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Karen in CO

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Everything posted by Karen in CO

  1. You will feel better if they have the same number of presents to open. They dont care how much it costs, but the older will notice that the little one didn't get as many. Get him some inexpensive toys he can grow into (but that aren't choking hazards). Bath toys are good. Stacking things. Those big Legos. A ball.
  2. I finally let her watch PG-13 movies. Before you ask, I didn't allow her to watch them before.
  3. We send and "OOO" email to say that we'll be Out Of the Office. It used to be that we'd call in call in sick because we were making a call into the office.
  4. Most of the divorced couples I know split the kids two weeks with one parent two weeks at another. One father didn't want the kids homeschooled and was a able to get a judge to put that in the custody agreement. One family was able to continue homeschooling. In the more friendly divorce, the parents both rented houses at opposite ends of the boundaries for the schools their kids went to so they could stay in the same school and just take different buses on different weeks. I originally divorced in the 90's in Florida. The norm there at the time was for the mom to get full custody. I was even able to move my ds out of state without a fuss when I got a job in Colorado.I don't know what I would have done if I'd had to split time like my friends do. Sorry. Once you're at this point, there is no good solution.
  5. When the bickering exceeds my patience, I send them outside to either rake leaves, pull weeds, shovel snow or pick up dog poop. If the weather is too bad for those, I send them to clean the basement or crawl space. Their small annoyances can't last against strenuous or disgusting work, AND I don't have to listen to them. It is really a win for me. I sometimes have to warn them that if they complain about each other or the work, I will continue to assign more until they can get along.
  6. My Dd and many of her friends have leather trench coats that work for most colder days. They wear ski coats on the coldest days or for being in the snow. My Dd's ski coat is a spyder snowboard jacket.
  7. I've found that adding in reading about the history of science and math has really helped to cement the understanding that math was invented to solve real problems. Right now we're working through One, Two, Three Infinity.
  8. My younger was behind in reading and math before I put her in school last year. I let her spend the year learning to love her school. Over the summer, I found she hadn't progressed far from where she started the school year -at least in reading and math. I have spent the summer working hard with her on those subjects. My older has been ahead in every subject forever. I work hard to find challenging things to enrich her schooling and challenge her. Last year we made the mistake of letting her get ahead in Latin. That was a terrible idea. It made class more boring. This year we're adding to science by covering topics she won't. I've also added Spanish. Next year I hope to find a resource for another language. We're going to add some graphic design, psychology and game programming. So, I choose by what they need. One needs remediation and the other needs challenge. .
  9. Mondays right after school are saved allergy shots. Tuesdays are cello lessons. Wednesdays are for robotics club. Thursdays are kept or orthodontist appointments. Math lab is from 5-6 at Mathnasium everyday except Friday. Dinner is at 6. Homework and reading are after that. Younger is reading through the SL reader package. Older is reading through a science series - right now it's the Secrets of the Universe series.
  10. I come from a family with a history of both depression and bi-polar disorder. We treat it in our family just like we would diabetes. Diet, exercise, and medication when necessary. You can't "fix" or even help either problem if you start with a mindset that medication is not going to be required. Please don't go into this thinking that if you just had the right combination of diet and exercise and maybe.just the right vitamin that your child will get better. Often medication is not just the best option but the only thing that works.
  11. From the other side, how can you budget for books if you don't know what you plan to buy? I'm a list person. I make lists of lists I need to make. I do the budget in our family because I am more organized and pinch pennies better. My dh gets essentially an allowance. He keeps a portion of his salary that he doesn't have to tell me how he spends it. I manage ever penny outside that. I make and remake and price check and remake my lists for everything.
  12. My favorite road name I've seen is "Fish-or-cut-bait Lane." I think I would choose Serendipity.
  13. Thanks for the encouragement. I took her, and it is broken. She's getting a splint today then we'll see an ortho. When we get home.
  14. I'm visiting my brother 1300 miles from home. Two days ago, dd9 fell while skating and hurt her wrist. It is a little bruised, a little swollen and hurts to turn it. If I were home, I would have taken her to our family doctor the next morning. Now I'm here packing up to drive home in the morning worrying about it. I think I should probably take her to the ER for an X-Ray, but I don't really want to spend my last day of vacation that way. But I would hate to wait until Monday if it is broken. I really think it is time we all had home X-Ray machines. Would you take her or would you wait?
  15. After I took my kids to the allergist and got them all sorted, I went back for myself at his suggestion. I scored worse on the lung function test than either of my asthmatic kids and am allergic to more things than either of them. At the time I wasn't treating either my allergies or my asthma. He simply told me that I didn't have high enough expectations for myself. I was taking poor care of myself and I should expect more out of life every day. It was just the right thing from the right person at the right time. I set out after that appointment to take better care of myself and to expect more. I am breathing better now which allows me to exercise more and just try for more for myself.
  16. I'm up at 6am. I normally have a cup of coffee then do some work then get the kids going. By 9am, everyone is typically dressed, fed and working strong. Right now is summer vacation so I am up at 6am then enjoy my coffee then start work. I leave the kids sleeping for as long as they like unless someone has a morning commitment. We work hard and stick to a strict schedule most of the and fully relax when we can.
  17. Considering that we drive 3-4 hours each way to ski and I'm leaving Sunday for a 20 hour drive to visit my brother, 10 hours is very do able. My youngest has to stop every few hours to keep from driving me batty, but the older two have always been good in the car. They now watch movies, daydream and chat. Relax and enjoy. A good attitude goes a long way.
  18. My kids use neoprene lunch bags that I got from target. They carry a thermos, water bottle, a bento box, sandwiches,and snacks. It is flexible, insulated, and washable. I add an ice pack if the food or drinks need to stay cold.
  19. I pay each of my girls $5 to watch her sister when dh and I go on a date (which is too rare). If the sister being watched complains about the watcher, the sister doing the watching doesn't get paid. I think $10 is a small price to pay for peace when I return from a rare date. I have never had a complaint. I also used to do the same thing when my ds watched his sister. For any other time that the girls are left in each other's care, there is no compensation. Watching your sister is part of your responsibility.
  20. Punished by Rewards is a terrific book that explains the current research relating to incentives. Treats like this are also exclusionary for all of the kids with food allergies. Kids are not dogs to be trained with treats.
  21. It is too easy for me to procrastinate at home. The treadmill in my office staring at me for 10 hours a day doesn't get me to exercise as well as the Krav Maga class that I paid for that only meets 3 hours a week. And Krav Maga is FUN. :D
  22. My Dd reads a LOT, but here is her academic reading list for 8th grade. Beowulf, The Chosen, The Hobbit, The Miracle Worker, and Christmas Carol
  23. I rarely eat out because of food allergies, and apparently I don't like franchised food.
  24. All three of my kids have had this one including my youngest who had a life-threatening reaction to the Tdap vaccine. None had problems with it.
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