I am thinking that I may just use HWOT for the pre-k and K levels for my boys, then switch back to GDI. ds#1 always complains when he has to write lowercase letters, so it will be nice for him to have capitals first, and I think it will be a better intro to writing for ds#2. Then when they are a little more proficient at writing, we can work at making it look nice. . . I had been concerned that I might confuse them by switching styles, but kids are smart, right? Thanks for all the input, everyone.

I have been using Getty-Dubay Italic with my 8yo and 5 yo dc because I like the way it looks and the cursive is very similar to (but prettier than) the cursive that I adopted once they stopped making me write in cursive in elementary school. But recently, I looked at a friend's copy of HWT. I like the way they teach letter formation. I do not like the way the handwriting (esp the cursive) looks, but I think it would be good way to teach my 4 yo and 5yo, since they are just learning to form letters. ds(5) has a lot of trouble with letter reversal and ds(4) is left-handed, so I forsee him having more difficulties learning. So now I'm undecided. And I'm being a curriculum junkie. What program do you like? I'm only including programs that I can think of off the top of my head in the poll. I'm sure there are tons of others out there that I don't know about.

I have had the same problem with all but my first. In-laws make me crazy piling their anxiety on top of mine. :grouphug: And yes, you're definitely nesting. :001_smile: Just before dd was born, I cleaned the whole house and did 8 loads of laundry. Then I sat around being exhausted for 4 days before going into labor.

I don't think it's anything to be overly concerned about. I remember my dd doing the same kind of thing before she started kindergarten. But, I'd probably go ahead and get a handwriting program and do it with her if she shows interest. I just wouldn't push it if she's not interested.

Thanks for reminding me why I pulled my kids out of ps. And here I was starting to feel bad that ds is missing out on all the fun in kindergarten. I'd forgotten they only get one 20 minute recess every day at our school.

Yes, that's exactly it. i don't have any idea how I'll feel, so I want to have things for them to do that don't require much of anything from me. Something other than watching TV for 8 hours a day. For some reason that makes them grumpy. . .:001_smile: Thanks for the ideas.

I agree. Get the cosmetic cleaning done so it'll be nice to come home to, do as much as the deeper cleaning as you can, then go get your kids. It's not ideal, but dh likely won't mind coming home to a house where the closets aren't organized. ;)

So, I am waiting to have a baby any day now. This is my 1st year hs'ing and I have been cutting back on what we do for school. Maybe today is just one of those days, but everyone was whining with boredom by 9 am. I'm sure they would have been no matter what we were doing, but I am starting to wonder what I will do with my kids for the next month (I was planning on quitting school altogether for several weeks). I may have to give them schoolwork just to keep them from whining about nothing to do all day long. What do you do with your kids when you're not up to doing much of anything?

We have lived in FL for 6 years and I almost never see spiders. I suppose it depends on where you live. We're out in the coastal scrub--maybe spiders like it better inland. I do hate all the ants. Sometimes I think a pet anteater would be great to have. We also have a really good pest control company, so that may be why I don't see spiders. The lovebug swarms in the spring drive me batty, too. And the mosquitoes. But, we have cicadas, too. It always brings back fond memories of living in Southern AZ when I hear the cicadas. I'll tell you one good thing about the humidity--I never get nosebleeds anymore. I used to get them fairly regularly when we lived in the desert.

I've never seen outward opening doors and I'm in FL. But not many screen doors, either. Why keep the door open when you have to keep the a/c running 9 months out of the year? DS left the back door open last week and we got a visit from a snake. And then there's the mosquitoes. . . .

Our LA program has you make letters out of sandpaper, write them in cornmeal, make them out of salt dough, etc. I think the ides is to help them learn it kinesthetically (however you spell that word). My 5yo is struggling with it right now. But, if I remember correctly, my dd's ps teachers always told me that letter reversal is very common at least through 1st or 2nd grade. It may be later (I pulled her out in 2nd grade). They always said not to stress about it--the kids will get it eventually with enough exposure.

We just started SL a couple weeks ago with Core 2. I'm really enjoying it, too. I've been easing into it and my kids have been begging to do more. It's awesome.

