dish soap (watered down, of course)

FWIW, if you've got online access to the teacher resources, the lab manual (and TM) is all available free on line. (I got my access years ago, so I can't walk you through it, but it involved buying a book directly from Pearson and then getting free access to the online stuff). FWIW, I'm teaching the Macaw version of M-L this coming year (for the 2nd time, but 1st time was several years ago with my older 2 kids). I'm using a mash-up of lab resources, including the biology kit with lab manual from QSL (Quality Science Labs), with some labs probably skipped from that resource and some added from others. (Waiting on arrival of the lab manual this week to nail down my plans week by week, as I didn't find one single perfect resource). Last time, I used the Illustrated Guide to Biology Home Experiments book, and we had a fun year, but it was a bit overboard (my fault) with so much time in labs . . . I'll pul a few favorites from there, probably, but will be mixing things up this time. I thought the QSL kit sounded easiest to use, and I wanted something easy to use as my base.

Sounds like you're well on your way! Sure, you can put new countertops on old cabinets. I recently bought a "starter home" for college girl + roomies. It's 50 years old or so, and is in a medium quality neighborhood near campus -- junior faculty live in some of the houses and most of the rest are college kid rentals. The house had been thoroughly updated prior to us buying it. The updates were critical to our purchase, and we paid probably 20-40k premium due to it being recently updated thoroughly. (170k vs maybe 140-150k for comparable un-updated homes). It had new mechanicals/roof/windows/carpet/paint/appliances and quartz counters. If *I* was living in it, sure I'd have hesitated to put nice new counters on top of the 50 year old painted cabinets. It's depressing and feels like a waste of $$, BUT > > > you're SELLING it, not living in it . .. We all know that new cabinets are $$$ and a BIG DIY project. If you can DIY them and buy cheap cabinets at Home Depot or Lowe's (I got some really nice ones for our laundry room from one of those -- white shaker, very nice looking, but cheap), then, sure, do cheap, tidy new cabinets. That'd be huge, and well worth 2-4k if you can do it for that. If your kitchen is small and you can find cheap cabinets you like all right, then that'd be a great idea. But, if you have to spend 10k++++ on having somebody come in and do new cabinets, do NOT put that sort of $$ into cabinets. Just put a fresh coat of white paint on them if they're painted (or clean thoroughly if not), put on new hardware and new counters. I'd have no problem putting on a nice looking but cheap new laminate counters if you can DIY that cheap, but otherwise, a cheap solid surface is close to the same price as laminate in most locales, so in that case, I'd go with the cheapest quartz or granite you can find. But, man, if your bathrooms are already redone and nice, I'd be tempted to just the cabinets in the kitchen to make it really nice, too. Look at HD and Lowe's (or similar in your area) online . . . They have lots of cabinets you can order to be delivered to the store -- very cheap and decent, perfectly good for this purpose. IKEA is another good option if you live near one. Order knobs/pulls online (Amazon) for great pricing.

Yes, a house that is well maintained but terribly out dated is WAY better than a trashed (i.e., not well maintained) house. I could happily live -- and have lived -- in a badly outdated house. I have done so many years. I can NOT happily lived in a trashed house. Lots of people would be perfectly happy in an outdated house, and your price range is certainly in the range where plenty of people would be fine with outdated. A "starter house" can be very comfortable and just fine with blue tubs and ugly counters . . . My first house had avocado green appliances (and I'm not THAT old!) and bright orange counters . . . Hideous. But, I LOVED that little house. I enjoyed replacing each appliance when it finally died, but I sold it with those horrid countertops (even though I'd updated most of the rest of the house . . . but counters are $$$ and, in my early 20s, I didn't have the tools or skills to DIY counters. (I could do it now if I had to!) In fact, the only ugly things I really left "undone" in that starter house was the pink tub (cast iron! Way out of my grad school budget to swap out a perfectly functional tub) and those orange counters, lol. I updated everything else, and it sold in days at a tidy profit. I love my fancy kitchen. It took me 25 years of home ownership before I "earned" a really fancy kitchen, though. Before that, most of my years were happily spent in really ugly kitchens. Ugly is fine. It can even be cute. As long as it "works" and can be clean and tidy, I don't mind 50 year old cabinets and odd colored appliances, etc. But, half-taken-apart or broken/neglected stuff . . . no way, not for a week. I'd be sad and miserable living in that. So, anyway, my priorities for fixing up a house in your price range would be first to fix things that are broken/damaged and THEN to move on to fixing ugly. And, I'd prioritize making CHEAP fixes to ugly -- things like paint are cheap but make a big difference. Paint everything clean and neutral. Same with window coverings -- I'd rather have bare windows that broken and/or ugly, but you can get decent coverings cheap. You update a bathroom very cheap for everything but tub/tile work . . . If you can DIY the tub/tile work, than a total bathroom update (toilet, vanity, shower/tub) can be very affordable and will make a big impact on how things look. I think, to me, it boils down to . . . I never minded being poor (i.e., living with old our out of style things or not perfect things), but I always mind being neglectful. I can't stand living around broken things or wrecked things. I mean, of course, sometimes I have a water spot in a ceiling that needs fixed from when the tub overflowed or caulking that needs to be redone . . . but THOSE imperfections BOTHER me immensely. Each time I see the broken/damaged/dirty thing, it stresses me out. Those orange counters never stressed me out at all, so long as they were clean and tidy. :) Hope that makes sense. My top priority for you would be make the kitchen tidy and in good repair. Then the bathrooms. Then move on. In good repair matters a lot more than in style, IMHO. Oh, also, most people buying a house in that price range don't have 10-20k or more handy to do fix-ups. They are often stretching to just get moved and into the house. So, you really want it to look like "I could live here and be happy!" the day they move in. That's why in-good-repair, clean and tidy mean a lot. (I know YOU are clean and tidy! I mean the HOUSE -- as in fresh paint, clean caulk lines, power washed siding, etc) Oh, plus, you'd be amazed at how many people can't hang a blind, let alone imagine replacing a toilet or vanity . . . So, even projects that would seem easy and cheap to an experienced home owner/ DIY'er would seem unimaginably stressful and overwhelming to many buyers. So, going ahead and fixing as much as possible to make it move-in-ready is really helpful to attracting buyers and getting top dollar.

I think you daughter would likely be just fine in the class, so long as she's able to comfortably keep up in the PreA classes. My dd took the PreA classes when she was very young, and although she did fine with them, I wanted her to go slower and be 100% on the PreA materials before moving on, so i actually had her re-do the book after the classes. (When she took the classes, not all the text work was assigned . . . I had her redo the books doing 100% of the problem sets.) So, anyway, if you're not in that sort of position with the courses, then carry on, and I'm sure she'll do fine. One small trick I had when my kids took AoPS classes was to have them start the first couple chapters before class began, so they'd have a jump start, which bought them just a little flexibility once classes began. (Although, truth be told, their head start never lasted more than a couple weeks.) For my youngest dd, who did AoPS from PreA, she's never slowed down or ran into trouble with the AoPS materials (PreA -- 4th - 5th, Beg. Algebra -- 6th & 7th, C&P, Geo - 8th gr, so far). I think the PreA gives them such a good foundation that, at least so far, none of the subsequent books are difficult. We're taking it year by year. Personally, I wouldn't try AoPS from a different provider if AoPS courses themselves have been a good fit. I don't think you're likely to find better teachers or peers than AoPS provides -- for a gifted math student who can keep up, that is. My youngest hasn't taken AoPS *courses* since PreA, because she hasn't needed the teaching and we like to control the pace, in particular to make sure of mastery before moving on, so I didn't like not having time to work ALL the problems. She might take an AoPS course sometime soon, as I'm keeping that in mind as we approach materials I won't be able to easily jump in and help on the *very rare* occasion it's needed. If she keeps being able to self-teach no problem, then we'll be fine, but otherwise, we'll consider a class when we need it -- for access to a teacher.

