You are definitely not alone. I've been really struggling with this. I parent basically 24/7 as I'm a SAHM by day have two children that still wake frequently at night. I can't do any kind of hobby during the day that involves materials, as my toddler will get into it, and by the time all the kids are in bed, I have basically an hour of time for cleaning up, connecting with my husband and having "me" time, which generally gets pushed out because there's not enough time. I do go to the gym once a week, usually early before my kids are up. Right now, that's my chance to get out by myself. I know that as my youngest (last baby) gets older, I will have more chances to do things for myself, but sometimes I get impatient. It's definitely hard. I hope you are able to carve out some time for yourself. It sounds like you have a start with some cross stitching patterns (I used to love to X stitch! Haven't done it in ages!) I hope that helps for now and that you are able to continue to find ways to nurture YOU. :)

I think our favorite audio books were Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky, both by Grace Lin. We all enjoyed them thoroughly (even DH and I). The kids and I have spent the last few months listening to all the Little House books in the car. All three of my kids (5, 7, 10) enjoy them.

Charlotte's Web and Trumpet of the Swan My Father's Dragon James Herriot's Treasury for Children Little House books Winnie the Pooh Wind in the Willows Just So Stories I agree with others, that I'd save Magic Treehouse for them to read on their own. They are fairly easy and will give your child confidence once he is able ready to read longer stories on his own. To be honest, the few that I read aloud, I couldn't wait to be done with - we did not find them engaging at all.

I dream of living near enough to the ocean to spend my summer days at the beach. However, since I live over 1000 miles from an ocean, my ideal summer day involves playing and relaxing outside with my kids, reading, drinking iced tea, and making smores over a fire at night. (My phone wanted to autocorrect smores to snores. Lol)

Thank you for the suggestions everyone! I have found one in my neighborhood that I will be meeting with in a few weeks and I have a couple others to call. Now I have an idea of what to ask them. :)

Thank you! I had Rebecca on my summer reading list, so I've got a head start with the audio download!

We want to get our 10 and 7 year old started on piano lessons. I have the names of a few teachers nearby but I'm not sure how to go about choosing one. What do you ask a potential teacher? My older son can read some music. I'm not sure about my younger son - he has had some light exposure, but nothing formal. Other than that, I don't even know what to discuss. I can play a little piano but never took formal lessons. We have a Clavinova at home. Thanks for any input. :)

Some of our favorites: The Phantom Tollbooth Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Little House series Great thread! :)

I've been happy with them. I usually wait until I need enough stuff to get free shipping and the shipping is always quick.

Absolutely! But with my kids' ages (especially the busy toddler), I don't get a lot of time to myself so my reading time is limited. I keep reserving books from the library only to return them only partially finished. One of these days I'll have more time to read, craft, etc. Right?? :)

We loved that story too. We recently read Starry River of the Sky by the same author and enjoyed that one as well.

Thank you for sharing. This was an excellent article, and perfect timing for our family and we are considering (and very much stressing over) whether or not to homeschool. I am sending it to my husband to read. :)

These are awesome lists. There are plenty of things on here that I don't even know how to do. I'll have to learn along with my kids. :)

I agree with this - that was an emotional scene.

Thank you for the recommendation. I just reserved my library's copy.

Lots of GREAT advice here. Thanks everybody. I am going to reread and process it all and my husband and I have a lot to talk about. Still not sure where we will end up, but I am coming to terms with the idea that another year in school might not be so bad if we go that route. It would give me time to get things organized here and the toddler will be a little older. if we do start HSing next year, I can make it work too, but I am realistic enough to know that it might be a crazy first year. :) Love all the ideas for summer "school." I put that in quotes because I plan on doing some fun things that are educational but don't look like school, and we will be totally flexible. Nature walks, art projects, great read alouds, LOF (which they all love) and LOTS of time outside. I so appreciate everyone's input. Over the past couple of years, I have asked several questions about switching to HSing and everyone is always so kind and thoughtful with their responses. Thanks for the guidance. A couple of you mentioned that taking that first leap into HSing was the hardest part and you are SO right - it's so hard to make the switch away from what you know! I feel strongly that we will end up there at some point and I am trying to learn to be patient in the meantime. :)

Following because there are some really great recommendations here but I also want to give another vote for anything with David Attenborough. We have several of the BBC Earth series and the kids all enjoy them. There is quite a bit of animal nature (hunting, fighting, mating), so as long as that doesn't bother him, I'd definitely check them out.

Great lists! I second (third?) Betsy-Tacy. All my kids loved it. I just ordered Milly Molly Mandy for my 4 year old daughter as a read aloud. We also all loved Caddie Woodlawn and the Little House series.

I love this! My kids (7 and 9) spent the first few days of spring break (before it snowed again) digging in the dirt. Isn't that what kids are supposed to do? :)

I would have no problem dropping my 9 year old off at practice or having him wait for me in a waiting room. I let him wander and browse in the library as long as he's in the same general area as me. I'm sorry people are giving you a hard time about this.

But as far as everything else you are saying, this is why I am doubting myself and thinking maybe I am just crazy to think I can take it all on. I have prayed about this for years. I have done a ton of research, I have send numerous articles and posts to my husband to read, I have asked questions on various boards here (and SO appreciate all the input). I just don't feel like we're any closer to a decision. We need to find more time to talk it out.

The boys' special needs are behavioral/emotional. Both ADHD, one has mild autism, one deals with moderate to severe anxiety. My daughter can be quite anxious and high strung as well. But as far as learning goes, all three are quick to pick up new ideas and the boys are both gifted in math. I would love to work on their issues more at home, but I don't see their needs impacting learning *too* much.

Thank you for responding. I've had all this swirling around in my head the past few days, I'm not even sure if I'm making any sense. My husband is not against homeschooling, but he is just not that interested. He's ok with the status quo. Although, he is starting to have some frustrations with the public school system....but not enough that he wants to try homeschooling yet. Overall, we are pretty happy with the school, so it's not like the kids are in a dire situation that I need to pull them out of. I want to homeschool so that we can spend more time together, grow closer as a family, build sibling bonds, build character, meet my kids' special needs, meet my kids' gifted needs. (yup, I've got two 2e kids, and possibly a third.) I want us to explore what interests us, not whatever standards the schools are following this year. I want to give them a better, more thorough education than the one I received. But I also like the idea of having the flexibility to be more relaxed as life sometimes dictates. I guess my main reason is TIME. We only get so much time with our kids and I want to spend it well. As for the kids, I haven't asked them outright because I don't want to get the idea in their head, then not be able to follow through if it doesn't work out, but I am almost sure that my boys at least would want to be home. My daughter is probably the more social one, but even she had a long time this year that I almost pulled her out of preschool because she cried at dropoff every morning (it eventually stopped and she goes just fine now). I even thought about bringing the boys home and having her do K at the school, but I can only imagine how poorly that might go over. So anyway, you all have some good ideas, and yes, I think we will try doing some schoolish things over the summer. I usually do stuff like that with them over breaks anyway, I guess I was frustrated because we didn't really do much last week. But maybe I will get a loose plan in place and have some topics for us to explore and have fun with over the summer. Thank you SO much for reading, responding, and allowing me to "talk" this out. :)

Please bear with me, as I'm mostly thinking aloud, and maybe hoping some of you might offer advice or support, one way or the other. I've been trying to convince my husband to homeschool for a few years now. My kids attend a public school that we like, but I wish we had more time as a family, and I want to give them a chance to learn at their own pace, follow their own interests, etc. Plus, I just want to be the one teaching and learning along side them. I think it is FUN to spend this kind of time together as a family. My husband, not knowing anyone who homeschools, still thinks the whole idea is a little too "out there" for his taste. He's happy with where they are and doesn't want to change. He also thinks it will just be too much for me. As of right now, my boys attend school, and my older daughter is signed up for kindergarten next year. So once she goes, it will just be me and the baby home all day. Mostly, I think I will be bored out of my mind (although I would rather have that time with my littlest than put her in daycare and get a job). Sometimes, the idea of having a quiet house sounds appealing...for a few minutes at least. My kids were home on spring break last week. I wanted to do fun things with them, but other than reading some books, playing a few games, and a trip to the library, we didn't really do anything else. The baby is all over the place lately, climbing on everything, and I think I spent most of my week chasing her. We did spend a lot of time outside since the weather was unseasonably warm. But when we were hanging around in the house, I started thinking about what it would be like if I was responsible for their education and how/when we would get things done, and I really started to doubt myself. Maybe this is part of what my husband is worried about. How would I manage teaching the other two math while the little one is running around and the kindergartener is yelling at the top of her lungs (which she does most of the time, just for fun). How would I manage? Right now, I'm just trying to parent, keep up with some basic housekeeping, and get dinner on the table and most days I am pretty much spent by the end. How would I add in educating my children? I'm starting to feel like maybe it's all too much and they are better off going to school. But that idea makes me so sad. :( If you got this far, I appreciate it. I don't even know what, if anything, I am asking. If you've been in my shoes, would you share what your family decided and how it worked out? Or advice if you are trying to school older kids with toddlers running around? (She sleeps for maybe an hour a day, so it's not like we would get much done during her nap. During her nap today, I managed to clean off my desk and read with my 4 year old for a few minutes before she woke up.) Maybe I just need to remember that it's just a season? She's our last so it's not like there will be more babies running around after this. I don't want to miss out on these years with my kids, but I just don't know how I would manage it all. Sorry if this is total rambling. I've been typing this post for a couple of hours, while chasing said toddler, making dinner, and doing all the other things we all do every day. :)

We go two or three times a month. There are some fun story times for different ages and an awesome children's section. Parking is a pain though. We also have a book mobile and I can pick up library reserves at the book mobile which is more convenient for a quick in and out. So we probably stop at the book mobile 2 or 3 times a month as well.