I'm doing a whole bunch of different jobs currently: 1. teach private bassoon lessons early Monday morning at the local high school 2. work for an online homeschool company as the teaching assistant for 5th grade, which means I log on and grade papers during the week (they are hiring now; if anyone wants info, let me know!) 3. teach h.s. biology at a local co-op 4. teach 5 piano students; I travel to their houses 5. clean for our church nursery 2-3 hours per week, while my daughters are in ballet (pays the gas) 6. in the summers, I run science camps for local kids at area churches I feel stressed, stretched, and like it's never enough. . . .. :crying: May need to think about going back full-time in the next two years. Hoping the local co-op will hire me for 3-4 classes next year, then I could cut back and maybe only work 1 job.

Yes. My dh took a job last year that necessitated him living away from us from August through May - kind of like going to college. His employer did help him fly home, so we saw him about once a month. If my kids had been younger - we would have gone with him, and maybe rented out our home here. But for a variety of reasons we didn't. My dh wished we had - he wished the kids had seen another part of the country. I learned that I am stronger than I thought I was. That I don't cook as well when dh isn't home :glare: . That it is VERY hard to transition when he's home just for 48 hours. That reunions are very sweet. :001_tt1: We kept homeschooling, and I worked part time. If it weren't for the fact that I had two older kids who could drive and/or babysit when I had to work, we would have drowned. Right now, dh is working a job where he's away 3 out of 4 weeks a month, but home on weekends. To be truthful, I'm exhausted and run down. It's - wearing. We both hope he can find something that unites our family again. Communication is very, very hard - or is for us, anyways. Just trying to manage timing of important conversations is hard too. Ask specific questions, I'll help as I can!

I actually have a burqa - blue, floor-length, with only a screen for vision - in my home. (My brother lived in Afghanistan, working for an NGO back before 9/11) I wore it in the late 90s to a homeschool international fair event. It was - uncomfortable, and made others uncomfortable too. I've often thought about wearing it to my local Wal-Mart. . . . . . .

This is an utterly fascinating thread to read. My ds is now studying computer science, even though he would honestly make an amazing teacher and/or video producer. His dad & I STRONGLY encouraged him to save his teaching/video gifts for service in his local church, but find a way to a career that would be interesting and support himself and a potential family. This, because my dh has such a narrow, narrow field of qualifications, that he has boxed himself in to a place where he is practically unemployable. It has played havoc on our lives for almost 9 years now. So sadly, our kids have learned by watching our negative example. Now my dd15 wants to go into a professional dance career- we're helping her think through not only the 'will I even make it' aspect, but also the, 'what will be next AFTER a performance career' part. Very tricky for this one, but y'all have given me thing to think through.

This sounds so familiar. . . around 11 or 12, all of my dds have gotten - "spacey". Even the super reliable, responsible one. They grow out of it eventually, if that's any consolation. Sorry about the glasses!

My eldest dd took over the vacant room - as he's the only boy, we just couldn't have it sitting empty. The two of them agreed on a new color for the walls (blue), and when he's home she'll sleep on a trundle in littlest sister's room. I'm a little concerned about his first stint back home, but honestly couldn't see any other way. Eldest dd is a commuter college student, and this is the first time she's had her "own" space at home - it helps.

I'll chime in and add Dordt College in NW Iowa to the list - they'll pay 50% of your travel there, IIRC. We were very impressed with their Engineering/Computer Science offerings!

A very good friend of mine has had 8 c-sections. . . . . . . but watching her health, I'm not sure I'd recommend that many ;)

Yes, Yes, YES! I remember this!!!!! (ok, I"m old) I was looking at it when my oldest was around 10 or 11, so 2002? I looked and looked at it, thought it might be an answer to our "I can't handle Sonlight any more with multiple kids". But IIRC, there were SO MANY TYPOS that I couldn't handle it. Switched to TOG shortly thereafter. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! (And for making me feel like an old geezer)

:waving from Birmingham!!!: There are some neat/unique things to do in the 'Ham! I'd absolutely recommend the McWane Science Center - it's top-notch, hands-on, FUN! One of the best museums I've been to, and we've hit a ton. Great for your kids' ages, also. Then swing over to Vulcan - "Look, Mom! He's got no PANTS on!" for a look at Birmingham's unique history and a wonderful view of the city. If you're up for it, the Civil Rights Museum is very moving. Your oldest is a good age for it, depending on how much you've discussed as a family your next might appreciate it as well. B'ham is really trying to acknowledge its past and use it for good going forward. . . . If you like baseball, our minor league team has a new ballpark - the Birmingham Barons. If you like outdoors, come to my neighborhood! Oak Mountain State Park has a great nature center, a petting zoo, tons of trails, and horseback riding. We have a zoo that's not bad, too. but the other things are more distinctly "Birmingham". And ftr, Helen Keller's birthplace is only "meh" if you don't catch a production of the Miracle Worker. It's waaaaaaaaaay out in nowhere. HTH!

Gah. Double post.

Thanks all! Hubby has 4 job possibilities on the horizon - no offers, but all are strong possibilities. (A welcome change from the past few years of job famine.) The Wyoming is the best professionally, but I think it would be very, very difficult to afford to live there and be able to see anyone in our families based on the salary we can expect and the cost of housing. Thanks for the help!

Or, in other words, is northern Wyoming going to be a desolate and deserted as the answers I'm getting on this topic? ;)

Sooooo. We moved from CT to AL 9 years ago. Now we're looking at a possible move to Wyoming - Sheridan, in northern Wyoming. I know NOTHING about the West - anyone want to share? Thoughts, experiences? Thanks!

