Sorry to hear about your hospital stay Scrap! I hope the medication helps and they find the final cause definitively. {{{}}} Nothing much happening here. DH took a relaxing weekend, the first in maybe 6 months. We watched movies and shared videos and talked and just generally spent time together. 10/10 would do again, but I didn't do my school prep or my regular cleaning or the final grocery trip so today feels a little hectic trying to get everyone on task, lol.

Crockpot: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Pot Roast with veggies, whole roast chicken, chili Generally fast, or can be prepped ahead of time then just pulled out: Taco salad (regular salad with taco meat on top, with chips and cheese), pasta (we have freezer packs of sauce, or you can use cans), stirfry (pre-cut meat and precut up produce packs for even faster doneness)

{{{}}} Op sorry about the flak you're starting to get. Been there done that. My parents were not very supportive of 3 & 4 (pre-birth, now you'd think it was their idea, lol). My sister told me in her "congrats on birth of #3" phone call that I couldn't have any more kids because "you can't love more than 3 kids and you'll just neglect them". She hung up on me when I called her to tell her I was expecting #4, lol. Re comments from strangers: The "Hands full" is what I get the most. Almost a weekly basis. Usually goodnatured though and they are just trying to make conversation, so I'm friendly about it and say "it got easier once I learned to juggle", but I think I'm stealing a few lines I've seen here. For non-nice tones on this one I usually reply "Not full enough" which usually confuses them long enough to get away. I have gotten the "how those are made" lines; mostly while pregnant. I usually respond with a "Yes, do you need some tips?" Never gotten it from a creepy man, though, usually older women. One thing I notice is I get more positive comments if I am super-interactive with the kids. For example; grocery shopping fast and putting stuff in the cart, moving quickly, "come on guys, move over to the side T, M don't touch that" gets more [ambivalent/negative] comments than having one kid hold the list, asking them what we're getting, have another kid weigh the produce, asking them for their opinions on what type of apples, etc.

What you are reciting doesn't have to be long. When you're beginning elocution it's easier the shorter it is. It could be just one sentence at this point that you use to start teaching basic elocution ("Please pass the lemon dearest mother" was a favorite, because I'd make a lemon face if they did it well, and the sentence covers a lot of sounds*), that eventually leads to short poems, then longer, etc. One of the first poems we did was Easter by Joyce Kilmer which is 4 short lines. It's good because the words are easy and the lines are short: so they can put more brain power into learning the skills of saying it for an audience, and less on which word or stanza comes next. Once she starts to build those muscles it will all go faster. I think if I was doing it all over again (and what I'll probably do for my next kids as they come up to this) is start with one-liners from Shakespeare. "This above all: to thine own self be true" type of stuff (and Bible things). Then move on to poetry, and adding onto the Shakespeare/verses they've already learned. To get started right away, you could also use nursery rhymes if you guys play those already (Ring around the rosie, etc). It doesn't have to be the whole thing, just the first two lines, that's enough to get the basics down. *warning, lemon faces can derail lessons, lol

What you are proposing to do is basically what we do. Holding still seems to be the main problem with the 7yo, I have to make him pretend he is a statue, or a tree, or a robot, or he's glued to the floor. My kids like to do warmup exercises. "The tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips" "how now brown cow" etc. Sometimes I turn my chair around and say that I want "to hear the periods in the sentences without seeing them" or whatever thing seems to be mumbled ("if I turn my back, will I be able to tell you are saying T's and not G's?"). After they get proficient at that I have them go farther away to work on controlling volume, right now my daughter stands in the kitchen for recitation, my son is only maybe half the distance, lol. I vary it up so they can feel how they can pitch their voice differently depending on where their audience is.

This is our first year with this homeschool group, and the first time being part of something like this. I'd like to do a game to be a part of it and get us more involved. I could do a craft thing instead, maybe? Any suggestions for a game that can be played in a park with minimal cost investment that doesn't have a long game-play time (so kids can do all of the other activities)? Halloween theme bonus but not necessary. TIA!

Hey Scrap, good to see you. Looks like I missed the past few lounges, finally getting back onto my feet after a cold. It seems to silly after the fact how much they stop me in my tracks, but man those things aren't fun. Fun thing this week was on Wednesday my DS7 had his first choir performance. I've never seen him that happy in public. He was literally bouncing the entire drive there, while we were waiting, on the stage, and after he sang and the older choirs were performing. It was very heartwarming to see. Crafty: made coffee filter flowers for my dad's birthday. Also starting to get last parts of Halloween costumes together! But the main pieces for 2 of the costumes haven't arrived yet, hopefully they're here by Monday otherwise we'll be in panic mode. School today?: off, Fridays are off days right now where kids visit my parents and I work. Which is what I'm supposed to be doing now...oops. lol.

