This saddens me. However, if you have never been a Native American living or visiting a reservation then you cannot possible understand the blatant hostility that is often experienced from the surrounding communities. I did not grow up on the reservation, and I remember being quite shocked as a young girl when I went to visit relatives. I'm quite shocked now as an adult professional. My tribe has an excellent site to explain our sovereign nation status. HTH

Me, too!

When I watched that video I see a hospital that needs to revamp their infant security system. No nurse should be put in that position. I am thankful that I work at a hospital that has a very clearly defined infant abduction policy. All exits from all areas that the babies are located have alarms. No one can leave the area without being "buzzed" out. A person cannot leave the area without setting off an alarm. As a nurse, I am not to physically stop anyone from leaving the area with a baby. I can follow them and report their location. I set off the "baby pink" alarm which shuts down the entire hospital. This would be very unpleasant. Can you imagine that you were in a hospital with your month old and getting stopped and questioned by hospital security because some dad decided to take his newborn for fresh air? Security personal ( who are all former police officers) are the ones who will physically stop anyone travelling outside the secured areas with an infant. I can not imagine that scenerio playing out especially well either. All nursery nurses will be watching how this plays out. I'm disappointed about the ER doc/family friend who threw those nurses under the bus. Everyone at my hospital knows the infant abduction policy and knows that the dad would not be allowed to leave the unit with his child in his arms. BTW, we also have the policy that newborns are transported in bassinets(only be certain persons---dad/moms do not transport their infants outside the secured areas) and no co-sleeping.

I converted a nearby coat closet into a school closet. I call it the disappearing classroom.

If your concern is RSV, then contact your pedi. In our area, RSV season is over so not a concern. We aren't vaccinating premies leaving the hospital for RSV until next winter. Washing hands and mask should be sufficient for a cold. However, if grandma has fever or a sore throat this would be a different scenerio. If in doubt, contact your pedi.

I just recently had gallbladder surgery. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to breastfeed a baby immediately post-op. I was groggy until I was home. Just something to think about. Some info on breastmilk storage. FWIW, I had one of my children refused previously frozen EBM. She would only drink small amounts of fresh EBM when I worked. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html Another option is to feed the baby frequently the night before you go in and plan on feeding frequently once you get home. Best of luck!

I really enjoyed LLATL. I used LLATL with my older kids (yellow+), and I do not feel that it is too "light". For one of my children, I did need to supplement spelling for a few years. Spelling is not lacking in LLATL. THis particular child just needed a very systematic spelling program. Both of my older kids have transitioned to life and college without any issues with writing or grammar. HTH

Simply Charlotte Mason has a book/DVD called "Planning Your CM Education." It's easy to create your own schedule using your own living books. CM is methodology using living books. If the book recommendations of one site appeals to you then use it. One living book list isn't necessarily better or worse than the other. The best living book for your family is the one that your children enjoy. Simply Charlotte Mason has a nice transitioning page that might help you get started.

I didn't have taco shells so I made chili instead. I did put the lentils into the food processor before adding in the other beans. My kids didn't even realize they weren't eating our regular recipe that asked for 2lbs of ground beef! Thanks!

Wraps and quesadillas. I mix a can of black beans (rinsed and drained) with salsa in my food processor until it is the texture of hummus. Makes a lot and stores well in the fridge. Wraps. Tortilla, black bean mixture, broccoli slaw or salad, salsa. Quesadillas. Tortillas, black bean mixture and cheese. I also love a hummus wrap and use Italian dressing instead of salsa. My kids like to eat broccoli slaw and veggies with hummus as a dip.

3 votes for lentil tacos. I'll make it tonight. Morning Star is the one I tried that was vetoed by the kids. My local store no longer carries Boca but in the past my kids didn't realize that they weren't eating meat when I used Boca. Thanks for the taco recipe!

Vegetarian Times has a Veg Starter Kit that gives a basic outline for a daily meal plan for vegetarian children. Becoming Vegetarian by Melina would be a good read for you. If will help you make a meal plan that has enough protein without adding in too much cheese, milk and eggs. One of my kids recently decided to go veg. We already had several meatless meals so it was more of a transition for the family then a complete change in eating habits. Each week we experimented with a recipe and different food substance such as tofu, etc. It has been a lot of fun and super easy. I did tell the kids that being vegetarian meant that they had to actually eat their of vegetables. It has been fun experimenting with veggies that we did not normally eat. We went from meatless 1-2 times per week to eating meat only 1x per week (or less) in about 6 weeks. Honestly, cooking meat kinda grosses me out now. If dh wants a meal with meat, he cooks it. Overall, everyone feels so much better. I'm currently looking for an alternative source to make tacos. I tried the TVP that was available in the freezer section of my local store and my kids didn't care for it? Suggestions?

FLACC pain scale The goal is to keep a score of 0-3. FLACC is designed for ages 2-7 If still in doubt, call your MD. If you are concerned about the stronger pain med, talk with your MD about trying to use scheduled tylenol (or the over the counter med of choice) and see if that keeps his pain under control. You could still use the stronger pain med for breakthrough pain. HTH

I think of our school year in 3 months blocks. We do school work for 9 weeks out of each 13 week block. I preplan a few weeks off each year....a couple weeks at Christmas, a week a Thanksgiving, and our planned family vacation. The rest of our breaks are saved for grandma visits, big brother visits, illnesses or "just need a break". I prefer to not take longer than 2 weeks off at a time or to go longer than 8 weeks without a break. HTH

Have you looked into Home Health? There are a lot of options in Home Health. There seems to be a shortage of people willing to work in the early morning or evenings to fill in for the little things that fall during that time. Some of these visits could be checking glucose/giving insulin, hanging TPN, evening admits, antibiotics through a PICC, dressing changes, etc. There are also long term care options but these seem to usually be daytime (work hours) or nighttime (sleep hours). Best of luck with your search!

How many total weeks per year are they visiting? My inlaws are also out of town. When they visit we take the time off. We also plan all our vacations during the traditional school year. Family is more important than schoolwork. However, if they are coming separately and multiple times I do understand that you may have to come to some sort of understanding. FWIW, my inlaws come every 3-6 months and stay a week. We go to them 1 week out of the year. Grandma only visited with the inlaws. We did not have other family visiting except and occasional visit from a BIL. For our family, these visits were 4-6 weeks out of the year. HTH

TBA? Sounds like my plan to keep them separate for skill subjects is the way to go for now. Thanks for sharing how you break up your family subjects.

Paula, Thanks for the reply. It gives a lovely picture of your day. How do you schedule in the skill subjects such as reading, copywork, and math? My older kids were at a similar skill set and developemental stage so setting a daily rhythm that alternated subjects was easier. My kids are not at a point where I can have them both working on math at the same time. My younger child is a chatterbox, and we are still working on developing the habit of attention. Thanks again!

I'm in the process of getting back to my CM roots. Long story. I would love to take a peek of your daily and weekly "schedule". Perhaps a look at what you did last week if you don't have it on paper what you plan to do this week....pretty please.:001_smile: My older kids were a year a part, and it was easy to plan a CM education for them. I am having some difficulty getting into the rhythm for my younger kids who have a similar age spread as yours. THanks!!

If my child had asthma, I would vaccinate for the flu. I would also vaccinate earlier rather than later in the season. I don't think the fact that you are hsing this year lowers the risk enough to justify not vaccinating a child that you do not want to get the flu. Each year I know of homeschool only children that do get the flu.

What an awesome opportunity for you! Go for it! Check out the work requirments during orientation after you get your RN degree. Our unit has a 6 month (FT only) orientation so in reality you may be working FT for the first year after you graduate. However, those will be 12 hour shifts so you will be able to share the homeschooling responsibilities with your mom during that year. There is also frequently night shift requirements...new grads in my unit work 2 weeks of days then 2 weeks of nights. I work part time as a RN, and am going to school to advance my degree. My mom watches my younger kids 4 days a month so I don't have to work nights or every weekend. She has blessed our family!

Ohhhh, this is your 3rd week of your first homeschooling year? In that case, start slowly to develop a solid routine. I would then split up the kids for the basics until you get this routine solid. I wouldn't expect them to know to keep working when you leave to go help the other. I would gradually get in the habit of leaving their side but being close enough to step in when they start to dawdle. Once you get each individual child in the habit of doing 1. math, 2. writing,3. other independant subject...then you can try to integrate them both doing it at the same time. But you need to train them into doing it and that means you being there to direct them. Doing school at home is an adjustment for them! Give it some time. Spend the morning working on the basics. Spend the afternoons working on games/projects but only after you have your morning routine going smoothly. HTH

I pick one habit to work on at a time. If I were having multiple issues, then I would remove as many other temptations as possible. I'm just tossing ideas out now...... Stand to do work to eliminate chair tipping. 1 pencil and if they toss it then they can do their lesson in the girly pink crayon. Throw the blue eraser away. Work with 1 child at a time but explain that tv/games/etc. don't come on until all schoolwork is done by both children. HTH

:iagree: Direct is ok. Judgemental is annoying.

You really want to argue. Bottom line is that not one of your comments help the OP work out her birth plan. I was merely encouraging the development of a birth plan. I love it when families bring one in. It helps me meet her expectations and make for an overall better experience for everyone. If every family had one, my job would be so much easier! And no before you ask. Not every family wants rooming in, exclusively breastfeeding, no vac, no circ, etc. Each family is unique. I'm good at my job, and I love it. I don't have to "like" dealing with bodily fluids to be a good nurse.