My DD is having trouble reading and she's always had really bad speech issues (she was a late talker and her articulation is not good at all....she's difficult to understand). Aside from that, she also has selective mutism and I believe a mild form of Tourette's. That said, we had her evaluated by someone. Her diagnosis was that she has an auditory and visual processing disorder. The therapy is EXPENSIVE. And we have to drive an hour each way for the therapy....each week. The visual therapy lasts approximately 8 weeks. After that, she will be tested in order to start the auditory therapy. If she scores higher, she will go through the regular program which is once a week for 8 weeks. If she scores low, she will need to go through a remedial type program that is 3x a week for about 5 weeks. :001_huh: And that's an hour drive each way....three times a week. For 5 weeks. :001_huh: And then she'll also have to go through the regular program once a week for 8 weeks afterwards. We have to pay for each and every therapy session, whether it be once a week or three times a week...and it is not cheap. Not to mention the fact that for the auditory part of the program, we will need to pay $900 to lease a computer program (this money does not go to the therapist, but we will be leasing it from the software company who sends weekly updates to the therapist). We will also need to purchase headphones. And if we want to have her tested at the end of the visual part and the end of the auditory part, it is several hundred dollars each. And insurance will not help with it. Does this sound about right? It is so expensive. I want to do whatever it takes to help our daughter and will pay if this sounds right....but I just hope that it helps. I know someone who put two of their daughters through this program and they have nothing but good things to say. I just hope that it helps our daughter's speech and her reading. She's gone to speech therapy for years and years.....and it doesn't seem to have helped at all. I feel like I'm out of options, except for this one. I guess this therapist is supposed to be good....if anyone wants to look at the place it is here: http://www.merrittspeech.com . Does our daughter need to have her vision checked? She's had her hearing checked and it is just fine. Does an opthamologist diagnose visual processing disorders? I thought they just did eye problems and prescriptions. Any advice? Anyone been in this position?

EWWWWW!!!! Seriously, I would freak out. If there's a cockroach in a room and I can't catch it, I will not sleep in there. If there were a snake in the house and I thought more may get in....I think I'd leave LOL!

Preferrably, it would be some freshly cut lettuce (black seeded simpson) from our backyard garden. If we do not have any that's large enough at the moment, it would be romaine lettuce from the store....organic, of course. The only thing on it would be vinigrette (italian) dressing. I like VERY simple salads.

I go through the playroom when my kids are either gone to my parents house or sleeping. I throw away anything that's broken, any "happy meal" type toys that I consider junk, small "prize" type toys that are never played with, things with lost pieces, small things like barbie accessories or Little pet shop accessories. That's the first thing I do. About a year ago, I completely went through the playroom. The kids had like 30 barbies and they don't even play with barbies. I said "choose 5" and the rest is gone. Same thing for cars/trains....I told them that they could keep X amount, and the rest is gone. Stuffed animals I go through when they are gone/sleeping. If left up to them, they wouldn't get rid of a single stuffed animal. They literally have hundreds....but I throw out the junky ones, the ones that are never touched, etc. I'm not a pack rat in the least. Most of their artwork I throw out after I take a digital photo of it. I keep only my very favorites. I DO keep trophies, ribbons, medals, etc.....but I keep them in a box in my closet. A few are displayed in the playroom. My kids do have a lot of various things....but they are all kept neatly in plastic bins. And I had them pare down the amount of things they kept. They didn't need 20 My Little Ponies. I had them pick 3 each. They didn't need wooden blocks, legos, mega blocks, and trio blocks. They decided they liked Trio blocks the best and we kept those. Here's all the things kept in plastic bins in their closet: Little People Trio blocks cars/trains doll/Build A Bear clothing dress up clothing Playmobil My Little Pony large bin of animal figures/people figures/etc wooden block people toy instruments barbies dollhouse furniture and accessories dinosaurs Wedgits dishes and play food Zhu Zhu hamsters/bed/carriers It could probably stand to be pared down a bit more....but I think they did pretty well.

Yes, I dress modestly. Not the most feminine since I am a tomboy and like my comfy clothes....I don't like the feel of dresses/skirts. I'm a jeans/t-shirt/polo shirt/bermuda shorts kinda girl.

Honestly, this is one reason that we've always co-slept. I've been through two babies and have never been awake all night (nor even more than just 30 minutes probably), never had trouble getting baby to sleep, etc. It works for us....no tired mommy!

