So many good things to think about on this thread. It is a very complicated topic. I can't help but feel that the reason there are so many school shootings is that there is NO protection at the schools and everyone knows that. Just like the mugging in the court house parking lot. Everyone with an intent to do evil knows there are hundreds of sitting ducks with no one to protect them in locked up tight buildings all over the country. It's sick and it's wrong but it is also what it is. I would for sure feel safer if I had to send my kids to school if teachers were allowed to conceal carry(specific training required) and if there were armed guards in place. I agree that the school situation is out of control. But with so many guns in circulation there is no way gun control measures will fix it. Criminals will/would always have guns.

I would support any mom in your situation switching to bottle feeding. Hugs to you! I do wonder though, if the feelings would come later. your hormones are still stabilizing after birth and maybe in a week or two you would feel better? Just maybe an idea to give yourself a deadline and keep it up until then. If you decided to go that route I would encourage nearly 24/7 skin to skin contact and maybe some herbs or essential oils known for balancing hormones. Good luck to you mama! It really really is ok to feed your baby formula :)

Velveeta makes good Mac and cheese :P probably not what you are looking for. I dont use it as a matter of principle but sometimes wish I could ;)

I hate these threads. It's so depressing. I'm glad some people have found success with lots of excercise but I just don't have that kind of time or desire. Two hours a day?!?! Yuck. I can't think of a worse way to spend a good chunk of my day. I am busy raising a large family and have been pregnant or nursing or both for 18 years. (So not able to get up super early) There is no way to fit that kind of time into my day. Sigh.

I am cautious when people bring up gun control measures but I could really get behind this I think. People should be more careful and then responsible if they aren't. And yes you do have to force people's hand sometimes.

That is really interesting. I guess maybe it needs to be more frequent etc. I mean I remember school. Sometimes the teachers/guests sounded a lot like the parents on Charlie Brown (or is it muppets?) wawawa wa wa. ;) One short discussion is probably not enough for the majority of kids. And again ages matter too. I don't think my sisters and I were unusual though. But maybe because we saw a gun every single day it wasn't that novel? And our parents whom we trusted taught us daily from a very young age. I remember as a teen carefully dusting the dresser and making sure I didn't touch the gun ;) I was old enough to pick it up and dust under it but no way in heck was I going to.

I love love love the ikea one. Inexpensive and super easy to clean. As long as he is buckles my 18 month old can't get out. We don't remove the tray cause it's too hard for us ;) I despise the type you posted though. Too big and bulky and hard to clean. Prior to this one we used the kind that strap to a kitchen chair. We uses those(simplest ones we could find. NO padding etc)for many babies/toddlers. I liked that they could sit with the family at the table. The ONLY reason I bought a free standing high chair was we bought an old school lunch table(folding) as our main kitchen table and we no longer have chairs in the kitchen. (8 almost 9 kids and we LOVE our lunch table) I was dreading getting a high chair as I hate them so much until I saw my sil's ikea one. Then I knew I had found the perfect one!

I read it as "houses" too and was thinking, you mean like a tent?!?

Haha! I notice you didn't mention Nevada. That's probably too lofty of a goal :P

I think you are doing the right thing, your kids will benefit from it and it wil be a special time for your family. Next week it will be ten years since our daughter was still born at term. She died prior to labor and we chose to birth her at home as previously planned. Our children were 2,4,5 and 7. They held her and got to know her as best they could. They said goodbye, carried her casket and flowers and were as completly involved as they wanted. I don't regret it at all. Pm me if you'd like to see the video I made about her birth and funeral. It has many pictures of the things my kids did and how they were involved.

We don't know what else they were viewing that may have desensitized them. Or at what ages and what effect that has on the developing brain. We know the effects of porn on a young brain. What about horrific violence especially the kind where YOU are the one performing it(ala video games). I'm not claiming to KNOW anything. Just saying always saying these people are mentally ill may not be accurate and we should be looking harder for answers. Maybe it is mental illness. That really is the one that makes most sense to me because in my head normal people wouldn't do such horrific things. But maybe they are just evil. And that is not the same as ill.

I agree and was trying to figure out how to say the same thing. I don't pretend to know but always blaming mental illness when that might not be the case here does not help us as a society figure out what is happening to make kids do these kinds of things. It surprises me when people discount the idea that all this crazy violent media could be causing kids to act out violently. I mean my kids act out shows(and books) every single day. They dress up like Jedi's and all kinds of things. Yes they are younger but media does have an impact and to pretend it doesn't seems rather naive.

I was the one who mentioned this on another thread and I just have to one to my own defense. I actually don't care or even notice if babies out and about are wearing anything over their diapers. I just don't prefer it for my babies and like my girls to have bloomers over them when they wear dresses. At home my babies are often in just diapers when it's hot and no big deal I also think my word choice of "tacky" was probably not great. I can't think of a better one though :P I just don't like it.

I am sorry she is dealing with this :( I second the vinegar although we apply it directly with a cotton ball. Also aloe Vera gel helps as does lavender essential oil. I have a red head too and several very fair children. Our best solution for long days out is covering up. Rash guards etc. next time you will know(she won't forget either!!) I hope she feels better soon. I wouldn't even hesitate to keep her home. I have never gone to the doctor for sunburn and probably only would if there were behavior signs that looked like heat exhaustion(headaches as you note would fall under that). Make sure she rehydrates very very well.

I personally just think it's tacky for underwear to show. I actually feel that way about diapers too and use bloomers etc on my baby girls. My older girls who are still learning to sit with their legs down etc wear bike shorts or something. Really they don't need to be showing everyone in the pews around us their panties. It's just not classy :P ETA: I feel the same way about bra straps ETA2: I am actually kinda surprised that this is even a discussion LOL. Underwear needs to remain under the clothing and not for public view. Seems simple to me ;)

Got it. I must have read it wrong. I do think these kids only learn by consequences though. Maybe just a day of losing the doll or something if she does it again. Or extra chores at least. She does need a consequence for out right disobedience IMO

Maybe I'm missing a detail but at 7 I would have physically removed the doll from her arms before she walked into school and it would have had tone earned back or placed in time out for a time. In this instance, I see you as rewarding her for not listening to what you said. Other situations are tricker when they just refuse to do as you've asked. I know they aren't as simple. But I am confused as to why you allowed her to walk away from you with the doll and didn't just take it.

We have a diverse group of parents who choose what they want to offer for classes. This means that we have theater majors teaching theater and professional musicians teaching strings and helping in band and teaching recorder to younger ones. A "real" yoga teacher teaches short yoga sessions to different age groups. We have a professional sculptor mom who teaches art and sculpture. Etc. we have found that we are happier with mostly enrichment classes and we use the talents of the parents in the group. When the kids have an intense interest in something that no one in the group has skills in then we have hired that out.(art/drawing, computer programming, band, woodworking although that one was a parent and a volunteer who came along) We do limited academics, mainly things that work well in a group like IEW, literature and foreign languages(again being taught by parents who are fluent) We may have different goals then other coops though. Our main goal was to create a community for our kids to belong to so they have a social network to fall back on when they really need it during their teen years. We felt that meeting together weekly(it's actually 2x a week with park days too) would allow them to really cement friendships and a sense of belonging so that high school especially wouldn't be a huge pull for social reasons as we were watching SO many teens go to our low performing high schools when homeschooling wasn't enough especially socially. It has worked ;) all our older kids have had NO desire to go to school because they love our coop and know that we will continue to provide outlets for them with their friends. When the kids have come to us with an idea for a class we have done what we could to accommodate them by finding a parent or hiring a teacher. We have a very consistent group of parents who are committed to this coop and we all know that some years out kids will love every class and some years it will just be mainly social time and mostly it's in between. But our goals are being met. Just in case anyone is curious this group of families is approximately 28-35 families. It fluctuates but we have found this a good number to work with. We do require parents to teach because those of us around the longest and most committed we're feeling a bit burnt out carrying too heavy of a load. We haven't had anyone totally opposed to teaching as we are flexible in what that means. Some surpervise PE time or lead group games. Some are in charge of the nursery. All the parents speak up for what they want to do and we accommodate desires as much as possible. Moms take a term off from anything intense while having a new baby or other times of change/stress. I know I am rambling but this seemed like a thread where ideas were wanted. I love love love our coop and want to encourage others that they can be great ;) it had been a lot of work but so so worth it!

As far as cost our coop charges a building fee per family per semester. Runs about $100. This is to pay the church for use of their space (donation really) Then the nursery and preschool classes cost about $5-10 per child per term to cover snacks and supplies. The other classes charge a supply fee based on need and these are all clear on the reg form. Some are free and some are up to $50 a term or maybe more(we offer may levels of iEW and this includes books etc). Anything they need for the classes is charged for up front so the parents are scrambling to bring stuff in etc. we also sometimes have to charge for outside teachers that we pay(band, art etc) when we don't have parents who can or want to teach certain subjects. Those classes usually run an extra $60 or so a term ($5 a week) but are not required. Just if they want that class. Last term we had to charge theater kids for the rights to the play but the class itself was taught by parents. (We have several dads that are the main homeschooler and bring their kids) Myfamily pays about $350-400 a term and that is more than anyone else ;) I have 8 kids and always 3 in band which we pay a teacher for. The other fees add up though. None of the parents get anything other than a re-embursment for costs but everyone is working a class the whole time(ether actively teaching or assisting or snuggling babies)

No I agree with you! I was offering up another solution to the field trips that don't work well for all ages. Because reality is that they don't always. We have weekly park days open to all but our coop classes require that the oldest child in the family be 8. Not even school age. Some people really don't like this policy but we have found it works out better for all. The moms who join are more committed and stay longer. Coop days are just ok overwhelming for a mom with a new 5 year old and maybe a couple younger and a baby. So we just set the age at 8 when the child really does well and may NEED some time with peers etc outside of park days. (All younger siblings are taken care of at coop just to be clear)

Wow. I'm surprised at how many people would be upset by this. I think it was great ;)

Yes yes yes!!!! We don't do that with teachers kids getting priority because everyone is require to teach something after their first term with us. But what you are saying with volunteering vs intense teaching or being on the board is so true. I get frustrated when people complain or want more but don't step up and give more. It's a lot of work. With the field trips, we often (amoungst ourselves and friends not as an organized coop effort) have some moms watch babies/toddlers while their bigger kids go with the other moms. Everyone is happier that way. But I agree that with homeschooling preschoolers are just part of the package. That is why our coop accommodates all ages. There are a couple drop off kinds here we've tried but I really miss the sense of community that comes from families being there together.

Our coop is run as you describe but we do allow a drop off situation for people who need it. They pay more. Quite a bit more ;) we use the money to subsidise the parents who are there teaching AND the kids have to be at least ten. Works really well

I haven't read the thread but have run into the same sof issue as active LDS. Our solution was to start our own coop ;) and be decidly inclusive of all. We(myself and a couple like minded friends who started it) have been very successful. We have all religions and "types" of homeschoolers. We offer a variety of classes and when there have been religious based classes we always spell it out at registration and make sure there are other choices offered at the same time. My kids have made great friends, built relationships with awesome adults etc. Just to encourage you that it can be done and most likely there is a need for it in your area too ;)