I'd say incorporate as much of it as you want, short sessions several times a day, as long as baby is enjoying it. If you do it regularly, every day, you will be amazed how much they will learn, and all in a fun, relaxed way. My now 16 year old learned to read at that age, even though he couldn't speak distinctly. (He's no particular genius, it's just that I had the time to do it with him at the time. He's always been a voracious reader and has no memory of 'learning' to read.)

I suppose it depends where you live and how busy or bored they are when they get your call. We once got two fire engines and twelve firefighters in the house because I called to ask about a burning smell coming from my computer. :lol: (I didn't use the emergency number)

I can't imagine anything realistic. If my life was in danger, or if my remaining put my children's lives in danger.... Can't think how that could ever come up, but under those circumstances, I might consider leaving. Leaving would have such a detrimental effect upon my children. I would have to be either very selfish or perhaps very depressed (ie, mistakenly believing that they would be better off without me) to leave them, no matter how essential I believed it would be to my own happiness.

Yes! I know exactly what you mean. I have fantasies of buying a piece of land (we could afford that) and just living rough on it (we couldn't afford to build a house) but there are just too many obstacles. It's a bit cold for a yurt (-12C) but if we build our own hut with a wood stove we'd be cosy enough, I think. :)

The thing is, if it is not usual in the OP's social circle to remove shoes upon entering the house, it seems unlikely that anyone would know or think to call ahead. It wouldn't occur to me to mention this sort of thing where we live.

:grouphug: I am so sorry. I hope you can move on with your day and recover somewhat. I would be livid and would be seriously considering never letting such a person (who can't control themselves) anywhere near my children again. Probably that would be impractical, and not what you really want in the long run though.

:iagree:This is exactly what I was just thinking.

I wear my shoes around the house all the time. If it is muddy and a simple wiping on the mat won't do, I'd take my shoes off. I'd never ask a visitor to take their shoes off - it would be seen as quite insulting around here, among local people. The onus is on the visitor to clean their shoes or take them off if they (the visitor) feel it is necessary. I have noticed that many of my English friends expect visitors to remove their shoes. It was quite disconcerting at first but we eventually got used to it and accept it as a regional custom where they come from.

Yes. I had someone cleaning for me for about a year - only stopped because I'm nervous about the finances. While I had her coming, I cleaned along with her and we both worked really fast so I got the house very thoroughly clean twice a week. Now, we do it ourselves once a week and I've let standards slip a little.:)

I used to love listening to Deanna Durbin. She had a lovely voice, almost operatic. 'It's Raining Sunbeams' 'Because', 'Waltzing in the Clouds', 'Can't Help Singing', are listed on iTunes along with some others.

My sister and I called our parents Mummy and Daddy right up until I had my first child. Since then we have called them Granny and Granda. I have been called Mummy since that time, dh is Daddy. My sister recently had her first child and she has told me that she finds it hard to remember that she is Mummy and I am Auntie, not the other way around, after years of calling me Mummy and herself Auntie. I suppose our family is just too lazy to use more than one name per person.:lol::lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol: A great deal of the cultural literacy in this home is thanks to the Simpsons. I was talking about these threads with my 16yo last night and he explained the Beating Heart reference to me, reminding me of the episode where Lisa cheats to win a diorama competition.

My first attempt at adding a link..... Thought this was amazing. She plans to breastfeed all of them.:001_huh: I can't even begin to imagine how.:lol: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-me-octuplets27-2009jan27,0,840621.story

I'd find myself with the same problem as your daughter. A lot of books have sentimental value to me and I wouldn't want to move to a new house without them. Do you really, really, have to get rid of them? Would a few extra boxes really make such a difference? I sympathize with you, too. Is there room in the new house for all her books? Could she select a number of them to take with you on the understanding that they stay in their boxes, in the attic? That may be a way for her to let them go in easier stages.

