We use a basic Mr. Coffee drip machine. I ordered a "budget" Mr. Coffee Espresso machine and expect to receive it today. I will try it. 🙂

We started to homeschool because of Covid, though I always had a curiosity about it. I think my oldest would be better off in a B&M school, but I have four children, and I am concerned about going from 3-4 students next year. But I feel I have no choice. Our local school is terrible anyway, so if anyone were to go to a school, it would be private.

When schools go virtual, for the littles, I think teachers should be more of directors/guides. Virtual was taking longer than homeschool because of the screen time around here. I had considered sending my oldest back to a school this year, and now I am glad I didn't.

I agree that this is perhaps a dog that should be in a home without children. It sounds dangerous. You can always think about another dog after you deal with this situation. Sorry you are dealing with this! Our puppy shewed our old carpet, and we have to replace it now, too.

Thank you so much. I will take some time to do some research and look at those threads, too. I honestly feel like I could throw a lot away that I purchased for this year. When I bought them, I thought they all seemed essential, lol.

Thank you very much! I haven't heard of the second reference. I feel like I am grasping at straws, looking for the perfect curriculum. I know that is a trap for many newish homeschoolers.

I have read a bit, but maybe I need to revisit some of the articles. Thank you for the reminder. I feel like we are not doing much well at the moment, lol.

At one point, wasn't the country reporting 0 cases per day? Emotionally, I just have a distrust of information that comes from China, but it's a big human rights violator. Just reading how they treat "political prisoners" is enough to make you physically ill. Too bad we are so dependent on them. 😞

We were able to all test before our Christmas gathering with my other SIL's family and husband's parents. I know they are not 100% accurate, but we'd also had some time between possible exposures and getting together, so I felt a lot more at ease. It's hard to point any fingers right now. Almost everything is a potential exposure opportunity. I did grocery pick up today. I went alone, and the employee loaded my groceries into my truck. I wore a mask in the van with all of my windows partially rolled down. The employee was masked, too. I figure if omicron is as transmissible as they say, that could have been an exposure. But we don't have grocery delivery, so this is the next best thing for us.

Thank you so much! I will contact him in the morning with the suggestion.

I'm very sorry. I know it must feel so scary. My dad is in his 60s, hospitalized/in rehab back and forth due to complications from cancer. He was Covid positive today and said he took some cough medicine. I wonder if I should be asking if he can get antivirals? Maybe if your mom is diagnosed, she could get those? I am not too familiar with their safety, but at least we have a new tool. Honestly, even the most careful of the careful are getting it. It is hard not to judge, of course, and I think some people have enjoyed carefree lives at the expense and stress of others. Adults can do better.

Thank you so very much. Baby and parents are doing well! Hopefully everyone, and my dad, will recover quickly and easily.

She had her baby in record time! I don't want to make light, but they said a perk was they skipped a lot of the registration/triage steps. And thank you so much! My father is high risk. He has been battling cancer complications this entire past year. He sounded in good spirits. My SIL's family will hopefully be okay. I can't even imagine getting that news on my way to the hospital!

Oh, ok. Thank you for the clarification. I think at this point, hopefully a vaccination does help keep most of us out of the danger zone.

I have a relative scheduled for surgery Friday, so I hope all goes well. I agree. Nothing really makes sense. It feels like what will happen is Omicron will rip through society, and life will be disrupted. Two of my relatives got positive tests today, one fully vaxxed and boosted. The other with just one dose because he's been in the hospital/rehab and nobody would get him a second dose. Both are ok, for now. I think they are just throwing their arms up in the air. I'm not sure what more can be done. I just pray this becomes endemic.

My brother and his wife, unvaxxed, had Covid over Christmas. My sister-in-law got her positive Covid test results this morning---on her way to an induction. She is vaccinated and boosted as of recent. So far, she is asymptomatic. They are pretty cautious. My dad called me this morning to let me know he is also Covid positive. He only received 1 dose because he has been in an out of the hospital and rehab. He said he took cough medicine. He generally doesn't feel well, but in this regard, he said it wasn't too bad yet. He just got his positive. Two days ago he was negative.

😔 maybe I’m tired, but that does not help me want to get my kids vaccinated tomorrow…

Dull and dreary, thank goodness--I thought I was the only one feeling this way! lol I don't do all the tests, either. We're doing astronomy, and I ended up buying a magazine subscription with beautiful pictures, a planisphere, etc. Often because of all the tiny details and the burden of the core, those non-core subjects feel like afterthoughts. I will have to check out that Latin program you mentioned. Maybe I have, but I don't remember. I figured if we did keep some MP, such as lit, I would not buy the student guides next year and just use the teacher guide. I know the MP people don't feel kids need every subject to have colored pictures and feel they can be distracting, but I feel like my kids feel happier with them to do their work. It's why I've considered moving away from classical.

I am thinking about that with Latin, too. I started to like the EGR program that compliments the Latin for grammar, but sometimes I don't feel like they get anything out of it. Mostly, I just like that it is quick, and that's not really a great reason to continue with it. I think what I will likely do is not buy anything this school year for next year. When we are finished, we will do some soul searching. I really liked The Good and the Beautiful approach, but the company disappointed me once, and some call it a hot mess. I just like that a lot is covered in the language arts in one book.

I see my children learning from it, but yes, it is a lot. I hyped it up so much in my mind last year when purchasing it, that I have also been disappointed this year. Many say it is beautiful, but sometimes I feel like it is dreary and dark, which seems like an odd thing to write! I have absolutely no idea what I will do next year, none whatsoever. I know if we went back to Abeka or a BJU program for the older two, they'd get a solid education, but programs like those leave little room to maneuver, too. I just feel like there are so many little intricacies of MP. My oldest son doesn't like the Latin at all. I explored other programs, but MP seems to be the most "efficient" and I like that it has a separate textbook rather than a work-text. I am glad I am not alone!

People here don't even want their kids to stay home if they've had close contact/exposure/symptoms. I'm thinking, shouldn't their parents be at home anyway? I agree with you.

Well, my anxiety is sky high right now. It has been a confusing time to be alive. People have different opinions, experiences that make all arguments convincing to me. So I struggle with my decision making. It can be paralyzing. I am sorry your plans got derailed. Does the family member feel safer now that it didn't happen? That is me some of the time. I pray things get canceled or don't happen because at least I won't feel bad about not engaging. I am sorry. I am not a help, just a little glimpse inside of an anxious person. It has gotten bad during the pandemic.

I will have to take a look at that Creek Edge Press. I think I just lack the confidence to exclude things, thinking they would be missing out.

I wish things were more streamlined with MP. I feel like if I choose one of those, it won't allow us to do the parts of MP we like. A lot of the traditional programs seem to combine the language arts. I would love to keep MP's writing and Latin, but it seems like Latin on a complete other grammar curriculum would be a lot. History with MP is timelines, classical, geography, and optional American History living books--and sometimes it just feels like a lot to keep track of.

Maybe that is part of it, my kids are not very independent with reading, though my oldest is an excellent reader. I agree, it is hard to choose just one publisher. But sometimes it seems hard not to do all the things because they work together.