I love to cook and eat, but this spring I was just. over. it. all. cooking, meal planning, cleaning up, dealing with four different eating styles while trying to please everyone. What helped me was to go on food52.com (or whatever sparkly website you find) and to make some stuff way outside my normal. It was like I was just so bored with food I didn't want it anymore. DH and I are enjoying my creative endeavors. The boys continue to eat their plain pasta and plain chicken.

Someone makes muffins, preferably with chocolate chips in them. Game of UNO. Hike in a nearby woods.

This is a completely decadent cake... it doesn't use a ton of pears, but it's oh-so-lovely: http://www.cucinanicolina.com/pear-almond-upside-down-cake/ If our pear tree ever produces, I'd make pear sauce and then dry it in the food dehydrator for pear leather.

Thanks all. I think for next week I'm going to head to the library and let them find their groove. It would be easier if the job started on Monday so I would have something to occupy me. I totally trust DH will find his way, but I'm just feeling that the transition wasn't what I needed for closure. I'm just going to accept that it is what it is and move forward. :-)

So, this has been a long year. We'll start there. DH was laid off in the early summer, and he's not had luck finding a new job. I was recently offered a job, and so it looks like DH will homeschool the boys, and I'll head back to work. I'm pretty conflicted about this situation. I've enjoyed homeschooling, but we need the money. That's all there is to it. DH has "taken over" homeschooling, and I'm still waiting for the job to start (it's part time). DH and I have very different styles, and the transition is not going smoothly. Basically, he's asked me to just stop teaching, and he'll do it. He hasn't looked through the materials, and just wants me to make a list that he can check off. He's also pretty sure I don't teach the kids well because he would do it differently. I'm trying to be supportive, but man I'm having a hard time with this. This isn't a JAWM, I really would like constructive ways to get over with this. I'm sure DH is having a hard time making the adjustment as well, but I'm frustrated as well.

There are a number of prior posts on this topic that might be useful -- http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/38032-ancient-history-reading-list/ http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/376247-favorite-books-that-correspond-to-ancient-history-5th-grade-for-ds-to-read/ For high school level students: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/313220-can-you-share-your-9th-graders-reading-list-for-ancients/

A daily PE requirement makes sense. Also, I've noticed a number of kids his age are plumping a bit, but none of them have really shot up yet. They all seem to be in the horizontal gaining stage, not vertical. ;-) I guess my concern is just that DS10 seems to always go for the sweets/unhealthy choices. Perhaps that's a sign for me to not make those choices available.

DS10 has always been a thin, tall kiddo. He has some really severe food sensory issues that makes it almost impossible for him to eat fruits and veggies (he's been to feeding clinic, we've done food chaining, he's worked with SLPs, etc. Nothing has really helped). In the past six months, though, he's really started gaining weight and at this point, he is looking downright pudgy. (I'm not judging, I'm overweight, DH is not.) He seems to be "sneaking" food quite frequently, even though we are pretty liberal with snacks. Many of DS10's activities are not very active. For example, he loves fishing and archery and does both activities frequently. He also watches tv a good bit, which hasn't been an issue in the past, but... now I'm seeing it as one. We camp and adventure frequently, I just don't know if we're active enough while we're outdoors. I know that when I was DS10's age, I started gaining weight and my mom put me on a "diet" and made me go to Jazzercise (yes, really!) with her, and she was very persistent in "shaming me thin". It set up a lot of really unhealthy thought processes and responses, which I still deal with. I'd like to very, very gently work with DS10 on this, but not set him up for all the body image weirdness. Does anyone have thoughts on this? I think my goals are to gently increase physical activity, decrease tv, and work on cutting down on snacks. I guess what I'm asking is has anyone turned a situation like this around?

Whenever I get chatted up, it's invariably for Classical Conversations. I'd love it if a MLM person chatted me up so that I could at least get a sample!

Save yourself and your sanity: Industrial strength earplugs. You can get them at stores that stock OSHA supplies.

We purchased a 1998 Coleman Pop-up trailer about three years ago, and it has been great for us. We knew we liked camping, though. One option before you buy a camper, maybe check to see if your state park has yurts or cabins to rent? It's a good way to get a camping experience without having to commit a huge amount of money. We cabin camped for a number of years when DS7 was smaller and we needed a nice door to keep him contained. :-) If you decide to go shopping, before you do anything, you probably need to figure out what, if anything, your current vehicle will tow. That's going to narrow down your choices in many cases. Also, does your current vehicle have the hitch and lighting system for the trailer? If not, you'll want to add those into your budget. Also, consider where you're going to store the trailer. I love ours, but it just takes up a lot of space in the driveway. Then I'd just go looking at an RV dealership. See what there is to see. At $5,000, you're going used, so after you get a sense on what's out there, start looking on craigslist. This is a great time of year to pick up an inexpensive camper.

Just FYI, Amazon has champagne yeast and stoppers... Prime... less than $15... Just in case you're *really* lazy and don't feel like leaving the house. ;-)

I'm not sure how I'm feeling about summer ending. We are going through so many changes of late, it almost feels ominous (how's that for overly dramatic!?!?). Oh well, one foot in front of the other and all.

And... I have the yeast and stoppers ordered. Can't wait! This is my kind of beverage making.

I'm 5ft 3in, and a little more cushion-y, but I have had great luck with J.C. Penney's A New Approach jeans. They are on a good sale this weekend.

Taco. Truck. On. Every. Corner. <<giggling nod to Amira's thread>>

And I think it's time to make Taco Tuesday a thing at my house. We need themes!

I LOVE tacos! I'm a vegetarian, though, so I'm *really* looking forward to taco trucks on every corner in the hopes that at least one of them serves vegetarian tacos. My personal favorite is a soft taco (corn) with a spicy seitan filling, with avocado and fresh salsa. Maybe some crumbling cheese. I'm not sure if it's authentic (ok, it's not even close to authentic), but I'm really hoping someone makes them commercially available so I don't have to make everything from scratch.

It really makes a difference which state you are in. We have a daylight basement that we rent out. We've added locks between the floors so that the tenants are not able to access the main house. Usually the tenants are family members, but I'd still rather limit access.

We are using SOTW1, K12 HO and Joy Hakim's Story of Science 1 this year for DS10 and it going very well. I read SOTW for both kiddos. DS10 reads the other two books and we discuss them, do a timeline and make notes.

My eyes are being opened here. We have had a Costco membership for years and I've never done a take and go meal like this. What a foolish person I am!!!

Which section did you tear out? Now I'm curious!

My DS10 loves this book and refers to it often. I'm not sure it's consistent with your beliefs, but it has worked marvelously for us. The Boy's Body Book (link to Amazon)

I'm a mandatory reporter, and in my state, it doesn't matter if you learn something on the job or in "real" life. If you have a reasonable suspicion abuse is occurring, you are required by law to make the call. I would check your state mandatory reporting law. Failure to report is serious and can result in both losing a license and monetary damages. In my profession (not social worker), our licensing body's guidance is that since we aren't Services to Children and Family, we should call when there's a reasonable suspicion, and let the professionals decide.

Glad to hear it wasn't something more. But yes, we were totally annoyed until we figured out to look for that sill pointing hand.