I know this has come up before but hoping we can revisit the topic. I am wondering if son should have a bank acct with branches at the school he attends. He has never had one before. He doesn't keep a wallet or even spend money. Well, that sounds odd, but he wants very little. How do you all handle buying textbooks? Do your kids do that themselves? My son has been tsk

Son accepted: Drake University full tuition University of Iowa full tuition plus extras Reed College University of Rochester Wesleyan University Still not completely sure where he will be attending. He initially wanted a small lac but now that he has researched Rochester more he is heavily leaning towards that. I can't believe he might be going to school so far away! Grats everyone!

One of my kids is in public high school. Even for the honors classes they do not write an essay on everything they read . They do, however, have to at least have a writing journal for everything they read. They have to make observations on different aspects of the novel. This helped my more reluctant writer develop stronger writing skills. It is less pressure thsn a formal essay.

Our living room is similar to ray of light, I find it quite versatile and DH and I both like it.

O/T-- Is this a nationsl company? If so, would you tell me which one? Son is off to college this fall and our ins â„… only gives a slight discount.

Yea, if lots of white people are driving through those neighborhoods then it should be the other way around. Where are all the white people driving?? I don't think anyone is accusing you of anything though.

Ah, my mistake, I thought he said "Washington". In any case, I still don't see that as a huge support of his assertion. Is it the ONLY way? No. I know there are studies showing high achieving students do well wherever they attend school. But to me that is like rationalizing that my smart kid would have done well in ps or homeschool. It isn't just just the end result I care about, but the journey along the way as well.

We read up on the CA water issues yesterday. Here is a CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/us/california-water-restrictions-drought/ We lived in CA prior to moving to the midwest. When we first moved here my kids would run outside whenever it rained. Such a novel occurrence! I really need to get my own strawberry patch going. those dang deer though. And rabbits. And voles. maybe even the raccoons eat strawberries?

I haven't read this book. I will look into it but I do not find his examples particularly compelling. UNC CH is rated #30 in National Colleges by USNWR. I am guessing it is a top 10 of public universities. Isn't is considered a public ivy? Whether or not Washington attended a top school hardly matters now. I don't know, honestly. We are grappling with the issue of paying for son to attend a strong private school vs. our state school almost free. We can afford the private without debt but it is a large enough sum of money to give me great pause and more than a few heart palpitations. :P Dh attended state schools for ug and grad school. He has a great career and his earnings allow us to live very comfortably. But, overwhelmingly, his bosses, be they VP's when he was in private sector or Deans in academia, hail from high tier schools. He feels that pedigree matters substantially for gaining opportunities for advancement beyond a certain level. I honestly do not know if my kids have those kinds of aspirations, but this is actually not the real reason I am considering the private option. I think son would personally benefit more from a small setting. I think he would be more likely to find mentors, peers and challenges. He takes classes at the local U already and the focus on grads students is undeniable. He has gotten involved and met great people at the U, but the atmosphere is very different from what we hope for him. Maybe I am just dreaming and hoping, but I think son's other potential school could actually shape him far differently than the public U. I do not means in terms of future jobs though. I mean in terms of growth and development of ideas and exposure to thoughts and sparks of interest. Ah, the questions simply do not end even after you graduate them!

It is a touchy subject so no surprise it would generate strong responses. I think many people so strongly want to believe that these kinds of imbalances do not exist that they cannot fathom that they actually do! I want to be proud of my country. But when I read reports indicating a huge imbalance, I feel ashamed of the large number of people being treated unjustly. Lawyer Bryan Stevenson's interview on NPR was pretty heart breaking; here is a story on him. http://www.npr.org/2014/10/20/356964925/one-lawyers-fight-for-young-blacks-and-just-mercy

Last week my son showed me this link. http://www.nyclu.org/news/new-nyclu-report-finds-nypd-stop-and-frisk-practices-ineffective-reveals-depth-of-racial-dispar Bolded is mine. "In 70 out of 76 precincts, blacks and Latinos accounted for more than 50 percent of stops, and in 33 precincts they accounted for more than 90 percent of stops. In the 10 precincts with black and Latino populations of 14 percent or less (such as the 6th Precinct in Greenwich Village), black and Latino New Yorkers accounted for more than 70 percent of stops in six of those precincts."

Are there any health food stores, co-ops or even Costco where you might find bread with fewer additives? Hope you figure it out soon. ETA: you coudl try a bread maker for quick home made bread.

We moved from CA to IA a few years ago and it was defintiely a shock. I wish we had purchased a house with a 3 car garage and a larger house in general. We spend so much more time inside now than we used to. OUr basement is very cold in winter. If you plan on spending a lot of time there, you will probaly need an extra heater unless you have a dual system. Right now the main floor and upstairs are comfortable wihtout any heat or cooling, but the basement is downright fridig. I also wish we had a designated mud room. Mud is a much bigger problem here than other places I have lived! I am glad we bought a newer home with excellent windows. GL with your move! We also have had many new experiences, like marveling over sheets of frozen water and experimenting with frozen socks and water balloons.

Has he been evaluated by a speech therapist? Son was evaluated around age 5 and it was a huge help going over exactly which sounds were normal progression and which weren't. Son did take Omega 3 when he was younger, but it wasn't for speech.

My boys sound similar to your son on the social front. They are both slow to make friends, but they are happy with their lives. They were soley homeschooled grades 1-8. For high school one continued to homeschool but took classes at the public high school and the local university. He is graduating this year and has received great offers at colleges, including a tuitioin plus extras scholarship at our state flagship (homeschool grades and classes did not prevent him from getting this offer). My other son opted to attend the high school full time and is finishing up his junior year. High school is incredible stressful for my son. A huge part of the stress is being around other students who don't give a flip about academics or learning in general. Kids who take pride in willful ignorance especially frustrtate my son. But, he still appreciates the academic rigor in his honors and AP classes. Plus he has gained exposure to programs that would be difficult for us to manage at home. Both kids wanted to take in person science and math classes and they have loved this at the high school and University. Socially, I do not think public high school has helped my kids much at all. Mostly it was a huge eye opener that there are people out there who enjoy annoying others and who do not value knowledge in general. It actually made them cynical about society. :( I don't konw it matters whether they learn that now or later. I do not think there is a window of opportunity for developing social skills either. Odler son, the most awkward one, has grown by leaps and bounds in the social front this year as a high school senior. They are smart and adept kids and i believe they will both go on to have great college experiences, regardless of or despite their high school exposure. :P

Ha, off to find some googly eyes. :D

Eegads, shouldn't OP be home by now? Don't we have a WTM Posse for these kinds of events?

Another vote for Keens. Made me totally rethink shoe comfort. Also do not like anythign between my toes! EWWWW!

One year I hollowed out eggs, filled with cake batter and baked them. It was a mess and time consuming (!!) but it was a big hit despite me basically having to insist everyone try a hard boiled egg.

Our FAFSA only EFC was about half of the NPCs from meet need schools. Actually FA awards from meet need schools is about 20% more than the NPC values. Sigh. They just keep going up! Hugs and patience to everyone going through this.

She tested into prealgebra throught ALEKS and we covered those subjects on their online program then went onto the saxon alg. Many concepts just don't seem to stick with her for very long. She also has pretty much given up on trying to hard and is willing to accept that she just sucks as math. Hrmm..... Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

While DH and I were in graduate school we lived in my father's garage. We were able to save up for a down payment on a house. :hurray:

Oh my. I am sorry. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I would be pretty upset if DH told me I was a bad wife. We went through a time where DH said he felt under appreciated, when the kids were quite young. I think he seriously underestimated how draining raising and homeschooling kids can be. Also, he felt pulled in too many directions and generally over stressed by work. Is your Dh's job high stress?

I do not think I am a bad wife. If I really felt that I was, I would first try to improve in the areas I felt needed work. I have had times where I have fallen into poor habits but I have pretty much reversed them. But even then, I was not motivated to stop the bad habits out of concern over being a bad wife. Rather, I recognized unhealthy actions creeping into my life and did not want them interfering with our general family wellness. If I felt as though I was a bad wife and I was unable to improve the situation, I would probably conclude that my marriage was not going to work. We are not wives or husbands in a void. Our notion of good or bad depends heavily on our spouse and their expectations. I think I am a great wife for my husband. He consistently reaffirms this, complimenting me mostly about being a great mom, but also telling me he feels lucky to be married to me. We are going on 22 years of marriage. My husband can actually be kind of difficult, but not in ways directly relating to me or the kids. I think we are both pretty lucky to have ended up being quite compatible. We have had times where life was rougher but they mostly related to dealing poorly with stresses in our lives. Hm, really though, the thought of being a good or bad wife does not often cross my mind quite in those terms. I do make an effort to do things I think please my husband, but these are pretty simple, like make mashed potatoes and gravy and keep the coffee bin supplied so he doesn't have to go into the cupboards looking for a refill. I try to be considerate of his time and efforts too. I suspect this is what most people are thinking of when they talk of making their husband happy. Well, that along with sex, lol! Interesting question and responses.