Ds works on our farm and listens to his mp3 player while he does chores. He would like more things to listen to. Right now, he has quite a bit of sermons, literature, and history. Do you have any suggestions? He would really like something for science. He's 17.

Thanks. I ordered one.

Years ago, I purchased clipboards. They were big and square, and came with a wide rubber band to hold the end of your paper down. I need some more, but have forgotten where I purchased them. Anyone know where I can get them?

I purchased this at Walmart last night. Thanks for the recommendation.

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We have been searching for a place to move to, but due to my 19dd health problems, we can't just move into anywhere. We moved all of our things away from the mold and the mold is isolated, but the mold was in a hidden area, so who knows how long it was there. We are moving in the next few days though. Found a place yesterday and they are cleaning it with vinegar, soap, and water and turning it over to us without all the usual carpet cleaning, painting, etc, since that would make it unlivable for my daughter. Anything that is porous and can't be thoroughly cleaned is suspect. That means our books (3000+ with lots of vintage, tons of Landmark, Happy Hollister set minus one, etc). We love books, so this is one of the hardest things. The other thing is sentimental items from Steven since he is gone now and things from the children when they were little. Anything you can't soak or scrub can harbor mold spores and mycotoxins. The computer and printer. Refrigerator. Washer and dryer. And it's not a simple matter of blowing it out. Black mold is sticky and klings to things unless scrubbed off, and even that is not a guarantee that you got it.

PC. Desktop or laptop. Yes to dvd player. We don't store photos on the computer. Graphics need to be good enough for Ookaisland, Mathreflex, Dreambox, and streaming. Don't know about the budget. Less is better, but I have no idea what a computer costs.

Due to mold in our home, we are having to leave almost everything behind and start over. We are moving to a rental temporarily (4-6 mos) while our home is being fixed. Funds are limited, so I am replacing only super needed/much used items. Air purifiers for the bedrooms. A vacuum cleaner. The bedrooms and living room of the rental are carpet. It needs to work super great due to dd reactions. Computer. The children do online classes, classes on dvd, movies, etc, so this is a necessity. Extra points if I can get if from Staples since I have a reward coupon to use. Also need some kind of copier/printer since I am going to have to reprint all of the children's Math Mammoth, Systematic Mathematics, etc workbooks. What are your recommendations?

Due to major health issues in my 19yo, I am trying to streamline school and get the children to be more independent. How easily do you think Rod and Staff Grammar and Math Mammoth would be to use independently? I would like to have the student teach themselves from the text and asking me for help when needed. This is for third, sixth, and eighth grade.

audiobooks in Spanish? Anything from Charolette's Web to Moby Dick. 19dd is bedbound and trying to keep her Spanish flowing.

This is for dd who is very sensitive to smells. She wants to know how people who smoke feel about smoke smell?

During the week we do all of our regular stuff and errand running. I don't like running errands in the evening or on the weekend when everything is so crowded. Saturday is work day. Farm things and bigger projects than we can tackle during the week. Sunday is church, lunch at Subway with the inlaws and the rest of the day is relaxing and spending time together.

We love it! Several of my children have used it. Grouping all the letters by similar strokes and saying what you are doing as you are doing it helped all of them.

Nice and crispy with the smell of fall in the air.

We are on average billing, and it runs $420-$450 year round. I have two with medical conditions so we can never open windows, but they must be kept cool. The kitchen is a separate area that has a window a/c. The waterheater for the main house is electric and everyone takes 1-2 showers a day, sometimes more if it rains and they get muddy. We wash and dry 4-6 loads of laundry a day. We use propane for heating the main house and kitchen, the kitchen waterheater, and the stove.

Most of our homeschooling friends are getting married in the 18-20yo bracket. Our public school friends are either getting married right away 18-20yo or waiting until 27yo+.

Health insurance premiums, copays, and meds insurance won't cover are half of our income. Mortgage takes not quite another quarter.

