joannqn
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Posts posted by joannqn
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I used to set it at 70 (day) and 68 (night). Do to money issues, I went down to 68 (day) and 64 (night).
Our house is so drafty that it gets really cold in here quickly. Even at 64, it is on and off constantly. When our thermostat broke in the spring, our inside temp. dropped down to the low 50s so I had to take the kids out to get warm.
On a side note...
My microwave freaks out when it gets down to 64/65 degrees in the house so we have to remember to unplug it every night.
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I used to spend a lot of time putting on makeup...foundation, blush, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick. Then I quit due to time and energy constraints. Recently, I tried a simpler routine. I brushed on bronzer with a large blush brush, added a light amount of eyeliner, quickly added some neutral eyeshadow with a brush using a few quick swipes with a brush (those foam applicators take longer), and some lipgloss. It literally only took a couple of minutes total and a few people I see regularly noticed and commented on how good I looked.
For my long hair, I dry it with a round brush. I blow dry the bangs at the roots to give it some lift and then use the round brush to curl the ends in a little. I don't use any products; I hate products. About three weeks ago I went "no poo" (using baking soda rinse for shampoo and vinegar rinse for condition) and have noticed that my hair has more volume.
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Will this affect potential pregnancies? Do I need to worry about getting pregnant while I take this? I have a womanly appt coming soon and think I might just talk to her about this. Thanks so much.
BTW, so happy for you. :001_smile:
From I read online, you can get pregnant while using progesterone cream but you have to be careful not to stop using it if you think you may be pregnant. If you are, you need to keep using it until about 3 months along and then you have to taper it off gradually. Stopping it suddenly can cause a miscarriage so you have to wait until the placenta is making enough progesterone to overcome the sudden decrease from stopping the cream.
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Wow! I so needed to read this post. I've been living with really horrible cycles since my first one...violent mood swings, bloating, cramps, leg pain, fatigue, and very heavy flow. I'm completely non-functional for a week each month and essentially have to let the house go and give the kids a few days off of school.
Now I just need to find a GYN. Every time I've tried to get help from a doctor, I get handed some form of birth control most of which have intolerable side effects for me.
Anyone know a really, really good GYN near Tacoma, WA?
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Tupperware has a wonderful product called FridgeSmart for keeping produce fresh and good. Their fridgesmart keeps romaine lettuce good about two weeks for me. If I don't get around to putting it in the container right away and it gets a bit wilted, I can put it in the container and it will crisp right back up as good as new.
They have a couple different sizes of rectanular ones. I use the largest for romaine.
They also have a round one that's good for iceburg.
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Strange names don't bother me unless they are the new brand of really funky spellings.
I've had issues with my name my whole life...
When I was dating my now husband, and even after he proposed and I accepted, I didn't know how to pronounce his last name. I was too embarrassed to ask my new fiance how to pronounce my future last name so I waited to hear him introduce himself with his last name so I'd know it. I think I waited a month or so. I didn't tell him this story until a few years after we were married. BTW, most people pronounce our last name "coon" or "con" when it's pronounced just like saying the letters QN. It's only four letters long and I have to spell it every time.
My first name is a common name but it is always misspelled and occasionally mispronounced. "JoAnn...capital A, no space, no e" is what I have to say to get it spelled correctly. Many people have called me Joan.
My mom tried to name me Tempest. As a kid, I thought that would be a cool name.
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A membership for the local (or best if you have more than one) children's museum makes a great gift for kids the age yours are. Some memberships aren't that expensive and you can go all year long.
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We went to Portland in June with our virtual academy for an extended field trip and blogged it with lots of photos. The kids had a ball. We used the attractions pass that someone already mentioned and went to:
OMSI -- My kids' #1 favorite place in the world second to Disneyland. Five hours wasn't anywhere near enough time for that museum.
Portland Zoo -- A very nice zoo. They have animotronic dinosaurs on a trail for an extra cost (a few dollars per person) that my kids loved.
Children's Museum -- My kids love children's museums. My kids rank it evenly with our favorite children's museum. It's by far better than the Tacoma one.
End of the Oregon Trail - Educational. There's a small self-tour, a guided presentation of what a mercantile store would carry/what the families would need, and a movie. The kids found it somewhat boring but I found it interesting and informative.
World Foresty Discovery Museum - Ok museum about forestry.
The zoo, children's museum, and world forestry museum share the same parking lot.
