Those are beautiful! What a fun present for your girls! I know what you mean about having trouble getting sewing done on a deadline. I have 3 pairs of pj pants, 2 robes, and a nightgown all mostly done, just the finishing details are left. I just stuck a movie in and am heading upstairs to hopefully get them finished in the next hour.

I've had several incidents: ABC gum in a salad from my high school cafeteria. A rock in chocolate covered peanuts. Plastic chunk in a brand new can of formula (formula company had me send it in for anylysis and claimed it came from my house, fortunately it was to be the last can for my daughter so we switched her to milk). My husband found a 1/2" diameter metal piece that looked like it came from a pot scrubber in his food at a Chienese restaurant.

Yes, I get the adrenaline rush. Waking with music that gradually gets louder works a little better for me. For the most part I don't use an alarm and since my husband is the earlier riser, I have him wake me up if I have to go somewhere.

I have my 6 year old read 3 picture books or 3 chapters at the beginning of his rest time. Then he plays. He frequently reads before bed too since he usually isn't ready to sleep as soon as he goes to bed.

The only thing we have propane for is our fireplace. It saves about $100 for my husband to take it to Tractor Supply to have it filled vs. having someone come to our house to fill it. That doesn't help if you use propane to heat your entire house though, the tank would be too large.

I am using it with my 6 year old, we have only used it for 2 units, but I like it so far.

I know this is an old post, but it has been quite helpful for me. We are taking 2 weeks off at Christmas but I don't want my son to lose ground on learning his number bonds to 10. I'm going to be using a lot of these ideas.

My kids (6&3) have had a lot of fun with Lemony Snicket, The Composer is Dead, I found it at our library. If you have ever participated in band or orchestra you will appreciate the humor in it. Read the book with the CD, I think it's better that way. http://www.amazon.com/Composer-Dead-Book-CD/dp/B002U0KP3U

2 weeks, plus my husband will be off for a week of that. I do plan to do some projects with the kids that we don't haven't fit into our regular schedule.

This isn't a suggestion for entertaining your little one, but one thing that has helped with the 17 month old in our house is that our table is counter height, he likes to grab things but isn't able to take things from the taller table.

I'm going to have to try the rice thing, I think all of my kids would enjoy that. I hate big messes but I can see how the tarp would help.

I don't. We do look at our budget so that when the used curriculum sale comes up, I know how much I can spend. I also keep a wish list for the future on Amazon and Rainbow Resource, so that I have an idea of what I'll spend on the next semester or year. We do have a small line item in our monthly budget so that every month I can buy what I need or want. This may be additional curriculum or it may be to participate in a class at the zoo. That would probably be the same whether my kids were in a B&M school or homeschooled though.

If you prefer one version but your church uses another, what about a side by side bible? I'm not sure of the proper name, my dad used to have one though.

Are you talking about next year as in January or September? Most of the time my 17 month old is napping when we do school, but if he is awake, I just let him play. I have one of those rugs with streets on it, I'll get it out with a few cars and he drives them around. He likes doing the stacking rings or cups. Once when I really needed to distract him but didn't have much handy, I gave him a toilet paper roll and a bunch of puff balls my other two had been gluing on paper. He spent 45 minutes dropping them through the tube. Today he put letter magnets on the whiteboard, took them off, and put them back up repeatedly. If you are referring to next September, your son will change a lot by then, he'll be ready for some puzzles and maybe even play dough or coloring.

I'm sorry.

We weren't do anything formal but when my son was newly 5 and I had just begun to work with him on reading, he reached a point of frustration. I set it aside, a short time later his reading exploded. I did continue reading to him and had him read words he knew in those books. I know that won't work for everyone, but it worked for us. I think a break is fine, just remember you may have to do some review once you resume.

When my son was that age and quit napping I would set a timer, he had to lay down until it went off, then he was allowed to look at books (and later play quietly with toys) until naptime was over at 3:00. He was required to stay in his room and be quiet. I started out by setting the timer for 2 minutes and gradually increasing it to 20. It gave him enough time that if he was going to sleep he would, even if he didn't sleep gave him time to be still which seemed to recharge him. Now that he's 6 he has to read 3 chapters or 3 picture books before he's allowed to play. I never did anything that formal with my 3 year old, she would lay quiet until she heard my son start playing, then she would start playing too. If they get too loud, they have to lay back down. My friend always lets her daughter watch a movie. Could you have one of your older kids play with her? My 3rd child is still taking a nap, but when he gives it up I have a feeling my quiet time during naps will be gone.

Oh and most people have snow tires where I grew up, they grip the roads better than standard tires.

Our county cancels school all the time, we wouldn't get anything done if we took all the snow days that they do. The rural areas are quite hilly with narrow winding roads so it really would be unsafe for buses most of the time they cancel, but our neighborhood stays clear. So no we don't take the snow days. Where I grew up it was so cold ice was rare and the city had heavy snow plows for cleaning.

I'm curious too.

I don't think it is new but I just bought Draw Write Now for my 6 year old. He is really enjoying it. Thanks for attempting to get rid of all that spam.

I hope to be there.

It sounds like hypothermia is really on your mind because of a recent case near you, but it is really rare. If your kids are wearing reasonable winter clothing, coming home when wet, and staying active, they should be OK. I think Nan has good advice on the shivering, move around if you start shivering. It's when you can't stop shivering that hypothermia begins to be a concern. I'm assuming your winters must normally be quite pleasant so it shouldn't be much of a worry at all. You could always send a cell phone with the kids or a 2-way radio so you can check on them regularly. Most cases of hypothermia involve a person getting wet (trying to walk on ice then falling into water), being severely under dressed for conditions, or not moving around enough. The cases of people not moving around enough are usually because of a medical condition or intoxication. A typical kid will be moving around plenty or come home when cold. I think weather is very subjective and what is considered warm or cold really depends on what you are used to. We visited Alaska a couple years ago in late September. A hot summer day in the area we visited would be 60 degrees, the town was in a valley surrounded by mountains. One day during our visit it was 55 degrees and sunny. It was a nice day, but I was wearing a light coat. I saw several kids running around barefoot and even one woman sunbathing on her deck, I don't know anyone where I currently live who would sunbathe in that temp. On the flip side, I have a good friend who lives in Florida. Field day at her kids' school this past May was cancelled due to cold weather, it was 70 outside. For me 70 is about a perfect day and is warmer than I keep my house in winter.

How long do you intend to live in this house? Part of why we liked our big room is that it has a bathroom off of it and someday could be a second master bedroom if one of my in laws needs to live with us.

The larger room is about the size of our school room, we also use it as a playroom and sewing room. I like having plenty of space and having it on the second floor. I like having lots of space for bookshelves and there is also room for a large table, my sewing desk, my husbands desk (which my kids can use) and a couch. It's really kind off like a second living room. If we don't feel like picking up, we close the door. Right now I only have a kindergartner, so while I school him the baby naps across the hall and the 3 year old either participates or plays. When she starts getting distracting I send her to her room across the hall. I do have to go down to the first floor to throw in laundry or whatever, but my son usually needs me pretty involved right now.