This is a tough one. It sounds as if your mom is very demanding - I'm sorry for that. I hope what I'm about to say doesn't sound too harsh. After reading your post from before, it sounds like you need to set up some boundaries with your mom, especially now. Since your dd is yours, I would just plain out say, "I'm sorry, Mom, but right now is not a good time to take dd away. Let's set up a visit for the both of you at another time." Be firm, but caring. If she persists, repeat it. If she continues, firmly say, "Mom, my decision has been made. Thank you for the offer." Get off the phone at that point if that is what has to be done. Becoming defensive, making excuses, allowing her to force you to have to explain yourself over and over again allows her to have the upper hand, and she can continue the manipulation. Stand your ground. She may be angry with you so you need to be prepared for that, but you need to take care of you and your family. Your dd is not responsible for your brother's child. If your mom offered to go help him, then that is her responsiblity. She should have thought about it carefully before offering that to him. I understand your situation more than I want to and setting up boundaries for myself and my family was one of the best things I've ever done. If it's done in love, no one can argue your intentions. Wishing you the best... :grouphug:

Discovery Channel's Shark Week is a hit right now The Blue Planet episodes are also very popular here

Love these! I think they provide such wonderful examples of primary sources for kids to actually see and understand history. I used a Holocaust one when I taught ps, and the kids loved being able to see the variety of maps, invoices for concentration camp purchases by the Germans, letters uncovered that were written by Jews in hiding, propaganda papers, etc. I will definitely be looking into them when my boys get a bit older.

Me too, and once the housing market truly rebounds, we are moving to land. I need my privacy back. I need wider streets, so I'm not dodging cars trying to get to my house because my ammenity-filled community created homes with driveways that are too short. I need people to drive safely, use their manners, watch out for others in a kind way, and less obnoxious children feeling like my yard is theirs just by virtue of them living in the neighborhood. No one uses the sidewalks when it's shorter to cut through yards... I could go on and on...

Yes! My first was active, but he wasn't usually everywhere. His movement was more predictable, I'd say. He's an active kid, but he's not all over the place. My youngest was wild in the womb and wild now! I'll never forget the day I was teaching preschool (3s) when I was pregnant with my youngest. I was reading a story aloud, all the kids were in front of me, and my son was moving around in my stomach. One of the kids finally raised his hand and said, "Um... why is your belly moving so much?" He was so active, others noticed it, regularly!

My eldest began speech therapy when he was 4 because he was considered delayed. Our insurance paid for it, but his issues were such that we would have paid out of pocket. He couldn't pronounce "y", the hard "g" sound, "k" and a few other sounds that I can't remember now. His name begins with a hard G sound so he couldn't even say his own name properly. Anyway, it was 100% worth it for us. He improved quickly and was done in about a year, if I remember correctly. Speaking is something we all need to do to survive, so it was essential to us that he could be understood. My youngest is showing signs of speech issues; I anticipate us taking him to therapy at some point too. Apparently, it's very common if one child has speech issues for subsequent children to have them too.

PRAISE GOD!!! Congratulations! SO happy for you!

Praying! :grouphug:

This movie did a fantastic portrayal of Ms. Gies and the entire AF story. I taught Anne Frank and Night for years with my 8th graders before becoming a SAHM. I'm so glad that she was able to continue to bless others. Her humility is how we all need to be, IMO. Thank you for posting this.

We do history T, W, Th and Science tends to be M, W, F. Ds LOVES science, so there's usually something involving science going on the other days: a chapter book he's reading independently or a video late in the afternoon when he wants to rest.

I've upped the quantity of veggies on my plate every day, for every meal. I've stopped eating after 7 PM aside from one night where I was starving (my lunch was too small) so I had a yogurt at 8 - better than the usual bowl of ice cream I had been doing! I also ate breakfast right away consisting of fruit and something whole grain. That's helped immensely from keeping me snacking on junk since I LOVE sweets. I still need to purchase a scale, so I'm not sure what (if any) I've lost. And, I need to work the exercise in still... that is probably going to be my biggest hurdle.

