I'm so sorry, Tina. :( :grouphug:

We used the introductory course last year in 6th grade, and I plan to use the first course during the upcoming school year (7th grade). I bought both English Grammar and Composition and Composition: Models and Exercises (both are 1982 editions). So far I'm quite impressed. I'll have to wing it since there are no teacher's guides, but I'm okay with that at this level.

The two consistent themes I'm seeing in these posts (and I agree with them) are *don't do it unless you have no other choice, and *this could be too much on your oldest child.

Decreasing my severe chemical sensitivities would greatly improve my life (and, in turn, my family's). Insufficient money for treatment is what keeps me from doing this.

My biggest suggestion is that if you go the private policy route, make sure to read all the fine print. All of it. And make sure that you understand all of it. Yes, I learned this the hard way when I had to have surgery that wasn't covered.

I worked full-time for six months while trying to homeschool a third grader, and it was awful. Of course, my health was bad at the time, too, so I didn't have enough energy to even do one or the other—so certainly not both. Now I'm working from home 20+ hours per week. I still feel stretched even though I only have one child. Having said that, though, if you could perhaps afford to pay someone to help with housework, cooking, etc., maybe that could make the difference.

Maybe this will help: http://mercuryfreedentists.com/

I would try to find a holistic dentist in your area.

Yep. (I read it wrong at first. LOL)

Oops. I meant to edit and reposted instead.

If the institution or doctor's office reports to the credit bureau, it does.

This is a myth. Yes, they can. As has been noted, the ER can't turn a patient down, but healthcare providers can definitely refuse care beyond "emergencies."

To answer the OP, I am finding that many Americans are too busy blaming Obama for Social Security problems to care about Murdoch.

I'll admit that I have a hard time discussing it without getting political.

If their income is under a certain amount, it will definitely help. Ideally, though, we would have a single-payer system, but, of course, the people of this country won't go for that. :(

Even if you get admitted, there are no guarantees. My sister, who has lung problems, was literally almost dead in ICU in a small hospital that had no pulmonologist. The doctors didn't know if she had cancer, serious pneumonia, or what, but there was no one who could even find out what the problem was. The hospital staff did the legwork to have her transferred, and they were told by representatives from three different hospitals that they had beds available. However, as soon as the hospital she was in faxed the paperwork over and the other hospitals realized she had no health insurance, they miraculously no longer had any beds available. Another sister and I had to jump through a lot of hoops before we were finally able to find a hospital that would take her (we truly were afraid she'd die before we were able to get anything done). It turned out that the spot that was seen on the x-rays was a hole that had been created by a viral infection (most likely caused by shingles) that wasn't being treated. Had she not been sent home with no help all the other times she had been to the ER, she would never have gotten in such serious condition. Since no tests had been done to figure out what was wrong with her before she was serious enough to be put into ICU (they just kept giving her antibiotics before), she had had this problem for many, many months, and it had just gotten worse. This has shortened her life significantly.

I hurt like that when my vertebrae are badly misaligned. I have to see a chiropractor to get relief. I hope you find the source of your pain and are feeling better soon.

Joanne, I'm so sorry. :( I know too many people in your family's shoes right now. It's sad, disheartening, and frustrating. This is what those who claim, "Anyone can have healthcare; he/she just needs to go to the ER," don't seem to get.

I loved this book!

If you aren't dairy-free or yeast-free, you could have cheese slices or mozzarella cheese sticks.

"I could care less" bugs me a bit.

I'm not a Texan, but I had a feeling I knew what this thread was about. I'm happy for you! We've been getting some rain here in Georgia, too. We need it also (though not as badly as Texas).

Hey! I resemble that remark! I really do say that, but I know not to write it. :tongue_smilie:

In reality, there is no such thing as "organic honey." Beekeepers can avoid chemicals in their hives and only use natural substances, but they can't control where their bees go to forage for their food. Bees often travel miles to get nectar and pollen. (Dh and I are beekeepers. We do not use any chemicals, but we do not advertise our honey as organic because doing so can be deceiving.)

We'll be using Prentice Hall's Science Explorer (the individual books, not the all-in-one). I haven't yet sat down with the books and planned out the year, though.