Praying still. Thank you for the update.

Trying to be generous to the mom here. Do you think opening the salon could be one of the things her lawyer told her to do to increase their income and show some level of responsibility?

This seems...extreme. Someone has a lot of time on their hands, I guess.

I agree they have to try and even out deficiencies, but it still is difficult if a student goes to an abysmal school in CA while the student in AL is going to one of the best schools in the state. It would be interesting if the cutoffs could at least be broken down to the regional level or even better, the county level.

Still praying for the son of eaglei, eaglei and family, and the medical team.

:crying: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Since she used to have a normal job at a pet grooming salon before she met her husband, I'm assuming she'll also be returning her SS checks when the government sends them. I wonder if her business is licensed.

We school the entire year. In the summer we usually have family come and visit so those days are vacation. We sometimes go somewhere too. But on school days, we actually do more than during the year because we have fewer obligations such as classes, lessons, book club, etc. We've just stick with our normal stuff, at least until now. This summer we're doing an intensive but fun (I hope!) geography unit. We've been rather lax there. And DS really wants to take a Coursera class but it's not until summer so that's happening too.

I'm not surprised. We're on a board with a high percentage of people who've figured out how to live on 1 or 1.5 incomes already. That's a big step to take for a lot of families but a lot of people here have done it already and understand what they need to do to make it work.

Joining late... Just to clear up a possible misconception. When moving into the next tax bracket, you are only taxed that bracket on the amount over, not on your entire income. So if you make 75,000 and you're in 25% tax bracket and you make an extra dollar over that bracket, your tax will go up by 28 cents, not $21000. From a tax perspective, it's always better to make more money. (Don't even ask me about property taxes. :svengo: ) I'll be going back to work. When I had a career, I made six figures and was relatively happy. But I had another dream and I trained for it. The plan was to have a baby and do the new career I had trained for, keeping it part-time and having more time with the baby. I even did that for a while, but then realized I wanted to be home full time with DS. Then I decided I wanted to homeschool and I had another child. So all in all, I didn't get much time to spend on my new career. I'm looking forward to getting back to it. It will be my own business and I can pick and choose clients and hours so it's ideal. Financially, I don't need to work but if I do we can have a more fun retirement and also help out the kids. I'm extremely grateful for the help my parents and in-laws gave me at key moments and I wish to be able to do the same for my kids. And I hope to leave them a nice inheritance when we die. With the way things are going for the middle class, I think they're going to need it. :glare:

Ew ew ew. I'm so sorry this happened. Same for the OP's situation. OP, if you feel compelled to use the registry (I wouldn't) then I agree with the suggestion to combine a couple of lower-priced items. Do it quickly, though; someone else will have the same idea.

Aww. Hi little guy!

:hurray: I felt the same way about not really finishing but I'm not sure anyone does feel finished. May I suggest you now read The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses? It gave me so much insight into the Ulysses and made me appreciate it all the more.

I completed The Pilgrim's Progress. Sometimes the language was a bit of a slog, but I enjoyed the story and feel I have filled a space that was lacking in my reading. The allegorical characters sometimes have the best names, like Mr. Feeble-mind, Mr. Dare-not-ly, and Mr. Facing-bothways. The book is in two parts, the original and the sequel. I believe I liked the sequel better, perhaps because it was a company of Pilgrims and not just one man (Christian) on him own. The problems I had with the book are due to modern thinking, I guess. For example, when someone ahead of our Pilgrims into a hole, they realize they are on the wrong path and turn around without trying to help the man who fell in. It's a kind of "one wrong step off the path and you may be out forever" kind of Christianity. I cried at the end, I must admit. I'm still working on Inferno, On Politics (year long read), and I've started The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in my Narnia reading.

Yep. After I discovered WTM I was happy my kids were 4 years apart. We could do the same 4-year history cycle, I wouldn't have two high schoolers at the same time, I'd get a break between college madness, etc. Then I started looking at financial aid and I realized it's going to affect us to not have two kids in college at the same time. Makes me want to give the oldest a couple of gap years.... :)

Still praying this morning. :grouphug:

Still praying.

Praying. Thank you for the update. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

We don't homeschool because of the kind of violence to which you are referring, but one of my children does have some quirky things that I truly believe would have led to bullying. So in that sense, we did take safety and violence into account. But most of the reason we homeschool is for academic and family reasons.

Praying for your family, your son's healing and for the whole team helping him. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

That was me. I was thinking about how families lose their houses, apartments, trailers, etc and the land on which that housing exists. If they have no family, friends, or shelter to take them in, they often live in their car or camp. This family had land even after they lost their pre-fab and their "home" looks like something a homeless family would try to cobble together if they managed to stay in one place long enough without the authorities moving them along. Not that this family's only problem is homelessness. They're not just down on their luck, they have other serious issues.

I was really busy today and got to the other thread too late. Glad I found the after party. Based on that link to the comment near the end of the last thread, it sounds like the wife was fairly self-sufficient and normal before the husband showed up. Within a few months she was evicted and they were homeless. Take it for what it's worth, though. The poster's source was anonymous. Makes me wonder how each would have turned out if they'd never met. My instinct is she would have turned out better than he would have.

I can't remember. I think it was a couple who came to our house for a dinner party and brought gifts for the children. I'll have to ask my parents when I get a chance.

Thank you, this was very informative.

Look up Indian daal (lentil) chawal (rice) recipes. You basically make a thick lentil soup (red or yellow lentils) with spices and pour it over rice. Basmati rice is traditional but any white rice works. Shakshuka is super yummy. Here's my favorite recipe. Without the peppers it still works fine. You can leave a portion without feta for your husband.