Oh wow. I searched our house from top to bottom for two days. Find my Phone app insisted it was at our house, but I would have sworn I looked every.imaginable.place. The next day I was composing an opus (secret family code that means leave me alone!) in the bathroom when the metal toilet tissue canister next to me started rattling and vibrating. I freaked out, imagining a snake or something. Potty training daughter had hidden the phone in there and someone called at just the right moment:)

Oh wow. I am embarrassed to admit that we have been to urgent care twice for this, and the ER once...in the last 6 weeks. My 22 month old son will NOT stop putting things in his nose😫 You would think that the whole experience is so traumatic that he wouldn't do it again. Nope. When we had to take him to urgent care for the eraser top I couldn't get out, the doctor found on in his ear as well. At least that one came right out. There were more in his diaper the next day. The first time he put something up there was a big popcorn kernel he found on the floor at coop. The older kids saw him do it and made a huge fun game out of it. I think that started it, but he also has severe allergies so may be trying to get some relief. I actually bought him one of those hunter/fisherman hats with the fine mesh netting that goes all the way to his shoulders. At least he couldn't shove anything in😠He loves his 'special hat' and I 'let' him wear it when I am doing school with his sister, since this seems to be the time he chooses:( I am sure someday it will be something to laugh at. Right now I am too busy locking up anything small enough to fit in his nose😟

My perspective- I have an amazing aunt. She was instrumental in my health/mental well-being during a difficult childhood. I graduated high school very early at 15, and my aunt took me shopping for my college dorm room. She worked at a car dealership and helped me get my first car, again, instrumental in my life. Without a car I would not have been able to keep a job as a kid/emancipated adult. Just this Christmas after years of very little contact, I discovered she is now on disability for Crohn's disease and is living with her adult son to help him with his new wife (from Cambodia) and new baby as they go through the process for disability for him. He is newly blind from diabetes. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to be able to reach out and send a thank you letter with a check. Really. Her kindness and help early in my life was such a changing force...and she didn't Realize as it didn't seem a large amount to her. Life changing to me. Please allow your relative to repay your kindness:)

I have a perfectionist as well. It is an ongoing issue, so I empathize:) One thing that has really helped? I read the book Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck, and then did the Brainology modules with my dd. It taught (both of us!) to look at mistakes differently. I learned to start celebrating mistakes in a way, using language like oh, that was an awesome mistake! I can see your thought process, and how you arrived at this answer. I will say we had to do this away from math at the beginning as it was much easier to start with things that weren't so high-stakes for her. Math is a huge deal to her:) It has taken a few months, but she went from screaming meltdowns to bringing me a mistake she can't figure out as a challenge😳 Best homeschool supplement yet, as it has helped in every single area of school:)

Wow. I only have two...and a hubby home by 5:30 many nights. Still, I have given up on convention. Her school takes longer. We currently do everything possible outside in the morning. Read outside during lunch. Math and science while toddler sleeps, and snack. Spelling/ MCT gets done on the shower door while toddler bathes/plays in the afternoon... Edited to say: I am severely sleep deprived:(

Lol, I would say that our house is about as baby-proof as it can be. Or rather, Max proofed:) I wish we could just put everything up higher, but I am in a wheelchair so that is pretty much not an option...and it would just encourage him to climb! He comes from a family of rock climbers, and our garage has been turned into a wall on all sides and the roof, so I guess we have brought it upon ourselves. He can already climb onto kitchen counters, shelves, bathroom sinks, and more😩 Every room has a baby-proof knob on it as he is excellent at opening doors. Every cabinet has a baby lock, even the trash cans have locks! It is crazy around here. We actually REMOVED the plug covers when he was 12 months old when I replaced them with 3 different styles that he quickly mastered...the harder ones just encouraged him to use various instruments to pry them off. This seemed MUCH more dangerous, and now that they aren't a puzzle he leaves them alone. And yes, I NEVER had to worry about anything like this with my dd7!

Lol, love the idea:) I was envisioning some form of a dog-like muzzle, soft and cutesy-animal, with mesh over the nostrils so a kid could breath but not insert anything! Maybe I should market it. Just joking. I think.

This is a very good point. I have a sensory kid, and this boy just really does not seem to be. He is the happiest, most healthy, energetic boy, so very different from his sister...but he does have severe allergies with constantly crusty eyes and nose at the moment. Worth checking into, thanks:)

Absolutely:) And yes, some kids...but it is much different when it is suddenly my kid, lol. Sigh. I was an absolutely perfect parent with perfect children before I actually had kids:) who knew?!

I grew up in a family of girls. We were pretty wild, and I never really went for the stereotype of 'boy behavior.' THIS boy, however, is every stereotype imaginable. Seriously, he really will put me in an early grave. There are too many issues to go into, but right now I am struggling with what to do about this child and putting things in his nose! And ears. And... He really is my figure it out child. He is 21 months old now. Last week it was popcorn he found on the floor at coop, which we finally retrieved via copious amounts of bloody sneezing:( Yesterday I found him hiding under the school table clutching a handful of pencils sans erasers. He was eating one. When I expressed dismay, he helpfully shouted 'nose!' Sure enough, bright orange eraser wedged WAaaayyyy up there. We were unable to retrieve it, and ped recommended urgent care had to get it out with unimaginably long instrumentation. Plus a scheduled ENT visit. Oh, and wait, there is also a piece in his ear?! Guess where I found the remInder of the decapitated pencil erasers? My boy literally pooped a rainbow tonight. Just before bed I caught him attempting to put a bean from his dinner plate (must have fallen to the floor!) in his nose again! Seriously?! Any ideas?

Oh wow, this has recently changed my life. It JUST came to put area with our localish grocery store. I was skeptical at first. But hey, when I normally grocery shop I take my electric wheelchair instead of my normal manual. I hold the 21 month old in my lap and try to keep him distracted with food and such. With the same I secure him with, I attempt to power and steer. The other arm is pulling a shopping cart, that when full, threatens to tear my arm off at each joint. This is exacerbated by my energetic 7 yo jumping on for a ride every 2 minutes. Now I can keep a running shopping list, order everything via an app on my phone, pull in, and have someone bring everything to my van. They even bring the kids animal crackers to eat! There has been a learning curve, me figuring out how to order specific products, designate any substitutions, and how to leave specific notes for items. Today my avocados were terrible (I feared this!) but they refunded my money, had me keep the old, AND let me pick up fantastic replacements. Because it is new, they have a fee waiver for the first 4 visits, then a $4.95 charge after that. I am THRILLED with that! I spend more than that trying to feed/bribe/occupy the kids in store:) This grocery store also does not allow tips...but DO allow them to accept tips for charity. I like this...they get paid a better wage, and still know that their work is valued for a vulnerable community.

Oh wow, this is Alex! Today she told me integers are black or white, whilst rational numbers are 'all wavelengths'. Oh. Okay😳

I think there is a HUGE range between starting algebra concepts and problem solving algebra... My sample size is small however😊 My dd is radically advanced in math. She was doing Hands on Equations algebra at age 4. There are videos of her on their site. It was extremely intuitive to her. Now, at age just turned 7, she has completed the Key to Algebra series and Life of Fred algebra books. We have 'gone through' Saxon books insomuch as I give her 10-15 of the more challenging problems per day on a dry erase board. (There is zero chance of her looking at a page in the book and completing it without meltdown, primarily due to presentation!) We have gone slowly though Zacarro's book for real world Algebra. i tutor several public schooled older kids in algebra...I would MUCH rather Alex spend a lot more time on intuiting/fine tuning/mental math skills than learning to follow a procedure. So no age, but depth of understanding...

OMG- I totally must live in even smaller town USA than I thought. A meat truck at your house?! Hubby would come home to find me cowering under the bed😳 Lol, I live in a state where being vegetarian can still be seen as child abuse. We are extremely careful, and raise our kids to know it will always be their choice...but a truck delivering meat to their house would totally traumatize them:)

No idea if would be okay...but the only thing that absolutely removes the tannin staining on hubby's enormous stainless steel mug, and the Indian spice staining from my stainless pots is a magic eraser. Those things are amazing!