Alora - I like unique names. This one is not my style but if you like it, go for it. Ava - too common for me Cora - so cute! Like it! Skye - this is DD#2's middle name, so I like it. Kiya - Not my style Bella - I don't like "classic" sounding names and Bella goes with Isabella, which sounds classic. Grace - like this for a middle name. Addison - I really like this but it is getting popular. Samara - Sounds like Samaritan to me. Bliss - naughty adult name Mirabelle - it really does sound like a cow...I've heard of a cow named Clarabelle and it sounds similar. Piper - cute! Bree - cute, but not my style Halo - reminds me of the video game Brooklyn - I like this one! Ella - too common Sierra - not my style Gem - not my style Holly - don't like Ember - LOVE this one! Ellis - LOVE this one! Johana - too old fashioned sounding to me Adalyn - love it! Emmalyn - love it! Eva - dislike Sofie - dislike Kenzie - cute but very popular Calla - dislike Rose - I like Rose for a middle name Kayla - dislike Kamira - dislike Kailyn - dislike

I don't think daughters should stay home till they are married....but then again, I don't think they shouldn't stay home either. I think that each family situation is different and it's a matter that needs to be prayed about. I don't agree with the notion that people need to be "out on their own" and "experience life" before getting married. I went straight from my parents household and into the one that my husband and I picked out when I was 19 years old. I had never cooked, never really cleaned, never been responsible for running a household, making phone calls, handling money, etc. I didn't even bat an eye....for me, the transition just happened seamlessly. I hate cooking, but I don't think that being on my own for a few years would have changed that LOL. I do hope that my daughters enjoy being close to their family and do not choose to move far away (unless, of course, God calls them to). We have a very close knit family and my parents, sisters, both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all live within 20 minutes of each other and always have. I do not necessarily think that college is for every girl. Like I said, it's a matter that needs prayer. And I definitely do not think that going away to college is always a good idea. College can be a very tempting place in regards to morality and such. I never went away to college and I don't feel like I've missed anything. In fact, most people I know that went away and lived at college were not very happy with the experience. And no, I do not believe it is God's will for every woman to be married. That's between her and God.

Did you get any answers today? Is she doing any better? I hope that you can update soon! I just said a prayer for your sister!

I posted yesterday about how my daughter has made strides in her selective mutism. Link is in my signature.

I have many environmental allergies (most trees, pollen, smoke, grass, weeds, etc). I'm allergic to tobacco (never even smoked but my dad used to). I'm allergic to bananas (oral allergy syndrome only, so far)....and I tested positive to soy, sesame seeds, and mustard seeds. Even with these "minor" allergies, my doctor gave me an epipen to carry. If my child (or myself) had any throat swelling issues, I'd want an epipen.

I'd use it! I can't stand overused names.

We'll be there the 9th through the 13th, so we'll just be missing you!

We got engaged on the first anniversary of the day that he asked me to be his girlfriend (we knew each other about 2 weeks before that). After that, we had a year and a half engagement. So we were together 2.5 years before getting married.

I'm tired just reading about your trip LOL!! I'm glad you had a great time! We just got back from 9 days at the World on Friday. So we were there at the same time for some of the time. We don't do consecutive park days though.....we did a campground day (we were staying in Disney's Ft Wilderness campground) in between the park days. The weather was AWESOME on the day that we left LOL (Friday)....it was quite rainy before that.

MIL had it a year or two ago. She was in a lot of pain in her chest area and my SIL even took her to the ER before they knew what it was.

We have mancala and play it occasionally. I get a little bored with it since I'm just dropping pebbles around a circle.

I have both Wii Fit and Wii Active. I much prefer Wii Active. With Wii Fit I never even broke a sweat.....the activities are so short that I was always switching between them and never actually had the time to get my heart rate up while doing the activitiy because it would end so quickly. I love Wii Active though. You can customize your work out.

I despise pregnancy. Loathe it. When someone tells me how they just love pregnancy and feel all warm and happy with rainbows shooting out their ears, I just want to shake them and ask them what the heck is wrong with them. :D I'll take the labor (epidural, of course) over the 9 months of agony....and I have pretty "easy" pregnancies too. I cant stand the gagginess, the feeling like I can't move, the lack of comfortable sleeping positions, the always worrying about what's going on inside with my baby, the fact that I can't tie my shoes anymore, attempting to shave my legs, bladder pressure, heartburn, feet in the ribs, feet kicking my bladder and making me very nearly begin urinating on the spot, worrying about listeria in lunch meat, feeling uncomfortable in every piece of clothing and wishing I could just go naked.....but then, who the heck would want to see this whale naked? Oh, the joys of pregnancy. :lol: But I'm head over heels with my end results. :D

Okay, I just had to tell you that I read the title of this post as "Would you SELL your children if you were going to lose your house?" I was horrified LOL! Your house or your children? Hmmm....let's weigh both options. I'm really glad to know that no one is selling their children. That aside, I would definitely tell them ahead of time. It would be scary to suddenly have your house taken away and not know what is going on. Kids need stability.

Both of my DD's enjoy the Fisher Price Trio blocks. They stay together really well. They build animal cages, thrones, bunk beds, chairs, garages, houses, etc.

I like the idea and look of a two story home.....but I prefer my children to be on the same sleeping level as I am. Majority of two story homes have split bedrooms. I've seen a few that don't, but most do.

I love the name Ephram (which is how I would spell it since I would want it pronounced like ef-rum). If DD#1 were a boy, her name would have been Ephram. I'm still keeping it in mind for another child since our second child is also a girl. We are a conservative Christian family but don't use Biblical names. I just like very unique names and Ephram is unique.

I want to go! I love him!!!

DH is putting both girls to bed....he's currently reading them a book right now.