Noeo just came out with Chem III, recommended for ages 12-15. Chem II is for ages 9-12. http://www.noeoscience.com/catalog.html

I just have to add that while you're in the South, you have to make time to stop at a barbecue place. I think each state in the South has it's own, unique type of bbq. Maurice's in a chain in SC that we like.

I agree that forgiveness is essential for your husband--carrying around a grudge doesn't do anybody any good. But letting her back into your lives is not. It'll most likely just open up all those old wounds and undo all your efforts to forgive her. I'd back off for now, but once the initial grief of losing his gf has passed, I'd make some time to have a serious conversation about his sister and her relationship with your family.

Hooray!! Shout away. :D

:lol: Oh my belly hurts! You're not supposed to make me laugh that hard!

Thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement. :D Right now I'm just nervous about logistics of getting around with a new baby in addition to my older kids--two of which are rather prone to wandering off and not hearing me (they have selective hearing). For the most part, they are pretty good, though. I took everyone to my OB appt last week. I was about to pull my hair out b/c they were stubbornly refusing to do much of anything I asked. But they were quietly defiant. Afterward, the receptionist was telling me how good my kids were and what a great parent I am. LOL. Whatever. I've actually only gotten the comment of, "You know what causes that?" once. And before I could respond, the woman who asked laughed and told me she has seven kids. So I forgave her.

Sorry!! I just can't handle adding to a thread with more than 3 pages of posts. I feel like I pave to read all the posts first and 3 pages is my limit. ;)

So, reading the first few pages of the quiverfull post got me wondering about how others deal with having large families. I suppose I'm specifically wondering about how you deal with others' reactions to your family. I am about to have my 4th. I never considered 3 to be a "large" family, but apparently I am in the minority among people who live around me. Apparently having a 4th crosses some line of "normalcy" and being pregnant seems to give other people permission to ask very personal questions. It annoys me, but I try to answer honestly and with good humor. "Yes, this was planned", "Yes I do want to have more (but I'll let you know for sure after I am done having this one)", "No, I'm not a complete idiot", etc, etc. I am probably being over-sensitive, but I hate being the center of attention and having a vanload of kids in tow seems to draw a lot of attention. I'm starting to wonder if I should avoid taking all my kids out into public at once. I do want to avoid taking all of them to the grocery store for my own sanity. I can only handle so many people whining at me for donuts and ice cream. But what about other activites? Do I just drop off dd at her dance lessons so I don't have to try to keep 3 other children occupied in the waiting room? Do I get a babysitter every time one of my kids has a doctor's appointment? What is your biggest challenge (especially outside the home) with having large family and how do you deal with it?

When I was a kid, I once grabbed a piece of wet cat food, thinking it was tuna. yuck, yuck, yuck! That taught me never to eat things that were just sitting out on the counter.

I'll second Betty Crocker (I think there's always a new "Betty Crocker's New Cookbook" coming out). I grew up using my mom's and was happy to get one of my own when I got married. I have dozens of cookbooks and I always reach for Betty Crocker first.

I think they're looking at the anatomy of the child. There may not be much difference between an 8 and 9 yo, but between 5 and 8, there's a huge difference. The younger kids have bigger heads (harder for their necks to support them properly) and are obviously going to be a lot shorter, so the seatbelt will be at the wrong place on their neck. I agree that there needs to be some wiggle room in the law for parental discretion, though. My 7yo (she will be 8 this month) claims that she is too big for her booster seat. Many of her friends can ride comfortably w/o one. They are physically more mature that she is. She will not be 80 lbs until she's at least 12, and I don't expect to keep her in a booster seat that long. I have let her go w/o the booster this last week. But last night I was looking at her in the car, and she really is too small to be in a regular seat. I won't need her seat for her younger brother for another year, so I think she'll just have to deal with the indignities of a booster for a little while longer. I'm rambling, but I think my point is that parents need to be able to judge the size of their children and buckle them up appropriately. The laws should give reasonable guidelines to measure against.

This is why I can't bring myself to disconnect our TV. I let the kids watch for an hour or two every afternoon, while I go to my room for quiet. It's amazing how it turns off their mouths (and probably their brains). But I need that time. Quiet time just isn't enough for me, especially on the days when they talk all through quiet time.