These in between sizes are tricky. If you are willing to spend a million dollars as he grows in the next year or two, I recently found pants that actually fit my son who is hard to fit. The Buckle carries down to a 25 inch waist and extra long. I wish I had bought some there for Ds last year. 27 x 32's are hard to find and too loose and short for Ds. He is long bodied and Adult S shirts at Old Navy have worked for him since he outgrew size 14 stuff (which always had too short sleeves anyhow).

A large ACT gap doesn't necessarily indicate either a large intelligence or knowledge gap. My oldest has an ACT score in the higher range. Her brother, who is a year younger, will likely be closer to the lower range. He hasn't taken it yet, so I can't be sure. He will have the same basic education she has, and I don't think their IQ's are wildly different. The difference is his extremely slow processing speed. It takes him 3 or 4 times longer to get something done. He will likely never finish a section on the ACT. If he were admitted to a competitive college, he would have to work long hours to keep up, but he has to work long hours (especially compared to his sister) now so it would seem normal to him.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. But hardworking talent has a definite advantage. My oldest is naturally good at a number of things, including her sport. She has a number of district championships (districts cover several states). I am very aware that she could potentially have a world championship if we could afford to fly her to all the tournaments. As it is, we travel over a 7 state region for her (and my husband and a couple of the other kids) to compete. For every kid she could beat if we participated in the tougher tournaments, there are a dozen kids who would give her a run for her money if their parents could afford to do "local" tournaments like we do. And for every kid who could win if they could go to tournaments, there are a hundred who could compete at that level if their parents would allow them to take classes. She is where she is because we put time and money into the sport. She is also where she is because she is almost 6' with long legs. She is *also* where she is because she spends 5 days a week working on it. And we are going to be proud of her when she spin hook kicks a three time world champ like she did at her last tournament, because money and height alone would not have come close to making that happen.

My oldest boy did this when he was about 3rd grade. It was the year we did an online test, and I had to stand right beside him while he was doing it because something was wrong with the monitor and he needed help scrolling. I could tell he wasn't reading the passages. I didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to.

My sister has 8. We know several families with 8 or 9. We know tangentially a family of 11. Or, maybe 12. They have a new baby. We don't actually know them, but we attend some of the same sporting events and their triplets are in my daughter's ring. My family of 5 doesn't seem big at all to me. I would have loved having more kids.

My husband and I don't drink. Our parents don't drink. My siblings don't drink. My oldest is 16, but my kids who are old enough to have a real opinion don't intend to drink. Many people in some of our circles don't drink, but in another circle we are probably the only ones who don't. I get how it could seem all one way or the other depending on the social group. Maybe she could meet someone through a dating site?

I only ever buy pop for the house when we have kids over for a group like that. If you don't want to buy pop, you could offer some of those flavored waters, milk, or juice. I'd offer something other than water, because it makes it seem more like a party. Make a salad if you want. Some of the kids will appreciate it. It might be easier to do a veggie tray, though, as kids here tend to graze all evening.

I often say no problem because I am often uncomfortable being thanked. The more effusive the thanks, the more I deflect. If I come across as rude, it isn't my intention.

I've read The Hobbit and LOTR aloud multiple times. I'll probably read it at least twice more. Other books I'll reread, too, for the younger kids. I'm not sure I read many others again for the same kids just for fun.

I almost have Dd's class list finalized, but not her resource list. Calculus with Derek Owen's Apologia Physics Spanish IV with various resources I have Latin III with Lukeion Shakespeare (.5 credit) with Lukeion Logic (.5 credit) Ancients lit and history - using various resources that I have. Bible Survey She is dropping CAP and doubling down on TKD. She will do theater in the fall and choir in the spring. She is still taking and giving piano lessons and will hopefully continue to volunteer in a K'er classroom. She is also optimistic that she will soon have a job. I am optimistic that she will soon have a license, so I won't have to drive nearly as much.

That would be Ds14. It took him exactly one time to figure out how to win the next time.

We've played 2 new games recently. The first was Troyes, which I purchased for sentimental reasons. It is a good game. I like the mechanics. We've played it twice and I am pretty sure we'll have to play several more times to really strategize effectively. The second was Battle Sheep. It is super easy to learn and set up, but it still takes strategy to win. It is probably going to become a favorite shorter game.

I got a flip phone in 2009 and a smartphone in 2017.

If you can get a large appliance box and have a bean bag chair, you could make a castle reading nook in the corner to the left of the bookcase.

We frequently had bats in our house, two houses ago. We had 3 small children at the time and never got shots. I'm not sure I would handle it the same way now.