My son would say that his Calculus and Physics were two of his favorite subjects ever.

Beautiful tribute.

And there's this: My in-laws turned from the Catholic (ethnic) church they were raised in, and forged a new path, that involved New Age, Buddhism, and all sorts of stuff (Theosophical Society chief among those). All three of their kids ended up being very strong, committed, born-again believers in Jesus. I find it fascinating, but have no answers.

Definitely check with your pedi. Does she fall on the lower side of the weight curve? My dd (now10) had ketotic hypoglycemia - if she didn't eat a large enough dinner, she would wake in the morning with nausea and vomiting, but once we got food in her she perked right up. I didn't pay attention to it (bad mom) and thought it was some weird stomach virus that no one else caught. As a result, her growth slowed for a while. Happy to report she's doing fine now, but that may be an angle to research.

Hm. That's interesting. It makes me. . . . . . . wonder. Why is he doing this?

My son took PreCalc with Karen Nelson last year (2012-2013). Keep in mind that he went from MUS Alg. 2 to this course, so that had an impact. First, it was very difficult, but Mrs. Nelson was WONDERFUL. She met with him for private tutoring, and was encouraging and helpful. She really went above and beyond. The classes weren't streaming video/music, just lecture with - I think it was Blackboard Collaborate? - for the lectures. He did have trouble completing his tests on the computer; for some reason it threw him for a loop. Mrs. Nelson said that happened fairly regularly, so he completed his tests on paper and mailed them to her. That improved his grades quite a bit. As to the actual course text, I'm not sure I can speak to that. He really found it hard. This year, he took Derek Owens Calc and loved it, much more so than PreCalc. Could be the lecture style or the text, or that he got used to a more difficult math program. I hope this helps. Really, I can't say enough good things about Karen Nelson. She was terrific.

I can't help very much, except to say that we've used Lial's this year, and the tests are in the text itself, with answers to all problems in the solutions guide. I've liked the book quite a bit - my dd (who is math challenged; see earlier post) liked it better than MUS.

Ruth, thank you for taking the time to write all this out. Seriously - thank you. That is EXACTLY how we've talked about it. She laughs and calls herself an old jalopy, she says once she gets wound up and started, she's fine. Putting some skills on autopilot? Brilliant. THANK YOU!

I'm feeling a little out of my league here, folks, and need some help. A little long, but here goes. . . . . My oldest two kids were both very easy, natural students. Made it through high school math fine. Ds made it through Calculus; oldest dd did precalc, and love accounting, etc at college. My middle dd - 15 finishing 9th grade- is struggling. We've been working through Lial's Introductory Algebra (8th ed) after leaving Math-U-See last year. I wanted a text that I could work through with her, and help her through the sticky spots. So here's the situation: After a year of intense work, we made it through ch.7. I told her we'd be doing math through the summer - she's got Ch. 8 (roots & radicals) and Ch. 9 (quadratic equations) left. For those of you who know Lial's, ch. 7 kind of threw her, esp. complex fractions. After studying and making a "hints" sheet that she kept with her during the test, she still only made a 73, and that's with me awarding partial credit on some problems. She just. . .forgets. . .easily. She'll make mistakes that seem so simple - she'll make mistakes multiplying exponents, or forget to multiply each side of the equation by the same number, or forget to multiply the numerator when she's working on LCDs. Does that make sense? If I remind her, she says, "Oh, yeah, that's right!" and can execute flawlessly. She gets so turned around and confused, it's heartbreaking to me. She'll work a problem, and say that 2x times 3x equals 5x. If I point it out, she'll say she can't believe she did that. A little background - she was my latest reader, but is now a voracious reader. She's my one kid who couldn't rhyme, still struggles with left and right. Out of all my kids, she's the only one who couldn't really figure out how to play piano (I teach, dh and I are both musicians). She's artsy, a dancer, loves history, incredible writer Strongly dislikes math & science. Isn't sure she wants to go to college, but I'd like her to get through Algebra 2. I know she's capable. And I like to think I'm an "ok" teacher - I feel confident with h.s. math myself, and the concepts don't throw me. So here's my dilemma - I'm thinking at this point that Teaching Textbooks would be a good fit for her. Not too rigorous, instant feedback so she can not make ingrained mistakes. I was ready to switch her to Geometry next year, but now I'm not so sure. What about this idea. . . .I get TT Alg 1, and she starts this summer, for review. Then she works TT Geometry concurrently with TT Alg 1 - maybe do 4 days Geometry, 1-2 days Alg? - and then switch to TT Alg 2 for Jr. year. I think she could breeze through the beginning of TT Alg 1. OR - do we put off Geometry, and do Algebra 1 again her sophomore year? Any thoughts? Thank you if you've hung in there so far. I hate to be switching around math programs. . . .AGAIN.. . . . but I'm wondering if another approach through algebra would be beneficial. I'd love to hear some opinions, especially if you've dealt with this before. Thanks!

My son took PreCalc through Potter's School last year (2012-2013). Live teacher - she was WONDERFUL - but he really, really struggled. I think the text they used was quite difficult (I'm drawing a blank what it was - but it didn't "click" with him) Of course, it was also his first year out of Math-U-See, which I regret immensely. 'Nother story. He took Derek Owens for Calc this year (2013-14), and absolutely loved it. I don't know if that helps, but check Potter's School.

My ds loved Derek Owens Calculus this year . . . wish we'd used him for PreCalc his jr. year!