As mentioned last week we are in Trumpet of the Swan. It's going slow b/c ds will only be still and listen for so long.:glare: Today at the library I got The Doll People and will start that one next.:D

I wish I was more "open door". Speaking mostly of the pop-in visit, not overnight. We really don't have any family within 5 states, and all our friends live here in town, so it's a non issue for overnights. I have been working really hard on keeping a tidier house so that I would feel more welcoming when friends want to pop by. I would like to be more hospitable. I think it's just one of those things that people are SO busy you get afraid to make a phone call for fear of interrupting them, much less popping by. I have one friend that teases me about how much she knows I hate the pop-in. Well, truth be told I only hate her to pop by. Her home looks like a model all. the. time. No dust, no clutter, no dog hair, never a spoon in the sink, never a magazine out of place. It's down right intimidating and really makes me feel like if that's the way she keeps her house she could never feel comfortable in mine! I'm not that comfortable in hers because it looks too good all the time. And it's decorated to the 9's too. Every room. I think her dd and dh are afraid to sneeze for fear of disrupting something.:001_huh:

I have not used SL science, so I can only say what I've heard from friends. That it's pretty rigorous, but that it's very scattered. Like one day you are doing something with water, the next it's wheels, the next it might be birds. But beginning in Core 3 I think is when it gets to where it ties in with the history you are studying, and again, quite rigorous. Hope you get some better responses than mine!:D

Woo HOO!!! July 24th is an excellent birthday!!

Well, I posted not that long ago about missing a period in June. Yesterday I was due again (if I'm keeping to a 30 day cycle) and finally things might be happening. 2 negative pg tests - just to be sure. But I'm about to be 42 and think I might be premenopausal. I had breast tenderness and everything about the time I ovulated too. I'm just whacked I guess. I have no idea how to deal with this "new" phase so I will have to get a book or two about it. *sigh*:glare: What are you going to do? Buy more POAS's or head to your doc? An HCG is the best indicator.

I got teary too! I guess it's just the sheer joy they all have and that they are this great big group of friends celebrating 2 getting married. Awesome!

I guess it's making the rounds. I love it! BTW, how do I post a youtube video that looks like the pic you click on, and not the url?

YAHOO!!!! :lurk5:

:iagree::ack2::leaving: Have you guys tried the Kraft mayo made with Olive Oil? It's very good.

I worry about this too. My dd has put on a few pounds and is getting squishy in the middle and she is VERY tall for her age. She's turning out like me and in a lot of ways that terrifies me! She will have the same weight issues I have struggled with my whole life. And she's very girlie. She loves make up and doing her hair and changing her earrings and trying on different belts and shoes. Glitter and sequins are her thing! I have some friends that don't like this, that think it can lead to dwelling on your self and your exterior beauty too much, and that it can cause them to want to be grown up too fast. Well, I disagree. I am not allowing her to wear makeup in public - she's playing with it. She's playing at being older, kind of trying it on for a while, then goes back to playing with dolls. But sometimes I flash forward to her being 15 or 16 and I so hope she is grounded in who she is, who God made her to be, and that she is lovely and perfect just the way she is. Make-up or no make-up. My arbitrary age for those things like shaving and make-up is 13. But I might revise that as we go along. At least I can put it off for now!

We're VERY happy here. I am a CA native, but we've been in Austin 13 years and it's home now. I wouldn't want to live any place else. It's a nice mid/large city. Not massively sprawling like Dallas or Houston, and I like that. We have a beautiful downtown with great restaurants, museums, things to do. The "lake" through the city is lovely and there are running/hiking trails along side for joggers. I'm in suburbia on the outskirts of town, so the vibe where I am is a little different than in town. In town Austin is thought of as the Berkeley of Texas. More liberal, crunchy, quirky (in a fun way, I think). In suburbia it's typical of most suburban areas, lots of minivans and kids activities. The proximity to the Hill Country and lakes gives Austin an "outdoorsy" vibe too, I think. People are always biking, hiking, boating, fishing. And the music scene is very real. the SXSW Music Fest and the ACL Music Fest are huge and there is no lack for finding live music if you're into that. It's a very homeschool friendly town too. There are lots of us here. Austin itself has many homeschool groups and co-ops for any bent you have. The cost of living is a little higher here than in some other areas I understand, like a tiny 1930's bungalow close to downtown can cost $400k, but there are also very affordable homes to be found farther out. And land is aplenty if you want some acreage. It will depend on where your dh finds a job. HTH! Let me know if you have more questions!!:D

:hurray::D

Do you have bookshelves in that room with any space to spare? You could get some attractive baskets at IKEA or Target that could hide the cluttery look of a school room without putting it all away. Anything to stage it to look more like an office I would guess is preferrable. I am kind of doing the same thing. I made a list (cuz that's what I do:001_rolleyes:) that goes room by room and figured that I could almost tackle it one room at a time. The exterior will be more work and will have to be DH's job. Good luck! Maybe you can post some pics of the room to help us get some ideas?

Gotta have that Cathy Duffy book! That was invaluable to me!

That book sounds neat. My problem is freezer space. I want to save up for a freezer, or really a new fridge and then move this one out to the garage for extra space. What I am doing, to help with grocery budget and convenience is planning 3 meals a week, at least, that I can double up to make enough to freeze. So like this week I am making Chicken Spaghetti (Pioneer Woman's recipe which is a classic) and baked ziti and chicken tamale casserole. Today I am going to do the ziti for dinner tonight and freeze the rest. Tomorrow i am going to cook all the chicken I'll need for the tamale casserole and the chick spaghetti. I already have a lasagne and 2 other chicken casseroles in there. I am using the square 8x8 foil cake pans to freeze in since I can also thaw and bake in them too, and they don't take up extra space. I cover it with a double layer of foil and then saran wrap (in between the layers of saran I have put a label of what it is and the date I made it). I'm always looking for recipes that freeze well, so please share your favorites!

Huh, wonder why this time and not previously? Well, I'm sure he's fine but keep us posted!!!:grouphug:

We still go to them, my dd (9) has one on Friday. I am thinking though that I might be able to skip it for her for a while after this one - although those puberty years are coming. I should probably save the copay and take her into the opthalmologist as suggested. My son was a preemie and my doc took a special interest in him. Like the pp said, he takes our concerns seriously and never fails to refer us to a specialist. Because he was a preemie and always examined very carefully, the doc one time noticed a spot on his chest that he thought might be a "tertiary nipple" and I was like WHOA! I think it may have actually been a scar spot from where his sensors were in the NICU, but anyways apparently this condition is a marker for cardiac and kidney problems in preemies so off he sent us to a cardiologist and nephrologist. Cardio turned out fine, but nephrology found calcifications in his kidneys that we could then track via ultrasound and treat to make sure they didn't form into stones. This son also seems to be developing asthma and the doc has worked with us to develop a plan for meds when it flares up. He's also being seen by a pediatric endocrinologist to track his growth carefully as he is barely on the height chart and not on the weight charts. When you see several specialists it's really nice to have that one doc overseeing the big picture. I just like having that relationship. Just like with my own health, it's nice to have that professional I can talk to when concerns come up. Maybe I'm needy too, but I do puff up a little when he brags on how great my kids are!:tongue_smilie::lol: All that to say I may consider going to an every-other-year schedule with dd. But for ds I will keep taking him every year and in between as needed.

A good friend of mine schools 4 weeks on, 1 off, all year. I kinda like that. She can be freely off in Spring and Fall when the weather is better here, and has that nice break to look forward to every 4 weeks. Just a thought as you work on getting motivated! Good luck!

I've been feeling it too lately. Wasn't there even a thread to this effect not too long ago. My son was born prematurely when I got preeclampsia (sp?) so I am pretty sure it would be very unsafe for me to have another. I'm also about to be 42. My husband sees me get flustered with the kids, or overwhelmed, and takes that to mean I couldn't handle it, which hurts my feelings. At any rate after what he went through almost losing me during my ds's birth, there's no way he'd agree to more. I agree with Peela, it's a season, and for me that season is over. I have lots to look forward to with my kids, but I do miss the thought of being pregnant and having another little one.

I'm mostly reading picture books to my 4yo and letting the newly 9yo read what she wants (she's reading an American Girl Samantha mystery right now). I did get Trumpet of the Swan this week at the library and am hoping to get back into the read aloud groove with that one. Or maybe even Hank the Cowdog (we tried the audio and I found it annoying).

Same here! 8/29/04! But also mine was a preemie, actually due in Nov, so he is small and immature for his age. It's been a no-brainer for me to keep him in pre-k this year and do k when he turns 6. I'd rather do it now when there are no peers promoting up and he wouldn't. The only think that bothered me is that he and my dd are almost exactly 4 years apart, and she started on time at barely 5. So it widens the gap between them, but ultimatley we feel its the right thing to do. There are times when I wonder if it wouldn't have helped dd to have been in pre-k another year (she's a mid-July bday). My dh was on the older side for his class group and he loved it. He was the first to drive and thought that was the coolest!

Meant to add that the going rate in my area is about $25/day for a full day. you can certainly expect a little more for having to pick them up from school, but usually siblings come with a discount. I have heard of many home child care providers in my area who will watch 2 siblings for $40/day and that's ALL day.

Well, I'm doing it. I had a home daycare before we made the decision to homeschool and I hated it. Chaos all the time and I could. not. leave. home. Over time it has transitioned into losing a few kids here and there and now I am down to 2 boys that I used to watch 2 full days a week. That was pretty doable during the school year but I do agree that you can't expect much, if any, school to get done. They are not your children, will not listen in the same way, and will be a distraction to your own children. OTOH, you can look at it as an opportunity to minister to and help a family that needs it, and as a chance to make some money. That's the way I look at it. It's like a built-in playdate for my son, I enjoy the children too, and it helps their family because they need the flexibility that I can offer. As to appointments and illness: I do not schedule appointments on the days they are here. If one comes up that I can't control and reschedule, then they have to understand and make other arrangements. Honestly that issue doesn't come up because I simply don't schedule other things on the days they are here. Rarely do my kids get sick because of their kids, and they are good to keep them home if they are sick. I honestly think most of what we pick up comes from the snotty noses at the library and grocery store, rather than the children who come into my home. As far as the money goes, you really can't compare it to regular daycare. Typically home care is less because people can charge less since they are home with their own kids. Home care should be MORE because you have smaller caregiver/child ratio, increased flexibility, higher comfort level for the child (home vs center environment, etc). What I have found is that aside from this family that I work with, most families want to scrimp and save and get away with paying as little as possible. Sometimes it's a true financial hardship, but often times not. People would rather spend their money on the boat payment or eating out than quality care for their children. I charge $40/day per child, BUT they are here from 8am to 6pm. Usually they eat breakfast/lunch/2 snacks while here. So $60 for less than a full day is not bad, really. And sitting in car pool is not that big of a deal. I used to like that time for making a phone call or two, or reading a magazine. I personally don't think it sounds like a bad gig so long as you keep your expectations reasonable. Think of it like playdates. The house gets messier, there's more noise, school most likely won't get done - or very little, but the kids will have fun and you can do some really creative projects to enhance all their lives. It could be a very positive thing for your family!

Made root beer floats as a surprise for the whole family and they are happy beyond words. That's good for my soul!:D

Thanks for the replies ladies. I do feel fine. I just had a check up (ironically as I was finishing my last cycle) and we did blood work, pap, exam, all the normal stuff and everything was fine. I guess at this point I'll wait it out to see if things return to normal, or see if this is the new normal. I'll also look for the recommended book.