hugs

I'm so sorry. I am glad you got to be with her to the end.

I'd probably reply - just something like, hi, how're you? Your email sure brought back some memories. I'm married with X kids now, playing with the puppy, working on Y, still like to Z. Are you still in touch with any of the old group? You don't have to give any information that could identify your new name, where you are or anything else... and you can stop replying at any time.

Honey in tea? I have never encountered this! Coffee: make it by the cup, sugar in a bowl and milk in a jug to add your own. Tea: one person - tea bag + milk from the fridge. More: make a pot, just of milk, bowl of sugar. Fruit / green tea hot water and tea bags. *I don't drink any of these things. People get uncomfortable when they realise I'm not drinking with them. I almost always remember to offer nowadays.

tomorrow - it's not quite 11pm. Glad to hear she's on the improve

oh how scary! I'm not in Invercargill, but if she ends up in Christchurch (bigger hospital), and you want to get anything to her or just a friendly face I'm happy to help out. I can't imagine how you're feeling being so far away. ((hugs))

I am so disappointed you don't live further down the country. Just sayin' :-) Well done to DS, how wonderful that he has the skills to share what he has been learning.

all of you?

yes, but I don't really care much what our house looks like, so it wouldn't be particularly high stakes for me. I guess we'd have a conversation first about what I thought was important if we could, but otherwise, I'm pretty flexible and could roll with pretty much anything he came up with.

1) I turned up, sat down, and discovered it was the wrong class. I *was* in the right class at the right time, but they'd changed it on the roster and not told me. Turned out the class had been shifted to a timeslot I couldn't attend, so it was a MAD scramble to find a class that 1) still had places and 2) I was qualified to be in. 2) I hurt my arm not long before the final exam day and was unable to write. I was granted a writer. I arrived at the assigned time in the assigned room and waited. And waited. And waited. 10 minutes after the exam should have started I went down to the department office to see what was going on. They had no idea. These exams have a 20 minute grace period, but after that you can't start. I went back upstairs and started going along the corridor opening doors looking for my writer. I found her 19 minutes after the exam should have started - in the room across the hall from where I'd been told to be.

I have a Masters and started my PhD, then put it on hold when I had babies. I finally stopped deferring it a couple of years ago - I can't see me going back to the research I was doing, and if I do I'm no longer interested in the area I was looking at, so I'd start over again anyway. I don't think it has a whole lot to do with how well (or otherwise) I educate my children at home though - I learn heaps from homeschooling parents with significantly less education than me, as well as from those with as much or more.

If you know it will get back to him, perhaps a heart to heart with DD is just what is needed. Something along the lines of: I'm really concerned by what BF raised with me and I told him and want you to know too that I never meant any offence in any of the things I said or did. You know me and I know BF is very important to you and I hope he will feel happy here as part of our family when he is here with us. Please let me know if BF is confused about anything I have said or done, becuase I know you know I am transparent and htere's no subtext to what I'm saying or doing. Love you lots.

We found it ok when very little - 5 in a 5 - 10 year old group, for example, then between 6 and 9 we just kind of stopped trying and stuck to interest based things where level didn't matter. Now (at 10.5) we're finding 11 - 14 groups working again. Except for the most asynchronous areas - there we are still on our own, lol!

hey me too (faces). I'm terrible at that. I am very much not a visual learner. I'm almost the complete opposite of a visual learner. I also rock alphabet type games, lol!

yes, I do this with puzzles too. See a piece, put it in. DD can do it, DS cannot. DH cannot. It infuriates them when we do it. I'm also + good at word finds / spot the difference, hidden object type things. Alas, I know of no way to make money from this

Results are up online!

I saw him in the paper yesterday! Go team NZ :-)

I did levels 1 - 4 in one year with both kids. DS then did levels 5 - 7 the next year. DD is on track for 5&6 this year, but I think 7 will run into 2018. We just do the lesson and if they have no trouble spelling the words, or with the 5 sentences I choose to dictate, we move on to the next step. If there is any hesitation or difficulty at all, we redo the lesson with another 5 sentences the next time.

I missed this! I'll keep my eye out for updates now, I hope it's all still going well.

Wow, I'm surprised it's even an issue. Around here it'd be "hey Bob, we're heading away from the 12th to the 27th, can you feed the cat?" Adults are adults and pay their own way. If you had an unlimited budget (and they were nice, and you wanted to) it'd be amazingly generous of you to bring them along. But I can't imagine it being expected.

do it

Mr 10 took his friend to camp recently I did suggest he might be teased. He shrugged and said, "I'm sure they can think of better things to tease me about". He's a pretty self sufficient guy though. I did ask him to take a second favourite, and not his "been his friend his whole life" friend. I think about half of the kids I saw (9 - 13 year olds) were carrying stuffed friends when we arrived.

My math geek has read the covers off two copies of the number devil. He loves it dearly and has read and reread it since he was a preschooler.

I'd be tempted to send a cupcake to the table

My righty is my stronger mathematician. My lefty is strong in mathematics, but not as strong as her brother, due in large part to crippling perfectionism, a broad lazy streak and overwhelming stubborness.