My dad has suffered from anxiety problems for all his life, and I have too when I was at my most hormonal (after dd1 was born and during high school). I think that it is time to seek help if your anxiety is impairing your quality of life - keeping you from doing things that you love and enjoy, keeping you from the life you want to be living. I'm so glad that your cake made it!! And I hope you can relax now. Feeling anxious is the pits, especially when it's about something you can't fix or control.

I LOVE To Kill a Mockingbird. That would be a great one to start with. I agree that Steinbeck is a tough read but Grapes of Wrath is a wonderful book and much easier to get through than some of his others. Others I find myself reading over and over (most of which I fell in love with in high school English): 1984 Animal Farm The Catcher in the Rye Brave New World The Heart is a Lonely Hunter A Separate Peace I also recently read The Bell Jar and already want to read it again. And finally, I highly recommend The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien but it is long and wordy in many places. Maybe save his stuff for later, but make sure you get to it at some point. It's not to be missed. =) Maybe read The Hobbit first. Have fun!! You've received tons of great recommendations.

One thing that helped me was remembering to keep my jaw relaxed. My doula told me that if you relax your jaw and don't clench your teeth, the rest of your body will relax also. And it did work. So did counterpressure on the small of my back and my hips during contractions.

I have a couple of books for my dd that are similar to this. It's not a puzzle and there is no pasting, only stickers, but she has a lot of fun matching up the stickers to the outlines. If you click on the book to look inside, you can see what a typical page looks like - you fill up the pages with matching stickers. Not quite what you are asking for, but thought it was worth mentioning.:001_smile:

I just bought one for my sis-in-law who is due next month. It's actually a really cool design, because you can still have eye contact with your baby. Much better than putting a blanket over their head and having it fall off every minute or so, which was what I did when I was nursing... So, I guess yes! I would buy one and use one too.

Don't worry, it has nothing to do with placentas. :tongue_smilie: :lol: You know, that layer of frosty stuff that builds up in the freezer? I'm always surprised when I clean mine out how yucky it can get. I hope I'm not the only one with a sometimes dirty freezer...:blushing:

I like the idea of using things as privileges that the kids really like but that you don't mind if they don't get to do. Like TV time, video game time, computer game time, etc.

I like the Burt's Bees stuff. I use their face cleanser, scrub, royal jelly face cream, and natural blemish stick. I also love that they sell it at Target. :001_smile: I'm not sure if it is organic or fair trade, though. It is nearly 100% natural. Maybe someone else knows??

I would think you could freeze it in ice cube trays as long as once they were frozen you took them out and put them in a ziplock or other container. I think if they were stored in the trays they would get freezer goop on them. I always stored mine in the little plastic bottles that attach to the breast pump.

I'm not starting until after Labor day. And I have a lot to get done between now and then!!!

:lol:

:lol: If it's not one thing it's another! Yes, two year olds really are something, aren't they?

Thanks for the replies everyone! It's nice to know I'm not the only one that has dealt with this. I'm guessing it's just a silly stage with her. She is actually really compliant, she will obey me when I tell her to stop misbehaving, or sit in her time out, but she just laughs while she is doing it. :glare: I would just like a clue that she is taking the discipline seriously. Maybe the laughing is just her trying to be cute with me so I won't be upset with her - some sort of defense mechanism - and not because she thinks the discipline itself is funny. It's hard to know, she's not really that verbal yet. Anyway, thanks again!

How long did you soak them in the Oxyclean? I have had VERY good results using the Oxyclean to get out stuff like that, but you have to soak it for a long, long time. Like, 24-48 hours. Put them in the smallest amount of water needed to cover and put in a LOT of the Oxyclean powder. I have saved many clothes from the dumpster by doing this. If you've already done that, then I have no idea what else to try. Good luck!!

I assemble and then freeze. I agree with the PP who said to make sure you label, so you know if it needs to be cooked all the way through or just warmed up. I always label if there is raw meat inside too, so I know when I am handling it and to make sure I cook it until done. :001_smile:

Ok, this is why I shouldn't use the internet when I am still waking up. I totally didn't answer your question. :lol: Ways to make her day more fun? Do you think she's old enough to learn some basic knitting, crocheting, needlework, or weaving? They have some knitting looms that young kids can use now, I've been thinking about getting one myself. Maybe she could have some projects that she can only work on the days that she is at Nonnie's? She could work on some Christmas presents, or something like that. If she's interested in that sort of thing.....

Wow! I don't have much input for you regarding subject matter covered as I am just starting out myself, but you have earned my respect for working part time and managing to be so organized about your homeschooling! I recently quit my part-time job so I could focus on homeschooling and my girls in general, thinking doing both was too hard, and I only have a preschooler! Just from reading these boards, it sounds like most first graders are doing 3-4 hours of school a day, 4 to 5 days a week, so I guess between 12 and 20 hours and an average of around 15 hours? If you added up all of your dd's school hours would it fall into that range? Does your dd care about not having a day off? If she is fine with the schedule I wouldn't worry about the 7 days a week thing. If she complains about it, maybe you could move the work from one of her days with Nonnie to the other two days so she has a free day? I hope your school year is wonderful! Oh, and I love the background on your blog, by the way. :001_smile:

Oh, my. I will definitely pray for her, and her little ones. I can't imagine. :grouphug:

Thanks for the idea. Unfortunately, she just turned 2 last week and we're nowhere near being able to have a discussion like that. I wish we were!!! I may try this with my older dd though..... :001_smile: thanks!

Yeah, I agree it's kind of silly! I have the textbook and activity book and you totally do NOT need the teacher's guide. I actually bought the first one and it was a waste of money. Most of the ideas in it are for a classroom setting. The textbooks still have teaching notes at the bottom of each page. The activity books have a lot of cut and paste-type stuff and basically reinforce the textbook lessons, but you wouldn't have to use them if you were trying to save money. I think there is another thread on the boards somewhere about the specific differences between the old and new versions of earlybird....

who thinks that your discipline methods are hilarious? My dd thinks everything I do is so funny. She laughs when I put her in time out. She laughs when I scold her about watering the floor and couch with her sippy cup of milk. She laughs when I've put her back in her bed for the umpteenth time at bedtime. I always very serious with her. I don't treat time-outs or bedtime or any bad behavior lightly. But still, she laughs. It's really frustrating! I was just wondering if this is normal two year old behavior. Does she need to be solemn and quiet while she is in time out or is it ok for her to be singing to herself and laughing? Am I expecting too much? Anyone been there and have some advice for me??

I think we are talking about two different versions. The one I'm using is called Singapore Earlybird Standards Edition, because they have changed them slightly to make them conform to US educational standards. It is a newer version, I think. This version has two books around $20 each. Confusing, I know. :001_huh:

It is Kindergarten Math, although I have heard that the first textbook is more upper-preschool level and the second is kindergarten level. The first book goes through sorting by size, shape, etc., counting from 1 to 10, writing numbers 1 to 10, doing simple graphs, shapes, patterns, length, volume, weight etc. Then the second gets into adding and subtracting with manipulatives, time, money, and more advanced stuff.

I really liked Hooked on Phonics for learning to read. You can get the five-level set with the readers on ebay for pretty cheap. I'm using Singapore Earlybird for Math. I think the workbook-style textbooks are $20 each and you would need 2 for a whole school year. My dd loves them, they are easy to use and very fun and colorful. They don't really require any prep time either. I'm not sure how Singapore compares to Abeka or Horizons.... Good luck, and have fun!

We used the crib for time out and never noticed a problem with bed time or nap time. I think my dd understood the difference. HTH.