For me, my daughters, and at least one son, this flu has turned into bronchitis. We haven't been this sick in years. If you haven't caught this flu yet (hopefully you won't), check out this link from WebMD. You'll discover what distinguishes a cold from the flu, and how flu symptoms in infants, toddlers, and young children can be different from the symptoms an adult might experience.

If you think your flu may have progressed into bronchitis, check out this page to make sure. You will also find valuable information on determining if your bronchitis has progressed into pneumonia--something not to take lightly.

Know your symptoms, know your children's symptoms. If something doesn't "feel right," it probably isn't. Never hesitate to call your doctor. You can at least talk to the nurse about the symptoms you or your child are experiencing.

I, personally, am a big fan of using aromatherapy in easing the symptoms of colds, the flu, and bronchitis--and a host of other ailments. Here is a portion of an email I sent to family and friends yesterday outlining just what I'm doing for us:

I'm pretty sure we have bronchitis now, and am realizing Jesse had it first. Not sure if Joel did -- may have, since he's still coughing (he was the first of all of us to get sick, and has been great about helping the rest of us now that we've gotten it). So, first the flu, now this.

Erica and I have the worst of the cough right now. Bethany is coughing, too, though, and I know it really scares her. She was having a tough time tonight, but was able to cough up a lot of junk and then calmed right down. ("Icky!" was her word for it...) We're all (except Joel) still running low fevers, achy, have occasional chills, etc.

Joel is pretty much all better now, just coughing a bit, but Jesse still has a nasty cough. So...I made him a chest rub with Sweet Almond Oil (for a carrier), and 2 drops each of eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils. Erica and I are also using the same rub, along with some lavender essential oil. She and I are also using heat packs placed over the oils on our chests/necks, which really seems to be helping with the coughing and chest pain. If Bethany's cough gets worse, I'll make a VERY diluted rub for her, and will probably sit and watch a movie with her to distract her from me holding the heat pack to her chest (not too hot, of course).

Also have the humidifier going for the girls -- it has a fan on it to blow out steam mixed with eucalyptus, tea tree, and lavender oils. Lavender is an antiviral and antispasmodic.

Just thought I'd share my routine with the essential oils and heat in case this stuff hits any of you. Also drinking lots of herbal tea with honey. "Throat Coat" with echinacea is a good one. (Everything I mentioned is available at Fred Meyer in the natural foods department.)

I must say I DO NOT recommend the use of essential oils on children under 6, unless used in very diluted amounts, and you must know what you're doing. Do some research before using, and you'll discover wonderful aromatherapy "recipes" for bath oils, chest rubs, diffusers, and the like. Two authors I highly recommend are Valerie Genari-Cooksley and Maggie Tisserand. Information can also be found online, of course.

It's amazing how "the crud" can disrupt your life. My family has come down with the flu. First, my oldest son, Joel (almost 16 years old), began feeling sick after coming home from the youth group's winter camp (it was a Friday through Sunday thing, Feb. 1-3). Several of his friends attended the camp while ill. Why can't people keep their sick kids home? But I digress.

After feeling "iffy" (not sure if he was sick or not) for about a week, it hit him pretty hard. He felt lousy for several more days. Then it hit my second son (almost 14 years old). He started off feeling "iffy" as well, and on Valentine's Day became very sick. Actually, my 12 year-old daughter did, too, the same day, but her sickness hit her without warning. They were both very ill, and also vomiting, which tells me we've also been visited by the stomach flu. Jesse didn't stop throwing up until I gave him some Benedryl. (Try that! Obstetricians prescribe antihistamines to women all the time for morning sickness. I used children's liquid Benedryl with Jesse -- the liquid is absorbed so much faster than a pill. Okay, okay...check with your doctor first.)

They're all trying to get better, but it's a struggle. They're still coughing, and Jesse was still running a fever today. And now it's official: Bethany and I are sick, too, as of today. We're stuffy and running fevers of our own.

So, if you've missed me, now you know where I've been!

