My son is on Adderall and Zoloft, and the pediatrician will only give us 2 months of meds at a time. I just went in and had to pay $100.00 for him to say, "So, how are you feeling? Meds working OK? Here's your new prescription." - Seriously, the appointment didn't last longer than 10 minutes. Is this normal?? Should I look for a new doctor?

Very close - could be it. I know we have quite a few woodpeckers.

Ha ha! Because we're still alive! Sounds dead on it though!

No - it's quite a bit louder. Thanks for the suggestion!

Not quite as fast or high pitched- but good guess! Thanks for suggesting it!

We live in the woods in KY and have been trying to identify some of the birds we hear in the morning. There is one that sounds identical to the Lost smoke monster with a sort of rattling sound. We'd love to know what it is! Any ideas? Thanks!! 😀

I worried a lot - A LOT over the years I homeschooled my oldest 2 kids. The stress started early when a friend's husband who was an elementary school teacher said you could really "mess up" your kid if you chose the wrong handwriting program. What?! I apparently had chosen the wrong one. My sister's kids were in one of the best elementary schools in the state, and I couldn't help feeling insecure about the education my kids were receiving from me (that apparently lacked all the latest info on technology, etc.). I was inspired by The Well Trained Mind, but with 4 kids, I just didn't have the time to create my own science curriculum and keep up with all the notebooks and difficult reading lists. I tried Latin with my oldest for about 4 months until I just couldn't keep up and he (we) started getting lost. So, I threw out the classical model. Looking back, I realize I lost quite a bit of sleep and gained quite a few gray hairs worrying that I was ruining my children by keeping them home. I felt so inadequate that I decided it would be best to enroll him in public high school starting as a freshman. Fast forward 4 years and he just graduated this past weekend Summa Cum Laude as a National Merit Scholar with a full scholarship to our state university looking to major in engineering. Unbelievable!! How much did my homeschooling him play a part in all of it? I think quite a bit - but not for the reasons I thought would matter. I don't think the curriculum I chose mattered all that much or how many hours/days we spent homeschooling. The bottom line is that teaching him got me involved in his education. Even when he went to public school, I kept up with what was going on in his classes. I checked out his grades online and stayed on top of him to do his best and earn As. I had him practice the SAT early, and the summer/fall before the PSAT, I researched the best study books and made sure he took lots of practice tests to prepare. I always made sure he had plenty of novels to read and plenty of time to read them. I honestly don't think I did a great job homeschooling him, but I was successful at staying involved in his education. I should also mention that I was even more concerned when my second child went to public high school. I remember trying several spelling programs with her bc she simply couldn't spell - even 5 letter words tripped her up at times. As a middle schooler, she mispronounced the word watch (said it like batch), and I was horrified! You can imagine how much sleep I lost over that (what other words does she not know??!!). Well, she just finished her sophomore year, and she has taken every AP class they'll allow and earned straight As on every report card. Her teachers adore her - she even won the AP Chemistry award just a few days ago. So unbelievable! She still can't spell, but apparently, it doesn't matter all that much. She studies constantly bc she loves learning, and she always has a novel in her hands (even when we go to the grocery store!) Again, I felt like a failure most of the time (and still do with my younger kids), but I'm involved! My husband and I encourage a love of reading and learning - and I'm convinced that's what really matters in the long run. - Just wanted to offer a little encouragement to those of you who dropped Latin or classical teaching, who feel like failures, and who are horrified when your children don't know things that seem like common sense. They're going to be OK because they have moms/dads who will stay involved in their education regardless of who's teaching them. And that's what really matters.

I have found a few things have helped me control blood sugar levels - - never eat carbs alone - if you want a piece of fruit, eat it with some peanut butter or other protein. (Stick to low glycemic fruits like berries - stay away from bananas, watermelon, etc.) - a small handful of nuts or seeds at night helps my fasting numbers to stay below 100 - adding testosterone (bio - identical cream) really dropped my numbers. You can google the research. I was going through menopause and added the hormones not knowing the testosterone would have an effect on my blood sugar - boy did it! -stevia is an all natural sweetener that tastes great and helps lower blood sugar numbers

Thank you for the great ideas! We're interested in both touristy natural/hiking type activities. I do think it's going to be rainy, so I'm not sure how much hiking we'll be able to do. Anyone else with ideas?

