I was 22, DH was 23. We've been happily married for 15 years. :001_smile: Eighteen would have been too young for me, but everyone is different. My aunt and uncle got married when they were 16, and they just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. I think what really matters is if she's found the right person.

This is me too. I rarely even call DH...we both prefer to text each other.

:iagree: I think it's very hard to judge what exactly goes on in their house without actually seeing it. If they don't have TV and internet access, I imagine those kids spend a lot of time outdoors, or playing imaginative games. Maybe they have board games to play? They could be gardening, woodworking, or working on the car...maybe their parents are teaching them more hands-on skills. I don't imagine they are sitting there all day locked in their rooms (which *would* be cause for state intervention, IMO). My worry is that if we start reporting families like this, the "authorities" are bound to start harassing actual unschoolers, too. This family actually has more of a concrete plan than a lot of unschoolers. By that, I mean that they have a book (the Bible) and math workbooks. What would happen if somebody reported an unschooling family that had no proof of work completed? I think it would be very difficult to try to explain educational experiences like museum trips, learning math while cooking, etc. to your typical case worker. My impression is that they want to see concrete learning, test results and the like. Even though we don't follow the unschooling model, I would hate for kids like this to be sent to school (or worse, taken away from their families) just for lack of proof of "actual learning." I know too many homeschooling graduates from homes with little to no structure going on curriculum-wise to judge this family. All of these kids have turned into productive citizens, mainly, IMO, because they come from loving families.

:iagree: The time I really noticed this was the first season with Sugar. She seemed like such a lovable person to me, and I thought for sure she would win, but it turned out everyone was really annoyed by her. Then when she came back a few seasons later, she really *was* annoying. It's all in the way they edit it.

I noticed that! It figures that they'd pull it from Netflix the day after I started watching it. :glare: But, to be honest, I was kind of disappointed in the show. I wanted to see how their daily life was, and the episodes I watched were all about them travelling to different places and their oldest son proposing. Pretty boring stuff.

:iagree: If I was sending my child to school with a packed lunch, I would expect the teacher (or lunch monitor) to make sure my child was eating the lunch he/she brought. When I was in grade school, we were required to eat our own lunches only. If we were caught trading food we were in major trouble. A few years ago, when my kids were in the same grade school temporarily, this was still the policy. IMO, elementary schools should have different standard as far as controlling food goes (though personally, I'd love to see all that crap food be taken out of jr high and high schools too). How can a grade-schooler (and a kindergartner, no less) be expected to have the self-control to not buy and eat treats every day and not his/her lunch? That is crazy. There should be adults at the school monitoring that sort of thing. My kids don't even get an allowance, but if there was candy or ice cream available without adult supervision, I can guarantee that they would be able to scrape up some change regularly from our car, the laundry room, or the couch cushions. :tongue_smilie: When my kids were in grade school, their teachers did the whole candy reward thing which used to bug me to no end. My already ADHD kid is very sensitive to sugar and food dyes, and I imagine there were several other kids with that problem. I can't imagine wanting to do give that stuff to a classroom full of kids. Do teachers not see the correlation between diet and behavior? I don't have a problem with treats at holiday parties, when kids are already wound up, but every single day seems excessive, especially when a reward could just as easily be a sticker or a fancy pencil or something.

Congratulations! :party:

I'm rooting for Cochrane...I really think he got a raw deal from his original tribe. I know it's a long shot at this point...even if he hadn't been voted out the last episode, the jury is full of his jaded tribemates. Ozzy is so annoying. I liked him the first season he was on, but now he is just WAY too full of himself. I don't know what happened with Coach...on previous seasons he was the one everybody made fun of, and now he's some sort of mastermind that nobody even thinks to vote off? I agree with PP...he's definitely creepy! I usually find myself rooting for the underdogs on Survivor (though I have to admit, I was a huge Russell fan!).