This nasty flu has also kept us from taking part in the bird counting thing that Cornell University was doing. If you and your kids participated, post a comment and let me know how it went, what birds you saw, etc. I'd love to hear about it.

In the meantime, I will look at this flu as a chance to get caught up on my reading: books, magazines, and of course, the blogs here on HSB.

Stay well!

Just wanted to drop by for a quick moment and let you all know I'm still here. I have friends I'd love to get back to, blogs to catch up on, and posts to write, but haven't been able to do much of anything lately other than trudge through each day.

I have fibromyalgia and over the past month have had at least four flare-ups (I'm in the middle of number four right now). They usually start at my neck and shoulders and spread north and south from there. On my worst days, I can hurt all the way down to my feet. If you've never experienced fibromyalgia, I'm not sure how to describe it other than it's like your entire body having a tension headache (maybe that doesn't sound too bad, but my tension headaches have always been bad). Sometimes it feels like a body-wide migraine. I usually have one awful peak day where I can't function (and don't even try to drive), and a few days afterward during which I try to recover.

Keep me in your prayers, pulllease! I'm so tired of living like this.

On an upward note, Lonnie's been going in every couple of months for tests (to make sure his cancer, multiple myeloma, isn't acting up), and his latest round came back looking good. Some of the proteins they look for had even gone down in number this time. We're always glad to get results like these.

I'll be back to posting when I'm feeling better, hopefully within the next few days (I'm not going to push it, though). Have a wonderful week.

I feel like I've just given birth. The baby is our new school year and I really had to fight and push (and beg for an epidural) to bring it into the world. Summer was so busy for us that I couldn't collect my thoughts enough to put our schedules together until this past weekend.

Today had already been designated as our first day of school, so if I was going to get the schedules made up, it had to be done this last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was do or die. Make it or break it. Now or never.

If you're as old as me, you'll remember Murphy, whoever he is, of "Murphy's Law" fame who said, "If anything can go wrong, it will." Some people believe that if you expect things to go wrong they will, and there may be some truth to that, but I was expecting everything to go right!

So here I am, getting ready for my marathon scheduling weekend, and she comes over. You know her (she's pestered you, too) -- it's Aunt Flo. That angry woman walks in my door on Friday and starts hitting me in the head with her purse! And then she starts in on my back and hips (she must carry bricks in that thing), and before long, I'm hurting all over. I took a Tylenol with codeine that night, but I was still aching. She stopped with the pounding, but then hung around me so much all weekend that her incredibly bad mood rubbed off on me, too. I tell you, I got so tired of listening to her that I got foggy-headed and couldn't think (though that may have been from the headache she gave me). I'm hoping that someday she'll forget my address, though it probably won't be any time soon ("See you next month, Auntie..."). Ugh.

Yet I trudged on all weekend, typing up those schedules, and on Sunday night my back went into painful spasms. I kept it up, though, right through Monday, and even today. At last, I'm almost done typing all those little words into those irritating little boxes. The finish line is in sight.

We went ahead and started with what we had, and I think the day went fairly well. Staying up past 1 a.m. as I worked on those things really put a crimp in my plans to get up and make a good back-to-school-at-home breakfast, but maybe I can do that tomorrow.

So...the school year's been "born" and I can relax a little. And, yes, I will be nursing (the schedule, that is -- tweaking it, I mean).

Every once in a while, we all get a wake-up call. We got one last week that felt like an air-raid siren.

Last week, while my 15 year-old son was at camp, he came very close to drowning. This was his second year at this camp, and each year they've had this thing called "The Blob" a ways off shore. It's a big inflatable, and the object is for one kid at a time to sit on The Blob, and someone heavier jumps onto it from whatever it is they jump from, and the smaller kid goes flying into the lake. It would cause most of us to age another 10 years, but the kids love it.

Joel was trying to swim out to it so that he could have his own turn flying through the air and then experiencing the pain of smacking into the water. He decided to "take the long way," but about 10 feet from the inflatable began feeling his chest constricting and was having a very hard time breathing. He also began to lose the ability to move his limbs. His friends called to the lifeguard, who apparently didn't think he was in enough distress to warrant a rescue. She turned away (yes, she really did), and Joel's friend, Connor, who isn't the strongest swimmer, either, jumped into the water to save him. He made it out to Joel and pulled him back to the dock. It took Joel awhile before he was breathing properly, but eventually was just fine.

I didn't find out about this until he came home Friday, and tried very hard not to freak out in front of him. So many things went through my mind at once: God is good; God has a plan for Joel; I almost lost my son; good Lord, we almost got "the call" that every parent dreads...etc.

All I know is that our son was given back to us, and it is only by God's mercy. What if Connor hadn't seen Joel? What if no one had? Needless to say, Connor has earned a very special place in our hearts, and always will have it, for what he did. A side note: Joel and Connor were born at the same hospital within 2 days of each other.

And yes, the camp will be hearing from me about that lifeguard. I should have called sooner, I know, but Bethany's been sick all week, and terribly clingy.

I took Joel to the doctor yesterday to ask about his symptoms, and we were told he has "exercise-induced asthma." Dr. Anderson said it's quite common; in fact, he sees about 2 cases of it per week in his office. Even some Olympic athletes have it, he said. He gave Joel 2 inhalers, though he said just one of them will probably last him the rest of his life (they're 200 uses each). Joel is supposed to use it if he knows he'll be exerting himself, whether it's jogging around the block, wrestling with his brother, or swimming out to The Blob.

Right now he's on his mission trip. Please keep him and the whole group in your prayers.

A few weeks ago I'd written a couple of posts about the crisis point we'd come to in our homeschooling. If you saw them, you'll remember they were called "Transparency Part One" and "...Part Two". I later made them visible only to me because I felt I'd gotten a little too personal, and a few of the things I said might have been embarassing to a couple of people in my family. Since I have to live with them, and they with me, I "hid" the posts. They are there for my eyes only, to remind me of that low point: I don't ever want to find myself there again.

Have you ever bounced? Maybe thudded? I'm referring to how we respond to the crises in our lives. When God allows us, for one reason or another, to hit rock bottom, what do we do once we find ourselves there? I used to be a thudder. In other words, I'd hit rock bottom, all right...with a thud! This time I decided on another approach: bouncing. Not wanting to stay in the pit, I decided to learn what my heavenly Father had been trying to teach me and head straight back up. I feel like I'm still on that upward journey, and am looking forward to soaring!

If you are one of the happy many who missed my recent meltdown, here it is in a nutshell: My older son decided he no longer wanted to be homeschooled. He wanted to go to a real school; he wanted time with his friends and, he confided to his father, he was concerned about his education.

I'll be honest, this hit me very hard. I found myself reeling, feelings hurt, stunned. But I had to be honest and see that God's hand was in this. He'd been speaking to me about this very thing for a long time, but I'd been in denial. I think I had it in my head that "somehow" everything would just fall in to place, come together as if by magic, and my son would find himself educated excellently, diploma in hand, and thanking me profusely for doing such a good job.

Ha.

The truth is that homeschooling takes work. Not just on the part of the student, but mostly on the part of the teaching parent. True, our kids, by the time they're in highschool, should be well on their way to being verified life-long learners, and eventually mostly self-taught (because they know how to use resources and find information for themselves). But even truer is the fact that most kids need to be taught how to be self-teachers, and to have that life-long love of learning instilled in them from their earliest years (or as early as possible).

Once I took the first step of realizing that the Lord was using this situation to speak loudly to me (after I'd ignored His softer warnings for so long), I took the next step:

I looked at the situation honestly and took responsibility for my own failings...and it's been great!

More to come!

I've been meaning to write on this for a while, and if I hadn't been hit with this wonderful mastitis I would have before now.

About three weeks ago, I was blindsided by a severe bout of depression. The second week was the worst of the two. My personal opinion regarding depression is that it can have just one cause, but often can also be the result of several different things. I could have made an entire list about what I believed was causing my depression. For starters, Bethany was getting her molars and, since she was getting very little sleep, I was getting even less. On top of the sleep deprivation, I was missing my husband, who'd been gone on two different business trips during those two weeks. He was gone about 10 out of those 14 days. I was also feeling like a failure as my kids' teacher. Financial stress was another brick in the depression wall. Beyond that, though, I just knew something wasn't right. It felt out of my control. The other things can be remedied: sleep deprivation eventually goes away, my husband is home now, the schooling will get better (this is, after all, a season), and finances can be worked out. 

Something else was wrong. But what?

The day after my husband got home from his second trip, I was shopping with my kids. Fred Meyer has a great nutrition section (though I wish they'd make it bigger). I'd been praying that day that the Lord would help me to "snap out" of the depression. He knew what the underlying cause was, and He knew what needed to be done to fix it. I prayed again for help as I was walking by the vitamins. At that moment, I looked over, and a bottle of B-12 caught my eye. It was the sublingual lozenge form (dissolves in your mouth, preferably under the tongue), and each tablet was 1,000 micrograms. It was a good price, so I bought it.

When I got home, I did some research online and found that a deficiency in B-12 can cause depression (among other things). It can also cause anemia, as B-12 is necessary for red blood cell production. I read that, as a treatment for depression, I could take two of these tablets for one week, then reduce that to one tablet a day.

I took two, and the next day my depression was gone! It's been gone ever since. I've been taking two a day since then (I began this last Monday), but will now be taking just one daily.

I'm not saying this is a cure-all for depression, but it's what worked for me. Many of us homeschooling moms deal with depression that can, at times, be debilitating. We don't have to live with it! If you're living with depression, look into what may be going causing it, and take steps to remedy it.

If a deficiency in the B vitamins (B-12 in particular), strikes a chord with you, do some research online. It may be just what you need (by all means, if you're not sure, please check with your doctor first). Above all, ask your Heavenly Father for help. He knows what makes you tick, and He knows all the circumstances of your life. He's so ready to help; all you need to do is ask Him for it. Why suffer with it any longer?

For the past two days, we've gotten little schooling done; I've been too wiped out. Two or three days ago, I began having symptoms of a breast infection (mastitis). It started with pain, then I began hurting all over. My first thought, since I've had the pain before but was able to get it to go away with nursing, was that I was in the throes of another fibromyalgia flare-up. I soon began to hurt in my soft tissues (back, legs and arms, but not the joints), which can happen with fibro, but it soon got worse and began to feel like the flu. The pain was increasing, too, and by this morning it had spread under my arm.

I actually went to bed last night at 10:30 because I was so fatigued, which was very nice since I usually am up past midnight. But I was so wiped out, and so sick, that I prayed the Lord would keep Bethany asleep all night (she still hasn't quite gotten the knack of that). It was amazing -- she slept until 5:45! The Lord knows what we need, doesn't He? I couldn't imagine having to get up to nurse her in the middle of the night, sick as I was. I did wake up on my own at 3, though, with a headache, fever, and chills. Got back to sleep around 4 something, woke back up at 5:45 with Miss Bethany. I nursed her, laid her back down, and was able to sleep again until about 7 when I woke up drenched with sweat.

I've never had mastitis, but it is miserable. Common, I know, but miserable. I'm on antibiotics now, so I'm hoping and praying that they'll kick in fairly quickly.

Next stop: weaning!!! Maybe.

My daughter sent me a questionnaire tonight via email. Yes, we live in the same house and send each other emails. It's fun.

I thought I would share my reply to one of the questions. It sums up our daily life in a nutshell. More on that later. Here's my answer. Ever have a day like this? Or days?

7. What do usually do on a school day?

Think about teaching my kids, break up arguments, think about teaching my kids, calm down my youngest one, think about teaching my kids, carry my youngest one around with me everywhere, think about teaching my kids, ask the older ones to watch the youngest so I can get SOMETHING done, think about teaching my kids, give up and go make dinner.

Did you know that sometimes it's okay to just start over, to make a u-turn? We are having to do just that with my oldest son's math curriculum.

He has been using Saxon Algebra 1/2 since September. A few of my friends are big fans of Saxon, so I figured it must be good. They raved about it, and about the D.I.V.E. CD-roms that can be purchased to supplement the curriculum. (These CD-roms feature a tutor explaining how to work particular problems, using the computer screen as a whiteboard of sorts.)

To make a long story short, Saxon and Joel just didn't mesh. I was confused, thinking, "This is supposed to be like pre-algebra, right? It's not even Saxon's Algebra 1, so what's the problem?" And without a teacher's guide, I felt even more at a loss.

Then, one day a couple of weeks ago, the heavens parted, the sun came out, and I realized something. It was my lightbulb moment. What if the problem was with Saxon, and not my son? What if the problem was with neither, but was simply that it just didn't fit him? No curriculum is one size fits all. As a wise person once said, "Make sure the book fits the child; don't make the child fit the book."

Boy, I tell you, I felt like Leif Ericsson, setting out on uncharted waters. To give up Saxon?! Isn't that sacrilegious? To shelve it and turn to something else...is that really okay? Oh, you bet your life -- it's more than okay. It's telling my son, "You are so important to me that I'm going to find a math curriculum that will make you shine."

What I chose was Lifepacs Algebra 1, which to me is brilliant. The package arrived today from Christianbook.com and when I opened it and flipped through the workbooks, it was definitely an "Ahhh!" moment for me. The curriculum starts with very elementary review and gradually adds in algebraic principles. I think my son will feel much less pressure with this. Better still, he will like the fact that this is the set Alpha Omega has designated for 9th grade, just where he's at. If I'd gotten him a set that was for say, 8th grade, I would have been in the dog house for quite some time.

So, as you can see, we have jumped the Saxon ship and pulled ourselves up into the Lifepacs lifeboat just as we're about to begin our 2nd semester. Saxon's a good curriculum, it just wasn't good for us. I couldn't teach from it, especially since I couldn't remember (or never learned) many of the principles my son was struggling through.

If one of your children has hit a rough spot in one of their subjects, try to keep an open mind. Maybe it's not your child; maybe it's the book.

I was thinking earlier about my blog, what purpose it serves, and what it's purpose should be. It was clear to me that I'd gotten away from the original plan I had when I first began blogging.

Since my blog is entitled, "Homeschooling Anyway," the original purpose was, of course, to talk about homeschooling anyway, in the face of the various trials and speed bumps that we encounter.

It wasn't quite my intention to sidestep and talk only about light and fluffy things. They have their place, but a blog that is only about silly things when something else was promised quickly fades into obscurity. So, dear readers, I apologize if you've come here looking for encouragement and/or practical advice and found only articles about things completely unrelated to homeschooling inspite of difficulties.

But then, thinking about it, my reasoning for getting away from discussing the more serious things (like teaching my children) is definitely related to everything we've been facing. Frankly, I'm tired. We've had our share of trials these past few years, and they're not over yet, not until my husband gets a clean bill of health. This blog, and using it to write about the fluff inside the pillow of life, has been an outlet, and like I said the other day, therapy. I know that more than one of you know what I'm talking about. You need something else to focus on besides all the heavy stuff, or you'll end up in a dark corner somewhere blowing raspberries. Not that I've done that, of course.

So, I won't promise that you won't come here someday in the future and find a completely meaningless post that a very rummy me wrote at 2 in the morning, but I do purpose to stick more closely to the true intent of this blog.

That being said, do you have an outlet that you use to get your mind off of the more serious side of life? What is it? Some of mine are shopping clearance sales (yes, really), tole painting, making and framing scrapbook pages (I'll try to remember to post a picture of the huge one I made for my husband's birthday), and playing games like Blokus and Apples to Apples with my kids (two very fun games; get them if you haven't yet). So, do tell: What is your "therapy"?

I so appreciated reading an article that came today in one of the Crosswalk homeschooling newsletters. I'm including a link to it here because it so fits with the theme of my blog: Homeschooling Anyway. Paula Moldenhauer has written this excellent piece, titled "Homeschooling Against All Odds". She also has a website, which you can go to if you'd like to read more of her work. I've become an instant fan! You may also sign up to receive her weekly encouragement via email.