I haven't completed a set yet, but I did complete The Book Thief this weekend. I loved it, and it's definitely a read many times book because it has so many layers. I have to see if my library has another Marcus Zusak book. I started The Help last night - excellent so far. I'm also working on Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow as part of my "Growing in my Faith" category. This is for a bible study too, so I'll be reading other books around it.

:lol::lol: They're going into OT right now! Lucky you!!! LOVE P&P book and mini-series! I took a nap during the Pats since I haven't felt well today, and our youngest was napping too. THe oldest played in his room, so dh had all afternoon in peace to watch the game. He was pleased with that!

I was just about to post this as we're struggling with this too. Thank you!

I'm planning too. I like to purchase most of our things used, so I try to have decisions made early. I actually have to review 2nd grade in WTM to determine some things. I know we'll definitely stay with Singapore for math (already have that), and we'll move to SOTW Vol. 2 for history as DS loves both. We'll also finish FLL 1/2 next year. We'll most likely do WWE still since that is working well. I think Science is going to be my issue as I had a hard time finding a program for this year. I'd also like to add a foreign language, possibly Spanish.

A good friend of mine just had the "how do you find time to read" conversation the other day after I told her about the 20/20/20 reading challenge on here. She was flabbergasted that I was going to attempt 60 books in a year, and she openly asked me how I found the time. I was surprised by the question since she also likes to read. I kind of ran down my day, and we found areas where I have time and she doesn't. She spends hours helping her son with his homework at night. Those are hours I get to myself. Her children are also up later than mine, so again, she loses that evening time. This question has offended me before too, depending upon who is posing it and their tone. Others ask truly because they are amazed; others because they see reading as a waste of time. I think it's all about prioritizing. I often marvel at women who exercise all the time. I know I could too, but it would probably mean giving up some of my precious reading time. It's all about choices.

We call it the school room, but it was the computer room before, so sometimes I slip and call it that still.

This is tough. But for me when I'm feeling this way, I usually set small goals, write them down, and work through them. Checking them off makes me feel as if I've truly accomplished them. Usually that gives me the drive to keep going and get more done. Eventually my lists become longer. I seem to go in cycles where I'm really productive and then procrastinate for weeks.

I'm always cold, so I understand this. As I type, my hands are cold & my nose is freezing. My feet are in socks and warm slippers. I try to dress in layers too, and I find moving around a lot helps.

Praying for you... :grouphug:

:iagree: This is pretty much what we do. I usually plan out 6-8 chapters at a time, for T-W-Th lessons. I figure out how I'm going to break the chapter down (usually a chapter is broken into 2 parts, taking 2 days). For the first 2 days we read, review, and narrate. On the 3rd day we do one of the crafts (depending upon the level of intensity) or we enjoy the books suggested from the reading list (ds LOVES to read/be read to). On the 2nd or 3rd day we also do the map or a coloring page (my ds likes to color, sometimes while I'm reading). I would say our lessons last about 20-30 minutes with the 3rd day being longer due to the craft or extra reading. We love SOTW here!

Thank you so much everyone! You've given me so much to think about! Dh is a money guy, so thank you for offering the cost per year information. We'd be one of the families coming to horses later in life. :)

I've wanted a horse my entire life, and I've yet to get one, but dh and I are seriously talking about making my dream happen. I've ridden a few times, and ds is currently taking lessons. I would too if this becomes a reality. In the meantime, I have a few questions so we can think about this logically... How many acres would you consider the minimum for having 1-3 horses? How much is the yearly cost for owning a horse (food, vet bills, equipment, etc)? Is there a certain kind of barn I need to have? What else do you think I should know if I'd like to make this a reality? BTW, this is about 5 years away, but if it's going to be a goal, I want to be as informed as possible. Thanks for your help!

What a GREAT idea! I love picture books too! I wish I knew how to blog... I left you a book I'd love to have you review. It's a favorite in our house, and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have you read A Picture Perfect Childhood by Cay Gibson? If not, I believe you'd like it. I've bookmarked your blog in my favorites. Can't wait to learn about more books! :)

I have heard of many doctors in a variety of specialties offer opportunities such as this. I would definitely ask. We just changed insurance too, and I understand how stressful this is. :grouphug: