Thanks. A rotation diet has been recommened but I will look at GAPS. He was bed ridden for almost a year before diagnosed. There is a suspect of Hyper IgE Sindrome but we are battling to get a diagnosis here. If so and untreated he will get new ones...

We just got the first half of my sons allergy results. A new bunch to add to our old list (updated March 2012). It has taken me two years to adapt a diet and source products he coudl eat and he is still developing a bunch more allergies. I want to cry, scream and shout... Also being in South Africa it does not help; limited amount of proucts are available and not a very good ingredient listings (I work in the food inustry and understand our regulations). I just cleaned a bunch of Organ products(pea flour) and Glutagon (Delta-Glucono-Lactatone) from our pantry... This stuff is so expensive... Here comes the list new ones developed in a year 03/12 Peanuts (ANA), Tree Nuts, Sesame Seeds, Eggs, Gluten, Dairy, Soya,Olives. Recomended to avoid for next 12 months Cane Sugar... I just realized that if I have to avoid Cane Sugar all the expensive baking premixes need to go??? New ones: Pork, Any Process meats, Gelatin (Pork related), Rennet (Cow), Flaxseed, Oyesters, Mussels, Shrimps, all kinds of Shellfish, Mustard, Chilli, Cayenner Pepper, YEAST, Honey, Cocoa, Oats even GF Oats, Rye, Spelt, Green Peas, Kiwi, Leaks, Redcabbage. Recomended to avoid for next 12 months Cane Sugar... I just realized that if I have to avoid Cane Sugar all the expensive baking premixes need to go??? And this is only the first half of the tests... At least he is not bed ridden and covered in bandages like he was for a year before we found out the last allergy list. He is starting to show signs of another relapse develping but we have a new list to work from. Maybe we can avoid a relapse and long recovery.... And this is only the food ones. I am too depressed to list the enviourmental ones and the cosmetic ones... Just told my eleven year old we have to go back to the drawing board, diet wise... At least he has a sense of humor. J said maybe we should just put him in a bubble so he does not get new allergies. Then, next time we meet the homeschool co-op, for our monthly school presentation, he can use the bubble and walk on water (we meet at our local public pool) and tell the kids about Jesus miracle (Jesus walked on water with no bubble). It is hard try to HS and get in a routine with all these changes. OK... NOW I am just going to hide in the bathroom and have a good cry...

I am not sure what to suggest as I am in a different continent but will pray for your family.

Thanks...

We just got the first half of my sons allergy results. A new bunch to add to our old list (updated March 2012). It has taken me two years to adapt a diet and source products he coudl eat and he is still developing a bunch more allergies. I want to cry, scream and shout... Also being in South Africa it does not help; limited amount of proucts are available and not a very good ingredient listings (I work in the food inustry and understand our regulations). I just cleaned a bunch of Organ products(pea flour) and Glutagon (Delta-Glucono-Lactatone) from our pantry... This stuff is so expensive... Here comes the list new ones developed in a year on this batch of tests in bold: Peanuts (ANA), Tree Nuts, Sesame Seeds, Eggs, Pork, Any Process meats, Gelatin (Pork related), Rennet (Cow), Flaxseed, Oyesters, Mussels, Shrimps, all kinds of Shellfish, Mustard, Chilli, Cayenner Pepper, YEAST, Honey, Cocoa, Oats even GF Oats, Rye, Spelt, Gluten, Dairy, Soya, Olives, Kiwi, Leaks, Redcabbage. Recomended to avoid for next 12 months Cane Sugar... I just realized that if I have to avoid Cane Sugar all the expensive baking premixes need to go??? And this is only the first half of the tests... At least he is not bed ridden and covered in bandages like he was for a year before we found out the last allergy list. He is starting to show signs of another relapse develping but we have a new list to work from. Maybe we can avoid a relapse and long recovery.... And this is only the food ones. I am too depressed to list the enviourmental ones and the cosmetic ones... Just told my eleven year old we have to go back to the drawing board, diet wise... At least he has a sense of humor. J said maybe we should just put him in a bubble so he does not get new allergies. Then, next time we meet the homeschool co-op, for our monthly school presentation, he can use the bubble and walk on water (we meet at our local public pool) and tell the kids about Jesus miracle (Jesus walked on water with no bubble). OK... NOW I am just going to hide in the bathroom and have a good cry...

Please test. My son is just eveloping new ones all the time. We suspect Hyper IgE but are unable to test here... We just got an aditional 20 extra stuff more that two years ago.

Prayers for you and your family...

We also do not have any family here but when you invite someone we also invite their extended families. Families live with their extended relatives...

Sorry did not relize it was an old thread.

You are probably right. But around here most of the time to invite a family also means their extended relatives. It is not usual to have just one family around. But even the few times we were invited alone as family or we just invited one family around usualy it is good manners to offer and help and we usually help. Around here it works on the 'village'principle. Not many formal or smal gatherings...

It is also rude here not to help clean up after a meal. Usually between courses severa ladies will get up and assist the hostess. At the end the ladies that can stay behind will stay and assist with clean up whilst the men and children visit and play. If this was a big gathering, then usual the men will dismantle tables, pack chairs, put furniture back, tidy floors... During these big gatherings you might be asked to bring what you have available cuttlery, silverware, bowls, fold up chair and tables, you get the idea... Then you might have to arrive early to help set up and finish lte to carry back. Most gatherings are very informal, also time is subjective. It is called 'African Time' that means no urgency and do not expect a function to start on time... We usual arrive on time and even with a small function most of the times the hostess is not yet ready so we end up setting table and helping lay out stuff. On December 25th we gathered with some friends from our church and their friends. We arrived on time with the allocated food that we need to bring plus our allergy free option and then jumped in along with the hostess and her family to help set tables, carve meats, keep fooods warms, dress salads, cut and butter bread, serve drinks... whilst the other guests were arriving. I think we started about and hour later but that is usual the norm. Then we have the good South African Braai and that has a whole differant dinamic...

In South Africa it is good manners to offer to bring something. The hostess usually will allocate sides, chips, dips , salads, rools, colldrinks (we do not drink or offer any alcool), juices and sometimes deserts. I guess it due to the economy but even if you did not clarify with the hostess when invited it is good manners to phone and ask what they require. If a hostess does not required anything (very rare) then I will bring some nice biscuits, chocolates, fruits juices, special biscuits... When I invite someone if they did not ask (usual seminary students or people with low means) I do not expect anything. If I am providing I usual plan the meal around some generic side dishes. Most people here even if they have low means will be offended if you do not accept their offer to bring something. Then I will alocate according to their abilityto acess a kitchen, their financial position and their cooking ability. Things like 2 litter colldrink, six rools, large packet of chips are allocated to single people or the ones financially strained, it costs around US $1... Then some people that ask and want to help will bring a green salad, some vegetable side dish fitting with the meal. Then we have to take into account the ones that have special recipies for salads, breads, side dishes and deserts. If they offer to bring a specific dish (except if very far out from your meal) it is considered rude to deny them. So basically there is the ones that really want to help and ask "What can I bring?" and the ones that will offer their special dish... Most meals here usually end in a pot luck of sides and deserts, you provide the mains... I am a "What can I bring?" person and stick to it. Now on the other hand we have a child with several extreme allergies (peanuts, nuts, sesame seeds, olives, olive oil,gluten, dairy, soya, eggs, MSG and some colourants) so I also have to ask what are they serving and bring his own version of it. And both my daughter and I are on a Gluten Free limited soya and MSG diet. I can let the Soya and MSG go aside for a meal but not the gluten. So I might also bring in a side or a full main for us if we are unable to eat theirs (i.e. lasagna, pizza...) or we will just have some salads... I tend to pack a tray of chopped fruits, some safe chips and dips, some green salad with safe dressing, safe juices, cupcakes and my sons meal not because I am trying to be difficult and spoil the hostess's meal but because of allergies.

I bought the 4 AGs at our Homeschool fair last year and have just realised that making copies from the book is hard. I will be ordering PDF student pages...

My house suffers and at the moment I am working much more than 40 hours. I am in the process of setting up several projects and I know that it will slow down a bit once everything is set up. Unfortunately the maintenance on these projects would be quite high and I woud still probably be working 40 hours plus. The other issue is that these are medium term and the pay only starts coming in once the projects are running. So until such time finances are low and hiring extra help not an option. This is my day right now 8 hr plus work. Calls, meetings and lab work have to be done during a normal 8-5 work day. Usually I sep up meetings after 10:30am and try and do conferance calls or video meetings whenever possible. Lab work has to start by 10am or it is not worth. Ideally 8:00am but seeing that I do all planing and prep in advance 10am is ok. At the heights of a project lab work can be anything between 2-3 days per project, then reports proposal and booking of plant trials. Luckly plant trials run during the graveyard shifts i.e. late evenings into the early hours in the morning. But mommy with no sleep cannot teach efficiently. As you can see it is quite taxing and it seems impossible to combine the two. 8 hr work daily + 6 hr school + 2hr attending to my sick child... OK lets say I can combine 3hr school with work, we still have 11hrs daily just teaching and work. It does not include comute on outside work, tending to a sick child, cooking, errands, paying bill, researching curriculum (lots of things that worked before stopped working both kids have LDs and one extreme allergies which make normal things like food prep, baths, bandages etc. so very time consuming)... Also due to these allergies and the enviourmental ones we are supposed to keep the house as clean as an hospital, i.e. vacuum beds and pillows everyday, changing his bedding every second day, vacuum all soft surfaces (curtains, couches, rugs, no carpet in this house) daily, dust 2 to 3 times weekly, separate laundering of his clothes and our clothes... Now we had a cleaning lady twice a week, but since she left the house is falling behind. Dust accumulation cause extreme alergic reaction which aggravated his SPD which in term messes up school... and hour 3 hours become six hours plus of schooling. I know it is part of the February dulldrums but I wish brick and mortar was an option... I get little sleep, all my chronic health conditions are agravated and my health is suffering. I am also attending to my best friend (widow with an estranged daughter and no family) which has just been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. She has no medical insurance and her doctor and chemo treatments take the entire day at a state hospital once every three weeks. My husband took her in this time has I was very busy but after her very strong chemo we are on chemo watch for a week... She is a very strong person and tries not to bother us at all but we still pop in to check on her during the day and have arranged for someone to stay with her in the evenings... I am so proud of her stregth and courage. I came to this country as a missionary and before my life fell apart I became very involved in our church children ministry, planning and writting VBS programs, Lecturship children's programs, teaching at these events. I also help with setting up for funerals as the lady that does it is too fragile to do it alone and teach the children on a Wednesday night, planning and writing all my lessons. Phone and visit some members on my list that need encouragement. Teach ladies class once every school term. My husband assists with all this but I have asked people in our to take up some of this work but they are too busy with their own lives... My husband also preaches when needed as our current minister is in this country only 8 months in a year and the extra four months several qualified men take turns preaching... Now if my husband could do more with teaching and helping around the house... To ask him to teach is not an option, it does not happen, I also do think he is dislexic because he battles to read to the kids. Yesterday he could not help my son with the word trieenial... Also up to end 2011 he helped a lot with cooking and house work but he shows signs of adult ADHD and with all my son special requirements I keep on sending hi back to re-do things... 'Honey, cleanned the kids room' he says. I reply 'Did you vacuum and change bedding if applicable, vaccuum all other soft surfaces, floors, mop floors, wet dust surfaces, clean air filter, humidifier...' you can see just this is overwelming. The list of instructions is this lenghtly for laundry which has to be separate for my son and done with special detergents and triple rinsed, cooking is a nightmare because of the risk of cross contamination and we cook as much as we can combined but due to his limitation is just like learning how to cook from scratch all over again, dishes also separate and then there is the rest of the house to clean... So we are fighting all the time because I keep on asking him to re-do things around the house and he is very frustrated. Ok I digress... Work and Homeschool can be done but sometimes life happens and it all becomes overwelming... P.S. Sorry for typpos and bad grammar. Typed in a hurry during a work/school stressful session....

When I linked they said at the bottom of my page not available this offeris not available for South Africa. When linking though the reading eggs website it takes me to the Australia web the same on Zulily's web...

As usual not available to us mere mortals outside the US...

Katie Jean, I also feel like throwing my husband under the bus... I was just talking to my friend and she said that my husband does not sit still so I can I hope for him to help the kids. I just went to a meeting and took up 2 additional projects. At this moment I am over run. I need to plan and switch some thing around the Homeschool. The problem is that to keep up I need to work 40 hours plus and it is just too much. We shall see...

I also work mostly from home but regular traveling and lab work involved. At the height of a project, one to two weeks in a month can be totally messed up and then we slow down. My house is a wreck. Up until end of last year we had help but the lady that assisted us got a better job and now the house looks like a wreck. Also my schedule is not consistent and with the kids in grade 5 and 7 I find it hard to cope. My husband was laid off two years ago and is at home but I cannot rely on his help. Yesterday I had a mid day meeting at the Receiver and had set the kids up with their math work. My son asked for help with long division and he said ask your sister. When I checked the books this morning realized that my daughter had done half his page for him. Today I got another meeting and have set up the kids with work so we will see what happens. Since a b&m school is not an option I am lost as what to do. I have had to take on more work because of our financial situation and have to work very hard this year because due to economic situation the company I consult for told me if I do not increase the revenue from my projects I am at risk of losing everything by next year. I am considering getting some help with the schooling but financially at this stage we cannot afford it. There will be a small trust fund available in the future, beeing set up from my parents in law estate for the kids education. But their estate has taken over two years to settle and until finalized I cannot acess it. I understand your frustation and will be praying for you and your family.

She seems to be hitting a fog and she will ask questions like 2 x 3?! She seems very distracted and day dreams all the time. Horizon spiral approach seemed to work well in the past. We supplemented a bit with Singapore but Horizon was our main program. Horizon focus on the How not the Why and she seems to want to understand the Why? Also I am finding it harder to do the instruction myself due to time constraints so I would like something that includes instruction. I also guess that fatigue is a factor. She has had 4 incidents of Strep Throat and the doctor did a full panel of tests on Monday. I will try more breaks, rest and naps.

I usually do not post here very often but would really appreciate some advise. We still have to finish Horizons 6 (I find that since the teenage brain has kicked in it is not working so I will be looking for something different for Pre-Algebra). The goal is to start Pre-Algebra in May... I was looking at TT but it is also very process orientated rather than explaining the why. I took Advanced Calculus at Uni but for the life of me she is now saying that I am not explaining it properly. Probably MUS??? I would also like something that would take us all the way to the end. I looked at some of the samples on line and really liked the way things were explained. Can someone give me some feedback.

We are currently doing 7th Grade. Schools starts in January here. Math: We still have to finish Horizons 6 (I find that since the teenage brain has kicked in it is not working so I will be looking for something different for Pre-Algebra) The goal is to start Pre-Algebra in May... I was looking at TT but it is also very process orientated rather than explaining the why. I took Advanced Calculus at Uni but for the life of me she is now saying that I am not explaining it properly. Probably MUS??? Grammar: Analytical Grammar (over 2 years) History, Literature: Sonlight Core G with SOTW AG, Audio and some extra books; Adam and his Kin, Genesis: Our Roots, Dinossaurs of Eden, Ice Age Mystery and Kingfisher History Encyclopedia Some of the Sonlight Core G LA and the book Figuratively Speaking Writing: WWS 1 Bible: Do not like SL bible so we will be reading through the Bible in one year and she will be working through The David C. Cook Journey Through the Bible and some purity Books. Still looking for some memory work??? Science: Finish the Tinner books, she really enjoyes these and has been taking T notes and doing them on her own and the start Apologia General Science. Art: ? Outsourced? Music: ? Outsourced? Languages: Latin (Prima Latina) & French?? PE: Gym Membership, Girl Guides, Karate and some type of dance...

Prayers for the children, their families and all afected. We were watching on CNN news (we are in South Africa) and my son came in and started crying. So, so sad...

Our house is only just clean. We battle to keep up with school, therapies, looking after all the needs of my chronic ill DS, I battle with several chronic conditons as well and all other outside activities. I work full time from home and am always playing catch up. We cook mostly from scratch and we do extra sides and sometimes two different meals because of multiple allergies. We do not live in the States and food is very epensive here, no coupons and we cannot get organic meat at all. Some times we can get free range but definately not organic meat. Our food budget is very high because of the multiple allergies and the shortage of specialised ingredients. I cannot make a GF, Soya, Egg, Nut, Dairy Free bread like the one we get at the shop for US 3.50 for a loaf 1/4 of the size of a normal loaf. We had a housecleaner once a week and she has now left for a better job. All I can say is my house is not the same since. I also have a son with SPD and a very picky daughter. On Sunday we had a braai (barbaque) some steaks and espetada (giant chunks of rump on a giant kebaab), german (no mayo) potato salad and green salad. Monday leftover steak, gravy, rice, green salad and watermelon. Tuesday Spargetti with meat sauce, two kinds of pasta GF and non-GF, salad, fresh peaches and two mince sauces, one with tomatoes and one for my dd with no tomatoes. Today we are going to a funeral so we will take a big sandiwch platter (ham, cheese, tuna, egg) and make some GF, allergies free rolls for ds and I with salami and chicken roll. We will take a big fruit salad so we will be ok. The rest of the family is free to graze through the funeral food on offer. We will only come back home after tonight's midweek church service. For late dinner we have some leftovers from yesterday and also ceral or toast as options. Tomorrow we have a playdate at a water park (it is year end holidays around here) so we are packing some hot dogs (allergy free and normal), some watermelon, popcorn, natural crisps, juice, icetea and if I have time some homemade sesame seeds free humus and veggies. The water park is quit far so hopefully I will have time to prepare all of this. We are planning to stop at a mall after the water park to do some Christmas shopping. So hopefully I will be able to put the crock pot on with some butternut, sweet potatoes and onions to slow roast and make some soup for dinner. Friday we have another play date at a pool 40 minutes away from home and will pack some slow cooked roast beef rolls, melon and fresh veggies (if I have time to put up a roast on Thursday) and drinks, otherwise it will be some cold cuts again. If I do the roast then I will have enough for Saturday because I will have to feed the workers that are working on the kitchen with DH (we are redoing our kitchen) with some rice and veggies and hopefully there will be enough for all of us. Otherwise I will go and get some cooked chickens from the shop and will have to get up early and while the veg and rice is cooking will fry some chicken fillets for the allergy free family members. Sunday is a total mistery... For breakfast we have cereal or toast with sunbutter (deadly peanut allergies around here) and fruit spread. We eat a mid morning snack ( usually the kids just graze and have some fruit or veg) and our main meal is lunch around 14:00 pm for dinner we will have soup, leftovers or toast, fruit, yougurt... Trust me life is not perfect and I try not to compare...

We will stop on the 21st an resume on the 7th of January

I have all the 4 AG for SOTW but only 4 has the outline exercises. I would also love it for all of them. Maybe I should start and do my own???