Well, there are several good easy translations. However, most are around third grade level, and most have small print and not a lot of white space. I know my daughter, who is five but reading on a second grade level, couldn't handle them for that reason. There's the NIrV. There's also the Easy to Read Version, but don't see that one often. I know there is an Adventure Bible that uses the NIrV. The Good News Bible and Message are also pretty easy for kids to understand. I'd look for something with large print, like a large or giant print Bible.

What's odd to me is that the neighbors didn't notice the compound in the guy's backyard. Although the idea that he was keeping a kidnap victim there would probably be pretty far down on the list of reasons they would come up with. I imagine she was tortured and brainwashed as a child, and kept confined for a long time. I imagine even as a 29 year old that she didn't have tons of freedom. I imagine threats were made and consequences given for more minor disobedience. I imagine her children were threatened. I imagine she was told lies that she would be prosecuted and that her parents were glad she was gone, that they would hate her. Lot of trauma there. Poor girl. And poor little ones, who I'm guessing were also abused and threatened. Just monstrous.

Well, could you just enlist your 22 year old to teach certain subjects on certain days? Give her a "real job" with a reason she needs to come over, make her feel needed and connected to the family, and help take some of the burden off your shoulders for everything? Good sibling bonding time, etc. Your middle daughters are all old enough, could they rotate through "babysitting" times during the day? The seven yr old could even have a time where she plays with the toddler, and I imagine the baby sleeps a lot still. So there are times when your 22 yr old dd is watching her kids and you're schooling the others; times when she is schooling the others and you're playing with the grandkids; times when you and the 22 yr old are both teaching a subject one on one and the third little is babysitting, etc? Maybe playing outside with the toddler and letting the baby crawl on grass or worn in a sling? I'd also try to get your oldest hooked up with La Leche League or MOMS groups, etc, but I could see her coming over twice a week as a boon to all the kids (and you!), including the grandkids.

What subjects are you teaching with huge teacher's manuals? Could you use a xerox machine and copy the relevant pages? I'd do memory work on the drive there (math facts, grammar lists, poems, etc) and listen to books on cd on the way home. In the waiting room, I would give assignments and have the school aged kids (11, 8, 7, 6) do math, grammar, spelling, handwriting, reading aloud, etc. I'd just take over the waiting room and have them all do their work. I might have the littles watch dvds on a portable dvd player and play with small toys, etc. I'd just bring along a big backpack and maybe have the older kids have their own backpacks. You really can do almost everything except hands on activities (science experiments, art projects, mummifying chickens, etc) in the waiting room. Can read and write there. Those hands on activities can wait till the other days. I might also use Saturday as a school day. But I wouldn't write off that "stuck in the waiting room" time. That's prime teaching time! Heck, they aren't distracted by tv or legos or going outside, etc. Not that it's ideal or fun.......but, I would try not to have a two day week.

Okay, I admit I've never actually run the kids through zombie safety drills. That would entail telling them about zombies, and my four year old is still terrified by the thought of the tooth fairy, so I don't think sleep would ever happen again. But.....I have to admit, my husband and I have talked about it a lot. It's kind of one of those situations where even if the zombies are slow and dumb, if they aren't annihilated quickly, we're all doomed...... I probably take this all waaaaaay too seriously. :lol:

What about some modified workboxes? Some possible independent activities: handwriting practice (not copywork, but letter formation), math worksheets (if the writing isn't there yet, could you use the number stamps?), mazes, puzzles, computer (starfall, typing, etc), practice with lacing cards/ stringing beads/ weaving/ dressing frames/ hammering nails in a stump/ screwdriver, transfer activities with spoons or eyedropper or syringe, pouring practice, sorting animals by type, painting, play dough, wedgits or building materials (legos, mighty mind, etc). Not strictly main academic activities, but some stuff like that. Reading software programs, handwriting, and math drill can be done independently to some degree.

You're not abnormal. Not at ALL! Of course you are anxious; you have a million major stressors. But, while stress is normal in that situation, our bodies are not designed to operate at that level of high adrenaline for years on end. The symptoms that you are experiencing concern me. It's normal that you are stressed, but it's also imperative that you get some help, probably through a combination of both counseling and medication, to deal with it. I don't mean to say that feeling stressed in your situation is abnormal. It's NOT! But you need some help. We're all designed by God to live in a far more supportive environment than modern society designs. I just worry when I hear people talk about heart palpitations and not sleeping. Panic attacks are no fun, even if they are understandable given stressors, but they need to be dealt with, because they're not good for you!

I think it is understandable that you are nervous about your son driving. But, and I want to say this as gently as I can, I am worried about your level of anxiety. Not sleeping for TWO nights and heart palpitations sounds pretty serious. I think you need some help. Can you see a doctor or a counselor? (like, today?) Seriously, even an ER might be able to better adjust your anxiety meds. Not sleeping will make everything worse, and as someone who has anxiety issues, that sounds severe and in need of some assistance pronto. You've had a hellacious couple of years. It's understandable that you are having anxiety issues, but they need to be addressed before things get worse.

YAY for yellow poop!!!!!!!!!! Hooray!!!! Here's to hoping for a happier baby and more peace for mama! (And hooray for attachment parenting!)

Could you hand express into a bottle or a sink for a few minutes before a feeding? The green poop is concerning, and makes me think she's having some physical discomfort. Not that it in any way solved our problems, I did appreciate the 5 s's from the Happiest Baby on the Block. Side or stomach lying, swinging (usually in arms), shhhing noise (white noise), sucking, and there was something else. It *helped* some. We would put the car seat on top of the dryer and turn it on sometimes...... The vibration was calming. Do you have a baby swing? What about massage? Gently moving her legs and hips in circles? Doin "baby drops" where you "drop" her (while holding her the whole time)? Think sudden knee bends. Swing her up and then way down in between your legs in a big arc while she's on her belly in your hands. Trying to think of other colicky yoga positions. She was a preemie, wasn't she? Could she be neurologically immature? Too much stimulation? Ask on the mothering.com forum! I really think you could get some good advice from them. If the chiropractor said she's fine, what about cranial sacral therapy? Never did it myself but a close friend with a VERY fussy baby had immediate, dramatic results from it for her child who had been in the NICU.

I've been thinking about this too. Definitely poetry, but that's the "easy" part, in my mind. She has known address and phone number, but that needs regular review. I want to make sure she knows Grandma's number and my cell phone number. Birthdays for other members of the family. She knows days of week/ months of year, but those need review periodically. Lord's Prayer (but again, constant review). Want to learn Apostle's and Nicene Creeds, General Confession, books of the Bible, various psalms and Bible verses. Maybe some other general prayers. (Song of Simeon, Mary's Magnificat, Prayer of St. Francis or St. Patrick). Planets in the solar system. Locate all 50 states and most of the countries. Maybe be able to recite/ sing the 50 states and (maybe, possibly) the capitals. But probably not. Oh! And we're going to work on the Golden Rule. A lot. Many, many, MANY times a day. (sigh....)

Do you have caller ID or an answering machine? You and Wolf (and possibly the cousins or other people that she bunks with) need to talk. If you are severing contact, whether or not MIL knows it, cousins and the like need to know. Heck, maybe it will inspire THEM. I don't know how Wolf has put up with her for so long? She sounds like such a genuinely awful character. You guys should be nominated for sainthood. You and Wolf need to talk about how you should respond to the phone calls AND what you should do if she shows up. If there is so way you can, I'd try to avoid the phone. Even if she shows up, just say, "Oh, we're fine, sorry, just have been out and about a lot. Oops, we're on our way out the door again! See ya!"

I would want more information about "independent work" time. I know in most Montessori schools, that just means the kids go and pick activities from the shelves. Would she have to do work from home? Or could she use the Montessori manipulatives and such? *I* think the opportunity to use Montessori manipulatives, maps, land/ water forms, math materials (drool), even the practical life materials...... would be soooooo worth it! If you have to send work, what about free art? Watercolors, drawing, scissors practice, mazes. Handwriting, puzzles, practice with tying bows and such, etc.

I like 101 Famous Poems, Committed to Memory, and the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children and Barefoot Book of Classic Poems are excellent, as well.

Right now, you want to have three "subjects:" language skills, motor skills, and music. I can't overemphasize how awesome sign language is for toddlers. My favorite resource is Signing Time dvds. Our library has a bunch of them. The Baby Signing Time ones are especially cute. All the kids that you see signing in them are under three. The dvds are wonderful for toddlers, but more than that, they are great for the parents to learn from and get ideas about how to incorporate sign language into every day life. Board books are wonderful. The ones with single pictures and word on a page are great for babies/ toddlers. My kiddos liked ones with pictures of other babies, and the Baby Einstein animal ones, bc they had clear pictures of animals. Maisy books, Bunny and Me, Baby Danced the Polka, Miss Mary Mack, Mr. Brown Can Moo, nursery rhymes... Lots of good board books. While it's important to use regular, grown up talk, baby talk actually does serve a valued purpose. When Anna was 15 months and started speech therapy, her therapist actually really encouraged it. She said it's important to have times where you use simple words and phrases. When there are too many words, kids can get overwhelmed and not understand. Think about learning a foreign language. What is easier to understand: when someone walks in and points at an object and says it's name, or when they say, "Look over there; there's a sparrow! Did you know that they eat seeds?" So it's nice to have some times when you are playing, when you use very simple words and phrases and lots of gestures and visual aids. Funny games with faces and tongue movements help with oral motor development. Music is awesome. I'm a big believer in those old children's folk songs. Music Together and Musikgarten both have great infant/ toddler music classes, but if you can't do that, you can also buy cds from them. Naturally You Can Sing has a great cd called Sing a Song with Baby. The important thing isn't to play the cds for your children, but for you to learn songs and sing to her yourself. You want to encourage as much physical activity as possible. Get her to crawl; when she's ready to walk, let her push wagons and such. Spin around in circles with her. Turn her upside down. Throw her into the air. Hold her torso and have her push herself up with her arms (baby push ups). When she's laying on her back, pull her to a sitting position. There's a great book on baby yoga that I loved. Give her a full body massage after her baths. When she gets to be about a year old, add in fine motor/ cognitive skills as a subject. That basically just means getting on the floor with her and playing. Toys like busy boxes, building with blocks, playing with balls, puzzles with knobs, nesting rings, peg boards, shape sorters, toys where you stick a ball in and watch it roll down tubes to the end, large beads, hammering toys, putting beads on vertical and horizontal dowels, rolling a small ball thru a paper towel tube, something with a door you can open and shut..... Just playing, but can work on fine motor skills. Once she can walk, take her outside for a walk every day. Go to the playground. Let her practice walking up and down hills and steps and walking on different kinds of surfaces. Somewhere around 21 months or so you can add art as a subject.

I wonder if you could work to reduce your oversupply? I know that's so anathema, because most of the time we are trying to build up supply. And it's tricky because you can inadvertantly cause it to drop *too* much, especially after that six month period when the hormones drop. Can you have her nurse from only one breast at a time? What about taking a sudafed once a day or so?

And while your son may not have been timing things, they WERE 30 minutes late arriving, which would make me think it was at least in that ball park of time. Even the having all the boys call their parents.......The whole thing is just SOOO shaming! Does your son want to go back to youth group activities after that? I'm having a hard time imagining a situation in which many kids would want to put themselves under the oversight of this director.

My daughter went through that at three, too. She's always been pretty ambivalent about growing up. Didn't stop nursing till 3.5, is still addicted to her pacifier, and wouldn't use the potty. Doesn't want to be independent, refuses to try "grown up things." She turned four at the end of April, and while she's still not in a big hurry to grow up, it is MUCH better than it was a year ago. MUCH.

I think it would be fine, especially if you aren't advertising it. Texas is pretty laid back as a state, and with fewer than three preK kids, it should be just fine. Do you think it would work in terms of dynamics for the school, and the academics?

Let's see........ I'll look at our tivo list for what we have recorded. Super Why, 64 Zoo Lane, Prehistoric Planet, Magic School Bus, Peep, Pinky Dinky Doo, Sid the Science Kid, Diego, Wonder Pets, Between the Lions, Reading Rainbow, Toot & Puddle, and Blue's Clues are what's on there. Catherine LOVES Diego and Wonder Pets, and has picked up the odd Spanish word and a good deal of animal knowledge from them. That's what they can choose from. We have some dvds too: Veggie Tales, Signing Time, Mustard Pancakes, Yoga Kids. They don't watch tv every day; it's usually 2 or 3 days a week. When they do watch, they do tend to do an hour (or more), though. (sigh)

:grouphug: I hope you found some chocolate. Is your son doing better?

Well, it depends on how they're doing. Bob books and Nora Gaydos might be perfect. Or they might not be ready for them. Or they might be ready for Little House on the Prairie. They are so variable at that age.

What little tiny babies!!! I bet they are so cute, and I'm sure they DO miss their mama. Poor little things. At least they have each other; that really does help. Make up somewhere warm and comfy for them to sleep near you. Depending on their personalities, confining them to a room might be good, but if they are outgoing by nature, you might not need to do that for longer than a day or so. It can help teach them where their litter and food are. They probably already know how to use the litter box, but they are tiny (younger than most when separated from mom), so they may have accidents. Some canned kitten food and/ or that kitten replacement milk might be nice for them for a couple weeks, but leave dry kitten food out for them all the time. Use shallow bowls for them.

What about some of the Galore Park materials? For literature, it's relatively easy to find books and usually some lists of questions, and there are workbooks for reading comprehension from Evan Moore and others. Daily Geography is another useful resource from them.

It was $95 or so when I had my dd examined. It was soooo thorough.