Home health aid. There are companies all Over the country looking for employees. This is a job you can do nights. Think of it as a highly paid babysitter. Or, offer after school care in your home for special needs kids. They are often hard to find after school care for. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Our house is similar in what you described other than the acre of land (we have less than 1/4). We could sell ours for $330k. Add an acre around here and you would add at least 50k. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We just went on a family vacation. I don't want to repeat that one. It was mostly to see family who happen to live in a nice location. Two days of traveling there, two days back, and four days in the location. I didn't have to clean or cook, but I was still the family organizer in a new location. It's exhausting. We have a son in a wheelchair and a very intense daughter along with two other children who are easy to travel with. I'd personally like to travel someplace close, stay in one place, and have all my meals and activities prepared for me. Maybe a resort type place. I am going to visit my mom by myself in a few weeks and that will be "my" vacation. Then I can relax.

I was given 3 cutco knives. They are still going strong 10 years later. Recently, for $9 shipping and handling, I got them all sharpened and one replaced because the tip broke off. I have been super pleased with them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My 11 1/2 year old is doing the smelly thing, the sleeping 11+ hours a night, and the crying bit. He'll cry over the least little thing. This time around I know it's just hormones. I didn't get it when his 15 year old brother started crying for no good reason at that age. If he's anything like his brother and father, he should be my height by next year to only pass me up quickly. My 15 year old is 6'2" and solidly built. He looks like he's in his late teens. He is very affectionate also. We're enjoying 15. I have no sadness over losing my little boys because my big boys are decent people I like to be around.

We have an x-acto school pro electric pencil sharpener. I think I bought it 6-7 years ago. Still going strong and my daughter can sharpen her extensive colored pencil collection one after the other no problem. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I never had punishment as a child for wrong emotions, but I was taught to repress my emotions. Now, as an adult, I have whole periods of time where I "don't feel". I have no idea what my emotions are and as a result, they burst out all at the same time. I have made sure to let my children cry and get angry, but have taught them how to deal with emotions properly. What is the real reason for emotion goes a lot farther than learning to suppress it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I bought a pillow (not down) with some sort of fiber fill foam? that is washable from Costco. I love it. I think the pillow was something like 2 for $30.

It's not a high school curriculum for sure. I had my son complete it in 8th grade and even then it was a little too simple. It's OK for what it is. It's not all that exciting and I'm pretty sure there are better curriculum's out there to make geography more interesting. But, if you just want a get it done curriculum, this would fit. I guess it feels a little bit like Maggie Hogan wanted to give her son a chance at writing curriculum and this is the result. I bought it because there's not a whole lot of non- unit studies for geography at the upper grade level, but there has to be something that grabs the attention of the child a bit better. My review? It's a solid "meh".

I live near mountains. That's pretty happy in my world.

I had a Holly Hobby shirt! It had an extra large pointed collar on it. Go 1970s!

Here's a side topic---I am wondering why people feel the need to drink alcohol. I'm hesitant about it myself. There are just some days that I'm pretty stressed and really think a margarita would be a great thing. I also have an intense personality as a general rule which just adds to the stressed thing. My husband, who loves me regardless, likes it every once in a while when I've had a glass of wine because I am just not so intense. What is wrong with me?!?! Is alcohol the only way for me to truly relax? Wine at least has some health benefits, but I don't really like wine all that much either. At the same time, I did start drinking coffee so that I could feel awake at least in the morning. My female neighbor drinks a beer when she gets home from work some days. I hate beer, but I totally understand...

My friend who has graduated 6 children so far always told me this. "You can always graduate them early, but if they're not ready to move onto college/career, it's harder to hold them back". She automatically has placed her summer birthday children in the grade below them. That way, they can usually complete some dual enrollment classes (college classes) before they graduate high school. Her children always worked at classes above their grade level, so college classes in high school were easier. My 15 year old was 20 days after the September 1 cut off in Minnesota. In Colorado, our current state, he would have made the cutoff of October 1. He completed two high school level math classes and one foreign language class in junior high, yet, I still call him a going into 10th grade even though in Colorado, he could easily go into 11th - he has the knowledge and has completed several high school level courses. Here's the cool thing though. This year, he will start college math classes and next year go to full time college. Many online colleges will have half priced credits for high school students. So, even if your state doesn't pay for college in high school, going to college for half price is a really good deal.

The library also has an 8 hour introduction to Python that I may have him take. He says he would hate programming. It may be good to test that theory of his. He would know if he hated it or wanted more at the end of that. Don't you love the library?

My son is enrolled in a charter school of sorts part time. Basically, they pay for college classes, keep his transcripts, and give him a diploma at the end. We get to retain our homeschool status if we wish. One requirement they have is a computer course. The equivalent at the community college is this: Introduces basic computer terminology, file management, and PC system components. Provides an overview of office application software including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation graphics. Includes the use of a web browser to access the Internet. He's done this for sure. We are Mac people and he has done quite a bit of manipulation to format his papers for his online class in the proper way. The only gap I saw was Excel and I found a 6 hour course at the library for that. I would like him to take a basic web design course of some sort also so I'll have to see where I can get that also.

For different reasons, my son needs a computer elective. Things like knowing Power Point, Web stuff, knowing Microsoft Word and Excel - basic computer literacy. He has probably done more than enough to make it credit worthy. He has done years of power point presentations for online school assignments (with graphics and music), has instagram postings with 700+ followers, has edited video content with iMovie and I'm sure could tell me a lot more. What would you include in all this? Thanks! Beth

I figured it out...I too went to a seminar of theirs and remember thinking she had the submissive wife doormat feel to her until she spoke and then you knew she was the one with the ideas. I saw them speak together which was also awkward because the husband was clearly the head of the house yet she was the one behind the whole thing. Never did use their stuff - too structured.

I figured out mine. It was the Konos author. Their seminar was: "Looking Back: What We Would Change". It seemed to me that there was still change going on and they needed to look at their present day. Looking back was doing them no favors at the time.

In the late junior high and into high school, especially with boys, the relationship becomes a little strained that is strained a bit more if mom is the teacher. My friends would tell me about 15 year old boys and now I believe them. The boy wants to be "the man" and is learning and desiring to be "the man" and having to still listen to his mommy grates on him a bit. Add mom as teacher and it becomes a bit harder. Then, with high school, one person cannot be the expert at everything and you start to realize that someone (aka a teacher who has majored in their subject) CAN do a better job than you teaching the high school subject. When they're in elementary school, a lot of homeschool moms can do as well or better than a teacher with 25-30 students in the classroom. We've chosen to spend our money with online classes for our two sons starting in 6th grade. It has really saved the relationship. My 15 year old will be completely doing online classes and a community college math class next year. It is what works for us while still allowing us to give him a Christian based education.

I think what we're going to wind up doing is a discussion class where they combine movies and talk about the worldview of each. He loves both. I have to find out a bit more about the class, but it's an elective and it seems like he will enjoy it.

I'm curious as well. I can't remember who my people were who had the marital argument during their session.

I agree with the College algebra thing. It does give him a chance to get his feet wet in the college class thing and adjust to the pace without having to worry about the content as much. He'll only be a sophomore and at this point, it does not look like he's going to enter a math type career. Just because he's good in math doesn't always mean that math will be related to their lifelong career. He has plenty of time to take 6 college math classes if he does decide to go into a math related field. I tend to see steering him more toward probability and statistics more than calculus at this point.

Yes this---He is already in for a pretty intense year I think. He does need the additional credit, but I don't want it to be too overwhelming. I've been thinking of an artistic pursuits high school course with a video art course possible music appreciation course listed above. Either that or a how to design a web site course because I think that would be something he may actually use in the future.

Did your child do these courses?

He'll take two college classes in math next year for a total of 5 credits. Also, the math courses he did do in junior high were algebra 2 and geometry/ intro to trig. They are high school level courses. He will most likely take at least 4 semesters of college math anyway, so we're good to go either way.