DS has been gifted a 5 day trip for our family to FL with three day passes for us all to Disney. We have never been. (We are bad parents.). Our kids are 20 (but emotionally closer to 12ish), 16. and 14. The last time I was at Disney, they were just starting Epcot, so it's been... awhile. DH has not been. I am overwhelmed. I know nothing. What parks should we hit? I am definitely wanting to do Animal Kingdom. But what is there at the other parks for teens? Not 100% sure they will all love roller coasters, but we will try some. DD20 might actually want to do some of the younger Disney princess type things, but I don't actually know what those are. Is Magic Kingdom where we meet the characters? A family friend told me to get a Disney guide who maps out the whole trip for us. Where does one find one of those? Through Disney? We are going in mid January. DH does not like major crowds and our DD cannot do high heat.

I have had this terrible taste in my mouth for a few months now and it will not go away! Very metallic. Like cold metal. It's gross. I've been to the dentist for a cleaning and all looks good there. No bleeding gums. DH says my breath smells OK. Haven't started any new medications. I can still taste foods and such, but have this constant metallic taste. I know it is such a little thing, but it is wearing. me. out. I've been to the dr for fatigue and my labs show low Vitamin D and low B12, so I am wondering if that may cause it? I have a follow up appointment next week, so I will ask there about it. But in the meanwhile has anyone ever had this before? What helped? I've tried gum, mints. It helps for awhile and then it comes right back. Hurl!

Our DD20 with special needs requires that level of assistance. She always will. She will be a great employee, but she doesn't have the skill to initiate all the work it takes to get to that point. And that is OK. My DH and I are fine with this, but when you have a young adult with "invisible" special needs, it appears to other people that you are "doing too much". Those folks are worng. You are right. You are awesome.

At my sister's wedding the groom's cousins got carried away with the car. They put flour in all the air vents, cooking oil on the seats with flour on top of that, covered the windows in so much writing that you couldn't see out to drive. My sister had to leave the reception with my parents while her groom stayed there to try and clean up the car enough to pick her up at our house. They ended up not being able to leave for their honeymoon that night because the car was so trashed, and they had to borrow a car the next day to go. I do not like the cake smashing thing either, but I get that some people think it's funny. I told DH in no uncertain terms he was NOT to do that, and good for him that he listened. The "help me" on the shoes reminds me too much of the whole "she wore me down and now I'm getting the ol' ball and chain" attitude. It is traditional at our family wedding showers to bring canned goods with no labels for the bride.

Also a TN resident. We live within spitting distance of a CC that has a solid academic reputation. DS will probably do some DE classes there next year, and he is seriously considering the 2 years of CC there before going to university. From an academic standpoint he could go straight to a 4 year university (and that is not off the table), but his logic is that he can get his basic courses completed at the CC free while maintaining his current job and saving up $$$ for his final 2 years or more depending on what program he does. Dh and I are committed to helping the kids get a college degree (if that is what they want) with only a little student loan debt. DH came out with a HGUE amount, and while he has a good paying job from a top five school in his field, it is a serious chunk of change. DH has been intentional about this for years, but it feels nearly impossible to afford 4 year universities/private colleges anymore. This free CC option for us means we can more easily help our two potential college bound students end up with less debt while also ease some of the financial stress for our non-college bound SN child. I agree with a PP that a huge factor in the value of this is how many universities will accept the 2 years of CC credits. We are fortunate in that the CC near us has a long list of schools accepting their credits, and more universities are added to the list regularly.

Totally real. And totally heavenly.

If you don't see any improvement soon, I second going to see a dr.

I had this about a week and a half ago and it was AWFUL. It wasn't "faint" dizzy, but vertigo dizzy. Usually I drink a lot of water when I feel a little off, but that didn't help and the vertigo was INSANE. Could barely walk straight. Went to Urgent Care (thinking ear infection), and they sent me straight to the ER because they said sudden onset dizziness can be a sign of stroke. I didn't have any other symptoms, but off to the ER we went. Turns out it was the BPPV, and the ER dr showed me how to do these exercises. After doing them a few times the vertigo was gone. But just an FYI - the exercises will make you more dizzy at first. Unpleasant, but effective for me! Hope you feel better soon! It was such a terrible feeling to have the room spinning...

For DS here is what I have so far... Math - Jacobs ALgebra Science - Apologia Physical Science w/lab World Geography - using some of this and that, and hope we can really dig into this. LA - Writers in Residence, Spelling (he will need spelling practice every year), Vocab from latin roots Lit - we are reading books to go along with our Geography. Logic - Finish Art of Argument, Nonsense He will also have basketball, serve team at church, youth group, volunteering, etc. so busy with extra curriculars. I really want him to use this year to develop some of his interests and explore some new things. He is really into video games (go figure!) so I'd love to find some ays to explore that with him. He also detests art, but might try to get him into painting or finding some art he is interested in. I want to giv him some time to develop interests a little more this year.

DS and I are going to see Hamilton in DC this fall. We are paying around $250 per seat. I am a total theater NERD, and when the opportunity for two tickets came up (to go along with extended family which makes it even more exciting!), I knew I'd pay most any amount we could possibly swing. But I am also the person who travels to see a show with my theater friend in another city, gets a hotel room for the weekend there, and sees the same show five times. Is this something my husband would ever spend money on? Nope. But for ME, it was joy and therapy all rolled up together.

We don't vacation as a family all that often anymore. DD has ID and changes in routine or expectations increase her anxiety which then affects everyone else's enjoyment. She is also sensitive to high or low temps and once she is tired or hungry it is over. We have done the beach together, and that is about the best arrangement we have found because we can rent a place and call most of our own shots. DH and I have started vacationing seperately to recharge. I go with a friend to see musicals and he goes away with friends to a cabin for game nights. We also try to do "date nights" locally with each kid because it is a little easier when we can stick closer to routine and safety of home. I just took DD on an overnight trip (just she and I) and while we had fun, it is A LOT of work to be "on" the whole time and help manage her emotions and expectations. We probably need to take our NT kids on a little mini vacation sometimes, but it is expensive and can cause stress for anyone left at home too. Vacationing is supposed to be relaxing, but often with a special needs child it is not.

When you started missing periods, did you still have period like symptoms? Cramps, fatigue, etc? I am 45 y.o. and have had a rough time of the month since I was a teenager - cramps, heavy periods, etc. I have always been regular except for two times when I was late, and those two times I was pregnant with our bio kids. My cycles have also always been short - 22-24 days. I have had night sweats off and on (mostly on) for at least a year, so I know that menopause is looming. I am late by about two weeks, but when I was supposed to have my period I had all the symptoms, including terrible, terrible cramps. Like taking Advil/Tylenol every four hours to get through, heating pad, plan canceling fatigue...all the symptoms I usually have. Just no period. I was really hoping that with the start of menopause and no period I would reap the benefits of no period symptoms either! I just had my hormone levels checked and everything falls in the normal range. Is this just what it is going to be like for awhile? (If so, I feel robbed...) (Oh, and I know I'm not pregnant...DH had that taken care of several years ago and was checked and is "all clear"...) ? TIA!

My oldest DS is starting 11th grade, and as I look at his transcript I am starting to panic a little. We are doing fine as far as meeting the colege prep requirements as outlined by our umbrella school, but I have used a wide variety of curriculum even within the same subject. For instance, with history in 9th grade we used Notgrass, but DS hated it so this year we used Oak Meadow. Now I am not sure we will do Oak Meadow this year for Government/Econ. Will not using the same curriculum through high school for one subject seem like a red flag as he applies to colleges? Or is that not really a "thing" to colleges? How important to YOU is using the same curriculum for a subject through high school? Does it matter as much for English and history? In my search for sources that keep my high schooler engaged, I wonder if I have inadvertantly hurt him by switching things up. Is it better to stick with something "meh" in subjects that he isn't going to be on fire about anyway or is it OK to keep looking? Sorry this is a little jumbled. I am gathering next year's curriculum and doing some final selecting, and I have hit "freak out" mode that I have created a ridiculously haphazard high school plan for my kid. (He is my first high schooler. The "freak outs" are many and often...) TIA.

This fall DS16 and I were lucky enough to get tickets to see Hamilton in DC (SQUEAL!), and it looks like we may be able to stay for a few extra days to do some sightseeing. DC is one of my favorite places, and I have some idea of what we may want to hit (Capitol, Mall, Smithsonian, Holocaust Museum, Arlington). Would love input from others as I try and plan this! Should we drive so we have a car or fly and do metro? Not a fan of driving in DC, and probably wouldn't use the car once we are there, but flying and doing Uber/taxi seems like it may be expensive. Rent an AirBnB or stay in a hotel downtown? What places would be good to see for a student who will be taking Government class this semester? I am going to write to our Senator and see if we can meet him (He has a breakfast with any constituents in town one morning a week). Is a White House tour worth the effort? Any cool off the beaten path places or opportunites I don't know about? TIA!

...as far as planning for next homeschool year if you have five days all to yourself at home? I will, of course, do plenty of relaxing and little house projects here and there in the peace and quiet, but I really want to get serious headway made on next year's planning. I will have a junior and an 8th/9th grader (he's doing some high school and some middle school). I am trying to plan my planning time so I don't end up staring for five days at planners and books. What would you MOST want to tackle as far as planning? In what order would you tackle it? I always get inspired by seeing how others do long term planning, and I'm needing some inspiration before I waste five days!