My son is 10.5 years old and would love a penpal. He is currently in the 5th grade at a Catholic school. We plan to hs in the fall. He enjoys outside "boy" stuff, bikes, skateboards, riding his four wheeler. He also is a huge baseball nut but is currently doing basketball for the first time. PM if interested :)

Ok maybe I'm missing something. How exactly will they be counting them now?

My city sent out a census of sorts a few years ago asking all the ages of the childrens under 18 in the house. It stated that the information would be used to get the most state/federal funding possible for the public schools. I called around to verify and was told they wanted to count the private schooled kids because they get paid for every child in the city regardless if they are enrolled (they said they already had hs kids if the parents were doing it legally) My first reaction was to not fill it out but after praying about it and talking to my dh I did. I know my children wouldn't benefit first hand but other children could so they got my 3 counted. The hs kids playing ps sports is up for vote in my state this year (Virginia) I really hope they pass it. I also believe kids in private schools that don't offer sports should also have the option since they are paying taxes and the school gets $ for them as well.

I have a 2000 Suburban with 190k miles on it. We absolutely love it! We have carried 8 adults in it on a 150 mile trip with luggage no problem. It is on it's third set of tires and second battery. We have also put new brakes on it. Basically just wear and tear stuff nothing major. I would definitely buy another one. It gets 15mpg that's the only downside.

My sons name is Barrett. We sometimes call him Bear or even B man. Never Barry lol For some reason people think we should call him Rhett also. I know it is the end of his name but it never occurred to me to use it as a nn. We also live in the south so maybe thats where it come from.

My dd7 name is Lilith Anne. The family calls her Lily or Lily Anne about 50% if the time. As she has gotten older she has expressed the desire to be called Lilith expecially by people outside the family. A lot of people shorten it on their own even when she is introduced or forms are filled out Lilith. She has started correcting them lol What really drives me and her crazy is my mil refuses to call her by her given name. Gifts and cards are always addressed to Lily even though anything coming from us is signed with her proper name. She bought us passes to a popular amusement park for Christmas which is awesome but when I looked at hers it was issued to Lily G. This really got under my skin. I'm begining to think she is doing it to piss me off....

I am/was (I'm on disability) a hospice nurse. I really enjoyed it and truly miss it. The previous posters are correct. Hospice care starts when you stop trying to cure the terminal disease. You get symptom management, emotional support and help with the physical care of the patient. It can really be a wonderful thing. Before a patient can become hospice they not only need a terminal diagnosis but they need to be emotionally ready for it. It's not sayings "I give up" it's saying "I'm ready to let God/nature take it's course" When cancer reaches a certain point the treatment can sometimes make what time you have left even more difficult and possibility shorter due to side effects. I would recommended you research hospice agencies before choosing one. The way medicaid/medicare works is they pay a flat rate to the agency per 90 days. The agency has to provide certain things with that $ but some provide more then others. Particularly personal care. How many hours of nurse aide care you get a week. You may not need alot now but there wil be a point where the caregivers need a break. If the caregivers dont take care of themselves they can't take care of the patient. I hope all works out even if out isn't the ending everyone wanted. Saying prayers for your friend and their family.

I am a nurse. It is my understanding that it takes 3 weeks for your body to produce a red blood cell. So I would expect at least that long. Also make sure you are getting enough B12 as well.

My ds10 has had them for about a year. We have been unable to find a trigger, but it also seems to run in the family.He was getting them 4-5 days a week. It was ridiculous. The doctor put him on amitriptyline and recommended ibuprofen at onset. I will give him one excedrin if it is early in the day. After being on that regimen for one month they have been reduced to 3-4 a month and the duration and severity has lessened. I wasn't crazy about putting my kid on meds but he couldn't function like that. He has his life back now.

I have ds10, dd7, ds4. We have 3 bedrooms so the boys share a room. Although my ds4 spends about half the time in dd7 bed and the other half in ds10 bed. He never sleeps in his own. This works for us. I'm just glad they sleep lol Also my father shared a twin bed with his brother that was 2 years younger till he was 10 or so. There was 6 kids in a tiny house so no one had their own bed lol I'm guessing that ds10 will want his bed to himself in a few years.

Right now we are paying 850 a month. I'm not sure how that compares to hsing costs. It definitely makes sense that a middle schooler would be significantly more expensive then younger grades. I'm pretty certain I can teach the younger 2 everything myself. I did teach oldest ds to read . Quite well I might add :) He started Catholic school in 2nd grade and they were very impressed with where he was academically. I used MFW first grade curriculum with him. I really liked it but not sure I would use it for older grades because of the theology difference between that and Catholicism. We are rather liberal Catholics as well, which makes it even more interesting lol

We have considered that, but then dd7 goes on about how it isn't fair.I know it is ultimately our (dh and I) decision but its hard to pick one child over the other. There actually are some families at the school that hs some and send others there. They are mostly for special needs reasons I believe, but not positive. We were also informed the bishop increased tuition for next year and we won't know if we will get any assistance with tuition again till May. The cost to send ds10 at full price is only $200 a month less then we area paying now. All in all yes I would prefer he stay where he is, but I'm trying to prepare him and us for the possibility of him being home. I hate not knowing for sure till May but that is when they release the financial aid.

Ok this is kind of a cross post with the general board. I won't tell the whole story here. For that check out the thread with the same title over there. I have ds10, dd7, ds4. They are currently in Catholic school, which we love. For financial reasons it doesn't look like we can afford to send them next year. Dh and I feel hsing is the best option. They will be in K5,3&6 next year. I have no clue where to start with curriculum. I don't have a lot of money to buy stuff "just to try out".My kids are obviously used to Catholic based learning. I have health issues and the thought of teaching 3 different grades include a middle schooler terrifies me. Any advice, words of wisdom or suggestions? Thank you in advance :)

Hello everyone! I introduced myself a while back but have mostly been a "lurker". I have 3 children, ds10, dd7, ds4. They currently go to Catholic school. I hs my oldest ds in first grade before I had to go back to work. I am nurse who has been out of work for 6 months due to a back injury. Looks like surgery is in my future. It also is very questionable if I will be able to ever return to work, at least not FT . Because of my not working money has become a huge issue. The school where my kids currently go were kind enough to give us half price tuition, but at this point even that is becoming unmanageable. My dh really wants me to hs next year. They will be in K5,3&6. I'm rather terrified by the thought even though I was hs from 7th grade on myself. My dc have mixed emotions about it. Ds4 obviously doesn't really care, dd7 seems ok with the idea but is worried about missing her friends. My real problem is ds10, he is very much against it. He loves his school and all his friends. I'm also very unsure about hsing a middle schooler. If we had problems with the school this would be much easier, but it really is a wonderful school. We hate to leave it but we can't lose our house over it either kwim? Public school is not an option for us. We live in a very rural area and the kids are bused (over an hour ride) to inner city schools. So I a million questions and need some support, which everyone here seems to be really good at :) First off, how to handle ds10? He acts as if I will ruin his life forever if we do this (he has reached that dramatic preteen stage). I will also post on curriculum boards but where do I even start with that? I have no clue at all. They are used to Catholic based learning, but not sure if boxed curriculum is the way to go with 3 different grades. Is there anyway I can keep from having to do all subjects separately 3 times? I do have health/chronic pain issues that will play a role as well. I won't even get into space, where to teach questions yet. Can you tell I'm overwhelmed? Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Cullen-it is my ds10 name. Obviously named pre-twilight. I've heard it's getting more popular because of that but the only other Cullen we have ever met was 12 years older. He is Cullen Michael, if he had been a girl he was going to be Caroline Rose. A friend of mine just had a boy and named him Callen, I really like that also.

