I also was a natural speller, and a natural writer--both of which stemmed from all the reading I did. I think that if your kids are spelling well naturally, there's no need for formal instruction. Just correct any mistakes they do make and explain the rule or that this word violates the rules. However, if they make a lot of mistakes, they may need formal instruction. It's a child-by-child call that the parents need to make, as each child is different. I was bored out of my mind by my spelling lessons, but I know others who needed them.

Is there a professional ethics concern with this therapist copying (accidentally or not) someone else on a communication concerning issues that have been discussed in therapy (even though not your therapy, but your mother's)? I would address it with the therapist as a severe violation--and probably tell her that I do not welcome further attempts to manipulate me into letting a negative, decidedly anti-helpful influence back into my life at a vulnerable time. As for the other woman, I assume (hope?) her heart is in the right place. I would ignore her response, but be prepared if she brings it up with a polite reply along the lines of "Thanks for your concern but I have the help I need/I have the situation under control." If she is persistent, "I do appreciate your concern, but this is a private matter within my family." And if she's still persistent after that, "I have tried to be polite, but now I just need you to know that you were included in that message by mistake, and I have addressed that problem with [therapist], as it was a violation of my and my mother's privacy. This situation does not concern you, and I will not be talking to you about it any more." ETA: Ok, I see further down that church lady apparently responded appropriately, and this is all therapist. I'd send her a text and tell her that I find her manipulativeness and lack of professionalism highly concerning, and that she is not to contact you again. If she contacts you again after that, I'd look into reporting her to her licensing organization, assuming she's licensed. I'd actually report her anyway for including church lady in the initial message.

Considering starting with TOG in a year or two and love the idea of a historical approach to science as well--listening in! Thanks for asking this question.

I follow the chat board, the pre-k/k boards, general education ... anything that I think may have a post that applies to me or that I'm interested in, I follow. Then they show up in my email inbox (60-70 emails a day), and I either click through or delete, depending on whether I'm interested. I find it easier to do that than to specifically check the boards--this way it takes a second at a time throughout the day, rather than a really long time scrolling through everything at once.

I enjoy walking in my Birkenstock sandals--but they take a while to break in, and they're not particularly comfortable until then, so you'd need to make an effort there. I also have a pair of Dansko shoes. I'm not sure what to call them, loafers maybe? No laces, just plain black leather, appropriate with jeans, appropriate enough with slacks for someone like me who despises dress shoes. They're very comfortable and were from day 1. If there's a Walking Co. store near you, I'd go there. They're expensive, but they do tend to have really good shoes. Sales associates are hit or miss--some are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful; others are salesmen just tyring to sell the most expensive shoe they can get you into.

I don't have any specific replacement ideas, but I will say--if one of the Tom Bihn bags is the right size/configuration to meet your needs, go for it. They have a great reputation, and there's a reason for it. Another brand with a great reputation (one of the pickiest people I know owns a couple of them) is Pacsafe. They're more expensive, but they're good quality and designed with anti-theft technology. Maybe the one here: http://pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=206 as a small option; there's also a larger one, as well as several other designs.

I'm so sorry for your pain, and for your mother's pain. I would do a simple photo album, preferably with pictures of her with her loved ones--something that will remind her of the good times, and that will remind you of the good times once she no longer needs it. Maybe to go along with the album, a letter that you can read to her, telling her how much she means to you and to your kids. So many don't get the chance to say good-bye, to honor their loved ones before an unexpected death--this opportunity to tell her and show her how much you love her will be meaningful to her now and will mean the world to you later. Even if it makes her more emotional, I think that's ok. This is an emotional time for all of you; there's no way it couldn't be and have you all be normal human beings. Does she have a pastor or spiritual advisor to help her process this? Do you? I prayed for all of you. :grouphug:

I second the recommendation for Elana's Pantry and her cookbooks. Also try ThePaleoMom (http://www.thepaleomom.com). For cookbooks, I have Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilipo and Against All Grain by Danielle Walker. I regularly cook from both of those. Against All Grain even has some slow cooker recipes in it. I also have Well Fed 2 by Melissa Joulwan--I haven't cooked as much from it yet, partially because I'm waiting for an order of ingredients to arrive (she uses a few spices in a lot of recipes that I haven't used before, so I ordered the spices and have decided not to try the recipes until they arrive). But for me, I do think that the first two cookbooks are more useful at this time. I haven't tried any of their recipes yet (my daughter eats whatever I cook without too much problem), but I hear that Paleo Parents have good recipes for transitioning kids: http://paleoparents.com/. And one note: since you're avoiding gluten but not necessarily the other ingredients that paleo avoids--many times you can substitute butter for whatever paleo cooking fat the recipe calls for. You also can substitute peanut butter for most of the other nut (and sometimes seed) butters. And many recipes call for coconut milk or almond milk--you may be able to substitute regular milk for those. I regularly use butter and peanut butter, as I'm trying to limit grains without worrying too much right now about the other stuff.

If it gets better, I wouldn't go to the doctor either. Most cases of plantar fasciitis resolve themselves, given time and care (supportive shoes, stretching, etc). In the last bad bout I had, I never went to the doctor. If you don't see improvement, though, or even if it gets better but you continue to be unable to walk on it, you may want to consider going to a (different, better, more respectful) doctor to see if anything can be done to aid your recovery. But most likely, if you take care of it, you'll recover on your own.

My favorite bacon recipe: bacon-wrapped chicken! You can use any chicken pieces, though my favorite for this is skinless, boneless thighs. Sprinkle with a little of your favorite spice blend. Then wrap each piece of chicken with 2-4 pieces of bacon (depending on how big the chicken is and how much bacon/chicken you have). Sprinkle with a little more of the spice blend. Bake at 350F/175C for 30-45 minutes until done (depending on the size/type/bone or no bone chicken variables). For sides: roasted any kind of vegetable. Just drizzle with a little melted coconut oil (my favorite) or olive oil or melted butter, then bake at the temperature and for the time that's apprpriate for the vegetable. For extra yumminess, chop up a little bacon and throw in there with it. My two favorites: candied carrots (chopped carrots + chopped dates + melted coconut oil or butter, add bacon if desired) and roasted cauliflower (chopped cauliflower + minced garlic + coconut oil + dash of lemon juice or vinegar--my husband prefers it without lemon juice or vinegar). Or bacon braised brussels sprouts: http://www.thepaleomom.com/2011/11/recipe-bacon-braised-brussel-sprouts.html Or one I haven't tried yet but keep meaning to, bacon basil zucchini "pasta": www.thepaleomom.com/2012/04/recipe-bacon-basil-zucchini-pasta.html Mmm, I'm getting hungry--and I just ate dinner!

I've dealt with plantar fasciitis twice. The first time was fairly minor, pregnancy-related, and got better when I started wearing supportive shoes all the time. The second time was much worse. I was living in a country where it's customary to go barefoot inside the house--with tile floors--and to just wear flat sandals outside. I had four days of packing out my house, so I was on my feet, walking, constantly. Each day it got more and more painful, and somehow it didn't click that my PF was flaring up again, so I just kept doing what I was doing and toughed it out through some incredibly painful days. It was a month or so before I mentioned the pain to my husband, who immediately recognized it as PF. What helped me--though it was painful for *months* because I'd allowed it to get so bad--was: 1) Always wearing shoes. I started wearing Crocs all the time, and that helped, but what really helped was after I bought some Birkenstocks, with good arch support, and started wearing them. 2) I bought a compression sock and started wearing it during the day on the foot that was causing me the most problems (I had problems with both, but one was "just" painful whereas the other was agonizing). The one I used was by Feetures!, but if you do a search on Amazon for "plantar fasciitis sock," you'll see lots of options. Wearing the compression sock provides support and helps give your foot the chance to heal. 3) I tried a boot at night, but it was agonizing. Then I hit on the Strassburg Sock, and that was wonderful for me. It's a soft sock, knee high, with a strip of cloth running from the toe up to the knee. You use that strip of cloth, secured with velcro, to pull your toes up to keep your foot flexed, so it's like a boot, but it's softer and more comfortable and--more importantly--because you can adjust the angle however you need it, you can keep a gentle stretch on your foot, rather than forcing your foot into the right angle position if your plantar isn't ready for that. 4) I started doing all the exercises recommended above, with the ball, stretching on stairs, using the towel ... google "plantar fasciitis stretches" and you'll get a good list. The pain decreased very quickly. It took several months for it to go away entirely, but now it's gone. I still wear shoes almost all the time, and I don't buy cute little sandals with no arch support anymore. I have orthopedic inserts for my athletic shoes and snow/rain boots. For sandals, I stick mostly with my Birkenstocks. I've never liked dress shoes, so now I have a good excuse to avoid them ;) I do understand how painful it is. I hope you're able to get some relief quickly! ETA: And, yes, for me that pain was all across the bottom of my foot, it was agonizing, and it spiked when I put weight on the foot or when I stretched it out, much like you describe. It's more common for it to only be in the heel, but it absolutely can be PF and be all across the bottom of your foot. You do need to stretch the plantar, but gently. Think of someone who isn't flexible enough to touch his toes--you wouldn't just shove on his shoulders and force his body to bend that far, but you would encourage him to stretch as far as he could and gradually, he'd be able to stretch farther and farther until he could do it. That's what your foot needs--for you to gently but consistently stretch out your plantar (and your calf as well) until it regains full range of motion.

I received an email from ReadingEggs.com today, and it said to forward it to all my family and friends ... well, you're my homeschooling friends, so here's the relevant part if you're interested: Dear Deborah, We are spreading the secret to reading success and giving your family and friends 4 weeks exclusive FREE access to Reading Eggs! Simply forward this email and ask family and friends to sign up at www.readingeggs.com/friend and enter the FREE 4 week promo code TEL002US in the ‘Redeem promo code’ box - it’s that simple! I don't believe there's any benefit to me if you do it or don't (a free 5-week trial we had was about to run out, so we just added this 4 weeks on ourselves, we haven't paid anything to anyone for this access and probably won't, since my daughter doesn't enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to). The email did say that the offer expires on 28 May.

I don't usually read signatures, but because of the topic of this thread, I was scanning sigs as well as actual comments. I love your signature quote!

I think you did great. If your son had been visibly upset, or if the coach didn't appear to be handling it well, then it may have been appropriate for you to get involved, but given the way it played out, I think it's great that your son was able to *not* be the mama's boy in the situation. Your staying out of it helps establish him as a not-yet-grown-but-getting-there man. And kudos to you ... I would have been tempted to go ballistic on the boy who sucker punched my kid, but your response was much better for everyone involved, including your son.

I'm so sorry. I will be praying for both of you.

We have not done a cross country move as a family, but when we had a garage full of things that needed to be moved from storage at my mom's house in South Carolina to the Washington, DC, area (where our employer's international movers would take over), we found that the least expensive option was one of those U-Pack trucks where you pay by the foot of trailer space used. They delivered the trailer to my mom's house, we paid an unemployed relative to help load it, and then they picked it up and delivered it to the specified address a couple of weeks later. We were the first in the trailer, so it took longer--I'm not certain how many other stops the trailer made. For buying a house ... the advice I've always heard is not to buy one long distance. Arrange to rent one for a year so that you can get more familiar with the area and know where you want to be. Of course that's assuming that you've not lived in that area before, or that if you have, you've been away long enough that the desirable areas may have changed.

