Dh has high blood pressure and part of the reason is that it runs in the family. He has done excellent with diet and exercise, but still can't get it low enough to not needs meds.

My dr recommended BioGaia® Probiotic Straws for my son when he was on a strong antibiotic for a staph infection. You drink through them to get the probiotic and you can't taste it.

I like that idea. I wonder if it would work here. LOL

I'm pregnant and wish I could eat more, but I've developed acid reflux so bad it hurts to eat. It sucks too, with my first 3 pregnancies, I really packed away the food. LOL

I am in the same boat! I am 12 weeks pregnant with baby #4 - which was a surprise and totally not planned. Since some time in September I have been suffering with severe GERD, acid reflux, heartburn, etc. and all that comes along with it. I've been dehydrated, not able to eat, no energy, etc. I'm HSing a 3rd grader, 1st grader, and a preK. We took about a month off because I was physically unable to do anything, I couldn't even get any lesson plans together. The past few weeks I've been starting to do more, but only like one subject a day - and usually in my bed while I writhe in pain. :D We're just now getting back to where we're able to do more than one thing a day, but even so we're not back up on our regular schedule. I feel bad, especially for taking so long without doing anything, but I know that in the end it won't make that much of a difference. I know that I can get done in an hour more than they would be doing if they were at school. So I make the hour count. We focus on math, reading, writing, grammar, and do history and science as much as we can. Latin has been put on the back burner. I refuse to make myself feel guilty about it. I did see a GI dr today, since my OB hasn't done enough to solve the issue, and am hoping to get some relief. Once that happens, I know I'll be able to get back on track. And we'll be able to work harder and "catch up" on what we haven't done yet. I honestly don't think my kids are suffering. I worry some about my 7yr not having enough structure, but than I tell myself he is still young. Hugs for you! you're not alone!!

Hi! We live in Lutz. Our church, http://www.fbclol.org/, has an awesome AWANA program. Our three kids love it!! Have you checked the FPEA site for groups? That's how I found the one I joined. It meets in Zephyrhills though so I don't know if you want to drive that far. Try http://gracefamilychurch.org/index.php?submenu=SmallGroups&src=gendocs&ref=SmallGroups-Homeschool&category=GFC-SmGroups for the Grace Family Church group.

scooters. my kids love them.

DS6 has a Leapster 2 because the ILs bought it for him for his birthday. All 3 kids love it. He has probably 4 games, but is getting at least one for Christmas. I bought 2 off ebay for fairly cheap compared to the store. I like that the games are educational.

if nobody can understand her except family, I'd go for an evaluation. My last 2 kids both had speech therapy. When we took my son at around 3 - 3.5 yrs, I thought his only issue was not saying S at the beginning of words and that he lisped. Wow, was I wrong! After she pointed out the other problems, I was able to hear them, but I was so used to being able to understand him that I had missed them before. He was only understandable at about 25% to others at the time.

I have the H20 and like it. It does leave the floor wet even though the commercials say it doesn't. But I know the floor is getting disinfected, which is important with 3 kids - 2 boys in the bathroom LOL.

My 4yr dd loves to draw and color about what we've read about that day of creation! Again, I don't know, or really even concerned with, how much she's retaining, but I know she's learning something and practicing her writing and motor skills. Works for me. LOL

I'm doing 106 Days of Creation this year with my preK, first and third grader. Even though we're not too far into it, I love it. We've had to take a lot of time off due to me being pretty sick - I'm preggo with #4. I love that it's so Bible-based with Scripture reading pretty much every lesson I think. Lots of experiments, I did buy the experiment book it suggests to go along with it, as well as Considering God's Creation for my third grader to do. It's easy enough that I can teach it on a level for all my kids, they all participate in the experiments, and they each keep a Creation notebook. Of course for me, with the younger ones it's more about exposure than making sure they retain everything. Let me know if you have any other questions.

My 3 just completed their first year in Awana. I had 2 Sparks and 1 cubbie. :D They absolutely loved it and so did I. The amount of Bible memorization they do is amazing. I definitely recommend it.

Newell Homeschool Academy. made it up for our homeschool website/blog.

Praying for them!

This is taken from the site posted. I don't like the fact that they imply that it seems to work for everyone and that if it doesn't work, you're not following it correctly. I'd be curious to know if there are any neurologists who are currently doing diet studies regarding MS.

Thanks for posting the site. Going to check it out now. I'm just skeptical because of what my mom's drs have told her. And more than one dr. Plus, I know she has tried some stuff. Trust me, if she thought any of it would help at all, I'm sure she'd do it. I'll check out the site and maybe mention it to her.

I didn't want to discourage you with my post, but did want to let you know about the realities of the disease and that some people don't fare as well as others. The http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx has some great information. This comes from their website. Any of the treatment options, even natural stuff, only helps to manage the symptoms and try to keep relapses from happening. My mom has been on betaserone and copaxone, both separately and combined. She is also on other meds like topomax, nuerotin, vicodin, and valium. Her dr has been suggesting chemo for awhile now, but she's been putting it off because she was nervous about the side effects. But in December of last year she started progressing worse, affecting her mental stability, and her dr insisted on the chemo. The other drugs just weren't helping enough, although she is still on them. The idea behind the chemo is that it will kill off the immune system that is attacking her brain. That is essentially what MS is, the body attacking itself. The good news is that the second round of chemo has helped to relieve some of the symptoms! It's been the first time in a few years that she's had any of the symptoms reverse. It's been mainly with her eyes and she's a little bit stronger. We're just praying that the two biggest side effects don't happen - heart damage and a form of lukemia. Anyways, the most important thing with MS treatment is starting as soon as possible. This is because the treatments don't typically reverse the damage that's already been done to the brain, but it can help prevent further damage. I would say the most important thing you could do for your sister is to be supportive. Listen to what she has to say. Ask about dr's appts. Truly be concerned, which I'm sure you are. Try to avoid giving too much advice because there is so much misinformation out there. One person from church, well meaning I'm sure, tried to sell my mom protein shake powder because it "could cure anything". LOL Read up on the disease and learn as much as you can. If she does get a confirmation of MS, you'll also have to adjust to a new life with things she can and can't do. That has been the hardest thing for me personally. Especially when it comes to my kids, I just wish she could do more with them. And me, it's hard when she's too tired to hang out shopping. And she can't drive so she can't come visit me, I always have to go to her house. It's the little things you don't even think of that are an adjustment. Anyways, I'll be praying for your sister that maybe the MRI will come back with a different conclusion. And that if it doesn't, that she will be one of the lucky ones that doesn't suffer as much. And that whatever treatment option that is chosen does help. Spy/Bill, very interesting. I'd be interested in checking out her book. The National MS Society states that there is no evidence that any environmental allergens play a part in MS. Maybe that doesn't include food? Even so, while it may help some - which if it does that's great! - it wouldn't be effective for those who don't have those food allergies. Anyways, thanks for the info.

LNC, I feel your pain because that is exactly what my mom has gone through. Everyone has the cure that if she just did this, she'd be healed completely. If that were the case, then there would be no more MS because there would be a cure. Montel Williams had to quit his talk show because his MS worsened so much. Don't you think he'd be cured if there was a miracle cure out there? It does make the person withdraw and choose not to discuss it with anyone because there is so much misunderstanding. MS is very hard to diagnose. It took my mom nearly 2 yrs before the drs would give her a definite. And that was only after multiple MRIs showing changes to her brain. Relapsing and remitting MS hits each person different. One person may have one relapse and then remit and never have problems again. They may look cured, but the reality is just that they haven't relapsed again. Another person may have multiple relapses with a year. It's just so different for everyone. And there are many things that you can't see, symptoms that only the person and those extremely close to the person know about.

BTW, my mom's original neurologist is a research dr who speaks all over the world. He has since stopped practicing and she is now under the care of another research neuro. They said no to bee sting therapy and besides that, she couldn't tolerate it because of what it would do to her body. And I would venture to say she's on a low fat diet because she barely eats. LOL What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another person. Just as each person's symptoms are often different.

My mom was diagnosed with MS 6 yrs ago. I guess she fits into that 10% because it has drastically changed her life. She hasn't driven more than a handful of times in the last 7 years. She is qualified as handicapped and has a parking permit. She walks with a cane, often has trouble standing up from a sitting position, and uses a wheel chair for extended periods of walking. I don't say all that to scare you, only to say that MS isn't typically a walk in the park. There are lots of treatment options that can help. My mom has been on self-administered shots for years. She's also on a ton of other pills. She just recently had two rounds of chemo and the last round seems to have helped some. She was first diagnosed with relapsing/remitting MS, but has progressed to secondary progressive. BTW, she is 53yo. Prayers for your sister!

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'd like to share some insight. First, I wonder if her sister is under a drs care and medicated properly. Because some of the raging can be controlled through medication. I wonder if the blows up are raging that could be controlled through meds. And while I disagree with training people to accept bad behavior, I do think that it's important to recognize certain things that can't be helped and then to learn ways to deal with them. The book I mentioned, Loving Someone with Bipolar, deals specifically with learning to cope with different situations. I am fortunate to have a patient husband who is understanding and caring enough to work with me on different ways to deal with things that I go through. My family is also very understanding. My mom has MS and unfortunately it has affected her mentally causing depression and raging. So she now knows firsthand some of what I go through. Having a good support system is extremely important.

I'm going to try to only reply to the OP although there have been some interesting responses. I have been diagnosed as Bipolar Type II with Anxiety disorder. My psychiatrist explained it to me this way. A person is diabetic because their body does not produce enough insulin. This is not something a person can control, they can't say, ok body produce more insulin. So they take insulin to control it. Mental illness is the same thing. I'm bipolar because my brain either doesn't produce the right chemicals or process them correctly. It's a medical condition that I have no control over. So I medicate to make up for what my body does not do on it's own. Let me say, medication has been my life saver. Without it, I don't know where I'd be. Also, I am a born-again Christian who believes that God is the ultimate healer. But just as I wouldn't refuse to take diabetes under the assumption that God will most definitely heal me, I don't refuse medications for my illness based on the fact that I think He will heal me. Yes, I fully believe He could, but I also believe He's given us medicines to be able to control things. I don't know too many Christians who wouldn't take insulin for diabetes or chemo for cancer. Same thing. I want to comment on the compulsive shopping. It is not something that can necessarily be helped, it's a symptom of mania. Being Type II, I only suffer with hypomania, which is milder than full blown mania, but I still suffer with buying impulsives. Thank goodness nothing drastic, I haven't put us into debt or anything, but I do a lot of little spending here and there. And yes, afterwards, there is some buyer's remorse. This is absolutely not something that I can control. If I could, I would choose not to be this way. I have been on a good combo of meds and have been mostly balanced for awhile, but I live knowing that could change any minute. And the anxiety is killing me. I have especially been having problems this week. I have had 3 anxiety attacks today alone. Again, this is something that I would absolutely choose to be rid of. My chest hurts so bad and my heart races so fast I feel like I'm dying. Meds help with that also, but it doesn't take them away completely. My therapist suggested I read A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness http://www.amazon.com/Brilliant-Madness-Living-Depressive-Illness/dp/0553560727. It's the story of Patty Duke and her battle with Bipolar. She was severe Bipolar I and reading it made me so thankful that I am Type II and a milder form. The other book I would suggest is Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Someone-Bipolar-Disorder-Julie/dp/1572243422/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243714760&sr=1-1 I bought this for my husband to read. He has not read it, I started it but have skimmed through it. So I can't vouch for the whole book, but I kow that a lot of it was applicable to my situation and would help my husband understand better and find ways to deal with me. It talks about reckless spending and ways to combat it. Honestly, if you really want to learn more about it, reading either of those books would be my first suggestion. That or talking to a psychiatrist who can explain it to you.

Ds will be starting 1st grade in the fall. Here's my plan. Phonics/Language Arts/Reading ~ Abeka Math ~ MOTL Writing ~ Abeka Cursive Writing with Phonics Those are the main focus. He'll also be tagging along with big brother for the read alouds and whatever history and science we end up doing. I'm really only concerned with the three R's though, reading, writing and arithmetic. :D

I haven't used a curriculum for kindergarten. My oldest ds is finishing up 2nd grade and my middle ds (5yo) is finishing kindergarten. I'll do the same for dd when she's ready for kindy. I have been using little workbooks I got from the Dollar Tree. One for handwriting, one for adding/subtracting, one on counting 1-100, and one on phonics. They are different themes, Spiderman, Disney, Scooby Doo, etc. to keep his attention. We don't do them every day, but when we do I try to get him to do at least a page of writing and a page of math. His attention span is little to none so I take what I can get. Everything else is done through unschooling or fun activities. We've been doing some read-alouds and he's done lapbook stuff to go along with that. We play games like Uno, memory, etc. He listens to a lot of what his older brother does so that helps. FWIW, Even with my 2nd grader, we've pretty much been unschooling for science, history, social studies. 3rd grade will be the first year that we actually try to schedule it in. They learn so much just from reading and experiencing life that I haven't seen the need to focus too much on it specifically. If he enjoys listening to you read, I'd take advantage of that. All three of mine are really enjoying the books we've been reading. My 5yo can't sit still and listen and I don't expect him to. He's allowed to play quietly with a few select toys, as does my 4yo, but the rule is that they have to stay in the same room and they aren't allowed to talk. He is able to pay more attention when he's doing something with his hands rather than trying to sit still. I agree with primarily being a kid. My goal for kindy is to have them writing all the letters with at least some accuracy. To have a general knowledge of numbers, counting to 20, number recognition, and some adding and subtracting. In FL, you aren't even required to do kindergarten if you homeschool so we take it real casual.