Watching this thread with interest, because DD6 has been expressing interest in God too. The interesting thing is, she has not really brought it up to me. DD14 told me that she saw DD6 praying, and my mom told me that DD6 asked if she believed in heaven (my mom said yes, because she does). I think this all seems from DD6's fear of death...sometimes out of the blue, she will just burst into tears and say "I don't want to die." This is a first for us, as my older two never expressed those fears. DS11 used to believe in God. I told him he could believe whatever he wanted to believe, and that there are a lot of people that believe in God, but Mom and Dad don't. A couple of years ago he told me he was an atheist now, and I said that's fine if it's what he really believes, but he doesn't have to think that way just because we do. He says it just makes sense to him, so I've left it at that. I haven't had this talk with DD6, but that's what I plan to say if she ever mentions it to me. She is very close with her brother and sister, so I suspect one of them has mentioned our beliefs. I grew up in an agnostic household, and my parents encouraged me to believe whatever I wanted. I went to different churches with friends, and went through a religious phase as a teen before becoming an atheist. If DD6 wants to go to church when she is older, I'd encourage her to attend our local Lutheran church, as we know and like the pastor there (he married DH and I, and was DH's pastor when he was a kid). Plus, we know a lot of people that go there. I guess I just want my kids to feel free to believe whatever they want. I don't hide my beliefs from them, but I'm not going to tell them that they're wrong for believing what they do. I really don't want one of them to resent me later on for pushing my beliefs on them.

Me too! In fact, I was hoping somebody else posted it so I wouldn't have to look up the spelling again.:lol:

I believe they are talking about Homeschool Tracker. It took me quite awhile to get the hang of using it (I bought Homeschool Tracker Plus a few years ago). I'm sure I don't use all of the features, but gradually I've figured out how to add subjects, classes, lesson plans, and resources. I print out daily schedules for the kids. What I love most about it is being able to track (almost) everything they read, just by typing in the ISBN number. It's really an amazing program. That said, I have dropped the ball in using this since October, because of family illnesses that have come up, and I am dreading going back to "fix" what we haven't completed in HST. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to just scrap this year (as far as tracking is concerned). What I am really looking forward to is being able to use HST for DD's high school curriculum next year. The transcript feature will be really nice to have.

This made me feel so much better today. Thank you! :grouphug:

Thank you everyone for the encouragement! :grouphug: You all have given me some great ideas here. I had no idea that Coinstar will give you the full amount as a gift card. We don't have a whole bunch of change, but I will gather all that I have. That will really help with stocking stuffers. I also had not heard of Zoom Panel, but I would love to try that now so I will be ready for next year. These gift ideas are great! I had forgotten that several years ago I made a feltboard and some felt figures for my cousin's kids. I bet that my 6 yo would love that. I am also always printing coloring pages for her to color, so making a coloring book would be perfect for her. My 14 yo would love something decorative for her room, so the pillow idea would be great! I'm trying to think of something homemade for DS11, who pretty much just likes video games and Legos (which are too expensive). I could make him another blanket..his other fleece blanket I made him is getting kind of old. I plan on going to the thrift store to get books for all of the kids, too. It's so nice to know that I'm not alone in this. After hearing about all of the shopping my friends and family are doing already (and seeing Black Friday footage on the news), I was just feeling so....poor. :tongue_smilie: I was just talking to DD14 who had emailed her Christmas list to grandma (at grandma's request) and I told her I didn't think we would be able to get her anything on it. She said, "Oh, that's okay. There's nothing I really need on there anyway." :001_wub:

Posting this for anyone else who wants to commiserate about financial issues. I have no idea how we are going to buy Christmas presents this year. We've had some unexpected medical bills for DH, including a very expensive ER trip, and we are completely broke. I have a few things I'm going to try to eBay this week, but I don't expect to make a lot of money (wow the fees have really gone up!). I'm not worried about our kids being deprived of presents, as their grandparents on both sides buy them plenty of things, but of course we would like to get them something. And Santa brings them something every year (our 6 yr old still believes). So, I am focusing on doing fun, cheap things in December. We'll be making our annual gingerbread house from scratch, along with baking cookies with my mom. I just found out that our local movie theater is showing Christmas movies for free if you bring a can of food. The public library has free Christmas craft days. We'll decorate the house while we listen to Christmas episodes of old radio shows, and drive around and look at Christmas lights. Is anybody else in the same boat? It would be great to hear other frugal ways to celebrate (or homemade gift ideas). :001_smile:

This is great! Thanks for posting it. :001_smile:

Ooh...I didn't know she wrote a book! I've been following her on Twitter...she's hilarious! Going to look for that book now...

I voted "some college" but I do have an AA degree. I transferred to a 4 yr college as an art major but I dropped out after a semester because I couldn't stand it...huge classes where you never saw the professor, TAs teaching the classes, etc. I much preferred the education I got at community college, where the classes were small and the teachers were accessible.

Thanks! This is very helpful. :001_smile:

I was so sad to hear this, because she was one of those authors I'd kept meaning to read. :( When I found out yesterday, I put a library hold on what I hope is the first in the Pern series, The Chronicles of Pern: The First Fall (from searching around online, I see that she went back and wrote some prequels, is that right?). I got an email that my is in today. I'm going to walk to the library to get it so I can have it over Thanksgiving break! Just thought I'd double-check that this is a good book to start with...

Just wanted to note that I am still in information-gathering mode. I've been lurking on several UC boards, and reading birth stories, watching videos, etc. I'm taking this decision very seriously, and DH reiterated today that he doesn't want me to make this decision purely for financial reasons. Whatever we decide, I know that I do want my midwife involved, I'm just trying to work out at what capacity....what will work for us and for her. Thanks everyone for all of the info!

Oh yes, I will plan everything with her ahead of time. I have an appointment with her next week, and I'm going to go over our options before then. I'm just trying to figure out what I want before I talk to her, and also what exactly we can afford. We're still receiving more bills for DH's medical care, and as they come I have to call each dr's office and make payment arrangements...so what I thought we could afford last week has been reduced quite a bit. Last week, I thought we would be able to pay the midwife the last half of our deposit, and get our $150 ultrasound. Now we can't do either one. I don't feel like I can put off paying his drs, because he will more than likely have to go back in to see them soon. I'm thinking that I might ask her if we should postpone our appointment until next month, and maybe by then I will be able to scrape up enough money to pay the rest of our deposit. I will also see she would be ok with bartering.

Wow, this is DH and me to a "T." He saw our homebirth as me doing everything and the midwives sitting back (as I had requested them to do) doing nothing. He's not getting why I want them there for the "what-ifs" because we've never had to encounter them before. I am really going back and forth about this. Honestly one of the main factors in deciding to do my last homebirth was the cost. I also had always wanted to try it, as I hated my hospital experiences, but cost was the deciding factor. I also thought I was a good candidate for it because of my birth history and all of the research I had done. Of course, I'm so glad that I did it, it was a great experience, and I want to do it again, but... Thinking back to my homebirth, I have to say that I was very uncomfortable with having everyone in the house: my mother, MIL, and the two midwives. I felt like everyone was waiting for me. I do not like to be the center of attention at all, and I felt like I was constantly worried about how I was coming across to everyone. It is completely irrational, I know, but that's how I felt, and I know I would feel that way again (which is why, at the very least, mom and MIL won't be there this time). Sure, my midwife could wait upstairs, but I will still *know* that she is up there, waiting for me to give birth...I know this sounds stupid, because that's her job. Maybe as a PP suggested, the compromise would be to call her when I'm in labor but tell her I'll let her know if I need her to come over? A question for those of you who have bartered with your midwives...what did you barter? I feel like I don't really have anything to offer. I am an artist, and I do children's portraits, so I could paint her a portrait of her kids or something, but other than that I don't know what I could offer. I just don't want to go into it not knowing what the normal thing is...like maybe most people offer some homemade canned food, and then I offer to draw her a picture and look like an idiot. :tongue_smilie:

Thanks for pointing that out. I will double-check the types of classes.

Okay, I'm not superstitious or anything, but it's a little unsettling that my last post was # 911. :tongue_smilie:

Okay, too many great posts to quote, so I'll respond here. :001_smile: First of all, thanks everyone for all of the info and advice. You've given me a lot to think about. If we do end up doing a UC we will definitely be taking an infant CPR course, and doing a lot of research ahead of time. Also, I checked my midwife's website and she does offer a sliding scale and will barter for services. I will talk to her about that. The points many of you have brought up are ones that have made me go back and forth on my decision. I do worry that I've "used up" all of my complication-free births....I'm afraid that this would be the one to have something go wrong, you know? Also, I have thought that a midwife could actually handle something like a breech or posterior baby without a hospital transport. I guess the best thing I can do right now is read up on it all that I can, and discuss the financial options with my midwife. Maybe she has some ideas.