:bigear:

Technically, if the child is able to sign his or her own name in the space provided, the child should do it. But if your child is young enough that it's questionable whether or not he or she can sign it, the parents can do it by printing the child's name, then signing the parent's name and writing (mother) or (father) after. If your children are almost 9, I'd say they're old enough to do it themselves unless there are extenuating circumstances, and some overzealous immigrations officers may have a problem if you do it. I suggest having them practice until you're confident they can do it (mostly) legibly in the space provided--in ink--then have them do it.

:iagree:

We use a combination of the envelope system for cash purchases and budgeting software (YNAB) for online/debit card purchases. But we don't have access to Wal-Mart or other similar stores, really, so the supermarket is just groceries, and most other things are online purchases where we split the purchase in YNAB. I love our system. It helped us get out of debt, it's helped us stay out of debt, it allows me to really see where our money is going and make adjustments as needed. We save a large portion of our income--for a future house, retirement, our daughter's college fund, vacations, Christmas gifts, next year's insurance premiums. But I will admit ... I loved using envelopes a lot less when there was the Wal-Mart factor. Now the closest we have to that is Amazon, but since we're shopping online from home, I have plenty of time to check my virtual "envelopes" (budget categories) in YNAB and record everything without having to find a corner of the store to add up purchase prices from different categories and pull out cash from each envelope. I think when we move back to the US, I'll have to create a budget category that simply is "Big Box Store" (including Target, Wal-Mart, Costco ...) rather than trying to divide my purchases among toiletries, clothes, groceries, whatever else. I guess I do something similar now, in that "Supermarket" actually includes money for groceries and cleaning supplies, and "Amazon Subscribe'n'Save" includes some grocery items, diapers, paper products, etc. The key is to figure out the categories that will work for you. That takes time, but it's well worth it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

It really does depend on the company--obviously the company your friends are working for is awful, and I'd quit ASAP. In fact, I'd investigate whether those no-win rules are even legal. But I also have a friend who has worked for the call center of my credit union for years, and she's very happy with her employers and her job. As an added bonus--every time I've called them, every representative I've ever spoken with has been friendly, polite, helpful, and has at least seemed happy to talk to me (which is more than I can say for other companies' call centers!). To the OP, if the call center happens to be one for USAA, go for it. Everything about them (that I'm aware of) is excellent.

If you need a job and it will pay the bills, and especiallly if it's temporary anyway, give it a try. Only if it's not something you object to, though--I'd never do cold calls, and I don't believe the debt is a good thing, so I couldn't work for a credit card company. As you said, it could provide great inspiration for fiction writing!

You need the job. They need someone to fill the job--you may or may not be the most qualified applicant, but no one will ever know if you don't apply. If you support the goals and methods of the organization, and they don't have a stated religion requirement for their employees, then I'd be ok with it. If you do apply and get the job, I would expect some education about the Islamic faith, including terminology, and possibly a few well-intentioned conversion overtures. I'd be grateful for the education and politely but firmly nip the conversion overtures in the bud, if they occur, while also being careful not to extend my own conversion overtures. (The rule that comes to mind is the one I used when I lived in Egypt: if they ask, I answer; if I ask, I expect them to answer; if no one asks, we don't discuss conversion or why one faith is better or worse than the other--though I would expect that you'd need to ask more often at first, until you understand enough to make sense of what's going on around you in a predominantly Muslim workplace, and in answering, they may say things that you perceive as conversion attempts, though they may view it as simply answering your question.)

:bigear: Coming to this party late, and it will be later still before I need to pick a curriculum (we're about to start PreK), but if I follow the thread, I can always find it, right?

I have no experience with this, so take it with a grain of salt ... the posters above seem to have very good advice. I also would suggest that, if your relationship with the kids' grandparents allow, you take a few minutes to visit their house and explain the rules to their grandparents. It sounds like they let them run wild, so it may not help, but it won't hurt, and even one time of Grandma saying "No, you can't go over there right now; it's outside the visiting times" would help. It also may help avoid hard feelings or difficult conversations if the kids go home complaining that you were mean to them, conveniently forgetting that the reason you politely asked them to leave was that they played with the hose without your permission.