I gave up on fun projects a long time ago. The kids aren't really interested, they just want 'get it done' when it comes to school. The only hands-on thing they do for school is science. Everything else is pretty much reading and outlining/summarizing. They do their own art stuff.

My oldest was in public school straight through, didn't have any learning issues 95% of the time but had struggles with certain subjects. Her dad was a big pusher of "all A's and B's". I never wanted to push specific grades but more just trying YOUR best. Sometimes YOUR best won't get you an A or a B, sometimes there's a subject we just struggle with and no matter how hard we work we will not get that A or B. Sometimes you'll figure it out and maybe get a better grade the next semester, but sometimes a C or even a D is the best we can do. And that's okay. As long as your trying your best (and sometimes that "best" isn't the same "best" you would put into something you like better, are more excited about, or need more for future goals), that's okay.

I'm sorry to see so many people leave. 😞 We're on to Plan B for our day. They had to cut the circuit for an outside light while ripping apart the wall and it also cut the internet, tv, etc. So kids and I are hanging out at the science center. I can still sit with my foot up, get some class work done, but no laundry until later. I guess between tonight and tomorrow I should still be able to get it all done. Bad thing is I sorted it in the tub and all over the bathroom floor since there was no where else to do it, so when dh is ready to take a shower after working all day, that will have to be moved. Oops. We ordered Panera for lunch. It was a great day when I found out they would deliver to the science center.

I think I pulled my stitches in my foot. I'm doing laundry and I dropped a hamper on my foot trying to maneuver around the piles of stuff everywhere. And the dog is walking right on my a$$ because all the construction is making him nervous (it's 50 degrees out but we have the door wide open so he can wander out to see dh, doesn't really matter since half the wall is open as well). I put away some piles of books and found a new place for a pile of games and once I do something about the piles of laundry things might be easier to find around here (all the kitchen stuff is in a pile in the living room that used to be shared with those books and games). Now I'm going to rest with my foot up like I'm supposed to except for doing the laundry. The laundry HAS to get done. It's been over a week since any has been done since the washer and dryer had no power, then no water, then no vent hole. Everybody is running out of clothes.

I knew! Don't ask me why. 😝 Cold but sunny day today so our construction is moving right along. They keep finding issues when they remove the super old clapboard that is under the siding. Like half the wall next to our fireplace evidently had no support beams at all, just a pile of ash from a past fire we didn't know about. Dh said he was surprised the wall didn't collapse at some point. 😲 They are replacing beams, putting in a bottom thingy that is supposed to keep water from going under the walls, framing for new windows, putting in insulation, and putting up that wrap stuff. They're about 1/3 of the way around the house at this point (it's a really small house). When they open the other side of the fireplace, they're going to find the European Hornets nest that we had treated years ago. Most of the corpses probably are dust by this point.

There was nothing about it, not even locally. I'm not a fan of Christie in general but I have to give him credit. His statement about wearing masks and taking this seriously was a good one. Not wishy-washy, not making light of things, very firm that he made a mistake not wearing a mask.

Just got back from dermatologist. She didn't think to mention when I scheduled that I need to stay off it as much as possible for 48 hours (good thing I don't work weekends), didn't think to mention my foot would be half numb so I probably shouldn't have driven myself (my right foot), and I can't exercise at all for 48 hours. So no yoga with dd this weekend.

I don't like the rain, especially when it's cold but especially right now since it means work on the house can't continue and things are going to stay disheveled longer.

Morning. I'm sooo glad it's Friday. Another week done. Still total chaos at home with walls coming down, dust everywhere, piles of stuff everywhere. I go back to the dermatologist today to get additional stuff removed from one spot.

Most of the coops around here that label themselves "Christian" have Statements of Faith that exclude Catholics, Methodists, anyone who isn't young-earth, etc. But the way they are worded, a quick reading makes people feel welcome. I only understand what is really meant by reading about SOF on here. I don't know why they don't just spell it out in clear English. I know at least one Catholic who joined thinking she'd be welcome and then was excluded.

Still here but my name changed during the weird glitch. Turns out punctuation isn't allowed anymore (I guess?) and I tried a few things before finding one that worked. I'd like to change it to something that's not quite so obviously me (IRL) but I can't seem to do that yet. It's changed under Account Settings but won't change here on the forums. The link that says claims to be to change it on the forums just takes me to the overall account settings.

Morning. I've kind of been just popping in every so often this week. Not sure why I've been feeling pressed for time. Maybe just the chaos around here. Progress is not moving very fast on the house. We may need to find a way to organize better than it is right now. This may go on for weeks if the weather doesn't start cooperating. Classes are going well. We are already getting ready for next session. We're changing a few things that haven't been working that well.

I don't think I've ever used something without heavy tweaking. I can't seem to just follow things as they are.

I've never understood why FB was nastier. Most people use their real names on there, so I would expect them to be using "public manners" but it doesn't seem to be the case at all. I think I've been on here 11 years or so. I did a lot of reading and little posting in the beginning but I've learned a lot on here, about homeschooling, about how different life can look in different parts of the world or even different parts of the US. We still homeschool and have about 5 years still to go but I pretty much know what to use at this point. I mainly go to the Ed boards if I have a specific question and often I search rather than ask.

I need a name for a class. My other teacher does classes called Pre-K Explorers and Junior Scientists. When the new session starts, I'm going to be switching some classes to the "Junior Science" type, which is a general explore science class for K-2nd graders. It's always been my most popular classes since I started doing this. I want the Jr Science classes I teach to be called something different than the ones she teaches because I've had people ask about doing both. This is certainly possible because we have VERY different styles and things we do, but I dont' want to have to keep explaining that. She does themes, with songs, games, experiments, etc. I tend to do very messy experiments/demonstrations randomly. I don't want to change the name of her classes because she's already been doing them this year, mine will be new so I'd rather use a different name for mine. Help?

Busy week this week. Classes, Teen Club, Tai Kwan Do, construction. No school though because I can't get to the kids school books. They both have stuff they can finish up from last week though.

Our construction has been on hold for two days due to rain. Dh is going to end up working from home when he can't work on the house, then working on the house whenever he can. Evidently his boss is fine with this because he still gets all his work done. I'm not okay with it because that means my house is going to be a disheveled wreck longer, but it's not like I can control the weather so I guess I just go with it.

My last job was a temp-to-perm where they definitely had to pay to hire me, but that's what they wanted. They wanted to "try out" someone in the position before hiring. I worked as an executive assistant and I always had the best luck going through an agency. They are willing to test your skills and send for positions even without recent experience in some cases. I had an 8 year gap and was older when I got my last job.

Our 16th anniversary is the end of this month. We usually just go out to dinner, maybe go to a movie but that's it. We don't do gifts, one or the other of us may do a card (we seem to kind of alternate who bothers each year). This year we'll probably just stay home. Dh may make a nice dinner, he's an excellent cook. We don't see celebrating a certain date that big of a deal.

I've seen it done by turning a block of text to white and saying to highlight or select to read. Like this, select the text to read: Testing testing testing.

Morning. Dd and I are hanging at the science center while dh is working on the house. They have to turn off the power for part of the day so none of us want to be home. Ds is at my mom's with the dog. The dog was going crazy yesterday because the fence was done in one spot so he had to be chained or in the house with people and he didn't like that. He'll be happier at my mom's. When I left a bunch of plugs didn't have electricity and dh couldn't figure out why. I hope they figured it out because if not, this project is going to take even longer. I'm working on classes, dd is bouncing around listening to music and talking to friends. She likes to listen to music and skip from one side of a room to another. Says it helps with her anxiety and adhd.

I'm sorry, it does sound like your husband is being a little unreasonable in his expectations. I agree with MedicMom that unfortunately this is likely to be with us for a while. Dh has been working this whole time but mostly at home. When he does go in, he works in a lab with a limited number of people, everyone wearing masks and being very careful. I started back at work in September. I teach small group science classes. I wear a face shield, everyone is wearing masks or shields, we have air purifiers in the rooms, wipe down tables between classes, lots of hand washing, etc. My kids are there two days a week as well, both are teenagers and good about masks, handwashing, etc. It would be impossible for us to isolate at home. We have a very small house with only one bathroom, but we haven't even really considered trying to isolate. I guess if one of us came up positive we might try but by that point it's likely too late anyway.

We're doing a bunch of home repairs right now - new heat/ac unit, new windows, new siding, new insulation. Every step of the way there have been things that were hard to find and the decisions we made about where to get them/who to go with the install had as much to do with who could actually do the job/send the materials in the next couple months and less to do with best cost or best reviews. It's added a bunch more hassles to an already complicated, hard to coordinate job.

Snake needs to eat and she only eats at home because after eating is the one time she really needs her heatpad.

Dd's room is done, dropped off donations, brought bookcase to storage. Went to science center but just to bring home snake so she can eat tonight. Entire side of my house is opened up, no window and one wall missing. Dog is going crazy because he's tied up so he doesn't run out through the missing wall. It's on the side of the house without the fenced in yard so he'd be completely loose if he gets out there.