Taking the family (4 kids ages 11-17) for 3 days. Thinking about doing the indoor skydiving and Wonderworks. Any other recommendations/advice? Thanks!

I highly recommend Angie on Hot and Flashy (youtube). Lots of great advice about retin A, serums, frequency, etc. I ordered from alldaychemist, and immediately after, my email was overwhelmed with spam. I'm sure they sold my email address. If you do order, create a new email that you don't mind dumping afterwards. Now I get my retin a at Sams. It costs around $70, but it lasts me at least 6 months ( and I feel better about it being made in the USA). Sams now sells the gel form of retin a at a very reasonable price without a prescription - differin gel I think is what it's called. I like the serums at Timeless skin care - free shipping, made to order, and $5.00 discount if you use coupon code from hot and flashy website. I have also seen a difference in my skin after using collagen peptide supplement I buy on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Proteins-Pasture-Raised-Grass-Fed-Collagen/dp/B00K6JUG4K/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1487987152&sr=1-4&keywords=collagen%2Bpeptides&th=1 I mix a scoop in my Greek yogurt every morning.

My daughter went to public high school her freshman year after being homeschooled through 8th, and I was just thinking this morning about how much better our relationship is now that I'm not her teacher. Our talks now center around her friendships, growing up, etc. where before, it was always, "Did you finish ______, did you correct ________, you didn't do well on __________, etc. She even told me once, " Whenever you talk to me, it's always about school!" Ouch. I didn't want it to be like that, but I was soooo stressed I wasn't preparing her for high school. I seriously stayed awake at night worrying that she would struggle trying to keep up in a regular classroom. Well, fast forward to now (she's a sophomore) and has a 4.3 weighted gpa and 4.0 unweighted gpa and has taken every AP class they'll allow. Amazing!! She studies constantly, her teachers adore her, and she's even on the academic team!!! Would she have done as well here at home for high school? Not a chance. She didn't care about impressing me. Putting her in public school brought out the competitive side of her (and the side that wanted to impress teachers who weren't related to her)! Every mother/daughter relationship is different, but I can honestly say we both enjoy being around each other so much more now that I'm just "Mom".

Anything by Bart Ehrman - Jesus Interrupted, How Jesus Became God, Jesus Before the Gospels, etc. Also, Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists by Dan Barker. I've learned a lot from several atheist blogs - a few of my favorites: southern skeptic, godless in dixie, the reluctant skeptic

Exactly!! Why didn't God make his holy book stand out from all the other holy books so we would know it was the one true book?? Sam Harris once said, "Let’s just grant the possibility that there is a Creator God, who’s omniscient, who occasionally authors books. And he’s gonna give us a book – the most useful book. He’s a loving God, he’s a compassionate God, and he’s gonna give us a guide to life. He’s got a scribe, the scribe’s gonna write it down. What’s gonna be in that book? I mean just think of how good a book would be if it were authored by an omniscient deity. I mean, there is not a single line in the Bible or the Koran that could not have been authored by a first century person. There is not one reference to anything – there are pages and pages about how to sacrifice animals, and keep slaves, and who to kill and why. There’s nothing about electricity, there’s nothing about DNA, there’s nothing about infectious disease, the principles of infectious disease. There’s nothing particularly useful, and there’s a lot of iron age barbarism in there, and superstition. This is not a candidate book." Quill - I seem to remember some of your posts during your journey. I didn't know where you ended up. Is it safe to assume you are an atheist now?

The simple truth is that in Christian circles, you only hear about the ones who convert from atheism to Christianity. You would be amazed at how many pastors (people who've studied and studied and devoted their whole lives to God) become atheists. Try a google search - they are everywhere. There is actually a website designed for clergy who no longer believe but have no other skill sets to make money. The Clergy Project helps them find jobs. How do you explain people who've read the Bible many times and preached the gospel and were totally convinced of its truth - leaving Christianity? Were they not "true" Christians? (I hear that a lot, lol!) I used to believe there must be good evidence for so many people to believe in God. But consider how many people believe in Allah. Billions! Have you ever thought that Islam must be true bc why would so many people buy into a lie without at least some convincing evidence? I want to encourage you to look for the evidence, and then evaluate it as someone considering Christianity for the very first time (not as someone who wants it to be true).

Zero. Here's the thing Christians fall back on - you can't prove that he DOESN'T exist, which is true , but you also can't prove that fairies don't exist. I read a few of your other posts, and you remind me a lot of how I used to think. I wasn't very outspoken about my faith, but it was a very deep and significant part of who I was. I never questioned it, never felt the need to look for evidence; I was happy being a Christian! All that changed when my husband became an atheist. It turned my world upside down, and I became very determined to prove to him that Jesus really was the son of God who died for our sins so we could spend eternity with him. I started reading every apologetic book I could get my hands on, but he reminded me that I wasn't being intellectually honest if I only read the books written by Christians. So, I started reading books by atheists and learned things I never knew about the Bible that shattered everything I thought was true. A few things to consider: The God of the old testament is barbaric - not divine. How could a divine being who created the galaxies view young girls as spoils of war? Read Numbers 31 where God commands the Israelites to commit genocide but spare the virgins for themselves. (verse 18: But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.") REALLY?!! God rewards the men for their slaughter by telling them they get to keep the virgins! Also, why can't God do his own dirty work? Why does he command the Israelites to slaughter nursing babies??? (1 Samuel 15:3). I think it's pretty obvious some ancient tribal leader knew that the best way to motivate your men to go to war is to (1) tell them God wants them to do it and (2) reward them with virgins. Prophesies used to be very convincing to me. I never considered that the writers of the New Testament might have written the stories in a way that fulfilled them. For example, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey during Passover. Matthew apparently misunderstood the prophesy in Zech 9:9. Matthew 21: 4-5 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ †The gospel writer didn't understand Hebrew poetry where a 2 line sequence (a couplet) would say one thing in the first line and then the same thing in other words in the next line. He has Jesus riding into town on BOTH animals!! Matthew 21: 6 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. So, did Jesus put one leg over the donkey and one leg over the colt and ride into town, or did the writer of Matthew make up the story to fulfill the prophesy he thought said something different than what it actually meant? Actually Matthew's writer has zombies walking around in the city during the crucifixion, which was hard for me to believe even when I was a Christian. 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So, did the dead people climb back into their tombs after a few days of shocking everyone, or did they go back to their homes and spouses to die again another day? I could go on and on about the things I learned that made me doubt the veracity of it all, but it would take way too much time. I think when determining the truth, you should doubt all claims equally and be just as skeptical of your own religion as you are of every other religion.

I really don't want to be "witnessed to" bc I used to believe and I already know all their arguments (and they're not convincing). I draw the line with my kids, though. If anyone threatens my children with hell, they will no longer be a part of their lives. I honestly think that's a form of child abuse - telling a child he will burn in hell for eternity if he doesn't believe a story. I know Christians spin it in a way that sounds better (he died for you so you wouldn't have to go to hell - it's a gift you just have to accept), but it really boils down to God saying, "I love you, but if you don't love me back (or believe this story with no evidence) I will torture you forever." If your only choice is to accept a gift or go to hell, then it's not a gift; it's a threat.

**Former Christian here ** I just wanted to encourage you to hold on to the view that it's his decision and it's a good thing to seek the answers for himself. He may not end up where you want him to, but it's important that he knows it won't change your opinion of him or your love for him. The journey he's started takes a "hell" of a lot of courage!! Don't be surprised if the apologetic books don't impress him. Most atheists believe those books were written to reassure Christians -not written to convince atheists that God exists. I've never come across a good argument in any of those books. If you want him to find the truth, give him books written by atheists too - Bart Ehrman (former evangelical Christian) has written many informative books discussing the Bible. If Jesus is the truth, he has nothing to hide. You'll also gain a lot of respect from him bc he'll see you aren't trying to persuade him to see things the way you do. I guarantee you that his number one fear right now is not hell, it's disappointing and distancing you and all the other people he loves who believe. He wants to know the truth - that's really admirable! Let him know how proud you are that truth is important to him, and give him the space to really investigate the claims of Christianity and all the other religions.

My kids LOVED the Hooked on Phonics master reader series. Very high interest stories paired with computer games that have student chop up words into easily read parts. I credit the program with helping them transition to being able to read harder chapter books. https://www.amazon.com/Master-Reader-Hooked-Phonics-Phonics/dp/160143877X

Thank you!

OK - Thanks!

Is this sentence punctuated correctly? (Thanks in advance!) And thus, I began the treacherous journey down the ladder, across the room, then back again in the dark, stepping on Legos and bumping into corners I could have sworn were not there a second ago and finally back up the ladder only to realize my venture had woken me up and that I was no longer tired.

Is this sentence punctuated correctly? (Thanks in advance!) And thus, I began the treacherous journey down the ladder, across the room, then back again in the dark, stepping on Legos and bumping into corners I could have sworn were not there a second ago and finally back up the ladder only to realize my venture had woken me up and that I was no longer tired.

Thank you! It's his essay for the common app for college, so I'm glad to know you like it.

Concerning Light Switches I was all snuggled up in my fortress of a bunk bed, pajamas on, teeth brushed, and reading my favorite book series, Fablehaven. Just as my eyes began to droop, and I instinctively marked my place in the book, I remembered the light was still on. I couldn’t fall asleep yet. And thus, I began the treacherous journey down the ladder, across the room, then back again in the dark, stepping on Legos and bumping into corners I could have sworn were not there a second ago, and finally back up the ladder only to realize my venture had woken me up and that I was no longer tired. Knowing that TVs had used remotes during all 12 years of my existence, it made little sense to me why the same invention was not commonplace for bedroom lights as well. Of course, looking back on it, what didn’t make sense was the fact that I didn’t have a reading light, but at the time a remote control light seemed the more obvious solution to me. One day, I realized I didn’t have to sit around and wait for someone else to give me a remote controlled light - I could just make my own, and so I did. My plan was to affix a pulley to the ceiling and then run a string through it attached to a lever that, when pulled, would hit the button to turn off the lights without my ever having to leave the warmth of my bed. With this in mind, I set out to collect my resources: a drill, screws, a pulley, a long piece of ribbon, a wooden train whistle block, a Nerf dart, and last but not least, some tape. I set about the process first by taping the middle of the train whistle block to the wall, one half off and one half on the light switch panel. The edge of this panel acted as my very short fulcrum, which only worked after I taped the Nerf dart to the bottom of the train whistle to extend its reach (this also solved the problem I was having with the block always hitting the button at an angle, causing the it to stop before pressing the button down all the way). Initially I used a pulley for this next step, but halfway through I realized that it was unnecessary, so instead I simply wrapped a ribbon around a screw placed in the ceiling and attached the ribbon to the top of the train whistle. After that, I cut the ribbon off the spool and voilà , I had extended the reach of my light switch all the way across the room and into my bed. With my handy little remote of sorts, I had solved my problem! That one invention was like a spark for my imagination. Immediately following its completion I began work on more ideas and built more things just for the sake of it. Half of these inventions didn’t even serve a purpose, but because I had built them, they fascinated me. The idea that I could make whatever I thought of was new to me. Sure I had drawn before, I loved to draw, but it was two-dimensional. It was a concept for the real thing, which always felt beyond my reach. Since I was used to having everything built for me by professionals in factories working for years on end, I never imagined anyone but adults had the intellectual capacity to invent functioning machines. This simple light switch changed how I saw the world. I no longer saw anything as too big to accomplish.