My DH and I are sick. Not horribly, just coughs, colds, and generally feeling pretty lousy. I canceled some activities for today and probably the rest of the week and in the process told a few people that we weren’t feeling well. One of these people went on to share it on the church prayer text thread without asking if I’d be ok with that and now I’ve gotten texts from other people regarding us being sick. This bothers me. But I’m not sure if that’s because this person is someone I have a hard time with or because sharing really crossed some sort of line. I don’t mind people knowing necessarily. I wouldn’t even have minded if this person had shared with someone else in casual conversation. But posting on the whole church prayer chain without our permission feels like a violation of something. We’re not horribly ill and we plan to stay home til we’re feeling better so it’s not that I want to “hide” that we’re sick. And the church is very small so it’s not like 100s if people now know. And I know everyone there pretty well. But it bothers me. So since I’m lying around today with not much to do I thought I’d ask the hive: Is it inappropriate to share something like an illness on a church prayer chain without permission? Even if the person knows all the members well and doesn’t really mind if others know?

Finally getting to this…..I took last week “off” from goal work to recover from and exhausting few days away. Wish I didn’t need to do that but it is what it is right now. We have another speech and debate tournament coming up next week. I’m hoping to handle it better. March goals: Continue working on health and fitness habits: walk daily, do plantar fasciitis exercises several days a week, eat fruit and/or vegetables at each meal, minimum 48oz water day. This week I need to come up with a plan for taking my supplements. My understanding is that some, like my iron need to be taken separate from meals, with vitamin C, but away from D. So I need to do some reading on all of that and come up with a schedule. Increase time outside. Daylight hours are increasing and temperatures are slowly going up. My goal is 30 hours this month. I need to do some garden clean up and clean out my potting shed. I also plan to hike another location this month. Goal for this week is 4 hours outside. Home and decluttering goals include the potting shed mentioned above, as well washing windows and glass doors, shampooing rugs, and looking for cobwebs - especially in the rooms with high ceilings. Also work on that craft/sewing space that may never actually get finished. We have a spring break week coming up and I hope to get a lot of this done then. Reading goal is just to keep making time. Mostly just need to get off screens and pick up a book. Limiting screen time is a family goal for this week. We’re trying out some time limits to see how it goes. Financial goal is to pay off the credit card. Our tax return will help. Rest - I’m not sure how accurate a Fitbit is with sleep tracking but according to mine my sleep isn’t great. Could explain why I’m tired all the time. So I‘ll be researching and implementing strategies to improve the length and quality of my sleep. One interesting thing is that my sleeping heart rate is higher than my day time resting heart rate nearly 100% of the time. Pretty sure it should be slower. I’m not sure what I can do about that but that’s one of the things I’ll be looking into.

https://demmelearning.com/support-center/whats-the-difference-between-algebra-1-courses/ I found this article on their website that explains some of the differences. There are links to other articles. I haven’t read through it all yet but I’m hoping there‘s some good info in here. I’m going to look at all the samples too and see if I can get a better idea of what’s changed.

I hadn’t even looked at the price. Yikes! I was wondering what you meant by “astronomical”. I was thinking the difference would just be the difference between just purchasing a student set versus another universal set, so less than $100. Looks like my options are $48 for another student pack “legacy edition” or $250-350 for the new updated version. I’m going to have to think about this. And I really may have to see it in person before I commit to the added expense. Overall, this will be a cheaper curriculum year for us than the past few. My oldest has graduated and my second will be a senior. I have a lot of material already so there’s less to buy. But I was looking forward to this being a cheaper year and spending this much on math would definitely limit the savings.

I was about to ask this same question. I’m curious what the differences are and whether it would be worth it to buy the updated versions for my youngest. It might be too new for reviews. I wasn’t planning to go to our local convention but maybe I will if there‘s an opportunity to see it in person. While MUS works best for us, there are some things I don’t like. I’d be willing to spend the money on the new version if those things are improved.

February goals update: Health/Fitness/Weight Loss Year Goal: 15 pounds Month Goal: 2 pounds. Done, -4 pounds for the year Daily walk 5x a week (can be as short as 20 minutes) Did this the first 3 weeks of the month but not last week. Take vitamins daily Made improvement here but it’s not quite “daily” Water: 16 oz of water first thing each morning, another 16 oz by/with lunch The first half of this is going well, second half needs work Eat a fruit and/or vegetable with each meal Done weeks 1-3, not 4 No late night snacking, especially alone Same. There’s a theme here. Outdoor Time Year: Go outside every day, 350 days minimum. I missed 2 days in January. Missed yesterday Year: 10 different hiking locations, 1/10 done. February is busy so I’m not planning a hike this month. I actually hiked two different locations in February. 3/10 for the year. Year: 500 hours outside. 33/500 February Goal: 15 hours 13/15 Home/Decluttering Finish organizing and setting up sunroom as a craft room. Someday this will actually be done. Made progress at least. Reading Year: 12 novels, 2/10 done 3/10 February: finish current book, start another Done Study/Learning Keep up with my girls in Algebra 2 Done Duolingo Spanish: 3x a week Nope Financial Year: Pay off credit card - done last week and then this week the pellet stove quit working and both cars needed repairs. This was the month all the things broke. In addition to the above repairs, we also had the dishwasher repaired and replaced the dryer. It was an expensive month. So this goal will be extended into March. Shop sales to stay within grocery budget Done Work on habits to reduce electricity usage (our provider is doubling rates this month. Yikes!) Find a cheaper supplier. Our bill only went up about half as much as I expected so we’re doing well cutting back on usage. I’ve done some research on other suppliers and need to finalize that. Done Rest (mental, physical, and emotional) Unplugged Saturdays Nope 20 minute screen free rest break each day as possible (nap, walk, read, piano, bath, whatever feels restful at the time). Nope I’ll work on goals for March over the next couple days and post by the end of the week. Taking this week to reset some things. The exhaustion for DD’s speech tournament has taken some time to recover from. Physical exhaustion doesn’t do good things for me mentally.

February week 4 goal update: I didn’t get far as I was out of town and the schedule for DD‘s tournament was brutal. It was a good time and I’m glad we went but it’s taken me the past four days to recover. Health: -Walk when possible. I’ll try to squeeze in something while I’m away but it might not be possible. I walked 4 days last week. Only 15 minutes walks while I was away though. - Foot exercises 3x Didn’t happen Outdoor Time: - 3 hours 2/3 hours Reading: - Choose book number 4 Done Financial: - pay bills Done - switch electricity providers, DONE, should be a fairly significant savings Now I need to find my February monthly goals and see how well I did with the month as a whole.

February week 4 goals: This is a really busy week. I’ll be out of town from Wednesday afternoon through Saturday for my DD’s speech tournament. Those will be 12+ hour days. So my goals for this week will be scaled way down. Health: -Walk when possible. I walked 30 minutes today and I’m going to try for the same tomorrow and Wednesday. I’ll try to squeeze in something while I’m away but it might not be possible . - Foot exercises 3x Outdoor Time: - 3 hours, 1 done today, 2 to go Reading: - Choosw book number 4 Financial: - pay bills - switch electricity providers, DONE, should be a fairly significant savings

Week 3 recap: Health: Walk 30 minutes minimum each day I think I walked 4 days. Maybe it was 5? I lost track. I just know it wasn’t every day. Daily foot stretches and exercises for plantar fasciitis I only did this 3 days but it seems to help. Outdoor Time: One hour a day (walk, gardening, school/reading if warm enough) I did 8 hours for the week. I didn’t make it outside every day but we had a few really nice days where I could get out for a few hours at a time. Hike a local trail Two hikes. That‘s 3/10 trails for the year. Cleaning/decluttering: Finish craft room. At least what we’re able to do with supplies we currently have Still not finished. This just can’t seem to make it high enough on the priority list. Some day…. Reading: Choose and Start book #4 Nope Study: Duolingo 3 days Nope Financial: Gather information for taxes Done Commit to new electricity supplier Nope Do budget and pay bills Nope I’ll post this week’s goals tomorrow.

I CAN teach math (at least at this level), just not sure I want to with this particular child for much longer. This week has been a bit better though so we’ll see how it goes. I have a feeling that at least two of my DC would benefit from this. I’m not sure I have the time to do this daily but maybe I could alternate days with them.

I have five younger brothers and I remember when my mom figured some of this out and sent the boys outside as much as possible and then encouraged jobs as soon as legally old enough. Everyone was happier. Video games are a fairly new addition to our house and I’ve definitely noticed that other interests have started to disappear. I’ve been thinking that I need to set more limits around technology. I need to prioritize that.

Thanks for the info! I joined that Facebook group. It‘ll take some time to wade through all that information but it looks like it will be very helpful. It took me a year to get my ferritin from 9 to 20. At that rate it’ll be 10 years to get to 125. Yikes! I’ll need to try something else. That’s true. Maybe I should switch the kombucha to earlier in the day.

I don’t like coffee and don’t drink caffeinated tea. Well, kombucha? Is that caffeinated? I usually drink it at night. I don’t eat tons of chocolate (although I love it) but I can keep an eye on that. I don’t have sleep apnea as far as I know. DH has never mentioned me snoring or breathing oddly. I’ve been walking most days for about 6 weeks now. I’ll have to try rehydration drinks at night. It’s an easy enough thing to try. Once been trying to walk more but adding something like yoga couldn’t hurt. Just have to find the time.

From what I’ve read, I need to get up above 50 to help with the leg movements. I do cook in cast iron a lot and have tried to add more iron rich foods into my meals. I’ve been taking whatever iron my dr prescribed over the pharmacy counter. Maybe I need to look at other options. I have started taking magnesium, but not consistently. And I’m reading that there’s lots of different kinds. I may not be taking the most absorbable kind. I’ll have to do more research on this. I’ve also seen that there‘a magnesium creams. Yes, not interested at this point in those types of drugs. Glad to hear your legs calmed down. My ferritin is back in “normal” ranges but still quite low so I’ll be really careful to supplement that consistently.

My DH says my legs move a lot at night. Not every night, but often enough that it’s becoming a problem. He ended up on the couch last night. I’ve done some reading and it seems like it might be Periodic Limb Movement Disorder? Similar to Restless Leg Syndrome which I also think I have, and could be tied to the migraines I get occasionally. I’ve had a few days of headaches this week, including last night, and then last night my legs were moving a lot in my sleep. Does anyone know if PMS is a factor? It seems to be worse then. From what I was reading online, treatment tends to be in the form of medications. I always prefer to try lifestyle or natural supplements first but I’m not finding a lot about that. I did see that low iron could be a factor and I know my ferritin is low. It was at 20ng/mL a month ago. That’s up from 9 a year ago. So I’m working on that. Anything else I can try before calling the doctor? I feel bad keeping my DH up at night. He has an exhausting job and needs sleep. I’ve been tired a lot lately and I’m wondering if this might be part of the reason. And my legs are sore today, I guess from the movement all night.

It was kind of a rough start to February. I did work on getting back on track this past week. Trying to keep my goal as progress vs. perfection because sometimes life happens. Goals for this week: Health: Walk 30 minutes minimum each day Daily foot stretches and exercises for plantar fasciitis Outdoor Time: One hour a day (walk, gardening, school/reading if warm enough) Hike a local trail Cleaning/decluttering: Finish craft room. At least what we’re able to do with supplies we currently have Reading: Choose and Start book #4 Study: Duolingo 3 days Financial: Gather information for taxes Commit to new electricity supplier Do budget and pay bills

This is interesting. Thanks! I hadn’t thought of a tutor. I was really hoping to avoid doing school this summer but we may have to. I’ve heard good things about Mr. D so I’ll add this to my list of possibilities. I’d really like him to be ready for Algebra 1 next school year but we have a few areas that will need improvement before that can happen.

Good to know! Thanks for all the suggestions. I’m going to order some graph paper tonight and maybe plan to sit with him for the math much more often. Maybe I’ll see if I can find a laminated number line as well and require him to use it. My mom had something like this when I was a kid and was useful for cementing the visualization of adding and subtracting negative numbers. We might both hate this but if it helps down the road it will be worth it.

I hadn’t thought about graph paper. That’s also a good idea. I’ve been working with him a lot on the importance of writing down his work. He’s getting better but his handwriting is sloppy and his lines don’t always stay straight. Sometimes that leads to some interesting mistakes. So what you’re saying is that I need to take a deep breath and patiently spend a bit more time working one on one with this 6’ tall man-child thing that seems to have suddenly appeared in my house? Good thing I love the kid. Ha!

This is a great idea. I wonder too if some of this might be related to the vision problems that make reading so challenging for him. He’s supposed to be starting vision therapy in the spring. I’m hoping that help a few things. The colored pencils might help either way.

Thanks. I have no idea what I’ll end up doing next year. Today was just one of those mornings that had me looking at ANY other option. I definitely want to get the basic math solid before moving on. Unschooling is not a real option. Just the one that seems wonderful when he’s arguing with every word that comes out of my mouth. I’d rather avoid public school if we can but it’s an option that might be considered if we can’t figure out how to work together. He’s the type of kid that I feel like would be eaten alive in a large high school - tall, gangly, glasses, reading delays, shy, sensitive….maybe I’m overthinking.

I’m looking for online math classes for my 13yo 8th grader. He is currently doing MUS pre-algebra. He actually seems to be fairly good at math but negative numbers are (possibly) stumping him. Or he might just be extremely stubborn. My suspicion is that he rushes through, mixes up the signs, and then rather than just acknowledging the mistake when it’s pointed out, digs in his heals and INSISTS his answer is correct. For reference, he’s a young 13 with a November birthday and we are undecided if we will call next year 9th or 8th part two. Also, he’s currently in an “argue with everything” stage and I spend a portion of every day wondering if our best option for next year will be public school, all online classes, putting him back in elementary school where he can’t possibly get an answer wrong, simply repeating Pre-algebra with a different program, letting him unschool til he moves out, or dumping it all on his dad and say “good luck”. This post is coming from there so…. But even if I like him again tomorrow I’d still appreciate the online class recommendations. FTR - I love this kid and would jump in front of a bullet for him, but he’s tough lately.

These first four days of February have been a complete bust as far as my goals are concerned. It’s been one of those “when it rains, it pours” sort of weeks. Both cars broke down, our pellet stove quite lighting - right before the sub zero temperatures hit, our dishwasher started leaking - which we didn’t discover until our downstairs tenants called saying there was water dripping down their walls, and we dealt with some interpersonal challenges and difficult conversations. All in the first four days of this month. There was some good stuff too, like co-op starting back up, but overall it has been an exhausting week. I walked only once for half an hour. Otherwise I’ve confirmed that I am definitely a stress eater and have eaten a lot of carbs, sugar, and “junk” food as an attempt to cope with the insanity. I’m going to try to get my healthy habits going again tomorrow. I’m really feeling the sluggishness from lack of exercise and healthy food and I’m noticing this extra weight I’m carrying in several small, but bothersome, ways. So I’m leaving all my goals the same for week two of February and doing my best to but the last few days behind me. There was no avoiding all the difficulties of the past week but time to move on.

February goals: Health/Fitness/Weight Loss Year Goal: 15 pounds Month Goal: 2 pounds. I lost a couple of pounds in January just by a few small changes. I’m hoping to make those changes more consistent to keep the weight coming off. I’m going to be aware of portion sizes this month. I really need to lose 40-50 pounds. Daily walk 5x a week (can be as short as 20 minutes) Take vitamins daily Water: 16 oz of water first thing each morning, another 16 oz by/with lunch Eat a fruit and/or vegetable with each meal No late night snacking, especially alone Outdoor Time Year: Go outside every day, 350 days minimum. I missed 2 days in January. Year: 10 different hiking locations, 1/10 done. February is busy so I’m not planning a hike this month. Year: 500 hours outside, 20/500 done. February Goal: 15 hours Home/Decluttering Finish organizing and setting up sunroom as a craft room Reading Year: 12 novels, 2/10 done February: finish current book, start another Study/Learning Keep up with my girls in Algebra 2 Duolingo Spanish: 3x a week Financial Year: Pay off credit card - done last week and then this week the pellet stove quit working and both cars needed repairs. So I guess I’ll try this one again. Might take through March to pay it off this time. Shop sales to stay within grocery budget Work on habits to reduce electricity usage (our provider is doubling rates this month. Yikes!) Find a cheaper supplier. Our bill only went up about half as much as I expected so we’re doing well cutting back on usage. I’ve done some research on other suppliers and need to finalize that. Rest (mental, physical, and emotional) Unplugged Saturdays 20 minute screen free rest break each day as possible (nap, walk, read, piano, bath, whatever feels restful at the time)

Two days left in January. I’m going to post my progress with January goals. I’ll be working on planning my February goals and will post in a couple of days. One of the big things I need to work on is using my planner more consistently so that I can keep track of my commitments and responsibilities so that I can plan realistic smaller goals. I did better with this in January but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. January goals: Health/Fitness/Weight Loss - daily walk 5x a week (can be as short as 10 minutes) Walked 6 days each week and was up to 30-60min each time the past few weeks. - take vitamins daily, especially iron which I suspect is low - drink 16 oz of water first thing each morning - eat a fruit and/or vegetable with each meal - no more late night snacking, especially alone I managed the rest of these about 5 days a week. Maybe only 4 days this past week. I need to plan ahead for busy days a little better. Outdoor Time - go outside every day DONE - two hikes (first location done yesterday) Only did one. Two was a bit ambitious for January. - 20 hours outside, 4 hours this week. 45 minutes to go. Should be able to do that tomorrow. Home/Decluttering - finish reorganizing kitchen DONE - put away and clean out Christmas decorations DONE - finish organizing and setting up sunroom as a craft room. Never got to this one. I’ll bump it to February. Reading - Choose and start first novel. Finished two books and started a third. Music (piano, violin, singing) I decided to drop this one early on. Setting goals in this area made music seem like work, which is exactly what I don’t want. Study/Learning - Keep up with my girls in Algebra 2 DONE Personal Growth/Relationships Worked on these goals most days. Making progress I think but these are harder to measure. Financial - Pay off credit card - Shop sales to stay within grocery budget - Work on habits to reduce electricity usage (our provider is doubling rates this month. Yikes!) All done. Rest (mental, physical, and emotional) - One unplugged day (parameters TBD) Did two days - Listen to music while cooking DONE I’ve been enjoying this. - 20 minute screen free rest break each day (nap, walk, read, piano, bath, whatever feels restful at the time). This is still a work in progress.