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La Leche League Check their website for groups in your area and give the leader a call. They are very friendly and are in the position to help moms.
Bradley Method You can look up teachers here and give them a call. My experience is that they are also a friendly, wanting-to-help bunch. Many of them believe strongly in natural childbirth, breastfeeding, vaccine choice, etc.
Midwives You can use this website to look up some midwives in your area. I'd start with ones that work in free standing birth centers and home. You can also find them in the phone book.
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It will get better. It will also come and go. Over time, you'll learn when you need to ease up and give yourself a break without feeling guilty about it. During those times, you can ask the kids for more help around the house, have them do more independently, give them other things that they can do on their own, or give them some time off. You'll also learn when you've had enough time to rest and need to push yourself back into action.
I've been about as low as you can get and made it back. Now I experience a cycle of lows and highs but never get that low anymore. I've learned how to deal with it and accept the differences in my energy levels. Some things that help me are:
Getting the kids to help more. We work together to get things done. For example, all three of us work together on putting laundry away. I sit and fold while the kids put the items where they go. Or we'll set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and pick up the main rooms.
Working independently on school. I chose curriculum that my kids could do independently. They do all of their language arts and math on their own. My younger will ask his sister or me if he needs help. My older will ask when she needs help. I don't teach these areas at all. Because I enjoy it, we do science, history, and literature (read alouds) together. I don't stress skipped days if I don't have the time or energy to do science or history.
Give them things they can do on their own. Some days, I'll give them something they can work on that's not our regular school work. Maybe I'll give them an art project to do or tell them to watch a video (documentary) or read certain books.
Go on a field trip. Sometimes I'll do something fun instead of doing school. I enjoy field trips as much as, and sometimes more than, my kids. We'll take the day off and go somewhere. It's still educational so they are still "doing school."
Sometimes we'll just take a day or week off entirely. I have to do this for 2 or 3 days every month during my cycle; I just can't function those days no matter how much I try. They are still learning, just not doing academics.
And then sometimes, you just have to push yourself back into action. There are a few ways I do this. One is to put on energetic music and get silly, dancing around with my kids and while doing chores. Another is to use a timer set for 15 minutes (or 10 or 5 if that's all I think I can handle) and work as quickly as I can in one room before moving on to 15 minutes in another room. Getting the house picked up can energize me and make me feel better. Another is to hyperfocus on a project I've been stressing about and get it done. The relief of having it done is a good pick-me-up.
It sounds to me like you are doing fine. If your kids are working ahead, you don't need to worry about it. You seem aware of what's going on so you'll know when you need to do something different.
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You could ask LLL leaders, midwives, and Bradley method childbirth teachers in your area. They would likely know the best in the area because the people they come in contact with often choose that route.
We found our ped through our Bradley childbirth teacher. He is well known amoung LLL, midwives, and natural childbirth advocates for being pro extended breastfeeding and accepting parent's right to make medical decisions for their children.
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I feel safer at some branches than others.
Having said that, we usually go to the downtown library because it has the best selection and that's the library that I feel is the least safe. While outside the library, they are not allowed to run very far ahead of me. That part of town is full of homeless people, drug addicts, drunks, and violent people. We've had to walk by people staggering down the street or witness near brawls as people yell, scream, and curse at each other. There are two security guards staffed by the library. Their desk is outside the bathroom. Only one person (or parent with children) is allowed in the bathroom at one time and you cannot enter the bathroom until they have inspected it. They inspect the bathroom again when you leave. That's because they often find drug needles in the bathroom. There is another bathroom upstairs in the children's section. It is locked at all times. You have to get the librarian to unlock it and only children are allowed to use it.
Despite that, I allow my 6 and 8 year old to wander the children's section (which is upstairs) while I'm wandering around the children's section looking for books to supplement our curriculum. I check on them very frequently though. They are not allowed to leave the children's section for any reason. If an adult tries to make them leave, they are to yell "stranger" and fight with all they have in them. They are VERY well versed in stranger safety so I feel they can handle that kind of freedom even in that library.
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I'd have no problems with the speech requirement. I was in JROTC in high school and was required to give speeches this long and longer at times for that class. One assignment that I remember well was having to teach a full length class on the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I had to learn the material myself, create my own overhead transparencies, and get excused from all my other classes so I could teach it to all six periods. I also had to create, administer, and grade a test for the material I taught. The test was part of each student's grade. I was graded on how well the students learned the material from my class. I had occasional teaching responsibilities in a few other classes as well. I know it is possible for students to teach well and for other students to learn from a student teacher.
