I remember being unpleasantly surprised by that back to university in October thing while in England. We managed to hit Cambridge on a weekend when all the students seemed to be flooding back in. It never would have occurred to me that that would be happening in October.

We, too, found private lessons to be the way to go. But I also did gain an understanding of the idea that some people just take to the water and some don't. I had never really understood that until I saw the difference between my kids. It was much harder for one of them to learn even with better instruction.

Hits: Rod and Staff English. We really aren't their target audience, but it gets the job done, so we've stuck with it year after year. Writing With Skill 1. we got a rocky start with this, but I see now that my student just wasn't ready when I first got it out last year. I'm glad I came back to it. Memrize for language study. Free app that has been surprisingly popular here. Misses: I'm not sure yet. The jury is still out on TabletClass Algebra 1. Hope we're not wasting our time. Also undecided about From Yao to Mao, which is a Great Courses class. A talking head. Actually a talking half a head since I have yet to figure out how to get it to fit to screen properly. It's being tolerated at the moment, but I'm not sure much learning is going on.

Well, for Mergath, I will admit to covering the very up close and personal painting of a female cr otch in a guidebook from the Louvre. It actually made me laugh, but I knew that if my prudish child saw it she would throw the whole book away.

Yes. Always. I've had the flu and been sick for weeks afterward. Felt like death at the beginning. I swear my hair even hurt. And then, the congestion. Cracked a rib coughing. My daughter took a picture of me at day five after I had managed to pull myself out of bed, and I now know what I'll look like another decade or two down the road. It took me three months to get back to myself and another year after that for the rib to stop bugging me sometimes.

It happens. My kids have birthdays two weeks apart in the same month. I mix them up all the time. And I sometimes I have to stand there calculating to come up with one of them's birth year. My excuse is "well, I wasn't there when this one was born, so it's hard to remember." adoption.

I don't get this. I think the joking, teasing, being friendly is called "being friendly" and not "leading them on". Is she supposed to treat all guys with formality? Ignore them? Act coldly?

I always have more energy in the fall and what I think must be a primal urge to stock up on food, so that we can survive the winter. I fill the pantry and the freezers. I also always make large batches of chili, of different quick breads, and of my cold killer chicken broth to freeze.

I voted 42, but have completely changed to 47 now. Love that bit of Star Trek trivia.

We do. Something for every season and holiday. I've cut back over the years, but my kids havent let me cut back as far as I would like. They have attachments to decorations they've seen year after year. They'll start bugging me soon about the fall decorations.

My thoughts: 1. I wouldn't think of it as behind. Singapore covers things earlier than some other programs is my understanding. 2. We did an A and B per year along with two Intensive practice books. 3. I'm no help. We still haven't settled. 4. Yes, yes, maybe. I never used the IG much, but others have said they found it useful. 5. Sorry. I don't know.

I have some in storage that I can't get at right now, and it makes me crazy when I think about it. I'm afraid I'll die before I can destroy them and don't know whatever possessed me to save them. Would not ever want them read by anyone else. Given this, I vote get rid of yours as fast as possible.

I feel as if we are just now getting past me having to push and prod as my daughter nears high school. It's been a long process and there's still not full ownership, but she does become more reasonable every year.

I adore them. Coloring! cutting! pasting! Woo-hoo! And my kids hated them. Acted like they were being tortured. Sadness.

Used to be a lifeguard and swim instructor and my kids are on swim team. We love us some nice chlorine scent.

The textbooks Genki and Minna no Nihongo were recommended to us when we started down this path. I bought the Genki text and liked it, but then we found a tutor and she kind of does her own thing. We also printed out suggested kanji for the JLPT 5 from online and we have a host of flashcards. My daughter spends three hours a week on Japanese.

Thanks for sharing about this. I just got a couple.

Great post. Thank you. It can be hard sometimes when you know you're standing out and being judged, but aren't going to tell the world the whole story.

Learned something new. Don't be embarrassed. It sounds like you have lots of company under the rock.

Grass tries to kill me (allergies). I don't encourage it and dream of the day I can turn it into a zen rock garden.

I think she's mixing it up with Core F. I will say we did Core D+E because I thought two years of historical fiction about America was more than we wanted.

If they're bored with you, they would really hate me. I could never have managed all that. Can you get them to articulate non-booze/bikinis things they would like to do? Maybe put them on a tourist website for your area and pick out some things? I don't think it should be all on you to entertain them. Also, isn't part of the exchange supposed to be about seeing how regular people live their regular lives?

ETC was busywork here. Unfortunately I didn't realize that until after two, maybe three years. I switched to MCP for the next child and have been much happier.

Keeping the knots out of my calves, wearing one of those boots that stretches my foot up and a cream called Penetrex all help me.