So, I sincerely hope that the hypothetical non-cheating spouse has talked with a divorce attorney about the possible legal ramifications of being the one to move out. And that said non-cheating spouse doesn't believe what his/her cheating spouse has said about when the affair began and has taken precautions and hunted for assets the cheating spouse may have hidden away rather than relying on cheating spouse's honesty and good will.

Kinsa's right. 281 is a prettier and easier drive than IH-35. There is construction on IH-35 from Hillsborough to south of Temple and probably some more construction south of Austin. The Gruene/New Braunfels area is very nice and a good staging point for various day trips. Just plan on being in the car longer than you think, especially as you make your way south from the panhandle. Pay attention to gas stations - top up your tank even if you don't think you need to.

Honestly, unless you have oodles of time, I'd plan on staying in the north or (depending on your route) west part of TX. I wouldn't try for Houston, Austin, S.A., etc and the DFW area is probably a stretch. Believe us when we say that there is a lot of driving with a whole lot of nothing to get from the panhandle to DFW, to say nothing of Austin, etc. Maybe El Paso and that area of New Mexico might not be bad to explore.

How long do you have? Plan on driving to take longer than you might expect due to distances. The northwest/north is basically flat and brown; but, there is the Balcones area south of Amarillo. I'd head to Central Texas, to be honest. Loads of different things to do - get out in nature, museums, neat small towns, etc.; but, I'm not sure if you would have time to drive here, explore, and drive back home.

Your and dh's *only* obligation is to your immediate family. Hint - that does not include any people you did not marry or give birth to. You really don't have to pay for plane tickets or anything else for anyone, let alone selfish, entitled "adults". Please, please rethink your so-called obligations! Especially if it involves supporting another adult. It doesn't matter how much money you/dh make; no one is entitled to it, even if they are older and/or not as well off. I just can't imagine treating someone, anyone, the way your in laws are treating you and your dh. And just to be clear - you didn't make any mistakes and the only thing you need to change is your mindset.

Thank you both for the suggestions. Kareni, the SAT Question of the Day was what I was trying to remember. Thank you.

Oh, Wowsers!!! A double whammy!! A *funded* to-die-for history research opportunity for you PLUS a fabulous trip to Japan for your ds!!! Congratulations to you both!! --signed the amateur medievalist and frustrated (non)-traveler

Luckymama, thank you for the resource suggestions! And the reminder about reading and math. I'm not too worried about the verbal/writing portions of the tests; however, my boy is not a STEM man. Dh and I are working hard on math with him. Yes, he does have a long time before "it matters". He tends to psych himself out, though, especially in math. <sigh> He has the ability to do well on these tests; I want to ensure (as best I can) that he's comfortable with the tests' formats. Thanks again! Your info is very helpful.

Morning all! I'm sure there are recent threads about this topic; but, I'm at work and find it beyond tedious to search on my phone. With the recent changes to the PSAT and SAT what are your favorite resources for test prep. Also, what are the best/your favorite resources for the ACT & SAT II tests. Second, what is the best way for my soon-to-be 9th grader to prepare for these tests? Thanks!

It's my pick-me-up and sanity saver. Congratulations one and all!!

Also, when applying to law schools, he should research the schools' placement/employment rates of recent graduates *in the legal field*. Unfortunately, some schools will publish recent employment rates of their grads, but include employment outside the legal field (i.e., baristas, waiters, etc).

The degree by and large doesn't seem to matter, though many students major in history, gov't, business, etc. What does matter immensely is his university GPA and LSAT score. Law schools are ranked in tiers in much the same way universities are. The difference is that, because of the glut of newly minted lawyers, many firms (especially the big firms) don't usually hire from third tier law schools. If your ds also had a unique skill set (MBA or engineering degree, for example) that would probably make him more attractive to both law schools and later employers. I believe Ravin has recently completed law school if you want to send her a PM.

Depending on your state's laws your dh should probably talk with an attorney. I assume, based on his earlier actions, that he doesn't practice this kind of law. He could probably talk to one for the price of a drink (or dinner or whatever) and at least find out if he should formally hire one. I would be surprised if he or one of his associates don't know a lawyer who specializes in this area.

No. There is no one national health network, except maybe the VA or Tricare (and those are different from each other); but, they are limited to former and current military members and their dependants. I live and work in an area with three major hospital systems. All three use different EMRs and they do not share information with each other. TM, I can understand how receiving that letter is disconcerting. Just know it's automatically generated and you can probably safely shred it. Their records on you are limited to the emergency surgery you had years ago, assuming no change in affiliation. I want to give an example, though, of how having an EMR and a health system allows for improved patient care. My mom was visiting me last year, became quite ill, and needed to be seen in an ER. Because Mom's doctor where she lives (some 250 miles from where I live) is associated with one of those three major health systems I mentioned the ER doctor where I took her (which is also a part of that samehealth system) was able to pull up her records and know important information. This allowed him to give the best treatment for her condition using the most appropriate medications. Could I have given the ER doctor the same information? Probably. I am my mom's MPOA and know her medical history, med's, and allergies. However, the doctor was able to pull up her records much quicker than I, or even my mom, could have given him the same information.

Dh and I just finalized our 9th grader's year. Due to various circumstances most of his classes will be outsourced which I think will actually work better for him. Because dh is the primary teacher and ds is 14 <sigh> there have been some chest bumping, alpha male issues cropping up lately; so, having ds be responsible to others for his school work may help smooth that father-son relationship. Anyway: Math - Algebra 1 Science - either Biology w/lab or Environmental Science w/lab English - Intro to Rhetoric/Ancient Literature History - Ancient History FL - Latin PE - probably TKD. He has his 2nd degree BB and we're working with his instructor on a program/set of goals for him Elective - possibly LLoLOTR w/his sister. We'll probably have to beef up his assignments in order for this to count as a credit. I may award him 0.5 credits. We'll see. Extra curricular - CAP

Dodger by Terry Pratchet The Eight by Katherine Neville The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

My 14 yo has a phone because he has a lot of outside activities and he needs a way to let us know where/when to pick him up. My older girls share a phone and we mainly got it for them to take to swim meets. We/they use it for pick-me-ups if they have a "bad" event or something. When I was young my mom made sure I always had at least the amount of whatever the pay phone cost. Those simply aren't available for the most part now. The cell phone takes the place of the pay phone for my kids, especially my eldest. I think there are people (adults and kids) who get sucked into the technology at the expense of relationships. I try to model responsible and moderated use for my kids.

My older girls are competitive swimmers and use the women's locker room to shower and change after practices/meets. They are both (at almost 13 & 11) very body conscious. They don't want to deal with boys over 3-5 being in the locker room while they're in various states of undress. And, frankly, they shouldn't have to do so, especially if the expectation is that opposite sex kids over 4 aren't allowed in the locker rooms. I spend a lot of time teaching my kids (boys and girls) about body integrity and how they have the right, generally speaking, to say who sees them undressed and how/when. I just don't get trying to teach that lesson and at the same time tell them that in locker rooms with age limits for opposite gender kids that lesson doesn't apply because...why? I asked all my older kids (2 boys: 9 & 14; 2 girls: 11 & 12) about this issue. They *all* said they'd be very uncomfortable showering and dressing in front of the opposite sex (ages 7+), especially if that group included their team mates or peers. We're actually pretty casual about nudity at home; though, my kids won't change in front of each other now. I think that's fine and appropriate. To me, the issue isn't simply whether an adult female would be uncomfortable changing in front of an older male child. The more important issue to me is how my t(w)een girls feel about it. They and all girls deserve to feel comfortable in locker rooms where the expectation is that males above a posted age won't be present. ETA: I saw the pictures of the boys last night, but was too busy at work to answer. My impression was that the boys were b/w 5 and 8. It was very difficult to tell, though, from head shots.

Well, I was going to say that you probably hit the keys too fast and they jammed up near the paper. But then I remembered what century I was in.

OMG!!! You just brought back a fantastic memory of my great-grandmother, grandmother, a couple adult female cousins, and mom doing this on many a summer's eve. They all had hand fans they used, too. As I recall, the after supper the men went on the front porch and the women sat in the parlor sipping <ahem> iced tea. What a trip down memory lane. Thanks.

Where my girls swim there are signs on the locker rooms which limit the age of opposite gendered children in the locker rooms to 4 and under. There are also 2 family changing rooms and 4 (?) changing stalls (think of free-standing canvas tents - tall, not wide). In the women's locker room (and I assume the men's) there are no changing stalls, just benches in front of the lockers and 3 or 4 shower stalls. My girls (11 & 12) would be very uncomfortable with an 8-10 yo boy in the women's locker room. They don't even like their brothers to see them undressed. Frankly, they shouldn't have to put up with some mom who blatantly disregards the rules and then snaps at the person who pointed it out. I have very little sympathy for this woman, especially given that the family changing rooms were open. Whatever her motivations she comes across as inconsiderate of others' needs and comfort levels. If it is indeed true that her older son is younger than he looks, then she needs to wait for the family changing rooms (and he's probably not a 3 year old who looks 10).

I'm another who loved the series as a child (I was 6-8 when I read them) and whose kids have also enjoyed them. First, as Garga said, the narrator is unreliable. We are seeing his action through his eyes. Second, I think there is great benefit for kids to read books like this because they can begin to work out right from wrong and deal with hard issues in the safety of a book. I think there is moral fuzziness in the books because kids are not known for their outstanding clarity on moral issues, especially kids in the age range of the characters in the book (the unreliable narrator again). I think this is a great way for them to begin to think about moral issues and how we/they can and should respond to them. This is a great way to have non-pressure conversations with your kids about right and wrong, how we treat people; how we act even when no one watches; etc. Of course, there are many books out there and no one can read them all. If you and your kids don't like TGB, there are other books just waiting to be enjoyed.

Lol!! You sound like you have the makings of a good Con Law prof. :)

Ooohhh!!! Has no one recommended Inspector Morse yet?!?! Love this show and the books are good, too. In the same vein is Inspector Lewis (set some years after Morse and featuring Morse's partner now an Inspector) and Endeavour (about a young Morse just starting out in the 60s). And, no offense to Cumberbatch fans (and I do like him) but, in my mind, Jeremy Brett will *always* be Sherlock Holmes. I heartily recommend this version of Sherlock Holmes. I second Cadfael starring Sir Derek Jacobi. Also, love the books.

It's funny; in my *personal* life I rarely say anything to parents who aren't using car seats or booster seats correctly for just the reason you mentioned - parents who react like you just slapped them across the face with a glove & challenged them to a duel. *Professionally* I do make car seat safety an issue. I have and probably will again at some point point out to parents (a) what my state's law actually says, ( b ) what the science says, and ( c ) how they can make their child(ren) safer. I think it's the uniform - I'm more comfortable speaking out and others listen without harsh reactions.