:grouphug:This is what I would do: Give her as much one-to-one attention, love, cuddles and time as you possibly can, forcing yourself to not react when she irritates you. If you feel so irritated that you feel you are about to react it is time to switch the activity you are involved in. E.g. when you can't take it any more playing the Wii, say "Let's play Hide-and-Seek" and have as much fun as you can doing that. But keep yourself completely engaged with her absolutely as much as possible. Something my little ones love from time to time is cuddling up while I tell them the story of when they were born with as many details as you can think of. They know the stories very well, how I loved and wanted each one, how happy I felt when I first saw them, what we did when we got them home from the hospital for the first time . . . and so on. Also they like to hear the stories of how their names were chosen and the meanings of their names. They like to hear the stories of people who had the same names and how good, brave or whatever these people were. We have Bible stories every evening and keep it a fun, positive, calm and loving event. We also have Bible studies every morning, again in an uplifting, joyful, loving atmosphere. We pray every morning for Holy Spirit to display the Fruitage of the Spirit in our dealings with one another during the day, emphasizing love, joy, kindness and patience. When you are reading to her, try giving her something else to do at the same time. My 14yo, 9yo and 5yo like to sew while I read. They sometimes draw, colour, play with lego or practice handwriting while I read. She can help you as you do the housework and the cooking. Make it a treat for her to help you. Do housework for a set time then promise you will sit together with a cup of hot chocolate or something and chat. Or have a girly makeover and manicure, or do her hair in a special way. If you feel it would cause too much difficultly to stop her watching certain shows, you could sit and watch them together, pausing the show if possible to discuss issues and why you expect better/different behaviour from your children. You may find after watching several episodes with your full attention that you will have a lot to discuss with both your girls. I have a different take on the breakfast issue. If she is used to you preparing food for her it may not have occurred to her that she could help herself. I can sympathize with an eight year old being hungry at that time of the morning and feeling that she must be fed immediately. Maybe you could have a chat with her and give her some strategies for dealing with this - explain in advance what food she can help herself to if she gets up before you. At a separate time I'd have a gentle chat about respect within the family and appropriate speech. It's simply not her fault if she is copying inappropriate speech from TV shows you allow her to watch. (I'm not suggesting it is your fault either, I think it's shocking the kind of language the children use towards each other and their parents/teachers and so on on many of these show which are targeted at young children.) I think she needs lots and lots and lots of reassurance that she IS good, that God loves her and thinks she is good and that you love her and think she is good. Not just verbal assurance but a general feeling that you trust that she is good and will do the right thing and that when she gets things wrong you understand she made a mistake and that you forgive her and love her. Sometimes it can be hard for a younger sibling to cope with having a 'good' older sibling to live up to. We just read the part in 'Little House in the Big Woods' where Laura slaps Mary after a long build up of jealousy. I think a lot of younger siblings could identify with Laura's feelings there. A younger sibling has a lot to deal with one way or another and may need years of reassurance that they are just as loved and valued as their 'superior' older sibling. Even if you are absolutely certain that you never hint that your older daughter is in any way better than your 8yo, she will be noticing for herself the way things are. :grouphug: I hope you can find something of some use to you in this rambling epic.

A real fire in my bedroom. We are all in love with it. My bedroom is the new favourite room for the family to hang out in as we lovingly tend the fire and chat. The TV in there doesn't work so sometimes we just sit and watch the fire in silence.:lol: We do school in there now too.

Just to add my tuppence worth . . . I think that, especially since you think she will get good grades, you could let her handle this herself. You could ask how she is getting along and make suggestions if you don't think she's coping. If she feels herself getting stressed she may make the decision by herself, which possibly would be a healthier outcome.

I switched to black from whole milk about 15 years ago. I can still manage white coffee in an emergency, but I prefer it black now. I switched to black because I was breastfeeding a baby with a milk allergy.

Black, and the stronger the better.

I suppose it is really, but it affects our family life in a way that makes it more like a lifestyle choice than just an educational choice. With four children at all different stages it takes up so much of my time that if they were in school life would be very different. I don't know what I'd be doing with my time and how we'd be living with all the extra money we'd have. I'd probably not be working on my own education - I've learned so, so much through homeschooling that I'm not sure I'd ever have understood otherwise. For the children too, I'm quite sure their personalities are affected by their experience of learning at home as opposed to learning at school. All in all, to me, it really does feel like a lifestyle, or at least a large part of our lifestyle, that to a greater or lesser extent affects all the other parts.