Easy peasy! 22/22.

endorphins?

The main thing I can think of is how hard that might be on your feet. When we moved to this house, which has tile on the main floor, my feet were killing me within a day or two. I have to keep "house shoes" now and wear them religiously. If I'm in stocking feet for more than 10 minutes down here, my feet start to hurt. It might also be chilly in winter, but perhaps you could get a generous area rug or two to lay over the concrete in the winter. I do think your husband has a point about the humidity. That is always an issue in your area.

I'm not a fan of pranking. I've only had two pranks played on me, and neither ended well. 1. My husband, then my boyfriend, hid my glasses while I was taking a nap. I was blind as a bat without them--coke-bottle lenses. It was traumatic when I couldn't find them--they were my "life." I was LIVID. Fortunately, he wised up and never did that again. Then, I had LASIK surgery ; ). 2. My freshmen roommates in college wanted to give me a surprise birthday celebration (my birthday is in February). I was a very busy person, so the only plan they could think of was to tell me that my boyfriend (now husband), who was at another college about an hour away, was ill and in the hospital and I needed to come to the dorm to take a call from his parents explaining the situation. That's how they got me to leave my computer lab job and come back to the dorm (This was long before cell phones; I think they might have told my boss so I wouldn't get in trouble for leaving work). Again, I was LIVID. It didn't help that earlier that school year that my boyfriend had been in the hospital twice at his college: 1) brown spider bite from his bed in his freshmen dorm that turned into MRSA and 2) emergency appendectomy--it almost burst and killed him. So, that prank? NOT FUNNY. I ended up making my birthday a state secret for the rest of college. You don't prank me or surprise me. If you do, game over. My husband took pity on me some years later when a group wanted to give me a surprise baby shower. He warned me quietly the day of so that I was prepared for what I was walking into. That way they saved face, and I didn't have a heart attack and feel betrayed that he knew and didn't tell me.

I voted wake same time as children, but mine are older. When they were small, I DEFINITELY had to make sure I was up and showered before they woke or I would never catch up to the day.

Welcome! It's like anything else. You get better at it as you go on, and you acquire the ability to keep more balls in the air. What is crucial is that you do what is right for *your* family. A real-life explanation of my siggy: I don't know if my siggy looks like advanced/tons to you or not, but I can say that I have never been brave enough to try EPGY or ALEKS. I am math-phobic and have always used scripted materials or materials that teach directly to the student. I do the bookwork for science, but my husband has to step in to do experiments, which I loathe on a number of levels. And while the Latin and Greek might look impressive, the Latin has been a patient slog through Memoria Press materials (which are not exciting but very thorough and friendly to the non-Latin-trained parent) and the Greek is through a tutor. I am an English/grammar head, so I enjoy the humanities side of things: creating the WTM-purist courses that integrate history and literature, doing grammar, and overseeing writing. So I tend to spend the bulk of my effort with those and let math and science kind of chug along by the "script."

I haven't had time to read all the responses, but the Tri-Cities area of Washington, IMHO, fits the bill pretty well. We're probably not as diverse as, say, Blacksburg, VA, where we used to live, but it's reasonably diverse. We've had mixed race couples in our church and several families with adopted children of different races and nobody bats an eye. And it's a conservative church, too. Our winters are mild, with 1-2 snow events, and it gets hot in the summer. The eastern part of WA is semi-arid, complete with tumbleweeds. But we've had irrigation here since the 50s, so we have some trees and stuff. And the Columbia and Snake Rivers keep things from being bleak. We moved here from Virginia almost six years ago, and we like it. It is a conservative, family-friendly area, and the homeschooling laws are reasonable. People are generally well-educated. I believe we have one of the highest concentrations of advanced degrees in the state (not as high as Seattle and Redmond, of course). The mechanical engineering program available locally is supposed to be the best in the state.

I *think* the three pre-conference sessions are hers, if I'm understanding a vague reference made in the plenary. I think they were probably her three talks on writing (one for each stage). But I haven't double-checked this yet . . .

Well, but remember that she gets hundreds of books from the W&M library for each project. She doesn't own them all.

LOL!

If you are really pressed for time, I would offer to PAY HIM for each lego kit he can put in a gallon (or two-gallon ziploc). Then I would dump the rest together into a box with no guilt. However, unless you have a tote that latches securely, you might want to line the box with a clear trash bag so that individual legos don't keep falling out during the move process. If I had a little time, I would sit with him and sort them, for as long as I could stand it. Then I would dump the rest in a tote.

Hilarious! Thanks for posting.

I think it's the bolded, above. I think people are way too prone to throw out a "we should get together" and not follow through. It's just too bad that many people do not live "their word is their bond" anymore.

One*mom, The Great Courses used to be called The Teaching Company.

Bwah-ha-ha. I feel like a drug dealer who just got someone hooked (in a good, Christian way, of course). I was involved in bringing one*mom and the course together, and I think it's going to be a long and happy relationship.

I'm with your DD on this one. I would be livid too. The below 5 crowd doesn't need soda At. All.

Yes, that would have been precious to witness. :D "Bless her heart."

Post-it flags tend to have stickier stuff than the post-it notes, I think. They are also smaller. I find that they work better. If they lose their stickiness, we just replace them. I just keep them handy in my desk and the children come ask for a new one. Works for us.

Well said, FaithManor. This is wise counsel, I think.

LOL, FaithManor, you have no idea how right you are!!! I truly pity da fool who would say this to one*mom in person! That poor woman is lucky one*mom didn't do her famous spider-stomp on her. One*mom is kind of like remudamom, in a good way, but she is definitely a force of nature to be reckoned with and not somebody to be patronized. Good for you, one*mom, for holding your tongue! (But you're cute anyway.) :auto:

Honestly, with the passive-aggressive things you have previously reported, I believe: 1) You are probably right that it was directed at you, particularly if you are the "only" "younger" family not doing VBS. 2) Trying to confront either the pastor or the elder Biblically will not work and will make it worse. I truly believe that it is time for you to look for another church, unless you are willing to withstand the pressure cooker like Jean said. I wouldn't even write a letter.

Unfortunately, this is fairly common : (. I agree that it might be nice to send your sister a brief card like Betty suggested. And yes, even though it is common, it still s*cks.

I missed it sorely, although I did get some lesson planning done. It felt like the whole "internet" was down--that's how much time I spend here.

Cheer up, it could be worse. She could have called HR and said to be sure to tell your husband to call his mother. Ask me how I know. Sigh. (This happened to my husband, a post-40yo with a doctorate. Nice. This incident did NOT get his name and phone number off the company website (grrrr), but this and the associated phone-bombing of his office phone at least got him a unit with caller ID.) So, I. Get. It. Down to the shocked even though she did what you expected. I'm very sorry this happened to you. I'm so glad Wolf gets it too, and I bet he will handle this really well. You guys are a great team!

LOL, I've found out about many a major news event on here. No network TV here.