I think mine definitely look like siblings. I am 5ft2in petite build, dark brown curly hair, dark blue eyes. DH is 6ft blonde hair bright blue eyes. Oldest ds (10) looks like dh but hair is slightly darker then dh had as boy but still blonde thick wavy. His eyes are a blue green (my sis has green eyes both my parents have blue) , he is on the short side but all the men on mine and dh side except dh are short. Dd (7) is tall and thin like dh. Has thick dark blonde curly hair and bright blue eyes. Youngest ds (4) is also small with thick curly light brown hair and dark blue almost indigo eyes . They all have features that favor each other and are a good mix of dh and I. Thank god they all got dhs skin that tans beautifully and not my pale irish skin. It's funny how some familys are. Dh has one brother who has black hair, brown eyes and is maybe 5ft6 in but their facial features are almost the exact same, if you can get past the coloring difference lol.

I loved the book and just saw the movie this weekend. It was much better then most books turned to movies. I would recommended it.

My grandmother died of sepsis from a uti. I'm a hospice nurse and have worked in an alzheimers special care unit. Infections seem to get most of them :(

Love it!

I used to be much more liberal with my kids freedom till last month. All 3 kids ds10, dd7, ds 4 were playing in my moms front yard. She lives in a "safe" neighborhood, been there 20 years no problems. Anyway kids playing alone in front yard when strange man parks across the street and stands by his car. Ds10 took notice and started watching him. A few min later man started trying to talk to dd7 and get her to come to his car. Thank God they remembered what they had been taught and she screamed NO! and ds10 yelled RUN! While grabbing his little brother. I'm all for giving kids space but please remember safe neighborhoods don't mean much. People that prey on kids know where to go to find them. Sick but true. Please teach your kids and remember safety in groups.....

I am a home health nurse and last year I had a patient who was a beautiful newborn little girl. She had the same condition diagnosed at the 20 week ultrasound. Her mother was sent to Georgetown university (we are in southern Va) where she underwent intrauterine surgery at 24 weeks. Baby was born healthy at term. Only signs of her rough begining was a healed scar on her chest. We were sent to check vital signs and weight everyday but she didn't need us she nursed like a champ and grew wonderfully. She is truly a miracle.....they really do happen. I know that diagnosis is usually grim but there are exceptions. I was blessed to witness one :)

We are currently considering getting a new computer as a family gift for Christmas. Our current one is a 5 year old desktop that doesn't work half the time. Kids (ds10, dd7, ds4) want a laptop. They are currently in private school, we plan on starting hsing next fall. Right now the two oldest have homework assigned online at least twice a week, plus research and reports that have to be done. I like the idea of a laptop and it being so portable, but am concerned about it getting broken. Also they use MAC computers at school which we can't afford at Christmas. We could with tax return but I'm not sold on them either lol. Can someone give me some suggestions and point me in the right direction? Thank You!

Santa brings each child 3 things. Back when our second was born Christmas had gotten way out of hand. Our kids have 3 sets of grandparents, two great grands and various aunts & uncles. Add all that and a few from Mom and Dad and we had way too much junk! So we started the 3 gifts just like Jesus got rule. It has worked great so far. We do put $ limits on the gifts. The kids know Santa isnt completely free lol. Each family member gives the other a gift also. Usually pjs, books, videos or games. My kids are 10,7,3. I think the oldest knows whats up but he is still trying to hold on and play along with younger sibs:) Also we ask grands to do stuff like memberships and season passes instead of toys. In laws give us Bush Garden passes which are by far the most enjoyed gift.

I picked other because my sister who is a licensed hair stylist does mine at home. She does it for free in exchange for a free evening of babysitting from me. So the best of both worlds done by a professional with professional products, at home :)

We all get it. My dh has rhumatoid arthritis and is on immunosuppressive drugs. We all get it to protect him. What is the flu for us could turn into pneumonia or worse for him. So far no flu or flu like viruses here. Just the regular cold every so often.