http://picasaweb.google.com/Jlhutch6/HomeschoolRoom Our "formal dining room" is our homeschool room and our "formal living room" is our read a loud/ music room. They are both off of our front entry.

This is our supposedy "formal" living & dining rooms off of the front entry of our home. We call the 2nd room our music/reading room. http://picasaweb.google.com/Jlhutch6/HomeschoolRoom

http://lostbuttonstudio.blogspot.com/2008/04/playroom-makeover.html I would love that lego table in our homeschool room for read alouds!

http://www.smarrpublishers.com/statement.html I've been doing a little reading on junior high and high school lit programs. Just have no words:001_huh:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They are young - going into 4th and 2nd. My 4th grade daughter is an excellent reader, she's been reading well since 4yo, but she hasn't read a lot of ancient or middle ages history titles without coaxing. I think they will grow to love history reading over time with the TQ book additions to SOTW. I will see where we are in 5 years. I won't worry about it yet. I want to be a rigorous classical educator, but I'm not sure I really am. That's ok.

I'm discouraged about where my children are right now - and what I had hoped for them may not be possible! I want in theory a rigorous, classical education. But, I don't want to push them to the point of stress and burn out. We have a lot of special needs in our family and I don't want school to be a stress on us. We have used SOTW 1 &2. Now, we are using SOTW3 w/ Truthquest Amer. History for young children (we are doing SOTW 3& 4 for 3 years with the TQ guides). I want to do a 2 year overview of world history when we are done with SOTW. I will have my younger son outline Kingfisher and my daughter go through Streams of Civilization. I will include reading lists of living books we didn't get through during the first cycle. Then, I had hoped to start Omnibus 1 with my son in 7th grade and my daughter in 9th grade. The problem is that they just don't have a LOVE for reading and history that I thought they would. I can't imagine them being ready to read at that level by then - even though it's five years from now. My husband thinks I'm crazy to worry about it, that they will change so much by then. But, I'm worried I'm on the wrong track in my mind about what's best. After going through the Truthquest Guides for Young Children, and ordering some out of print living books that look wonderful and engaging, I can see that Truthquest for Junior High and High School would be what I would have wanted as a student! I would continue with CLE Reading until 8th for Lit and add Stobaugh Lit for Junior High and High School. Yet, Omnibus looks so excellent, superior, scheduled, w/teacher's helps for discussion etc. I want them to have the best... It's like I'm torn between two opposing paradigms!!

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart Rose's Journal by Marissa Moss Dust for Dinner by Ann Turner HTH!

At those ages the only movies my children had seen were: Madeline - cartoon dvds, i.e. Madeline at the Eiffel Tower Little Bear Movie Veggie Tales NIV Kids Club Cedermont Kids HTH!

This is an embarrassing story I didn't want to post on the boards when it happened, but it is soooo applicable here I think it will help you! I have a very responsible, helpful 9yo dd. She at times can be silly, inattentive and forgetful. When she is I tend to be harsh and overbearing in my correction. Usually verbal - not yelling or angry, just harshly reprimanding her for her wrongs ya' know. I was very self righteous, but I didn't see it. We took a mother-daughter trip for mother's day on a plane to the Maine coast last month. A big deal! We have lots of special needs in our family and it was our first time away. I had an MS attack the week we were to leave but I was determined to go. My neurologist prescribed 10 pills per day of steroids to avoid a hospital stay of iv steroids. I also had a muscle relaxer for the spasticity I was experiencing to help get me through the airports with my cane and not need help. Well, when I took my pills at the layover between flights I took 10 muscle relaxers and 1 steroid. I realized what I did in the air as I started to pass out. I got the flight attendant's attention and the last thing I heard was "All medical personel to the back of the plane!!!" . I was laying on the ground with medical tools on me, o2 on, a doctor and nurse working on me etc. It was mayhem and they were trying to keep me awake. I was fine just extremely sedated and my blood pressure was super low but they had to land the plane in Vermont, and paramedics rushed us to the hospital. We stayed for a few hours. The er doc sent us in a cab back to the airport. We spent another 12 hours getting connections all over the US to go back to Maine even though we were so close! I was exremely sedated with slurred speech and low blood pressure the entire time. Who was INATTENTIVE, FORGETFUL! ME!! Yes, God had my attention. I seriously repented of my sinful attitude towards my precious daughter. Our days in Maine together were spent with me looking at her with NEW eyes. Eyes of appreciation and love. The entire trip she talked about how much she missed her brothers with special needs and she shopped for gifts for them with every last penny of the money she had saved for several months. She loves them and her life - even though it is hard and filled with sacrifice. I'm determined to pray every day to be kind in my training of her. To be more aware of how God is at work in her life than areas I want her to grow in. What I'm realizing is that we all have so many areas to grow in. I'm still growing in the same areas I want my daughter to do well in. While I want to have high standards - I want to communicate always with grace, humility, and kindness.

