revisiting this thread, now that she's older and knows her letters (not the sounds though) any new suggestions? anything new you all have tried out and liked?

Hi everyone, My kids are 6.5, 4 and 1 and I've only spoken english with them so far. I do speak arabic, but my husband does not. Arabic is my "first" language, because my parents spoke to me in arabic as a child, but I was born and raised in Canada and English is definitely my FIRST/proficient/fluent language. My arabic is not the greatest and I feel like I can't express myself the way I'd like to with my kids and so because of this I'm ambivalent. We did visit an arabic country for 6 weeks several years ago, but the whole time we were there, all the kids wanted to practice their english with my kids so they didn't pick up anything. Especially now that they are older, for me to just start speaking arabic scares me. I feel like I'll be explaining everything 3 times, arabic/english/arabic again. Should I do that? Or should I stick to *just* arabic for a long while to get them used to it? Is or Has anyone been in this situation that you all of a sudden started introducing a language to them at these older ages? Is it too late for my 6 year old? They do know some arabic vocabulary words for a few foods/household items, so some sentences they can figure out from hand gestures and by picking out the word they know. Any advice? Been there done that? I'm upset with myself for waiting so long. Fear of failure has been holding me back but I want to push through. Thanks everyone

Hi everyone, Can you recommend an easel you really like? I'm looking for something with a big enough tray, but folds up easily/compactly. My kids are 6 and 4. Thanks in advance.

Oh, just saw the 'craving salt' comment. That's another sign of adrenal fatigue. Check out "THE adrenal fatigue" thread on mothering.com. LOADS of information.

:iagree: Low BP is a sign of adrenal fatigue. Depending on how 'fatigued', it can take up to a couple years for the adrenals to heal in an otherwise healthy adult. Licorice root, epsom salt baths in warm water before bed, staying hydrated all help with low BP. I've been suffering from it for a looong time. I recently started taking licorice root (I'm pregnant AND nursing, but I have my ND's OK) and within a week my BP is now 100/60, and it was 70/50 before that. Licorice root should only be taken for 1-3 months max, but under a health care practitioner's supervision. Lots of people seem tothink low BP is fine/healthy, but if you look into chinese medicine, ayurvedic, unani medicine in those cultures it's NOT a good thing, and lots of NDs also recognize that. It also relates to poor circulation (my hands/fall asleep in a heart beat!), sluggishness, low energy, etc. You might want to check out Maca root as well. Since you have an ND, ask him/her what they think.. Do you mind sharing what the electrolytes are that you are taking? Hope this helps and congrats on the pregnancy!

Thank you! It's almost exactly like the one I had a couple years back, that I never refilled. Do you buy a new one each year or just buy refills? If refills, where do you get them from? Thanks again :)

:bigear:

Off topic, but I have *never* heard people call ground beef 'hamburger' until last week. Is that an American thing?

I don't think I've actually ever done it, but seriously, at this point, something has to give. Up until now I have been making at least 4 separate things every night for dinner, besides the lunches and breakfasts for myself and the kids and I just can't do it anymore. He'll have to wait for his 4 course meals until after they've grown a bit. edited to add: The "4 separate things" is not because each person is requesting someting. It's because my husband "has to" have certain things, like his mom used to make.

What is MCT and what's so great about it? :leaving:

Hi everyone, I am looking for ways to speed up cooking prep. I do make mostly everything from scratch and am almost allllways chopping onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes. I know I can freeze onions. What other time-saving tips do you have that I can do in advance, on a weekend or something. Here's what I have do/plan to do so far: 1. Browning tons of ground beef and freezing 2. Making some freezable meals (meatloaf, lentil soup etc) 3. Chopping and freezing cilantro and parsley Also, where can I find a list/book/site with information like how long bread can be left out or if it can be left out at all without being covered. Or how to best store certain vegetables etc. Thanks in advance! Sorry if a thread like this exists, wasn't sure what to search under.

I was on vitamins/supplements for about 3 years to correct several health issues. More recently I ran out of a few of them and at the same time was like "enough is enough" and stopped. I, too, felt better. There is such a thing as taking too much. In my case, especially, I was taking specialized supplements, apart from regular multi vitamins.

:iagree: This. And also look into EFT (emotional freedom technique). It'll get to the core issue of the anxiety and get rid of the negative emotional charge so things won't trigger the anxiety.

Thank you everyone! I will be sitting down this afternoon and writing down the rules which are NOT negotiable and that I can uphold and be consistent with. My kids definitely need more outside time (not to mention daddy-time. SIGH). I just hate that everything discipline-wise is on me, you know? Anyway, that's what I have to work with. I always just had snack time in the afternoon so I will definitely add one in the morning. I know especially for my 4yo, from these posts (thank you!!) that she has not been eating well for months and while I did comment on it, I really didn't make a full connection with her behaviour and her eating habits so that will definitely be something I will work on. When we were all on the allergen diet, it was going really well, because I had a list of things we COULD eat up on the fridge. I'll have to re-do that list, not for allergens, but just for ideas so when I go shopping, I make sure and get them. I will also close the pantry with one of those child locks, because I'm really sick of food being wasted! I can see how my level of frustration is 10 out of 10, because it's literally so many issues at once! And I'm the type that gets swallowed up by stress and then retreat into a cave because I can't handle it, and I know that I feel better writing/typing/talking it out with someone, especially because I'm very visual, hence all the 'lists'. I'm also making a list of "biggies" and "smallies" for myself to post on the fridge, so that instead of being super mad at every little thing they do, then I can really see which issues are absolute NO-NO's and which ones are age-appropriate exploring behaviour (which in general I don't mind, and in theory I encourage!! But when everything else is out of control I can't handle one.more.mess) For toys, they didn't have much but we just had a big holiday and my mom and sister got them toys with lots of small-ish play food etc. We got rid of bags full before we moved and they played together much better then. I'll have to go through again and read the toy suggestions. Baby's nursing now :) Once I have my 'plan' in place (and in writing!) then I am going to enforce things 100%. This post will serve as a reminder. Babe's crying, but I really want to thank everyone for your input. I obviously let this go on for too long not being able to really break down the separate issues and feeling like *everything* is going wrong. I did hire a mothers helper that I love to come 3 days a week and she's only come 3 times :s I'm emailing her now. Thank you! I feel like I actually have a community here that cares about discipline which is so important to me but I have no good role models, despite reading lots of books on the subject.

Magnesium helps with headaches/helps relax the muscles. You could do a supplement, or eat foods high in Mag, like pumpkin seeds, dark leafy greens, etc. A nightly epsom salt (Mag sulfate) bath might help too. At least 1-2 cups per bathtub of water. Also, could have an emotional component. Did she ever complain of headaches before, do you remember any head injuries in the past etc? Hope she feels better soon. I feel so sad when my kids don't feel well and can't really describe what's wrong.