Thanks. I really needed that laugh tonight.

Thank you!

DS1 loves AAS. I don't know why. He says he loves the tiles but we don't always use them. I think it might be because it's a more oral program than say math with worksheets. I like the program too but some days are tough to get to it. Right now I schedule AAS like this: Mon- 30 minutes of AAS - whatever we get through Tues - Dictation phrases Wed - 30 minutes Thurs - Dictation phrases But there are some days when things don't go as planned and I need to drop something. Is there a way to adjust to make it a little more independent on those days so I don't have to drop it altogether? I've read that R&S is similar but more independent but DS really doesn't want to do a workbook (even though *I* would love to be able to say "Here, do this"). I just need a backup plan for those days when DS3 doesn't feel good and is clingy, or the new puppy poops everywhere, or I just can't sit there for every minute of the day because it's already taken us over an hour to do math.

Thank you all so much. I will go back and re-read when DS3 isn't climbing on me. :glare: :grouphug: Stacey. I understand your feeling. I'm sorry if my post made you feel bad.

The boys are actually really good at helping. DS1 has been giving baths when she gets into the poop. Ugh. They run her a bunch too, when she wants to go out in the cold. And she is a good dog. They pull on her tail, youngest fell on her last night and then just sat there, etc. It's the accidents, chewing on stuff, etc. I think it's more that I still feel I'm grieving and it all happened so fast. I wish we had taken more time. I thought we were going to wait a while but we didn't. Honestly, I think I just need someone to tell me that it's ok to still grieve. It's ok to not really want the dog right now (even though the rest of the family is great) because you miss your old dog. And if it's ok, how long is ok? What if I still feel this way in 2 months? 6 months? I miss my girl. :crying:

A few months ago we lost our dog that we had had for over 10 years. Then we got a new pup. I tried telling DH that I wasn't ready for a new dog yet but he insisted it was a good thing. I trusted him because when we got our last dog I resisted but it turned out to be something great. I'm hoping it's the same results this time but I'm really struggling. I'm tired of trying to crate train her. I'm tired of cleaning up after her. I don't want to deal with her. She is cute but she's not *my* girl. Any tips for working through this? I still cry some nights over my girl I lost. I just want her back, even though she could drive me nuts. Will it come in time with the new pup or did we make a mistake? Any words of encouragement would help.

Right now I have a 3rd and Ker and a toddler. Looking ahead for science as it does NOT get done here. So I'm looking into science currics that come with EVERYTHING you would need. I think I've heard Nancy Larson is complete. What other options are there? I need something that I don't have to gather much of anything. I don't mind having to print a few worksheets or if I need to get a few things like water, cotton balls, etc. But if I have to gather a bunch of stuff for more than one experiment a week, it won't get done. If I have to gather books to make it meatier, it won't get done. My boys LOVE science. I don't. It's my worst subject, always has been. At this point, I don't care about cost. Yes, finances are an issue but I just want to know what's out there.

I'm just not seeing this. Can I delete subscriptions? There are a bunch of threads in my "content" that I no longer need to see. Just want to clean up my stuff. Thanks.

Thank you. We have 3 boys - 1yo, K, 3rd. DH and I talked last night about some of his concerns and I realized how burnout I feel with not having a plan for breaks. We've just always done what felt right but sometimes end up taking more time off than planned. I think if I have something set up, I will look forward to the break rather than feeling like it will never end.

If you do 4 days of normal work and 1 "easy" day (says electives like art, music, etc and maybe practice math facts), would you count the 5th day? If you do school 4 days a week, how do you plan your yearly schedule? So many weeks off, so many on? We've been schooling basically year-round for a couple years with some breaks (like holidays - knowing they're coming and just taking time off but not really planning it ahead) but no real schedule/term/etc and it's starting to wear on me. If there is a thread somewhere I missed, I'm sorry and feel free to link me to it. Thanks.

Luanne, This is exactly where we are now. When we started going to our current church, it was great for us. The kids worshiped with us then were dismissed for Children's church. Now they go straight downstairs for the whole service. They have games, videos, etc. But they do have lessons and teaching and the pastor is great. But our boys rarely recall what they've learned. It's too much. We are now a mega church, listed as one of the top 100 fastest growing churches in the country. New construction has started to expand the younger children's area because they don't have room on Sunday mornings in the nursery. I guess they actually have to turn people away from the nursery. That is so sad. We go on Saturday nights because of my DH's schedule. I think Sat is too crowded anymore. Sundays now have 5 services!! 5!!! The sermon in 2 of the services and our satellite location is delivered via video that's recorded Sat night. I want to look for another church but no one else close has a Sat night service that's any better than where we go now.

Our church is like that - loud music, lights, etc. It's the one of the few things we don't like about it. I've given my concerns to the worship arts pastor and was told it's because of the acoustics of the sanctuary. To me, bad acoustics do not equal "let's turn it up so loud that no one can hear themselves, the people around them, or even the people on stage sing" So in order to fix that, our church is going to be going through construction to overhaul the "worship center" (they don't even call it the sanctuary anymore) to have better sound and theater seating. What's keeping us there? Their program for the kids on Saturday nights, which is when we can go because of DH's work schedule; and the lead pastor's messages. I would love to look for a new church but...... so many things but I won't get into that on this thread.

I have issues with my boys who like boxer briefs. We buy The Childrens Place ones. More expensive but they fit.

Anna, You can just buy it at the door. You don't need to pre-register for the exhibit hall (at least you didn't last year).

We went last year just to the exhibit hall and it was $20 for the family, including grandparents.

Ok, but am I ok if I don't upgrade for some reason? Or will I be missing something?

So I understand that she is changing them to meet CC standards. So what does that mean for what I have? I bought the light blue set during the last HSBC sale. So my set is partially re-aligned. Does that mean I am missing something from the originals? Does that mean I will have to update my copies as we go along? Am I ok using it straight through as I have it? I get worried reading these threads that I will mess something up.

I would love a stereoscope - not just a microscope. I would love to be able to look at things in great detail instead of "through" them.

Sheets Blankets Towels Clothes that get dried in the dryer Clothes that get hung out of the washer Sorting clothes this way makes it easy for us - I can send oldest (8) down to switch laundry if it's all "dryer" clothes. Then, once washed, we sort clean clothes into each person's pile and they put their own away.

No bonuses. Just straight pay with holiday pay. Haven't had a pay raise in years so we're about the same each year. No expected raise in the next few years either. We're pretty simple here as far as forms and such for taxes. Standard deductions, etc. Yes, any extra money each month would be great. DH is just worried that we might go too far without knowing and then end up owing.

How do I best figure out what to change DH's exemptions to on his W-4? We get about $6000 back each year for a refund. I would love to see more of that each month instead. But I don't know how to figure it out best so we don't do too much and end up owing next year. Part of that refund is the child credit for our 3 kids. Does that play in somehow? It's not that we pay $6000 in taxes out of his paycheck. Actually, his federal taxes are only about $2200. Can anyone walk me through or help me figure it? If you need more info such as pay $ amount, I'll share. Thanks.

Where can you find out which forms won't be released until later?

I have been looking into Chemistry for mine next year. Here's my thread. Also, I asked Apologia about chemistry and they said this year but didn't say any more specific.

Thanks Milovany, you've given me a place to start. I don't even know if the "experts" are really experts on the laws! :tongue_smilie:

I think these are my 2 biggest questions - Cell phone usage - for those months, about 75% of his usage was business. Laptop - he bought one for the business. Now that he's not doing it, it's personal use. But if he hadn't tried the business, he wouldn't have bought the laptop. Guess I'll be doing lots of 1040 reading. :-)