Aww, thanks. Sorry if I came across defensive. I certainly wasn't trying to be. My response was to the numerous posts centered on adults expecting so much corralling and motivation, not because I felt ganged up on.

I plan on getting up early the morning of the first class and being present. I think with traffic, it will be a better bet for me to get up early than leave Monday and sit in traffic for many hours. It is less than a 3 hour drive, so totally manageable. As soon as I realized classes would be underway, my intention was to be present for the class. That is just how I am. For the record, after my freshman year, I am pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of classes I missed. I am a very diligent and conscientious student and am fully aware of how much effort goes into teaching. I am a grown woman and can handle my shit, I definitely would never expect a professor to make special arrangements for me if I missed a class.

Not harsh at all. I actually never considered not being there until my husband said something about it. I asked because I was curious if it was no big deal (like my husband thinks) or a pretty big deal (like I feel). Clearly, he and I had very different undergrad experiences. :tongue_smilie: Thanks all!

At this point there are still 7 seats available. According to the liaison of the department, they don't anticipate it being a full class. I specifically asked about that because of my late registration date and my concern that there would not be space by the time I was allowed to register. I will definitely contact the professor if I am not going to make the first class.

Unfortunately, as a post bacc student, I am not able to register for class until a week before class starts, so I am not technically enrolled in the class yet.

Our family is planning a little solar eclipse excursion, BUT we are not due to come home until Tuesday, the day following the eclipse. I am taking one class at the local university and my first day of class will be the day we are set to return. The class is first thing in the morning, so I will need to come home the evening before or get up very early in order to make it for the first class. So, do I come home early to make it to the first class or e-mail the professor and explain the situation, potentially missing the first day of class? How big of a deal is missing the first day? (I would normally never consider missing the first class, but the solar eclipse doesn't come around every year, yk? I put off going last fall because our family had a big trip planned that fell over exam week, so delaying another semester is not ideal) And if it matters, the class is an intro class in a field I already hold an undergraduate degree in. What say the hive?

We had a parent organize this in our area a number of years ago. We never participated because my kids were younger, but they did a lot of really cool trips, some educational (factory tours etc.) and some more focused on fun (hiking, skate park). The parent was vigilant about maintaining the age requirements. She always kindly, but firmly explained how there were a number of awesome activities in our area centered around younger children, so this one was focused on the older bunch. She offered to share her wisdom with parents in creating a similar group for younger kids, but she was always very firm about the boundaries of the group. i think others have given you a good idea on managing the privacy of the group. I am not on Facebook, so I cannot speak to its effectiveness. I definitely think prepayment is the way to go. I think you have to be willing to say upfront what the expectations are until the culture of your group is known (i.e. no younger sibs unless the parent is present and not part of the older group). Once you get it down and get a solid group, I think much of the issues will be taken care of. Happy organizing!

Thanks! I wonder if they will give that to me.

Oh my goodness! I have never seen that blog, but it is right up my ally. Thank you for the link and the fun story. Although my free time does not thank you; I am going to spending some time on that hilarious blog.

Well, it was a 3. My child said they barely finished one of the essays (the long, I believe), so we'll take it and consider it all good. Accommodations from the College Board are in place for writing and we are appealing the denied request for the reading accommodations, so I think next year's two AP classes will be better. Is there any way to see how the scores were distributed among the students in our specific school?

Frankly, I am not expecting much. I did not think the class was anywhere near rigorous enough to produce a solid score, at least for my kid. My child even thought the class was, "AP lite". :crying: We did so some prep work in the few weeks leading up to the test on Albert and via a test prep book, but the writing will bite my kid. Compounded by the fact that our school did not request accommodations for my kid (Yes, my child has a 504 and yes, I should have been more proactive, I naively thought the three separate conversations we'd had about the necessity of accommodations had covered it and completely forgot to ask about the status of the request until it was too late) that has ADHD and two identified LDs. Yeah, not expecting much. It's fine, annoying but in the big scheme of things, fine.

Just finished C25K in prep for an upcoming 5K. I am still slow and when I ran the course yesterday, I felt pretty pathetic. **I will keep walking in July. **I need to do a little food reset, especially in the sweet department. Maybe I will do a mini W30 (which is not terrible, I just miss my coffee with cream so very much if I do 30 days). **Get back to the gym at least 2-3 times/week and resume my strength training regimen. **Not stay up too late. I am not usually a late night person, but summer finds me up later than usual many nights. Happy July!

Olives. They are foul and ruin anything they are in, even if they are picked out the left behind juice taints the dish. Ketchup has always been pretty meh for me, even as a kid. Oh, boiled peanuts are horrendous. The foulest texture e.v.e.r.

I big puffy heart my fitbit and use it every single day. I wear it at night, unless it needs charging. I am a person who loves the feedback and visual. I was active prior to getting it, but having one helped me to stay active throughout the day.

You may enjoy this site: http://weneeddiversebooks.org/ And this book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310344131/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Happy reading! :001_smile:

The Schneider Family Award "...honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences." http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/schneider-family-book-award The Coretta Scott King Awards "...are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values." http://www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards You can visit the American Library Association web site to learn more about the lesser known book awards. http://www.ala.org/

Uh, 21 :crying: But to be fair, it doesn't look like 21. It drives some of my family members crazy. My techy dear, sweet husband doesn't say much about it, although I know it sort of boggles his mind when he looks at my computer. I always hear from my teens, "Mom! How can you have some many tabs open?" I am actually a little shocked it is that many. I would have guessed 10, maybe 12. They really made those bad boys small.

So fun! I have picked up some great ideas and gadgets (I had no idea sleep headphones were a thing, my husband might love those!). La Croix makes me so, so happy. All day, every day. I have had a Sodastream in the past, but I was an original adopter and then Department of Transportation changed the rules and they could no longer ship the big canisters. Cold brew coffee Telling my phone to remind me of something. I use that nearly everyday-from setting a timer to remind me to switch the laundry to the reminder that popped up this morning that reminded me to dole out Advil prior to the ortho appointment. I also love having my phone tell me how to spell a word. I have major spelling insecurities, although really I am fine. If I am writing something and I am unsure or it doesn't look right, I just ask my phone. Being in the habit of walking every morning. It is just what I do. I never have to think am I going to walk (or run), I just do it. Sometimes I have to adjust my timing if I have an early appointment, but I get up and get outside every morning, first thing. Library Elf makes keeping track of what is on our multiple library cards much easier. My library does send a reminder, but Library Elf lets me schedule when I want the reminders and keeps reminding me until I have returned the appropriate item. It is also faster at telling me when a hold has arrived. Mrs. Myers makes me happy when I clean. I love my buckwheat hull pillow, even though I was sure I would hate it when it was first recommended. Amazon Prime is worth every single penny. I :wub: Amazon Prime. Hmm, I think that is all I have right now. I will keep thinking.

Lovely! Your SIL has a great eye and you looked amazing. Congrats!

Oh Amy, I am so incredibly sorry for your family's loss. I will have all of you close to my heart.

I finished Orange is the New Black. I am glad I stuck with it. It complemented Just Mercy, which I read earlier this year to my 16 year old, nicely. I also read Some Kind of Magic, which was straight up fluff. I think I may start North of Normal next. I have read over most of the replies in this thread. Big hugs to those who are in a challenging season. :grouphug:

They periodically close rides to do refurbishment, particularly during off-peak times. It was a planned closure and was out of commission for two weeks or so.

We were just there in December. Unfortunately, the castle ride (Forbidden Journey) was closed. My oldest and I had ridden it several years ago, but I was sorry the rest of the crew missed it. Several of us walked through the castle to see all it. I *loved* Diagon Alley. It was so cleverly done. I had not done much reading about that new part because I wanted to be surprised, so we had no idea how to get there. My dh was standing with his phone and map saying, "It's supposed to be right here." It really was magical to enter that area. The effect they were going for was perfect and I could not stop marveling at how Universal pulled that off (Seriously, my family was tired of hearing me talk about it. I just kept saying, "That was so magical!". We enjoyed Gringotts and loved the Hogwarts Express. Dragon Challenge was a hit with all of my roller coaster riders. Butter beer is always tasty and the wonderfully engaging man working at the owlery/post office added to the magic. My littlest and I skipped Flight of the Hippogriff because it was always a 25 min+ wait, but we had fun walking around taking in all of the scenery. I adore the Wizarding World. The first time my eldest and I went they only had the one park. We enjoyed NO lines or waits. This visit we still had smaller crowds than usual, but I find that area near Dragon Challenge gets congested so easily and takes away from my enjoyment, but I think I was just very spoiled from our first visit.

Stacia, Thinking about you and your son today. I am so sorry for your losses.

Yes, our district is 1-1, meaning all kids 4th-12th have a laptop. They may get one in 3rd grade, I am not sure. When my 5th grader went for the last third of the school year, that was one of the school's big selling points. I was unimpressed. My child used the computer daily. As a matter of fact, it was the primary source of math instruction. It was lame and while the intent was to deliver targeted instruction, it meant my child (who was ahead in math) received little direct instruction in math. As far as surviving in your role as public school parent, my trick (and I had two that ultimately ended up at school this year, one for the entire year and one at the end) was to pick my battles. And really, that meant I let it go. I figured if I was utilizing this option, it would be rude to come in demanding things be done a specific way. There were positive and negative aspects of public school, just like there were in homeschooling. I volunteered and was a present member in both of my children's school communities. I offered help and support to the teachers both at the high school level and elementary. Were things done the way I wanted or to my standard? Not usually, but I channeled my inner Elsa and let it go. When I did need to get involved (due to a missed accommodation request for my high schooler), I was polite, but persistent. It is not a perfect system. My high schooler will continue next year. My 6th grader is taking the summer to decide what is the right fit. Both of my children that went to school realize they gave up some things to gain others and vice versa. That is the way of life. Edited to add-I tried not to complain too much to my husband and friends, but I probably complained more than necessary. If we have chosen this path, complaining only keeps strife and negativity front and center. Even though school was not my initial vision (definitely not for my 5th grader!), I thought it was important that we try to be positive. I wanted my kids to have their experience without me clouding it with negative talk and feelings surrounding it because their decisions to go to school ultimately wasn't about me, it was about their needs. IMO, they had (have) a right to figure out what best met their needs without me unduly influencing them.