I LOVE this new format. Very easy to see what new threads/posts are out there, etc. This board though is moving VERY fast with many pages to scroll through. I was wondering about the possibility of some subforums at some point. Maybe cooking/cleaning, parenting, or ???? Don't really know but a few smaller forums might make things easier.

My other friend and I paid the extra to make sure the barn owner got her $30. She is VERY generous with allowing us to use her indoor arena. Going rates here are $20-30 per HOUR per FAMILY (or even per person) so $15/hour for 3 different families with 6 different horses and 8 riders is very cheap. She even allows us to have riding lessons there---we pay our own instructor but most indoors will only allow you to take lessons with THEIR instructor, not your own. I think the barn owner was put on the spot. We did know the other lady was leaving early and it was OK with us to each chip in the extra $2.50--it was more the attitude that bothered us of "oh, we can only pay for 1 hour but really use it for almost 2 hours". I like the distinction between being frugal and being cheap. Cheap is where money is more important than people. I also see this as a testimony issue as many people in the community know where we attend church (our church hosts a tack sale that we help run). I never want to be thought of as trying to take advantage of someone as it would be a mark on my testimony in the community.

http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/3RsPlusRead.html This is another site with the books. They also have a link for a yahoo group that is wonderful. They have free files, lots of tips, messages from reading specialists and other homeschooling parents. For the program, all you need at first are the Little Books. That is all I have used. The program is very easy to use. Basically you teach the child to "say the sounds, read the words". It is phonics based but different than most programs. They teach I and ee in the first book. They keep b and d and p and q far apart from each other. Each word is used over and over again in the stories to really cement it for the child. Later they use names like Nan and Nat to make sure the child is not just looking at the first letter or 2 and guessing. There are pictures as well but you can't "read" the pictures to guess the words. We use a notched 3x5 card, called a cursor to help the child get the left to right direction of reading. Then you can go right back to the sound they missed and have them focus on it.

I was briefly talking about this with a friend last night. We are both quite frugal. We do spend money but we also try to buy our clothes for $1 each at one thrift store vs. Goodwill's prices of $4-5 each. We bargain shop our groceries, go with used, trade things, etc. when we can. We though don't try to take advantage of the finances of others. We want to make sure we are paying what the other person is due. For example, we found an indoor riding arena that we can rent for $15/hour. We scheduled it for 1-3 on Fridays now with us and another family. That means $10 per family for the 2 hours. Well, the other lady was leaving early so she paid $5 for her hour but then told us the owner said it was OK if we all only paid $5 that week---even though my friend and I were staying for the full 2 hours. We felt that we needed to pay the full amount as we were using the arena for the full time. I have seen others do the same thing---never offering to pay for gas or drive but always wanting a ride with someone else, coming to the free meals at church but never offering to bring something (meals are done by 1 family with a request of 4-5 familes to bring a dessert), etc. Can you be too frugal and then take advantage of people?

http://iseesam.com/index.htm Here is a program that is very effective with kids that are struggling with reading. It is an older program from the early 1970s but is coming back. It is MUCH cheaper than most therapy/tutoring programs (about $250 for K-3rd grade levels) and you can buy it as you need it. I even have the first 2 sets in PDF that I could email you. It has gotten both of my daughters reading when NOTHING else was----and I am a certified special ed. teacher.

The house seems HUGE. I wonder how much the taxes will be for something like that and if that will become a burden. The barn looked very nice. I guess for me I would have loved a much smaller house that was as well thought out and then the barn.

I don't think we could keep up with that schedule. One phone call that I would have to take and we would be down for the count. My girls have learning delays and ADHD. We generally school from 9-12 with one 20 minute break in there. I use ACE Paces for them. 12dd is more limited with her abilities. 11dd does Science, Social studies, Bible, Word Building, Math, English, and Spelling in this time frame. Honestly, for 6 and 7 year olds I would NOT carry academics over to the afternoon. I would get them done in the morning with 1 or 2 sensory breaks and leave the afternoons for therapy, free play, outings with friends, errands, etc.

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1141866 Here is another one I am considering. His pictures look pretty nice. Problem is, he is 3 hours away.

Got it on TV right now. I am also TiVoing it so I can watch the best parts again later.

My girls take Omega Brites http://www.omegabrite.com 3 per day. They also take Supremadophillus from http://www.houstonni.net. Then they get a good multivitamin and a B100 complex. All of that helps but the MOST help came from meds for the ADHD (Dexedrine) and meds for seizures (Lamictal for both and Tegetol for 12dd). Has he ever been evaluated for seizures? How about ADHD?

