Students can also do "all the right things" in high school (stellar test scores, grades, ECs etc.) and just plain old NOT get accepted. If Ivy acceptance has been their singular goal for the previous 8 years, I can only image the feelings of frustration they'd experience.

This also happened to me. It was bamboo sheets from Target. I originally purchased one set for DS and after a couple of months, liked them enough to get each son two sets. Within a year though the fitted sheet started to shred. The top sheets are fine. I think all in all, manufacturers are using thinner and thinner fabrics. Shirts seem to be the same way now too.

Samples for the robotics curriculum can be found here: http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/curriculum/4-h-robotics/ I have used the level 1 junk drawer robotics and level 1 robotics platforms with our 4H group comprised of 4th graders-10th graders. The older kids help out the younger ones quite a bit. We rarely do the activities exactly as written. I do think they provide a good basis for projects though.

:hurray: This sounds lovely. I live in a colder climate (frost heave is a problem here for them) but I do love the heucheras I have. I planted 12 at the beginning of fall last year and am eager to see how they will do this spring. Last spring some of them had a surprisingly long bloom period. I also love love love my foam flowers. I planted 60 itty bitty rhizomes a few years ago and last spring they were just stunning with my tulips. We only have so many springs left. I aim to enjoy them. :) I have had a couple of gonzo plant orders since we moved here--particularly for spring bulbs. Definitely got a bit crazy planting them.

From all you have written, I would seriously consider it. If you have to sell this house to move and you aren't in a position to do minor repairs to increase its resale value, that seems detrimental to your long term plans. If you can really lower the mortgage and save that money for 1.5 years and then use .5 - 1 year to fix up the house, you would *probably* be in a better position. BUT, if you have any upcoming major repairs needed, this could backfire. I"d take a good look at roof, water heater, appliances, etc. One thought: I do not know much about VA loans, but if you do use this program, does it affect a future home purchase in any way? Say, does it lock you out of a new VA loan? Best wishes whatever you decide. :grouphug:

I am not familiar with that, but upon looking it up, I can see a bigger appeal to refinancing as fees seem lower and no PMI is involved (I just briefly looked at some info though). Are you really considering moving within 1-2 years? Are you wanting to move out of the area or are you not happy with the home? Do you know about how much closing costs would be?

Yep, I think you are trying to fit in too much. :) My boys were similar around that age, especially interested in nonfiction, etc. I understand your desire to find good materials to shore up his skills, but some of that will come with maturity and continued development of critical thinking/vocab skills. I'd stick with WWS for grade 7 and LLLotR for later. Figuratively Speaking is a great workbook for introducing literary terms, useable in grade 7. It will. And you will probably find that you don't need to use other, supplemental materials. I agree some variety is nice, but you don't need to have him simultaneously work through several full programs. Maybe cover less and alternate, but really, I'd stick with WWS, get Figuratively Speaking and then start pointing out literary devices as you come across them, and use Caesar's English 2 from MCT if not already done.

Well, my boys both seemed to lose parts of their brains for significant period of times when they went through puberty. Then came out the other end fully in tact though. I'd stop asking her if she did these things to help lessen her automatic defensive replies though. Assume they need gentle reminding of the next needed course of action. For a while you might have to act as her supplemental brain. :) If the milk is left out on the counter, just tell the kids that it needs to be put away in order to prevent spoilage, but if they have a science experiment in mind, they should let you know. When is her next check up due? We actually did talk to our ped about some things DS was experiencing around age 13 and it helped both of us process through them. Ped said they were all within normal range, and talked about a few issues to be aware of. Within a year, DS was over them.

I would go to a low pressure mortgage officer, perhaps at a local credit union. They should be able to go though all the numbers with you and show you exactly when you would break even with closing costs. Avoid anyone who pressures you to decide that day!!! If you are already upside down, can you even get a refi?

https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat-math has videos explaining problems from one of the College Board blue books. Hope all goes well. :)

No weddings actually planned around here. DS #1 is 16 yo and still hasn't gotten over the whole exchange of bodily fluids part of kissing much less intimate relationships. He also refers to everyone is gender neutral terms. I thought it looked nice but wanted to see where it fell on the board's general opinion on acceptable for MOB/MOG, since I know little about proper, traditional or even modern etiquette.

DS did about 2/3 of WWS 1 last year and enrolled in ps grade 9 this year. They do not offer honors in grade 9 here but he has been recommended for 10th grade LA honors next year. This is our state's top ranked high school. He has long been a reluctant writer and overall, he has done very little writing up until this year. If you haven't already gone through it, I do recommend Figuratively Speaking, or at least familiarity with literary terms. DS read through this in 8th grade. We also read parts of The Lively Art of Writing and used IEW SWI B in grade 6 or 7. Mostly though, his strong vocabulary and ability to present info in a logical, sequential manner have been most useful to him in LA class. He had already picked up some techniques, such as starting with a hook and then conceptually circling back to the hook in the essay conclusion. He still struggles with writing varied sentences, imo, but I think that will continue to develop as he matures and takes time to critique his own writing. His LA and SS teachers both commented on his strong writing ability and his unique "voice". If you haven't done many timed tests or assignments, you might have your child practice. We hadn't done any and the time constraints in class caused some anxiety at first, but after a few months, both of my kids adjusted to it. I hope it works out well for your family.

Is this too low cut for a MOG dress? http://www.jcrew.com/wedding/Wedding_Bridesmaid/silkchiffon/PRDOVR~66737/66737.jsp

This also made me LOL!

Sometimes on college boards I read of parents who own their homes mentioning how high their EFC is for college costs. I see your kids are pretty young though, so if you are in a position to potentially pay it off faster now, unknown college costs are probably not a big consideration. Just the only caveat that immediately comes to mind.

wow I am a total forum poster fail. Seriously though, that was so over the top hilarious. Your warning was earned.

testing

Wow, that does sound good. :) And I had to check the lunar cycle and it actually is a full moon. :lol:

OR cheescake? OR is it a full moon???

We had pocket gophers at our last house. Like OP, kids tripping over holes in the yard was my main concern. We did the hose in their burrow trick...one popped out of the other end and barred its long teeth at our kitten. In all this excitement, DS, in a valiant effort to protect the kitty, hit the gopher with a stick and killed it. We were all traumatized for months afterwards.

My teens probably aren't average/typical as they are on the Aspie range and only have two friends they ever meet outside of school (and this is usually inviting them to our house or going over to their house). One friend lives in the neighborhood so it is easy for them to get together. They are also in ps full time this year. Neither one drives yet, although my 16 yo could. I am not opposed to him learning to drive and having access to a car, He is very cautious, has good judgment and excelling in school is his top priority. I do not know what kind of limitations we would put on driving though. They can be out in the neighborhood on weekdays until 9 or 9:30. By 9:30 they need to be getting ready for bed. They both like to read or listen to audio books in bed. If they go to bed late, they still have the same routine and just end up tired the next morning. They need to be home for dinner or I need to know they have been invited to eat over at a friend's house. The one friend we invite over regularly on weekdays is usually picked up by 8pm. Weekends it is 10:30 but they are rarely out that late. They are not interested in going to casual group activities, parties, the mall, etc. The neighborhood friend has started hanging out at the mall quite a lot so they see her less often now. Also, during the winter they tend to stay home a lot more. My 16 yo did recently question the "be inside by 9:30pm" rule. He has never over slept or been late for school and he did present his side of why he should be allowed to stay out as late as he choose. He still has to be in by 9:30 though. I do not think I would limit the number of nights they could go out per week unless they were not getting school work done, hanging out with kids I thought were not safe, consistently coming home late or displaying some other negative behavior. I couldn't imagine them being gone from dinner regularly. I think I would miss their company. They have no money so they couldn't eat out and they don't have enough friends to sponge off. If they were out of the house for long periods of time on a regular basis, I would put restrictions on the number of days.

Sorry for a slight derail but sorting through language priorities has been ongoing around here. DS Grade 10 is taking Java at the high school but the summer research program he wants to do next year mentions C++ and python experience as desirable. Next year he is taking Data Structures (comp sci 2 at the U), which uses java or C++ but Comp Sci 1 at the U uses python (DS does not have to take Comp Sci 1 since he is now in AP Comp Sci). We recently met an engineer who said the University core programming language is python (I really do not know what he meant by that). The informatics class at the U is based on python. Object oriented software development class is based on java. The high school robotics team uses C++...but the high school doesn't teach C++ (they have Visual Basic and Java). He will probably end up majoring in physics and minoring in Comp Sci or similar. Presumable he will end up knowing some about a few different languages, but it sure makes long term planning interesting. My other son is currently interested in a Comp Sci or Comp Eng major so hopefully we will have learned a bit from DS#1's experiences.

I shop mostly at our local food co-op. It is definitely more expensive than chain grocery store though. Their organic produce, however, it always excellent. We love their bulk coffee and local dairy/eggs. I do shop at Walmart from time to time, but 75% of the time I buy produce there, I end up disappointed (mangoes or avocados that are brown on the inside, for example). We do not have a Trader Joe's here, but where we used to live we did and I shopped there fairly regularly. The appeal for me was that it was a small store with a lot of decently priced items I regularly bought. Very nice atmosphere too. The front of the store always had plants and flowers on display. :) We have an Aldis on the other side of town which I go to maybe twice a year. I would go more frequently if we lived closer. Their produce has always been fine and the prices always low. Costco recently opened up in town and we did join, primarily because I thought we were going to buy furniture from them. I go there regularly for pecans, almonds and walnuts.

Phew! When (or IF) my boys get married, I am definitely posting here every step of the way to make sure I do not unintentionally commit any faux pas. I had no clue it could be so complicated and that the MOG's actions could be so scrutinized. None of things came up at my wedding...but who knows what kind of wedding my sons will have. Good luck with the dress selection. I like to read these posts to look at links of dresses. :)

DS #1 has an early fall bday right on the school enrollment cut off. We enrolled him in K at the ps when he was on the older side. We started hsing midway through grade 1. DS had pronounced LD issues in the early grades. Throughout elementary and middle school years, I was glad he was on the older side for his grade because he was perpetually behind academically. This year he started public high school full time for grade 10. He has grown so much in the past two years and he now seems more like he should be a Jr., especially academically. He will start taking physics and computer science classes at our local University next year (when he is officially a Jr.) By the time he is a Sr in high school, he plans on taking 3 or 4 classes (per semester) at the U and no longer going to the high school. We have discussed graduating high school a year early and going directly to our state U, but he wants the chance to apply to selective colleges. He doesn't want to apply to them as a Junior. I think he would be prepared for a local University full time by his Senior year, but I could not see him going off to an out of state U at that time mainly because he is absent minded. I suspect he would find so much independence overwhelming(making sure he has clean laundry, food, able to schedule his own classes, navigating public transportation, being able to deal with emergencies etc.). My other son has a June bday and as such is a bit on the younger end for his grade. He has done extremely well in his 9th grade classes at the ps and is definitely ready for his grade level expectation and beyond (hew will also take a Univ class in comp sci his Jr year and probably another 1/semester his Sr year) The one issue we have now is that older son is suddenly much more advanced than my younger son and younger son ends up feeling overshadowed by his big brother. He knows big brother is almost 2 years older than him, but it is still frustrating since he is only one school year ahead but 2 years ahead in math class, for example.