Hi everyone, I don't post often around here, although I do check this forum several times a day. Others have said you all are like a bunch of great, supportive friends...and I couldn't agree more. We're military and I haven't lived in this town too long. I've learned so much from you all and it has helped me tremendously in this first year of hsing. So, I hope you don't mind if I pick your brains a bit on a non-hsing related issue. Several years ago, at a different duty station, I had a falling out with someone I thought was a very good friend. Well...that's not even all the way right. We were good friends for a while, but then (closer to the falling out) I started to feel like all the time we spent together, we spent gossiping about the neighbors, neighbor's kids, husbands, etc... So much so, that I often felt "dirty" after one of our get togethers. Plus, I knew that if she was so willing to share other peoples' secrets with me, then who knows what secrets of mine she was spreading around. I guess I started to become less forthcoming with any personal information. Maybe she picked up on this vibe, because not long after this we had a big blow up about something that (I thought) didn't make a lot of sense. Pretty much ended the friendship, and we never really spoke again. We moved away, and that was the end of that. (I thought.) Fast forward 2 1/2 years. Dh is looking on a roster of incoming personell, and guess who's name is on there. This is a small base, so there's a very good chance I would run into her. I did not want that kind of confrontation in the middle of the commissary. (maybe not a confrontation, but it would certainly be awkward....and I'm the queen of avoiding awkward situations.) So I sent her an email asking if we could call a truce. I told her that I'd learned she was coming out here through dh and moving is hard enough as it is, so it might be nice to see a familiar face. I also gave her my number and asked her to call me if she needed anything. A week passes. Then I get an email from her this morning. It's friendly enough. Nothing like, "I can't wait to be best friends again!" but more like, "Thanks for the info, and I'll probably see you when we get there." Again, I don't like confrontations or awkwardness. My intention was just to have a civil relationship with her in case we found eachother at the same functions. Another factor is that before we were across-the-street neighbors...and the neighborhood was pretty much the center of social life. She told me she has found a house in a different neighborhood, about 15 minutes away, so we probably wouldn't even know the same people. And our husbands will be working in different units (unlike before.) Gossip loses it's luster if you don't know who they're talking about. For you (lucky!) civilians, old friends are a rare luxury in military life. It's unheard of to have local friends who have known you longer than three years, so if we patched things up it would be a real treat. From her response, it doesn't sound like she wants this. But if she does, I'm not quite sure I could fully trust her even though it would be wonderful to have an "old" friend. I realize this totally sounds like something out of junior high. (I can't believe I even said "totally!") Sometimes military life can be like that. I guess I thought as adults we wouldn't have these wierd friend issues. Are there any words of wisdom out there on how I should handle this, or if I should do anything at all at this point? -Mrs. F

:lurk5:

Just to give you an idea....We're in SC. I have a regular sitter on Mondays and I pay her $12/hour for 4 kids (ages 9,7,5, & 2.) Using that math, you're looking at $18/hour. But, we LOVE her and she's worth her weight in gold, so I don't mind paying her that much. A good sitter is hard to find! I also agree that the parents should pay for their own kids. IMO, you still pay for the older kids since she'd still be responsible for watching them. HTH!

I have bought Bigger Hearts next year to use primarily just for history. Like you, I am happy with the things we are using for Math, English, etc..., but if I see something in the guidebook that looks like it would be useful then I'll probably add it in. I know this isn't very helpful as I haven't "been there, done that," but if you choose to use HOD at least you'll know you're not the only one using it for ALL the subjects. -Mrs. F

:bigear: I'd like to know about this myself!

Hello, All this talk on here of HOD got me interested in this program, and now I'm considering revamping next years plans. (Thanks a lot!;)) I was going to do WP AS1, but this just seems a little more doable. So, questions..... I'm looking at Bigger Hearts for my 4th and 2nd grader. Any thoughts....opinions? We're Catholic, and I know this is a Christian, bible-based curriculum. That's fine with me, but is any of it anti-Catholic? If so, how much? The main attraction to HOD is the history portion of their curriculum, as I'm pretty happy with the Math, LA, and Science choices we've made. Could you weed out the history parts of HOD and do your own everything else? I realize that some of the "unit study" feel would be lost, and I wouldn't be opposed to adding some of the other lessons in, I just don't want to HAVE to use the other lessons since we're happy with what we have. This question will totally contradict #3, but what do you all think of Drawn into the Heart of Reading? Is this just the "reading" portion of LA, and grammar, spelling is somewhere else, or does this encompass the whole LA. I feel like we've just been floating along with our reading this year (we just pick interesting books from the library) but this might give us a little more guidance. Thanks for your help!

Do you have a Badcock Furniture near you? Right now they're selling a small round table with 4 chairs for $299. (I'm looking for exactly the same thing!) Good luck!

My DH is military, as was his dad. My MIL always says it's harder to send your son off than your husband. I know about the husband part, so I can only imagine how hard it is for your to send off your little boy (to you!) Hang in there....I'm sure, as with everything, each day will get a little easier. The beginning is always hard but things will get better.