I hope you didn't think I was being condescending - I have a great deal of respect for you! Maybe one of the keys in your post is that you are churchless in your new community? Not getting with friends? Not serving outside of your immediate family? Maybe God will use this emptiness to lead you to a new church family.

Calling, vocation... I see my work as a calling from God. You have sooo much to occupy your time - I can't imagine being "bored" with 10 children!! And homeschooling! And all that you've accomplished with nutrition and health in the last year or so. I think a new perspective would help rather than more to do!!! Some books to recommend... The Callings... The Gospel in the World, Paul Helms http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0851515126/ref=cm_rdp_product'>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0851515126/ref=cm_rdp_product'>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0851515126/ref=cm_rdp_product'>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0851515126/ref=cm_rdp_product Don't Waste Your Life, John Piper http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0851515126/ref=cm_rdp_product And another book to recommed for those mid life "what have I done and what am I doing with my life" panicky feelings that are common to so many of us! Lost in the Middle, Paul Tripp http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Middle-Midlife-Grace-God/dp/0972304681/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215098896&sr=1-1 HTH!

I would consider joining an parents of children w/ autism support group - going to all the mom's nights outs, dad's breakfasts, sibs workshops etc. Not to find guardians, but bc you are so isolated you find yourself in the situation you are in. Every parent of special needs children needs friends that can relate, support, and encourage them. Our legal guardian for our four (one profoundly disabled, one mild mr mild autism, one with type 1 diabetes, and one healthy dd) is our dear friends from our church. We were drawn together 13 years ago bc of the birth of her dd with a chromosome disorder. She is moderately mr. Our friends have 5 children including teenage boy twins who were born at 29 weeks and have had learning issues. They homeschool all but their mr daughter, just as we send our mild mr ds to special ed at school. Are they perfectly set up to raise our children? NO! It would be too many children! But they would LOVE them and understand what they need. And we have set up our will to provide abundantly financially for them all. And likely it's never going to happen. I would never feel comfortable with a family who didn't have a special needs bc they just wouldn't understand what they were getting into.

These are my all time favorite mothering reads - read them at least once a year! The Mother at Home by John Abbott (1800's) http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/ssb/search.cfm?AuthorID=166 Hints on Child Training by Henry Clay Trumbull (1800's)

I've become a vegan bc of health issues. I'm on a super low sat fat diet (like zero!) bc of MS. I mostly eat veggies, fruits, legumes and minimal grains but I occasionally want favorite recipes like homemade pizza or mexican dishes. Most of these old favorites require a sprinkle of cheese so I've tried some soy cheeses. Yuk! I use hardly any bc they all seem like they have an aftertaste. How do you get used to this? Or am I trying the wrong ones?

