It is for now thank goodness! But it is a ton of money and won't last forever! My DH is no longer working and my boys are both in college (we are cash pay) so we won't be paying if the money runs out to be honest. And my sibling cannot afford to help. I was told a year and 8 months ago he likely wouldn't make it a year. 8 months later, he is still going, but in the steep decline. I just signed another lease term for his apartment 🤪. It is cheaper than him in a nursing home with 24/7 care (he would be dead already if he was in a nursing home with out hiring care in there too) and he refused assisted living when it was a possibility. So...here were are. I've been doing this for 5 years and 2 months with my dad. And we went through this with my in-laws during covid who both died (not covid related). They refused to leave their house until a month before they died saying they think it's now time for that assisted living. Well...that assisted living ship had sailed a long time ago. It has been a nightmare and really opened our eyes to how we want things to be going forward. And now one of DH's dad's best friends - his son is dealing with it too and he is saying he doesn't want this for himself either. Nothing can prepare you for this experience until you go through it.

Right there with you - just my dad though. We are bleeding money on 24/7 care 😔.

I would for sure. That was my plan, but Covid happened. I think it is good to start early and be low stress. It becomes high stress the closer you get to application time and they have a lot of other things on their plates - senior year classes, exams (SAT, ACT, AP), college applications, essays.

DS1 at college finally got the freshman funk. He was really sick, with all the things except for stomach issues, and I went and got him to urgent care this weekend. Negative for strep, flu, covid, and mono (all stuff going around at his school). A script for Doxy has really turned things around for him - along with a script for his coughing. I hope you feel better soon!

I usually prep the coffee maker the night before and hit the button in the morning. I usually put creamer and whatever in the cups and sit down with the tv or iPad to see what is going on in the world. DH will usually come down and pour the coffee and bring it to me. We usually watch a show together with coffee in the morning.

Knowing my relationship with my kids, and they share a lot with me and DH willingly in everyday conversation, I'm glad I am able to parent the way I determine to be best for my children whatever their age.

Both of my boys are doing good so far. There has been A LOT of sickness at DS1's school (mono, flu, covid, strep). He managed to avoid it for 6 weeks, but was just a minor cold and cough. Both he and his roommate have air purifiers that run 24/7 so I think that has helped. Plus this kid takes daily vitamins and gets 8 hours of sleep per night. Mr. Party Animal he is 😁. He loves his school and isn't homesick at all. I went to visit him overnight a few weekends ago and he looks good. At JMU, kids have to decide in early October if they want to live on campus next year or move off campus (there isn't a lot of upper classman housing) - that was stressful. He decided to live on campus one more year and plans to room with his current roommate. They have 2 friends who live across the hall who are doing the same thing - same dorm. They all plan to get an apartment off campus for junior year. This kid is doing good in his classes so far (mostly A's and a couple of B's on assignments), but has a dreaded art history exam on Monday. My boys are not into art and art history and both are taking it. Their least favorite class this semester. He is coming home Tuesday for his fall break. His girlfriend is on break now and is visiting him at school this weekend 😬. Not even going to say anymore about that -- LOL - but we love her. DS2 does not love the college experience at all and wants to come home every weekend, which he has most of them. He wouldn't love being away at any college. His grades are stellar and I just want to keep his spirits up so home he comes (we are about an hour away). He is trying out for the esports team for spring so I think he will want to stay there more often on the weekends and will have some people to hang with. He is home now for fall break and will have one evening to hang with his brother before I have to take him back. So far no plans for changes to their majors. I'm trying to get them to think about a minor, but they are there yet. DS1 applied to the Honors College and should find out about that sometime this month. DS2 declined Honors College sometime this summer. It was good decision as he would be even more miserable than he already is 🤪. Will be doing a lot of driving this weekend picking people up and taking them back -- LOL. All worth it though.

If you are paying for the phone and service, he will join 😁. Both of mine are on it with no issues - we pay for their phone service for now. I think they check up more on us empty nesters than we check up on them. One of my boys has a friend group on life 360 too - separate from the 4 of us.

We have through the end of this year. A little longer actually, but we won't wait that long. We want to have things in place at least a month ahead of the end of our plan. Even if we sign up for something for just a year and plan to have more time to prepare and research for next year.

Our health insurance plan is being discontinued. Back in the day, I was a Federal employee with BCBS and when I stayed home with my boys, I continued with COBRA for 18 months. After that, we continued with a different plan at BCBS. My DH was considered self-employed and we have stayed on our plan for about 18 years. When all the ACA stuff came out, we paid a higher premium, but our plan was grandfathered in. Now it is being eliminated and I have not dealt with finding insurance in forever. I will say that over the years, when ACA came into place, we did research other plans to see if we could lower our premiums (they are high, but it is a good plan). At that time, we found all our favored doctors were not included in the plan options, etc. so we never made the jump. Now we have no choice. So where do we start? We can contact BCBS to see what alternate plans they are offering? We can get a broker? We want to keep our doctors as we have been with them for a long time and we don't prefer to change. Should I call the various doctors and see what plans they recommend or participate with? Are there still issues with pre-existing conditions, etc.? Any advice is very welcome. We live in VA if that helps.

I might check with Connie at Clover Valley Chemistry to see if there is anyone she can recommend. Maybe a former student?

I haven't seen any of those types of comments in my cross-stitching FB groups or 2 college forums I'm in😁

Are you able to get an appointment at a different, less busy, location? Maybe it would be a little further drive? I did that for one of my boys to get his learner's permit and got in pretty quick, but had to drive 45 minutes instead of 10. I also kept checking because people do cancel appointments. I was able to use a photo ID from our homeschool enrichment group for mine to get the CB form notarized. ETA: Just read your update! That is great news!

My guys only took one CLEP - the same one. One received credit for his and one didn’t. They both also took US History (different time periods) as DE. One received credit for a Gen Ed and the other (the same one that didn’t get his CLEP counted) received 3 elective credits for his. However, to get credit for their US History Gen Ed, which is 4 credits), he either needs to take the 2nd time period at CC or just take the 4 credit class at his college.

One of my twins just started his freshman year at a small public school in VA. Their merit money is listed on their website so we knew going in he would get $10K each year for his stats. That helps a lot, but he is required to stay on campus to continue to get the money. My other son chose an in-state school that is notorious for being stingy with merit aid (despite very similar stats as his brother) so we are paying full price for him. We don't qualify for aid despite the fact that my DH has not brought home a paycheck for at least 2 years 🤷‍♀️. We did save over the years so we are paying out of pocket at this point, but money goes fast with no income. Some schools require the FASFA to even provide merit aid. I don't know anything about student loans so no help there. But I would suggest looking at merit aid options at the schools your children may be interested in.

I am probably the odd person out, but I would focus on getting your new home and building the garage/apartment. Could he not stay in the house for a year (or 2) until that is complete knowing you are working towards a more permanent (and probably more customized) option for him?

Just got home from moving DS1 into his dorm. Exhausted and sore, but successful! Feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest, but only minimal tears in front of him. DS2 is next 😢!

I cannot believe I am 4 days away from heading out with my first for move-in. We are going up the night before and are planning to enjoy a nice dinner and will be meeting with his roommate and his parents for ice cream after. We move in at 8 am the next day and will vacate the room by 11 for his roommate to get his stuff moved in. The 3 of us will go to a nice lunch and shop if we are need something and then go back to finish anything that didn't get done. DH is planning to leave early and I said I was glad we are taking 2 cars 😁. I won't be rushed, but will leave when I know it is time. Well before dinner for sure as they start activities and RA meetings and stuff at that point. I want to make sure everything is put away or it will never get done -- LOL. DS2 heads to his school 5 days later so, while I have gotten what I need for him, I probably won't fully pack his stuff until I get back from JMU. This one will be easier to leave as I will have already been through it once and I know I will see this kid a week and a half later as he is coming home for Labor Day weekend. Now off to Target to return stuff I don't need and get stuff I am missing from my lists 🤪. Good luck everyone!

My twins are heading to college in the 2 weeks and I'm officially retired from homeschooling. I loved most every minute of it and have no regrets, but I'm not sad it's over. Between homeschooling high school with twins, caring for my elderly father (he is very difficult), dealing with the deaths of my in-laws in 2021, Covid, and the college application process, I am tired 🤪! I will miss my guys though. I have a long list of home projects and fun things I want to work on. I will still be caring for my dad, but I plan on finally taking time to work on me. I plan to ease into exercising regularly. I will also eat healthier with only shopping and cooking for me and DH most of the year. We need to finish cleaning out and selling DH's parent's house, which will be a lot of work, but we both really need closure on that. For fun, I plan to organize and work on my cross-stitching (my cheap therapy), work on organizing my pictures and getting better at photography (both with my DSLR and my iPhone), and reading again for pleasure. At some point, I may look into going back to work (probably part time). We will see. DH is basically retired and I'm not sure I want to be tied to a job's schedule that would limit our ability to travel and do things together. I'm very ready for this next chapter!

Yes! I can positively say that doing 2 at the same time at 2 different schools is not easy at all, but I'm glad I'm off the college app hamster wheel 😁!

I've come back to say my DH did all the research for this and we are going with Gallagher. It is super inexpensive for what you are getting. We are doing it for both boys. I've read a lot of posts in various groups about not using homeowner's for this for a couple of reasons. One is because the deductible might be high on a homeowner's policy where you can get low deductibles with a dorm plan. Also, if there is a claim, there's a chance your insurance premiums could go up. I've also read quite a few posts in various groups of parents who actually used their dorm insurance for various reasons. Maybe worth a little research...

Just want to wish everyone good luck as they embark on this process! I stressed about everything. Now that my boys and I are on the other side, finishing our packing for their freshman year at college, I can say it all turned out ok. It will for you too! Hang in there, keep your chin up, and your eye on the prize. Try to enjoy this last year of your homeschooling journey with your senior. You'll get through it and next summer you'll be super busy preparing for your student's first year at college and seeing all the posts about the new application cycle :-).

Both of my boys’ schools specifically said they did not recommend Chromebooks. DS1’s school has specific requirements for his degree while DS2’s did not (both business majors). We got both laptops to meet DS1’ s school requirements. We went with Dell XPS 13’s.

I am 56 and will be an empty nester this month. My passions are photography and pictures. I also love to cross-stitch. i plan to spend more time reading, which I loved doing before kids, and exercising. I will be organizing too, but that is not my passion. I wish it was 🤪!

Maybe head to Georgetown and shop and have a great meal. Lots of options there.