You don't think I should allow her to come see the kids?

DH left me back in March, but we are still by several odd circumstances married. Not getting into that though. My MIL has never liked me because I stayed at home while her poor baby had to work 2 jobs. He doesn't work normal jobs even, so he still has 3-4 days off a week. She even had the nerve to say that she never sent the kids birthday/Christmas presents or visited because I didn't make her feel welcome. When I confronted her about it, she said I just seemed tense. She has always chosen men over her 2 children, dh and his sister who is 7 years older. She married a 22yo, who was 13 years younger than her when dh was 5. The guy never wanted children and didn't like them. She has been through a series of guys since then. Whenever she is between men she devotes all this time and money to her son, but as soon as she gets another man she drops him. Last March she called dh and let it slip that she had been in town the previous weekend. She lives in OK and we live in GA. She never bothered to visit or call us because she was with Bill, her latest. She brushed that aside and told dh she didn't call about that she called to tell him how excited she was about her new 30 foot boat. Dh was really mad because he had asked her for help in divorcing me and she told him she couldn't afford to help him. He also was mad because she announced she wasn't going to her grandson's graduation (SIL oldest son) because Bill's kids wanted to play on the boat (They are 25 and 23 by the way.) So, dh decides to cut her off and he has not spoken to her since. She started calling me in April. She was highly upset and suddenly wants a relationship with her grandkids. She asked me when their birthdays were because she had no clue and guessed that they must be 8,6, and 2. The kids are 12,8, and 4. She sent them all big presents this year. She calls me to talk to them about once a week or once every other week. Ok, now to my problem. She just called me to say that she wanted to see them for Thanksgiving. She said she would stay in a nearby hotel with Bill. She wants to just take the kids back to her hotel. I guess so she doesn't have to see me. This ain't happening. How do I word it the nicest, but also firm and in control? Would you just quit answering her calls? When dh left me she told me I had done him so wrong over the years that I had to know it was coming. He and his mother believe I was an awful wife because the house isn't white glove test clean. My house is clean, but not spotless. I never have dishes in the sink, I sweep daily, I keep it all orgainized, and I stay on top of laundry. I am sure my baseboards are dingy and I know my wooden bllinds could be soaked, but I don't have time for that. I have always done everything with the house and kids. I cook, clean, and do all childcare alone. I have had so much free time since he left. He takes them 3-4 days a week for a few hours.

Building Foundations for Scientific Understanding http://www.pressforlearning.com/

I meant each lesson took 15 minutes, so I guess for the week we spent 1 hour. He has been on the computer since he was 3, and is a great typer. I can see that 5 hours a week would be too much!

My 7th grade ds is enjoying WWS. It is fairly independent. My ds completed the first 3 weeks lessons in 15 minutes. Week 4 bumped up to about 25 minutes on Day 2 when we introduced outlining. I feel this is really a reasonable amount of time to spend on writing.

You are right. I researched the feedback on here, and a lot of people did they it was light but they used it anyways.

We started in July, I wanted to combine all the kids with AWOA. My oldest son hates it. I dislike combining my kids. I have never done it, buy I have friends with lots of kids whom swear by it. I thought combining would be easier, but it is not at all. 7th grade changes: I am thinking I will do FUFI, but tweak it using the lists from here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=397319 Debating between Rainbow Science and RS4K still. I wanted Rainbow, but now since SWB said it wasn't great I am not sure. Math is Going from NEM1 to Saxon1/2 plus LOF Pre-Algebra LA- WWS, Winston Grammar, and various reading books from FUFI

Instead of salt you can also sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mix too. :001_smile:

Thanks so much for sharing this. I have FUFI but I don't love it. My son does want to study Narnia for the year, and this will make it better than doing just FUFI. Thanks!

It was great seeing all the 7th grade options, but I don't have a clue what to do with my 7th grader. Maybe you guys can give me an opinion? I need something fairly independent, he is pretty good about doing work without me sitting on top of him. I will be gone 2 days a week, so I would like something easy for someone else to take over on those days. I have narrowed down some choices. 1. HOD Rev to Rev- I would just need to buy guide and notebooking pages 2. Follow Timberdoodle 7th grade plans- I own most of that too http://www.timberdoodle.com/Complete_Homeschool_Curriculum_Seventh_Grade_p/999-0700.htm 3. History- MOH vol.2 Science- Exploration Education Physical Lightning Lit. with Winston Grammar Bible- Who is God Fallacy Detective This choice I would only need to buy Lightning Lit, which I don't mind 4. WP QMA with the above listed I own this too 5. Any other assortment of various curriculum. I own a lot of Queen products, I have LBC grades 5 and 6 which would work, Memoria Press, or just assign History as written in TWTM? Thanks in advance for any thoughts! I am overwhelming myself with too many choices. I didn't mention math but we are using NEM 1 with LOF prealgebra. I got that down at least.

