I have my 2 other kids in public school and my other homeschooled child is on auto-pilot most of the time. The year my special needs child was diagnosed was very, very hard. I just couldn't deal with everyone adequately. The next 2 years we moved everyone around. First everyone but SN child in PS. Then everyone at PS with SN child doing a half day in Kindergarten. This year we have 2 at home (including SN child) and 2 at PS. Really, a lot of this is just seeing what will work.

The Duchess of Duke Street (if you like Downton Abbey..this one follows a feisty woman rising in cook's service during the Edwardian period) Jekyll (modern version, like Sherlock in many ways) Wallace & Gromit (children's claymation) Mr. Bean A Bit of Fry and Laurie (sketch comedy..love this show) Kingdom (Stephen Fry again, a lawyer in a small town) Spaced (slacker roommates with the Shaun of the Dead guy) And while I'm not a fan of Peep Show, I had an on and off enjoyment of That Mitchell and Webb Look (another sketch show). It was a lot like Kids in the Hall (Canadian sketch comedy). Which reminds me of Corner Gas (Canadian, so not quite what you asked, but a great show and family friendly).

I loved the hats this episode. And Lady Mary had a coat last season that I would buy in a heartbeat. My grandmother was a hat person. And skinny as a rail (so all her clothes looked lovely on her). I love all her photos.

I answered 'part time some of my children' but the answer was more complex. I couldn't with my first son, but the rest were cloth diapered at least part time (a few full time). I even made my own newborn prefolds, and a few all-in-ones and fleece covers.

I get bored easily, and I'm too polite to bring a book. I've had a few surprise me, but not the women's ones (so far). Not my cup of tea.

I don't think anyone says shampoo damages hair, so all of these posts of 'shampooed daily for X years..hair is great!' aren't really telling us anything in this conversation. If anything, it would be the need to blow dry your hair dry because you need to wash it every morning. That is damaging, but most people in our society get it cut before its truly a problem. So washing and blow drying daily are fine for hair shoulders and above..or which gets regular trims. Washing every day creates the need for washing every day. Your scalp produces the level of sebum necessary to make up for the daily removal of sebum. That's fine, but personally I'd rather put it off a day or two by wearing my hair differently (braiding and other styles are better/easier when your hair has not been washed for a day or two) or scalp washing problem areas while leaving the length alone. There are quite a few people that don't shampoo at all, or do so only at extended periods with only positive effects (individuals with very long hair report fewer/no split ends, greater shine). *Of course if there are hormones or other physical factors at work all bets are off. Sometimes teens just have to deal with this for a season, but I had very oily hair as a teen (every day) and can go 2-3 days now without problem (after getting my scalp used to the change). I've tried to stretch it out longer but my scalp considers 2 days to be my limit. **Taken from personal experience, multiple hairdresser friends, and lots and lots of folks from the longhaircommunity forum.

You may simply be defining 'passion' differently. When I replied in that thread I stated the things I'm very interested in right now. I know some of those things will change, so I would hesitate to use it in a cosmic sense. I will say that I didn't have anything I considered a passion...other than reading..when I had very young children. After several years without a lot of time to myself I found that I desperately needed passions. It kept me from going crazy or bored.

We use them in a carrier oil. Oil can be used: for massage for dry skin/eczema on the ends of your hair (conditioning) natural response to problems like lice I like to lightly tap dry and then slather with scented oil, especially in the winter. It keeps the moisture in and is really good for your skin. My favorites are peppermint (must have around here), a citrus (orange, lemon), rosemary, lavender, and eucalyptus (good for clearing nasal passages and anti-bacterial properties). We don't like most manufactured scents here. They're too strong. Essential oils are a way to take natural scents and dilute them to your own specifications (alone they are an irritant to the skin).

Has anyone found that once they have a Kindle (and therefore instant access to hundreds of classics) that they simply don't keep all of the 'reference' books they once did, unless they have an emotional attachment to the book itself? DH bought himself a Kindle for reading tech stuff and now I find myself reevaluating that 30 year old paperback copy of Silas Marner, among others.

