I had our youngest at 42. Her siblings were 7.5 and 9 when she was born. She is an absolute joy and a wonder. Yes, I'll be 60 when she graduates high school, and no, I don't homeschool her (though I did through grade 5). She gets the benefit of all our parenting experience. Perhaps that what makes her so easy to parent. Or maybe we just got lucky? I have no idea. I just know that she brightens our world and keeps us young. You can absolutely do this.

This is gonna sound strange, but natural loofah makes a wonderful kitchen scrubber. It's naturally anti-microbial. Food doesn't stick to it, but rinses right out under running water. It doesn't stain, doesn't mold or mildew, and it never stinks. It's also durable, and scrubs really well without scratching non-stick cookware. The inside fibers are tougher than the outside, so you get two levels of scrubbiness. I've been using mine for over a year. I put it in the dishwasher every once in awhile, just for good measure, but not because it needs it. Give it a try! (I buy a large full-sized Egyptian loofah from Amazon, and cut it in pieces for different purposes (shower, kitchen). It lasts a couple years. (I still need to use a washcloth for the counters and stove, but since I don't clean "gross" stuff with it, it stays clean longer.) ETA: I just remembered that I had a really bad problem with washcloths stinking after only a couple days (even after I started using a loofah for scrubbing). We replaced the faucet because it was leaking a little, and the stinky washcloth problem disappeared. I think there may have been some sort of bacteria in the old faucet. My dh thinks that the leak kept the washcloth wet too long. My faucet was 15 years old. Is yours old?

My son has only worked 2 days since March. He works in the commercial film industry, which is almost completely shut down. He hasn't received a penny of unemployment (though he did get his stimulus checks, which went right back to the IRS to pay his taxes for last year).

My daughter is writing an essay about the book, Catcher in the Rye. She is interested in how a person's experience with mental illness can affect their perspective of the book, and also how the book can help people understand mental illness. If you have the read Catcher in the Rye, and you or people in your life have lived with mental illness, please take a few minutes to respond to this poll that she created. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWSW4U6tpAB5e7fEvZxigUQ2_CND9m5W43g-FEg5O7cHW5lQ/viewform Thank you! (Oh, if you are a homeschool parent, describe yourself as a teacher. She originally created this poll for a teachers' forum, so there is no Parent option) If your kids have read the book, they can answer as well. That would be awesome.

Crash Landing on You it's a Korean drama, with English subtitles. It's really good. We watch a lot of Korean programming, and there are other good ones, but this one is a great first foray into the genre.

I've never heard of a pot plant being anything other than marijuana (which is sometimes in a pot, but that's not what makes it a pot plant). A plant in a pot is always a potted plant.

I bought some frankincense incense cones several years ago. I don't burn them, but I have them sitting here on my desk in a ceramic bowl, and they're wonderful (but not overpowering). If you want the aroma to fill the house on Sundays, you could light one as everyone is preparing to sit down together for services.

My dd is here, so I asked her. Apparently, the tester wasn't grumpy, but was matter-of-fact, pleasant, and efficient. "Do this, now do that. Okay, do this, and that."

My daughter has one that she used in the dorm at college to tote her personal toiletries between her room and the bathroom, or when she came home for visits. (Actually, she still uses it for home visits)

For ringworm, I've only used the Lotrimin AF, and it worked well, but only if used consistently as directed (every four hours?) for several days. It was obviously ringworm, given the ring shape of the rash and the way it was spreading, ring getting larger. It didn't ooze at all, but I never covered it, so maybe that makes a difference. Perhaps its the Lotrimin that is making a white film under the bandaid? I once used the Lotrimin on something that wasn't a fungal infection (it was a contact allergy to detergent), and it burned like the dickens immediately.

I need to find a couple books for a class that I'm taking (not a homeschooling book). I'm having a terrible time finding it (the copies on Amazon are $850). It's been awhile since I've bought used or OOP books. I tried AbeBooks and HalfPriceBooks. ThriftBooks had one copy, but it disappeared fast (probably to one of my classmates, lol). Any other ideas? Thanks.

How to adjust your expectations? Withhold definition. Every time you look at your husband, see him for the first time, in that moment. Don't compare him to who you remember in the past, or who you wish he were now. Just see him, REALLY see him. Do this every time, see him as he is in this moment, and do it again in the next moment, without judgment or expectation. Just observe him. Really try to see who he is. When you have a conversation with him, listen without distraction, without analysis, without back story. Just listen to him without any inner dialog in your own head about what you are going to say in response. Listen without any agenda. Listen without any "yes, but..." going on in your head. Listen openly, and learn. "If you actually see the person as they are, they will change, for they have been seen." ~Tommy Thompson

Find the clippers you want before you buy the other accessories. Many Wahl clippers come in a kit that includes most everything you'll need. YouTube is your friend. There are a gazillion videos of people doing lots of different styles. Some of their techniques are way out of my league, but after watching enough of them, I can usually figure out how to do a passable job.

I made freezer preserves with peaches once. It didn't gel, but it was the BEST ice cream topping I have ever had. I'd heat it slightly and spoon it onto butter pecan ice cream. OMG. Out of this world.

I've been cutting my dh's hair for 30 years, along with my son's (when he lived at home) and my daughter (who likes short hair). I had my Wahl Pro clippers for 15 years, and they still worked, until I dropped them. (grrr) I replaced it with this set: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FRGOOWQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I religiously oil them after every use, and they work wonderfully. Get the Wahl clipper oil. I went through several clippers before I got the Wahl, and they were terrible. I especially the Conair being sub-par. It didn't cut well, it was noisy, and it had foam behind the blade that would collect the little bits of cut hair. It was impossible to clean. Skip those.

I can understand it. People aren't using their cars much, so they don't think about them. Any problem the car might have stays out of sight, out of mind. No pressure to replace an old car if you never leave the house. Cars don't wear out of you never drive them.

My favorite novels generally include elements of current events or history (or both!). They also show relationships between people of different cultural backgrounds. (Here a few that popped into my head in no particular order): Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese): includes details of medical surgery, familial relationship, twin brothers, adoption, cross-cultures (Indian and American) Anything by Barbara Kingsolver -- The Poisonwood Bible: cross-cultural (American and African, "Christian" and "heathen"), familial relationships, missionaries, twins, mental illness Anything by Jodi Picoult - The Storyteller: cross-cultural (American and German), past/present, multi-generational, forgiveness, holocaust, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Jamie Ford): cross-cultural (Japanese and American), familial relationships, Japanese Internment during WWII Anything by Willa Cather - Death Comes for the Archbishop: shows life in the Southwestern U.S. (specifically Santa Fe, NM) during the Spanish mission times. I love anything by Willa Cather because of her sweeping descriptions of landscapes, people, times. Her writing is transportive. Anything by Annie Dillard - The Living: tells the epic story of the settling of the Pacific Northwest, through several generations. So descriptive, and the portrays a full sweep of emotions. Classics like Les Miserables (Victor Hugo), Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand), Anna Karena (Tolstoy), If you like Bible stories brought to life, the Dahveed series, by Terri Favish, is excellent.

If she works all the way through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, she'll do at least a semester's worth of high school level art instruction, and learn to draw realistic hands and faces. Perhaps she could do that at home during the fall, then (if things open up) do a production in the spring to count toward a semester of theatre.

As I understood, back in March/April, the reason we were flattening the curve was because hospitals weren't able to cope with a sudden influx of COVID patients. They didn't have the resources (PPE, beds, ventilators), and they didn't know anything about how to treat the disease. Testing wasn't available, so there was no way to know who had the disease. The bar was set at the number of patients the hospitals could handle, and our goal was to "flatten the curve" to keep it under that line. The original intent of flattening the curve was not to keep everyone from getting the disease, forever and ever. It was to keep the hospitals from being overwhelmed. Since then, the bar has been raised. The supply of PPE has been beefed up. Hospitals have fitted out COVID wards, and have created a cooperative structure to share ventilators and other equipment, and something like 40,000 ventilators have been built. Doctors are learning more every day about how to treat the disease in all its stages. Testing (at least in my state) is available to everyone, and they have some level of tracking happening. Simultaneously, though, the original intent of the campaign to flatten the curve has been forgotten, and it's morphed into a different idea for every individual, and the government hasn't been clear about the goals. I think that's why there is so much discord and judgement between people. What, exactly, are we trying to do? Are we trying to keep every single person from getting it? Are we still just trying to prevent hospitalizations and deaths? Should we be focused on trying to protect the vulnerable? Should we be trying to just wait it out, with everyone isolated until it just goes away? If so, who will feed and house those who are now at the end of their reserves, and are in danger of losing their homes? Are we trying to bankrupt the government? If we do, then who will be taxed next? How can people pay income tax if they don't have any income? What about the businesses that will *never* be considered essential? The questions go on and on.

My mom is in the beginning stages of dementia now, but we moved her out of her 3-bedroom house into an independent living apartment 7 years ago, after she had had major heart surgery, and had lost some physical and cognitive function. The apartment has three rooms, and we set them up as closely as possible to her house (which she had lived in for 50 years). We set up her bedroom, a formal "living room", and an informal "den". We chose the rooms to be in the same basic configuration as her house, so that she would always know she needed to go "left" to get to her bedroom, and "right" to get to the den. Having a miniature version of her house made the transition so much easier for her. Now, as we're considering moving her into an assisted living or memory care unit, we will definitely choose the furniture she uses most often (her bed and chest, and the recliner she naps in), her TV. If we have room, we'll take her love seat as well, so that her guests will have a place to sit.

I'd like to talk about a possible entrepreneurial endeavor -- Academic Tutoring and Coaching As fall approaches and COVID is running rampant here, our local district has announced that they will be using a hybrid schedule. The kids will be IN school 2 days per week, and online the other 3 days. I've seen on social media that a lot of parents are FREAKING OUT. Many parents are going back to work, but their kids are gong to be in and out of school, irregularly. Parents are wondering how they are going to keep their kids on track with their school work. I believe that some parents will be happy to pay someone to oversee their kids' schoolwork while the parents are working. Has anyone here thought about doing this? My daughter, who homeschooled through 8th grade, went to b&m high school, and has graduated from college, is thinking of offering her services as a math and English tutor, as well as academic coach and schoolwork over-seer. We're having a hard time nailing down the details of what services she could offer, and how to market herself. Different age kids would require different services. Dd doesn't want to babysit, but would do well tutoring high school (math, English, Spanish, science). She could also teach kids about time management, organization, etc. She might be able to check in each day with the students, and go through their assignments, to make sure they get everything done. Do you think this is a marketable service? Have you thought about offering these types of services yourself? If so, what would it look like? Would you work exclusively online or over the phone, or would you be willing to meet with students in person? How would you market yourself? What services would you offer? What would you charge?

My dh had that problem. When he talked, his mask slid down and exposed his nose. He just needed a different mask. The form-fitting ones don't work for him. He needs a large, pleated type.

I LOVE my Merrill sandals. They have excellent arch support and they strap on comfortably, with no rubbing anywhere. I can't wear Keen's because my wide-spread toes don't fit the blunt toe box. The Tevas I've tried were all too flat, not enough arch support. If your son doesn't have these issues, those are both excellent brands.

The day my ds turned 4yo, he looked me straight in the eyes, totally excited, and declared, "I'm 4 years old! Now I'm going to obey you ALL the time!" Me, silently: "You little [something like "stinker", but not quite as cute]. You WERE doing it on purpose! I knew it!!!" Yes, your two year old is playing you, competing with you, controlling you. Yes, he will eat when he's hungry. I learned that there are three things I couldn't force my kids to do: Sleep, Eat, and Poop. I could make them sit in one place, but I couldn't make them do any of those things. The more I tried, sometimes, the more they dug in their heels and refused (especially my ds, the same one as above, who learned to push my buttons at a very young age). Oh, speaking of refusing to do simple bodily functions, this same ds refused to use a potty long after he was able. Finally, when he was 3 1/2, my mom came to visit. He was doing it for her in about 1-1/2 days. (FWIW, this ds is 22yo now, and he's a darling who loves me and calls me regularly for advice and encouragement.) Oh, one more thing, this child (my ds) was also significantly underweight (off the charts, below 3rd percentile), so I totally understand the concern of wanting him to eat. He just can't know how important it is to you.

I'm not in Kansas, but I'm in New Mexico, which currently has banned visitors from ALL other states. That sounds draconian, but really, they're just trying to keep people from high-risk states from vacationing here. (It's become a real problem). Even still, I had to go over the border into Texas to pick up my daughter (who had gone there before the restriction was in place. I had absolutely no problem crossing into Texas, nor coming back again. It's not like crossing into a different country. The highways are not closed. There are no check-points. You are free to travel through all 50 states. If you're driving from the north or west, I doubt anyone will pay you any mind at all (since the Kansas-restricted states are all in the south, or out in the far southwest). If you plan to intermingle with people in Kansas (visiting friends, sightseeing), you might want to change your plans. Kansas wants you to self-isolate for 14 days before you expose yourself to any Kansans. If you're just passing through, you're not a problem. They've got bigger fish to fry. License plates don't mean much. (They're not going to be pulling people over just to harass them about their license plate.) Again, it sounds like you'll have been traveling for awhile, and maybe you'll be on your way back to Arkansas by the time you hit Kansas. You might keep records from where you've been (receipts) in a folder, just in case you need to show someone that you haven't been in Arkansas for a couple weeks, but I really can't imagine you encountering any problem. As for spending money, just use cash. (I'm guessing you don't want to have to show your ID) If you stay in a hotel, you'll need to show your driver's license, and they'll have a lot of extra restrictions about quarantine. Skip that. But, if you stay in your car, get food curbside or from a drive-thru, and only use cash, you'll just slide through Kansas un-noticed.