I disagree. I would explain my side to my parents and move on with my own boundaries. I've wasted 8 years giving my brother the benefit of the doubt, setting appropriate boundaries with him, but, in my heart, believing that he was just young and oblivious, despite him not speaking to me since we flew our entire young family acoss the country for his wedding (where my boys were not involved because they didn't "have any nephews," and said this in font of m boys. I kept the peace. Mt new SIL purposeful scheduled her baby shower when my mother has plane tickets to visit m and her grandchildren. They expected my mother to cancel the already purchased tickets. They lectured her for choosing the existing, cognizant grandsons over their unborn baby. While purposely causing the conflict. Recently, I learned that my brother decided years ago that we are not worthy of a relationship because we have different political opinions. He's been telling everyone we know about this. We don't even talk politics...why would we? The moral: I've put years into this relationship and I and my children have been treated like carp (eating foods the kids can't eat due to allergies in front of the kids, while laughing and taunting), (no nephews? He had two nephews, but they were my sons, not our other brother's). With this new info, I've drawn that boundary. I'll never again bow to his whims and put my kiddos on the block so we can play nice at holidays. Hang in there and stand up. You matter too.

Congratulations, Joanne! That's wonderful!

I'm impressed, and I would definitely give them to him. He's clearly a kid who needs tools. Tell me where you found this tool set? I want to give my boys tools for Christmas this year, as well as random pieces of wood to practice on (love he tree stump idea!).

We just finished our evaluation process on Wesnesday. Ours was a one hour interview with just my husband and me. Then, I took DS7 in for two, three-hour sessions where they administered an IQ test, ADHD evaluations, and autism tests (he played, they watched, they challenged him to do things, watched his reactions, etc). The last hour and a half of the second session was another interview with me. Finally, we had a one-hour meeting without DS to go over results.

Several of us, myself included, have a long list of food intolerances and mild allergies. I never expect that a host will prepare acceptable food, but I do talk with the host ahead of time to find out what will be served so that I can bring appropriate substitutions, particularly for my young child (I happily go without dessert, but I make certain that I bring a dessert for my boy). I assure all hosts that I require no special treatment, but I also warn them that I will need to check ingredients on anything they think is acceptable to serve to my kiddo. That said, everyone I know tries to be so accommodating. Ok, not everyone. My brother and his wife think our issues are ridiculous and seem to enjoy eating things in front of my son that he can't eat (pizza) without warning me ahead so that I can make a substitute. We don't see them much anymore, for many reasons, so this isn't a huge issue now, thankfully. But the majority of our friends are constantly seeking to accommodate and learn new ways of cooking, etc. It's so kind. Of course, I do the same. When my vegan relatives come to visit, I make sure that our meal has plenty of vegan food, even though our diet is most accurately described as paleo due to our intolerances. I can't imagine expected my in laws to bring all their food! One thing I do occasionally struggle with from certain people, including my brother, is the attitude that our dietary restrictions are optional or a preference. My brother and his wife always express shock that we are declining the pizza or the green beans when they are served. It's comical to me that after four years of this, they still think I'm kidding.

For me, it's peanuts, not other nuts (peanuts are actually a legume, not a nut, by the way). The thing is, if her acne is related to what she eats, it could be anything. My acne is caused by peanuts and dairy, but her acne might be caused by eggs and almonds. Figuring out what is can be tricky. What I've learned for myself is that, for me, acne is not caused by fat; I eat a high fat, low carb diet, but every individual is different.

My acne got worse as I aged. At thirty, my acne was horrible and no longer responded to treatments. Then, I had a nursing child who was reacting to everything I ate, so I completely changed my diet. My acne went away. Turns out, my cystic acne was caused by peanuts and peanut oil (relevant because many nuts are roasted in peanut oil), and my surface acne is caused by dairy. If j don't eat those two things, I have nearly perfect skin (I'll get a few small blemishes once a month ;-)). Of course, dairy is my favorite food group, so now that I'm nursing, I do choose to give myself acne once in a while (the painful cystic acne isn't worth a few peanuts, though. No way!).

We use the IP for Singspore instead of the workbook. The added challenge is enough to slow my son down a bit. When we used the workbook, he would complete 4-6 exercises daily.

I just allowed my 7 year-old 2nd grader to start Beast 3A last week. He hardly blinked and is flying through it. I've been holding off because I don't think he had the tenacity for problem solving (based on what I have read about it), but I guess the concepts are easy enough that he can handle the problem solving? I don't know. He's does Miquon and is in Singapore 4A and has yet to hit a level in Singapore that is challenging (except the writing down of problems part, but I think the ModMath app might be the solution to that. He's been using it for two days and his problem solving speed has dropped exponentially).

I just looked this up. I want to cry right now because this looks amazing for my child. He's quite accelerated in math, but is constantly held back by his (as yet undiagnosed) major writing challenges. We just hit automaticity with numbers (not letters) a few months ago, but forget setting up his 4th grade math problems without major help. He does pre algebra orally, but he can't "write" pre algebra, and with two other kids, I don't have time to give him an hour of oral math a day, plus the OT, the handwriting training, the writing support in all his other subjects, and the constant scaffolding for attention and behavior challenges. Oh, app, please be as awesome as you look.

I pay close attention to CC and other standards, including Core Knowledge and World Book. I'm very interested in education, and I also like to know exactly how my children relate to the standards. I do not adjust my education based on these standards, but I do like to know where we meet, exceed, or fall short of standards so that I have a ready answer if questioned (by "concerned" family, etc). This is particularly relevant regarding writing. I don't agree with the writing standards being forced on young kids, so I want to be able to succinctly explain why we do what we do abs how it is different than the standards.

My son's scarlet fever rash began a full day after he started antibiotics for strep. Research revealed that once the rash has begun, it takes about at least a week, usually more, to go away.

I love the name Anna. I think Anna pairs well with countless names, so if you like Teresa, go for it. When I was 6, I tried to change my name to Teresa. Funny thing because I don't love the name now, but then, it was the height of beauty. I think most names become perfect once the child is named, and I like your choice. It does sound Catholic, but my kids sound like Puritan men, so, obviously, I don't care about those associations.

This is great advice! I moved from a small town where it always took exactly the same amount of time to get anywhere (rush hour was virtually non-existent) to a huge city, then had our third child. I was a tardy mess. Being late caused so much anxiety because I hate to inconvenience others, but I could not get a handle on it because the methods that worked in the small town with two kids did not work in the city with three. With three kids, I had to learn to account for twice as many last minute issues than I accounted for with two kids (why does 2+1=4, I do not know). A diaper blow out, two trips to the potty, three pairs of missing shoes, at least two spats between the siblings, and the fact that I get very anxious when the kids get too loud/cry, which also impacts my ability to get us out the door. So, I learned to add at least fifteen minutes just to get out the door. No extra chores during that fifteen minutes. And I've already packed our bags before that fifteen minutes begins. That worked, but it took me even longer to learn how to adjust to big city travel and parking. Traffic jams happen everywhere, unpredictably. Parking lots are huge. I finally learned to plan to arrive twenty minutes early, which usually results in arriving at the actual door about five minutes early. That twenty minutes does not include the extra fifteen just to get out the door. so, I'm "leaving" 35 minutes early for everything. If I need to arrive someplace that is ten minutes away at 10am, I start packing the van at 9:15 while encouraging the kids to start moving. I would aim to have them all strapped in by 9:25 so that I can think for a moment about what I forgot, then we leave at 9:30. If we leave at 9:40 instead because someone hid my shoes, we still have 20 minutes to drive 10 minutes, unload, and walk in. That gives me a buffer I need when I get stuck in traffic. I also have books and music in the car so we have something to do if we really do arrive early. It's just better for me to keep my lively crew strapped in the car than to go into a waiting room or someone's house more than a few minutes early. My husband is chronically late. I try to compensate for his lateness (of the 15-30 minute variety, usually, but it can be worse because he still hang adjusted to city traffic times) by telling him an earlier start time (be home at 5 instead of 5:30). If we are swapping kids, I make sure I run out the door as soon as he walks in regardless of whether the buffer I gave him was more than I needed. I can't give him my indication that he can be a bit later next time. So, if I told him to arrive at 5 because I need to leave at 5:30 and he walks in at 5:20, I sprint out the door even though I have ten more minutes. If I don't, he'll show 40 minutes late the next time. :-( The positive here is that I gain 10 minutes to read in peace.

And even those that aren't verbally challenging may struggle to write...especially at younger ages. Others have said it before, but the saddest part of all this to me is that we are turning math into yet another verbal/written skill, making it even harder for less verbally or written inclined kids to shine.

I forgot to mention quantity. When we did only Miquon, he did 2-6 pages daily, depending on how easy the concept was. I looked more for time spent on math (15-30 minutes) rather than number of pages. Now, he does 1-2 pages a few times a week because he's doing other programs too.

This is one of the countless reasons I homeschool. My boys are smart (aren't all kids), highly inattentive, and excessively wiggly (results of evaluations are pending...there are issues here). At nearly 8, my oldest is just now reaching a point where I think he would be able to handle the attention and sitting required in a kindergarten classroom, yet most of his academic work is several grades ahead for his age. My second is shaping up to be even more asynchronous. I would have had to red-shirt them to give them even a bit of chance in school, but they would be bored out of their minds academically. I'm so grateful that we've been able to keep them home. I can absolutely see how giving kids a bit more time to mature before making them sit and study all day would help them show fewer signs of behavioral problems.

Hugs, Minivan Mom. I'm so sorry. My friend had a successful induction with cytotec, but that's all I know (I was a VBAC, so cytotec never entered the conversation for me).

That's how Miquon worked here at that level. Eventually, he internalized the rods and stopped using them (he's in Yellow now and uses other math curricula too. I have to force him to use rods why he needs them - fractions, for example). I'm actually in the camp that thinks that it's better to use manipulatives longer than necessary rather than pushing a kid to stop.

Another vote for the Math U See Decimal Street method. MUS is not a good fit for my kid in general, but I'm so glad I tried Alpha several years ago because I learned the Decimal Street method. My son understood it immediately, and I've used it with all of my tutoring students since. It's awesome. I like using a Base Ten set for appropriate manipulatives with the Decimal Street story (Base Ten has a thousand, so you can expand Decimal Street to the 1000 place).

Pre-kids, a ten mike hike would have been long (but fun!), and a five mile hike was our average. Post-kids, we've been steadily increasing their endurance. We are up to three to four miles on average, the shorter end of that range if we are gaining a lot of elevation (we usually hike in the mountains). We could probably convince them to do five miles by now (we still carry the toddler), but definitely not more than that.

My first was almost 6 pounds but also almost 4 weeks early. I worked outside the home. My second was nearly 9 pounds and overdue. I worked outside the home for half of the pregnancy, switched to stay-at-home, "homeschooling" my preschooler. My third was 6 pounds and overdue. I was an at-home, homeschooler. Of course, I'm not religious. ;-)

I'm with Kinsa on this. Why would I send my kids to school? If/when I find a good answer, they'll go to school. I'm second generation (homeschooled for elementary), so it's always been a valid option in my head; I don't have to defend it. The hard part will be dealing with all my objections to school (no differentiation, too long of a day, excessive testing, no freedom to pursue interests) if we ever decide the kids need to go. I won't be a great PS mom. :-)

My thoughts are with your son. I just wanted to mention that if he's taking narcotics, it would be a good idea to get him on a stool softener right away and keep him on it for several days after he stops the narcotics. Opiod-induced constipation is horrible!

We are five people who use cloth for everything. I do about 7 loads of laundry a week. Only one of those is clothes for me and DH because we re-wear most of our clothing several times. The kids do not. We also use towels for about a week before washing because we live in a very dry climate and, therefore, have no difficulty drying towels after each use. When I lived in a very humid area, towels were stinky after a day or two.