18dd is very sick. Just the regular things she needs (like formula since she is totally tube fed and her compounded medications) are killing our budget and running through our savings. Since our local doctors are out of options, we are having to travel to out of state specialists. We have to have help with expenses. Does anyone have experience with any of the fundraising sites like gofundme?

We have always stayed together, whether learning, errand running, or just hanging out. This has mostly continued, even though Steven has passed away. I recently had an unsettling experience because of our family togetherness. The children and I started a new church. Right after we started, we attended a Wednesday night service. I felt really odd, stressed and restless, but I couldn't figure out why. I was in a panic, trying to figure out what was wrong. Suddenly it occurred to me. I was alone. Totally alone. The boys were in youth. The girls were in children's church. Steven wasn't there. I was all alone for the first time in twenty-eight years. Once I figured it out, I was ok, but it was very unsettling at first.

16ds makes his own electrolyte drink. When he does a lot of outside work (we live on a farm), he drinks about half a gallon a day.

I use regular detergent. My SQ can handle a king size comforter.

For Steven's funeral, we had two options. The obvious is to pay up front. I didn't have the money up front, so I went with option 2. I gave the funeral home the life insurance information. They called and verified the policy and amount. I signed over an amount to cover the funeral, plus a little extra. The life insurance company paid the funeral home their share and sent the rest to me. After the funeral, the funeral home sent me the extra money. I had signed over $15,000 and the funeral ended up being $13,800. I had to get the plot paid for by the funeral home because the cemetary needed the money up front, so that was part of the funeral expense.

Keep the explanations about your dh basic, but do prepare your children. After surgery, tell them beforehand that dh will look different (head shaved, scar, bandage), he will be tired, etc. As best as you are able, let them know the plan:who will take care of them, where they will sleep, when will they see you. Call your children if you can't be with them. How quickly they do the surgery just depends. Steven was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the er on Saturday. They kept him inpatient because it was the only way to get him a detailed mri quickly. They released him Monday afternoon after the mri. He had surgery Friday, just under a week from finding the tumor. He was in icu for a couple of days, regular room for a few days and then released. Do your best to take care of you, whatever that means for you. Sleep is essential. Eat real food if you can, and not lots of fast food or vending machine. Get a water jug to carry with you everywhere. Keep a notebook where you can write down your questions and the answers. Accept all the help you can. Grab a quiet moment when you can to just breath. I'm so sorry your family is having to go through this. If I can do anything for you, pm me.

It has been not quite two years since Steven passed away. We have always homeschooled (sixteen years so far) and intend to continue until the end. Youngest is 8, so we still have a lot of time left. Our family has been dealing with lots of health challenges, and I don't know how we would have made it work without homeschooling.

Thanks for the help. There are snacks available, but I do need to get more protein and fat in there. We also have some unusual circumstances in our family that cause difficulties with our eating. Due to 18dd's allergies, all cooking has to be planned. She reacts to all food smells, and there is no suddenly deciding to have a grilled cheese sandwich. All things not planned have to be cold. We can also not have nuts or beans. The problem with them mixing up the order of meals is they eat everyone's lunch when they eat the wrong thing. It's not just a simple matter of you already ate your lunch, eat breakfast for lunch. Last night we had a whole tray of chicken legs and everyone got plenty. The extra tray was for today. They ate the entire tray, and even if they eat breakfast for lunch, I still have to figure out what the rest of us are going to eat. Around here, leftovers are almost always for another meal. If we have brisket today, tomorrow we are having brisket and gravy on spaetzle. If we have whole chickens today, tomorrow we are having chicken soup. Leftover steak is vietnamese rice. Leftover ground meat is dirty rice. Leftover sausage is on pizza or in muffins. Usually I cook extra specifically for another meal. I just can't keep them eating what they should. When they don't eat what they should it is more than just a little inconvenience. It takes a rescheduling of our whole day. Thanks for all the help.