Kristin Billerbeck is a Christian chick lit writer. The Ashley Stockingdale and Spa Girls series are laugh out loud funny! http://www.kristinbillerbeck.com/

Please read these two links: http://www.geocities.com/autismcornwall/Dear_Family_Friends.htm http://www.ellennotbohm.com/ten_things_article.html

Makes me laugh about no one on the boards admitting to light reading :). Even Susan Wise Bauer shared on her blog that she enjoyed the Shopaholic series after meeting one of her deadlines! Maybe I'll read those - seems like a lot of you enjoy those. Anyway, The Host is getting really good - not exactly high brow though! Last week I read Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer. Saw it at the library and checked it out bc I love the Schaeffers. It wasn't what I was expecting! Has anyone read it? I love Edith Schaeffer - and as a mother of sons it broke my heart. How could anyone dishoner their mother like that? I know no one is perfect, and we all have spiritual pride and foibles that are glaringly obvious to our children. But to write a book filled with such sarcasm and venom. She's in her 90's and living with one of her daughters now, and I just hope she's not aware enough to understand that this book is out there. Heartbreaking....

Cute story: My oldest 14yo son is very medically fragile from a genetic degenerative disorder. He was very sick last year and we almost lost him. He was having something called Cheyne-Stokes breathing and our neurologist rushed us to the cardiologist for an immediate echocardiogram. The cardiologist did it himself while the entire office was closed during lunchtime. My 3 younger children had to be sooooo quiet because the office was totally silent. And they did it! I was so happy. The doctor said they were so well behaved they scared him :). They were actually just so worried about their brother. Anyway. The doctor let them watch the echo and showed them all their brother's heart and arteries etc. He was really nice to them. He asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. Just then the office was filling up with other docs and nurses coming back from their lunches and they were all listening. My 6yos said an endocrinologist bc he had diabetes. They all chatted with him about that. My 8yod said a pediatric nurse because she wanted to be a mommy and it was too hard to be a mommy and a doctor :/ . The lady doctors were dying laughing!! Then, my 8yos with mild mr said he wanted to be an orderly bc Mommy says its the most important job at the hospital!!!!

I'm home alone for 5 days with my oldest son - 14yos w/special needs. My husband took my three youngest to his family for their annual trip - our oldest is too fragile to fly. I'm organizing, reading, scrapbooking, getting homeschool notebooks photocopied and organized, straightening up the supplies. It's bliss! I'm reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I'm on p.48 and it's starting to get good!

I just went through this! I wanted to stop coloring my hair after reading the dangers of dark brown permanent dyes. Permanent dyes are a nightmare to grow out though - the skunk stripe looks ridiculous! After growing out two inches of roots, I found out my hair is bright white on the front and top and salt and pepper in the back. My husband and I talked about it last night. I am going to keep dying it with organic vegetable permanent dyes (and hope for the best!) - and in about 5 years I'll try again. I'll use my hair dresser to incorporate lowlights to minimize the white stripe as it grows out. I just can't afford that right now - which is the major reason why I'm waiting - that and the fact that I'm not at all white on the back of my head. I just can't be so two tone!

I'm looking for - cheaper shipping not cutting off the pics to make 4X6 Thanks!

I'm headed on a plane in the am for my Mother's Day present - mother/daughter trip!! Thanks!

I'm headed on a plane in the am for my Mother's Day present - mother/daughter trip!! Thanks!

I purchased a $350 homeschool order today on Amazon. I signed up for the free month of Amazon prime so I could get most of it now, rather than wait for a lump shipment in late August... Do you think I'll have trouble cancelling the Prime next week? I don't want to be billed $79 on my credit card for it!!! I marked my calendar so I don't forget :)

I have a large wall calendar on the fridge. When I make appts., though, I often have to call to be sure it coordinates with the calendar instead of making the appt. right then. Then benefit of not having two calendars outweighs that minor drawback for me. I have a clipboard hanging on the inside cupboard door by my telephone by my phone. It holds printouts with Aldi and Trader Joe's master lists to check off. Type 1 diabetes charts and medication schedules for special needs children. School schedule. Daily kids routine. Daily mom routine. Weekly cleaning routine. Main phone numbers. Assorted impt papers I need to clip on their to fill out/send off etc. On the top page of the clip board is a Mom's To do list I made with boxes for Errands: To Call: Projects: Chores: Garden: Meals: Additional copies of these are included in my family and homeschool planners that I keep on my desk. Many additional forms are in those, but they are not helpful to me in my kitchen planning area. This is the simplest system for me. HTH.