I live less than 5 minutes from one of the bases here, and they've reported finding it there. So our protocol now is to not be out at all at dawn, dusk or night for ANYTHING. I hate to use repellent spray, but if I need to I will.

Well, I don't work a regular job which helps a lot. There is no way without a support system to work a regular job and homeschool IMO. Instead of a regular job, I do a lot of odd jobs. I sell things online, I babysit, I do focus groups - pretty much whatever pays the bills and is flexible. Sometimes daily stuff has to take a backseat to paying the bills - our house might get a little messy or laundry backed up because I've been swamped trying to make enough to pay bills.

I don't think there really is a firm definition really. I consider myself HOH even though I test fine on hearing tests, because I have issues hearing & understanding more than one sound at a time, and I have issues hearing some voice tones & accents. If someone is looking straight at me but mumbling or whispering I can't understand a word they are saying but I can tell they are saying something KWIM? Or if someone is talking to me and there are lots of people talking in the background {like on a crowded bus or convention hall}, I can't pick out the voice of the person talking to me through all the rest of them - they all blend together. as a s/o - how have those of you who have hearing issues that developed as adults dealt with them? How did you learn things like ASL or lip-reading, and where did you go for help?

:iagree: And Moving :glare:

:grouphug: We go through this too with both myself and dd. It's gotten to the point we rarely eat out unless it's fast food where I can pull up an ingredient list myself.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: I was homeschooled myself from about 1994 thru 1999 in South Texas. There is a HUGE difference in the homeschooling movement and culture of my youth and today. It wasn't about academics, in fact only at back to school time or used book sales did you maybe talk about what your kid was using. Even if you were a gifted kiddo, others might ask what you were covering subject-wise and consider it, but there was not the "must do more than everyone else" mentalism there is today. You almost never heard about children's special needs either. Children were children, and expected to work to the best of their potential, whatever that level was. It was a lot less diverse, both religiously and ethnically. If you met a home educator, it was most likely a WASP - White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant. You might have exceptions to the rule, but I never met a home school family who wasn't Protestant. Homeschooled kids were better behaved than those of today {IMO}, though I'm not sure if that was due to the higher religious level or merely the times. There was more of a culture of hiding, homeschooling was not something to be mentioned in public or paraded about as it is today. Many families moved when they started home educating, often to a new state. They stayed underground more, staying out of sight of CPS. It was a more peaceful time, with a LOT less activities and more emphasis on being at home. The activities we did have were much less organized - there were no CO-OPS or Day Schools. We had 4H and a few other organized monthly events, but it was much more laid back than those of today. There was more emphasis on mixing the ages and grade levels in activities - we had some activities with everything from pre-k to 12th all presenting to the best of their ability. Activities didn't cost anything or were very low cost, not like the ones of today that charge $50+ per kid. Homeschool groups cost less too - I think we paid $10 a year in our local one. There was only ONE homeschool group, not the huge variety of focused groups of today. There wasn't the huge multitude of options out there to decide from. We had Saxon, Abeka, and BJU if you managed to find a private school willing to buy it for you. Other than that you had the huge all-in-one workbook. I remember my mom made my workbooks because she couldn't find what she wanted. Children were taught to LEARN from base materials like encyclopedias, where today it's handed to them pre-digested in a textbook. Textbooks were written to a higher level than those of today, especially in Language Arts. Unschooling didn't really exist, and outsourcing subjects was unheard of. So was the idea of having your child tutored in a subject you didn't feel ready to teach. The concept of even semi-formal lesson plans was unheard of for the most part. So was the idea of HS kids going back to public school - they either stayed homeschooled or went to private school, but never public. I'll keep thinking on it too, but I think Oldschooling is a good term :001_smile: It is hard to express the difference, but it is definitely there.

Thank you for this reminder. Copper theft is rampant here and I know these homes have copper pipes at least, and probably copper wiring. I'm not sure how to check the pipes though as the house has likely been weatherized and has no water service. This home isn't exactly a foreclosure, and isn't exactly a short sale. From what I've been able to dig up, the previous owners had an ARM mortgage. They had it listed for sale for just a few months and then signed it back over to the bank in May of this year. The house does look in near perfect shape - one door in a bedroom has stickers all over it {kids room :D}, it needs new screens and I'd like to replace the front door as it's not sturdy enough for my taste. It has nice carpet, but I do plan on replacing with tile floors ASAP.

Here's Ours: Weekly wrap-up 8/24/12 List of what we did this week plus a few pics :)

Thank you all for your replies:001_smile: I wasn't sure if my offer was too low, but it appears it's actually right on the money or a little high from everyone's replies. Now I will call my realtor and get a showing of the inside of the home, and hopefully it will check out okay for inspection as we'd like to be moved by the end of September {or sooner!}.