I wouldn't worry about students teaching the material. It sounds like he's such a poor teacher, that they might actually do better with the students doing the teaching. It is possible for students to teach well. For the subjects not covered well, students can supplement with their own reading and research.
I do have a problem with the test scores. If part of the class did poorly and part of the class did well, I would place the responsibility on the shoulders of the students. If the whole class did poorly, the responsibility is entirely on the teacher. Something needs to change...either his teaching or his test or both.
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Back pain is so hard to live with. I used to have chronic stomach pain (bear with me as it is related). The MD told me I had heart burn and to drink Mylanta. He told me forget the measuring spoon, just take a swig. I kept bottles of Mylanta at my home, at my work, and in my car and drank it several times a day for two years. Later a specialist told me, "I don't know what's wrong. Take this medicine. If it works it will tell me something; if it doesn't work it will tell me something."
Meanwhile, I developed chronic lower back pain and headaches. I started going to a chiropractor but he only made it worse. It got so back that I constantly paced. I couldn't sit for more than a minute and couldn't stand for more than a minute. I attended church pacing....sit, stand, pace, sit, stand, pace....the whole time. I was in severe pain.
I changed chiropractors. Things slowly got better and within a few months my back pain was better and my stomach pain went away. He explained that every major organ is attached to your spine somewhere. If your spine is out, it tugs on the organ attached at that spot and can cause pain in that organ. Thus, the vertebra where my stomach was out was out. Once he fixed it, my stomach wasn't being pulled on anymore and stopped hurting.
I went to him weekly for about four years. Now I almost never have lower back pain. Occasionally, I get that same kind of stomach pain. When I do, I head to the chiropractor right away because I know my lower back is out. He usually can fix it again in one visit. Occasionally, I throw my neck out and cause myself severe neck pain and headaches. It's so bad, I'm nauseous. He can usually fix it in one or two visits. Sometimes, my job pops out of it's socket and hurts. Dentist told me I had TMJ and needed expensive fixes. Chiropractor pops it back in place in one visit.
Oh, and he cured my daughter of colic in one visit too. Three hours of crying every night, gone after one visit. Her neck was out.
Bottom line, a GOOD chiropractor can fix a lot more than just your back. It's worth trying again with a different one.
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College:
My husband got his bachelor's owing only a very small amount which we paid off within a year or so of his graduating. If I had stayed in college (I dropped out), I would have owed nothing because I had a full scholarship at a private university.
I don't have a complete plan for my kids yet as we are too far away to know what will be available. It things remain the same, my plan is to use CLEP, SAT II, and AP tests for credit and/or attending community college before they graduate. From there, we'll see what they want. I will expect them to use a variety of work, savings, scholarships, and possibly some loans. We'll will help them if we are in a position to do so by then.
Basics:
Most people consider our house small. Our family of five lives in a 1250 square foot house with three bedrooms and one bathroom. We live in one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. I can keep our grocery bills (food, household supplies, bath & beauthy supplies, diapers/wipes) under $400 a month. Our tap water is safe to drink. We have enough clothing to keep us warm. Our heat & electricity bills are high because our house is old but we live somewhere cold enough to make heat a necessity. I've had an urgent medical issue come up when our phone wasn't working and our neighbors usually aren't home during the day so a phone is a required necessity but we only pay $3.45 a month for voice over ip. My husband's work requires a car so we must have one; his is paid off. I've lived without a second car and do so again if needed. My husband's work requires a cell phone. My husband's job requires high speed internet. We consider everything else to be extra. We qualify for HUD housing and children's medical. We are just barely over the limit for WIC and basic food assistance. We don't consider ourselves poor.
Depression:
I think many in this country will have a very hard time dealing with a major depression if we have one. They'll have no choice but to lose most of what they have because of debt load and their high cost of living. We will be okay regardless of what happens. Because of our low cost of living, my husband will be able to earn what we need to maintain close to our current standard of living. In a worst case scenario, there's more I can cut and I could go to work, too.
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That's cute! I bet you'll be able to do it no problem.
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I just to have a similar problem with scarfs...wavy ones. With some yarns I have to count every single stitch still. I'd just find a pattern that you like and follow it to the letter...counting every stitch if you have to.
