Since we're doing my youngest Birthday celebration that day, we decided on something she liked: Lasagna home-made baguettes Angel Food cake Carrot cake cupcakes It'll be really easy for me. Especially as I'll be recovering from the Easter rush at the bakery I work at.

I love all my inkjoy pens but especially the gel ones because I have so many pretty colors. I also really liked the TUL pen I used once. I'd love to have a set in all the colors.

I'm going to go and take a new look at them then. Before they were using textbooks.

I've had it since I was a kid. Most of the time I don't even notice the ringing in my ears. You just sort of get used to it/tune it out. The dizziness, I had the worst of that in my 20s then it went down to 1 spell a year in my 30s and I haven't had one in years now. Never really thought about using medicine or adjusting foods. I don't even remember a time when I didn't have it. So it'd be kind of scary for it to go away.

I've been doing it now for about 7 years. I work about 17 hours a week afternoons & Saturdays. While I love my job, if I didn't have to work then I would choose only homeschooling. But I also think that this is the job that I want to keep and do once I am no longer homeschooling. It's a real balance. You have to really learn how to manage and budget your time to get everything done that needs doing. Here school is #1 top priority every morning. I have Mondays & Tuesdays off work so that we can really focus on school and important outside social activities on those days. I've had to learn how to either use my crock-pot or have quick meals ready to go for us on days I work because when I come home after a day of school plus work, I am usually exhausted. That's the other thing. I'm tired a lot. And my only day off is Sunday so that has truly become a day of rest (you know what gets left out? Church). It can work but I wouldn't do it unless you really need the money (main reason here) or this is what you want to do after the kids are done (second reason here because I'll need a job at that time too). Make a pro/con list and then decide if it's really worth it.

Again here we are interest driven in our home school. But for me I try to seek balance. A balance between: book work and independent free time to learn on their own responsibility and knowing how to relax active work and inactivity being social and doing outside activities/meeting friends vs. just having time at home talking together about important things vs. time for them to be alone with inside their brains skill work vs creative work

(I've only read the OP and haven't read the other replies.) Honestly, if they are not going to school or working or contributing to their share of the bills then I would expect them to help around the house in exchange for their room & board. Chores like: Keep their room clean Do the laundry for the family (or at least theirs & sheets & towels) Take care of any pet chores (feeding, watering, litter boxes, bathing, cleaning up after, etc.) Possibly grocery shopping & cooking (at a minimum doing dishes and cleaning up before & after meals) Sweeping and/or vacuuming Taking out the trash Helping with yard chores such as mowing the lawn & pulling weeds & picking up trash That would be the basics. I mean if they are not doing anything to further themselves then I would use chores as a way for them to build character. An over-abundance of house work may motivate them to find direction in their life.

Youngest was 3 1/2 years old and I did child-led. The last ones to go were the nap and then bedtime. Toward the end there just wasn't anything left and she let go but would try every so often for about a year after. She is very loving and secure. My oldest was at 20 months. I was pregnant and the taste of my milk changed and I remember that last nursing because she pulled off and said "yuck." And that was that. She probably should have nursed longer. She used a pacifier forever and then switched to biting her nails and chewing on her hair or clothes.

What and where is this geometry course? I have an artsy kid who will need to take geometry but I don't think traditional is going to work with her.

Nature study as a class is something that we don't really do. As a part of life, it happens a lot. We have chickens, ducks, house rabbits & cats. We have various wildlife that visit our suburban neighborhood. We also have a garden that we plant, harvest and preserve. So it's really something that is incorporated into our daily lives as we cook, take care of pets and go on walks.

1. Math tutor for high school 2. Japanese tutor 3. Violin lessons 3 years earlier and with a Suzuki method teacher 4. Private art lessons with the teacher she clicks with in all sorts of mediums 5. Summer language academy for older daughter in country of her choosing 6. More travel and more museums 7. Since I wouldn't have to work part-time we would have more time for extra activities especially social ones like traveling to various anime conventions & such 8. Computer programming classes for older daughter We would have had the money & time to pursue interests as they popped up rather than just fit things in. The year I was burned out I could have hired a tutor to take over most subjects until I was refreshed and ready to teach again.

Only if you're in the mood to cry. His songs always leave me in tears and then I remember his life story and get even more sad.

I use it during canning season and would never get rid of it. It sits mostly in it's box but when it's time to make Zucchini relish or chop up onions for salsa, it comes in really handy.

My daughter's hair has never been cut (trimmed once) and is super curly (some areas are very hyper, intense tight curls). Her hair used to look like a frizzy bush but it's now relaxing into soft waves at the top and crazy curls the rest of the way. What worked for us: No shampoo washing with a conditioner (we use John Frida Frizz Easy Dream Curls conditioner) then combing while wet with conditioner and spray bottle on hand (we set aside an hour twice a week for this and watch TV together) then I mousse it with the John Frida mousse (but after reading the book Curly Like Me I am looking at dropping this step and just using the conditioner to set her curls) It looks good for 2-3 days and if it starts to frizz, I just take a bit of conditioner to those parts and reset the curls.

Does she need time to "recharge" her batteries so to speak each day? I know I do. I need to have at least an hour or two each day with no one else speaking to me to get alone inside my head and breathe. From the initial description she sounds like an introvert who needs that sort of thing. Is there anyway to give her at least 30 min a day to do that?

Me too. But then I have sinus issues when the weather is between 45 and 75. If it is really warm out or really cold, I'm OK. But this time it also comes with a dry cough.

Boys over Flowers or Hana Yori Dango (the books, the anime, the Kdrama, the Jdrama) Malcolm in the MIddle

It's truly an awful thing to go through and have to make decisions on. And you always wonder afterwards if the right decision was made. It's something I don't want to ever go through again. I did feel comforted by the fact that they did do brain scans and found no activity before advising us on the best decision and just making things go slowly and comfortably. Even with plans, things don't always go that way. My uncle had a DNR but it wasn't on the hospital records. He had a heart attack while recovering from knee surgery one night in the hospital where he was doing well until that point and looking forward to going home the next day. They did CPR and brought him "back" but it takes a few days before they can do the brain scans to see if they are really still there and alive. He wasn't, so we had to make decisions as a family and do the comfort care. It was truly awful. If his papers had been on file, we wouldn't have had to go through that. But then if they had treated him like a heart patient and had him hooked up to monitors while he recovered he wouldn't have been left so long that it was too late in the first place. So many things can go wrong at end of life. It's been almost three years and the pain is still there about these issues.

Isa Brown is one that we have and they lay so many eggs plus they do a great job at policing everyone, keeping the peace and making sure everyone (including the humans) are doing their jobs properly. Easter Eggers--a bit skittish but love the blue eggs and the personalities. Australorp--big chickens but again lots of personality.

Aldis, the only store I can go to, fill up my cart and still pay less than $75 for it all. Love the place.

Bullet Journal here too. I have a yearly log where I write important appointments. Monthly page to-do list for things that I need to do that month. Weekly pages with daily timers that I keep track of where I need to be & when but also with to-do lists of things that need done that week or on a specific day. If I'm planning an event, I will make a special page for it with my check-list of things I need to do. The Bullet Journal has really helped me manage my life so much better than anything I've tried before.

At work--80s mostly with the family--Bluegrass and classic country In the car--Kpop

I don't watch much English language TV anymore but I watch a lot of stuff out of Korea. Each drama series seems to have some sort of life message and I like the fact that especially the earlier dramas model the kinds of relationships that I'd like to see my kids have with people. And they make me happy even when I'm crying my eyes out. Also they have a set number of episodes so there is a complete story. Some of the good ones on Netflix right now: Descendants of the Sun Tomorrow's Cantabile Noble, My Love Hello my Twenties And Hulu: Empress Ki My Love from another Star Oh My Venus Shopping King Louis Moonlight Drawn by the Clouds Coffee Prince The Master's Sun Healer You're Beautiful I Hear Your Voice Incomplete Life Bridal Mask Liar Game My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (nine-tailed fox) A lot of great stories coming from that direction.

I guess Devil's advocate is not the person to be. If a person has doubts, coming to these boards is not the place to get reassurance, support, and encouragement. I don't buy into College is the only way theory for all kids. There are many other paths and many other definitions of success other than making big $$ and having lots of stuff. Was hoping to get that point across.

I wasn't thinking of one specific child with all these questions but questions that different families might have about one child or another. You may have one child who even though they've been exposed to algebra is really still struggling with the basics of math. You may have another family where they got the child reading but they have problems comprehending long passages and larger words in print. I was pretty much throwing in all the questions I see out there from all the families that struggle and put them in one place. I didn't mean it as what if you are struggling with all of it at the same time.