We moved to Belgium a year ago. My husband is a civilian working for NATO, but some of his coworkers are military personnel who are stationed here and some are contractors. It makes a difference how you get here. My friend whose husband is a contractor has very limited access to both Belgian and NATO resources. Although her husband physically works at the NATO base she can't use the post offices, library, school programs, etc. She has to get a visitor's pass via a sponsor. I don't think she can use th Belgian healthcare system (she said she has to pay 100% out of pocket) or their other social programs. She isn't protected under what we call SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) and thus has to obey Belgian laws when it comes to homeschooling, housing contracts, registering with her local community ... basically she is treated as an immigrant, even though they have no intention of staying here long-term. She must complete a whole integration program which includes interviews and classes that are taught in French. The biggest problem has been that her husband's employer didn't figure the taxes correctly so they have had to pay thousands and thousands more in local income tax than they were promised, yet she isn't allowed to work here. For her, it has been a big pain in the butt. For us (civilians), we have most of the opportunities that the military have, including protection under SOFA! We get a US post office box, can use the base library and school programs, get special clauses in our housing contracts, don't have to pay Belgian income tax; we even got to get our driver's licenses through the base after taking a class in English ... If you intend on staying Canadian, I would definitely see whether you will be protected under Canada's SOFA agreement with Switzerland (hopefully they have one). A bonus is if this company can get you access to a Canadian post office box and library. Basically you want to know how they intend to make the move easier on you. Will their relocation package cover the actual cost of moving? Will they provide help with negotiating housing contracts? I think Belgium's standard contract is like 9 years and if you move out early you have big fines - but our contract lets us move after 1-year, and at any time under special circumstances. That can make a big difference. @Monica_in_Switzerland can tell you more about homeschooling in Switzerland. Belgium is a multi-lingual country and I know that makes it challenging to choose how to register. I love it here, even though I am very slow at learning French. We travel quite a lot (RyanAir!) and it's cool to live in a place where family-owned businesses far outnumber the chain stores, doctors work out of their homes and make house calls, cheap water parks have slides that would never be allowed in North America, people seems a bit more socially conscious, trains go everywhere, Christmas markets exist, villages have crazy festivals, etc.

Interesting comment above about microorganisms.... I drink 3-4 L of water a day and eat a minimum of 6 servings of produce (most days that includes an apple, a carrot, and blueberries), and I am always constipated. I have some Culturelle in the cupboard that maybe I should try. OP, are you making any other changes to your diet?

Hang in there - changing routines always makes it hard to stick to developing habits. You're on the right track! I'm curious if you track your intake? Having everything I eat/drink written down (well, in an app) makes it easier for me to stay the course.

I used it with a sixth grader and don't see why it couldn't be used with a fifth grader. The book itself is very readable. I enrolled my kid in the independent K12 course (ungraded, work at your own pace) and it added a LOT. If you can get the TGs and SGs off Amazon, they do add discussion questions and some maps.

I use L'Oreal Infalliable. https://www.amazon.com/LOréal-Paris-Infallible-Foundation-Natural/dp/B01LXDK3TT They have different levels of coverage, but I use the full coverage and think it looks good. No creases, although I don't yet have wrinkles.

I do nearly all of it. My husband actually would be willing to cook more, but his idea of cooking is grilling sausages and he doesn't know how to do much else. He also gets home around 6, and I would prefer to eat at 5:45 (haha) so I'm happy to cook as it means I can eat sooner. Every once in a while he will make cookies with the kids or come up with a recipe to try, but it's a rare thing. He is very appreciative and does a lot of the grocery shopping on his way home from work. The kids clean up after dinner, so I don't feel put out by this arrangement. I am currently teaching my 17 yr old how to cook. My goal is for him to have a whole book of recipes he can make. Clueless in the Kitchen is a great source of recipes - real ingredients, simple techniques, and a good variety of healthy foods.

I just generally don't share private information online, and when I put myself out there and have like 70 views yet no response, it just feels like the cost of the exposure is not worth the benefit. I would have just deleted the whole thing but didn't see a way to.

Yes, I agree with this. I take some issue with the claim that long-term weight loss is so rare that people shouldn't really even bother to try. What I have observed is that people regain lost weight when they stop following the plan and revert to the lifestyle that led to their obesity in the first place. Temporary changes lead to temporary weight loss. Yes, your metabolism can slow down after weight loss, but tracking calories in & calories out will still help you maintain your weight. Living on 1200 kcal is definitely possible without starving! Today I reached a 50# weight loss. I have been working on building healthy habits - calibrating my portions, improving my nutrition, balancing my macros, and increasing my activity. I fully understand that I need to maintain these habits if I am to continue to lose the last 30# and keep it off for life. I agree with @Ktgrok that obesity is a chronic condition that needs long-term treatment. It's not "cured" when I reach my goal weight! I will need to keep tracking my food intake for life. Thank goodness for smartphones, which make it pretty easy. I really feel for people who have eating disorders and struggle with compulsions like binge eating. That adds a whole layer of complexity to the issue. For some people, restricting food leads to binging, and there isn't an easy way to safely lose weight. For those people, diet + exercise isn't enough because they have the psychological issues to deal with as well. But for most overweight/obese people, it really is a matter of making a permanent change to healthier habits and accepting that there is no going back.

Lots of views and no replies.

I’m allergic to mosquito bites, and I’ve tried lots of topical stuff that doesn’t work or only helps for a little bit. If I get new bites, the old ones flare up again and I’m doubly miserable. The only thing that works for me is an antihistamine (I like Claritin). I take it once a day until the bites have healed. Luckily we have window screens and the skeeters aren’t too bad where we live, but sometimes we travel and stay in places with no screens or AC, so the claritin is a lifesaver!!

That actually looks like a fair number of calories. The whole milk yogurt, protein powder, avocado, (whole fat?) cottage cheese, salad dressing, nuts, brown rice ... not saying that they are unhealthy, but all of them in one day really can add up. Are you using an app + food scale to scan labels and measure portions?

I have pretty easily lost 43 lbs in the past 5.5 months, and it's been at a very steady rate of 1-2 lbs a week. I have been using the app iTrackBites with the old WW SmartPoints program. It's basically calorie counting (1200 cal for my 30 pts), but with an emphasis on portion size and recognition that all calories aren't created equal - so lean proteins have low points because they are filling and stabilize blood sugar, and refined sugars are really high points because they cause a big insulin response. It adds just enough intelligence to CICO that it helps me without making it overly complicated. And since nothing is forbidden, I can make my own choices about what to eat without going "off plan" or "being bad" (as my mom loves to say, sigh). I've gone down two sizes (pants, shirts, and bras). This system works for me because it is just a budget, and that makes total intuitive sense - I can save up my calories to eat something "expensive" or I can eat moderately for every meal. Both are totally fine. As long as I stay within my budget & eat well, then I know I'm making healthy choices and the weight will eventually follow. I'm also pretty determined to not do anything now that I'm not willing to do for the rest of my life. No temporary changes. I had tried just watching portions and making healthy choices, but I really need the accountability of tracking each bite to make progress. I think my appetite was just way out of sync and couldn't be trusted, so I needed outside data to guide me. I have made a lot of small changes, but these are the ones that I think have helped the most: I gave up shopping in local Belgian stores for everything but produce, because the nutritional info doesn't scan into my app, and SO MUCH FOOD has added sugar. I switched to American food from the commissary, which works much better for me. I scan things before I buy them. I found substitutes for a few staples - I eat low-sugar oatmeal, fat-free Greek style yogurt, Laughing Cow cheese wedges (I use them instead of cheese/mayo), Flatout wraps, Kodiak pancake mix, sugar-free maple syrup, 100-cal popcorn, etc. I use a food scale to weigh almost everything! I weigh out my Grape Nuts, Pretzel Thins, PB2, yogurt, etc (I don't weigh zero-point fruits & veg, or labeled stuff like wraps or oatmeal packets). And I track everything! I have regular mealtimes: coffee when I wake up, breakfast at around 8:30, lunch at noon, snack at 3, dinner at 6. I don't eat after dinner, so I usually have 14 hours of fasting between dinner & breakfast. Sometimes I have cinnamon herbal tea after dinner if I want something. I drink a lot of water, all day long. Yes, I have to get up to pee at night, but oh well. It really does help my stomach register that it is full. So many times I will eat my meal and still feel like I am hungry, then I drink a glass of water and the switch flips to full. I try to have a fruit with breakfast, veg with lunch, fruit or veg with snack, and 2x veg with dinner. This helps keep me full and gets me my 5-a-day. My meals are kind of predictable - I have a few choices for breakfast that are 4-6 points, a few choices for lunch that are 6-10 points, I eat a snack that is 3-5 points, and I keep dinner to about 8-12 points. If I have leftover points and am still hungry, I will have a dessert. If I have leftover points but am not hungry, I go back and add up the calories. If I've had at least 1200, then I just stay under budget. I have point-friendly desserts available when I want them, but only eat them if I am hungry and have room for them in my budget. I have 110-cal Lil' Drumstick ice cream cones, 90-cal FiberOne bars & brownies, and sugar-free pudding powder mixed into plain yogurt (YUM). I don't use food as a reward and generally try to not have dessert two days in a row. I really don't eat away from home, especially as it's nearly impossible to get nutritional information from restaurants here. I have a meal plan and shop for about a week at a time. I cook fish, chicken, turkey, a little pork, and lots of beans. I rarely cook beef. I still eat brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, but maybe twice a week, and only a half-cup serving. I calculate the calories/points for my recipes. I stopped eating gouda, real peanut butter, and alcohol. They just aren't worth the calories to me. I can eat them if I want to, but they lost their allure. Same with chocolate - I actually have a huge stash from Christmas and from traveling to England where they sell all the lovely Cadbury bars, but I just don't eat them. I became much more active (though it hasn't changed my weight loss rate at all). I got an easily-bored dog (Basenji) and walk him twice a day. I got a Fitbit watch with HR monitor, and apparently I have the resting heart rate of an athlete (haha!). It has a default goal of 30 active minutes per day, and I've been averaging around 100. I get about 10-15k steps a day; 20k when I am out of the house more. I only told a couple of people that I was working on getting healthier, and only a couple people have noticed that I've lost weight (or they think they are being polite by not commenting). My mom just came to visit and was shocked when she saw me, which felt pretty good ;).

I am a fan of MBTP LA, but I agree that the strength is in the composition. The discussion questions are the weakest part of the program, but the grammar is pretty weak too (it has a lot of breadth, but not a lot of review & depth, so while it looks like it covers a lot, it doesn't really cover it thoroughly like a standalone grammar program). If you just want to focus on good discussion & vocabulary with light lessons on literary analysis, then Novel-Ties are much better for the price. My youngest actually really dislikes the questions in MBTP because they are kind of vague and open to interpretation. He does fine if we discuss aloud, but he can't easily commit to an answer in writing because it's subjective. YMMV. This past school year, my youngest did most of the 9-11 guides but we did NOT do the comp. I had a lot of other LA scheduled, and I just used the MBTP guides because I already had them and liked the books. We are actually working on The Witch of Blackbird Pond right now, and we will do the composition. Next year we will do many of the 10-12 guides, hopefully with the composition too, as I have cut back on other resources for that. My personal opinion is that MBTP misses the mark. It tries to be a good fit for gifted learners, but the writing level is more advanced than the reading/discussion level. I think it should be switched, so that the reading level & discussion questions are more challenging, but the writing is more average. That seems to be how most gifted kids roll - ready for more in-depth analysis, but not necessarily ready to pump out 5-paragraph essays in third grade.

I had to buy a one-piece Speedo style suit for myself, because tankinis, shorts, and swim skirts are such a no-no here. I was just talking to my sister tonight about finding some "bike shorts" to wear over my suit. If they are tight fitting, would that be allowed? What about a rash guard? I would like to go to swim parks this summer, but I burn so easily and would rather cover my thighs.

It sounds like your dog gets lots of stimulation, even if it's not always from people. That is a totally different situation from a dog stuck in a small suburban backyard. Different breeds are suited for different situations as well. Huskies do OK as outside dogs, but I don't think German Shepherds do - I believe they are bred to be very family-oriented. Plus they need a lot of exercise and play. A bored GS might just bark and dig all day.

It kind of depends on where she’s eating. I like stuffing a cooler bag with food. I just use baggies and “disposable” containers (which I hand-wash). I have some divided food containers (Ziploc brand) that fit a sandwich and 2 sides (veg, hard-boiled egg, crackers) and also use little “Jell-O shot” cups with lids for hummus/dip. Rubbermaid makes 2-section containers which can fit a sandwich or wrap plus one side. I have small thermoses for hot foods like soup. If you search for “food prep containers” on Amazon, they sell many variations of bigger containers. I buy Smartfood popcorn, Popchips, and Baked Cheetos by the case on Amazon for pre-portioned treats. The Planetbox looks cool, but I like the versatility of choosing containers that fit the food, rather than choosing food that fits the containers.

We wrapped up the school year last week, but we will keep up with some work over the summer for a few reasons (they are mid-way through some courses, we want to work now so we can travel during the school year, and long breaks aren’t mentally good for us). I have anxiety about driving & city parking, so this week my goal is to drive somewhere each day M-F. Tomorrow we are going to a zoo. Not sure what else we are doing. Maybe an indoor pool, fancy park, a museum? Honestly, I hate this stupid idea. But dh is gone for a month and I want to see if I can get over some of my fear. Maybe we will take the train one day. Then we have three weeks of light school before my mom comes to visit. Dh and I are taking a trip by ourselves to Bulgaria while she watches the kids! Then we will probably work a few more weeks, but I might put the kids in day camp for a week or two to break things up. I want to get back to a full schedule by August 1st, because we want to take a trip to Croatia in the early fall. For school work over the summer, ds 10 will be continuing MIF 7, French for Children A, reading some US history stuff before we start Story of the World 3 (in Bookshark 7), and I’d love to do Adventures in Fantasy with both kids. DS 16 could do it as a creative writing credit. He will be continuing Algebra 2, starting Culinary Arts, starting WriteShop, and working through a summer reading list.

This is my impression too - that CC algebra+ is more advanced than pre-CC courses, because the CC foundation is stronger. My son just finished 4th grade (yay!) and he is already into Course 2 (7th grade). We will keep working over the summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he finished Courses 2 and 3 next year in 5th grade (math comes naturally to him, and MIF is a perfect fit). BUT I feel like I have two paths to take - do MIF C3 and then a CC-aligned algebra in 6th, or finish MIF C2 and move straight to a pre-CC-aligned algebra midway though 5th. He is smart but young, and one of the reasons MIF works so well for him is that they have workbooks he can work straight out of. He greatly prefers that to copying problems out of a book. He has done MIF from the beginning, so I am inclined to finish out the series and then see what is on the market then. Hopefully something with a usable workbook!

Sorry, I wrote that post in fragments and didn’t stay consistent. The Holt 2007 series has Burger as the main author. His videos are used in Thinkwell. You can access the videos for free on the web (for now) if you google site:my.hrw.com homework help. He used that series for courses 1-3, Algebra and Algebra 2. I have the teacher one-stop planner CDs with all of the worksheets & assessments. My only concern using it again is that it is pre-CC and will likely repeat a lot of mIF course 3 (which is ok; my kid is young. The Foerster I have is the reprinted Prentice Hall Classics version.

I'm really happy with MIF. My son is doing Course 2 now, and we will probably finish Course 3 before doing Algebra. The S&S is much broader than an old-school pre-algebra program, for sure. I have a few Algebra 1 books on my shelf (Dolciani '86, Foerster, Burger '07, and Lial) and I'm leaning towards Foerster with MWB, or Holt (which I used for my older son and liked)

For my rising 5th grader, I'm actually not changing much for next year. Still using Math in Focus Still using Bookshark "reading with history" Still supplementing with MBTP lit guides Still using French for Children by CAP (though will need to figure out what to do next when he finishes level B) Science will change - we did Mr. Q physics & chemistry this year, and will do Holt Science & Technology's earth science. I used that series with my older kid, so it not "new" though. For my rising 11th grader, more will change. Not because it isn't working, but just because it's typical in high school. Still using Holt's math series (though not sure what to use after he finishes Algebra 2 in the winter - probably Thinkwell trig?) Still using Novel-Ties lit guides for English New writing program - Write Shop (he got really tired of Essentials in Writing) Still using a textbook science - Holt Chemistry. Adding in chem labs and HOPING they are truly do-able at home! New history - DH is going to design a "U.S. on the world stage" history class since we technically have to do US history but live in Europe. It will focus on the world wars, and I'm assuming it will be a mix of Great Courses, living books, and field trips, with some essays. New culinary arts class, using a PS textbook as a spine New Alaska history class, using a North Dakota online HS class New Personal Finance class, using Dave Ramsey

Well thank you! I have never needed mascara or brow pencil, lol. Of course, black hair really isn’t awesome elsewhere on the body.

I normally wear glasses but took them off for a selfie to see how I really look. My shoulders are jacked up because I am curled up on the couch, but what I notice is how asymmetrical my eyebrows are! They’ve always been that way, but my glasses hide some of it. I’ve recently lost some weight so I am happy with the selfie. I think I look my age (40) and I look happy enough.

I googled “kaiser colonoscopy prep” and this was the first result: https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/html/public/specialties/gastroenterology/colon-prep it even has a list of low-fiber foods. Good luck!

You look amazing! I'm curious how you figured out your weight at your ideal body fat %. Did you do a DEXA scan? There is a place a couple hours away that does them, but I'm intimidated by the language barrier and driving there. I have never been an ideal weight, so I'm going to have to go by how I look. Even at my lightest I was chubby, lol.