My parents did this for me throughout high school and college. When I moved in to my first apartment I had a full set of dishes, flatware, glasses, and a vacuum cleaner. I didn't appreciate them fully when I got them (I got other smaller gifts too that I cared more about at the time), but I sure did appreciate them later! In fact, we have 2 small plate and 3-4 bowls from that original set of dishes and that was decades ago! We've done the same thing for dd, but she appreciated them immediately. She's more mature than I was am.

Oooooh! That sounds great. Link, please?

Our first born will graduate debt-free from college later this month. Debt-free b/c of big scholarship money, some help from us, and her working for the rest of it. For years my mantra was, "I feel absolutely ZERO obligation to buy smartphones for my children!" I still stand by that, but we just bought our girl an iPhone. I wanted it to be a surprise, but we wanted her to pick it out. We were going to get a refurbished, older model, but we ended up getting a brand new, older model. She is over the moon, never imagining she'd have a smartphone, much less an iPhone, until she got FT employment. (She hopes to go to grad school this fall.) Now, we'll keep her on our plan until she graduates from grad school or gets a job, whichever comes first. We gave it to her early b/c she could use it for student teaching. She has. Everyday. (Music ed major, so she uses the tuner app, the metronome app, plays videos through the rooms' sound system for the kids to hear, etc.) Oh, and it's loads of fun too. ;) Moral of the story: Never say never. (And it was all my idea.) She thanks us every day. It is so much easier for group texts and she's a Mac girl, so it's just the perfect gift. She is a good girl, so it was fun spoiling her w/ such a big gift. Now, my 2nd born is going off to college this fall, and I feel ZERO obligation to provide him w/ a phone or laptop. DH thinks he should have a phone. (History of phone issues w/ this child. And computer issues too. Nuff said.) Turns out he needs a laptop for one class he'll take, or I'd say, "Computer lab. Enjoy!" He might use our laptop for that class, that semester only. We're going to nationals for speech & debate, so that will probably be his gift. That's all he wants anyway.

Just prayed. Nothing makes me come unglued more than something going wrong w/ one of my children. :grouphug:

:iagree: I just went to see dd in a performance Saturday night. I'd been to the campus to see her last Monday to deliver an early graduation gift. It was a lot of driving both days, but I was there. It was fun b/c I surprised her, something I managed to do a few times over the years. I regret not attending ALL of her performances, but w/ one busy kid at home, it wasn't possible. We do what we can. Visiting her is a 5 hour round trip, and meant many 12am - 1am arrivals home, but they were worth it.

Just sent that link to my mus ed major dd who is currently student teaching 12 yr olds!

That happened to us the night before we hosted ~50 people for my dd's high school graduation party. DH and I were prepping food and I kept saying how HOT I was. What timing. I hope it's a quick and easy fix and that it doesn't break the bank! I vote for popsicles in the interim.

Funny you mentioned coconut oil. I know an attorney who has a spoonful each day. If he doesn't, he has brain fog. I was going to suggest fish oil and/or coconut oil. I didn't know you had radiation. :grouphug: I would still try the oils. If it's any consolation, I just completely blank out on the word and my family fills in the blank. Yesterday it was the word bag. I try to play it off w/ humor. When it came to me, I said, "I know! I know! Bag. One syllable. Three letters. BAG!" Sometimes I wonder if it's old age or the mercury fillings. I also open the cabinet to the right of the fridge when I meant to open the right door of the fridge. Not often, but enough to embarrass myself. I think what I miss most of all is walking into a room and remembering what I went there to get. Sometimes I nail it, but often, not. I have both fish oil and coconut oil. I think I'll have some this morning!

We only have 2, but when the 2nd came, the doc told Dh to keep a catcher's mitt around for future babies. :lol:

Good points and, very true, it wouldn't make sense to put that line on the transcript. Nonsensical as I am, though, I would put it in the course description under evaluation. Great idea about the table on the transcript.

I would think you could assign credit/grades on your high school transcript any way you want, as long as you explain it. For ex: "Credit given for a score of 55 on the CLEP. Student's score: 62." Your transcript (and/or course descriptions) should have the grading scale. You could add a section for CLEP or AP scores.

Liking your post was not nearly enough. I put in bold the parts that make you a soul sister! Your comment about something new and shiny reminded me of my kids when I'd dropped some cute coin on DK books. They looked at them, but they simply were engrossed by, wait for it....Pathway Readers. You know, B & W, no faces, few illustrations at all. Go figure! And we used R & S for English for a season here. Re: English from the Roots Up, I like what Lori D. suggested here.

My boy TMac's " ".

I'm pretty sure it was here that I read about a mom who bought the big, soft dog beds (w/o cedar chips) for her kids to use on the floor. This might have been for tv watching, but they could work for reading too, if the kids were not offended by using dog beds. I think she got them from Costco. If you're a member, you could try a few and return them if they don't work out.

Yes, you should! :) :nopity: <---- not snarky, just showing a violin

:iagree: They have sales from time to time, so I don't know how that works wrt your profits, but I'm sure they cover that in their contract. Is Lulu an option for you? *asked rhetorically*

The same thing I want for Christmas, birthday and Mother's Day every year: my kids to play the Bach Double for me.

So sad. As long as there is life, there's hope.

We sent official scores, but also submitted what we printed off with COPY stamped across it.

Yogurt smoothie fruit cheese raw veggies and dip

Re the A story: Just agreeing w the OP. Kids! Re the B story: I teach kids to do their own laundry very early on. Sure, this requires supervision for a while, but pays off in the long run. Small family here, but we do sometimes have laundry back ups. This mostly plays out regarding drying rack space, but as my kids get older, they ue the dryer more. I'm old school and prefer to air dry.

Thank you, Garga. I'm a "budget job" girl, so it's good to know the bare bones gets the job done!

I am a fan of flameless candles, but my favorite set wasn't carried by Costco last year. Costco usually has a few configurations at Christmas time. Now, I'm interested in a candle warmer. Please link me to what you recommend. :lurk5:

DS has been known to do this. I'd wager he gets half coffee - half cocoa at times.

I have been watching her since early March! Dh likes to have the news on in the morning. He wants traffic and weather updates, but enduring the stories on fires, home invasions, shootings, and car crashes makes my blood pressure rise! April brought my bp down again.