Super Cute photo!! You should be proud. Choosing to go active duty is such an honorable (life changing) path. Good luck to your son and his family as they navigate the waters of being active duty... speaking from a military wife with a lot of experience under her belt. I grew up in the military ( Dad was an Air Force pilot for 23 years) and currently my husband has 19 years on active duty in the Army. Several years back... he was a Drill SGT training soldiers at Basic for the Army at Fort Jackson.

I would advise that you call around to see what may be options. We live in a small town in NC and I found a private (Christian) school about 11 miles from our house that was willing to try out a part-time option for homeschoolers. I went in and spoke with the Headmaster last year and she was willing to let my son try this year as a part-time student. They hadn't had any homeschoolers prior to my son, but the Board of Directors and Headmaster were open to the idea. So we enrolled my son, 9th grader, for an Honors English class this year. Like you, I was feeling just overwhelmed and burnt out from having to do it all by myself. This year has worked out so well for us that next year my son is enrolled in several classes for the year. The school is very small and he will have the same Honors English teacher again, as well as several other classes either the full year or on block scheduling. I am looking forward to having him be accountable to outsider teachers for some of his classes and I can concentrate on still homeschooling my other son, who will be a 5th grader. I hope you find an option that works for you!

My son attended a private driving school last summer for the week. Cost was $350.

I am sorry to hear about your BIL. I just lost my Dad one year ago to ALS... such a cruel disease :( Feel free to PM me if you would like to chat with someone who knows firsthand about ALS. Hugs to you and the family.

Yes I have several tattoos. All of them were completed prior to my 21st birthday and 3 of the 4 had meaning. Though the work was nicely done by the tattoo artist.. I began regretting them several years ago. I will be 39yo this summer. I am in the process of currently having 2 removed by lasers. OUCH!!

I am praying for you all as well. This post touches me so much as I just sat with my father last April as he was dying from ALS. It was such a beautiful, exhausting experience for our family. Everyone grieves so differently... be gentle and kind with one another, as well as yourself.

Finally had my return go from "approved" to "accepted" overnight. I filed on the 26th with TurboTax and the IRS accepted the return on the 30th. Direct Deposit due on the 12th! Finally....

I am sorry you are experiencing panic attacks. I certainly empathize with you. Hugs. Up until 2.5 years ago, I had never experienced much anxiety, much less panic attacks. My Mom was already suffering from terminal breast cancer when I found out my father was terminal with ALS. My anxiety and panic attacks started almost instantaneously with that news. For me, I tried to just "get through" them on my own, but eventually needed to get some Xanax as needed for those really bad days. With knowing that I have the meds just in case helped make my attacks less severe. I have also learned what works for me to help keep my anxiety from turning into an all out panic attack. Of course, nothing is always guaranteed but I have learned that if I feel one coming on I can try the following: walks and fresh air seem to help getting away from people and crowded places as that seems to increase my anxiety taking a hot bath sometimes reading a book to distract me snuggling with my dog telling myself that "this to shall pass and "I will be ok" Hang in there and seek help if they get really bad. They can be very scary :(

Cajun chicken pasta with garlic bread.

Curry chicken with potatoes served over rice and a veggie mix of broccoli and cauliflower.

Monday - Ham, risotto, parmesan crisp zucchini and biscuits Tuesday- Taco soup Wednesday - Baked Ziti with salad and garlic bread Thursday - BBQ chicken, sweet potatoes and a veggie Friday - Tonkatsu, cabbage and rice Saturday- attending a pool party/ backyard BBQ

My son has his memorized but I start to get the times mixed up especially between long and short course seasons. We keep up with it on the heat sheets- write the new times down and also regularly check USA swimming. I do have a printed sheet that is in a page protector that he keeps in his swim bag of the motivational times ( B-AAAA times). We also keep printed copies of the state champs qualifying times, as well as sectional and Jr. National qualifying times to reference.

Only a few texts from my 15yo son.. but he is having an amazing time- says he loves camp ! Had their service day 2 days ago and helped to make some trails. Also went (low-gear) mountain biking yesterday and said it was sooooo much fun! I look forward to hearing all about it when they return. Their troop has a twitter account and are posting pics/ updates that are fun to keep up with.

Ok so here are my thoughts... I have a competitive swimmer that is often in a prelims/ finals meets over a 2-3 day period. How old are the swimmers and how many events do they have per day? Is this meet a prelims/ finals meet or just one time swimming per day? What time do warm ups begin? If you decide to drive home, you will need to take into account extra time added in for driving, in case you run into problems or traffic. Also realistically figure out gas costs to return home/ back to meet and subtract that from hotel costs. Is the difference worth it or not? If it were our family, we wouldn't drive back home for anything more than maybe an hour trip, depending on warm ups and if the meet was a prelims/ finals meet. For 90 miles away, we would stay overnight. First, the time on the road and the gas costs just don't make it worth it for us to be exhausted more than we already are. The swimmers really need some downtime, as well as a good night's sleep so staying locally just makes that easier. Can you find a hotel with a kitchenette like Homewood Suites, Residence Inn, Staybridge etc... That way you could fix something in the room to eat. If not, what about a crockpot meal? Just some ideas.

We swim on a year round competitive team. I have two sons, ages 14 and 9yo. Little did I know that my oldest would reach the highest level of training on the team and swim would become all consuming ( in every way) for our family. As much sacrifice as we make to support his dream of swimming on scholarship in college, this sport has been so positive for him in so many ways. I always enjoy being a timer as my volunteer position of choice. Of course, I have also helped in hospitality (food/ snacks/drinks for coaches/ officials and meet volunteers) and other areas. I think I enjoy timing not only because you are on pool deck, but it helps you to understand the sport, as well as getting to know the kids names. In our cooler or snack bags I have kept the following depending on how long/ how many days the meet is. Also if we have a prelims/finals during the meet. fruit... bananas, sliced strawberries, blueberries, apples, watermelon, cantelope bagels with cream cheese pita bread with hummus muffins pasta salad potato salad green garden salad chicken salad sandwich wraps meatballs in thermos nuts... peanuts, cashews, etc... apple slices with peanut butter crackers/ wheat thins cubed cheese boiled eggs yogurt parfaits ( yogurt, fruit, granola) cliff bars and recovery bars bottled waters, gatorade chocolate milk and protein recovery shakes

Bachelors in Social Work Double minor in Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies Was accepted to complete my MSW... but life became too complicated at that time with my husband's Army career

I have a competitive club swimmer ( training at the highest level) and we are out of the house daily from 215-800 or 830pm M-F. Since we live 30 miles south of the training facility, I do not have the option of dropping off/picking up so I stay at the pool during swim training. I am in desperate need of more crockpot ideas to add to my list. Please provide me with your favorites. Allison

Wow... what a beautiful tribute! I could truly see what a beautiful soul she is :) Thank you for sharing.

If she is very nervous, I can't recommend IV sedation enough. I have been terrified of having teeth pulled for a long time.Years ago, I had one wisdom tooth removed with local anesthetic in my mid 20's and it was a horrific experience. A few months ago, I was told that I needed my 3 remaining wisdom teeth extracted and I was extremely anxious... couldn't eat, sleep, etc... After reading many reviews, I decided to muster up the courage to find an oral surgeon that specialized in IV sedation. I am soooo glad I did. I have no memory of the procedure whatsoever. I wish I had removed the final 3 wisdom teeth sooner as healing when you are in your late 30's takes so much longer :(

Unfortunately in my case, when I was pregnant with our second son, my ex-husband began having an affair. He walked out on us when I was 30 weeks pregnant. I didn't know at the time why... he just said he wasn't in love anymore, wasn't what I deserved, didn't want the commitment of marriage, blah, blah, blah. Found out after he left that there was another married woman he was involved with, as her husband contacted me. My ex and his new "fling" didn't last more than a few months. That was over 9 years ago and he has dated many, many women since then.

Mandy....not sure we want to do only an online school, but I will add it to my possibilities for a class or two. Dawn... Thank you for the encouraging words. Funny how God works but we continue to see his blessings daily in what has to be the most difficult situation we have found ourselves in. God is good.. all the time!

Yes we tend toward Classical at least some. I have been thinking of some online help next year... maybe Memoria Press for Henle Latin, BJUonline for a subject or 2, maybe Potters school for an elective, Robotics. As far as TOG, I found that it is just soooo teacher intensive and to save some money, we use the library for many of the required books. Though we still use the library on a weekly basis, I just honestly don't have the time to research and put books on hold, pick them up, return them, etc.... Teaching Textbooks... btdt... switched back to Saxon Math, which I am pleased with. Thank you for the suggestions. Lolly... I will send you a private message. Thank you for sharing your story.

Ok so I will just lay it all out in the open. Though I have been a member on the forums, I don't post often but really need some input and/or encouragement. Sorry if this is long... I will try and keep it to the point. So here is my reality. We are an active duty Army family and just moved to NC to be close to my parents ( about 45 minutes away), who are both terminally ill. Dad has ALS and looks like he will be leaving us sometime sooner than later to go home (Heaven) and my Mom is terminal with Stage IV metastatic Breast Cancer. Mom is currently Dad's full time caregiver and my siblings and I help on a regular, rotating basis. The decision has been made that once Dad passes, Mom will move in with me and I will become her caregiver once it is needed, with help from Hospice. I homeschool both of our sons and am needing ideas on what would be the best curriculum path for high schoool, which begins next Fall. I have homeschooled for the past 5 years and have used curriculum ranging from TOG to Textbooks. My son is a competitive swimmer and is looking for a college scholarship. So with that said, we will also need to go through the NCAA eligibility process, which I am knowledgeable of. I need curriculum that is college prep but also not too extremely time consuming on my part, given my involvement needed with my parents, and still schooling my other son, as well as being a wife and swim taxi daily! My son is smart but isn't necessarily loving school unless it is fun. He does school because it is required not because he really enjoys school. Any ideas or thoughts are more than appreciated. Please be considerate- I don't need to hear that I need to maybe put them back in a brick and mortar school or sacrifice swim training at this time. Those are just NOT options.

Cassy, Hugs.... I am sorry to hear about your Uncle. I agree with the others. Be kind to yourself and take it one day at a time. On the days that you feel better than others, do more. On days you just don't have an ounce of emotional energy, do the bare necessities and give yourself time. Grief is so hard and can feel so suffocating and like a dark cloud is just lingering. It is ok to grieve and good for the children to see you working through the process of grief. I know all too well how grief feels. We are a military family and recently moved back near home to provide support and the physical caretaking responsibilites of my parents- both are terminal :( My Dad needs constant care as he is unable to take care of his needs anymore due to the nature of the disease. I help my Mom by staying a day every week for her to have some time. I also just started adding in an overnight every week as well... which is exhausting as you have to be up every 2 hours to help with Dad's needs and medications/etc. I will be thinking of you and saying prayer for your situation. Hug your kids :) that always helps....

I am trying to send a PM but don't have enough "new" posts to send a PM. My son is 9yo and has been asking for a penpal. We live in NC and my son is into everything boy!! Let me know if you would be interested since I apparently can't send a PM yet. Allison