Jean - Thank you for helping me feel like I'm not a bad mom for not running to the doc anytime there's an issue. :) Another question - my 2 year old woke up a bit ago from a nap and is also running a fever. I'm kind of ok letting the 9yo sweat it out.. the 2 yo makes me a little nervous. Any more good advice?

My 9yo dd has a fever. A very high fever. It started Saturday night, but went down with a luke warm bath. She slept well and woke up feeling better. The fever returned Sunday night and hasn't left. At it's high, it's been up to 104. (!) It responds to Tylenol, but only goes down to 102 or so. She has no other symptoms but a cough that seems deep, but is hard to get a read on since she's only coughing once or twice every couple hours. Her color is good, she's not eating much but is drinking water and orange juice and eating popsicles, her breathing is easy, she's not delirious or vomiting and says she feels ok. She has been sleeping a lot. She has an appointment to see the dr. tomorrow morning at 9. Google tells me that fever on it's own isn't dangerous. WebMD says to go to the ER for any fever over 103. I'm a little skeptical about nurse lines since they have to cover themselves against lawsuits and tell me to take the kids in no matter what I tell them. So.. do I wait for the morning (being watchful, of course) or do I head to the ER? Oh, and I know this sounds awful, but our health insurance doesn't kick in until tomorrow.. if it was a $50 copay I'd probably take her but I hate to run up a few thousand on an unnecessary ER visit. What says the hive?

Pata! You wrote Elemental Science!! I LOVE that program! You're amazing!

Thank you thank you! I'm on Amazon right now and didn't want to have to wait to order.. now I don't have to!

Oh! And First Language Lessons.. does that come before WWE? I have English for the Thoughtful Child, can I use that instead?

I'm trying to buy the Writing With Ease program, but I've lent out my copy of The Well Trained Mind and now I can't remember what I'm supposed to get. There is The Complete Writer.. that's basically the teacher's guide, right? Then there are workbooks. Do I need both? And which workbook for which level? I have a 3rd, 1st and K'er. Thanks for helping! I'm going to go make a phone call and get my book back...

Closets! If you can believe it when we built our first house it had NO closets except in the bedrooms, and they were little. Lots of cabinets Wood floors .. they are FABULOUS, low maintenance and stay looking good for a long time Big laundry room, with a table for folding clothes and places to hang clothes.. that would be amazing Biggest tip - talk to an architect who will discuss your style of living, not just the 'features' you like. For example, do you like to be outside (maybe you'll want more or bigger windows) do you spend a lot of time reading (cozy nooks?) or whatever. Have fun!

Pasta would be my choice as well, but I think the better solution would be to stick to your meal plan, and if necessary plan 8 meals for the week. I plan a week ahead, buy everything I need for the week, and cook what I've planned. Sometimes we switch meals or skip a planned meal if we go out, but sticking to that schedule really helps with planning and budgeting for food. I also buy up staples when they're on sale, so we have them in the house if I need them. Freezer cooking might be a good alternative, too. If you're not familiar, you can either spend one day cooking several meals for the freezer, or just cook two of something (lasagna, casseroles, etc) and stick the extra in the freezer. Then on your last day before shopping you pull one out in the morning and you're set! Hope that helps!

I'm looking for good quality, interesting American history DVDs that are reliably appropriate for my 5-9 year olds. Without being silly, like a lot of the Schlessinger ones. Maybe a series by the History channel or PBS or something. I've looked and looked and found some that look good but I'd love to hear from someone who has used them. Thanks!

Our family just moved to Corona, CA and we're looking for classically educating homeschool families. Anybody around?

What is MCT? I looked on the abbreviation list but couldn't find it. Thanks!

My favorites are www.heavenlyhomemakers.com and www.smockityfrocks.com. 5wolfcubs - I love your family picture! Where did you have it done?

:iagree: And it really isn't about you being mean, or her being incompetent. It's ok not to drive at 16! When I was in high school a very sweet 16 year old girl whom I ran cross country with got in her car for a quick run back to school to pick up her running shoes. She hit a tree on a country road and was killed instantly. Who cares about broken van doors? Your little girl's safety is priority. Go with your instinct; maybe a year of practice and an eye exam are a good idea.

It looks like you have plenty of people but if you need me I'd love to help.

