@Hobbes Your checklist is wonderful. I am going to adapt mine to include space for a comic. 😄 I think- although it will add 10 minutes to my weekly organizing session, it will very surely be one of those things kids look back on and say, "Remember how mom always put a comic on our checklists?" GREAT idea.

This is a youtube video, about 8 minutes long, and it had me rolling: Don't Send a Man to the Grocery Store

Oh that is hard. Big hugs and prayers for you.

This banana bread is also wonderful, and I've made it with both regular dairy and dairy-free subs. Rice crispy treats with GF rice puffs are also safe. 😄 So are meringues.

The flourless lemon almond cake from Simply Recipes is excellent. I don't put the cardamom in because I don't like it and it tastes great without it. 🙂

A few helpful things I've done this year: - started using a timer, so subjects stopped creeping past their allocated time - Made a detailed weekly spreadsheet with everything I wanted to accomplish. I posted about it here. - Rotated some of the extras into 6-week focus topics, rather than trying to fit them in over the course of a year. Not every box on my spreadsheet gets checked over the course of the week. But I can see very quickly which things are being neglected and try to fix that as we go. Also, the sheet does not include my kids' independent work (reading, typing, math drill) or work they do with their dad (German).

I would say by chapter 4, ds was doing 80% self-teaching. We are now in AOPS Algebra, and he is doing about 95% self-teaching. The only thing I do is sit with the solutions manual while he reads his answers out to me. This gives me a feel for his level of mastery. He then corrects on his own or occasionally with my help. I'm shocked at his evolution in one year of math. He "enjoys" it (I mean, he probably wouldn't pull it out in his free time, but...), gets down to work and stays focused, and the level of mastery is impressive.

Thank you! It's also free, I see, so I will be downloading it immediately!

I agree with all the PP, nothing you say is going to change her. If she is lying right in front of you, you can choose to "clarify" what really happened, but I doubt others are not already aware of her behavior. And your DD is old enough to be told that grandma is a bit crazy and nothing is her fault, should it come up.

Yeah... I don't mind the 2-3 special ones each kid has, it's the 30 others that "Oh mommy you can't get rid of that one!" I mind!!!

Congratulations to your daughter, that is so cool!

Thank you so much! This sounds about like my plan! I've had some friends read through and pick out typos for me, but I keep revising, so I'm sure they keep creeping back in! I'm now spending a lot of time reading up on manuscript formatting for Amazon, and it sounds like I'm managing to get started right as amazing is converting CreateSpace to KDP... so a lot of older youtube videos on the subject don't quite match the new system. LOL. I'm considering getting an illustrator but I'm just not that sure how much I want to invest in the project... And what I should be doing, of course, is writing more!!!

I would give a discount (actually I would work free) for a one-time deal. For a regular babysitting job, I would want to be paid the going rate, even for a friend. It may be worth seeing if you can barter in kind- maybe keep her kids if she wants to start doing date night or something.

bump, now that everyone is awake...

I'm using GSWL for fourth and sixth this year, it's going great!