:iagree:

No, it's something in the vanilla itself that does it, not the alcohol. I've tried rubbing alcohol and it did not work the same.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: We use Vanilla extract as well. Put on quickly it will prevent blistering. Not sure how much it will help after blisters are forming though.

I'm not really looking to profit, as I'm looking to flip to live in it and not resell it. But I am trying to do the same thing as those flipping houses and buy very cheap. The range your dad said is right about what I planned on offering if there were no major problems with the house :D The market in this neighborhood is iffy. It's not the greatest neighborhood, but again with my small budget a great neighborhood isn't going to happen and honestly we wouldn't fit in there anyways :D But It has the potential to come back if they expand the base again, as it's only about 5 minutes from the biggest base here. I'm one of those quite often. I decided not to even look at a house this morning after doing a drive-by of it and getting a bad vibe. That combined with a death in the house made it a no-go. It's a bit low, but normally a house like this here would be $75-$100k. $20k would be great - I'm thinking more around $25k-$30k at the most for an offer. Hoping to have some left from the budget to fix up the place I'm in and get it sold {it needs a lot of cosmetic work}.

Well, the house we're in right now is a money pit with a mortgage :D . To date in 7 years we've put nearly $15k in repairs into this house, and it still needs another $25k for a new roof. So I don't mind buying a fixer-upper without a mortgage. I have some home-rehab experience, and my mother helped build my childhood home so she has some as well. I also have an experienced friend who does home-rehab on the side from his regular job who I can call. I do plan on getting a through inspection to document needed repairs, and if there is anything major it will be a no-go. However with the small budget I have to purchase a home, I'm realistic and know that all I will be able to afford is a fixer-upper and the best I can do is find one that needs the least amount of work. Without the mortgage payment from our current home over our heads, we'll have a small budget each month to put towards rehab. And we will be frequent customers at our local Habitat Restore which is only a few blocks away. :D Other homes in the neighborhood mostly are not selling due to lack of financing, but prices range from $45k to $120k - it varies a lot. This is a smaller house for the neighborhood, and a little older. I live a few blocks away from this home currently fwiw.

I plan on getting my agent to open it up for a inside look within a day or two. HVAC appears to be in good running condition and less than 5 years old {it was running when I looked at the house from the outside}, but I will have to confirm when in the house. The other issues you mention I'll have to have an inspector check out. I'm 95% sure it doesn't have mold as I'm highly allergic and had no issues when around the house.

It's actually in really good shape from what I can tell from looking in the windows, but I would plan on getting an inspection to make sure we're not dealing with termites or foundation issues. Learned that lesson the hard way with the house we're in now. I would call it move-in ready, but from what I understand because it doesn't have the appliances, window screens, screen door, and a few light fixtures, it can't be classed as such and eligible for a regular mortgage. Since we'd be paying cash, financing isn't a concern and I'm fine with doing a little home rehab :D

Here it's pretty standard for Bank Owned homes to put that in the listing. The offer would be contingent on inspection.

Trying to see if my offer is too low or about right. http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5051-Guinevere-Dr-San-Antonio-TX-78218/26325245_zpid/ I've looked at the house from the outside & windows, and see no obvious defects other than a few missing shingles on the back side {which I can repair quickly}, and missing appliances / window screens. It does need a good paint job inside and out too, and I would plan on replacing the front door and all locks. I know it was given back to the lender with a balance of about $43k a few months ago. What would be a good offer to put in on this house?

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Did they say the cause of the hyperthyroid? Regular hyperthyroid only rarely causes miscarriages from what I understand, but hyperthyroid as a result of Grave's Disease has a high rate of miscarriage as it's an auto-immune. Fortunately both are fairly easily treatable.

Actually, since she will be covered with State insurance for her pregnancy, it is illegal for them to refuse to see her based on a previous bill. If you get no where with the Dr.'s office, call your state Medicaid Ombudsman and explain the situation to them. They will call the Office and get it straightened out.

Can anyone tell me is there something small for $2 or less I can use for a filler to get to $50 for my SL order? Trying to use a coupon before it expires!

Got Caught Reading!

Yep. all the time. I either end up falling back on the same 10 dishes or so, eating fast food, or quick fix stuff like pizzas and such.

Great first day here - so glad we switched to SL, as dd is loving Core B with 3rd grade readers. DD didn't even have a hint of a melt-down or any arguments! hoping the rest of the school year goes like this!

I can't believe it! DD was ready to start back, even if I wasn't 100% ready. And she is loving SL core B with all the reading too. We even managed to get through the entire school day with no melt-downs and no arguments! This is the kid who had a melt-down almost every day last year. Just had to share with others who get it :D