ok, thanks everyone. I'm feeling better now :) I think it's probably the same thing she says in the WWE text, and I've read that (several times). It makes lots of sense, but sometimes I get nervous!

Did anyone have an International adoption dr review your child's file? What support services (besides the ones specific to the child's special need) should we have lined up before we come home? Did anyone use a small agency for their adoption? (CCAI, Lifeline, and Holt are all on our short list, but they all have so many families waiting to adopt a child with a minor need...) Thanks so much for the wise words on attachment. That is something we need to think more about for sure. We are pretty comfortable with the special needs aspect (specific special needs) since I was a special education teacher/therapist for 10 years before kids), but attachment and especially the trauma aspect doesn't seem to be discussed much and dh and I honestly haven't talked about that enough (before last nights 2 hour conversation, that is :))

Thanks so much everyone for sharing such personal information. About the birth order, we were thinking that our youngest would be 2-3 when our new little one comes home, and if we are matched with a child that is 2, he would be 3-4 when he came home. I have spoken with 2 agencies about adopting out of birth order, and both said that since we are "experienced parents" (both agencies used these words), it should be fine Is that a red flag to avoid these agencies? Maybe we should adjust our timeline. We aren't really young, so that's why we thought we should start the process sooner rather than later...

So you found her first and then picked the agency? We just found a sweet boy on the shared list and would love to look at his file. How does that work? How long before you are able to bring her home? Is the time frame about a year when you find your child first?

Thanks! I'm so glad everything is going so well! How old are your other children? We're hoping to adopt a child between the ages of our 2 youngest, and I think that's unusual... Another question, in no particular order...do you think it would be do-able for 1 adult to travel alone? Would that just be crazy to try?

...what other writing does he/she do during the day? ds does notebooking pages for history (mostly writes a CM-style narration), and writing assignments based on the week's FIAR, but I'm feeling insecure because I know what ps 3rd graders are writing....

We are in the pick-an-agency stage and I'm overwhelmed already:) I just wondered if anyone had any BTDT advice or wanted to talk about adopting :)

Thanks everyone! I have looked at CLE, but I think McRuffy would be a better fit for that style of math. I'll check out TT and Saxon too. We have done Miquon Orange and red, and ds didn't really enjoy it, but dd is starting some this year, so he might like to play along...

Are you using (or have you seen) McRuffy 3rd grade math I'm wondering how it is on word problems and how much fact practice it has...

OK, this is bad! We are starting school the first week of Sept, and I don't know what to do about math for ds8. I'd love some advice! Please! Here's the background. For 1st grade and half of 2nd, we did MEP (yr 1 and half of yr 2). He did ok, but needed lots and lots of hand holding, and sometimes there were tears. Then, I got pregnant and really sick. dh took over math with ds at night after work, and there were tears every single night. Ds was making a lot of careless mistakes because he didn't know his addition/subtraction facts. We had to switch math anyway to something easier for me to do pregnant and with 3 kids. I loved the look of R&S, and thought it'd be perfect: pretty open and go, focused on the facts We started him at the beginning of the second grade book to build confidence, and we are finishing up this week. DS does fine with it, but HATES it with a passion. I had planned to do Math Mammoth with him for 3rd grade, and we just did MM addition/subtraction workbook (the one that covers regrouping). I figured MM would be like MEP, but not so teacher intensive. Well, ds does not do well with this style at all, and just bombed the MM placement test (end of year 2nd grade test). He did especially bad with regrouping, which we JUST DID using the Math Mammoth worksheets!!! So...now what? I really like conceptual and mental math (I myself am not at all mathy. I did fine in school with math, but only because I memorized stuff for the test, did great on the test, and prompl;y forgot it). DH is an engineer and very worried about ds getting behind and developing an early dislike of math. Now I'm kicking around doing McRuffy (fun, short and sweet, spiral) and maybe Miquon once a week (hands on, conceptual), but, I'm not sure. What would you do if you were me? I want to find something that is a good fit and stick with it!!

It sounds like we have kids about the same age (I have a 3rd grader and a kinder and a 3 year old and an infant). We all also love readalouds, but it's very hard to snuggle and read when the baby is awake (she' a screecher), so we will do them during the baby's first nap. During the second nap, we'll have lunch and I'll read aloud again--more difficult stuff because they'll be a captive audience with full mouths. FIAR is after lunch (soooo much fun!) My third grader will get his math lesson after dinner when Daddy is home to watch the girls and my Ker will get her phonics lesson while my 3rd grader plays with the little ones. This is the plan, anyway. Maybe that will help you a little?? You can do this! (Hopefully, so can I:))

I had surgery (ovary removed) when dd was 10 months old and exclusively breastfeeding. I made sure every med I got was as breastfeeding-compatible as possible, and I pumped and dumped once right after the procedure and that was it. Can you call the lactation consultant at the hospital where you delivered for advice? Also, I think I got lots of info from Dr. Hale's site http://www.infantrisk.com/ Good luck! This type of thing is always scary! (I'm going in for a breast ultrasound of a suspicious lump on Mon and now I'm nursing a 5 month old. Hoping to not have to go through this again!)

Ha! Good to know! :)

I am very much a schedule person, and I have found it best to make a detailed routine and hang it up, even though it never gets followed exactly. It helps my cluttered mind!

Loving the simplicity of this!!!! Terrific!

Thanks for sharing, everyone! This is helping! Trying to get in all the important stuff: Lots of reading, outside time, quiet time, a few chores, time with my little ones, and some formal schooling. I'm feeling that since my oldest will be a 3rd grader this year, we should be getting a tad more...focused?? Anyway, thanks for giving me some ideas!

...could you please share your daily routine? I've finally decided what I want to use next year for 3rd grade and kindy, now I'd love some inspiration for how to organize our day.

Thanks everyone!

Ha! :) That's ok! I'll take a look anyway! Excellent! We have all of these! I'm so excited to use these with her! ds enjoyed the few we've used! This is sort of what I'd thought we'd do--make a list of concepts I want covered and then hit each one multiple times during the year in different ways. Thanks for those links to the standards, though. I was trying to use the ones my state has online, but they are so full of jargon-y gobbledygook that I couldn't quite make out what the true goals were (and I'm a former teacher!) Thanks for the suggestions! Checking out these links... Thanks so much everyone! I think this will be fun!

Anyone want to share what they'd do? The more detailed, the better! When ds was 5, I started Mep yr1 with him. It was a total disaster! I ended up scrambling around and finding different worksheets, games, etc. for us to do. I spent a lot of time coming up with math activities for him to do the following week. He enjoyed it, but it was time consuming for me! Now, dd will be doing K starting in September. We now have 4 kids, and will be in process to adopt (paperwork!!!!!) starting in January. I want to do lots of fun mathy things with her, but I want to plan it all out, gather materials etc. before the year starts. I have lots of manipulatives: Cuisenaire rods and base 10 blocks (I have miquon but ds hated it, so I'll probably stick to the education unboxed videos), pattern blocks/activity books, a variety of counters, lots of living math books (plus a fabulous library). I just need some cohesive way to plan it all out. Anyone want to brainstorm with me?

Thank you!

Thanks! Does anyone want to comment on how long per day the LA units take? Trying to come up with a loose daily routine now that we have a new little one added to the mix...

Thanks so much for the suggestions! Many of these I hadn't heard of before. All of them look promising, though I'll probably go with the ones written for younger kids because of my age spread this year :)

Oh, I really like this! Thanks for sharing. Thanks for the other book suggestion as well, everyone!

Thanks so much! I've never heard of any of these! Will check them out! Anyone else? Not just Christmas books, anything that will get us talking about thinking of others would be great!