I donated blood once, but it turned out I was pretty ill at the time, and I never even thought about checking my blood type since I had other concerns. I found out when I was pregnant, and DH and I have the same blood type, as it turns out. When I asked the docs why they don't routinely test for it at birth, I was told that it's an expensive test if done by a lab, since folks usually have it done for paternity testing, and that most insurance won't automatically cover for the same reason.

I have about 18 months planned out, but with wiggle room for things that aren't a good fit. Beyond that, I'm basically following TWTM, so I'm not really worried about planning in too much detail, since I don't foresee us ending up with any serious gaps.

It's just the four of us, so we'll keep it simple and kid-friendly. I'll make homemade pizza and set out little nibbles to carry us all the way to midnight. DH will probably want some shrimp, but I don't have anything fancy planned.

DD takes science classes at the natural history museum, about 5 or 6 sessions each semester. We do some science on top of that at home, but since we are covering animals/human body/plants, and she loves to read about those topics, I don't even think she's aware that we are "doing school." I guess I could also say PE, since both kids take weekly dance classes. I also take them swimming once a week.

Time alone in a library or bookstore. Aside from the cost of a sitter, this would be totally free! Tickets to the symphony, and I'm not picky about where my seat is. Dark chocolate, especially over candied ginger or orange peel. Cabernet and a nice meal prepared by someone other than myself.....

My dd was the roundest baby I'd ever seen. Her rolls had rolls and she was off the charts for weight starting from around 3 weeks old (and she was born 6 weeks early!). My grandmother thought she looked like the picture of health, my mother kept assuring me that she would slim down one day...... She's 5 1/2 now, and always complaining that her 6 slim jeans are too loose. She really kept that chubby look until this past year, but our doctors were great about it -- said her weight was right in line with the rest of her growth and could see that she was active. Ironically, this year our ds is the one whose weight came up at the doctor's office, because he came in at the 90th percentile, but looks like he weighs much less than that, which they found amusing. I would worry much less about what your eyes tell you, and much more about offering great food choices and providing fun physical activities as she ages, and I think you'll find she slims down just fine.

There are a lot of great tips here, but I wanted to add this: don't consider cleaning the kitchen a chore to be done at night, but a gift you are giving yourself for the morning. I find that when I can't bear the thought of another half hour on my feet cleaning the kitchen, I find the prospect of returning to that mess in the morning even more terrifying. I make a habit of getting the table, counters, and sink emptied of everything, and I set up the coffeemaker for the next morning. As long as I have something hot and caffeinated, and a clean mug to pour it into, I can handle anything:001_smile: The few occasions where I've slipped up on this routine have been punishment enough to keep me on track. The same goes for staying on top of other things as well.... I find that for every five minute investment in organizing a drawer or a cabinet, I save twice that amount of time in searching for stamps, or the corkscrew (never a good thing to lose!), or whatever else I'll be needing when time is at a premium. The Flylady's concept of taking "baysteps" is very useful in helping you break everything down to a manageable size.

At 4, my dd really enjoyed hearing the first few Oz books, the first couple of Narnia books, the Jenny Linsky books (Jenny and the Cat Club, etc.) by Esther Averill, and the Catwings books by Ursula LeGuin. Right after she turned 5 we started on the Little House books, which she also enjoyed.

I joined to keep up with my (much) younger siblings. I have ended up using it to connect with long-lost friends from high school, college, and even to keep up-to-date with other homeschoolers I only see sporadically. It requires only as much time as you want to put into it, so don't let that hold you back. You can keep your page and updates very minimal and still reap benefits.

Our first official day will be the 7th. DH returns to work on the 5th, and I'll also start back to tutoring that day. Tuesdays are for classes and field trips here, so we'll get back in the swing of things that day, grab the stuff we need from the library, and both kids will resume dance classes. Then the 7th will be a light day, and we'll keep it light all that week to ease back into the routine.

Do you still have the wings? If you can throw them in for the stock, it really adds a lot of flavor (though, obviously, not meat). I always throw in what I have left and round it out with celery and onions, and it always seems to come out fine in the end.

I had my first at 28 and my last at 30 (found out I was pregnant a couple months before I turned 30). I am in better health now than I was during those pregnancies, yet I do worry about how my body would handle another pregnancy if that were ever to happen. Just make sure you are working with doctors who are understanding of your concerns.

When dd5 was 3 1/2 we started the EB series (US edition), and they were a huge success. I did much of the writing for her until around her 4th birthday. She started ETC book 1 (we skipped the primers) a few months before she turned 4, although we skipped some of the writing activities. I had also planned on holding off on formal academics, but she asked for them and I let her take the lead. We usually worked on workbook activities for about 15 minutes at a time, three or four days a week, always at her request. A big hit at that age here was Starfall, which my nearly 3 1/2 year old ds is now enjoying as well. He will be starting EB and the ETC primers this spring, as well as joining in on Latin. I think there is such a thing as "too early," but only if you place expectations on them instead of allowing them to go at their own pace. Although we did use "academic materials" at age 3, my memories are more of storytime at the library, Kindermusik, and creative movement classes, and I think that if we had held off, things would still have turned out just fine.

