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PollyOR

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Everything posted by PollyOR

  1. Love these stories. :laugh:
  2. I'm glad you are there. Hugs!
  3. My Dad watched news EVERY day that I can remember (I remember watching news about the Vietnam War with him while it was ongoing). He would make sure news was recorded and often watched two newscasts. He is now 80 and recently stopped watching any news. We are all in shock. Once I no longer lived with my parents, I found it very depressing too. For the past couple of years, my youngest and I have been watching CNN Student News (now titled CNN 10). It gives me the basics without being terribly depressing.
  4. :grouphug: This sounds so stressful for everyone.
  5. Ah, I didn't see this when I scrolled through. Thanks.
  6. Can someone link the "other" thread, please? Thanks.
  7. Thank you! I'm definitely going to buy another one. With a bunch of adults, we just don't use thermometers often enough to think about keeping the batteries fresh.
  8. Found this information here: http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=246 "Elemental mercury is only dangerous in vapor form. Exposure to a little liquid is unlikely to cause any harm, let alone major health effects. Many older people remember playing around with mercury from broken thermometers when they were kids; they haven’t all died."
  9. My oldest is 30 and way back then I used a glass thermometer. Actually I owned two - oral and rectal. A couple of weeks ago, my teen was running a fever (norovirus?) and of course the battery on the digital thermometer was low. I was stuck at home due to snow and ice, and I didn't feel safe jumping in the car and driving six miles to buy a new one. At that point, I moaned about no longer having a good 'ole glass thermometer which didn't require a battery. Today I was dejunking and found my old oral thermometer. "Aha! I'll never have to worry about relying on a battery powered thermometer again." Of course, now I'm worried about safety. I know my family members are old enough not to bite the thermometer but I'm not sure if it has mercury in it. Does anyone know if they were still using mercury in the 1980's? I have to tell on myself. When I was a teenager, I broke a thermometer and had a lot of fun playing with the little balls that were rolling around on the floor. It's pretty cool stuff. I had no idea I wasn't supposed to touch it.
  10. I was thinking we would never do this and then ... I remembered we did pay for one of our girls to go to Greece. She went with a local choir and we didn't feel "used." I guess it comes down to whether or not we feel we are being "used and abused." When I know my adult children are trying their best, I'm more willing to help them out.
  11. DH and I haven't discussed it. We seem to be taking each kid individually. When the oldest (now 30) married, we stopped contributing financially. 21yo is attending college. We pay for everything. Her teenage years were rough and she still gets sick easily. There is no way she can work and go to school at the same time. 18yo works as a CNA. We have not asked her for any money. She is saving at least 65% of her pay for school. She is buying her own clothes and fast food. A year ago she was suicidal and not eating much. Right now she is trying to return to "normal." I don't want to add extra stress by demanding payment.
  12. It seems like I found it online in PDF form at one time. Not sure this is the same edition, but it should give you an idea.
  13. Best wishes while you help her. Isn't it frustrating to wait while you see your child struggling? One of my dd's was on a waiting list for five months before we made it into meet a psychologist. Her depression was paired with anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helped more than the medication. At times we've cut back to just arithmetic and reading and my girls still continued to thrive. Do what is best for your family. :001_smile:
  14. :glare: Physical structures can be rebuilt but the feeling of safety for one's family might not ever return.
  15. I didn't watch it yet, but I'm very interested. My 18yo dd has been working as a nursing assistant for the past few months. For background, her grandfather was a professor at the local university and her dad is currently building 3-D printers. We aren't nearly as financially secure as the grandparents, but DH does well enough that I can stay home and homeschool. Working at a nursing home/care facility has opened 18yo's eyes to how hard people have to work just to survive. She is working with folks who are driving 30-45 miles just to work at a job which pays $13/hr. Is it even enough to cover gas/car payment/insurance/wear and tear on the vehicle which they are using to get to work? DD was honestly disappointed by how small her first check was after taxes. I realize that higher education isn't a guarantee, but I hope watching her older co-workers barely scraping by will motivate DD to continue her education. Editing to add: About higher education not being a guarantee - My siblings did not attend college and both do well financially. My sister(high school diploma) is on equal footing with us and my brother (GED) makes almost twice as much. One of my family members is a lawyer and under crushing debt due to student loans. I don't know what the answer is.
  16. http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/history-and-geography/u-s-history-core-curricula/america-from-the-beginning
  17. Thank you! That song is so beautiful. I do believe I have a new favorite song. :)
  18. I think I know where your MIL is coming from, because I've been guilty of some of what you mentioned. It's the desire for common ground. When I jump in and start sharing a similar story, I'm trying to make a connection. At times I don't realize what I've done until it is too late. It can be embarrassing. Another thought. My mom comes from a family of story tellers plus she worked in hospitals and public health for years. She retired a little early, the kids are long gone, and my Dad is hard of hearing and won't wear hearing aids. I think my Mom is lonely and really wants to have human contact. Because of my dad's hearing loss, it's like she's alone. When we get together I think she is just glad to be able to talk to someone who can hear her. I try to remember that. Depending on how comfortable you feel with her, I would reach over and pat her arm and gently say, "I would like to finish what I was saying." I realize it is hard to find a balance between being polite and not allowing the conversation to get de-railed or go on too long. :grouphug:
  19. We got our guy from a humane society. We live in Oregon and they are shipping in dogs from Los Angeles and New Mexico. My oldest daughter was fostering the mama dog (from LA) and new pups when my daughter ended up in the hospital with an emergency gall bladder removal. We took over caring for the puppies. DD #3 was lying on the couch loving one of the puppies when he peed on her chest. She fell in love with him. :laugh: Since my oldest had fostered the puppies, her friends and family were given first dibs on the puppies. We were the only crazies who took one. Sebastian is so much like his mom and she drove me nuts. At least we knew what his personality would be like. Yeah, taking on a puppy was so much harder than I remembered.
  20. My 14yo is what I consider a late bloomer and is doing R&S 7 (grammar only). She is in Lively Latin BB 2 and it has seriously helped both of us to learn English grammar ahead of Latin.The plan is to continue with R&S 8 spreading it over two years, because she needs the repetition. I'm not sure she'll make it to high school Latin at this point in her life. For practice outside of a format she is familiar with (R&S), we use Daily Grammar Practice. I so wish I had found it before this year. We will most likely continue with DGP throughout the remainder of her schooling here at home.
  21. With Amazon.com, I always go and read the 1,2, and 3 star reviews. I ponder whether or not I'm willing to put up with the issues customers are complaining about. Have you noticed that rave reviews are usually from people who are excited about the purchase or have only used a product for a short time?
  22. My mother took Latin in high school (50's) and I mourned that I would never be able to study Latin. So, when the first edition of LCC came out I was SO excited to think I could still learn Latin! (I have both editions, and yes, the first is still my favorite.) We still dabble in Latin, but I had to take into account my children's individual needs. Real life happened. I agree with starting Latin later. I know some folks use Latin to also teach grammar, but my girls did better when we learned English grammar first and then used that knowledge to learn Latin.
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