I've got a 9-year-old who can sing any Beatles song. His favorite album is Sgt. Pepper :huh: It's hilarious to see the 70-year-olds come up to him while he's wearing a Beatles shirt and be drawn into a huge conversation about them. Which one was left-handed, who spent a lot of their childhood in the hospital, where did they sign the contract to officially break-up, and on and on. We took all of the kids to see a group that tours the country singing the Sgt. Pepper album. Guess who sang along with every song... The looks on peoples' faces were priceless.

Oh, my gosh! I'm suddenly 10 years old again, roller skating under a disco ball... It's funny how a strutting John Travolta appears in my mind right along the 3 of them :coolgleamA:

Ha! I think all the Cassidy obsessions fall into the same generation. ;)

Yes, his step-mom. In the show, they talked about their early years, his younger brothers/her sons, (Shaun was the obsession among all of us 10-year-olds ;)) their professional endeavors together, the extended family. It was so interesting. She sang, they showed footage from Oklahoma, The Partridge Family, and a bunch of other stuff. It was fantastic.

Yes, it is sad. My DH and I saw him and his mother (Shirley Jones) perform together a couple of months ago. It was sort of a look back at her life, mostly narrated by David Cassidy. They were both fabulous. She is still stunning.

We love our Cavaliers so much. In many ways, they are the perfect companion dog. But they both have health problems that would be impossible to deal with in a dorm, and out of all our dogs (and there have been many!) they were the hardest to house train, by far. And while they both weigh about 26 pounds, I can't imagine either of them fitting into an under-the-seat carrier. I guess it's possible, but they wouldn't be comfortable. ETA that if you could find a mix that was part Cavalier and another smaller breed, that might be a great dog.

My DD is the one with the crazy dreams here. The other night, she dreamed that I was going to have another baby. :laugh:

LOL, just reading your description makes me a little nervous... listening to raccoons and bugs while in a sleeping bag... It's so great that there are people who enjoy nature in that way. I'm definitely not one of them. :laugh: My "waterfront happy place" is the Ritz-Carlton on Grand Cayman. Sitting in a cushioned beach chair, listening to the waves and the sound of someone asking me if I need more iced tea. Watching the sun drop into the ocean and then heading to dinner at a fabulous restaurant. The next time I'm there, I'll think of the wonderful description you just gave of your campsite!

Oh, wow! Sounds like a fun time. I can't wait to see the transformation!

I've been homeschooling since my oldest started kindergarten; this is our 16th year. It's our family culture. The older 2 are in college, and the younger 2 are elementary age. DS1 is a physics major. DD1 is majoring in sequential art.

I typically go on a cruise every year. I have what i bring for myself and my kids down to a science. :mellow: I bring mostly knit skirts that are just past the knee and knit tops that can be mixed and matched plus 2-3 cardigans. I also might bring a non-wrinkiing dress. During the day, I wear a skirt and top with comfortable shoes and minimal jewelry. At night, if I've been inside most of the day (not hot/sweaty) I put on dressier jewelry and a cardigan and change into nice sandles for dinner or shows. If I'm leaving the ship for a beach, I'll wear a swimsuit under a knit cover up that looks like a sun dress. No one will look twice at your choice of swimsuit. Plenty of women will have on the same type of thing. These are hands down my favorite shoes for walking around, and they look cute with skirts or pants. jambu.com/deep-sea-encore/

I'm so sorry. What a difficult time you all must be having. I grew up in the KC area. If your sister is in Independence, I'd look toward being in either the Blue Springs or Lee's Summit school districts. COL/taxes are higher on the Kansas side in the areas that I'd feel comfortable living/good school districts. I have family in Denver, and I don't think I could deal with the weather (or the higher COL).

There are a couple of women at my church (Catholic) who cover their heads during Mass. While it hasn't been a requirement in a looongg time, I see it (and the Church states it) as a woman's choice to do so.

I love Storytime Treasures! I've never used Abeka, but from the descriptions in your list, I think you could leave out Reading and Language. Are the 10 books in Reading phonics readers designed to go with the Abeka program? if so, you probably want them. If not, I'd just use the books in Storytime Treasures. There are some spelling words included in ST, but MP uses SWO at the same time for spelling and their own handwriting program for handwriting.