My dh came home from work late about three weeks ago. He had stopped at a discount store to buy some shoes, and picked up a big set of potholders in various sizes, all in my favorite color. And he knew I needed them, so he bought them. And he is not very patient, so he handed them to me that night, and that was my Christmas present. The funny part -- he actually showed me that Dog House ad recently because he found it so amusing. It's just something he is absolutely, 100% clueless about. About a week after our anniversary last year I went out and bought myself a bottle of my favorite perfume, and I did tell him -- I just don't think it really meant anything to him. Now you could always make your point by brewing up a pot of that coffee, then refusing to share any of it with him:001_smile:

When I was a classroom teacher, I remember how frustrated the parents would get over having to fit their lives to the school calendar. They had no control over the breaks, the half days, closings and delays, etc. They were supposed to squeeze in all of their dc's appointments after school hours or during vacations. They had to decide whether a child was really too sick for school, and make emergency runs to the nurse's office when they guessed wrong. Their kids had little free time or family time. And many of them spent more time each day helping their kids with homework than some of us spend schooling! I know lots of people think that homeschooling is more difficult than sending them out the door each day, but I see it from the opposite perspective. I have all of the responsibility, but also complete control over our schedule, which makes my life easier in the long run.

My dd is 5 1/2. This year she's getting books, including the Usborne internet linked chess book for beginners, so I figure she'll be playing around with that for the next few weeks. She's also getting a couple of board games, plenty of craft materials, a robe and slippers, more playdough. Friends and family have gotten her some Barbies, which she does seem to enjoy. She still plays with her dollhouse quite a bit, as well as with legos and other blocks. The one thing I would have added this year if I hadn't already finished up my shopping is books on cd, which she has really started to enjoy.

I have definitely relaxed my dinner routine. I used to feel that leftovers only worked if I completely retooled them -- now my philosophy is that if it's good enough to eat Monday, it's just as tasty Tuesday. My kids are little, so if I get them to make a good attempt on a food they don't love one night, they can have something else when I serve it again -- and grilled cheese or English muffin pizzas are so little work that I feel like I had an easy night of it, and they think they got a big treat. I make big batches of pancakes and quick breads on days that are light, then I have homemade breakfasts on hand (although ds and I really want eggs every morning just to complicate things). I have also relaxed some of my former housekeeping rules. I have learned that no one notices but me if I skip vacuuming one day here or there, and that I really can get away with just using the dustbuster in a pinch. There are definitely days when the playroom door gets closed instead of the playroom getting organized:001_smile: The mail used to be a bigger hurdle here, because I could never deal with a simple toss or keep system -- I have a distinct third category that always tripped me up. I noticed that for me, the "keep temporarily" pile of things like store circulars and coupons was the real problem, so I gave them their own drawer in the kitchen. Now my store circulars are with my coupons, so I can sort them out together once a week, when time allows. Invitations and notices about upcoming events get clipped directly to the calendar. If DH didn't buy me a 2009 calendar, I'm going to make a snazzy one a gift to myself this year.

Happy Hanukkah! I spent the whole day cooking our holiday dinner, and am just sitting down now to enjoy some reheated latkes:001_smile:

This is the first time that I've made a big deal about it being a break at all, since dd has finally noticed the patterns that her friends in school follow. We are at the beginning of a 3 week break, but that mostly means a break from workbooks. I will be allowing extra screen time for holiday movies and the like, and I'll be working less, which means they can have more computer time, too. I have tons of read-alouds planned, and dd will still have to read to me 15 to 20 minutes most days. We will be taking trips to some museums, the zoo, etc., and spending lots of time with family, so the whole thing will probably feel like one giant field trip. The kids are getting lots of board games for the holidays, so I imagine a good bit of time will be spent on those. We have hit the point in math where dd needs to work on fact memorization, so I am planning on playing card games with her and introducing flashcards -- that might sound like school, but since we've never done it, I think she'll enjoy it as a new activity.

Six is great, 4 -5 is closer to what I actually get. When I try for anything over 7 hours, I just end up awake at 4 am.

Since you're in PA, are you filing early with your sd, or holding off until she's 8? I would keep all avenues open, and just not choose a grade level until you have to file that first affidavit. Then you can see what looks like the best fit at that point. I often avoid discussing grade level by explaining that we won't be filing any paperwork for a couple of years.

It has been really slow this year. I've only gotten about half of mine done, but I can't believe the rest of the world procrastinates as much as I do!

I just got around to watching this after waiting for a copy at the library for several weeks. On one hand, I suppose it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but it's still pretty scary stuff. It compares the high school experiences of students in the US, India, and China, and paints a scary picture of the way things might turn out if there aren't some major changes in our education system. I'm curious to see what anyone else who has seen it thought....

Along the same lines as the fish oil suggestion, one thing that really helps dry skin is upping general hydration levels. I have severely dry skin and am very prone to dehydration, and find that when I stay on top of hydration, the cracking and bleeding diminishes. Olive oil works really well, especially when it's sealed in with anything containing dimethicone (one doctor suggested Aquaphor, which has worked well for me, but many brands of "healing ointment" or hand lotion contain this).

One thing that made number bonds more fun for my dd when we started Singapore 1A was telling her that there are "tricks" and "shortcuts" in math. She instantly started looking ahead on worksheets -- if she had one problem that said 4+5, she would look ahead to see if there was a 5+4 so that she could kill two birds with one stone.