Honors Biology: Miller & Levine + some classic texts + multiple resources for labs AP Human Geography: PA Homeschoolers English: Excellence in Literature 2, Elegant Essay + How to Read a Book like a Professor, Essential Literary Terms Spanish 4: Duolingo + italki + misc CLEP review materials (She's just finished all 3 levels of the Galore Park SYRWTL Spanish series, so we're polishing for a trip to Spain in May and then the CLEP test, then she'll probably be done unless she wants to take college courses at our local uni in later years) Algebra 3: Art of Problem Solving Intermediate Algebra (+/- AoPS Number Theory, time permitting) Music: piano, fiddle, etc. Extras: FIRST Robotics team; local nonprofit outdoor education school volunteering/mentoring

Bummer. I've read that the IRS often/even routinely waives the penalty on RMDs if you have been acting in good faith and made an honest error . . . so, assuming this is a relatively recently inherited IRA, and/or there were some other "circumstances" (not sure if flaky dh counts), the IRS might forgive the penalties. Personally, this is why I take my RMD early in the year, even though, theoretically, there'd be a bit of a financial advantage to taking it late in the year. If I were you, I'd go ahead and take the late RMD, PLUS this year's RMDs . . . That'll give you plenty of cash to pay the taxes . . . and, meanwhile, I'd call the IRS and ask about if you can get the penalty waived -- and how to go about asking for the waiver. My impression is that it's pretty easy to get that waiver. Just be sure to emphasize that it was new (assuming it was) and that it was an honest error, and that you've now taken the overdue RMD and also the current year RMD and that you won't be making this error again. Sob story, confusion, grieving, bad advice, etc. Apparently the IRS has a lot of leeway on this topic, so you want to be sympathetic, not in warrior-mode. FWIW, with Vanguard, we were able to fill out some lengthy (notarized) paperwork so that dh's accounts can all be viewed by me online (along with my own accounts, kid accounts, etc), and I can act on his behalf for distributions, etc. It's very helpful for me to be able to view everything in one place, plus since they have all our investment accounts in one place, as a "bigger fish", we end up qualifying for various higher levels of service which is rather handy. You can also set up automatic RMD calculations AND distributions at most brokerages. If you don't want to set a firm date to do the full year's RMD on a set date, you could set it up to do 1/12 of it each month (early in the month, just so it's all done well before 12/31) or maybe 1/4 of it at the beginning of each quarter. Personally, I am still doing mine manually, sometime in the first quarter of the year (easy to remember when you do your taxes -- make sure you've already done the new year's RMDs.), but by the time I'm 55 or 60, or earlier if either dh or I have major health issues, I'll automate all this stuff. It's way too easy to screw it up if a serious health or family issue occurs. Same with my own IRAs, etc -- we'll automate the RMD distributions for sure on those, as it's way too easy to screw it up as you age, dementia kicks in, etc, and anyway, you want life simpler, not more complicated, as you enter old age. So, anyway, I'd look at consolidating accounts and/or putting them all under your control, so you can make sure these things get done properly. (You can move IRAs from one brokerage to another -- you do NOT need to leave them where the deceased relative had them! I moved mine to my own brokerage, so I have everything in once place, much easier to keep track of.) From googling, it looks like you'll use the Form 5329 to both report your RMD error and to request a waiver of the penalty. If the penalty would be under 2000 or so, I'd do it myself with the 5329. If the penalty is more like 5k or more, then I'd probably bite the bullet and consult a CPA to make sure I did it right, as s/he might have better advice on how to word your request for waiver. So, read up on this form, and figure out what to do next -- not sure if it'd be best to just fill out the form and hope for the best or try calling. Maybe just the form first . . . call IRS (or CPA) later if your request is denied.

Ha, well, it's POSSIBLE. You can aerate the lawn. You can use organic fertilizers. You can spread compost. You can re-seed. You can hand dig out (pocket knife works well) dandelions, etc. We had a lovely organic lawn. . . . when our lawn was the size of a large beach blanket. Now days, with a big lawn . . . nope. Scotts's Weed & Feed, lol.

LOLOLOL Great story!! Sure do wish we could see the nest!

Well.... When my mom's dementia was developing, even many months/a couple years before it was diagnosed in it's still early stages . . . she started having a LOT of trouble with "stuff". I later realized this was because her executive function -- the ability to make decisions -- was failing, but none of us knew that at the time. I see that this may not apply well to your situation, but if any of this is helpful to you or others, here it is. :) So, anyway, for a couple years, her "stuff" accumulated rather badly -- not hoarder level, but major clutter and wasteful shopping. I COULD NOT get her to make progress herself w/o total trauma, and progress was minimal at best if she was involved. First piece of painful advice: LIE. Sorry, but it's a reality. Truth is not always your friend. Lie when you have to, and live with the guilt. Your guilt is less important than the suffering person's PAIN. Suck it up. Be that asshole who manipulates and lies. Get over it. Trust me on this. It is MUCH MORE LOVING to lie than to fight or shame. Eventually, . . . + When I was visiting for the weekend (about once a month or so the last year or two she lived alone), after she went to sleep at night, or if I were alone for a bit during the day, I'd stealthily declutter stuff. My main priorities early on were health/safety, so I would go through her freezer/fridge and cupboards, and simply throw away expiring items, things that had been open too long, etc. I'd fill up a garbage bag or two each night, and take them straight to the trash chute (she lived in a condo), so she wouldn't see any evidence of what I'd done. SHE NEVER NOTICED. NOT ONCE. + A few times, I convinced her to let me help her collect items for donation -- paring down clothing, books, etc. This was much easier if she knew someone would use the items. We fudged this just a bit at times, for things like magazines. You can make up stories about a homeless shelter or kindergarten class needing old magazines/catalogs for craft projects. Load them into your car. . . Where they go after that is up to you. + The most shocking thing happened close to the end of her independent life . . . I had long ago helped her organize filing chaos in her home office, and I had long had her using a helper to pay her bills and file monthly, but she'd heroically held onto her independence in her desk/papers/filing stuff . . . Never wanting me to mess with her papers (no secrets, just not wanting me to mess things up) . . . But, finally, it got too critical, and I had to locate & secure important papers and to do that, I had to truly de-clutter her crazy desk / home office. One night, while she was asleep, I just dug in and 100% decluttered everything. Shredded acres of papers and threw away acres of junk mail / crap / crap. Her chaotic desk was a sparkling island of calm by morning. Everything was filed or gone. I was prepared for hell on wheels when Mom went in . . . as she'd previously and repeatedly FREAKED at the very thought of me messing with that stuff, and in the past, getting her to get rid of 1% of her papers would take me hours and hours of negotiation with her . . . leaving me ready to put my head in the oven. Lo and behold, MOM DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE. Never! Not one word! Peace, calm, and we were BOTH so much happier. :) + When it was time to move her out of her condo, after a few days with her "help" . . . I sent her home (to my house) with a caregiver and I did the major purging and packing supervision MYSELF. She never noticed what didn't get unpacked in her new digs. So, anyway, my 2c is that if the "hoarding" is a relatively new behavior in a senior, it's highly likely to be related to dementia, and, IME, that is NOT something you can successfully negotiate your way through. Sneak, lie, and HELP, and with a little luck, they won't notice -- as long as they can't see what you do. Oh, also, the shopping/buying becomes a big problem with decline in executive function as well. Essentially, she'd see, and she'd buy WHATEVER. If this isn't a $$ problem, then it's hard to stop . . . But, it can easily be a major money problem and/or clutter/hoard problem, so you have to contain the spending as well . . . For me, that meant supervision when shopping . . . and/or avoiding anywhere that stuff is sold.

BEST PARENTING MOVE EVER . . . that took me almost 20 years to figure out . . . is that the entire family works together to clean up the kitchen and dining room after dinner every night. BEST THING EVER So, yes, we NOW have a clean kitchen before bed pretty much every night. Doing it all together is THE BEST THING EVER. We all work until it's all done. Takes 10-30 min depending on how messy we were leading up to eating, lol.

Yes. Personality changes are normal with dementia, and are often the earliest signs. I don't think the change "reveals" the real person. Instead, the brain changes make the person vulnerable to confusion, fear, and anger, depending on their particular circumstances. Ideal caregiving can reduce the likelihood of anger, but that caregiving requires identifying the disease . . . which is most often not accomplished until far along in the disease process. So, yes, I'd write off the mean behavior to dementia, and I'd feel very sorry for him (and you) that no one close enough to help was able to identify his disease early enough to minimize the collateral damage. He most likely was very fearful, and the aggression against you was likely one among many erratic and damaging behaviors. So sad. My mother had ALZ, and the personality changes were some of the earliest signs. She was fortunate that she had me and my brother and some good friends who were close enough and assertive enough to help her get a diagnosis fairly early. With early diagnosis and extensive social/therapeutic/family/medical support, she was able to get through her last years without much ugliness. However, that was totally dependent on her loved ones (and hired help) working smart and hard to minimize her stress and maximize her comfort. Without that (extreme) level of support and understanding, it would be much, much likelier to have extensive damaging social/familial interactions. So, bottom line, I do NOT believe that hateful/ugly behavior is necessarily part of ALZ, but it *is* very likely caused by the disease, ESPECIALLY when the victim has not been diagnosed and is not surrounded by educated and understanding and caring people.

Sure, I could keep a white kitchen clean. Right after I painted it all brown. :lol:

Ugh. So sorry. :( I'd try 100% tidiness . . . puppy proof some areas of the home . . . put that shoe basket in a closet with a door . . . Be crazy about keeping everything out of reach . . . I'd personally rather do THAT than have to worry 24/7 that the puppy is destroying things. One of my very favorite dogs ever stayed in destruct-o-puppy-mode for 2 full years. She chilled out after her 2nd birthday. Despite her destructive tendencies, she was an AWESOME dog. Hopefully, your boy won't take 2 full years to out grow his chewing . . . Can you task your older kids with playing/walking/etc the dog? Maybe your 17 year old would like to be hired for $10/hr to hike/run with him once a day for an hour or so? One truth about dogs: A tired dog is a good dog. Works 100% of the time, IME, for a "good dog" . . . (obviously, not for aggression/etc, but for naughtiness). So, anything you can do to tire him out will be a good thing.

If you only have the one litter box, I'd get more. At least a second one. Also, IME, once a cat figures out to pee in a certain spot, you're done for . . . for that spot. IME, that means I just discard whatever rug or furniture has been peed on but that won't work for your entire floor. . . SO, if at all possible, I'd move that cat and litter boxes to a new area and prevent access to the area he is peeing in now. I'd also check with the vet ASAP. It is certainly possible that arthritis or similar pain is precluding comfortable access of the boxes. I'd get a box with a large gradual ramp if at all possible.

Start with Duolingo. It's free and awesome.

I'd take the extra bedroom -- and I'd plan for it to be my study/sewing room/whatever when lucky child moves out . . . I'd add a couple "sun tubes" to the hallway for awesome light. :) I don't like vaulted ceilings in homes. I love a 9 or 10 ft ceiling, but 10s as high as I like. The privacy issue would be HUGE. I love windows, and I don't even put any window coverings on our living spaces, because they all face our very private yard. The few windows that face the neighborhood are covered 99% of the time (even though our lots are very large and there's probably only a non-family human within spying distance for minutes out of the day. It jus feels too exposed to have it uncovered. So, if I had big windows like yours facing neighbors, it'd drive me nuts. Why bother having windows if you always have to cover them? If you do get the windows, I'd get some sorts of very expensive remote controlled window coverings with both sheer (for daytime use) and opaque (for night times) coverings.

Honestly, IMHO, this is a life threatening risk. I'd document dh's injuries by going to the DR. I'd report to the DR what happened. The DR should report the bites to authorities, as that's required by law in general. If the DR won't report (ask him to!), then I'd call the cops. You need this dog gone, IMHO. I would, personally, buy a gun and learn how to use it, and I'd kill the dog (and bury it) at my first chance. I'm a dog lover. I've never hurt a dog. But, if I were in a situation as you describe, with young children around, I'd kill the dog the first chance I got. To maintain peace, I'd bury it and never mention it to anyone, ever. If you don't want to bury it, and you'd prefer the confrontation with the neighbor, then I'd kill it, call the cops, and tell the cops it was threatening me/my kids/my animals (property or people or pets/livestock), and so I killed it, and ask the police to notify the neighbor to collect the body. If you really don't want to kill the dog, then I guess there is a 5% chance that talking to the owner, telling him you're fearful and dh was injured already . . . and that he must keep the dog confined 100% of the time . . . MIGHT work. I highly doubt it though. People who are responsible with their pets would not have let happen what already happened. The one thing I would NOT do is move in and imagine that my kids were going to be safe, at all, as long as the dog was around.

ideas for business expenses . . . meals out -- discussing your business (50% deduction for meals & entertainment) internet service mileage whenever you are driving anywhere remotely related to business (keep a log!! Must have odometer readings.) travel expenses for conferences/etc (hotels, meals, flights, etc.) dues for membership for whatever writing related organizations you belong to your cell phone and cell bill (yes, the whole thing, IMHO) filing cabinets/shelves/desk chair/desk/etc marketing expenses (do you go to any events for marketing purposes? To get your name out there?) Note that any purchases under $500 can generally be deducted right away as a "de minimus" expense, so you don't have to spread it out over time, even if it's something durable that'll last a long time. (Essentially, the government agrees that it's not worth the hassle of tracking a $100 set of shelves for decades.) I highly advise you to google up some good ideas or maybe buy a book (deduct it!) . . . I'm sure others are more creative than I am. I tend to be pretty cautious about not breaking the rules, but there are tons of rules you can follow that can help you. You just need to do a little leg work to learn the rules.

So far as I know, Commended isn't worth $$$ in and of itself anywhere, BUT, it does tell you that your kid tests VERY well, and that you should look at schools that offer big $$ for high test scores. Look here for a good list of automatic full tuition (or better) scholarships . . . http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com Bookmark it!

The confirmation score is limited to a date range of about 2 years from something like winter of 10th grade to fall of senior year (google up specifics when you need them, this can vary). My kids took SAT in June of 10th grade as practice for the critical 11th grade October PSAT, and that was within the allowed date range, which was awesome, as we already knew they had their confirmation score by the time their PSAT scores came out.

A compromise would be to list all the degrees, but just omit dates (on all of them). List everything else, just not the year!

Taxes suck. We are small business owners, so we really have no good idea how much we'll owe until the CPA tells us in March/April, and for YEARS (like, a DECADE) every April was a freaking nightmare. 5 figure tax bills right at the end of the winter slow season. Every damn time. UGH. I'm so sorry. I finally got really aggressive about avoiding the April nightmare . . . I estimate very conservatively (last year's taxes + 10% to be sure we can avoid penalties . . . even more if I think business is increasing . . . and withhold right away at the the top marginal rate for any investment sales, etc.) . . . AND, I actually double check our tax withholdings once a month as part of our business financial review . . . We work the numbers to make sure we haven't screwed up somewhere . . . all over again (it's quick and easy, I have it in Excel), because once, two years ago, we thought we were "on track" but our office manager had made an oopsie with the math -- so dh & I took responsibility ourselves for checking the math on it, since it's so critical. So, anyway, all that is to say that you might just want to check dh's pay stubs in coming months . . . on a routine basis . . . to make sure you're on track. And, assuming he's still working those same jobs, you're now 4 months into the same story for 2018, so you'll want to bump up your withholdings the rest of the year to make up for that . . . So sorry!! ps. Make sure your maximizing your business deductions for your writing . . . There are a million little tricks and things you can deduct . . . This past year, I've finally gotten better at THAT part of the tax game. Makes me crazy, but this is the world we live in for the time being.

Once you make semifinalist:: It's pretty automatic to become finalist as long as you jump through the hoops -- application, essay that isn't rude, SAT score that is comparable as a "confirming score" -- so comparable to slightly less than the lowest state cutoff for PSAT . . . AND . . . Kicker is that no grades below a B. Maybe 1 C might be looked past, but rarely are more than 1 C looked past, and sometimes even a single C seems to end the chances. The vast majority of semi-finalists become finalists. IIRC, it's like 16,000 semifinalists and 15,000 finalists. I have 2 kids so far who've made NMF. HUGE scholarships from U Alabama . . . HUGE HUGE HUGE . . . There are great threads on collegeconfidential (Scholarship Forum, National Merit subforum) on NM process, score cutoffs, school choices, etc, etc, etc. It's VERY worth jumping through the hoops, IMHO. Congrats!!

I wouldn't do a conceptual chemistry for a probable engineer. I'd do a math based chemistry.