We're praying here. We have friends with a family connection to this man, so it's been more personal.

You know, I"m not sure. The soaked oats make them very soft. I haven't ever tried. It sounds delicious though--go for it! :drool:

Well, these definitely aren't sticky, although that's because they have so much oil in them! They are so yummy though. It's my aunt's recipe, and you can tell it's old because the original recipe called for "melted shortening". Aunt Claire's Oatmeal Muffins 1 c. rolled oats 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup veg. oil 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg beaten 1 cup flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder Combine the oats and buttermilk in a large bowl; soak for at least 30 minutes. Combine dry ingredients in small bowl. Add oil, brown sugar, and beaten egg to soaked oats and milk mixture. Blend thoroughly. Stir in dry ingredients; mix only to moisten. [i use muffin liners in my pans.] Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

What textbook is she using for class? The Campbell and Reece Biology one is very good prep. She can find reading questions for each chapter here at this link. Working through the text with these reading questions will go a long way. Another good resource are the Bozeman AP biology videos here. Sometimes it helps to see someone explain concepts, and Mr. Andersen is good at it. The best test prep book is Preparing for the AP Biology Exam School Edition. It really prepares the students for the redesigned test. It is aligned with Campbell and Reece, but you could certainly use it with other textbooks. My review is the first one, so you can see what I said about it on amazon!

This was us back in May. Our (11 years) old Frigidaire side-by side gave up the ghost right before my side of the family were all scheduled to come here to visit. Dh and I researched and read everything we could, and our big conclusion was: refrigerators suck now. If you can get it to last more than 4-5 yrs, and with only a few repairs in that time, you're doing really well. Every single fridge gets a ton of craptastic reviews, and most of the good ones come from people who have just had it a few weeks or months. I had really hoped to get a French door fridge, but we ended up just getting basically the exact same Frigidaire side by side fridge. It was just so much cheaper, and I couldn't see spending a ton of money for something that was pretty much guaranteed to break often and only last a few years. I was literally depressed looking at it for the first few weeks though! I was so looking forward to a more conveniently laid out fridge! So I think you're hosed no matter what you pick. Sorry. :thumbdown: :tongue_smilie:

I found one already! Thanks to everyone who messaged me as well! I knew someone must have one! :001_smile:

Has anyone used BJU chemistry 3rd edition and happen to have an extra test answer key lying around? When I last taught this class 4 years ago, we used the DIVE tests, and I did . . . something clever, I'm sure . . . with the answer key I got with the BJU homeschooling package of teacher's books, etc. for the class. It's not anywhere obvious, anyhow, grrr. And now it's no longer in print because there's a newer edition out, which will be fine the next time I teach the class, but for this year, everyone in my class has already bought the old edition book and test packet! (Why would they still be selling the tests on Rainbow if you can't get the answer key??) Gah . . . can it just be May already?!? Anyway, if anyone did have a 3rd edition answer key, I would love to buy it from you. I didn't put this on the sale board because I have no idea how to navigate that thing, and this is such a needle in a haystack thing, there probably is no chance of finding just an answer key over there anyway!

Fish oil is a really good idea! I take 2 every day. Dh's family does have some history--his dad and one of his older brothers had heart attacks at 50 that they recovered from, and I think high cholesterol may have had a part in that (his family doesn't really discuss stuff like that, unfortunately for the rest of us). Dh's is also a little high--but he's over 50, a little overweight , and no longer in the best of shape, so that's not as surprising!

I took my 11 and 10 year old daughters in for physicals the end of August at our local military hospital, which is a teaching hospital. The doc said that now they are doing a blood panel for 10-12 year olds now, so both girls had blood draws. The doc called back a few days later to say that DD11 had a "slightly elevated" LDL level, but it was probably because she hadn't fasted before the test. So we came back in and had a fasting blood draw. The doc called back today to say that her level was still "very slightly" elevated--"just over the top end of normal". She doesn't need medicine, but she has to go back in 2 months for another blood draw. I've been googling how to lower LDL levels for girls, and nothing seems like it would help. She is 4 ft. 9 inches and 80 pounds, which is a BMI of about 17. She swims on the swim team, runs cross country, plays basketball, and until this past spring has been competing in gymnastics. She is definitely not a couch potato, and she is really fit and strong. She eats very healthy--we rarely eat any fast food, we don't fry stuff or eat much processed food. I cook every night, with lots of whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables. We don't eat lots of sugary snacks, mainly fruit. I can't see that she needs to overhaul her diet or anything, and I don't know that she really can exercise anymore, or that that would even be healthy. I'm really stumped. Does anyone have any ideas on how to lower this LDL level? I don't actually have the number, unfortunately. I confess to wondering if they are making a mountain out of a molehill, because sometimes that is what htis particular hospital seems to do, but on the other hand, if she is going to have cholesterol problems, I definitely want to head it off immediately! My other daughter's levels were fine. Thanks!

Ha, one of my facebook friends got those same booties in her last box! She didn't want to spend $109 on them, so she looked on amazon and found them there for $44.99 and in colors she and her daughter liked better. I guess those olive booties are Stitch Fix's fall bootie of choice!

Yay, it's all solved up!! I'm so happy! It turns out it was a mistake in my email address from when I registered. Our old keyboard had gotten really bad about sticking, and that is what happened. I had been trying to be really careful, but obviously this time an extra number slipped by. We got a new keyboard not too long after this flurry of registering, and I never thought about it again. I hope this is the only account that got messed up by a typo! Who knows what else I may be missing and just not realizing?! :tongue_smilie: I had 2 people from WHA following up with me, so that was really great. One said that they hadn't gotten back to me on Monday because they are just swamped right now, which I totally understand. I'm feeling that way too, lol. My son got his canvas account all set up, and I think we are ready to meet the teacher tomorrow! Just in time--whew! I can't tell you how relieved I am that this is all worked out. I should sleep well tonight! I'm really excited about this class for DS. Eric Reini and I went to the same college during the same time and were math majors together, so that is a fun connection! Thank you all so much for all the help! I really appreciate it!

It is Mr. Reini, and I did try the forget password link. We never got an email back (for ds's email address or mine either), so I think that means there is no account for us or anything. :( I still have no idea where we went wrong. April is such a blur, and registered so many kids for so many classes in so many different places, that I can't keep any of them straight as far as what platforms they use or what I did to register. I must have not done something I was supposed to do after paying? I don't know. So frustrating! I did send an email to the headmaster, and he immediately responded to me by forwarding it to someone else who will hopefully be able to help us tomorrow. I'm just so glad it dawned on me that something was wrong now as opposed to this weekend! :ohmy:

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! Yeah, when I realized we had heard absolutely nothing, I knew something was not right. Ahh . . . nothing like a little last minute panic to liven up the last few days of summer . . .

I signed my sophomore up for Algebra 2 with WHA on April 6. I have a transaction receipt email to prove it, and I did later get an email from them with the class book list attached. But I've never gotten any other information, like about how to access the class or anything. I only really realized this yesterday, when I told my son to get on WHA and figure out if he had everything downloaded that he needed, and he had no clue how to "get on" there. I tried to access the parent account I surely set up when I registered, but it said there was no account under my (only) email address. :confused1: I contacted WHA through the contact form on their website, and I got an auto-response yesterday, but nothing at all today. I'm trying to just be mildly concerned, and I know I should have been more on the ball as far as realizing we hadn't gotten anything else from them, but well, that is how my summer has gone. Balls have been dropped. Sigh. Should I have been getting other emails? Does WHA usually respond to emails from their contact form? Is there a better way to contact them? Thanks! UPDATE: It's all solved up! Two people got back to me. It was a mistake in my email address from when I registered, because we had a wonky keyboard at that time that randomly stuck. We have since replaced the keyboard, and hopefully this is the only account messed up from it! Now we are all set, and DS is ready for the Meet the Teacher time tomorrow. Thanks for all the help!

Picture #10, one of the living area with the weird stone fireplace, looks to me like a campus common area in a newly built student center. Especially the weird rails at the landings.

We're military, so kids under the same sponsor each have a number (01, 02, 03, etc.) in the military healthcare system. When we had our 10th baby, the young tech who was doing paperwork snickered to another tech, "Ha, someone switched around the numbers and put 10 instead of 01!" He was a little embarrassed when I told him no, it wasn't entered wrong as 10, lol.

I just have to add--when we're out with just 4 of our kids, my kids all say things like, "Look, now we're a small family!" Perspective . . . :lol:

We have 10, so I've gotten plenty of comments as well, although much less now that the older kids are well, older, and I rarely have everyone with me at one time. When I was pregnant with #10 3 years ago, I was by myself at the grocery store. Someone in line asked, "So, is this your first?" When I told her it was my 10th, she about fell over! My favorite time was when I was pregnant with my 5th. My first 4 were boys, and we were going through the checkout line at Walmart. The cashier sort of glanced at me and asks, casually, "So, do you make a lot of money with that?" I was like, "Ummm . . . . with what, exactly?" because I couldn't figure out how I was making money by being at Walmart. She says, "Daycare" I was so astonished that someone would just assume that 4 little boys (who look a lot a like) would be a daycare, especially with a mom who is visibly pregnant again! So funny. Our 5th child was our first girl, and I told DH that we better have at least one more, or the boys would have to suffer through hearing, "At least you finally got your girl!" all their lives. I got pregnant with #6 when #5 was 4 months old. People did make that comment all the time, but I was able to say, "And we can't wait to see what this next one is!" That definitely shut them up, lol. It really bothers me that people will make comments like that IN FRONT OF THE KIDS. Do they expect me to say, "Yes, we have suffered through these last 3 boys in the desperate hope of getting a treasured girl, and now FINALLY! No more disappointment!"?!? :confused1: Good grief. I always tried to really affirm to these rude strangers how much we loved and appreciated all the boys God gave us, but it was awkward, and I was always highly irritated. But like I said, now we are hardly ever all out together anymore, but even when I just have say, the younger 6 out, we still get comments, like, "Are these ALL yours?!" And then I definitely say, "All these, plus 4 more!" :lol:

I sent out a "summer assignment" for my AP chem kids that I found online from some school distance. It covers the first 3 Zumdahl chapters, and it included practice for naming compounds, stoichiometry, and other concepts from those chapters. Plus they're supposed to memorize the polyatomic ions. We'll officially start with chapter 4 the Tuesday after Labor Day. I'm starting the kids in *my* house tomorrow though! We need to get back into a good routine at home before co-ops start!

Right, that's why I went ahead and paid her. She definitely didn't write it down back in June in front of me or anything, or even ask me a date I was thinking of, to make sure or anything. That's why I thought I had left it open-ended, and that I would text when I wanted to start again.

Boy, this sounds like a very good read on the situation! I definitely don't think she had any bad intentions; it was definitely a misunderstanding and lack of clear communication, and the different language/culture thing just made it worse. But like you said, I'm sure she's gone on her merry way and not given this a second thought, while I have cogitated over it all day, trying to recall my exact wording from June, lol. And I guess I really am not comfortable being the boss (except with my own kids!), so maybe a cleaning lady is not right for me. I really do need the help though. I will still have 8 kids at home this school year, and I'm teaching physical science, chemistry, and AP chemistry for our co-op this year, as well as working on reading with 2 of my younger kids, trying to keep my girls on track with math, teaching my 15 year old to drive, and all the other stuff that has to happen/be taught/etc. . . . Gah!!

No, no, she doesn't have a house key! Our front door is usually unlocked during the day because we have older kids who come and go as they please. They like to run in the mornings, or have early dual-enrollment classes during the school year, or whatever, so my husband unlocks the front door when he leaves, and then it stays unlocked mostly throughout the day. People are always around! The cleaning lady is used to just coming in and saying hello, which is what she did today. Startled the crap out of me though when I realized it wasn't my oldest son! But then I was very much on the defensive, feeling all discombobulated and surprised!

We had a cleaning lady (plus her helper) come every 2 weeks starting the end of March (first time ever for this). In the beginning of June, I told her at the end of the cleaning that we needed to take a break for the summer. We were going to be having company as well as traveling, plus we are trying to paint/rearrange rooms upstairs now that we will have our oldest 2 sons in college. In my mind, I was thinking I'd text her in August sometime about when I wanted her to start back up. Well, my dh was never thrilled with them. He felt like they missed things (which I never noticed, honestly), but more importantly, they broke random small things weirdly. For example, one of them while cleaning our wall ovens, somehow pressed some combination of buttons that turned the clock to military time (so the afternoon hours are 1300, etc), and we have not been able to get it back, no matter what we press. Another time, when one was cleaning our main floor sink, she pushed the drain plug thing down so hard that it came off the little thing that raises it up and down, so no water drained. My dh had to remove the pipe under the sink to push it back up again! Stuff like that--not malicious, but we find little things later, and it makes my dh really mad, and me really stressed, lol. So in talking with him this summer, we were thinking that we wouldn't have them come back. I was going to text her after we got both sons off to college to say that right now, our finances are tight, so we need to not have a cleaning lady for awhile (definitely true!). So this morning, I was getting ready to go on a walk at 8:15, when the front door opened. To my utter surprise, it was the cleaning lady and her helper! She came in saying, "Ohhh, I see you forget about me" because the house is a disaster area, lol. We're preparing to leave tomorrow to take DS2 to college, and getting ready for the cleaning lady has been the last thing on my mind! I hemmed and hawed awkwardly, apologizing for the house, and saying it really was NOT going to work for them to clean today. She suggested that they clean upstairs while I pick up the main floor, but really, just NO! We have suitcases and laundry everywhere, plus a big rubbermaid tub of stuff for DS--it's a mess! She kept saying, "Well, what we going to do now??", while I kept repeating that today was not going to work. She said that I had told her back in the beginning of June not to come in June because of company and July because of travel, but that I wanted her to start again in August, so she had written down my name on the first Wednesday in August. I really can't remember exactly what I said (and clearly I wasn't clear?!) but I was definitely thinking the end of August I would contact her to tell her when to come back, after we had gotten the boys off to college, and school was starting again. I never dreamed she would just show up without checking with me! SO what ended up happening--she told me I needed to pay her half of the amount for next time today, and then the rest when she came back in September to clean the next time. I wrote the check, because by that time I was really feeling awkward, but I have no intention of letting her come back anymore, because it was all just so weird! I'm going to wait a week and then text her what I was originally planning to write, considering what I paid her today as a severance or something. Like I said before, this is my first experience having a regular cleaning lady. A casual friend of mine recommended her when I had posted on FB that I was looking for someone. I was wanting to get estimates from a few different people that had been recommended, but this lady came over the next day, told me what it would cost, and said she would come back the next day (Wednesday), so I just went with her because it was easy, and I don't like conflict, lol. With pretty much anyone around here, since I don't speak Spanish, I feel like I'm at a disadvantage. I guess what I want to know is, is this all normal?? Should I not have expected to text her when I wanted to start up again? When we were talking in early June, she never said, "You mean the first week of August" or anything specific when I was saying we needed a break for the summer. Is it normal to have little things be broken all the time? Is that just a cost of housecleaning? I really would like to find someone again, but now I'm just very unsure of myself. It was just . . . awkward all around.

Verity ((Latin for truth) is our youngest daughter's name. I love it!

We're planning on doing this for our 4th son this year. He turned 14 in June, and would have been entering high school this year. But several things have made us feel like he would benefit from an extra year before his grades/classes count as high school. For example, he took TPS English 1 this year, a junior high class, and he didn't get a high enough average to automatically go into English 2 next year (they want an 80 or 85, I think). He wasn't far off, but the reason he didn't do so well was basic maturity issues, and not realizing when he needed to ask for help when he wan't understanding the teacher's feedback. So next year he's taking Journey Through Narnia, another junior high level class. He's doing fine in math, which was algebra 1 this year (not brilliant, but okay--it's not as intuitive for him as it has been for his older brothers)--but he did not do very well on some math parts of the Stanford standardized test he did in May. He said he "forgot" how to do some of the more basic math, so clearly we need to spend some time boning up on that. He's short and has just started puberty. He naturally gravitates toward kids a little younger than him, and his maturity level fits that. He also is following 3 very successful older brothers, and he just needs some time to develop his own self. His next older brother has only been one school year ahead of him, so they would have graduated one right after the other. I really think it will be better for DS4 to have that second year as being the oldest, without being in anyone else's shadow, while he kind of figures out what he'd like to do in life. So far he has no clue and no real direction, lol. So when I sent in my notice of intent, I just put that he was in 8th grade again. I would never have even thought of doing this except that another friend did that for her summer birthday son (except he had two 9th grade years), and it has worked out so marvelously for him. I remember her telling me, "My son is a weak 9th grader--but he would be a strong 8th grader." It was so true, and her son gained so much confidence from being now the oldest, instead of being the youngest, and always feeling like he had to "catch up". He was another late-bloomer, but now he is a recruited NCAA division 1 runner. The extra year *definitely* helped there, as he needed the time to physically mature! I feel like this is another advantage to homeschooling. As I told my son, this doesn't change any of the classes he is taking, or the friends he is taking them with. It just gives him an extra year to take more classes, hopefully as he knows kind of what he might like to specialize in.