Wow. I had no idea feelings ran so high on grocery budgets. :) My original post was intended only to help out the gal who said she wished she knew how to spend less on groceries. For what it's worth, I live in Las Vegas, hardly a low cost of living area, although it's easier to get by here than say San Fran or NY. I get most of my produce from a co-op (bountifulbaskets.com). We eat lots of fruits and veggies, but no organic. I won't pay more than $2/lb for meat and stock up when it goes on sale. That pretty much means hamburger, chicken and pork chops. We eat meatless at least once per week. I use coupons to stock up on snacks and other non-perishables when they are free or close to free. For example, I was able to buy boxes of Barilla pasta (usually $1.50/box) for $.50/box when they were on sale and I had a coupon. I get 4 newspaper subscriptions so I was able to stock up - I bought 20 boxes. So we'll be eating a lot of pasta. :) I'm also able to get my diapers and toilet paper from my church for free - that makes a HUGE difference. Anyway, sorry for stirring the pot, I was really meaning to give some helpful suggestions.

We have 7 people in our house (albeit a bit younger than yours) and my food budget is $400/month. I have no problem buying all we need for that amount, usually. I know a lot of people on this forum could chime in with ways to save money on groceries. For us it's cooking primarily from scratch, coupons and sales. Here are some helpful websites: http://www.moneysavingmom.com, http://www.raisingolives.com, http://www.smockityfrocks.com. These are all blogs of women who raise large families and make it work. HTH!

Right! And we're not done, right? I'm not surprised that my kids don't know it all yet. We've got several years to go to cover everything. Besides, at least I have time to help them when I realize they don't know something.

I did that once, too. :) But it was hard because I get terrible morning sickness right away, so I had to go around acting like I wasn't throwing up all the time for about a week.

Yes! Awesome book. :grouphug:

THANK YOU! I think I'm surrounded by the wrong kind of people. I agree with disciplining the attitude, but I keep hearing things like "She's just a kid, give her a break" or "You're pushing her away by telling her she can't express her emotions" and other 'tolerant' remarks. So I start to second guess myself. One more question about the tears... about twice a week the tears are about math. I've sent her to her room to chill out until she's ready to continue, but I'm pretty sure she'd stay in there staring at the ceiling rather than come out and finish her math. It might be a curriculum issue, but when I've suggested a switch she tells me I could pick anything and she still wouldn't like it. (Attitude again, eh?) I don't know if I even know what I'm asking for. But if you have any suggestions, that'd be great.

My lovely oldest child is now nearing nine years old. And she's driving me crazy. Most of the time she is a delightful, helpful, happy girl. Then, at least once a day, some crazed maniac takes over her body and turns her into a wailing, complaining stranger. For example, last night we took a walk after dinner. Here is a snip of our conversation: Her: "Hey, isn't that the house, um, I mean, or is it the other neighbor, like, that has the troop?" Me: "Troop? Like a Girl Scout troop?" (I had no idea what she was talking about) Her; "Uugghhhh. Noooooo. You just don't UNDERSTAND." Okaaayy. There are also tears every. single. day. Often about random things that a year ago wouldn't have bothered her at all. Now I know this is probably just the beginning of the pre-teen stuff (I really thought I wouldn't have to deal with this stuff yet. We homeschool! We don't eat hormone-laden chicken!) So far when I've asked friends with older kids they all nod sagely and smile, but that doesn't help me deal with it. What I need is some practical advice. Do I discipline her for her attitude? Do I give her slack? Do I love on her more? :001_huh:

Ok, I hope I'm not hijacking the thread, but how do you enforce the 'cheerful obedience the first time every time' behavior? My kids are really good most of the time but that part we have a hard time with. Namely the cheerful part. What do you do? PM me if I'm too off topic for this thread.

This isn't very popular, but I drill my kids. As in, recite the 1 addition facts. They say "one plus one is two, one plus two is three..." And on and on and on. It's good for in the car, they don't like it much but I reward with candy and that helps. Alternately, try getting them to use their imaginations, as in "close your eyes and imagine a lollipop. Now I'm giving you two more lollipops. Do you see them? How many do you have now?" And story problems. Those have helped make things more concrete for my dc. Good luck!

Hmm.. good thread. So far I've pretty much just used the curriculum I've found and told my dd's that the really strong women-belong-at-home language is an opinion. Hey, I stay at home. :) But it's nice to see options that don't push it so strongly. I do want my girls to have options!

I wish we could get lessons for $15 per person! Around here (Vegas) I can only find lessons for about $30-50 per lesson, and they recommend lessons weekly. My poor dd would love to ride but we can't afford $200 per month!