:grouphug: Last year my ds (then 11) started complaining whenever he had to, gasp, work. He would say that he wanted to ps. Finally, I told him ok. We were fighting all the time and I didn't think it was good for our relationship. Well, it turns out he was bluffing. He quickly said that he didn't want to go to ps, that he wanted to hs, and he was sorry for complaining! Of course, he still complains. But now he knows that I will send him and can't play that card anymore. I would start praying for a hs friend or co-op to join. It might seem impossible, but our God is a mighty God!

Thanks for your help. I really liked how SM was laid out for me. The AoPS online class had a basic schedule that I will try to follow. I probably should have looked there first :tongue_smilie: http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/School/courseinfo.php?course_id=prealgebra1

I guess I have been spoiled by SM's teacher books and their lovely schedules. How do I schedule AoPS? Would anyone care to share their schedule or advice? Thanks

We have just decided to move too. The kids are sad to leaver their friends, but like TXmom said, we just keep pointing out the positives of the new state. The fact that it's been 106 all summer here, and only in the 90s in the new state is a big positive!:) Even the kids agree it's just too darn hot and flat here. We have also pointed out that we are praying, and asking God to shut any doors/open doors. Knowing that it is ultimately in God's hands, and that He really cares for us, helps them a lot. Of course, if you're an atheist this won't really help! :lol: What I'm really dreading is keeping the house clean for showings while hsing. My dh got approval for the transfer the Friday before school started! This would have been so much better in May. Good luck.

As an adult, I love fluff! If a book I'm reading turns serious or depressing, I quit reading. I want happy easy stuff that doesn't make me think! I admit that my reading is shallow, and I like it that way. :lol: So of course I allow fluff, but no graphic novels. But classic Peanuts is fine. :)

I didn't know my baby was traverse til he came out, and it was a painful, prolonged birth. Definitely have a c-section if you can't turn him/her.

I have the Eureka Enviro Steamer and I love it. I use it on wood and tile. I bought extra pads on e-bay that cover the mop better than the ones that came with it. I can't imagine going back to the old mop.

Most of my friends here have had b@@b jobs. I definitely wouldn't say that they are vain or obsessed with their appearances. It just seems to be the norm here. I was waffling, but that seems like a lot of pain to go through just to get nice girls. Now we're moving from TX to an area where the women are surprisingly flat. :)

I almost missed out on a great friend b/c I judged her. My ds kept asking to have a playdate with a boy at preschool. When I met his mom, I prejudged her as vain and appearance obsessed based on several different things. I mean, who could possibly be that skinny after their 2nd baby? I just assumed she would not want to be friends with me and she would be judging me for being a little overweight. But my son kept asking for this boy to come over. So I finally invited them over and she was so sweet and wonderful. She has become one of my closest friends. It definitely taught me a lesson! But I think when I get intimidated by someone who is really put together, that's more a comment on my view of myself then of them. Plus, I'm probably a little bit jealous.

TT is much more involved than HP. It really depends on how much prep work you want to do. IMHO I think the TT cds are a lot more fun than the HP color/glue crafts. We used TT for 3rd and 4th grades and loved it. But I bought HP this year for my 1st grader to use because I didn't have the time to do TT. Good luck!

Go for it! We did a 5 week road trip and had a blast. My kids were 4, 8 and 10 at the time. My dh couldn't go with us, but he did fly out for 3 weekends. Sometimes he would fly into one city on Friday, and then leave out of another city on Sunday. It was so much fun to see/do all the things we had been learning about. We didn't do amusement parks/museums, but focused on landmarks that couldn't be seen anywhere else. One unusual stop was at a coal mine in WV. We got to go in the mines and also see what a company town in the 1950's looked like. Williamsburg was fun, and we loved Niagara falls. Now I'm itching to go again...

The original Herbie the Lovebug movie was funny too. Iron Will was good, but it might be too intense for the younger boys.

I make dinner and that's it. I'm not sure why making lunch bugs me so much, but I would rather clean toilets than make lunch.

:iagree: I feel like such a mean mom, but you're right - they must hate fun!

My dh uses VMware to run his work stuff from our mac. I'm not sure what someone meant when they said it was just for testing. We've never had any problems with it.

My dc love the Absent Minded Professor (original). It's not really sports, but there's a funny scene where they play basketball with flubber on their shoes. I'm laughing just thinking about it.

We are just doing Spanish. I took 4 years of Latin in high school, and really wished I had taken a modern language instead. I don't think that Latin helped me on the SAT or ACT. We learned roots in other language arts classes and I think that was helpful. The romance languages all have that common Latin root, so I think as long as you learn one of them it will improve your vocabulary. My dh also took 2 years of Latin in high school, and he feels the same as I do.

Thank you for posting this. I really needed to hear that somebody else's house was like this. I've been thinking of putting them in ps so they wouldn't have the opportunity to fight as much, but I really want to hs.

The first part of Landmark was akin to torture. But we really, really, liked the rest of the book. I think SL addresses this in the IG. We started liking Landmark about when the IG said we would. We didn't use SL Bible.

I think it would be easier to have to larger size. I got mine at Hobby Lobby using the 40% coupon in the paper. $22 before coupon.

If I were going to make an alternative/fantasy life, it would not involve 17 kids! Maybe just dh, me and a private island....

I really like SP, but my kids are natural spellers. I like that it is over and done with in under 10 minutes. Good luck!

seterra.com is a free game. I like that it keeps a record board, so my competitive kids try to beat each other.

I think one on one trips with gma would be good, assuming she takes the younger one too. Maybe it'd giver her a chance to get to know the younger son. I'd make sure she took him first, though, b/c his trip might never happen. My gma took my brother and male cousins on individual trips to China. I loved her, and know that she loved me, but it still hurt. I'm not sure how she justified that...

We had a cat who would catch bats and bring them through the doggy door and let them go. Alive. One bat was in my boys' room and we found it in the morning. I decided not to get the shots for them, but it was a torturous 2 weeks until the bat autopsy came in. I was so relieved when I got the call (negative) that I started crying in the check out line of Office Depot. It's a hard decision to make whether or not to get the shots. I'll be praying for your family! After the second bat (in the living room), we took the cat to the pound. No cat is worth that much stress!