You can do it.
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You know those little surveys you can take where they rank the candidates based on how you answer the questions on the issues? Well, according to them, my husband and I are both libertarian.
I'm voting for McCain partially because he more closely aligns with my beliefs. I'm voting McCain because I know that voting third party is a wasted vote. I'm voting McCain to keep Obama out of the house. I'm voting McCain because I cannot fathom what life in our country would be like if half of what Obama wants to do actually happens. I'm voting McCain because I can't afford the economy that Obama's policies will create.
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As long as they are not rotting and growing white fuzzy stuff on them, we eat them. Soft potatoes are fine to eat. So are potatoes that are sprouting...just make sure you break off/cut off the sprouts completely.
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This is just false. The wealthiest 5% of Americans pay something close to 50% of federal income taxes collected on individuals.http://www.american.com/archive/2007/november-december-magazine-contents/guess-who-really-pays-the-taxes
Thanks for that link. What a great article that explains very well, with facts and figures, how lowering taxes (even on the wealthy) actually increases the amount of money that the government has to spend. It explained what I knew instinctually. Tax businesses and wealthy less and more economy stimulating things happen which means more tax money is collected.
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I get really angry when I see this type of reasoning. People make *choices* in life. Some people choose to spend 10 years working their butts off in university while also working minimum wage jobs to support themselves through university. Then, they make the choice to put more than 40 hours a week into their jobs - they sacrifice vacations and weekends, they bring work home with them and they go the extra mile. There's nothing "lucky" or "circumstantial" or "inborn" about where these people got to - it boils down to making sacrifices, working hard, and getting less sleep than the next guy.
:iagree:
Everyone makes choices that affects...well...everything in their life. For us, that means we live in a bad neighborhood in a tiny old house and have no nice vacations so I can stay home with the kids. We're poor by choice.
On the other hand, we are making choices that will hopefully change that. My husband has been working a regular 40 hour a week job. His spare time is spent starting his own business in the mornings, evenings, and weekends. He's working his butt off to change our circumstances. Meanwhile, I've been looking for ways to cut expensives so we can live on less if we need to and getting strict about extras and treats. Most people aren't willing to make sacrifices.
There are plenty of stories around, if you look, to prove that you can go from poverty to wealth with hard work. A local tv show had a story recently about Mr. Earl. Mr. Earl built a stock portfolio worth over $500,000 even though he was supporting a family on $20,000 a year as a parking lot attentdant. Back in the 70's, he supported his wife and three children on just $80 a week and still found ways to invest. Despite being poor, uneducated and dyslexic he overcame his "lot" in life with hard work and determination. As the link article says, "You don't have to be born rich to end up that way."
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It's been years since I've seen a black widow....since I moved away from California in 1992 actually. I remember having to open the garage door carefully because they loved to hang out on the edge of the door and lay their eggs there.
I might prefer the poisonous black widow to the giant house spiders we have here in Washington. At least they were small and kind of cool looking. The giant housespider is huge, ugly, and hairy...but not poisonous. Not sure which is worse.
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When my middle child was having difficulties with communication, our doctor expected 50 words at the age of 2. Partial words counted...meaning "ca" for cat was counted.
But in our case, our son couldn't communicate nonverbally either and was having behavioral problems because of it.
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Mine would turn the sink on and proceed to pour the water all over the floor and flood it. He does like to play in the tub. I put him in a baby bath and put it as far from the faucet as I can. He still pours water onto the floor though.
I give him about a pound of rice and a muffin tin, cake pan, bowls, measuring cups, and measuring spoons. It keeps him busy about 1/2 an hour and takes about 10-15 minutes to clean up since the rice ends up in three rooms.
So, what about the rest of the day? Mine goes to bed about 9 or 9:30pm after we do read alouds. Sometimes he'll fall asleep earlier...about 8:30pm. He still wakes up at 6:45am on the dot like he has an alarm clock. I'm not a morning person!!!!
Embarassing mom moment.
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
When my oldest was about 12 months old, my husband and I were helping in the nursery with another couple we were friends with and another lady we didn't know. I was sitting in a chair when all of a sudden I realized I didn't see my child anywhere. I freaked out and asked where she was. Everyone started hunting for her every where in the nursery, bathroom, entry where they pass the kids through while I continued to sit in the chair not helping. We couldn't find her anywhere. Finally, someone found her...she was in my lap, nursing.