Kay in Cal
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Posts posted by Kay in Cal
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While both dh and I were interested in homeschooling, we had never really met any homeschoolers before we had kids. It was reading WTM that convinced me that this was IT for our family. We've never lived in a neighborhood with other homeschoolers, though there are many group opportunities in our region.
I think our friends (all, like us, fairly highly educated people) thought we were somewhat crazy, and their kids have all gone off to school. Now one of those same friends is pulling thier daughter out of school to homeschool this coming year, and looking to us for advice. Lol!
When the homeschooling issue comes up, it seems I am more likely to get the response "Wow, I wish we could do that..." than anything negative.
In general: Your choices need to be best for you and your family. The opinions of the rest of the world simply aren't relevant to the needs of your children.
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Lol! I clicked so I could suggest... Fajitas. :lol:
Sounds like a lot of us like peppers in our fajitas!
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We don't have a lot of wall space (too many books!), so our world map is on our "school table", underneath the clear plastic.
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Praying for you here, Amy.
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My dh invited me to dinner at his place. We'd tried to spend some time alone together before, but other friends always seemed to show up.
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No one famous attends my church at this time... but there are several people who work in "the industry".
One woman is a camera person on "Bones", among other shows, so she gets to see David Boreanaz all the time.
And one of our leading elder members was the Director of Operations at CBS... worked there over 50 years and only retired a few years ago. He knows many many people in Hollywood, particularly "old timers"--seems like there are so many funerals lately for him. He's especially close to Carol Burnett. http://www.emmys.org/awards/halloffame/cappleman.php
My mom has a job where she gets "face time" (as she says) with lots of famous military officials, and I know she met the President briefly at the Pentagon shortly after 9/11.
Other than that my closest brush with fame has been walking past Harrison Ford in a hospital waiting room.
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One of the reasons my dh was never dxed as a child (we think) is that he was not hyperactive. He would sit still, follow directions... but his MIND is hyperactive. He would fade out, daydream, be unable to keep on task. But because his body wasn't moving, no one really noticed. He also got good grades for the most part, largely because he is scary smart and not paying attention didn't have that much impact for the early years of his education. It did in college, though, as he really struggles with lecture format learning.
He's described his mind as being like standing in a room with 100 Tvs on, all on different channels. His attention is constantly moving from one thing to the other. I've learned to say things like, "Are you still listening to me?" or "Did you get that?" without feeling like he doesn't care--his brain just doesn't focus long enough to make it through a conversation, often.
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One of the things we discovered was that having undiagnosed ADD really did lead to depression. In fact, thinking back, dh first went to counselling because of the depression. She listened, took out an ADD test and said "take this. I think it will give us some insight." Duh! Being unable to concentrate, complete things, or be "successful" in a 9 to 5 kind of world was very depressing. Once we made lifestyle changes and realized that different isn't necessarily worse, life was much better.
One key--even though schedules and organization are counter to ADD personalities, the are even MORE necessary than for ordinary people. I do all the scheduling, planning, and give my dh lists... or else he'd spend a whole day doing... whatever. But break that task down into small parts, outline them, and give him a checklist--he can work just fine. It's all in the planning.
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My dh... he was diagnosed at 27. It was a life-changing event for him. He always just thought he was lazy/disorganized/etc. He had been evaluated over and over again for "something" as a kid, but they just never quite thought of ADD, although he has fairly severe symptoms.
The most helpful thing he did was find a counselor who specialized in adult ADD and took me several times to talk about what it means to be his "coach". The coaching thing was key. I had to change the way I thought about our relationship and how we divided labor, etc. It also definately made a difference in how we thought about his career options and choices.
He often self-medicates with caffeine (diet coke), but he does his best work and is so much more efficient (as well as happy) when he takes his Concerta.
Feel free to PM me, Pam.
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The best trip I've ever taken was to Ireland (and I've travelled to almost 30 countries in my life).
I went with friends in college. We took 3 weeks and did the whole country, but skipped some of Northern Ireland (we went to the Giant's Causeway and a couple of other famous places there). We tracked down all sorts of stone circles, tombs, castles--even little ones that were just barely marked on the map. All the Yeats stuff-- his tower, places he wrote, etc. We stayed in B&Bs, usually ordinary homes, and that was the best--met lots of locals who had suggestions.
Some of my favorite memories--Taking a small boat out to an island to explore a ruined Abbey (can't remember where--west coast?). The Galway folk music festival we kind of strolled into. Searching high and low across farm fields for weird little stone circles. How green it (really!) was in August. Spent one night on the Aran islands in a B&B, went by myself (my friends were tired) out to a pub that was full of locals speaking Gaelic--they were pretty friendly all considered, though a toothless old man did demand a kiss before he'd let me by--I was in good spirits, gave him a peck on the cheek and took a bow, to the cheers of the crowd. Seeing the Book of Kells. Sitting on the cliffs of Moher, and even some other less-famous cliffs.
Advice--If you like old castles and stuff, be sure to take a flashlight. There were lots of things that were NOT blocked off, like they would be here to keep out trespassers, but were dark. We explored caves and dungeons and the inside of a ring fort using our handy flashlights.
B&Bs were cheap(er) with huge breakfasts included, otherwise we ate cheap pub food, bought our own picnics, and only had a few fancy meals.
Take off your glasses before you kiss the Blarney stone (you hang upside down, about 100 feet in the air--they have a spotter to help you.)
This was all long ago (am I really that old?) but it was an awesome trip! I'd love to do it again with my family some day.
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Usually I'm a "non-offender", but in this case... physical handicaps and health issues need to come first. I think you need to be firm, and graciously say:
"We love staying with you so much, but with my fibromyalgia I have very specific needs. I know, I'm so disappointed that we can't stay overnight in your lovely room, but we'll be there all day, you know!"
I think she'd be really silly to be offended by this. A good hostess wants to meet the needs of her guests, right?
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My Neighbor Totoro, closely followed by Spirited Away. Or maybe Kiki's Delivery Service would be second. Can you tell I love Miyazaki films?
I also love all the Wallace and Grommit films (especially the older ones).
The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie, and Finding Nemo probably my favorite Pixar one. Although I do want to see Wall-E again... hmmm....
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Can you tell we are coming along?
Same room, after much packing... doesn't look like much, but oh the boxes! Of course, we're only about 1/3 done with the room. I've also packed my oldest ds's room and took 4 huge black trash bags of baby clothes to Goodwill. Sigh! I only kept the handmade stuff and some of my favorites... 1 bin left instead of 8.
Lots of books and games to give away, too! But my dh insists they must go to a good home, no dropping off at Goodwill. So hopefully some friends will want them.
We've almost finished moving 100 comic boxes from our garage to the new garage. Then we just have to figure out how to get the metal shelves over there... they took us a whole day to assemble, I'd hate to take them down and put them back together.
My current guilt: We've stopped doing school (with 2 weeks left in our school year) and we won't get started again until mid-September or so. I know it won't kill my kids, but I really am feeling the guilt about not schooling/entertaining/paying attention to them while we pack. We are relying much more than we ought (and much more than usual) on videos and video games (Wii fit, especially). A few weeks of this won't ruin my kids, right? Right?
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I was 20 as well... since my Wii Fit age is 46 (and I'm 37) I guess that's pretty good. I have a young, fit mind in my old, unfit body. Lol!
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My dh is the exact opposite... anything I make, I can put COM soup in, and he'll eat it. He's picky and doesn't like many veggies, but with the soup in there, it suddenly becomes his favorite. Or at least, tolerable.
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I love both of these, too!
Hmmmm... our wedding song was "Somebody" by Depeche Mode. Good memories there.
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So sorry for your loss.... I'll pray for your family and for your mom.
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My dh loves Kate Bush. But he can only listen when I am not around. I find her voice sooooo grating. Like cats fighting in a bag, screechy. Can't take it, even for a few minutes. I still find it amazing that others don't have the same "nails on a chalkboard" reaction that I do!
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Forever Young by Alphaville.
Since I'm an 80s kid, I remember much music fondly, but that song I must have played 1000 times. It really takes me back!
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Envious of:
Those who own their own homes, and how beautiful so many of them are!
Those who are super organized and whose homes run like clockwork.
Those who honestly enjoy exercise.
Those with super-compliant children with no behavioral issues.
Financial stability, and the ability to stay home full time.
Those who dream of growing old with their dh. People whose lives are not centered around medical visits and issues for themselves or a family member. We came so close to losing my dh 3 years ago, and the repurcussions will always be with us. Financially and emotionally, it is hard to get my head around knowing that dh's health will always be fragile. It has truly changed my vision of what my older years will be like.
Grateful for:
A calling that I love, and the flexibility to be home as often as I am.
Healthy children.
A dh who is a wonderful father, willing to embrace being a SAHD, who communicates well and loves me--after 15 years of marriage (next week) I can still say I am married to my best friend.
Loving parents, wonderful inlaws and extended family--they may live far away, but they are always there for us when we need them.
Good friends, a church who cares about us... and so much more. A roof over our heads, food to eat, access to education and health care (medical insurance!). I know we are so blessed.
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Was that the one about the "trail mix" she made out of the food she found on the floor of her van? :lol::lol:
What's *really* embarrassing is when you open your van door and there's so much junk in there, it falls out. In the church parking lot. In front of everyone else who actually washes and cleans their cars on Saturday. :D
:iagree: What's really embarrassing is that this frequently happens to me... and I'm the pastor. Luckily, after 7 years, they know I'm not the "wash and clean my car" type, and I only generate a few chuckles.
Hmmm.... trail mix, huh?
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I love to read lying down, sometimes on the couch, but usually I read in bed.
Here's my goofy admission... after years of mocking my dh for wearing one of those spelunking-type head lights to read in bed, I finally got my own. I love being able to read in a dark room and have the light right on my page! Plus, if you get up and walk around in the house, you don't need to turn on the lights. We keep rechargable batteries in them and switch them out frequently so they stay very bright. I don't know how many people use them like this, but they seem to sell a lot of the things at Lowes, so maybe more than I would guess.
I'm sure this will make many amusing memories for my kids, of how mom and dad walked around like miners with lights on their head all night. I'm sure we look incredible stupid, but it works!
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:lol:
Sounds good to me! I think a good sense of humor is going to get you far around here....
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Denmark, England, Scotland, France or Switzerland.
I lived in Norway growing up--it was wonderful!
"What kind of man drops his pants...
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
within seconds of walking into the house?"
I posed this question to my dh, who was in his boxer shorts literally by the time he had walked across the living room after work today.
His answer: "All men."
Yes, it is a hot day out there, but friends, do all men really strip off thier pants when they enter the home? Or am I married to a barbarian? A pantless barbarian... :glare: