Treasure Keepers? Coming up with names is always so hard.

Hehe. Absolutely! I can only imagine the hate mail they will be getting. At least the press release says that it won't affect the release dates for the Deathly Hallows movies. But in the meantime, I have to find something else to look forward to.....

You have GOT to be kidding me. They should have figured this out before they released the trailer and got me all excited!!!!!:glare: That's like...a whole year away!!!

Yup. At least half the time I am scrambling to get the place picked up between 5:00 and 5:30. :tongue_smilie:

At that age I would put dd in her crib for a time out. Just for one or two minutes. I did that until she was old enough to be able to sit in time out on her own which was a little before she turned 2. Mine are 2 years apart and my youngest was adopted when my oldest was almost 3....so I've never been in your shoes. But I do have several friends who had babies 15-16 months apart - and they have my utmost respect!!!

:grouphug: I'm so sorry you are facing this. I don't know what else to say; my dh would never make such a big decision without me and I can only imagine how upset I would be if I were in your shoes. I'll pray for you and your family.

Why not try the HSing option under the new job scenario first? If it doesn't work, then you'll put them in school knowing that it was the best decision after all.

I am much more thoughtful online. Meaning, in real life I blurt things out, joke a lot, and am more spontaneous. Online I spend way too much time trying to format the perfect response, and I'm usually more serious because I'm scared if I joke about something it may come across as offensive. My worst fear is offending someone and having the proof of my rudeness right there for all to see. :tongue_smilie:

I'm going to quote something from Dr. Sear's Discipline book that I read recently. From a section titled "Disciplining the temperamentally difficult child": "Nagging, yelling, and scolding intensify the oppositional behavior of the difficult child; abusive punishment, especially spanking, makes the child more difficult by making him angry. For example, if you demand that the temperamentally difficult child clean up his room, he perceives this as a challenge. The more you punish, the more he digs in and refuses to cooperate. You will eventually lose this game, so don't even start it. Once a temperamentally difficult child becomes chronically angry, you have a serious problem. Discipline must focus not only on preventing a lot of anger but also on helping your child learn mechanisms to relieve his negative feelings." Recommendations he gives include staying positive, lots of physical activity, finding a sport or skill that your child can succeed at and channel energy into, and not using threats because they will start power struggle. Perhaps at this point an anger management class or behavioral therapy would help? Even if you only went to a couple of sessions you may come away with some good ideas to implement at home. One last thing: I've noticed that a lot of my dds bad behavior (pushing or hitting her sister, etc.) stems from her desire to control the situation. She likes to feel like she has things under control. I find that if she can satisfy this need for control in other ways (giving her a project or task that she enjoys and can have full control over) that she is nicer to her sister. I'm so sorry you're going through this. I wish I could offer some more specific advice. Sure, some of the bad behavior our children exhibit is due to our poor parenting. But some children are born with temperaments that would try even the most patient parent. And you are definitely not alone in this. I hope you find a good solution. :grouphug:

I chose Eva. I recently watched Wall-E so the name and the sound of him saying it (awwww) is fresh in my mind. Cute puppy!!

I HAVE to wear: my tinted moisturizer (like a light foundation) and powder. Concealer for those dang purple half-circles under my eyes. A swipe of blush and my kohl eyeliner (I feel naked without it). Lip gloss. If I have extra time I'll put on some neutral eyeshadow. But usually I don't have time. =) I wish I could just put on some moisturizer and lip gloss, but I have pale skin that shows every single blemish. And I am never blemish free. *sigh*

I can tell you what I am *planning* to do....I'm starting next month. =) I plan on keeping all of the papers/worksheets/projects for each subject in binders until we are completely through with it. Then, when we are done, I will look through all of them, choose the best examples of dds work to keep, and throw out the rest. I am keeping all of her recently finished work in binders organized by subjects on a shelf in our bookcase. At the end of the year (or sooner if the subject only lasts for a few months or a semester) I will remove it from the binder, keep the important stuff, and put it into a portfolio/report cover-type folder. These I will keep long-term. If the work is in a workbook I will tear out some example pages and throw out the rest of the workbook, unless it is something I will use again for dd2. Good luck!! I have no idea if my system will work for me or not...so I am interested to read what everyone else is doing too.

:iagree: Whatever you choose, jump in, and don't look back. I also agree with the other poster who said that when it's hard to make a decision, it's usually because both options are pretty equal. So if you have already prayed, deliberated, and received all the input you can, and still can't see a clear answer, just pick the one that feels right in your (and dh's) gut, in your hearts, and go with it. Take ownership of it and don't wonder what would have happened had you made the other decision. I've found that when I've had to make hard decisions, simply deciding and then moving forward really helped me to feel more confident about it. I hope you will feel the same once you've decided. :grouphug:

Wow!! Congratulations! What an amazing birth. So, do you still have to pay the hospital's delivery charge?:tongue_smilie:

Many floor manufacturers make hardwood floors that install like a laminate floor with the click-lock system. They are called "engineered" hardwood floors. Maybe that would be a good option for you? We installed ours nearly three years ago and still love it. It is solid wood planks with a layer of gorgeous mahogany on the top surface. There is enough mahogany on the top to be able to sand it down and refinish it two times, with 15 years in between sandings. It is holding up very well, a couple tiny dents where something sharp has been dropped but other than that it looks great. It installed just like a laminate floor, no glue, but we put it in our kitchen as well so in there we sealed in between the planks with some waterproof adhesive. Besides being easy to install, the nice thing about this floor is that it feels softer than a normal hardwood floor, because it has the padding underneath. If we installed standard hardwood it would have been nailed to the concrete with no padding. And unlike laminate floors, there is no particle board used so you don't have to worry about something spilling on it and making it warp. Here is a link to a floor that is very similar to the one we installed: http://www.shawfloors.com/hardwood-floorsDetails/Santos_Mah/Santos_Mahogany_-_5in-Santos_Mahogany If you go this route, one thing I would suggest is finding a floor that is 1) solid wood, no particle board whatsoever, 2) is thicker than average (ours is 5/8 inch thick), and 3) has a deep layer of the surface wood on the top, so it can be sanded down multiple times if needed (a lot of them you can only sand once). I have heard that standard hardwood is difficult to install, but haven't tried it myself. Good luck with whatever you decide!

My dd1 who is 4 also gets these night terrors. She is usually screaming and thrashing in her bed. I come in to try to hold her and she lets me pick her up but then immediately starts pushing me away and freaking out. She is inconsolable. I'm pretty sure when this happens she isn't actually awake. I find that if I pick her up, hold her tight, take her out of her room, turn on the lights, and walk around with her a bit, talk to her, etc. then she wakes up a little and figures out what is going on. Then she'll talk to me a little bit, back to her normal self, and fall back asleep. It seems that the faster I can get her to wake up and realize what's going on, the faster it is over. My dd's usually happen if she goes to bed too late or has had a busy day, is overtired, etc. I've heard that they are pretty common in little kids and aren't a sign that anything is wrong. My dd usually doesn't even remember that she was upset. If she does, she'll tell me she was scared but can't ever tell me what she was scared about. So I don't think there is any harmful, lasting effect. It seems like I am more upset by them than she is. I'm interested to hear what your doctor says. Sorry you are going though this, it's so hard to see our little ones afraid and not know how to help. :grouphug:

Oh, I feel your frustration. I have tried so many different techniques on our floors. I also hate those swiffer-type mops. I used one for a while and the floors always felt like they had a coating on them (of smeared dirt and other gross stuff, I'm sure). :ack2: Now I'm using one of those microfiber mops. Like you, I rinse before I dip. :lol: After I'm done I hand or foot dry the floor with a towel or I'll have water marks everywhere (I have wood floors). When I'm done the microfiber cover and towels go in the wash. I mop once a week, but since I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old I have to do some mid-week floor cleaning. For that I put some floor cleaning solution in a spray bottle and will use that along with a damp dishrag to clean up spills or sticky spots under the table, then dry with a kitchen towel that I keep under the sink. I also have one of those hard floor cleaner contraptions, one that vacuums and scrubs and dries. It cleans the floors great, they feel squeaky clean when I am done. But it takes a long time, doesn't get the corners, and it's LOUD so I can't use it when dds are sleeping and trying to mop when they are awake is a huge pain. And it doesn't dry to my standards, so I still have to go over it with a towel. But I do use it when I am doing my spring cleaning or if we are moving furniture, etc. I will be watching this thread....mopping is one of my least favorite chores and I'm always trying to figure out how to make it easier.

Yogurt parfait! I take plain or vanilla yogurt, mix in some granola or uncooked oatmeal, and top with a handful of blueberries (or whatever other fruit I have on hand). My girls LOVE this, it's easy, and no cooking required. :001_smile:

You're friend is right! Yes, the plot lines are similar in that they center on the supposed assault of a white woman by a man from a discriminated-against minority group and all of the events/biases/blame throwing that follow. But what a difference between the two writing styles! To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books, one that I read over and over again. I love it because the characters are so wonderful, especially Scout and Atticus. Scout's precocious innocence and her inability to understand the biases and bad behavior of the adults in the story gives such a great voice to the novel. And in my opinion Atticus is the best father figure in the history of literature. Thanks! I probably never would have made that connection on my own.

:lol:

I don't have the experience to offer you any advice but wanted to offer a thought that came to my head when I read your post: Do you have a public school ISP in your city/county? If you enrolled in one would they count it as regular public school enrollment and give you access to the programs? I'm not sure if that's an option for you or not but thought it might be a way to be able to continue to homeschool and still utilize those resources. :grouphug: to you, it is such a big choice you are making and doesn't seem fair that you even have to choose.

I hate it too! Especially with a book like Forster's where the plot is sloooooow, and the main point of the novel centers on the dynamics of the characters' relationships, of course we should expect a lot from them. And you're right. If an author is going to write boring, annoying characters into a book, the least they can do is give the reader a little bit of a payoff at the end - either make the characters interesting or give them what they deserve! :smash:

I didn't like it either. I did finish it because I really wanted to like it and was hoping it would grow on me or redeem itself in the end. I just didn't really like any of the characters and never cared enough what happened to them, I guess. :confused:

I am a beginning homeschooler too, but for what it's worth, I vote that if your daughter is interested, then go for it! My dd was also interested at age 2 and I just went with her interest. She started reading soon after her 3rd birthday. Sounds like your dd may be an early reader also. I think that the "no-no" with a two year old and phonics is trying to pressure them to learn at that age even if they aren't interested. But as long as she is leading you and having fun, why not?

Make some salmon salad sandwiches - yum!!! Or mix a can in with some mac and cheese - we've done that before and it's been delish. Kinda like very quick tuna casserole. Add some capers if you're feeling extra fancy. :tongue_smilie: