Dh is self employed. We have coverage under Blue Cross/Blue shield (full coverage, copay for docto's visits, the only deductible I can remember is $500 for labs, xray, PT). We pay around $780/mo (we pay the full amt as owners of the co) for a family of 4. The insurance is under a grouping for small businesses through Blue Cross.

:party: Congrats!! It's so rewarding to see your kids find their place. As a nurse, I hesitate to recommend the field to anyone. It has so many positive and negative variables, that it's really hard to predict who will actually fit and be happy with the profession. Often times the negatives outweigh the positives. Psychology is very rewarding too, can help tremendously, potentially it can have less stress as a profession, and definitely has less cleaning of body fluids :lol:

:grouphug: to you, hope you're feeling better soon. Have you looked into other medical degrees from the college close to you? If you're open to different degrees, physical therapy assistant pays well, as does ultrasound tech and radiology tech. Also consider alternate time for homeschooling. IF you have classes during the day, could you school at night? I drive 1 hr each way to work, hate to drive, but I do this twice a week and it's not bad. It does take a toll on homeschooling though.

:iagree: Creekland, I think yours is the plan we used. Cover Barrons, do ACT practice tests and use McGraw hill for practice, is that correct? If so, it worked great for us. We followed her plan, and dd did really well and is only in 10th.

:grouphug:to you I don't know anything about it either, but I know waiting is hard. I'm glad you're being seen tomorrow.

Thanks everyone, Katie and mommy to 3, I really value your opinion too since you've actually seen this. Our vet is not recommending anything at this time. She thinks there is a possibility it is a liver abscess not a tumor and that it could be drained and treated. She doesn't have kids, so she may not understand the "fear factor." She does say he is aggressive, not right, and crazy. She said there's a good possibility that he could bite again, but then when you get to discussing the pancreatitis, liver issues she's for treatment. I work with cancer patients and see many with issues like these and would never wish it on anyone. I've never seen anyone get better either (granted I work in a hospital so I see the worst). I just feel like treatment is beyond reasonable for an animal that is suffering. Even if he got better clinically he would probably feel like doo doo for a long time, and would be at risk for biting. People suffer with this even after treatment. Thanks for listening to all my rambling, it helps to talk it out.

Our dog age 10, springer spaniel, has always had aggression issues: growls if anyone other than me is around his food, nips at children's toes if they get too close after eating (does this very lightly, seems to have good bite control). Growls if you get within 10 feet of my bed after about 9pm (that's where he sleeps). He will actually come out and chase dd down the hall if she tries to get something out of the hall closet next to my room. He has pancreatitis now, a liver abcess or liver cancer, a WBC Count of 50,000, temp of 104, persistant vomiting and has been very ill for 14 days with this. While I was trying to feed him out of my hand, while he was sick and hurting, he bit my hand hard, really hard, I could feel the muscle in it tearing. It got 4 stitches and got seriously infected and I almost got hospitalized for antibiotic treatment. I want to put him to sleep, first and foremost because I feel he is now VERY unsafe around me and our kids. Dh wants to take him for an ultrasound tomorrow and treat him if it's an abcess. He is fighting very hard to keep him alive. He knows I don't feel safe and I think he should be put to sleep not just for safety, but because he is also miserably ill. We've already spent $2000 treating him over the past 2 mos for the pancreatitis issues and for removal of a bladder stone. He's been treated since he was a puppy for aggression with no improvement. Dh wouldn't let me put him to sleep then or rehome him. Am I so wrong to think putting him to sleep is the only option? Would any dog lovers consider keeping him under these conditions?

Also, could there be a learning disability? If so, adaptions can be made to testing (as in longer time limits).

:grouphug: I know that is hard, but it doens't always correlate to not being ready for college. My sister scored <10, and graduated from college twice (once in communications and once in physical therapy assistant: 2yr degree). A good friend of mine couldn't score above a 16 in order to get her teaching certificate, but ended up getting around that somehow. She graduated without difficulty too. We all went to the same uni with low entry requirements, but I will say that it wasn't particularly easy to maintain good grades.

Well, I would caution against a Springer Spaniel. Some are wonderful, many are impulsive and have dominant aggression issues. I say this as I type with 4 stitches in my hand and cellulitis due to my springer spaniel biting me this week.

Diet and lifestyle changes are still the recommended 1st line of treatment, so you'd be fine staying with that IF it is effective. You want to aim for a Hgb A1C of 7.0 or less and a 2 hr post eating blood sugar of <130. If you aren't able to maintain that I would definitely take the metformin while still trying to make life changes. The importance is trying to delay things like metabollic syndrome, kidney nephropathy (A biggie), hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease. Have you been to a good endocrine clinic? They should be able to show you how much you can improve glucose levels by doing certain things such as weight loss etc. They should also devise a treatment plan that is especially tailored to your needs.

I think urgent care would be totally fine. The medication for it is very effective, and all you would need to do is a little more laundering afterward. I would go ASAP too just to rest your mind as well as to stop the bites!

Could it be scabies? They are usually red bites, very itchy, and sometimes have a small dash or track mark leading up to the bite itself. Google and see if it looks like that.

Congratulations!! I have a dd that would be very envious of her! SCAD is a great school.

Nasal steroids are supposed to work best. I've tried several and only like flonase. They have to be used everyday during allergy season. We tried allegra and surprisingly it has worked the best.

Everyone looks beautiful! Hope they had a great time at prom.

When investingating scholarships for my oldest, I ran across a STEM scholarship from the Govt. It covered all university costs, but you had to work for the govt in a STEM field once you graduated. You worked one yr for each yr they paid. Am going out of state to register dd today, so don't have time to google the specifics, but wanted to post in case it would help someone else.

If they're related to allergies, the best prevention is nasal steroid sprays daily. My dd had this problem for yrs: rotating pneumonia and sinus infections. She wouldn't do the nasal spray so we put her on Singulair and she hasn't had one since (that is huge for us, since she used to have 5-6/yr).

I think engineering will be much more of a challenge at a 4 yr college than what your son experienced at cc. My dd is going into aero engineering in fall. It requires 4 semesters of calculus + linear algebra, physics etc. Then you get into the "real" hands on engineering that leads to design classes culminating in a class where teams work to build a "green" plane (on CAD only). They participate in competitions to make a car more green etc. We have a tutor who got a perfect score on the ACT & SAT. Chem engineering, esp cal 4, was still a challenge for him. Like others said, it depends on your interests/passion/goals as to what track is right for whom.

My dd took the ACT this Sat for the 1st time too. She scored really high on the reading test from the REAL ACT tests at home under timed conditions, but thought the reading on Sat's test was much harder and didn't get to the last 3. She also thought the science portion was VERY hard and she did well on that too at home. We'll see.

:grouphug: Hugs to you! :grouphug: caring for an aged parent while homeschooling is one of the hardest things I've ever done. We did make it though, it was very doable, I just had to stay organized. Here's some suggestions for when everything settles: ~Plan school out for a few weeks at a time. ~Let him be involved in the house if at all possible (chores, helping with kids etc). ~Don't feel guilty for taking time to do school. It might be hard because you may feel like you have to entertain him, but he's a family member and may live there, so don't feel guitly if you spend the whole am with the kids. ~Use any time with hospitalizations for planning etc. ~Above all take time for yourself. Your kids will learn a lot of compassion from this. For me, it was easier to have him live with us, than to have him live separately and have to get out to drive him to appts, but the one I took care of was my FIL and my dh doesn't get along with him and he ended up moving to assisted living 4 mos later.

:party: Congrats! I know you'l do well. I'll be praying for you!

:party: Congrats to you both!!

I saw The Lion King and it was so beautiful it almost made me cry (The music & especially the costumes). Everyone I know who's seen Wicked has loved it too.

Chldren should only take children's MVI, because the doses are so different for peds and adults. This would be especially true for Vit D & caclium since too much can cause hypercalcemia.