Well, the few months I tried AAS, it was too much for me haha. The reason for that? I like 'open and go'. I didn't like the preparing the cards, the movement of the cards/letters during lessons, etc. Although I set up a tactile environment for our family as their own enrichment, and played games for math practice, I wanted my lessons straightforward and to the point - old school. I found all the parts of AAS overwhelming and stressful. So, I am making the assumption that my friend, who is terribly intimidated by homeschooling, may be overwhelmed by it, as well.

Only the mother is ESL, not the children. Their children will be doing second and fifth grades. English is not my friend's native language, and she lacks confidence. She has asked me to help by gathering her curriculum. I am stumped about spelling. Although I would like to try AAS myself, if I were to do it all over again, I think it would be way too much for her to implement. Any advice on a spelling program that is easy to implement or student led? IEW Student DVD's, Fix-It, Memoria's English Grammar Recitation, along with gobs of good literature will make up the rest of the language arts curriculum. Thank you!

An Airbnb, but I was hoping to save him the extra commuting time. I am in contact with the renter, though, and awaiting a response. There will be another day when we switch our accommodations (we're staying in two places for the experience...well, three places if you count his alone), and I think I, for one, will be sore for hours with my backpack. The research I have done includes bag pick-up services (such as Mybagcheck) and drop-off places (luggage hero is one); I am wondering if anyone here has experiences with those types of services.

Our DS was invited to go a week early to tag along with an undergraduate Wall Street experience group given by a faculty member he does research for. He has all his own travel arrangements apart from theirs - staying way out in Brooklyn. He isn't sure he can check in as early as his plane lands in order to rid himself of his backpack - any thoughts? I have heard about drop-stations for bags. Are those secure? Thanks to all who helped me get started on my new hobby - NYC trip planning LOL, I just know we will love it there!

Our youngest runs a fiber farm and, although I consider it a hobby, she reminds me that she makes a lot of money that pays her share of tuition. The summer is her chance to get the farm back in order and clip, shear, spin, dye, etc. In addition to this, she will do a part time internship in her major to keep her resume going.

When the inside thermostat reads 80, on it goes! We keep our house rather warm in the summer, set at 78 during the day. But, at night, it is set to 73. I like it colder when sleeping.

A very easy cream cheese/coolwhip/pudding in graham cracker crust pie. Chocolate? Butterscotch? Vanilla? Maybe all three! With berries. Simple and popular here.

All wonderful! Congratulations and blessings to all of you!!

Exactly, you can thank us, Terabith, not your dryer. We lost our firstborn’s sock on the drive home from the hospital...that has a higher value. You are welcome!

As a youngster hearing ‘Slip Sliding Away’ by Paul Simon. I could totally relate. I mean, it was about a slide on a playground, was it not???

I call this composition, “Living with an Upright Piano,” rather than, “Decorating with...”

The look is over... because it was all the lost/found gift certificate, I went with a customizable eShakti dress - always wanted to try them. I chose a plum knit knee length. Changed the sleeves to bracelet & made the v high neck, because that looks good w/my every present scarves. And...pockets!!! Hopefully it will look casual enough with my booties... https://www.amazon.com/eShakti-Feminine-Pleated-Cotton-Dress/dp/B07NJMG1CG/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=eshakti+feminine+fx+knit+dress&qid=1554521434&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

Love pockets here & yes, grateful when people give sizes with a review!

Great tip! That is a wonderful program, didn't know anything about it - Thank you!! And, MercyA, I just looked up other items from that company (Belle Poque) and, you are exactly right...cute things!!

WooHoo! I just found an Amazon gift card from 3 Christmas' ago! They state that they never expire. The Hannah Andersson knit dress I purchased on eBay for my NYC trip is a good fit, except HA is way too obviously narrow across the shoulders for me. It is just a plain old knit dress. - dropped waist, knee length. Have you had any success on Amazon with dresses?

I think I get it. The anticipation of his arrival causes you not to be able to fall asleep easily. If you do fall asleep, you wake with a start, mind rushing immediately, wondering, "Is he home yet?" So, if he is not coming in at all, those issues are nonexistent, and you sleep just fine. This is why I am glad (although my heart weeps) that our young adults have (mostly) gone away for college, it is so much easier to allow them to transition into the freedom of adulthood without either of us (YA or me) having to deal with MY adjustment issues. It is your house/your rules, though, but this is what we have done: 'give me an idea of ETA, text if that changes, be quiet upon arrival'. We consider that a courtesy of adults moving around in same house together, but we are only the recipient of the info from the absent/arriving adult, we do not mandate curfew or anything, ETA is their decision. I consider the difficulties of dealing with the 'anticipation' my issue to handle.

Ohhh, I really like WPA projects, thank you! That is reassuring about the ferry! One day we will just have to do our own things...I cannot wait to walk down and window-shop along 5th avenue, which he would abhor, and he can do his own thing in the financial district. Along the lines of the 'Top 10' DK NY book someone recommended, I googled "unusual stores in New York" and found all sorts of store lists...wow...what a crazy place!

I think that is a wonderful idea. Ds would surely like to do something more active. (as if walking miles/day isn't active enough=) And, now we have an extra day because 4 nights just wasn't enough!

So, about the ferry. Does one get motion sick on a ferry? I am prone to that, sigh! As I plan, I am getting so ridiculously excited!! Trip Advisor, Airbnb, Google Maps...the trip itself will be at least half the fun=)

My ds is a mathematics/finance geek, so he would spend all week there LOL,He is networking to have coffee w/a quant (gasp! All those years of preaching that, he is a now a committed networker), visiting the museum of finance, and just hanging out there. From katilac's posted list, I think there will be more to do in that section for me than I had thought. The history and restaurants will keep me busy when there. Thanks for that wonderful list. Got me motivated to spend more time there than I had thought! I am such the Country Mouse now!! LOL Once in a city, the City Mouse in me usually comes out...When I was growing up, an elderly neighbor sent me weekly on an errand to the nearby large metropolitan city via bus. And, my parents had no problem with this. I was in 5th grade! She wanted a pound cake from a department store. I would carry that poundcake in it's cardboard box wrapped with string back on the bus weekly. Good memories!

There are great old threads on NYC! But, I still have questions... Visiting with young adult in May who shares my desire to just enjoy the locale. Plan to spend time on Wall Street, take a food tour, and do a show. Want to walk the high line. I do not think DS will want to go into the Statue of Liberty, but will we regret missing it? He plans to spend time on Wall St. Any tips there? And, we're considering Brooklyn for cost and quaintness. Is safety, returning at night from shows, a concern? We plan to walk and take the subway everywhere. Thank you!

Just an FYI: If you have a convection setting on your oven, you do not need an air fryer. I did some research, because I really knew nothing about airfryers until this thread. Reading reviews on Amazon led me to understand that these are simply small convention ovens. (I guess I thought they did some ‘magic’ in there=). I hopped on over to Wikipedia to learn more. Some models agitate the food, but, generally, these only afford me a little energy savings, and it’s small size made it a little more efficient. So, if your oven has a convection setting, wiki taught me that one simply needed a tray called an ‘Air crisper tray’ to get about the same results. Maybe also an oil mister. With those being only $20 that is quite a better deal if you have that feature on your regular oven, and you can make enough food for a crowd. ETA - @Just Kate has a great idea...what a handy portable oven, though!

So, how quick is quick? Quicker than an oven, because it does not need so long to preheat or quick like a microwave? And, along those lines @Just Kate how long did you need to cook your Brussel's sprouts? I do mine in regular oven for 30 on 400.

We use Spend Tracker, but it does not link, so it is not what you are looking for. Love that it does not link to accounts as I only wanted to track certain spending (DH's, grocery, clothing, gifts, etc) which are more controllable. It provides the visual accountability that I was looking for. It is only as good as the information put into it, but I was looking for something simple, a substitute for taking cash out of an envelope and handwriting purchases on that envelope -- the low-tech method I used in the past.

I do not know if it is possible for me to understand, but I will tell you what question I ask myself when I read this type of comment: Not societally or culturally, but just pure and simple fact: isn't gender all about s*x? I mean, the biological reality is that gender is tied to s*x organs that are biologically made to provide half the chromosomes in reproduction. Does this not have any meaning to young people anymore?