Here is the update: [Frosty---12 year old Halfinger/Paint 14hh pony--stocky enough for me to ride Didn't want to be caught. Was cute but I don't want a don't want to be caught horse. It was also very icy and we didn't want him slipping as he kept running away. Rusty--14 year old 14.1hh MULE--with Frosty so we will peek but I don't think I want a mule He was cute but a little spooky---and we don't really want a mule. Bart--10 year old Kentucky Mountain horse--if we get to this farm. She also has others. Didn't get to him. Maybe we should have though Navigator 8 year old 14.3hh Tennesse Walker. They also have a few others that we can look at. Saw him. Great ground manners, calm, etc.---granted he had just been out for a 2 hour trail ride before we got there. I rode him but he was too fast/forward, big feeling under me for me to feel comfortable. Then we looked at Bugsy, another horse there. He though was TOO BIG. He was a 16-16.1hh Paint but looked like a draft horse cross. He was built like a big comfy couch. He would make an awesome show horse but was too big, too young (5) and headshy. I don't want one I need to work on Then Jay is close to home. He is 18 years old, 15.1hh Quarter horse/arab. Has been camped, posse horse, lots of trail experience. Haven't seen him yet but want to call to see him early in the week if possible. Gus is a 6 year old POA gelding that is just above pony size so can't be registered. We might catch him along the way but he is on the young side of what I want. Decided not to see him as I really don't want a younger horse and so it is not worth driving 2 hours away to likely find him too hyper yet for me. I should stay warm. Well, we mostly stayed warm. The temps were about 5 above with windchills about 10 below. NOT the best horse looking weather. The latest idea is to ONLY look at horses between 14 and 15.1hh and at least 10 years old. That would have saved us many a mile so far. At least though the more I see the more I know what I like and don't like. Who knew it would be so hard to find a nice safe and sane trail horse gelding.

Joe Boxer socks from KMart (normally I don't do KMart) are the ones that hold up the best for my son. He even has some from LAST year that don't have holes in them.

COLD---I am betting that it is not 7 below where YOU are. Actually, that is the windchill. Air temp is just above zero right now. My friend where I board lived in Alaska for 24 years, 15 of that in the Artic circle so NOTHING is cold until it gets to 40 below zero. She says we will walk, do chores (obviously), etc. until it gets that cold--which it won't here, so stop complaining and come help her. Since we are close I want to at least get a peek at these horses so that I can see if they are worth checking out. It honestly will be too cold to ride the ones that don't have indoor arenas. I am learning to tell more and more about conformation, personality, training, etc. just by seeing them for 5-10 minutes. Then if they are worth a second look, I will come back. Sadly, only 2 so far has been worth a second look.

I had my first lesson today in a few months. It was SO nice. We went to an indoor arena and had 6 horses and 9 riders (10 with the instructor). It was busy but fun. My girls rode Precious, the 17 year old Paint mare we are leasing for them until Spring. I actually rode Precious at the end for a few minutes but spent my time on Mocha a 5 year old gruella quarterhorse mare and Libby, a 8 year old Morgan cross mare. They are all my instructor's horses. It was nice to be in the saddle again. I even did a little loping on Mocha but it is hard in an indoor. We looked at one horse tonight but the poor thing had something wrong with his right front that I didn't even have her saddle him. He was shaking in that leg and way crossing it over the left when he walked. VERY calm personality but too tall anyway. At least he was close. He is 17 and really should be retired in the condition he was in today. Tomorrow we are going looking at several others in the COLD COLD weather--windchills down near zero. We are going when it is so cold as my friend's daughter has a basketball game 2 hours away and so we will see horses close to there. At least I can get an idea of their size, condition, personality, etc. On the docket are: Frosty---12 year old Halfinger/Paint 14hh pony--stocky enough for me to ride Rusty--14 year old 14.1hh MULE--with Frosty so we will peek but I don't think I want a mule Bart--10 year old Kentucky Mountain horse--if we get to this farm. She also has others. Navigator 8 year old 14.3hh Tennesse Walker. They also have a few others that we can look at. All of the above are at "horse dealers" but ones with really good reputations so we will see. Then Jay is close to home. He is 18 years old, 15.1hh Quarter horse/arab. Has been camped, posse horse, lots of trail experience. We have checklists for each horse but we are getting so that in 5-10 minutes we can get a feel for if we want to see more of the horse or not. Gus is a 6 year old POA gelding that is just above pony size so can't be registered. We might catch him along the way but he is on the young side of what I want. THANKFULLY my dh bought me insulated winter riding boots for Christmas. Add that to the helmet liner hat my friend got me and the new winter riding gloves I have, I should stay warm.