Our kids have unusual names. Only 1 of the 3 have been listed so far in this thread. Every once in a while I wish we had gone with traditional names. If we did, we'd have Charlotte Caroline and Benjamin Jack. No clue what our 2nd ds's traditional name would have been since we were locked into unusual names at that point. If you like Molly, what about Lucy? I've always liked that name. And Daphne. After naming 2 boys, I'm in the mood for girl names, I suppose.

No school was happening yesterday with all the sickies constantly needing snuggles and coaxing to drink fluids. Dh was feeling better though and in an attempt to build his strength back up, he offered to do school with dd. Ha! It went about as I expected, math took 2 hours and was a huge fight with lots of tears. Moving from one subject to the next was torture, since she protested strongly at each transition. He finally gave up and did a project with her instead. I didn't say a word though. I hope he has a better understanding when I tell him we had a rough day. Or when I ask him why are we homeschooling again? Everone seems to be feeling better today. We are wrapping up a big breakfast and I think that put everyone in a good mood. I am going to get started on schoolwork and just ignore the clock. We'll stop for lunch when we are hungry and maybe watch something educational this afternoon. I'm thinking that I better not be too ambitious today.

That sounds fun... but did you take the rolling suitcase?? :D

I would give my left foot for a Math Mammoth version of TT!!!

Today was a total lost cause. By bedtime last night, I was pretty sure the baby was sick and sure enough, he is. Scheduled a Dr appointment for him today, got through reading and writing then went to get my preK guy for some one on one mommy time with him. Found him in his bed under the covers shivering. Not a good sign. Sure enough, high fever. That brought the school day to a screeching halt. Grandma picked up dd for the rest of the day. I took baby to Dr and dh (who is also still sick) watched ds. I am kicking myself for not sending some school work with dd to grandma's. She's probably thrilled that she got away clean on that point!

Yup, that shelf in the closet would have to go. We had the same one and it just gave way one day. I was in the room at my sewing machine and watched it fall. No one was anywhere near it. It was not holding heavy items, no extra fan blowing on it or anything. Congrats on maybe baby! I read your other thread and was rooting for you! :)

My dd is in 2nd grade and has been taking lessons for over a year. We started with Faber's My First Piano Adventures and with the accompanying CD, I was able to go through that book with her myself. Now that she is in the main Piano Adventures series, she takes lessons with an instructor. Regarding the keyboard, we have a piano for practice here at home. Once a week, she uses a Yamaha Clavinova at her lessons in the music studio. I know its ridiculous to have a piano AND an electric piano at this amateur level but I really wish we had a Clavinova. They are great.

Good morning! I've already been outside on this bright and frosty fall morning, had my breakfast and finished my morning chores. I can't take credit for this early start though, the baby woke up early :D. Yesterday afternoon dd improved her speed but she was so behind that I was calling her spelling test words to her while I made dinner :/. Here's hoping she doesn't repeat that slowness today. Actually, now that I think about it, she absolutely cannot move slowly today because she has a public speaking assignment tonight to present to our congregation. She needs to practice a few more times and she will want me to do something special with her hair, I am sure. I better get going and remind her of the need for speed today. Oh, and Jean: dh saw a rolling milk crate when we were at Mardel and suggested that for hauling library books. I thought I'd look like a spectacle so I didn't let him buy it. But, really, with the baby in the stroller, the 2 kids hopping around and the overloaded library bag, I am probably a sight already! Is it random library patrons that are requesting you open your suitcase for them?!

I did good except for Friday. Dh came down sick so I made chicken noodle soup instead of pizza. Friday was pretty chilly so we all enjoyed the soup. This week: Su- out of town (we went without dh!) M- pancakes, farm fresh eggs, fresh fruit Tu- pork burritos (from freezer) with the veg add ins W- dinner at in-laws Th- German style beef roast, green beans F- pizza and movie night Sa- roast beef with chive roasted potatoes and mushrooms (using leftover beef from Th) Dh has a large family and Wed dinner is a weekly thing. We go when we can and don't feel guilty if we can't make it. Also, the unspoken rule is that if your pregnant or breastfeeding, you don't have to bring anything. So I'm still off the hook! Saturday's dinner makes a big meal so we might have friends over that night.

Aurelia- we had a similar situation with our house (the one we just sold). The whole thing was a domino effect that led to replacing the toilet, tub, flooring, and drywall. It was a mess. You have my sympathy. MeaganS- of course it would be the cold day when the heater goes out! At least half your house is warm. Mama25angels- did you loose a taillight to the mailbox? Those brick ones can do some major damage! Guess what I did this weekend? Dh was SUPER sick so since I'd already paid for the hotel for our little weekend get away, the kids and I went without him! I survived the head strong 7 yo, the climbs-everything-he-sees 4 yo, the ravenous 24 pound 7 month old, parking lots, restaurants, night driving, all of it! My car battery was dead in a parking lot yesterday afternoon and I had to ask someone for a jump. I then drove the 3+ hours home and had to leave the car running to pump gas. That sort of hiccup would normally have had me hyperventilating and totally overwhelmed. I've decided to get over it. I'm an intelligent adult and capable of handling curve balls. I am sending a better message to my kids with this new "can do without dh" attitude, too. :) Ok, brag over. School today is going s l o w l y. Dd has already had 3 crying meltdowns over silly things. We've checked off reading. That's it. She has been working on copywork since 9:30 and its 11:30 now. She's stalling with bathroom breaks, drink breaks, lost language arts journal, on and on. I don't have the energy to fight her today so she will get a lesson in natual consequences when its tablet time, outside time, or play time and her brother enjoys it while she is still working on lessons.

Math Enhancement Programme? That's the only one I know of. Sorry can't link from this device. Hth

Today's list: -library -car wash/vac -grocery store -pack overnight bag and food bag for weekend trip -school work This is the normal prep schedule for these weekend trips. I've not once actually done any school work on prep day. But we are on such a good roll that I really really want to get something in today.

Starting at 14, I babysat during the summers and after school during the school year. The woman I babysat for hired me at the Dr's office she managed as a file clerk. I drove there after school and closed the office. It was about 10-13 hrs per week, which was perfect for my academic work load. I had evenings and weekends and holidays to study. After high school, I moved to the check in window 3 days per week while attending vocational school in the field. That was about 24 hrs per week. I also nannied for a woman in the office that had multiple birth and needed a 2nd set of hands to help take care if all those babies. I squeezed 5 eight hour shifts in my weekly schedule wherever i could. Sometimes I'd let myself in at 5am or some other crazy time. She didn't care. A baby was always minutes from needing something no matter the hour. Lastly, I house sat for a couple people in the office and word spread. It got to the point where I pretty much house sat for whomever was on vacation in any given week. I was never home. I didn't care though, I was grossing $650 per week most weeks at 19 years old! And that was 15 years ago! I'll let my teens work as long as academics don't suffer. I will be a little more involved in what they are doing with their money than my parents were with me. Oh, lawdy, if they knew...

Rain here today too. Ds is bummed because that means no bike riding. :( Far away/ close at heart family sent us gifts yesterday. So everyone is sailing through morning chores and eager to get through school so they can work on their new craft kits. I wish I could dangle shiny new incentive like that every day! Ha! The usual line up today: reading, LLT, spelling, math- double digit subtraction, history, and science- classification. Plus piano practice. Piano has been going really well! I have been impressed with her retention and strength with a weak arm. I guess I'll break down and call her instructor and see what he recommends as far as a restart date. Not sure what to do for reading. We are overdue for a library visit and my list for checkouts is getting unwieldy. I also need to factor in the kids 5 free choice books each that usually balloons to 10 or more because how can I say no to books?! The librarian always looks at me with the crazy eyes: "can you carry all those? Are those bags too heavy?" Well, yes, they are but what would you have me do about it? You want these kids crying in the library? Cause that's what would happen if I put any back! Hmm... maybe this is why I haven't found the energy to go to the library all week...

