I have been having my tsh checked every 6 weeks since October, and he adjusts the dose, usually a 1/2 pill or 2 less or more A WEEK according to the tsh and then 6 weeks later we do it all over again. I thought this time it'd be stablized but I have been feeling just yuck for the past couple weeks, so I know it's off. My dr. is good about listening, but it still feels like it takes forever to feel like a normal human again. Guess I just want sympathy :( And to know I'm not the only one. Thanks for listening and sharing.

I have been hypothyroid for a few years. The medication adjustment after pregnancy (I've had 2 since I was diagnosed) is terrible. My baby is 8 months and I was ok for a while, now I've been down and up for 4 months... but the last month and a half I have been feeling miserable. I don't know if I'm up or down again. I get my tsh checked again next week (finally.) I hurt all over, my muscles are so cramped and weak and sore. I can't sleep. My body is so sensitive to any changes that my tsh does these major swings (from .02 to 17 in 6 weeks by just changing a couple 1/2 tablets a week.) I feel as though I take care of myself well. I have never been overweight and eat lots of healthy protein and veges and healthy fats. I have stopped sweets. I walk everyday (thank you dh :). I have lost all my pregnancy weight. I guess some of us are just lemons. We want another baby but I think it'll be the death of me. Anyone else go through this? I there anything I can do to help myself?

I was just thinkin' how I'd like to get a big chalkboard just like that for the littles to doodle on.... The room doesn't look all that difficult, just creativity (which is hardest for me to get!)

ooo thanks. I'll have to check those out too :)

Thanks for your replies! I keep checking out Biblioplan but not sure if I want to jump in. It'll probably save me time and headaches though! Thanks for the book suggestions. I was thinking of Trial and Triumph and wanted to know what else was out there :)

I am planning already for next year. I will have a ds in 2nd grade next year and going into the 2nd year of the WTM/classical cycle for the grammar stage. I was hoping to use SOTW 2 and incorporate some church history. Has anyone done this without buying a curriculum? Any recommendations for books or a list of people to study during that time era? Are there book recommendations in the SOTW activity guide that include any prominent people involved in church history? (I haven't bought it yet - just wondering if I need it to assist in planning already.) (I don't want to reinvent the wheel if I don't have to!) Thanks so much in advance. :)

I would report what those boys said to the police dept. pronto. She shouldn't worry about her children missing some 'school' right now. If anyone questions her she can explain her situation. Or tell them it's none of their beeswax.

Plus they are great "water" bottles that clean easy (wide mouth) and aren't stinky plastic!

We drank in them as kids. I told myself I'd have real glasses when I grew up. 2 boxes of glasses later.... none survived. Jars do. They are invincible. Now I know why my mom always had them. I can't remember the last time one broke and my 2 yr old drinks with them!

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for your help!!!!!! I know I can do this now! The Youtube video really helped! We have part of that down, but not the part where he dictates back to me. I also know how to schedule my days now, and how to quiz! Woohoo! (I think my original post was all over the place because I didn't even know what I was thinking anymore!) Thanks again :)

Glad it went well! Such a handsome little one! I like the name too :)

Thanks a lot for both of your posts! They helped. I haven't been having him say each sound out loud as he writes (although he sometimes does on his own) or dictate back to me after he wrote the word so I can write it. I know he has trouble blending although he remembers most all the phonogram sounds we have learned. I need to be more patient, we just haven't done a list from the WISE guide since before Christmas because he can't read the ones he already did. I feel stuck not knowing if I should go backward or forward. I feel like he's behind because the book says "keep going". I think I'll follow your schedule and see how it goes. Maybe we can get into a rhythm of doing it. I think I change and modify my schedule too much trying to 'fix' it.