Nm

If it was crawling and not attached it did not bite him. Pretty sure the rash is something seperate. Also, you cannot squash a tick. That will not kill it. Next time burn it or put alcohol on it.

www.whatdidwedoallday.blogspot.com This is the best one IMO. All down the left side it has links to other Montessori blogs by age group and whether they are classes or homeschoolers.

Then you would be horrified to know that I spank my children until they reach puberty, that I have sent them to bed without dinner for misbehaving, that I have thrown away toys for not sharing or misusing, and that I let them all cry it out at night at the tender age of 4months old. What is sad is that I don't judge other moms for not choosing those things, but some moms think they are better because they do not do those things. It is not better just different. It is sad to find parents abusing children, but that is not most cases. I hope more than anything to teach my children to put others before themselves. I feel that by letting my child dawdle over math all day just because he doesn't like it is a disruption to everyone else. We cannot go on with our day due to said child's mood. I feel that Allowing your child to be coddled over it, to be allowed treats and tv time, is teaching him that life is all about him. He must do school because it is the law, and he must do it timely because life isn't all about him. There are 2 other children in this house and a world of people out there to think about instead.

KUDOS to you for thinking you're better. I don't need to judge people or claim MY WAY is better to make myself feel good. Each child is given to their parents for a reason...because that parent knows best how to parent their child.

BTDT! In defense of the OP you cannot let your child skip math everyday because they cry. I had a child who did this every single day. He never wanted to do his math. He would dawdle and sit at the table for hours instead of just attempting to answer the problems. He would be years behind in math if left to his own devices. Not all school subjects can be fun and games. Instead of skipping an art store, I made him skip lunch. So, it sounds light to me. I must say when I told him he could not eat until his Math was finished, he suddenly finished it in 20 minutes. From that day on I have never had another problem with him completing his math.

It is funny, I made banana bread this morning too! I agree it must have been a combo of things. Here is my favorite recipe: 1 stick plus 1 TBsp of butter softened 1 cup brown sugar 3 or 4 ripe bananas mashed 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon salt 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp baking soda 4 Tbsp warm milk Cream butter and sugar Add bananas Add eggs, one a time Add vanilla, cinnamon and a dash of salt Mix together flour and powder and soda Add to creamed mixture Add warm milk I add walnuts at the end too, about a cup Bake at 350 in a greased loaf pan for 1 hour.

MP is the total opposite of OM. OM has a lot of hands-on focus, crafts and other activities like life-skills. MP is a pure classical curriculum. The manuals are very cut and dry. You have lots of vocab, memorization and comprehension questions.

Where would you place a child who is still learning to read, but is ready for 1st grade math and can do copywork easily. I was wondering how much more work is Beyond vs. LHFHG?

Ok, so it has been some years since I lived there but I remember some places. Schlitterbahn is one of the BEST waterparks! You might not have thought seriously about it thinking if you have been to one waterpark than you have been to them all. This is way Better! I looked it up and The Alamo Cafe is still Open! http://www.alamocafe.com/default2.asp They make the best Tortillas! The RiverWalk is neat, go on a boat tour. The Alamo is great too. Check out some of the nearby Caverns in New Braunfels. Natural Bridge is one of the largest. We always went tubing down the Guadalupe River. You could do that in New Braunfels too. Be prepared for HOT weather. It is dry and really hot. I remember wearing tank tops and shorts on Christmas Day.

Thanks, we actually have a New Zealand for a pet. For the chickens, can you have them for eggs and then eat them once they quit laying at 4 years (?)? I go through about 18 eggs a week. I bake a lot from scratch and we have eggs for breakfast. Is 6 good for this?

For the list you wrote out I would just do Sams. The membership is cheaper and the prices seem a little better. I prefer Costco however because they carry a lot of healthy food products. If you are not into health food items or organic, Sams makes more sense.

I absolutely love Chlorox wipes. I know they are not great for the environment, but they make cleaning easier. Every night before I go to bed I wipe down all the toilets with Chlorox wipes. This keeps them from collecting nasty stuff. I also wipe down the kitchen with wipes. I know you said dishes is a weak spot, but I make sure there are no dirty dishes in my sink every night as well. I learned these things from FLy Lady. Set the timer for 15 minutes and clean.

I would consider what times during the day you are trying to read. My ds7 does best early or late. I often try to read aloud during breakfast and I read to him in bed. During the day there is too much distraction for him. I think about 20 minutes is just right for this age.

I do this! I make peach filling from fresh peaches, but I can them instead of freezing. I use this for pie, cobbler and crisps. We like cobbler best here, I do a sweet biscuit topping. Last year I made Blueberry Lime Jam that everyone Loved. It is in the Ball BLue Book guide on pg 33. It is a good one. I also have made the Hamburger Dills with great success.