Oops, I was poorly communicating: I happened to also just catch a bug, which made me come to a standstill (laystill?) on the couch . Thankfully it's just me and baby with a cold. Everyone else seems to have dodged the bullet ? Kids and I get out of the house minimum 3 hours a day everyday except Wednesday; DH does not, and seems to be the most affected, part of the reason why we think something is wrong with the house itself, and not just coincidence. When he gets out for a few days in a row he seems to be better off for a bit. Do circles under eyes equal allergies? Or is it how the 5yo is rubbing his nose? Would be good to know so I can keep a lookout. 5yo definitely has the most allergies thus far so I wouldn't be surprised. Due to the afore-mentioned sickness, I've been doing a deep clean in me effort to keep it contained, I'll take it a step further and take out everything else (only the temporary wardrobes so it won't be hard). Thanks for the idea. Idk if it's a thing or not, but I just found a place that does free inspections in my area, so I guess we'll find out.

Thanks everyone for the ideas! I've been sick so trying to implement what I can while not getting off the couch unless absolutely necessary, lol. We've called a couple of places to get some testing done, but haven't scheduled as yet. We're supposed to have a meeting with MIL next week where we can bring up everything I've found and ask about getting upgraded (or any??) CO alarms and see if she has any symptoms she hasn't mentioned to us. I've been opening up the windows most of the time since the weather is cooler and just trying to make sure we're ventilated. But, if it's mold, I might just be making the problem worse. The thing about the mold that concerns me is that we live in a dry environment, so I wouldn't think about it usually, so thanks for mentioning it. Yes to dark circles under eyes, I can see it on the older kids (not baby). 5yo itches by pushing nose but I don't know if that's always been like that.

Used to work with a food company. I would also suggest contacting the store you bought it from if you don't hear back immediately from the manufacturer. Sometimes when their paying customer (the store) turns something in, it a) gets flagged faster b) goes into the right channel faster, because reps know the different departments. It really depends on how their purchasing and distribution is set up, but it may help. I'm very surprised you didn't hear back under 24 hours (well, maybe you still will). I remember part of our safety audits included having to have an initial response out within that time frame, then a full investigation. Definitely keep the piece, they will be trying to track where it entered the system, it sounds like you've done you should. Wish half of the initial reports I received were half as thorough, lol.

I meant to see if there is any point in looking into it further after so long a time. I don't think there was meth here in the past.

MIL has lived in the house for 4 years, so no off-gassing renovations. I'll have to check if metamphetamine would still be around after this long. The problems have been here since we moved in late January, so while the intensity of the last couple weeks might be weather or seasons, I don't think that's all that's going on. But maybe I'm too tired to see it and that's all it is. To CamperMom, we turn all electronics either off or to Airplane mode at night, with the exception of the main wifi in the living room (concession to a shared living space). But, it could be since we're in the middle of a populated block and the neighbor's signals are so much more now, it could be that.

Oh man, I don't think I could handle a sport on top of what we do, kudos to you! I think mine adds up to around 20 overall when you don't count the choirs/lessons and self directed stuff, and that's including the piano practice in the morning. My problem is that Friday-Saturday morning is usually spent with grandparents, and Thursday afternoon is purely prep for that and errands, so it feels like I'm just hitting my stride and then it's yanked from me, lol. I really wish I had more time for art and science. I've been thinking of dropping Quiet Time, but it's really helpful for getting my business feet on the ground, and they really like it.

Yes, I write in the actual assignments weekly onto the printed schedule. So, Math on Monday would have me write in the box "Epsilon 10A", Tuesday's Math is "Epsilon 10B, Beast Academy pg 38" and so on (though, it looks like "EPS 10B, BA 38" because the box is small, lol). I'll admit that I am supposed do this on Saturday (hence the paper starting with Sunday), but usually fill it out Sunday evening after dinner and give to them Monday at Morning Time. As for getting behind: their free time on Sunday is reliant on them finishing their stuff from the week. Saturday afternoon has a specific slot of "self directed learning" which was my fancy way of saying "do your unfinished work here or find something smart to do if you completed everything." Usually the only subjects that bleed into the weekend are science and religion (they have little art activities that take my kids foreevvvveeeer even though it's a 10 minute project lol) and art (which I do give something independent specifically for the weekend). And if something gets fantastically behind, I know by Sunday and when I'm writing up my week for them I give the first block of that subject to catch up.

I have a kind of blend of the schedule and the checklist. I have a schedule for the week (this doesn't change), with our subjects in basically 1 hour blocks. Each block has room for me to write the actual assignment for the day. Then as we go through it they can check off or highlight or whatever they want to do on their sheet to show they finished something. The last column of the sheet has their "homework" ie the material they have to have finished by the end of the week. Right now I only have them for 3 1/2 scheduled days/times, with the rest of the week they get to manage on their own to get that stuff done (it's usually only science and sometimes math). I'll try to attach a screenshot. Oh, and the last 5 minutes of each hour block is set aside for putting stuff away, going to the bathroom, getting water, and getting out the materials for the next hour. This has really cut down the time in transition between subjects. eta: here are screenshots examples. Two are the weekly schedules I print out for the kids: 1 for the weeks they are here all the time, 1 for when they are either visiting grandparents or one of their activities or a field trip happens on Friday or something. Then, I have my general schedule. Mornings are the same everyday but slightly varied with each kid doing their own thing until 9am. Each afternoon is a little different but all the kids are together, that's why I broke it up into morning and afternoon tables. The grey areas on the weekly prints are just to show the transition times that I mentioned earlier (I had my very rule-oriented kid want the schedule to reflect the reality, lol). (sorry they're so big, I can't see how to make them show up as thumbnails)

Good idea. We got a new AC unit in July. The air ducts were supposedly cleaned but now that I think about it, I don't remember anything actually being done by the company? I wasn't the contact, maybe this part of the service was not hired in the final contract. But i wasn't there the whole time. I'll have to check and see if this was actually done.

Hmm. We've had rain the past week or two and we also reached the breaking point this week (hence this post). I'll keep a log to see if it gets better now they we are having drier weather scheduled again. DH has a mold allergy (idk about me or kids) so this would make sense. Don't know if I can handle an overnight nipple test, your story just made me gag, lol. But yes I should try that.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!! Okay, so consensus it looks like I need to look at mold, radon, carbon monoxide. I don't see anything visible re: mold, so an air test? Is there a reliable home test anyone has used, or is this a hire a professional thing? I'm assuming same with radon. No new plants; I don't have any plant allergies except for piney things (none around us). DH does have allergies, and the kids might have low level ones. But, I'm not in this group, and none of the plants around the house for at least block are on DH's allergy list (tested again recently this summer). Ah, cell tower or power lines, not that I can see but maybe I am close enough for disturbance but not close enough to see? I'll have to research this and look at maps. No factory or high traffic around us, we're pretty far in a quiet neighborhood block. Will double check factories though, maybe we are downwind of something? My last "away" sleep was in June for a week while I was cleaning up the old house for sale. Even though I was doing heavier labor and less sleep (time crunch), I felt overall healthier and more well rested than I do right now. We don't have any options to get away at the moment but were thinking of just trying to camp for a week now that it's cooler and see how that goes; we've camped before and never had sleep issues, would be interesting to see if the supposed downgrade to camping conditions was noticeable or if it relieved symptoms. DH is definitely the most effected. He is in the house for the vast majority of the time since he works at home. I get out with the kids for activities, etc just about every day for multiple hours, he's only reliably out for a morning walk and then Sundays for sure. He had a similar schedule at our old house and was fine with it, and whenever he feels cooped up he will get out for a day or two, so I don't think it's cabin fever. (something I thought about while writing reply) We are in southwest, and the move kept us in the same area/environment so no huge change in terms of weather or flora, though there are more non-native plants in town than where we were before.

OMgosh, the water saga I have gone through here. Don't get me started. LOL The tl;dr is we are drinking filtered water. Good thought though. I kept a chart for a month to make sure everyone was drinking enough and that the headaches/dizziness weren't water related.

Much love and hugs {{{}}} and prayers

So, we have been in the new place for a while, and we haven't been sleeping well. The problem is getting worse. At first we just attributed it to different things. New place, more neighborhood noise, colder room, bad air circulation, too much dust, the bed, the baby not sleeping, etc. But we have been eliminating each one and trying everything. It's getting to the point where even with 8 hours sleep it feels like only a few. Yes, when you have a baby you're "always tired" but this is different. Even on nights where the baby sleeps through or the kids are gone, I get to bed early, I feel sometimes WORSE than when she wakes me up at 2am. And it's not just me. DH feels vaguely wrong all of the time; he says it's like he's had 1 beer or is waking up with a hangover even though he isn't drinking. He used to have maybe a beer or glass of wine a week, but he hasn't had anything since April or May because he instantly feels too dizzy and as if it's his 4th. I think something is wrong with the environment. But what else can I be missing? Here's what I've tried so far: - originally sleeping on air mattress. Have upgraded to new bed/real mattress - put on fans to promote air circulation -opening windows for fresh air -closed air for controlled air quality - chamomile, night teas, other natural sleep aids - new sheets, more blankets, less blankets -tried sleeping apart - no lights on, blackout curtains, but nightlight in the bathroom (door closed). Blackout curtains have been left open to see if that was the issue, it made no difference. - healthy habits about screens before bed (at least for kids) [I'm a little worse at this but I wouldn't say it's a new thing, and I did do 1 week screenless with no change] Kids are now also saying they can't sleep. The 5yo and 7yo, well, they could be going through a stage if I look at them on the whole. But the 9yo is a rock, she sleeps and has always slept well. But the past few weeks, maybe months now, she wakes up and is dragging, saying she feels tired and as if she hasn't slept, even though she's getting at least 10 hours. (bedtime at 8, asleep by 8:20, alarm goes off at 6:45). The other adult in the house (MIL) has been complaining about her sleep for years but is always attributing it to something physical. She's using nose strips (we tried those too) and has gotten a mouth insert from a specialist for sleep apnea. It hasn't been helping and she's in the middle of another sleep study at home. She has never voiced thoughts it could be anything in her environment that's wrong. But, all of us together, can it be something else? What would I even begin to consider? The house is kept clean: swept and vacuumed daily, air filters changed monthly, and a cleaning service comes in once a month. Out of necessity we are living a minimal lifestyle so there isn't a lot of clutter or things to collect dust. Any ideas or help is appreciated. I just want to feel rested!! Thank you!

That's a difficult position to be in, and I'm sorry you are faced with the choice. Can you visit the Christian school and ask specifically what year/when/how they address Reformation, differences between Christian denominations, and Catholicism? This will only get you an "official" answer, not the reality that the kids go through in lessons or what an individual teacher may say, but it will give a better idea of how these issues are presented and how the atmosphere will be. I think overall for me, I'd choose the Catholic screen school, as much as I really really don't like this method of teaching. I guess my reasoning comes down to: 6th and up it seems to be a very important time in terms of faith formation. Some kids may be okay with getting mixed messages (reformation, sacred tradition vs scripture only, etc) and be able to take faith instruction just at home or in the parish's catechism classes once a week, and just move on. But, I think for a lot of kids it would make the overall formation much more difficult. Being in an environment that understands and supports the faith, all of it, is a big help. While I may not like the teaching method, at least there is less spiritual burden to shoulder alone, and less worry about what inconsistency is being learned. He'll be learning on the playground as well as in the classroom, and it's easy for that to get by; I know it happened to me as a kid, growing up as a Catholic in a Mormon neighborhood, lol. And if you end up going with the Christian school, don't feel like it's a betrayal. I think the fact that you are taking a school's WHOLE consequences -- not just the educational, or just the social, but also the spiritual -- into consideration is awesome and you'll make the best choice. It seems you understand that there will be extra work for you on the religious teaching side if you go with the Christian school, so you may want to look at that a bit and see how much more work it would be and how you would accomplish it, and if your son would be willing to work with you on it or if it would an area of resistance (extra "school" work, less time for sports/friends, or whatever it may entail).

Udemy has good ones, I did both the Moz course and the Kent course. The Kent course spelled out why things were important and what you were trying to do with certain actions more. But, it assumes you have a website to work with already or are building a website. Some of the info can be used for ads, etc., but a ton of SEO is about links and that's what he focuses on. (edit: I don't mean he only focuses on that, more that I just remember him talking about it a lto, lol. It's been a while and I can't remember the exact proportions) I did the course by Peter Kent. SEO Trainig Course by Moz was the other one

I think they think everyone cooks like the TV shows: you get all of your ingredients out of the fridge, onto the island, measured and pre-dished. So, when you're cooking, there is no running to the fridge for anything else. Similar with the dishwasher. After you're done cooking, the stage crew comes and cleans for you, so it doesn't matter where the dishwasher is ?

I hit the heart reaction, because there was no ?