Spell to Write and Read seems to be the only one my ds (7 yo) learns with and actually wants to do. He can't read. He can hardly read anything he has just written although he loves to write. All he wants to do is write. He can write when dictated (even sentences) with the finger spelling but I'm having trouble with trying to figure out scheduling. It's bogging us down and I feel like we are stuck/getting behind yet nothing is getting mastered. The suggestions in the book aren't cutting it. I've read the pages for suggested schedules and ways to incorporate reviewing. Saying Quiz. Test. Review. Dictate all the words. Doesn't help! Well yeah, I know that... but how??? We usually use a white board for writing... so when you you dictate the first 10 words from the WISE guide on day 1: how much do you help? Do you write it in the log? On another paper or white board for practicing? Whose writing, me or him? Do you use the special markings at all times? When you review them all on day 4 or 5, is that when they go in the log? Also, his penmanship isn't the greatest, so when trying to read in the log it's a struggle (however I feel his handwriting is a good as it should be for being a 1st grader.) So I have the words on little flashcards that I wrote, but with no markings. Should I mark them so the phonograms and silent e's, etc, stand out? I don't have him read from my log because I did it in cursive, which he is learning but I feel adds too much to the struggle of reading right now. Should I quit trying to 'not' modify it and just do what I think might help? He will sit an hour and work on it... yet I feel like we aren't reviewing enough. Trying to read word that he learned last week takes forever. Rereading them has not sped up how well he knows them! You'd think reading 'and' and 'all' 20 times he would remember them. But if I ask him to write it he can. Strange or what? Any help out there? And no, I don't want to buy her DVD's! Just tell me how you do it each day for a beginner. And what Quiz. Test. Dictate. specifically means. Thanks!

I would like to add that we have finite minds and understanding, so we can't comprehend why the world is the way it is. With that I find great hope and peace, then comes faith.

I don't know if it's possible to 'know' without Scriptures. It's God's Word, what he GAVE us so we can know what he wants us to know. Therefore, read the book of Job. Read it. It is about a Godly man whom God allowed satan to curse and have bad things happen to him. He questions God and his friends rebuke him saying "if you were only good enough, etc.. this wouldn't have happened to you." In chapter 38 God replies: 38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: 2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels[a] shouted for joy? 8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, 9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, 10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, 11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’? 12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, 13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? 14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. 15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. 16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? 18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. 19 “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? 20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? 21 Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! 22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, 23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? 24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? 25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, 26 to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, 27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass? 28 Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens 30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? 31 “Can you bind the chains[b] of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt? 32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[c] or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs? 33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth? 34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? 35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f] or gives the rooster understanding?[g] 37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens 38 when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? 39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions 40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? 41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? Lee Strobel was once an atheist, set out to disprove the Bible using historical documents (and to disprove his wife's new conversion to faith!) and became a Christian in the process! Two books of his may be of help: 'The Case for Faith' (deals with all the 'tough' questions like Why is their suffering?) and 'The Case for Christ'. Also, to doubt doesn't mean you don't believe or have turned your back on God. Pray and READ His word. He will sustain you. God doesn't call the prepared. He prepares the called. All the people in the Bible had great flaws and God used them, and their trials, to prove His exsistence and love and justice and glory. I'm sorry that you may be suffering and going through hard times. Hang on to God. God understands because He sent His Son to be on Earth with us, to suffer and die. He has gone through it, just for you. Talk to Him. Read His Words. Someway He will answer.

We have 4 - 7, 4, 2, and baby. I always wanted 4 when I was younger (before I ever had any, that is!) DH says he feels like 5 is the right number, that there is someone yet 'missing.' I want another too! But at the same time I am exhausted. This year really ramped up with DS officially in 1st grade (the pressure is on!) plus a baby. At the same time, I feel like "why stop? I'm just getting good at this!" My husband is the oldest of 12 so I get quite a bit of harassment (atleast that's how I see it) because apparently I'm trying to keep up with my MIL. I could see myself having 6 though, too. I would like to adopt, but dh isn't all 'into it' right now and I don't want to bring a child into that situation. The two things that I dread about birthing my own are more stress on my body and having to go to those annoying appointments. Plus, I told DH, "I'm not driving a bus." Suburban is big enough! There are lots of families with 4, 5 + kids around here but we live in a rural area and homeschooling is also common. I don't know how you could handle a bunch of kids in the city because you can't send them to the barn with dad when they're getting too rowdy in the house!

I love Aldi!!!!!! It is strange if you aren't use to it. It is not meant to carry 'brand name' foods although occasionally they will have something. They are cheap because they are highly efficient. I think most of their products are very good quality. Their 'generic' foods are far superior to any other 'generics' (such as walmart 'great value' for example) in my opinion. Their prices are fantastic. I love that there aren't too many choices. Who really wants to compare the price of 8 brands of one type of cheese anyway? Since having kids Aldi is a blessing. In and out fast. Super fast checkout. The key is to remember your quarter, bags/totes/cooler and cash. I bring a tote and cooler and a few bags for the back of the van. I push the cart out without bagging in the store. I just open up the back of the van and toss the food into the cooler if cold and totes if it's a dry-good item and a few things go into bags (bread, produce.) Then I can go to walmart just for a few things (toiletries, a few brand name groceries I prefer or can't get at aldi.) I try to minimize my time at Walmart :p Their meat is good but I can usually find it cheaper on sales at the fancy grocery stores although Aldi now has sales on Wednesdays for a certain meat. Go back! You'll get addicted. I have made several converts.....