Hello, We're doing AS1 next year and my plan is to buy the IG and the history books from WP and Amazon. The "adventure reading" books we will get from the library, since I know those will only be used for short period of time (<6 weeks) while the history books may be used throughout the year.

One of our houses was on a cul-de-sac. I LOVED it. We were on the bulb. The advantages were: less traffic. I had a toddler at the time and if he escaped I knew if would have to go pretty far before he got to the main part of the street. Larger backyard, but smaller front yard. The lot was sort of shaped like a "V" From my kitchen window I could look out and get a pretty good view of the neighborhood instead of just the house in front of me. I also knew my neighbors could see my house, so if an unfamiliar car or person was at my house, they would know. I loved, loved, loved my neighbors. We were on a military base, so I had lots of them come and go in the 3 years we were there. It seemed like that little part of the of the neighborhood was just ours, so I think we all developed a close-knit sense of community. We used to even have cul-de-sac parties where we would block off the entrance and we'd have a cookout in the middle of the circle while the kids played or rode bikes around. Disadvantages: You might feel like you live in a fishbowl, where eveyone knows what's going on in your house. HTH! If I had a choice, I would choose a cul de sac in a heartbeat.

All the furniture in the family (sectional sofa, entertainment center) came from Craiglist. Between moving every 2-3 years, and 4 kids, it will be a long time before I buy new furniture again! -Mrs. F

I'm interested too...keep us updated on any new developments.

This is our tentative plan: Religion: Faith & Life w/ Baltimore Catechism Math: Saxon 5/4 Grammar/Writing: either Voyages in English or Easy Grammar with Writing Strands 3 (probably the EG combo) Vocabulary: Wordly Wise History/Geography: Winter Promise America Story 1 Science: Harcourt Science Elective: Typing Instructor for Kids

Whew....I thought it was just me! This is our first year, so I have nothing to compare it to (or any history to help me realize that things will get better.) I've been thinking, "Could I possibly be burn out on homeschooling ALREADY? It's only our 1st year!" I'm going to put my faith in you guys and expect things to get better in March. ;) -Mrs. F

I agree...we've moved a lot and I think my favorite house was the tiniest. Oh, I would definitely fix the lock on the bedroom door. ;) -Mrs. F

I would love to know this too!

AFTER the clothes was dry. And, unfortunately, most of the clothes in there were mine! Oh, the injustice..... I know, I know....I should have checked the pockets. I would love to just chuck all the clothes and go shopping, but a) I'm not made of money, and b) I'm very petite (4'11") so clothes shopping is easier said than done. Any tricks for removing the crayon? Special solutions? This happened many years ago when my first was a toddler, and the crayola website said to pour boiling water over the stain. Since he was our first, I was very careful about buying only washable crayons and the stains came out pretty well. But I've tried that today with minimal results. I think this was one of those cheap Ruby Tuesday crayons. (althouth the perpetrating crayon has yet to be found....another issue I'll have to deal with later in all my "free time.") Let this be a warning....always be vigilant! You can never slack off....especially when it comes to laundry! :glare: -Mrs. F

I feel just like you about flying. I grew up flying to visit relatives, but after having kids I'm terrified, especially if the kids aren't with me. I guess if I have all my little chicks with me and the plane goes down, then at least dh could find himself a new wife, but if I'm alone I'd hate to leave the kids motherless. Crazy logic, I know...and this probably isn't helping. Just know that you aren't alone. Take some of the suggestions that were given here. I think everyone on here has given you great advice And to all those making suggestions...THANK YOU! You've helped more than just one person.

I think a lot of non-homeschoolers don't realize how much curriculum is available for us. Last year when I started thinking about homeschooling, I was amazed at the vast amount of material to choose from. Maybe they think that you are just winging it without any kind of guidance from a structured program? No offense to you....I'm sure your kids are doing just fine with whatever you're using with them. This is our first year, and since I'm just a beginner in this homeschooling journey I have discovered that there is an entire "homeschooling world" that others don't know about. Before we started, I remember thinking "Where do all those homeschoolers get their books from?" or "How do they know what to teach?" and since we've started these are the first questions family and friends ask me. (that, plus the socialization thing...) Maybe you could keep your Rainbow Resource (phonebook-sized) catalog handy, and when they tell you what a great program they're using at the ps, you could whip out the catalog, plunk it on the table and say something like, "Wow, they have something like that right here....hold on, this will take me a minute....there are so many programs to choose from." ;)

Thanks! This is great!

Not to be redundant, but another vote for Pampered Chef.

My kids also love homemade pizza. Other favorites are country fried steak, chicken and noodles, and steak with restuffed potatoes. -Mrs. F

I don't know how much you want to spend, but with my babies I always wished a "laundry fairy" would come and magically get all the laundry done. Is there a full service laundry business in your town that may offer gift certificates? Not to do the cute, sensitive baby clothes, but the ratty grown up and big kid clothes will come out just fine. -Mrs. F

I think that's great. I think as homeschooling grows and becomes more common, people will begin to see that we're all not just a bunch of (insert stereotype here.) Also, it seems everyday you hear one more bad thing about public schools. I think a lot of parents think that homeschooling is better, but they are intimidated by it. -Mrs. F