I like Ann Taylor and if you shop at The Loft, you can find great deals.

My dds have a pretty high prescription. They can't go long without their glasses or their eyes hurt. Or they run into walls. ;) Their glasses are the polywhatever that is UV resistant. BUT we are going to be at the lake and the beach this summer. Do any of you buy your kids prescription sunglasses? Do they wear regular sunglasses while they are by the water? Do they wear their regular glasses? I'm trying to figure out what to buy. I suppose they wouldn't wear their regular glasses when they are in their suits, so maybe I should just buy them a pair of normal sunglasses? Hmm.. I'd love to hear what you do, especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors.

We buy the cheapest small fans available. I think we own 5 of them. We all sleep with one and we take them wherever we go!

I'm sorry. Family can be difficult.

Here, too! I wonder if there are too many right now.

If blogging isn't for you, then don't have a blog. There are a lot of other parenting decisions that I don't agree with, so I don't do them. While I agree that you can of course share too much information and I struggle with this constantly (and sometimes want to delete my blog altogether), I also know that I've appreciated so many of the blogs I read. I didn't know a single soul IRL who homeschooled when we started homeschooling. I was grateful for all the different blogs that helped me sort it out and really see what it might be like for our family. I have a daughter with special needs and I'm glad when I get emails from people grateful that they "found" my blog because it has helped them with their own kids, like introducing them to vision therapy. My kids are happy, well-adjusted, and they know who they are. The fact that my daughter has been in speech for six years isn't a secret or something that she is ashamed of. Why would it be? There are things they would never want me to blog about and I of course wouldn't. I probably let out too much info when they were little, but we live and learn. The Internet is becoming part of their world. I know what's going on online with other kids their age. MY blog is the very, absolute least of my worries.

We got married when I was barely 21 and I still cringe to think about the things I said and the way I acted those first few years. I am surprised they still talk to me! Nothing major, just young, arrogant stuff. They are very patient. Dh was the last of six kids to get married, so I guess they had BTDT.

A second reception in Utah and my MIL made us a beautiful quit for our bed. I have great in laws.

I don't think you should sell yourself short just because you are afraid of not getting in. I'd regret that. Go for PA school if it is what you want. I have had a few friends do that in the last few years and they make a great living!

My husband has six boxes of comics in the basement. I'll send them to you. It will be our little secret. ;) I would be much more concerned about what my kid is watching on TV. Dh just looked over my shoulder and said, "Comic books build character! Just look at ME!" He thinks he is really funny.

We are going to try to drive up Sunday the 14th. Would it be insane to try to get parking on the mall? It's the last day of the festival. Will it still be crazy busy? We've never gone.

Probably this for me, too. I also remember slow dancing to Bended Knee by Boys 2 Men.

The Torpedo Arts center is fun! You can take the free trolley through town. I agree it's not an all day trip though.

A young male student? I'd send gift cards to nearby restaurants. ;)

This!!!

If you can find the last one through the adoptive name on FB, I bet you could find a few of the others. Chances are some of them have kept in contact (or, at least, their parents have). You could also just find bio relatives on FB and ask around. It's amazing what we can access these days. Thanks to FB, I keep in touch with my girls' bio cousins, aunts, and grandparents. I get updates about the bio parents this way.

I'm so jealous. I want to watch anything for 10 straight hours.

Ooh, I second Goblin Valley. Make sure to hike Little Wild Horse canyon. And yes, hot, hot, hot. My husband (from Utah) used to be a tour guide for that whole area. He can tell you lots of things...in Japanese. ;)

I went to mine for three reasons. 1. So my girls could see me graduate. Higher education is important to us and it was a good experience for them. I put in a lot of hours and I wanted them to be a part of the celebration. 2. Because I got my masters at my alma mater and it was fun to be back. It was only two hours away from our home. 3. Because my best friend and colleague went through the program with me (M.Ed.) and it was fun to graduate together. My family came to my graduation. They could all afford to fly out, it was fun to be together, it was fun to be back in our old stomping grounds, and school is important. It was great.

Yeah, so just move here already. I'll hook you up. ;)

Ok, last thing. HEAV is the Christian organization. I'm assuming you are going to want to check out the inclusive state group, VaHomeschoolers.

Also, it's not heavily populated here, FYI. We are surrounded by small towns and farms. Richmond is an hour away and DC sprawl starts about 2 hours away.

Oh! And check out Bend Yoga, our kids' yoga studio that has classes for homeschoolers. See, we're all kinds of hippy-dippy. ;)

We have been in Charlottesville for two years and we LOVE it. We are so sad to leave. We are moving this summer. We could choose to live anywhere between VA and Maine and we chose here. We couldn't be happier. Cville is very liberal (for VA) and crunchy. We have our large conservative homeschool group, but the rest of us make up a huge group as well! In fact, we have two playgroups a week and our own granola co-op. ;) Join Albemarle Homeschoolers Yahoo Group. Check out CHEC (co-op). Cville has a huge local food scene. Is very outdoorsy. We moved here from suburban Utah, and well, it's the opposite of that. :) Sorry Richmond people, but I would choose Charlottesville over Richmond any day of the week. But, we aren't the kind of family that needs the mall, etc. We are happy to drive a little further for museums in order to live nestled against the mountains. Also check out The Green Adventure project for Thursday science classes and The Living Earth School for Wednesday outdoor school. Let's see, between those, playgroups, and co-op, I've got you covered with secular, outdoorsy homeschoolers four days a week. ;) Feel free to PM me! I should seek real estate, I love it here so much!

I was going to say $5 an hour, too.