I should have never let my older son learn to read in PUBLIC SCHOOL! :glare: No, really, I should have been more mindful of phonics when my older ds was learning to read and supplemented (at the very least) with that. He really struggles now since he never learned phonics.

Yeah, I need to stop complaining. There is NO WAY I could keep up with even just the laundry alone for 12 kids! Much less food, and cleaning the dishes, baths, heck...keeping toilet paper on the rolls is probably an astronomical feat around there. I can't even imagine. Hat's off to you for sure!

I will have to try that! It is definitely a pain to wait on it to boot up first. And it also takes away that instant e-mail ding that always sends me running to check messages. (My dh thinks I am nutty when that happens).

Wow. Thank you! :grouphug: I need to do this.

Gosh, I hate to say it, but my poor speller would probably do something similar with that word. There are times that he spells words like "distance" to the point where they are unintelligible. :( He reads fine, but I have often wondered about that form of dyslexia that affects spelling more than reading. Sorry - kinda went off topic there. How did you find out ds was dyslexic? Could I have my son tested somehow? Gosh, I am not even sure where I would start.

I guess we kind of already do this. *My Time* is from when the boys go to bed (8:30-9:30 generally - once they are in their rooms reading or whatever, it doesn't count...just when they go to bed for the night) until they get up the next morning. However, I am NOT a morning person, so I choose to take my time until around 1AM. Then I go to bed and sleep until about 8:30 or 9...which is when they are getting up too (because they need more sleep than I do). It works lovely. Now I need to do the 2 hour rest time. As a matter of fact, I am going to start that tomorrow. We did it when they were younger and needed naps...but ahhhh...the thought of 2 hours of quiet after lunch. Oh my!

I am in a major slump. :glare: I have no idea why other than that I am prone to depression, I tried coming off my Lexapro, and had to go back on it. It could be my body adjusting and readjusting to the meds...or it could just be the gorgeous sunshine and me not wanting to be stuck in the house. OR it could be that this is the last week of school, ds is getting ready to go spend a week with his dad, and I NEVER deal well with changes. :001_huh: Anyway, I have noticed, over the last few days/weeks that I want to spend all my time online. I want to shop constantly even though I have all the curriculum I need for next year and I am happy with my choices. I can not seem to get my bottom out of this chair to even get the housework done and it is starting to show. I mean, I do the minimal to keep it functioning, but then I run back to the computer. I have no idea why I do this. If it is depression, fine, but I don't feel depressed really. So...what do you all do to motivate yourselves to LEAVE the forum/computer/tv/bed and get your stuff done for the day (even when you really don't feel like it)? And, please, don't tell me that shop therapy helps. LOL That may just be the push I need to go over the edge. :tongue_smilie: P.S. This post is not about school at all. We get school done everyday without fail. I am talking more housework type stuff.

Sad, isn't it? But hey...my first night browsing, I got to "meet" my highschool sweetheart's (i.e. guy I almost married and dated for 5 years only to become estranged from him in some odd way with no closure at all) WIFE AND KIDS. Oh joy. :(

We started with a plastic crate. Dogs like to feel "safe" - especially when they are pups and when they are new to your home/family. As my dog got bigger, we moved up to a wire crate during the day when we were gone, but he still slept in a plastic/smaller/cozier crate at night. Now he is 3 and, of course, doesn't use a crate at all anymore. :)

Phonics Pathways with Explode the Code for continued practice. :)

Have you ever been a hypochondriac? I mean, do you have a generalized health anxiety? If not, don't let them make you feel like you are blowing this out of proportion. I say this because I AM a hypochondriac. I can tell you that, unfortunately, I do NOT know my body and I do not have the sense of when something is actually wrong versus when I am being hypochondrical. If you have never been a hypochondriac before - never really worried about health issues, but this one is bothering you, then trust your gut and get some answers. Don't let the docs make you feel crazy. Trust yourself! Best wishes that this lump actually makes diagnosing the problem BETTER and they can get it figured out tomorrow.:grouphug:

I am so sorry this has been rough, Rhonda! Hugs and prayers still coming your way!

Hey...did you steal my older ds? This description fits him to a T. Unfortunately.

I follow and agree with PARTS of the Well Trained Mind philosophy. Other parts, I tried and they were not a fit for my kids. This board is a WEALTH of information. Often times, if I find something is not working for me, there is someone here to suggest something that WILL work for me/my kids. :) I also love the used curriculum sale board. ;)

Eek...my longest was 6 hours. My mom labored with me for over 36 hours, and, by the time they finally did a c-section and took me, we both almost died.

What treatment are they recommending? I thought that with silent stones, none was really warranted. Will everyone with silent gallstones eventually have a gallbladder attack? No, the risk of silent gallstones causing a gallbladder attack is about 1% per year. In other words if 100 persons had silent gallstones, only ten would have a gallbladder attack after 10 years, and 90 would still have no symptoms.

:iagree: :lol:

You are wanting a recommendation for him...Have you thought of swimming or maybe even martial arts. My older ds does tae-kwan-do at his own pace and is learning a lot about balance, coordination, integrity, respect...just the whole nine.

Wow! I love all of the creative spaces!

ewwww...no.

I guess I am confused on the "don't come out of your room until 8AM" conversation from the start. Reading through this, I thought I would just share our way of life to add to the mix. LOL My kids get up whenever they want. If I am not up, they don't bother me, persay, unless they start fighting or screaming at each other. The kids go to bed between 8:30 and 10. Most of the time, the younger is asleep by 8:45, but the older is usually up until 10pm reading. Lately, my younger has gotten up around 8 and then ran in to wake up the older. This does NOT go over well. LOL I guess my point is that we just go with the flow here. No one has to be up at a certain time (unless we have an appointment to get to or something), I don't wake my kids up to do school, I am not terribly strict on when school start (though if it gets to be 10am and no one has started for the day, I do get butts moving!), and we finish when we finish. There are no mandatory naps for my kids at ages almost 10 and almost 6, but I will sometimes have them separate to their own rooms and play quietly if they are fighting a lot or something. Now...off to see what everyone is talking about and who recommended the "in your room till 8am" and why.

I do NOT "require" sports. My 9.9 year old will play any sport you give him the tools to play (and is pretty darn good at basketball and soccer. He stinks at Baseball! LOL) while my 5 year old would rather dance or sing or play "Transformers." To each his own. It sounds like your ds WANTS to play sports...just isn't very good at them. In that case, I would let him keep playing until HE decides he doesn't want to.

You ALWAYS have the option to bring her home again. :) When I started homeschooling, I knew that I always had the option of sending my kids to school (be it public or otherwise). Knowing I had that option made me feel much better going forward...and now, I don't even entertain the option anymore. I would think that homeschooling an only child or a "youngest" child when the older is in school would have to be LONELY. My boys play and enjoy each other...but we got to the park in the spring and fall several days a week. We always have something going on...and even when we don't, I find reasons to go places...even it it is just to McDonalds. LOL The kids need to get out of the house or we might ALL go crazy!

I love Adam...most of time. I agree, he can be a bit "scream-y" and flamboyant at times. However, that does not erase the fact that I love his rendition of "I Just Love You" so much that I downloaded the video, turned the mp3 into a CD and I listen to it in my car almost daily. :) And...gay or not...he is pretty darn nice to look at. His face is gorgeous. Danny tugs at my heart strings. I think it is knowing the background about his wife....