Thank you so very much for this post, BlsdMama. It is thought-provoking, inspiring, and humbling. And thanks, Stella, for starting this thread. I graduated my DS18 last year. I have DD16 home after trying PS for 9th and 10th grades (and hating it). And I've got DS15 at the beginning of high school. I'm tired. I've been tired for the past few years. I've been following this thread from the beginning, almost posted half a dozen times, but never figured out quite how to describe my complicated feelings. Ultimately, I don't regret homeschooling because the what if I hadn't is too big for me, with my particular kids. Sometimes I (jokingly mostly, to myself) wish I'd never heard of it. LOL I do regret not differentiating more from my role as a homeschool mom. I regret not volunteering as a means of maintaining skills and contacts. But then, ironically, I don't think I want to work in my field anymore anyway, so... Now I'm 49 (and a half, lol), and I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life. But there is a weird sense of urgency I'm getting now with my youngest in high school, a sense that I need to figure it out to be ready to go. We're lucky not to need my income, and DH will be supportive of whatever I do, but I feel adrift, without conviction in any direction. I had big dreams as a student/teen/young woman that were replaced by my very strong sense of the rightness of being home with my children, which turned into a very strong sense of the rightness of educating my children. Now I have some big dreams of things I could do, and they are smaller than my old big dreams but I don't feel enthusiastic about them, which is not me. I've got some things to figure out.

I would look at the intersection of art and math (origami, aestheometry, etc.) and/or science (patterns/geometry of nature, microscopic/telescopic beauty, etc.).

Making kahlua, very cool! Some of those hot chocolate bombs would be nice with them. I will be making this very classy needlepoint for my front hall, so a gift for my own family. Sadly, my extended family does not really have any love for homemade/handmade.

Yes, DH was helping me with this after I was way too excited to read about this here. LOL He found this from Apple Support. I have an iPhone X, and so when I enabled magnification, the three clicks of the right side button does the trick, but for 8 and earlier, it's the home button. Very cool feature for this old lady's eyes.

So I got the Flexitol today, and it might work well over time, but it is not the same type of product. This actually made me feel better since The Body Shop product is so much more expensive. 🤣 I have only used the Flexitol once, but it was essentially a cream that absorbed into my feet/heels. Over time (a week, applied twice a day according to the instructions), it seems like it will gradually wear down calluses. The Vitamin C peel I linked above is a fast-acting product. When you apply it, instead of absorbing into the skin/callus like a lotion, it dissolves the top layer of callus and balls up into the product to be rinsed/brushed away. In fact, I always apply it with a hand towel under my feet to catch the residue. It is essentially a chemical rasp. Also, I did find the scent of the Flexitol too much. On my feet, it is fine, but I had to wash my hands thoroughly or it would have given me a headache for sure.

I get migraines from strong scents also. I find this almost unscented, slightly citrusy if anything. But now I’m looking at this… It’s way cheaper, so I think I will pick some up to compare! Thanks!

I bought a wooden 3d world map from etsy for our loft/library. I just stand and stare at it. So pretty and different. ❤️ (Pic is from the link, not my house. LOL) I also absolutely adore the product a worker at The Body Shop recommended when I asked for something for callused heels. The Vitamin C Glow Revealing Liquid Peel is for the face, but OMG it does wonders on feet!

Oh my gosh, yes! And I have attached a visual aid. 🤣 I had a day like that last year with all my kids, including my only DD, who used to like pretty notebooks. They haven't been into it in years. I go gaga over pretty notebooks and pens and binders and pretty clips and matching clipboards and... And, ohmygosh, my DD is an actual ARTIST, so why doesn't she get excited about pens and things anymore?! Because she has all the ones she needs, and when they run dry, she replaces them. Yawn. LOL And everyone now just wants black. Black notebooks, binders, everything. Just plain black. So last year I bought the cutest set of kitty notebooks (we are a house of kitty lovers), and no one wanted one. None of them, even the meowmaid one. Y'all, it is a mermaid kitten, and no one wants this notebook? I ended up using it for reconciling accounts all year and when the paper was all used up, I cut out the meowmaid as a decoration for the kitty-bed cupboard next to my desk. Finally, someone else can appreciate the meowmaid with me. 😛

My DD also loves digital illustration and her Wacom. She has the Adobe Creative Cloud student subscription and knows a lot of Adobe programs like the back of her hand just from playing around with them. What programs does your DD use now? Through my library, we have free access to the courses on Lynda, which is now affiliated with Linked In, marketed as Linked In Learning. You could see if your library has it too. The classes are generally good, and some of them are actually pretty expensive without the free access. Some are short, one-time classes and others are longer, multi-part courses. They also have pathways for certain learning goals, with each pathway made up of different courses.

The three I landed on to incorporate Native American history into our American history study are: An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present I personally found the first a little drier than the others, but it is a good overview. Nothing beats Bury My Heart for heartbreaking but necessary detail to balance rah-rah Manifest Destiny stuff. The last book is awesome because it quickly goes through 1890 (one chapter!), then moves forward to what is almost never taught. I mean, it didn't get much nicer as time went on, and this teaches how what was done from the "end of the Indian wars" to now has had a profound effect on the current state of native people and land.

Very helpful, Arcadia! Thanks so much!

Thank you! That is actually helpful to know. Maybe I should reconsider basing things credits on time. Her tutor does say she is making great progress, so it's not like it would be padding. Congratulations to your DD and you! You must be so proud!

My DD16 is taking Mandarin with a private tutor. She has her own levels (and a chart which correlates those levels to HSK, ACTFL, and CEFR). I want to base credits on level mastery, not time spent, so I'm wondering if anyone knows how to correlate levels to credits on a transcript.

Cooper is a ginger tabby who has DH wrapped around his little finger. This is the sweetest, cuddliest kitty on the face of the earth. We call him DH's blood pressure medicine. Such a sweetie! And he loves dogs. He had a very special relationship with our chocolate lab who passed last year, and the same is now true of our black lab, Felix. He is currently training our shepherd mix, Luna, in the gentle art of Big Dog Playing with Small Cat. Two pics of him sleeping, looking innocent... Followed by the ridiculous, trying out my new over-sink colander 30 seconds after I unpacked it. And an oldie but a goodie, "helping" me with LEGO Winter Village assembly.

I am a total cat person, so this thread is for me! I love my pups, but kitties are my spirit animal. First we have DD16's kitty, 7 year old Moggie. First on the couch, then in the window. He is King of the house. Then we have DS18's tuxedo cat, Tux. Such an original name! His whole name is Theodore Tuxedo Roosevelt. He is like velcro to DS18 and sweet and sour to the rest of us. LOL First looking sweet and handsome in a bow tie picked out by my DD, then looking super sour for LEGO play. Someone was clearly not meeting his need sufficiently at the time this pic was taken. He is the Prime Minister. He has a pretty level head. Next we have the girls, sisters we adopted as a bonded pair. The short-haired tabby is Gemma, DS15's velcro kitty. The long-haired beauty is Gracie, my girl. She is like xanax to me. Not kidding. I have anxiety, and she is just...my soul cat. Cooper must have his own post...

I love this thread so much! Super love the idea of that framed print on the wall. ❤️

Oh my gosh! I thought I would never have a dog who wasn't a lab, and this was a huge part of it. They are such pleasers! It took 2 weeks to fully potty train my last puppy, a chocolate lab we adopted at 7 weeks. He was fully potty trained by 9 weeks old. Imagine my shock to get Luna at 10 weeks and two weeks later realize I was not some kind of dog potty-trainer extraordinaire. 🤣 We are making progress. She is smart as a whip. But a pleaser? Not lab-level, that's for sure. Will please for treats is more her way. Labs look like they have broken hearts if they disappoint you. Luna's like pups gonna pup, Mom. 🤪

Well these are huge! First is Felix, our 18 month old black lab rescue. The other dog is his new little sister, Luna, a 14 week old shepherd mix rescue (need to run a DNA test on her!). We got her about four weeks ago. This is the first time we have had two dogs, but Felix needs someone to play with without having to go to the dog park on 115+ degree days here in AZ! They are getting along beautifully, and she has an amazing temperament, so we are so happy. This is, however, the last puppy I will ever raise. It's like having a newborn, and I am exhausted. I jokingly refer to getting her as a single step plan to ruin my summer. 🤪 (Fittingly, I will say here to please disregard the filthy floor. She likes to walk in the water bowl, then walk in the food bowl, then patter around the kitchen. 🤨 We have learned to take them up.)

Oh, wow! Thanks for the term jaw jousting! My lab and his boxer friend are full-on body slamming and jaw jousting (and the teeth knocks you can hear!). Play style makes perfect sense to try to match. We got very lucky then, that this pup is a full-body player too. She plays hard and can take "discipline" from her big brother. LOL OP, definitely ask the fosters for info like that. We have never fostered, but we have volunteered at cat rescues and people who get to know the animals, even for a short period, really can convey such helpful information.

We had this issue when my daughter got a kitten when we had a single old kitty. The new kitten needed play. We ended up getting another kitten for the kitten. Then no one messed with the old kitty lady, which is exactly what she wanted.

Has your current dog had any experience around other dogs? Seeing who he does or doesn't get along with might help. For the first time ever, we have two dogs. We just got a 10 week old shepherd mix (almost a month ago). We have always had a single labrador (plus cats). This last one, a labrador we rescued at 11 months, came into a much different family situation than our previous labs. He is the first we've had as a youngster who doesn't have young kids in the house to "pack" with. We have a dog park in our community, and he's had some not nice run-ins with some breeds/sizes/varieties-of-neuteredness, lol, but it was always male dogs if he wasn't getting along. That helped us decide. His very best friend is a female boxer, and he gets along with every female at the dog park. So picking a female was important. I like big dogs with short hair, and I wanted a puppy because it's easier for the cats to train a pup that they are the bosses. They are getting along beautifully, and really all we've done is make sure the big boy is getting lots of attention and time away from her when he needs it. He goes out and joins us when we're potty-training her and gets praised even if he does nothing because he's being a good big brother for supporting her. LOL She needs things to chew, so he gets new things to chew as well, even though he doesn't so much need them anymore, and they end up going to her anyway. Good luck for a successful friend match!

I feel like I’m being punk’d. I’ve had cats my whole life (have five now!) and have never trimmed a claw. There are scratching posts in almost every room, and I see little lost nails around them pretty frequently, but that’s the only attention I pay. They climb all over us, and only use their claws if they feel like they are falling, which isn’t often, and we certainly don’t fault them for it. Their claws are fully retracted when not in use, never growing too long like our dogs’ claws. Seriously wondering, what is the purpose of trimming them?

The Anarchy is wonderful and specific to India.

Do they live too far away for them to stay at their own house and have you check in on them once a day? Maybe having the run of their own house would make them more receptive to your company?

I don't see tortie. With what looks like a bit of white on her chin and tummy, I vote dilute calico tabby. She's a cutie! 🥰