Wow! I can't believe it's been a year since your DH's transplant either! I'm so glad that he's doing well! Liver transplant surgery has come so far in the last 10-15 years. Both of my big kids are in college. My son is majoring in physics, and my daughter is an art student. They're both thriving. My younger two are still in the homeschool routine, and I'm thankful for that! I'm enjoying the elementary years again. I hope your DH tolerates the ERCPs well. I know they're not fun. I think of you every time my DH mentions liver transplant surgery, and it's so nice to read your update!

Melissa, you and your husband are amazing people. Truly amazing. With all of your experience, I'm sure you probably already think of him as "younger" than his years, but given his background, he may be much "younger" emotionally than many 8 year olds. So much of his emotional energy has been spent just learning to cope with his circumstances. Do you think he realizes that he's lying? It's a strange thing, but sometimes it is actually unconscious, especially if it's been developed as a defense mechanism. Sometimes psychological testing can pick this up in adults, and it's an interesting thing. When someone is presented with this, they may think it's so absurd that they actually have no problem telling other people about it: "That test said I was lying unconsciously. Can you imagine?!" Well, yes, the people around them usually aren't surprised at all. But somewhere in their backgrounds, there is almost always something that caused enough trauma to set this off as a defense/survival mechanism, even when it is clearly no longer needed. :grouphug: to you. You're doing an awesome thing.

Prayers for you and your sweet baby. It's wonderful that you're able to move around and can go to see him. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

The unknown is just so stressful. Praying for you and wishing you peace. May all of this be resolved soon.

I'm so sorry. I'm praying for you here. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I'm sorry he didn't match. Good for him wanting to try again next year, though. That shows real perseverance. My DH is a gastroenterologist (a great one ;)) and I remember the stress of all the unknowns--with 2 small children. Many people don't realize that GI doctors are board-certified internists, as well, which means they keep up 2 certifications. If there's anything that your DH would like to ask mine about, he'd be happy to share. Good luck planning your interim year.

Oh, my goodness, I was JUST thinking about you! So glad you're all doing well!!!

Yes, it co-exists with dyslexia here. Interestingly, and i don't know if this is specific to the "dyslexic" brain or not, when something is presented in a picture rather than words, it is not only easier to understand, but also easier to express about. For example, when a therapist/teacher reads a small paragraph and asks the student to write something about it, what's written may be 2 very short, subject/verb sentences. But when a picture is shown and then given the same prompt, a long, very creative story will emerge. It's interesting, for sure, and I'm sure it's incredibly frustrating for the student. One thing that helps here is the idea of "forming pictures in your mind" when writing (or speaking) and then describing the scene. In my experience, this works for them in a way in might not for NT thinkers, who may only be able to write (or speak) about the physical scene when doing this. I'm not sure I'm describing this well! It's challenging, for sure. I also think it's helpful to read aloud lots of things that are rich in relationship-type interactions where the author describes facial expressions, emotions, etc.

Here's my two cents, FWIW. I've been homeschooling children with dyslexia for 16 years at this point. We also deal with inattentive ADHD, anxiety diagnosed at age 4, SPD, and dysgraphia that seems to accompany all of these things for many kids. My older dyslexic was one of the earliest and most articulate talkers I've ever heard with a vocabulary that left other people speechless. ;) All that to say... Dyslexia was my first thought when I read your original post. If I had to make a choice between a full evaluation and curriculum, I would probably choose to start Barton right away with the goal of saving for the eval. as soon as possible. I might even go ahead and make the appointment for a few months out to help me reign in Christmas spending, etc. It's important, but... When it comes to accommodations for the ACT/SAT, etc, the testing needs to be "current" (I believe it was within 5 years?) We had to have the whole evaluation re-done at age 17 for my older student (originally done at 8). HTH!

Prayers for peace, comfort and rest are being said for you and your family, Teresa.

Thank you for this! I read Better Than School 13 years ago on a vacation to Colorado when my older kids were 6 and 4--on the train to Durango. A woman looked over my shoulder and asked, "Oh, do you homeschool?" I said, "yes, we're just getting started." I, too, think about those children from time to time and wonder how they are. Their blog is wonderful to see! I've been homeschooling for 15 years, but I don't consider myself an old-timer--I read The Well-Trained Mind before we started! I do find them inspiring, though!