Jean- take care of yourself! Shernandez- your days sound like mine... you have my sympathy. We were all set to start on time for once and the baby got too close to the floor lamp, knocking it to the floor and shattering the bowl at the top. So that was a huge mess to clean up. Fortunately, it didn't fall on him or the other kids! :O Once we got started, things went pretty smoothly. Dd even did her math pages unsupervised while I put the baby down for a nap. I should write that in the planner in case it never happens again! Haha! And a little update on spelling: its going so well! I am very glad I decided to try it. Dd is a much better speller than either of us realized. She just needed some explicit spelling instruction to boost her confidence. We will stick with it and see where it goes.

Thanks for posting! I ordered a set for ds and a set for my nephew.

Dd said she wants to be a medical assistant like her step grandmother. :) Ds said he wants to be "a flight nurse in a rescue helicopter." And that is an exact quote! His tour of the medivac made quite an impression on him. We had to pry him away from the flight nurses that were showing him around. A few more minutes and he might have had them talked into giving him a ride. ;) Both answers were exactly what I expected. They've been consistent with those answers for a long time.

I managed to salvage the day. I had dd finish up her lessons upstairs while I made dinner so I could keep her on task. We got everything done except history. I had 1 on 1 time with ds. He decided to play games. Crocodile Dentist, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Uno Moo. He had fun. So glad i didn't let that plan fall through the cracks. I got 2 of the 4 loads of laundry done and cleaned the fridge. So, not too bad. Today, I am making up for my foot dragging yesterday. I have 2 loads of laundry done. Dinner is in the crock pot. The kids are doing morning chores now. Looks like we will be starting school before 9! Woo hoo! Not writing for a month has caused some old habits to resurface in dd. She is making her 7s and 3s backwards again. Yesterday's language arts lesson was oral so we'll see today how she does with tidiness in her copywork. Patience and understanding are what's going to be needed from me today, I think.

Aggghh! It is already 3 o'clock and I have only checked 2 things off my list for today! I will not let this day go down in flames! I am getting my act together right now!

Sun- slow cooker lasagna, garlic bread, salad (friends over for dinner) Mon- quiche, assorted fruit Tu- carnitas with all the fixings Wed- dinner at in-laws Th- Tu leftovers Fri- pizza and movie night Sat- out of town

Hey everyone! Our friends left this afternoon. We had a blast despite the rain and the kids have new best friends and are already asking when can we see them again so I call the weekend a success! Dd is already asking about resuming piano now that she is out of the cast. I am letting her practice for now and I will look at the calendar to find a good month to start. I'm thinking the 1st of the new year but feel kind of bad making her wait 2 months. We'll see how her practices go this week and decide from there. We have a normal schedule lined up this week and then this weekend we are going to the big BIG city a few hours away for a fun weekend. I grew up there, met dh there, we married there. Love going back. My goal this week is to focus more individual time on ds. Between dd's lessons and the baby's eating and snuggling demands, I feel like ds gets lost in the shuffle. I think I'm going to set dd up with some independent work and then spend some time with ds first thing after breakfast. His choice. PreK stuff, books, a game, pretend play, play outside, art, whatever he wants. I think he'll enjoy that.

Dropping the kids off for a playdate with homeschooler friends. Then I'm going to use my free time wisely and go to the dollar store!! :D Will do the essential lessons this afternoon. Reading and Math. By then, we will need to clean bathrooms, vacuum and mop before our weekend house guests arrive. Im so bummed its supposed to rain all day tomorrow. We need the rain badly but it limits what we can do to entertain our friends. I would love to take them to the big city to a trampoline gym that recently opened but dd is still on activity restrictions and it seems cruel to just make her sit there and watch us have fun. I guess there's always the movie theater. Blah! They can go to the movies anywhere!

Dd got her cast off and pins out today! It was a long drive to the surgeon's office and back and we did some shopping while in the big city so no school work got done today and we are beat! I'll catch up on posts tomorrow.

I have had success with Forever21 0 long. I was 100lbs and 5'7". After kids I weigh more and wear a bigger size now but still get the long there because I still have no butt and the cut of those juniors jeans hugs what little tush I have rather than looking baggy and saggy. At 5'4", your dd could probably get a 0 regular length.

Hmm, I never thought of that! I suppose the printers between stores could vary pretty widely.