:iagree: We also limit in-person interactions with people who can't respect others. You don't go to your friend's house, you don't invite anyone over. Family fun trips are severely limited with people who don't understand respect staying home until they can learn that basic skill. DS1 (now 13) has had a hard, hard time with this from a young age, so maybe I'm a little tougher than some. First, I made him rewind, and continue rewinding until he knew how to act appropriately. This gave him an opportunity to express himself while learning where the lines were. No child is born with an understanding of how to express anger respectfully. ("We treat each other respectfully in this house. You can be angry, but I need to hear how you can say what you want to say in a way that doesn't insult and break someone down.") Respect needs to be both modeled and trained. Part of modeling is also treating them respectfully, and apologizing when your temper gets the better of you. If it had an element of power-struggle or bullying I called it what it was and removed authority from him, or even put the younger sib in authority over him in a role playing exercise. He's actually much better about this the last few years, but we have had hundreds/thousands of chats about bullying behavior (is this person your age or older? do you have age or power over them? if so, then its bullying to treat them in this manner. You have a responsibility to recognize when someone is weaker than you and treat them fairly...even if you're angry. This is the kind of behavior that gets you beat up in the real world. This is the kind of behavior that assures your siblings will act snotty to you later, get into your stuff, and refuse to help you out. This is the kind of behavior that loses friends and leaves you alone. We respect because we want respect, because society works because we can cooperate. *Appropriate addition regarding Christlike behavior or whatever faith or philosophy is held by the family.*) I really wish you the best. It is never an overnight success. It can take years for a particularly self-directed child to 'get' this. Years of modeling. Years of never allowing it in your home. Most parents find it too much work and accept it as normal sibling behavior.

Her biography, My Several Worlds, is fabulous.

Thank you. I followed your blog link earlier and I have it maked for future use.

No. I'd like to. I have an interest in it, but its always been an unattainable interest. We do not live in an area with many language resources, especially in terms of tutors. My problem is that I know enough about language programs (from my time working at Berlitz) and how lame most of them are that I dither..and dither. My kids check out language tapes from the library. I buy Usborne sticker books. They call each other names in Spanish. That's as far as it goes. Suggestions for non-lame German, Spanish, Russian or Arabic resources welcome.

Passions that I indulge to a degree: Gardening, foraging, horticultural, old time food/life skills Baking, bread, pastries Reading Master's degree in Library Science Blogging European board games Passions I wish I had more time for: Learning how to code Python, HTML, Java, SQL Relearning Trig, learning Calc Relearning or improving guitar, piano, cello Joining a choir Travel Writing fiction Hiking/biking Getting more degrees (Biology, Neuro-linguistics, History, maybe a PhD)

Other~ A combination of the above, although instead of 'crazy' you get 'sensitive.'

My great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and brother all have the same (very unusual) first name. When I first met my paternal grandfather, at the age of 8, he and his wife called my father by his childhood nickname...which is Butch. If you knew my father this would be hysterical. His other neighborhood nickname was 'the Professor.' They couldn't call him by his middle name because its too similar his brother's name (Joseph and Jolie). My grandfather's wife, in her flat mid-Illinois accent calling him Butch over and over and over again. I tried hard not to get the giggles. When my grandfather was born they didn't know what to name him. He's the 5th child or so in his family. Four other boys in front of him and his father swore he would never saddle a child with his strange name. So they're sitting in the hospital trying to come up with a name for him and my great-grandmother gets the bright idea that they'll name him after the next person to enter the room (probably one of the doctors). Yep, it was my great-grandfather. Part of me wonders if she secretly wanted to pass the name on. She had to be fairly attached, he was a hard old guy even when he wasn't being crossed.

5. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery (2)by Maryrose Woods~Youth fiction, part 2 of the series. A plucky governess tutors three children who were raised by wolves. Governess humor. Pithy epigrams. Suspiciously homeschool-like projects. Not as amusing as the first installment (talking to the reader like Lemony Snicket is distracting), but I'll read the next one. Amused that this is shelved under Woo (Nutsawoo, Lumawoo). 4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester (read aloud)~Classic youth fiction, boy takes a toy car through a mysterious tollbooth and enters a humorous world of words and numbers. 3. The Alienist by Caleb Carr~Mystery, first US attempt at profiling a serial killer by a psychiatrist (known as an alienist) and friends. Teddy Roosevelt is a character in his historical role as NY police commissioner. Lots of great historical detail. Unfortunately some decisions don't make sense at the end and mar an otherwise well-done novel. 2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton~Fiction, a small girl is abandoned on a ship to Australia with a white suitcase and a fairy book. 1. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt~Fiction, following several arty, progressive families from the late Victorian period through WWI. In Progress: Fire Upon the Deep (Vinge) How the Other Half Lives (Riis) The Alphabet in the Park (Prado)

I like Rotts. They can be very sweet dogs. ~if not raised with children can be skittish around little ones ~stubborn, can be difficult to train (from house-training to basic commands) ~leaners, for some its a dominance issue for others its pure affection ~health problems (hips, etc) mean death before 10 is not unusual ~strong, needs to be walked/trained by someone in total control ~not always very active after the first 3-4 years

I would check your state's public university system first. Many brick and mortar institutions have programs which fall under the same quality standards as physical classrooms.

http://www.sockdreams.com/products/accessories/leggings/ I like the stirrup ones myself (yes, the stirrup ones).

No, I have a younger sister who lives closer to everyone and will take that over. You can see it happening (she calls everyone when something happens), although my mom is still the official organizer. Its sad to see my dad's family. His mother stopped but no one really wants my mother to organize them so its fizzled out.

I buy 3 different types of sock. Each sock has different physical features. I'm lucky. My mom did not have as many alternatives. She put a colored line in each sock to designate the owner. I was red. :) When I wash socks I match them. Leftovers go in a basket under my bed. Next time I take those leftovers and match them to the basket. When I lose a sock usually there's a leftover in there for it.

I'm obsessive about Empire apples, sliced thick and dried for 8 hours. They're tangy and sweet, so much better then the blah supermarket alternatives. Great for making yogurt. Easy nut roasting without burning Stable low temp. for rising bread or culturing sourdough. Great for drying herbs at the end of the season (I have parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme from my yard) Crackers, granola, anything that needs a low, constant temperature Some of these work better with a higher-priced dehydrator where you can control the temperature output. I usually don't bother with tomatoes (easier to freeze them) and strawberries don't last that long. Berries need to be uniform or some under-dry and some over-dry.

Dentists and Orthodontists are understandably conservative on an issue like this. I'm sure you couldn't get a dentist to tell you an orthodontist's business, or an ortho to recommend extraction over the phone or before your child has reached a certain age (baring severe overcrowding which inhibits function). My 13 year old will have teeth extracted this summer. I know he'd probably need this since he was 8. I have a background of needing the same procedure and it was physically obvious to me. His dentist would not commit to something like that, although when pressed he said it was possible. He said he didn't like to make predictions before a child's mouth had matured because so much can happen in the matter of a few years and they want to keep all the teeth possible. (Me, I wanted to yank early so everything else could grow in normally, but the two sets won't line up correctly.) His ortho has scheduled him for extraction, but then they have to align top and bottom. My son was scheduled for extraction only because he's got all his back teeth and his jaw won't grow any further to accommodate the front ones. Hope this helps a bit.

:grouphug: I hear you. This was us Thursday night...except its everyone (5 people) except my husband, and I have hair half way down my back. And we have big birthday for my oldest today (Saturday). At least they're all boys (except me). We turned it into a big party with loads of television and pizza. I still have laundry to do. :tongue_smilie: I'm so happy my mom's coming up today (3 hour drive) because as much as I love my husband he can't find his wallet on a crowded counter...I'm not so sure he can nit-pick my hair.