Our current house is uninteresting. We built it. :D But I do property research for a living. If your state maintains a historic archives, with a little calling around you might be able to find archived county assessor records. For a few counties around here,these records are amazing and include old photos, lists of improvements, even simplified floor plans. Other sources could be old maps, municipal photos and microfiche records, county atlases. It's really pretty fun. I've pulled records for some old family places and it is just interesting to see.

Burnout that extends longer than it should can also lead to anxiety/depression. Ask me how I know. :( Wishing you well, do what you need to take care of yourself.

I agree. My kids have had different responses to BA. DS used 3A-3D and although capable, there were many battles and he did not thrive with the program. He switched back to MM afterward. I don't know if math will ever be his favorite subject, but he is on much more even footing again now. DD on the other hand has taken to BA like a duck to water and will continue on with the program until she outpaces their release schedule...she's halfway through 3C so she should at least be able to finish the 4 sequence. She is naturally more puzzle-solving and visual than her brother, but I would not be surprised if both of them end up in STEM someday...DS's brain just needs a more incremental and straightforward approach to math. I am very glad BA exists, but like any curriculum option, it's not the magic bullet for everyone.

My son looks forward to every issue! I like to sneak a peek at it sometimes too. :)

Do go by the child's interests. My son's favorite is Muse.

Hands down our best bang for the buck geography tool has been map placemats. Painless Learning has a wide selection. We often end up talking geography at the dinner table, they are very convenient when a place comes up in conversation or curriculum, etc. Good times.

This might not be what you're looking for, but the book "The World Without Us" goes into it in detail. Not for young kids but I think interested middle graders and up could handle it. Or, an environmental science text?

I am often more relaxed when ours is going, just from the heat and ambiance of the fire, but I wouldn't call it "sluggish". Echoing the others to get a carbon monoxide detector.

When these bedtime read aloud issues started at our house, we split them up. DH reads to one and I read to the other.

Women who are 5'4" who claim they are short. That's the national average.

Totally agree. Our family short stature (women no taller than 5', men maxing out about 5'5") is the branch with entirely northern European descent, all very healthy. The irony is we do have some incurable genetic disease in the family as well, but it seems to come from the other branches that were all of at least average height. I will admit it is a minor handicap in reaching things on high shelves of the grocery store, but eh. DS will be taller than me at least, he'll manage.

My side of the family is all very short. I am the shortest at 4'11" (and that only if I'm wearing shoes.) My grandfather, who was a very successful guy, a dr and veteran, was mayyyybe 5'4", if he fluffed his hair up. DS is the spitting image and is projected to be the same. All his friends are at least a head taller than he is, and I am looking them right in the eye. It's just a thing. Everybody's got an issue or three, and that's just one of ours. The hardest part for us this far is DH's average-to-tall family thinking there's something "wrong" with DS. Sorry, he's just got my genes. :/

I had heavy periods pre-pregnancy. On my second Mirena now. Love it. 6 months or so in to the first (when DD was still tiny), my periods vanished completely, except for a day of spotting every few months. That's the kind of side effect I can get behind! ;)

I've not jumped into these threads because I'm not sure where my kids fall on the specialist/generalist continuum. :) They definitely have strong leanings, but are also interested in other things. But, I'm chiming in now because I was a generalist who thought I was a specialist as a teen, because that's what the adults wanted. Now, I do not think being a generalist is necessarily a disadvantage. I went into college thinking pre-med. I quickly discovered that wasn't really my calling, and luckily, the college I attended allowed for a little experimentation and hybrid majors. I finished almost on time (took me an extra quarter to pass some major exams) but with a combined B.A. (yes, BA, not BS, lots of humanities required at my liberal arts alma mater) in geology and chemistry and a minor in history. I continued hybrid studies in grad school, and having knowledge in a variety of things has given me an edge and a niche in my professional career. So, speaking from my personal life, generalists might not need to "pick" or force themselves into a specialty, as long as they diligently pursue that knowledge of whatever and learn how to make that breadth of knowledge mean something. Modern Renaissance men and women are in high demand.

Bravewriter is, no joke, the thing that is helping my very anxious but highly verbal "ideas" boy turn into a dandy little writer. He's just 9.5 but I have every confidence it is the right approach for kids like him. (He's doing NaNoWriMo too, but no specific word count goal. Because anxiety and perfectionism...quality and love over quantity at this stage.)

I added you. I am Fishmouse over there, would welcome other buddies too! :)

It sometimes is an unpopular opinion, but I don't think *every* child needs phonics. My DS taught himself to read and is a natural speller. Phonics was/is a waste of time for him, time that is better spent elsewhere.

I have my main characters, settings, the beginning and 1-2 more points I want to hit in the plot, but the plot itself is still missing. ;) I hope I'll find it when I start writing!

I have that any bag insert. It is really handy! Timbuk2 also sells camera bag inserts with a slightly different shape, intended for their messenger bags, so there's another option. :)

Agreeing with Regentrude. I come from a long line of doctors and diplomats and entrepreneurs and such, a great uncle back there won a Novel prize... but I also come from farmers and orphans. A very close relative is on her way to becoming a tv star in a foreign country. I am positively pedestrian and boring by some of their standards. And that's ok. My family is fully aware of whims of fate and pretty much just has an expectation that you will do *something* and if you don't lead a flashy life, there's plenty of value in that. I have degrees and skills and can support my family comfortably but not lavishly, and I have earned enough means to choose my own life for myself. That's both a gift and luck and we don't lose sight of that, and it's enough.

My cycle didn't return between my two kids. So agreeing with PPs, look out for that!

I *think* I'm in. I am nervous, I never really thought I have a novel in me. But my kid wants to try it, and he does best with an example, so here I am. Now that we've been tossing around ideas though I am starting to get into it. :)

My DS listens to music on headphones during his table time. It definitely helps his focus. I was and still am the same way, it used to drive my mother batty--this was in a pre-headphone era and she would hear my music and assume I couldn't possibly be doing my homework well. Neither he nor I am officially dx'd but it obviously helps us.

That Gris Grimly "Tales of Mystery and Madness" Poe anthology is one of my DD's most favorite books. I did not realize there is another! Into the cart.

I'm another that does 1/2 lessons a day because of the amount of writing. I don't think that's unusual based on my discussions with others that use it. It is working well for my DD. Totally wrong approach for my DS, though. Not the fault of A&P really, he just hates repetition and is more of an intuitive speller anyway, so all formal spelling programs are likely to be disastrous. So, I just wouldn't bother with it for a kid like him. :)