Having not read all 14 pages, I will say this: Our house is 150 years old. I would be positively ecstatic if everything was "original" instead of "improved" by people who I think had some sort of animosity toward the house. It is a labor of love. Sometimes, you just go :confused: when you find things but, in the spirit of homeschooling, we have learned a LOT, completely out of necessity. Like how to make replacement clapboards (no one makes our style anymore, or the interior trim), how to bend wood around a Victorian porch, how to make proper storm windows to replace the carp combination ones ... You, too, will become the "crazy caulk lady" at the local home improvemt store, and you will learn to love spray foam (though it took me almost a decade to get past the trauma of chiseling it out from between our window sashes) because you are the High Commander of the Draft Police. Yeah. My dad has started referring to us as "crazy router people". It fits. So, if all that (and more WTH moments than you thought possible) sounds good, welcome to the funhouse! :D

I have not outgrown it. I'm 40, went to ps, and would still burst into tears at the end of a day like that. I might have a meltdown in the middle of a day like that. That is just waaaaaaaay too much input for me to handle gracefully. :001_smile: We all have our iffy spots.

"Helps" would be a misstatement here. We are both actively involved in just about all aspects. My husband works full time, but he's fire department so he works 24 hours, then is off for three days; in effect, he works 1-2 days per school week. I work part time, mostly in the early morning (5:30-9), so I get home shortly after school starts on those days. I used to do the purchasing and planning, but he has gotten more interested in that this summer, so we now both go over curriculum choices / scheduling / prep, either sitting together or on our own. Last night, we were looking at Latin. There was an I'm-Gonna-Learn-Latin dance. He is such a dork. :D

Awesome! I :001_wub: NY.

My three homeschooled kiddos started organized K when they were 4. Before that, we played educational games, read a lot, and had lots of discussions. (which sounds like once they started K, we stopped playing, reading and talking with them. :tongue_smilie: )

I just had a neighbor stop on her way past the house & ask if I knew anything about all the cars heading to the Food Lion... That was my answer. :) I was at work and it sounded like a semi was driving across the roof. Thankfully we only had 2 members working out at the time. One of them thought it was herself (she was on the treadmill)! What a creepy feeling... It felt like the carpet was fine, but the concrete was moving under it. :blink:

my eye twitch my mom turn me on :blink: poop float hair turn gray my back hurt

I'm an introvert as well, and find interacting with people (not specifically my children) all day exhausting. There are a number of things we do - and others have mentioned - that help: I work for "me" time (in fact, I am enjoying "me" time right now, at 6 am, with the sound of weights being lifted and running on the treadmill in the background, and no one talking to me beyond "good morning" and "have a great day"), we have quiet time after lunch, my kids are old enough to play without my input... I AM one of those who is appalled when parents tell me they couldn't stand being with their kids all day. Perhaps I should have been more clear in expressing this in other threads; it is the way this statement is delivered. They are not saying they need down time. They expand upon their statement and indicate that they really don't like their children very much, or that they think parenting is too much work that interferes with their "life". :confused: It seems to be the "trendy" position of families to not be able to stand one another. And, you know, as an introvert who doesn't particularly care to be around children (just not a kid person, even when I was a kid), I just can't imagine going around telling people I can't stand to be around my children like that.

My 10 yo weaned herself right after her first birthday. I was crushed. They boys both just "forgot" how at the same time, when they were 3 1/2. Yes, they can and do.

I use Quest. They have a patient interface on their website (and a smartphone app) so I get results when my doc does. (and I can email them to a new doc sitting in his/her office if I choose) Those records are yours. You do not need permission (or a middle man) to have copies.

Lately I have found that the doctors I have had the displeasure of seeing are more technicians than physicians. In fact, one short-lived primary care physician demanded to know if I'd gone to medical school because o dared question whether she had run some labs, then followed it up by painstakingly explaining to me that, if there was anything amiss she would know because there would be red lines on her screen, but they were all blue so there was "nothing wrong". :confused: The rest of us (me, my husband, an endocrinologist and my new internist) could see the abnormals, as well as more subtle irregularities, on our black and white copies just fine. I have found the same with car mechanics who now act as if they are completely unfamiliar with cars. I'm not sure which I find more infuriating, to be quite honest. Eta: oh my word, Dawn, I think we saw the same people!

