We start July 7th (in 11 days ... Gasp). Full steam ahead. I'm trying to front load the year. We get lazy after January. Plus, we will be done May 1st. Waiting on last 2 items in the mail, but everything is all planned out. Need to get the school room clean.

What about adding cabinets or shelving above the desk area for storage?

Sometimes you just have to call it done. We start our new year in 11 days for that very reason. We stopped at the end of May. For the 1st time ever I have the year mapped out on paper. I'm in school also so I needed to make it a good fit to correspond with my finals and breaks. Plus, we have such a hard time getting refocused after winter break. That is why I am front loading the year. We will have 20 weeks (100 days) in before calendar year end and 16 (80 days) left. I've included a 1 week spring and fall break and a month off at Christmas and a week off for Thanksgiving. We will finish May 1 so I can study/take finals and my 2 week semester break. Because at that point I'll be in clinicals and summer semester is so condensed time wise we probably won't resume until the first of August for my sanity. So they get an extra long 3 month summer break. In reality I'll keep their skills up with reading and math games. Regarding you neighbor, just say, "walk with me." Meaning I'm on the go with no time to stop. If you want to chat, I'll listen, but you have to do it while I'm working my plan. Ex: heading to the pool... Neighbor: hey K. Great day. Sky is blue, the .... K: it certainly is. I'd love to chat but we are off to the pool. (Optional) Want to tag along? N: k, blah, blah, blah K: I know, right? Just grabbing a box from the car so I can reorganize my closet. Come on in and we can talk while I work.

Ps I've purchased several things from the classified ads on here with great success.

Between all the fees and shipping cost it is a bad deal for sellers. I have things I'm selling/have sold recently and the fees and shipping cause me to have to price my items really low. Even Media Mail is about $4 for 1 textbook. Sucks! I've purchased books without issue. I'm currently waiting on 2 to arrive now.

But don't you have a One Note Account that you can log on from another computer to retrieve it? I thought it was all stored where it could be accessed on multiple devices. ETA sorry, I was thinking of Ever Note. Maybe the advise will still work. Hoping!

IME it means boyfriend/girlfriend.

I'm assuming that when we get 5 stars we get to go for ice cream.

Once upon a time I ticked someone off and they gave me 3 stars. I've been stuck there ever since. Sniff sniff.

I've recently learned to crochet, and am mildly addicted. I've made a couple of cotton dish towel/cloth about 10x12. I used really fun bright colors eg orange, blue, pink. Love them! They are used for hand drying.

I have to add, I've experienced first hand when a condo/hotel is evacuated for any number of reasons including fire, bomb threat, false alarm, prank, etc. that things are chaotic. It's loud, and scary and everyone has to use the stairs. No way would I want to be separated from my kids if that happened. My kids are young, and maybe I'll change my mind in the future, but it probably wouldn't be until they are in the late teens (17ish).

I'm reading this thread and all I can think is, I'm a grown up and wouldn't want to be alone in a hotel room, especially at night. Guess I'm a chicken.

For all you coffee snobs out there, my husband swears my phin filters. They are Asian-style, simple, stainless steel filters that you set over your cup. They come in 6-11 oz sizes. They make the best coffee, don't require paper filters or use the costly coffee cups. Just add grounds, then water and it filters fresh coffee in minutes. Gravity, not screw kind. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Phin

Isn't that crazy! I can wash and dry laundry in that amount of time. Not to mention cook dinner 2-3 times. It's been over 5 years since I lived there so I don't remember. I just recall it taking forever. My current old school, work horse only takes about 20 minutes and does a fine job cleaning.

So you all are saying I should be happy with my 12 yo washer/dryer, my 15-20 yo refrigerator and my who knows how old dishwasher? When did dishwashers first come out? Good news is that (knock on wood) none of them have given me any trouble besides not being the prettiest. We bought a new dishwasher in our old house and that thing took over an hour to run a load! Nuts!

I've recently heard the names Canon and Honor.

As I posted before, I used the marketplace for our insurance. We are still being insured by our same insurance carrier. In our state there is only 1 provider. I was told by my insurance co what plans were covered for subsidies, but had to apply through the marketplace. Once you apply, you will find out what portion of the premium you will be responsible for. I urge anyone and everyone who is concerned about being able to afford it to call and go through the process. That's the only way to know for sure. It seems that regardless if we use the subsidies or not, we are still getting the same coverage.

My advise is call the marketplace. I tried for 2 months to get thru online and finally just called. Relatively painless. Our premium did go up, but because of tax credit/subsidies we will only be paying about 20% of the monthly premium that we paid this year. Plus our deductibles and out of pocket cost are really low! It has been a lifesaver for us. We were on the verge of dropping our insurance because we just couldn't afford it. We are privately insured because dh employer does not provide coverage.

Mine have been free range all summer, but I'm in the process of building a large run. They already have coop with a covered run, but this will be uncovered. I'm just ready to get the yard back without stepping in poop. One idea I have is to build 2ish flats with dirt, chicken wire, and grass seed. Let grass grow, put it in run and switch it out with other flat when the grass gets short. The wire keeps them from digging up roots.

My dd went to PS in K. Per the district, they were not allowed to go outside. They had a yard full of playground equipment that wasn't allowed to be used...IN K5! The principal worked around this with "Fun Fridays" allowing a 20-30 minute outside recess. Ridiculous!

Our school district uses calculators in elementary school, but ONLY during the test. In class they can used their printed multiplication table. I was shocked and confused!

That sounds fantastic Ab!

I looked at the samples today and I think it would be a good supplement for us. It may touch on some things I haven't covered yet and would be a good way to shake up the monotony. Plus, it would allow the kids to learn independent of me when I just don't have time. I'm looking and finding lots of options to make HSing and college work. I'm finding lots of resources like Spelling City, Enchanted Learning, work boxes, etc. :)

I've heard that about k12 too. It's not covered here either so it's not in the budget. My son enjoys morestarfall so he may enjoy internet based learning. I have time to work out the kinks.

Thank you for your feedback. I'm just looking at all my options at this point. More than likely, I will just need a supplement for my own sanity. Too many breaks and I feel like I'm slacking. Right now I'm teaching them to be more independent with our current curriculum. They (especially dd) have taken advantage of my hand holding, but I'm setting them up for success and independence now. It's week one and so far so good.