of diatomes) several times, various home remedies, cedar chips etc..... My poor son had bloody bites all over and we were all miserable. The chemicals knocked some out but they are still here. This has been going on for 3 months. It is better but still a problem. Really, what would you do if your kids/family were miserable and nothing was working?

:grouphug: This is the dilemma of every military wife. It is so hard to loose good friends and people but truly, you can do so much these days through Skype or other web-cam chats (my girlfriends and I have coffee together that way) phone calls, letters and visits. You can still keep very close with a little work and technology. Don't stop making friends or you will miss out on some really wonderful people. Even if it has to be long distance. :grouphug:

Hmm. I have not heard of salt. We are in Alabama and the fleas have been really bad here. We do not have animals in the home either and we have had issues with fleas. I have had an exterminator out 3 times and we still have them. I have heard burning cedar helps. What does the salt do? The same thing as diotomaceous earth? DM is supposed to get in the joints of the fleas exoskeleton and cut into them to kill them. It did not work for us though. I don't have a stitch of carpet in my house. All hard wood and slate. I learned that fleas don't actually "live" on their host. They only get on an animal when they need a blood fix. They like to live in cracks and corners where there is debris like hair/lint or near feces like a cat box. If you have a sure-fire way, I'd love to hear it. My exterminator can't even get rid of them. We have had the house professionally bombed and sprayed, even the couch. The week after the last treatment we had fleas. :glare:

I tossed them with the scraps. After they danced around, that is.:lol:

I will be glad to post after we get the crosses. I'm not sure when I'll get them though. I usually don't ever use the skin on chickens. The only real use I see with the skin is with frying. I guess it would be good for soups too. I fry chicken maybe 1-2 times a year. I found an interesting way to wrap them for the freezer. You put them in a bag, kind of like a produce bag or very small trash bag. Then, you dip the bag in the sink filled with warm water (being sure not to let any water back in the bag) the warm water expels the air and creates and airtight seal over the whole bird. I also put them in another bag just to make sure they were good and sealed. I checked on them this afternoon and they were frozen solid with no ice crystals at all.

Yes, it is the Encyclopedia of Country Living. I love love love that book. It was very helpful.

Don't click on the link below if you are squeamish, or hate seeing blood, guts, or animals used for meat. http://www.herdingducks.blogspot.com

Oh, Okay. No it is not laid out quite like that. It is laid out day by day. I tried to copy/paste but it did not come out right. Basically, you would fill out all the information for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc. You can make it so lessons are repeated every day or certain days. It is not really a block plan and does not really look like a lesson planner.

Hmmm. My brain is not processing the top to bottom concept? I know I can change the order of subjects and can drag things around/rearrange to suit my day. I'm sorry I am such a simpleton tonight but what does top to bottom mean?

I'm with ya woman. After a whole summer of working my tail off, sweating, and having kids run around like crazy fools, I am so ready for a predictable, steady, calm, and repetitive routine. It is hard to balance everything. I hope this year will be a good one for you.

I can't say enough about http://www.myhomeschoolplan.com I joined when it was free. It is only around $3.00 per month now. I think it is worth it. I have been scheduling the entire year of lessons/activities/assignment/field trips for all three of my kids. You can do so much with this planner, including printing it out, rescheduling, adding in supplimental materials like DVD's or projects etc.. Go and play around with it. You may find it useful.

My daughter accidentally slammed my Americana's leg in the barn door. Twice. Oh, my. When she went to shut the door she heard a squawk and the door would not shut but she did not bother looking down. So, she slammed it again and heard another squawk and finally looked down and realized what happened. The chick is hopping around so pathetically. I moved the chick to a large box on my front porch with food/water. I cleaned the wound with iodine. I don't know what else to do. Can you look at a video of my chick and tell me what you think is best to do? Besides banning my daughter from the barn? Just kidding. She feels horrible. They both need some TLC. http://www.blogspot.com

Here is mine... http://www.herdingducks.blogspot.com

I thought you all would get a kick out of this. It made me chuckle. (Click to enlarge) :lol: