Our fees for this year totaled around $70, that included enrollment, insurance, and a few other minor fees. Additionally, we pay an honorarium to the teachers for each class the kids take, which is $15/class + material fees (if any). Since I teach, I collect honorariums (honoraria?) for the classes I teach. I break even if I teach 2 classes and come out ahead if I teach 3, and that includes our enrollment fees.

Federal Way, Kent, or Renton would probably be your best bet. Burien wouldn't be ideal. West Seattle is lovely, but it is one of those pricey, trendy neighborhoods. Federal Way is nicest out by Dash Point. Kent East Hill is nicer than West Hill, but East Hill would be farther from the airport. Same with Renton--farther east are the better areas. There are nice pockets in each of them, though. It all depends on how long of a commute you want. If he'd be interested in taking the Sounder (train) and then the light rail, you could do Sumner or Puyallup, which are relatively safe, quiet areas. You'd have to weigh housing prices (which are lower the farther you get from Seattle) against the cost of public transportation. Pierce County is also cheaper than King County, but again it is farther away from the airport.

Congrats! I'm working on my own elephant's penis....actually, my goal is a 2-month old horse. I'm on a similar track to what you're doing. I do eat grains, but nothing white, refined, or processed. I've all but quit diet soda and don't do any other artificial sweeteners and almost no real ones (occasionally honey or agave). I'm finding that I dislike things I used to love because I've lost the taste for them. So far I'm down a bald eagle, or 4 cans of shortening.

For anyone who would like to make informed opinions about the speech in its entirety: http://www.theswellesleyreport.com/2012/06/wellesley-high-grads-told-youre-not-special/ It's not as if he sat there berating them for 20 min. The speech was positively received by those who heard it. I trust that they have the sense to know the difference between exhortation and criticism.

It's probably legit, and interest rates are very low right now. Our loan officer called us a few months ago with the same offer. We took her up on it and are paying $160 less per month than we were before the refi. To be on the safe side, I would initiate (since it is unwise to give a stranger personal information over the phone) a call to the bank, either to the loan officer who originated your current loan or to another loan officer in the office. Ask them what they can do for you. The one big con that most lenders won't tell you is that you're essentially starting your mortgage over if you refinance--you won't be finished paying off your mortgage until 30 years from the beginning of the new mortgage, versus whatever you have left on your current mortgage. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but it is something to consider. However, if you can lower your interest rate enough, you might be able to switch to a 15- or 10-year mortgage without increasing your payment. Or if you just bought the house within the last couple years, it wouldn't necessarily be that much of a setback and could be worth it if you can free up a bunch of money that would be helpful to you now. Finally, one other big factor to consider is whether you're paying PMI (private mortgage insurance). This is basically just cash that goes to the bank so if you default on your loan, they've made some money on your house. It might apply to you if you have under 20% equity in your home. Personally I think it's a racket. If you're currently paying PMI and you have more equity in your home now than you did when you bought, ask if you can get it dropped. In some cases that could free up hundreds of $$ per month.

We take a week off every 4-6 weeks. I'm not super structured about it, we take a week off if it's a holiday or there's a big event coming, we have relatives in town, we're tired of school, etc. We started because it seemed that my 5th grader never had any downtime--we tend to be out most evenings and her workload is heavy enough that it felt like she was always doing schoolwork or out running around. Our weeks off have brought balance and they keep me from feeling like I have to find the kids stuff to do during summer vacation--my kids would get bored about 2-3 weeks in and then I would spend the rest of the summer taking them places. :P I aim for 36 school weeks per year. Today was our first day of school for the upcoming school year. Last year we started on June 27, so we're slightly ahead of schedule. I was worried about not having a clean break between school years and about never getting more than a couple weeks off in a row, but it hasn't been bad at all!

I was miserable the few times I had anyone in my bed besides DH and I. I'd kick him out if I could, too. :P I couldn't fully relax when the baby was there. Breastfeeding was never a problem for me--I would get up and nurse them, then put them back to bed when I was done. Sometimes I fell asleep in the chair. I think it could be very discouraging for some women to think that breastfeeding means your baby has access to your body around the clock. Some people need space and shouldn't be made to feel that they can't meet their baby's needs as well as their own. If you desire to sleep with your baby, there are safe ways to do it. If not, don't. Either way, it's a personal decision and moms don't need to add to our guilt by adopting a sleeping arrangement with which we're not comfortable.

We're going at the end of the month with our co-op. I can't wait!

There are many flaws Collins' writing, but inconsistencies within the characters isn't one of them, in my opinion. People are complex; very few of us are always brave, or always self-serving...especially when you consider that the HG characters are teenagers. :P Most of us are more likely to sacrifice ourselves or others for a family member than for a stranger, and I would say this is especially true with teens.

I didn't love everything about HG, but I think this guy completely missed the point. Katniss isn't a heroine, she is a girl who is trying to survive, playing a part to protect the people she loves. I would say the only time she acts autonomously based on any sense of her own principles was her last action in Mockingjay. That is the one time (IMO) she refuses to do what is expected of her to protect her family, friends, or herself. Katniss is primarily motivated by survival. That last action is the one time she does anything particularly brave or unexpected. And even that was arguably an act of emotional survival. I think each of the characters acts in a way that is consistent with his/her motivations, if somewhat one-dimensionally. The whole point of HG isn't even revolution, really--it's survival. The revolution wasn't even a true revolution, IMO. It was only successful because it had the support of a nation outside of itself that never truly intended the people of Panem to have true freedom. I disagree with your assessment. How long were black people oppressed before finally achieving legal equality? Longer than 75 years, and one can argue that they still don't have actual equality 50 years after MLKJr. The Capitol in HG was successful (for a time) because they controlled the media and because they played on peoples' fears of losing loved ones.

We finished our school year last week, are taking two weeks off now, and will do school through the summer (with time off for vacations, weddings, etc...we'll probably get 8 weeks done). I like it better that way because then we can take time off whenever we want during the year...it also helps my PS son manage his free time if we have a little structure.

Wow--it must have been a slow day in Albany, NY if they have nothing better to publish than that piece of trash. I think I'm more upset that a news organization would publish this than that someone holds this opinion. Speaking of opinions, when someone brought up the idea of homeschooling being better than inner-city schools, her responses were: and

Clink! :cheers2: Yes, in my experience the fangs come out over ALEs more than any other homeschooling issue. It does make me sad. Wow, thanks for providing an example of the OP's original point. :tongue_smilie: I respectfully disagree and resent the patronizing tone here, and I believe that as long as public schools exist, we should encourage as many different public school options as possible, as long as the right to independently homeschool is not compromised (which it hasn't been in WA after close to 2 decades of ALEs). The traditional model has failed many students, and providing as many alternatives as possible (vouchers, charter schools, ALEs, k12/Calvert-type programs, etc) allows families who can't independently homeschool a chance at a decent education. To answer the OPs original question, I think the infighting comes when people are fearful of losing what they have. I'm sure we all appreciate the right we have to educate our kids at home, but most of the bickering and hand-wringing over different educational methods comes when people think that "those homeschoolers" are putting our rights at risk.

We bought a terrible mattress from IKEA. Within 5 years it was falling apart and you could feel all the springs when you laid down on it. We've been very happy with the mattresses we've bought from Costco. Twins are <$150 and they are actually comfortable when you lay down on them.

Doomsday!! Yay!! Gotta love doomsday blogs. If the money dries up, the market will correct itself, just like the housing market did. Theoretically, fewer people will go to college, but employers will also stop using college degrees to weed out prospective employees. Really, many jobs do not *need* to be done by someone who is college educated, it's just easier for employers to require a degree than to test for adaptability, problem solving skills, ability to work toward a goal, etc. There are a couple factors in pretty much any education-is-so-expensive discussion that bug me--1) educational snobbery, and 2) the social factor. 1) In my state, public universities are more than adequate and tuition costs under $10,000 a year. Community colleges are even cheaper, and some would argue provide a better education at the 100 and 200 level. People who insist on expensive private school educations would do well to look at the cold, hard facts about what the advantages of each are. 2) I don't know how many times I've heard, "I know he could live on campus, but I would hate for him to miss out on the social experience of living in the dorms." So people add $50-100k to their loan package. If you can afford it, fine, but people shouldn't cry about the cost of education when there are some really obvious areas that can be cut back in many situations. In WA, most people can get a decent education at public colleges for under $50k. Working while one is in school can cut that down dramatically. I'm not saying college is for everyone, but I think there are smart ways to approach the financial aspect of college that many people ignore.

Why do we freak out? I don't know, why do parents freak out about anything that turns out to be fine in the long run? Because we're parents. Because we don't know if it's going to turn out to be fine in the long run, and it's on us if it doesn't. Because we don't always know why a kid isn't progressing--whether they're on their own timetable, or whether there is a problem that needs to be addressed. I have a son who could have benefited from a little *more* freaking out. I let him lag behind for years. He was making progress, so I decided he must be on his own schedule, that he'd catch up when he was ready, all the positive self-talk we as homschoolers often engage in. Over the past year, he has grown increasingly frustrated with life in general and began taking it out on his younger sisters. When it got out of control, I put him in school. He was on average about 2 years behind across the board, so we ended up retaining him a year and his teachers got him (mostly) caught up to grade level. He is still academically vulnerable and emotionally volatile. I am reading "The Explosive Child" and hoping to have a solid plan in place before school lets out for the summer. He was a terror over spring break. My point is that uncertainty is uncertain because we don't know for certain that things will work out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes it's hard to tell when things aren't working. Unless you (generally) are someone who does not have educational goals for your kids, you have to continually assess if your goals are appropriate, if they're being met, if the tools you're using are adequate. There is wisdom in being able to know one's child well enough to be able to determine when something is a concern and when it isn't, but there is nothing noble about seeing that a kid is not meeting academic goals and shrugging one's shoulders. It's our job as homeschooling parents to care, to figure out why, and to make sure needs are being met.

I agree with KFP. I feel that I am more connected, that my relationships are richer and more substantial because of FB. I am in daily contact with people that I would otherwise only see occasionally (if that), including relatives, high school friends, moms in my co-op, friends from church. It makes communication, planning, organization easier for ministries with which I am involved. I get advice and receive encouragement when I need it. Were it not for FB I would be alone with my kids in my home most of the time. I love my kids dearly, but they do not meet my social needs. We don't have the time to join social groups, so for me FB has been a way to connect with people and still put my family first. However, I do think there's a difference between using FB to enhance existing relationships and using it to be in contact with people with whom there is no real relationship. If ones only relationships were computer-based, or if people were using internet friendships to replace real ones, I can see how that would increase loneliness. The article referenced a lonely actress who was seemingly only connected to people via internet...but most people I know do not use FB that way. Social networking websites are a tool that can be used positively or negatively, just like anything else.

I've decided that I'm better off eating non-organic veggies and having those be the foundation of our diet than loading up on meats and starches. Especially since this way of eating is relatively new for us and I still make a lot of meals that my kids don't like. I am finding that I spend less money eating only whole grains, though, because I don't eat as much and what I do eat is nourishing. YMMV.

I don't know how much it is saving us yet, but we have Bountiful Baskets in our area and that has changed the way I feed our family. I had already decided to cut out sugar, flour, artificial sweetners, potatoes, white rice, and anything processed. Then we started getting Bountiful Baskets, which is basically a fruit/veggie buying co-op. We get about $50 worth of produce for $15, and we can add on when we want. Those are the foundation for our meals, and I add in quinoa, meat, etc. as necessary. We do not get organic, so I don't know if that's as good of a deal (I've heard it isn't). http://bountifulbaskets.org/

Maybe do a seach for "altered cookie sheet"? I'm not sure if they need to be magnetized or if the coating makes a difference.

I resent that--I love poker-playing dogs. :glare:

Try Homewood Suites or Embassy Suites. We had 8 people in a two-bedroom suite and they provide lunch and a light dinner (the dinner was actually plenty for the kids, and we had brought along babysitters so we went out).

I vote for "American/parent culture". The worst offenders I have met are the preschool moms at the dance studio. There's a difference, in my humble opinion, between mommies who are proud/excited about their kids and mommies who are insecure and looking to one-up each other so they can know for sure that their darling is superior to all other kids.

Not beyond elementary school pantsing (which went both ways) and feeling someone's back to see if they were wearing a bra. But my high school was an affluent suburban school with a lot of strong extracurricular programs and my main social circle was the honor roll/band geeks. Not that those categories mean we were immune, but we had a lot fewer of the risk factors where abuse is more common. I will say that a close friend in a younger grade reconnected with an elementary school friend, they went out and he went farther than she was comfortable with after she asked him to stop. That's the only specific instance of abuse I know of.

I have a Ninja--way cheaper than the Vitamix! I looked at all the Costco blenders (except the BlendTec), and the Ninja was twice as many watts as the rest. My only complaint is the pitchers are plastic--I wish they were glass. I have popsicle molds to freeze what is leftover, and my rule is they can either have a smoothie or a smoothie popsicle. They don't always love them, but the popsicle is easier to get down. I've read that one should alternate between leafy greens, we've been doing spinach and kale. Baby spinach blends much better than regular spinach, and I've been told that Costco now carries baby kale! Regular kale/spinach don't blend all the way, and the kale chunks are what my kids object to most. I try to do 2 veggies (one leafy green + one other) and 2+ fruits (frozen berries from Costco + whatever I have on hand). Bananas are great sweeteners and hold everything together nicely. I love my green smoothies! They are filling and a great way to get more fruits & veggies than I would ever eat whole. And now that we've resolved the "chunky kale" issue, my kids enjoy them too. :)