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FairClaire

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  1. DH will be celebrating one of those big birthdays ending in a "0" this year. I want to do something special for him, but I am short on time and energy with homeschooling and all of my other responsibilities. I am not naturally good at hosting and don't enjoy large groups of people, but he does. I have been trying to think about how I can still make the day special for him (and keep it a surprise) without pushing myself past my limits. Here is what I came up with: Rent a nice community room/banquet hall nearby so I don't have to worry about getting my house ready. Purchase cupcakes/dessert selection from local bakery so I don't have to make food Enlist the help of DH's siblings and parents to help with decorating, hosting, and helping with my kiddos Do an open house style party so I won't have to have as many planned activities/game type stuff Here are my questions: Is it okay to only serve cake/desserts + drinks if I don't have the party at a meal time? Can I integrate the open house style party with a surprise party? (thinking I will put on the invitation to arrive between 2:30 and 2:45 if guests want to be part of the surprise (DH arriving at 3:00) or come any time after 3:15 for example) What activities should I have for the guests to do that come early to wait and surprise DH? Do I need any activities/games for duration of party? What should I do for decorations/theme/displays? I don't want anything cheesy or overly themed...DH doesn't like that kind of stuff
  2. Thank you for all the help!! It's great to hear from so many people that have been there especially with many young kiddos. I think we may just visit an aquarium and skip SeaWorld. We will be gone for about 11 days so I do think we have time to spend at Disney and a couple days at a Beach at the end of the trip. We will fly out from the beach location instead of driving back and flying out of Orlando. One more question...Should we get tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or skip it?
  3. No...I'm not sure. :) I just keep reading about lines and touring strategies and the cost of food and souvenirs and all of the extras. What is there for the 8 and youngers to do at Epcot and Hollywood Studios? Will it be easy for us to stay together as a family? We don't get enough family time or rest here at home so I want to make sure we can spend most of our days together and not be totally exhausted at the end of our trip!! What didn't you like about Sea World? I love to plan, but there is sooo much information on Disney related stuff (a lot of it with differing opinions) so it's so hard to know what our family would enjoy most. Neither DH or I have ever been there either.
  4. My off-site accommodations are significantly cheaper than what I'd pay at Disney so I'm trying to understand the other benefits of staying on site. We have considered spending our second Disney day at Animal Kingdom, but I think we'll wait to decide until after our first day at Magic Kingdom. I do want to take the older two to one or two of the scarier rides, but most of the time I want to go on rides the entire family can enjoy. Can we sit in groups of three on most of the rides? I talked DH into an 11 day vacation (we've never been gone from home longer than 3 days as a family/6 days as a couple) so I'm pretty excited. We're planning on spending 2 days at Disney parks, visiting Sea World another day, spending a couple days enjoying our off site rental (if we stick with that-it has a pool). We'll be in the Orlando area for a week and then for the last 3 days we're planning on going south to enjoy some time on the beach. Anything else in the Orlando area we should make sure not to miss? None of our kids have been on an airplane, been away from home longer than 3 days, or ever been to Disney/Florida. Any other tips for traveling with little ones, visiting Disney, Florida, etc.? Any good restaurants in the area?
  5. My family is going to Disney this fall for the first time. I will be traveling with DH, and our 3 yr. old, 4 yr. old, 6 yr. old and 8 year old. We will be in Florida for over a week but only planning to visit Magic Kingdom for two days. I read every book and message board I could before planning the trip. Then I found out that they are rolling out a lot of changes this year. I already booked a property offsite, but now I'm wondering how hard it will be to get on the rides since onsite guests can book fastpasses ahead of time. Should I reconsider and stay onsite? Also, since only the 8 year old can ride alone, I think we will have to go on the rides in groups of 3 or use rider switch for the ones the youngest two won't be riding. Is this correct? Any tips related to the rides or Walt Disney World in general? It took me over a year to talk DH into this trip, so I'm wanting to make the most of our vacation :)
  6. Thanks for the suggestions. I feel like the housework is already at a bare minimum right now (clean clothes to wear, clean dishes to eat off of), trash taken out when needed and everything else only cleaned/vacuumed periodically when I can manage it) but something else still has to give. The cooking/meal planning takes me a long time because I'm terrible at it :) We are using: History: STOW2 and Activity Guide Science: Real Science Odyssey Earth and Space (this is the one that most departs from WTM recommendations-but still following cycle) Spelling Workout C WWE2 FLL2 Singapore Math 2A Piano-30 min. practice each day for 2nd grader and Ker + 1 weekly lesson that takes 2 hours (including drive time) Art appreciation (various sources) Read Alouds-varies Cursive handwriting book at daughter's request because she really wants to learn how to write in cursive. K'er does 15-30 min. of phonics/reading time with me 30 min. math 15 min. handwriting daily The time it takes is hard to measure because we have so many interruptions from 2 and 3 year old. We are never able to work on things without stopping and starting. After being distracted and having to stop to help 2 or 3 year old, we have to start over because dd has lost her train of thought or forgot where she was at with something. Toddlers still need help using the bathroom and don't share toys well so school time is interrupted often. I need more ideas on what to do with the little ones. They are tired of play-doh and coloring and don't play well together :(
  7. I have been thinking a lot about this topic, but still don't know what the answer is for my family. It's a good question. It definitely won't look the same for everyone but I think most people are aiming for something better than a public school would offer. Lately, I feel like I've been too focused on academics and need some more balance in other areas of my (and my kids) lives. I want them to have a strong education, but not at the expense of other important life skills and priorities.
  8. I really like everything suggested in the Well Trained Mind. It fits my philosophy of education, my teaching style, and my dd's learning style. My dd is in second grade and has been thriving with the classical education laid out in the WTM. However, I also have a Kindergartner, 3 year old, and 2 year old to keep track of. I don't feel like I spend enough time with them (especially the littlest). I just can't seem to fit everything into our day. Eating healthy (and therefore spending a lot of time with meal planning and cooking), exercising (my husband and I both 3-6x per week, my oldest two in gymnastics) church attendance and daily Bible reading/devotion time, and keeping the house fairly well maintained are also big priorities. I haven't been getting enough sleep because I do a lot of my planning and cleaning after everyone is asleep. I've been irritable with the kids and I constantly feel like I'm not spending enough time reading to and teaching the other kiddos. I know SWB has said in multiple places that the schedules included in the WTM aren't entirely realistic and were included at the publisher's request. However, I'm just not sure what to leave out or cut back on. We currently do everything in the WTM listed for second grade including piano lessons and practicing daily. It's working so well for DD I don't want to change it, but I know my other kids need more time with me. Suggestions? Should I spend less time on some subjects or just drop some (like art appreciation) for now?
  9. My kids would love this bread!! How have I never heard of this!
  10. This sounds so good! Thanks for the idea :)
  11. I love apples. I currently have 5 different varieties in my fridge and am always looking for new recipes to try. What is your favorite? Does anyone have any savory recipes with apple? I once made an apple chicken curry that I really liked.
  12. I made this oatmeal on Monday and my four kids gobbled up an entire 9x13 pan in under 10 minutes. I made it again today and they did the same thing. The first time I added bananas after it was out of the oven and the second time I added frozen blueberries just before baking. It turned out excellent both times. I don't mind the butter in the recipe at all, but I would like to cut down on the sugar a little. How much can I decrease the sugar before losing too much taste/texture? Has anyone tried substituting the sugar for any other sweeteners like honey or maple syrup?
  13. My library didn't have the book so I bought it off of Amazon. I agree that many teachers are not well trained for their jobs. I started college as an Education Major, but I couldn't stand the lack of challenge. All of the classes were focused on classroom management, special needs, technology in the classroom, etc. I wasn't required to show any mastery in the skills I would actually teach to students. After being bored for 3 semesters I changed my major.
  14. I'm going to try this tomorrow! Thank you for sharing :)
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