Spell to Write and Read I need to say though that I think this wouldn't work for everyone. My son really enjoys writing and cried with any other phonics. He has finally started to progress with the dictation.

Thanks for all the replies. It has helped me rethink things a lot. I realized that my children are very appreciative of their gifts, it's more my issue with just too much stuff and my desire to live simply. I want to avoid materialism and it's difficult when people are giving us so many things. Does a 4 year old need another doll when she has 8? And then she couldn't find the one that's legs kept falling off she started crying because she realized I probably got rid of it. So how am I suppose to make her 'decide' on which 2-3 she wants to keep and give the rest away. Doesn't work. I feel like I spend my life shuffling stuff around. And my house is organized. Everything has bins and places to be, but I'm tried of putting it there! Teaching kids day in and day out about putting this away is exhausting. Maybe it'll pay off in a few years. The influx of stuff means I have to find a place for it. This actually isn't just a Christmas problem, it just peaks this time of year! My kids LOVE doing other traditions for Christmas. We make homemade ornaments, and cookies and breads to give away. We take out special decorations. We sing songs and read stories about Christmas. This is a good reminder that our Christmas are great and I need to quit being such a Scrooge. My kids attitudes are full of excitement and gratitude. I'm not going to write a letter or say anything about it because it would hurt my feelings. The grandparents asked for lists of what this kids like - a huge plus for this year!!

I dread Christmas more and more each year. I don't want to - but I feel overloaded by all the gifts my children receive. 4 'grandparent sets' (divorced, great grandparents) x4 gifts per child x4 children = 64 presents. I haven't counted their aunts and uncles yet. I feel like they have made my children ungrateful. Also, I feel like I can never buy anything for them because it's just not special anymore. I have tried talking to them. ALL are like "but we want to, I love buying gifts." They have gotten defensive. So now I'm the mean nasty one. They think I don't appreciate all the "thought and money" that goes into this. My love language is definately not gift giving. I don't want anything. I don't want to buy anything for anyone either. I've tried "let's pool the money and give it to' charity" and "let's go to a waterpark for a day" instead. That's what we were supposedly going to do when my mom said "Well, I already bought them each a few things." I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE. I have given about 12 van loads (LOADS) of stuff to thrift stores this past year. Yet they still have totes of toys. What's worse is I think they are not appreciative of a few really quality items instead of the quantity. Plus, certain gift givers are good at open all the packages right away so they can't be returned. Anyone have this problem? How have you tried to address it? It's too late for this year but is there a way to do this without offending anyone? A letter to everyone about gift giving regulations for my family? Is that rediculous? My sister tried this with her FIL and he flipped out at her yelling that he can do whatever he wants for his granddaughter. Maybe, I should just keep purging stuff as it keeps coming in. That doesn't address the lack of 'specialness' that come with receiving a gift. What would you do? TIA

I guess I see that she could see her professional career at stake - atleast in the US you can't discuss anything with anyone over the phone, Royal family or homeless bum, unless the patient has it documented. You can lose your job and/or license for violating privacy. I'm sure she was honestly thinking that these people were who they said they were. I probably would have! Shame shame on them. It was not her fault. This saddens me terribly :(

It must have been an excellent and convicting paper by the way she reacted to it! Her behavior is evidence of what he probably wrote about! Maybe that's why it doesn't bother your son. It's sad that teachers can't separate their views from actual writing.

I guess I'm thinking it could be something not predictable. I know some one who throws up after eating blue food coloring, then gets a headache and falls asleep. Strange.

Keep track of what she is eating. Maybe she's intolerant or allergic to something. Thats all I can think of.:confused:

You know, I really never watched the show! I've caught a few clips at my mom's I think. So I didn't know she had a make-over! Was it a certain episode? I think she's beautiful though :) Very sweet person. Her hair had bigger, softer curls. (I'd be envious... if I was allowed to.) Jim Bob was there, too. They are so in love!:001_wub: (Just like me and dh. I'm not being sarcastic either! lol.) She spoke so well and has such wonderful insight into how to incorporate scripture into all you do. Very inspiring. I needed the advice and uplift. I had a great time!