:iagree: I don't think it's "rude". I don't think it implies that one doesn't care what others have opined. Sometimes people even state that they want to give their untainted opinion, and they are now going back to read the thread. I do think it can be humorous, though, when we've veered off into kilts/kitties/shopping carts/crock pots/recipes and someone wanders in with a sincere reply. Or when someone starts with the "I haven't read all the posts..." and it's post #3 on the thread. :lol:

I carried our books to work with me last Sunday so I could do the planning. They are still in the bag. No planning. Instead, we rebuilt our front porch. My husband is out running. We are going to bend some wood fascia around the bottom of the porch before I go to work. I could be planning, but I'm in my nightgown, drinking coffee, and surfing the boards. And I'm thinking I should get dressed and do something productive, like vacuum or run the dishwasher. :001_huh: eta: He is now home, changed, and ready to bend wood. I am still in my nightgown, drinking coffee, no planning, no vacuuming... good grief.

Me too. I am always particularly :confused: when someone declares they couldn't stand to be with their kids all day. And I'm not a "kid person". I used to threaten to put a speaker with an information loop on the stroller. "Yes, they're twins... they're boys... yes, despite the long eyelashes... no, we didn't have fertility problems... yes, they were full term... 6lbs 8 and 6 lbs 9... no, they do NOT belong to the blonde, she is their 15 year old sister... yes, they ARE #s 3 and 4. Good counting!... thanks for letting me know we are now "done"... Yes, they are twins..." :lol:

The kids are in bed by 8:30 at the latest. They can read until 9 or 10, though, depending on what the next day has. Under no circumstances would I allow them screen time late at night, though. That does things to your brain that adversely affects sleep.

I saw somewhere a few years ago that, while people think of yellow as a cheerful color, it actually makes people hostile. Weird.

Yes. Downstairs (living room) pumpkin, (kitchen) goldenrod, (foyer) grass green, (dining room) brick red. Laundry room is yellow and periwinkle... Neither went with the orange linoleum so I stopped painting halfway through. Upstairs (hallway) same grass green as foyer & up the stairs, (master bedroom) midnight purple (I think Behr "maharaja"), (front bedroom) pink but going to be changed, (back bedroom) multi, (playroom) plum but going to change, (bathroom) light green but going to change (have to deal with hideous blue fixtures). All trim is white. Downstairs flooring is walnut hardwood (except the aforementioned linoleum, and cork in the kitchen), stairs and upstairs floors are Sherwin Williams "black olive", as is the stair rail and newel posts(balusters are white). I love color and our house is Victorian, so it can handle it.

1. I fear water, but can't stand to be landlocked. 2. I love color. Every room in our house is a different, saturated color. Most of my wardrobe is black. 3. I used to be a vocalist, but developed profound stage fright and haven't sung in public in more than 20 years. I stop singing if my husband wanders in. 4. I was a lacrosse goalie in high school because I didn't have to run playing goal. I was also on the golf team. I'm right handed, but golf and bat lefty. 5. I am an extreme introvert. Interacting with people is exhausting to me. I love my family, but sometimes I have to hide from them for my own sanity. 6. I used to be a night owl and would sleep until noon. Since the boys were born, I get up at 5:30 and am in bed by 9. I think it's a self preservation instinct; the kids are usually up by 6:30 and I'm completely fried when I get to bed. Early morning is my quiet time. 7. I have part of a song playing in my head as soon as I open my eyes. Often, it's not even a song I like. My dad has the same thing. Sometimes (particularly days when it's a song I don't like) I wonder if it's a neurological problem. 8. I went to 13 schools in 12 years. My parents aren't military, just divorced and flaky. 9. I hate sports and games of all kinds. I didn't like games even as a child. The exceptions are lacrosse, golf and scrabble. 10. I am a coffee junkie.

I'm curious how one diagnoses ADHD in a 4 year old. If I look at the symptoms, it seems pretty "4" to me. :confused:

Triplets!

Yes. I iron everything that is iron-able (as in, won't melt), including linens. And, yes, my friends and family get a good laugh about it (but my husband secretly really likes slipping into the pressed sheets)

Same here. She was his partner when he got out of fire school. I think she had to work on me for a good 6 months before I even considered meeting him socially (we'd met when I would stop by the firehouse to see my friend). We went out together in December '97, he moved in in spring of '98, and we got married (because he finally wore me down) St Patrick's day, 2000.

Sometimes, frozen potatoes can get mealy. That's really the only thing I would worry about. (and if that happens, you could whir it and add new potatoes when you reheat) And yum!

That is adorable! (and I agree; one can never be too prepared for an unscheduled roller derby :D )

Ooh! Pumpkin bars! Yum.