My new 9th grader gets up at 6:45. She has dual-enrollment classes that start at 8 three daysa week.

My kids are all sore losers. I'm fairly certain that they got it from me. In a small scale, we try to play games that are fast with frequent wins and losses and no score keeping. It helps with them develop a "maybe next time" mentality. I have three kids so I've been trying to develop a strategy that works for us. The truth is that most people don't like to lose. My ds25 won't play Risk with me anymore because I beat him once 4 years ago, but he'll play Boggle because he wins 9 out of 10 games. My dd14 won't play Uno with her sister anymore because dd10 wins every single game. Maybe I'm not the best person to give advice. :) We don't allow fits - the games stop if there is a fit. We are all allowed to not play if we can't handle losing. Mostjoin most games and eventually learn to deal with it.

Easy, No screens on school days (or Sunday after dinner if Monday is a school day).

A couple of things that weren't obvious to us: you need a new toaster. We had a gf toaster and a non-gf until everyone eventually quit non-gf bread. My celiac dd gets sick if she goes somewhere that is making bread, like the grocery store or someplace like Panera. Read everything. Canned tuna that contains broth as an ingredient can have gluten. Soy Sauce Soy sauce typically has gluten. A lot of candy has gluten.

nope and our orthodontist recommends leaving them home for a week at camp. He says too many kids lose them at camp. adjustments are free and new retainers are about $200 - $300.

With my kids, I had them choose recipes from an approved beginner cookbook that has pictures of each recipe like Betty Crocker or similar until they'd mastered the basics. I supplemented with Good Eats episodes for the science behind cooking methods and for inspiration. If the kids are determined to make something original, it becomes an addition to a well-balanced meal. I now have two that are fully able to plan meals and create, follow, or modify recipes. The youngest is still learning to follow and modify recipes.

On Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I get up and go for a morning run then get home, shower and get dressed before I get my kids up. On Sunday and Monday, I have coffee before I get dressed for the day - it feels very indulgent since it only happens two days a week. Wednesday is a whole different beast, but I do get dressed early on Wednesdays too. I don't wear shoes in the house, and I don't wear make-up. My day goes better when I show up dressed and awake for it.

I found that my daughter didn't know how to make "small talk." She learned a lot of conversation skills with the book How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships. It helped her to see how others were interpreting her and to understand what people were expecting in conversations. My daughter wasn't even able to answer simple "how are you greetings" without feeling uncomfortable before she worked through this book.

Topamax does work like a miracle for some with migraines. I have started and stopped it three times. It makes me feel angry. All the time just angry. I think it also lowers my I.Q. by at least 50 points. It made carbonated drinks taste like something nasty. It eliminated my appetite and changed how I perceive sweets and carbohydrates. It also reduced my chronic migraines to merely frequent migraines. I could probably talk myself into taking it again in a few years. If she has had few to no migraines since getting the glasses, I would suggest waiting. Topamax has a lot of side effects and only makes sense to try for chronic migraines.

I didn't say that living with someone who is stressed is easy. My bipolar mother lives with us. I know about the stresses mental illness can put on a family. My middle child has multiple, life-threatening allergies which have had us in the ER five times this year already. My dh never feels like he is good enough. I am the caretaker of all of these people. I work hard to try to make sure everyone is as healthy and safe as possible, but I cannot make anyone happy. Guilt doesn't help me to get things done. I am not god or God or even a goddess. I can do my best, but happiness isn't even in the realm of what I can change.

I am only responsible for my own happiness. I do make space for my dh to do things he enjoys. I exercise with him. I make time for us. I will even rub his back when he seems stressed. I cannot change a person other than myself. I can not make anyone happy. I can make a cake but not happiness. It just isn't in my power.

Check schedules for things. A LOT of attractions and sites are closed on Monday's. The metro is easy, even with kids. Gelato is great. They will let little kids drive Segways in the Villa Borghese gardens, and my kids loved it along with rental bikes. Many churches have a dress code even for kids. Oh, and don't drive in Rome. Enjoy

I only ever used it for the transcript and diploma so it would be more like a standard diploma and transcript. I didn't want them to be dismissed without a look by some of the bigger flagship schools he applied to.

My ds has always just told people he was homeschooled when asked about where he went to high school. I think it is easier to just be direct than give a school name. I used my super-awesome maiden name plus Classical Homeschool on his transcript and diploma. After working his way through college in Tokyo and interning at the U.S.Embassy, being homeschooled is just an interesting footnote.

Ick. That's also why I don't use the library anymore. And, my sink is separate from the toilet because that is gross too. I watched some British tv show with women cleaning in which they tested the toothbrushes for fecal matter. It was one of the key moments that changed how I look at the world. Again, Ick.

We quit jello the first time one of my kids went vegetarian. Now my highly-allergic dd has a meat allergy that includes gelatin so it is treated as a deadly poison in my house. I'll have to track down vegan gelatin; maybe it would allow my other dd to have "jello."

I wear Althetica running shorts and capris. They have a zip pocket in the back that fits my iphone and my key. Waist belts always irritate me. I also carry a Nathan water bottle.

Cake. Really. I let my girls make dinner while I went for a run. They made a cake with fresh strawberries. They added extra eggs to be the protein and strawberries had the honor of being the vegetable. It probably won't help you plan new meals, but it was good.

I live in a pot-legal state. When my son was younger and pot was illegal, we had discussions about it, it's medical and recreational use and about legal issues. Like others, we specifically told him to call us for a ride, no questions asked and no recriminations, if he needed a safe ride. Now that marijuana is legal, I have to have different conversations. I have pointed out the green plus sign on pot shops. We have talked about the public service billboards that remind people you have to be 21 to buy. I have pointed out the distinctive smell to the kids. It goes in the same category as my talks about alcohol (I do drink wine and the occasional mojito). We talk about safety, education, moderation, health consequences, and other choices. It is weird to me because for most of my life, it has been illegal and part of a different conversation.

I teach my kids that words aren't bad. They can be offensive, hurtful, or even just over used. I do correct my kids' friends if they swear in my house or use hurtful words. I simply tell them, "Please, don't say that in my house." It falls under a my-house-my-rules clause that I started invoking the first day I started paying my own way in the world. I do reserve the right to swear in my house, but I don't use swear words of any kind in my typical speech patterns. I hope that my kids are thoughtful and intentional about the words they use. I assume that other adults enforce their own house rules, so no, I wouldn't tell them not to say "crappy" around a particular person. Just for reference, I took my dd14 to a punk rock festival last summer and every band seemed to have lyrics with some variation of "f@ck the world." I still won't let her or her friends use offensive language in my house.

My youngest was a biter. We went with melodrama. The bitten person would cry and wail and get lots of attention and the little biter would get none. We found she had started biting out of frustration, but it took seeing the person she had bitten get lots of attention for her to figure out it wasn't a good strategy. We also worked on trying to prevent the inciting events and catch the frustration before it got overwhelming for her. She still has a stormy temper, but she has learned to make a good argument instead of lashing out.

Twenty-six days left for 8th grade here. She finished her algebra last week because she wanted it done before her accuplacer last Friday (dual-enrollment classes next year). She has a grammar final for her online grammar test this week. I still want her to read Beowulf, but she discovered Tolstoy and Vonnegut this year so I might have to accept it won't happen. 8th grade has been fun as a last chance to relax and enjoy before I have to do course descriptions and grades.

Alaway eye drops and Nasacort (or similar) will take a few days before thet seem like they're helping, but keep taking them and your eye anx nose symptoms will improve.

For breakfast this morning I had a cup of blackberries and a nectarine with a cup of greek yogurt and flax. I had an apple with sunbutter for lunch. I typically have baby carrots, celery, a red pepper and cheese for an afternoon snack. I have a bowl of grapes in front of me right now. Dinner is generally a small serving of meat with some sauteed greens plus another vegetable or two. I get a delivery of a box of veggies every week that we try to eat without waste. We also go through a lot of apples, greens and berries every week. We have multiple food allergies in the house and try to eat from an abundance of fresh produce instead of trying to work around grain, legume, nut and meat allergies.

Breakfast is typically self-made except for rare days when we all pitch in for a big breakfast. Everyone makes/packs/buys their own lunch. dd14 makes dinner most days. dd10 is learning to cook. I make dinner maybe once a week. Hubby will make dinner sometimes. He generally cleans the kitchen after breakfast and after dinner. DS is an excellent cook and always cooks for us when he's home.