Thank you, yes, this helps a lot.

You're probably right; when I said I checked the syllable division, all I meant was that I checked a dictionary. I didn't think about what PeterPan mentioned above, that spelling and speech syllable breaks may be different.

Ok, this makes sense about the root words. Thank you. I'll let someone else answer these questions. lol I was a natural reader and never learned many rules. My kids are both dyslexic and I'm using Barton with them (started with Logic of English before the dx) so I'm basically learning the rules alongside them.

I kinda do this. I have morning alarms set on my phone for 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, and 9:00, with the setting where it says the time. This really helps the mornings not get away from me. Before, I had a tendency to get distracted with laundry or picking up this and that or simply taking too long for breakfast. Now I'm reminded of the time going by and stay more on task. I wonder if you could do something similar for blocks of time. I would totally drop Scouts.

No confusion. However, my goal at this point is only exposure, so I'm not concerned with whether or not they have a good grasp of the timeline and don't really check them on that. Also, our progress has been extremely slow, so not a lot of info in a short time. When we come to a chapter that switches civilizations, we always go to a wall map and locate where the last chapter was describing and find the new location. They each have a binder with pages onto which they've glued the review cards and done copywork, or I've written their narrations, below. The coloring pages and anything else we did are there too. These pages are in chapter order, and they both really enjoy looking back through the binders. They've not been confused when doing this either.

I'm learning along with my kids. 🙂 I did google, but didn't find anything . . . in the word "aging", why is the vowel in the first syllable long? It's a closed syllable, right? If so, the vowel should be short, right? My first thought was that I was dividing the syllables incorrectly, and it should be a*ging, which didn't make sense to me, but would explain it. But I checked that, and ag*ing is the correct division. Is it because "aging" is the Americanized spelling, and it was first "ageing", so the spelling changed but not the pronunciation? Or what rule don't I know yet? (Or, what totally simple thing am I overlooking? 🙂 )

Hugs. Something similar has happened to me several times. Once, dh even made surprise plans for something I had specifically and clearly told him I did not want to do. That time, I was pretty upset. But usually, if I can accomodate it, I do. And if it's just a really bad idea, we discuss the reasons. Do you have time to have a practice night at Grandma's, to see if it's at all practical? And, it's probably more the alone time he's wanting, than the specific place, so for the budget issues, maybe the kids could stay at Grandma's and the two of you have a mini stay-cation at home?

This is my husband's superpower. I can give reasonable guesses by looking at the sun, sometimes, but he always just knows. No sun required.

A couple years ago, I hosted a "come and go" type wedding shower for some friends. We had nice decor, appetizer type snacks, cupcakes. There were a couple different stations where people could write messages, leave recipes, etc., and a gift table for those who brought them. Everyone, including the couple, loved it. It was no pressure for anyone. Not everyone brought a gift, but could drop in and out, visit with the couple, mingle . . . no one noticed who brought gifts and who didn't, and it wasn't awkward for anyone who could only stay a few minutes. When the event was over, the couple took the gifts home and opened them privately. I had several people tell me they were pleasantly surprised at the way gifts were handled. Anyway, I wonder if a variation on this would work well? A small table, decorated nicely with things that are easy to remove as gifts come in. That way, if there are gifts, you've a place for them, and if not or only a few, it's not an awkwardly empty table.

I have loved our Hot Logic warmer. I have an adapter for it so that I can plug it in, in the car, and we can have a hot meal on the go. I like to carry paper plates, etc. in the car as well, so it's all ready to go. I prefer to do simple or casserole type things (chili and beans, enchiladas, etc) but also do meat and veggie type meals. It works for everything and has cut down on our drive-thru meals. We get tired of sandwich type things very quickly and this allows us to eat regular meals. If you are ever looking at getting one, don't pay full price. Sign up for emails, they have sales quite often.

Same here.

Yes, sign up for the program through the manufacturer. It substantially reduced the price. Also, I found that a little goes a long way, so it lasts a while. (Granted, I'm not using it as much or often as a teen, but I still think it would last a good while.)

You're welcome!

Yay, I'm glad it went well! Now there's just the wait for the pics.

I can go either way, depending on the shelves, BUT the spines must be even.

My face isn't sensitive. I just used regular cleanser, but washed twice. And eye makeup remover.

We haven't had family pics in a while, but when we did, I did have makeup done by a pro. She airbrushed the foundation (new to me) and then did the rest with stuff I recognized, lol. It didn't feel too bad until about the 4 hour mark, and by then I could wash everything off. This was someone recommended by the photographer, someone who does makeup for pics a LOT. I don't think I would trust a random makeup person to know about photo lighting, etc. I don't regret doing it at all. While the makeup looked really heavy to me irl, in the photos it looks much more natural and "me". Just a nicer version of me. Having done it a few times, now I might choose to do my own makeup, because I have a good idea of how heavy I should go. Before, I would not have gotten it nearly heavy enough to show up at all in the pics.

Me too. We have several friends with various mental health issues (and at various times and ways, ourselves) and none seem to be as self-aware and proactive as you are. It is really something to be thankful for, along with your husband. Your posts have been encouraging to me.

I've been thinking that I will confide in ONE person that I feel I can trust to discard the container without looking inside. Then put that person's name on the box. This is someone who would know quite soon of our deaths, and is close enough to the family that she could reasonably ask to get something from the house. We don't have anything exceptionally out of the norm, but at this point in time it would be my parents going through our stuff, and I'm fairly sure (?!) it would be out of the norm for them. I'm mortified just thinking about them coming across it.

Wow. I'm sorry it wasn't a simple story of unexpected passing! As others have said, your dh sounds amazing My dh also had, for other reasons, a very less than ideal childhood with mentally ill parents. I don't know if they ever lose the feeling that "normal" isn't normal (or vice versa, not sure how to put that!) My own childhood was, while not perfect, very stable. I'm still sometimes shocked by little details that come out now and then. Hugs to you both. It sounds like he is able to have a bit of a sense of humor about some of it, it's nice when you can get to that point on things. Still, my feelings would be all over the place! 😳🤣😩🤯🤪😳

😂😂😂😂 How truly awful for him, but I cannot stop laughing. And, this is why I cannot bring myself to journal or diary. The idea that someone else would be going through it after my death is just too much. I have to wonder if his parents just completely forgot that stuff existed? Or died suddenly or ??? (You don't need to answer, I'm just thinking "out loud" about what circumstances would lead to this.) 😂😂

Any oil will help, but for me nothing works like a cream with shea butter.

In general, I can maintain decent feet if I do a pumice stone in the shower every day and slather on shea butter cream under socks at night. It's harder in the summertime though, and if I slack off my heels start to crack.

I put it in the car.

I am so sorry. How awful.