I asked a similar question and was pointed to this Coursera chemistry course.

Wow, that is such a crazy story. I continue to be grateful that we weren't home while the fire was raging so there was no dramatic exit. And also grateful that we came home after it burned itself out, since if we had come home in the middle of it the fire marshal said we could have easily caused a backdraft and blown ourselves up. I also had to chuckle at the liquified meat story. We had that happen to us as well. We thought a wild animal had crawled in and died (I guess it did, in a way). DH has a terrible gag reflex so I was the one in my undies emptying the freezer's drain pain while he circled around me spraying me w/febreeze. Anyway, back to the fire. We were told that they try to get you into comparable housing, so don't feel like you have to settle for the first place you find. We also weren't in a rush to replace anything other than bare minimum clothing (like 4 outfits apiece) until we were back in the house, partially because we didn't know what all they would be able to salvage, but also because we didn't want to mess with having to move everything multiple times. We also asked for an extension on repurchasing things because reconstruction took so long. Our insurance was also willing to work with us when it was time to repurchase. For instance, the amount for 'toys' just went into a bucket and we could repurchase anything that fit into that category within reason. It didn't have to be a one-to-one trade. That's how the kids ended up with lego mindstorms. As weird if it sounds, be grateful if they total it. I wished many, many times that they had just totaled our house. The reconstruction is long, time-consuming, and just flat out annoying. Don't be afraid to say that you still smell smoke. Make sure they do it right. We pestered them until they ended up replacing all of the attic insulation and some other things that weren't on the original list. Our fire wasn't psychologically challenging for us, but that's probably because we had just gone through something that put everything in perspective. Everyone was safe, insurance was paying for everything, there was no trauma in escaping a fire...it was very easy to just power through. Not that that's how anyone else reacts. But it was how it was for us. We did end up with a very different perspective regarding material possessions. I can't believe how much crap we have! Our house fire began when halogen track lighting ignited the fort made out of packing boxes. Needless to say, we didn't include halogen lights when we rebuilt.

We had an almost complete loss three years ago...three days after we moved in...the week before Christmas. We have insurance through USAA and have nothing but good things to say about them making an awful process survivable. I do NOT have nice things to say about our contractor. Feel free to ask any questions.

As Nebraska is one of two states that handles its electoral votes differently, I am very motivated to vote. I definitely feel that my voice will be heard as I live in the one swing district. Really, if we're going to stick with the electoral college this is a much more equitable way to do it. Winner of the popular vote gets the state's two 'Senate' votes, and the winner of each district gets vote allocated to that district. Deciding who to vote for is fairly obvious for me. Evaluating the platforms, issues, history, and personality leaves me with only one choice. I may not be in love with the choice, but I never really have been in love with any candidate in any election.

I'd be on the fence about including a study skills credit. Even so, the 'college prep' track at my high school had a required class entitled "College Lit and Study Skills" that focused on note-taking skills, programmed vocabulary (word roots, prefixes, etc), researching colleges, practicing filling out college applications, and writing application essays, as well as some literary analysis instruction. It was a weird class that seemed to incorporate a lot of skills that they wanted to make sure everyone got, but that didn't really have a home in any other mandatory class.

Oh, I feel for you. After ten years of passable to mediocre haircuts I finally found a hairdresser. I'll second the male hairdresser recommendation. Not only is the cut fantastic, but he spends the whole time chatting about my hair and what I want to do with it. I have no idea about any of his family members, his most recent vacation, or his pain in the butt neighbors. In other words, no small talk! An introverts dream!

Around here, baseball is roughly divided into house league/rec ball through the various suburban organizations (play other teams within the organization, 1-2 tournaments, pretty low key), and then select/travel ball (though how much travel the teams do really depends on each team's competitive level). A/AA teams rarely travel, play other teams at that division and the number of tournaments really just depends on how much money the teams have to spend. AAA ball tends to travel more and often will play almost exclusively tournaments. Major teams almost exclusively travel to national ranked tournaments. My son has now had 4 years of select ball at the AAA level. It's time consuming, but we enjoy it as a family. The tag-a-long kids have all learned to bring entertainment but are also really good at finding new friends amongst the other tag-a-longs. My husband keeps book for the team, so I am in charge of getting the other three to whatever activities they have going on. (Game Changer is a life saver for 'watching' games when you can't be there.) Around here at least, coaches flat out tell incoming freshman that they don't have a chance of making the high school team if they aren't playing AAA/Major ball by the time they are 14.

How recent was your move to CO and are you in the mountains? It can take a long time to adjust to the change in elevation and it does absolutely effect babies' growth as well. Less oxygen and all that.

For those of you who have used OSU, did you feel that you needed to add anything to it? Was it weak in any areas? Also, about how many hours a week did it take for you child to complete the assignments? We've struck out in various methods (Rosetta Stone, horrible CC professor), but have a child who is always excited about German when he returns from his language camp. I want to make sure we actually have something stick this time 'round since it's 9th grade and it counts. TIA!

My guess, based on the fact that the parents stopped reading the book because of the offensive language, is that they would not be comfortable with their child reading it at any age, including as an adult.

The parents issue with the language isn't that it's too easy or too advanced, but too offensive. Too many 'bad' words. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Yep, it seems to be just the language. They were hoping that Number the Stars or The Boy In the Striped Pajamas would be a good alternate. I'll just let you enjoy the thought of those being taught in AP class.

You are all summarizing my conflicting thoughts very well. Before knowing the specifics, I was hoping that the teacher might be a little more accommodating than was reported. But then it was revealed that it was The Book Thief and that the main problem was the language. And then that it was for an AP Lit class. I also couldn't wrap my head around a 9th grader in AP Lit, nor that The Book Thief was considered a worthy work to include. The local thread has since devolved into questioning why it's acceptable for college level texts to have 'offensive' language. (Not sure what exactly they're considering offensive.)

There's a bit of a debate on our local hs board about how a high school teacher is unwilling to consider alternative reading assignments and I wanted to see what the hive thinks. Should a teacher be willing to offer an alternate reading assignment to those who are opposed to the original book due to language or content? I have no way of knowing how integral the book is to the lesson plan. Would it matter if the book was an integral part or just additional reading? Would it matter if it was an AP level class? How much should the teacher go out of his/her way to accommodate a conscientious objector? (FWIW, the book was The Book Thief and the class is AP Lit. The child is in 9th grade. The teacher is reported to have basically said suck it up, buttercup. That's how real life is.)

I've only been really, truly freaked once in my life. I was treating ds3 (the slowest, pickiest eater in the universe) to a meal at Dairy Queen after a dr appt. We had been there a while and I got up to get a napkin, just on the other side of our booth. A man in a construction safety vest came up to me and told me that another man had been eyeing ds 'like he was a piece of meat' and he offered to walk us to our car. I said we were fine and sat back down. He was not happy I turned down his offer of help. I sat there freaking. I hadn't noticed anything weird from this second man. Was my sensor off? Was he out to get ds? Was the first man just an overracting good samaritan or was he the one out to get us? I ran through all of my options while ds took forever to finish his food. Eventually both men in question left the restaurant. I weighed my options. It was the middle of the day. I could clearly see my car, roughly 10 feet from the door, and there weren't any cars anywhere near it. I considered calling dh but didn't. Even so, I hustled ds out to the car, threw him in the driver's seat, then locked the doors and buckled him up from inside the car. My heart still races whenever I think about it. I often wished I could see the script for that day and see what really was going on.

This tutor is the sister of a friend. I have no first-hand knowledge of her teaching skills, other than I know that she is legit. I believe she used to teach for Landry and is currently a SAHM. "Are you looking for a Japanese teacher? Do you know someone who is? Please consider hiring me! I'm looking for students for the 2015-2016 school year. I taught English to all ages in Japan for 7 years, and since then have taught Japanese in America, primarily to high school students, for almost 5 years. Please email ****** for more information. (Also, feel free to repost this or share it on other boards.)" Even though she said it is ok to post on other boards, I feel weird posting her email in a public space. If interested, just pm me and I'll send you her email address.

What would you get him if he weren't headed for his mission? Maybe start there. He'll still be around for several months so he will be able to get quite a bit of use out of whatever, and I'm sure younger siblings would love any electronics hand-me-downs he were to receive (which I agree, would be obsolete by the time he returns). Also agreeing that teens are hard to buy for. Since he likes to run maybe a runner's watch?

We admittedly go overboard here. I bet the $300-500 range/kid is a pretty good estimate. We don't really buy gifts for other times of the year and birthdays are quite minimal. However, for Christmas we do tend to wrap up anything that could be considered a need and call it a present. Needed clothing (they always get socks and underwear), personal care products (new toothbrush and toothpaste in the stocking, the 'fancy' bandaids I normally don't buy), books and other educational items that are actually coming from the homeschooling budget - those all end up under the tree. We have several categories we try to hit - books, something to encourage creativity, something to encourage physical exercise, and a couple of wants from Santa.

All great advice. I'll add re: resume updating. Depending on his career field, he'll want to get a LinkedIn account set up. A surprising amount of headhunters and hr people troll there both looking for possible prospects and also to verify resume info. Also it is a wonderful way to network, which is the #1 way to find a new job. It's not what you know, it's who you know.

I'm glad you're back home and everything went well! Now quit trying to be wonder woman and do as the doctor ordered! (Said the woman who has never, ever listened to that advice and always paid the price.)

We have a desktop for our oldest and laptops for the youngers. We also have a couple of ipods and kindles floating around, though they are kind of community property. Our reasoning on the desktop for the oldest was that he is getting into serious gaming and programming and we just don't have the kind of money to purchase a laptop with those capabilities. Since laptops have a relatively short lifespan, we'll most likely replace them with desktops as those kids' needs change. Right now cheapie laptops suit them just fine.

It varied. When we lived on the east coast we started after Labor Day and ended mid-June. In the midwest, we started late August and ended end of May. Still live in the midwest and schools here are starting August 11th. That seems crazy.

KK I'm so glad you went to the ER! Hope your recovery is swift. Thanks for the update.

I had invisalign as an adult. My dentist had to widen a gap due to a congenitally missing tooth, so it was a relatively minor correction. I would absolutely do it again. The fact that you have to take them out to eat made me very mindful of my eating. (Lost a ton of weight that year!) Be aware that the trays do get gunky over time, especially overnight. You might have some very funky morning breath. Be sure you are brushing the trays and your teeth very well during treatment.

Halogen lights were the source of our housefire, so I'd opt for LEDs. (Not so fun fact: Halogen lights can ignite a mattress at five feet, or so the firefighters informed us. That's one of the reasons many dorms ban them. You don't even want to know what they'll do to a cardboard fort.)