I had similar bleeding after mine to what you described. I do also suspect my period started a couple of days after the procedure. But, I tend to have heavy cycles anyway so I wasn't expecting the "light spotting" they described. :)

This thread is very timely. I have three kids - two are older elementary / middle school and one just starting homeschooling this year. The middle is either the sweetest or most stubborn child depending on which way the wind is blowing. He begged us to send him to school last year for the last few weeks and he loved it. We quickly saw personality changes that were not positive and brought him home this year. Some weeks he's content enough but often begs to go back to school and can change the entire mood of the house with his demanding personality and expectations that I should sit next him the entire time he does his work. Not realistic. I worry our relationship is paying the price over this friction and I'm tired of friction to be honest. I find myself going back and forth between completely trusting the Lord (he provided so much for homeschooling to fall into place this year) and ready to drive up to the school as fast as my car will take me to enroll him.

I am so sorry for your loss. I'm lifting you all up in prayer.

I'm so sorry and sending you many hugs. I'm going through a similar situation right now and it just really stings. I'm sorry :(

I'm finishing wrapping for my side of the family tonight. That will feel good to have it done! Took youngest to the doctor because he's pretty sick, pretty sure they cultured his tongue and not his throat 😜 surprise, it was negative but between his bright red throat, red bumps, fever, and "strep" breath, doctor started him on abx while they send the culture out. Also, drove 1 hour each way to pick up a gift for oldest that he's going to go nuts for. Knowing how excited he will be made me so happy each way of the drive! Did a bunch of financial housekeeping - paid bills, made sure the money was there for said bills, etc lol I still have a couple of thank you cards to write tonight. Whew!

I have not had a c-section but have had three vaginal deliveries. The first one was an induction and I got the epi because I was really struggling with pitocin contractions. Then, the epi didn't take on one side and when they tried to "fix" it, the other side got double dosed. I couldn't feel my right leg until the next day. I was determined to have med-free births after that. I did Hypnobabies for the next two. I was asked both times if I was sure I was in labor when I got to the hospital and was at 8 for both when first checked in. Yes, there was still some pain but DH massaging my back through contractions made a huge difference. I can't recommend Hypnobabies enough!

Moments In Love by Art of Noise?

Have you been tested for Lyme? Keep in mind the test has a lot of false negatives. But a lot of the symptoms fit. I'm sorry you feel so crummy :(

We've been to WDW twice - once before my youngest was born (not pregnant at the time) and our kids were 5 and 3 at the time. We had an amazing time but rented a double stroller for the entire week, stayed on property and took a 2-3 hour break every day back at our hotel. We just got back from our second trip about 4 weeks ago. Kids are now 12, 10 and 5. What a huge difference! They were all able to ride pretty much every ride (only one that was a no for the youngest was the roller coaster at DHS based on height requirements), we didn't have a stroller and we didn't *need* to take a break mid-day to rest. We got free dining and based on the time of year we went, the crowds were minimal. My vote would be to wait until youngest is 5+ and definitely stay on property. Try to go during a less crowded time and you can make it through many of the lines quickly. This was probably the last trip we will take to Disney and I wanted to go before the magic would be gone for the oldest. I feel like it was perfectly timed with their ages / stages. Hope this helps!

Thank you all SO MUCH for your perspectives. I felt so wrung out from it all when I posted. Just to clarify, he just started PS mid-April with the understanding he would finish out this school year and we would go from there to make decisions for next year. So, we haven't lost a year academically but I feel we would next year if he went with PS in 5th because we've covered many things they cover next year and would leave off some things I think are key. DH is not a super committed homeschool dad, but has over time become a fan of the flexibility it affords our family and the positives our kids have gained academically and personally. He had a great PS experience and hears and understands our middle child's desire to be around kids all day long. I recognize that it would be better for him to be committed or convicted, but I'm working with what I have and I pray for the Lord to grow his heart for homeschooling. I am not bashing him, just trying to state where he is. At the end of the day, he is not against homeschooling and does support me - he just isn't going to research curriculum or help with the heavy lifting on concrete teaching. God completely answered my prayers today and made a homeschool group option available that had been unavailable before. A friend also told me today about a group that meets another day that would be another significant "plus" to our homeschool next year. So, I feel that He is providing what we need for next year and I am just in awe of his timing. I don't know how DS will feel about it, but I feel very certain next year homeschooling is the right thing for him and our family. I have a lot of peace tonight!

Sigh...so I recently posted an update about my middle child who started public school a few weeks ago. Bottom line is he really enjoys it because he was feeling "lonely" at home even though he plays with neighborhood kids every day and we do a ton of groups, sports, etc. His driver for going to school is to find his "people" and enjoy the social aspect. We had completed most of our curriculum so he's been able to coast academically and focus on enjoying what brought him to public school. He has said he thinks he wants to go to PS next year but then come home the following year when he would start middle school. He feels like next year his grade is the shining star of the school and he wants that experience. The school plays up the "graduating class" with a lot of different things throughout the year. But, I really feel like he gets such a better education at home and he has this light and sweetness about him that we've been able to maintain from being home. I don't think PS is a bad place, per se, but I'm starting to see him come home and argue more intensely with his siblings and I don't like it. I also know there are many things academically that I feel are important for his grade next year that the PS does not cover. I'm feeling stressed because money is due in about 4 weeks for HS activities and co-ops I had committed us to before he started PS. Also, there is one group I had signed him and my youngest up for and I don't know if I want to do it or not with just the youngest if middle goes back to PS. DH is telling me to not spend any money when it is due for these classes because DS doesn't want to be home next year. So, WWYD? I keep praying that the Lord will lead him home because I don't want to crush his desire to return to PS next year. As the parent and adult, I feel like he's better off at home but I don't want this child with a hurting heart.

Praying!

I'm on my third EC planner and really like it. Like a PP, I have the three box format for morning, afternoon and evening. I use it as a diary of sorts - on the lines under each day I write my weight, my workout (and distance and pace if it was a run). This year they took out the mini calendar in the left corner of each week and I miss it. They replaced it with a blank "Thankful thought" box, which I think intentional gratitude is important, but the calendar was super helpful to me rather than toggling back and forth. I've heard good things about Plum Paper but haven't ordered. I agree the CS at EC is terrible, but they do give you discounts at certain milestone orders (I think 1, 5 and 10), so this last planner was actually free (just had to pay shipping). I like the idea of being able to swap out covers, but then I tell myself that is a wasteful use of money when the cover I have is perfectly good :)

When FIL passed away, it left MIL with a huge bill emotionally of making everything "just right" for him and also a big financial bill (over $15k) and it was modest compared to the choices the funeral home offered. He did purchase a few grave plots many years ago, so that part was settled and paid for and MIL was comforted knowing he was going to be buried where he wanted to be buried. I have told DH I would really like to be cremated - I don't want my family to have the expense, to feel like they need to worry if I "look like myself" or not in a casket and I honestly don't want them to feel a burden or duty to visit my grave. DH has told me he doesn't know if he could be okay with my body being cremated. If visiting a grave would comfort them, then that's what they should do. So, I told him he would need to decide with our children what they want but he knows my wishes ;)

Hi everyone, I know it's been a few weeks since I first posted so I'm coming back with an update :) The good news for him is that he is enjoying school. He knew a few kids in his class and many of the neighborhood kids before he started. Since we were almost done with our homeschool year, he has not had any academic stress and has focused on making friends and socializing lol. I'm still adjusting and struggling with what we are doing next year. I dread Mondays knowing he will be gone so much of the week after having him around on the weekend days. Meanwhile, many of the moms at the bus stop are talking about how they are dreading the summer and so much together time :crying: There have been some things that have really bothered me about public school in general as well as this public school specifically, and I'm trying to decide how big this hill is because he has said he's 50/50 about wanting to go back or stay home next year. We opted him out of one of the standardized tests because the materials they had the students use for review had some historical "editing" and that doesn't sit well with me. I'm praying throughout the day every day that the Lord will lead him home for next year because I feel that is the best environment for him. I'm seeing it through adult eyes and considering the great education, family time and overall flexibility we have homeschooling him. He's seeing it through his eyes of feeling like he's finding his people and he hasn't had quite enough time yet at public school. Even though he seems happy when he comes home, the fighting between him and my oldest has really escalated. I know I'm the adult and parent so really DH and I get the final decision, but I love him more than my love of homeschooling and his heart is important to me. Sigh....plus I feel pressure because they want teacher "input" letters by next week for next year and I have payments due in July for HS classes I had already enrolled him in for next year. So, thanks again for the words of advice and experiences. I will probably update one more time once we figure next year out. Please pray for us all to have wisdom and discernment in making this choice!

I think it's great you and DH have worked together on a list of boundaries, but I agree with the previous posters not to share the list with ILs. Yes, I think DH needs to make it clear TODAY that you will not move or live with them, but the rest of it you and DH need to draw the boundary as it comes up (and hold that boundary) and not just give them so much power up front. While MIL may not consider your family, you and your DH can do whatever works best for you and DH - any time, any season. MIL may not like it but that's on her. In my mind, people with boundary issues are a lot like toddlers and you can't give a toddler a list of 10 things up front to be respected. They will forget it or push it as soon as they have another whim...three seconds after you've laid out your list :)

Good luck! I hope it goes well and your presentation is on the mark!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and sharing your experiences. I am mourning and struggling with not burdening DS with my emotions because i really want this to be his experience. I think I'm also struggling with knowing his expectations of what school is (i.e. he thought Social Studies was socialization time, lol) are off and worried how that will play out for him. Big deep breath...he starts tomorrow. I will post an update after his first few days.

A few friends rave about Not Your Daughters Jeans (NYDJ). They are $ but can often find them at Nordstrom Rack for a reasonable price. I've also heard Jag jeans are great.

I've been a long time lurker but this is my first post. I promise I'm not a troll :) I've really enjoyed reading the threads and wisdom on this board and have researched many curriculum choices based on feedback here. We've been homeschooling for 7 years, and my kids have never been to ps but that will change for us this week and I'm really struggling. Recently, my middle child has been feeling very lonely and felt strongly about trying public school. We live in a neighborhood where he plays with neighborhood kids almost every day and he plays sports year round. The motivation surprised me, to be honest, but my oldest (who is 12) has had a lot of sleep overs and activities with his best buddy and I think that has made my middle child more lonely even though he's often around other kids. He feels like he is missing out. He is 10 and since he has felt so certain he wants to try school, he is going to start this week to try the last two months. I had hs plans for him with a co-op and class in the fall, so our thinking is that these two months will give him a taste of what school is like so we can make a decision over the summer where to start in the fall and stick with it. I'm just really....sad. I'm sad about not having him around during the day, not having that part of our relationship, etc. I don't think ps is bad, but I have really loved homeschooling my kids. I do want to honor his wish to try school though, so here we go. My oldest said he really likes being homeschooled and plans to continue. My youngest isn't school age yet, but I plan to homeschool when he is in K. To be honest, I want my middle to have a positive experience with ps but I am praying he is lead back home. I guess what I'm looking for is if anyone could share any similar experiences and how it turned out? Thank you :)