Ooh! Morst mortifying moment totally not my fault: My guy friend at a chemistry seminar dinner. He is KNOWN for his ridiculously potent and prodigious gas at our university. However, we were away..during dinner speech he expelled an epic burst of ridiculously offensive flatulence, the room froze as everyone turned to look in our direction. My 'friend' said 'wow, I didn't know a woman was capable of that!' Guess who was the only woman at the table? I did not talk to him for at least a month.

Too many to count. One that stands out: When dd was two, she overhead my mom and I talking about my incontinent grandfather. She asked what it was, so we explained it to her. We DID tell her that it wasn't something that should be shameful as it was a medical issue, but that some people would find it embarrassing to have known or talked about. We were in the grocery store buying supplies for grandpa one day and there was another lady looking at the supplies as well. Dd points at her and loudly shouts, "look mommy, that lady poops and pees herself too!" Mortifying all around😳

Just a thought: Although it didn't start as a way to get ready for the test, my dd fell in love with mythology listening to d' Aulaire's Greek Myths on audiobook. She has it loaded on her phone and ends up listening just about every night as she goes to sleep:)

Have you seen the book 'Don't Forget to Write?' We are doing this book with our coop this year and the kids absolutely love it. There is something there for everyone and so much fun. Writing letters to aliens, re-writing fairy tales, writing bedtime stories in pjs, writing how-to's on things like how to avoid a shower forever, writing jokes and riddles, cookbooks, choose your own adventures...you get the idea. Each one has fun ideas to integrate playfulness. Fort building, art, story mapping, mad libs, imaginary vacations, dancing:) It is also really effective for introducing literary elements and devices. If you can't tell it has been awesome for us😀 https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118024311/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485355485&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

I haven't read all of the replies, but THIS caught my attention. My dd7 was diagnosed with PANDAS/PANS last year after a long hard road. She has other things going on as well, which complicated everything. We were skeptical at first, as she never showed any 'sick/strep' symptoms. Due to advice from fellow boardies, I took her to the doctor and guess what? Positive for strep. Rinse and repeat. Every time I see a huge upswing in her symptoms, especially OCD/anxiety/ticks, she turned up positive...but always asymptomatic as far as classical strep symptoms. Really frustrating, and her doctor thinks this has probably been going on for years. Same issue with ear infections...no real pain, and tend to be secondary to strep:( Sorry to be the bearer of that kind of news, but have her checked. If is is negative, great. It is still information to rule something out:)

Done. Thank you Garga for doing this.

Dd6 woke up in the middle of the night: 'Are you ophidiopobic? Well, you SHOULD BE!!! I WANT to EAT YOU!!!!

Did you get your crystals to grow? Usually the problem is that you didn't manage to create a supersaturated solution, where as it cools the crystals fall out of solution. You can add more solute...but in the case of a kit I imagine you added a packet and do not have more. You can also force a super-saturated solution by increasing the temperature (think of Southern ice tea-you have to add the sugar to boiling water just to get the sugar to mix in. That is a super-satuarated solution, and why you often get sugar crystals in the bottom of it once it has been iced). If it still hasn't started crystallizing, try putting it in the dark fridge as cooling it below room temp in a dark undesturbed place is optimal for crystal growth:)

With all intent to not offend, truly: I am currently in the trenches with my dd, just turned 7. She has severe anxiety, OCD, SPD, and ADHD. She is also profoundly gifted, which means I never know what is going to happen times ten. While we have never spanked, when the neuropsych asked us about whether we do or didn't, he said that for SPD kids getting spanked was the equivalent of getting hit by a Mack truck AND the guilt for it. While it might stun them into cooperation for awhile, the result will be detrimental and fleeting.

Great advice:) Make sure to check museum and site closure dates before planning your trip out if you are in time constraints...for example, the Louvre was closed on Tuesdays. We missed the Musee d'Orsay the first time because of this!