I iron as I fold laundry. I like natural fibers, but not looking like a used hanky. When I hang the clothes out, it softens them, if there's no breeze. And I press sheets. To that end, I have an extra-large ironing board that I love. My kids got it for my birthday last year. :D Sorry I missed your inquiry, Stripe. I think they got it at Walmart.

How funny that you're wearing the same shades in both! :D Mine is me.

I'm having trouble with the willingness to overlook the bad, here, or "defend" with "there was also bland, inoffensive conversation"... For 12 years, a third party blocks communication. Fine. Chalk that up to keeping the peace with a "difficult" person. But when that wall comes tumbling down, and everyone can breathe and sit together, the first inclination is to catch up on all the years of insulting you she's missed? No, sorry. That is not normal. Even normal toxic people should be able to keep their pleasant mask on for the first visit. She probably also didn't threaten anyone with a knife, but I don't think that moves the interaction over into the positive column, either. I agree with this. You hurt yourself when you hold on to a fantasy like this. And your family. People like these - regardless of their underlying issues - generally don't change, regardless of their age. For whatever reason, they feel entitled to treat people badly.

I have a Google sync app on my phone that allegedly uploads to my Google+ photos. (it seems to have no rhyme or reason as to when this actually happens) My photos, music, etc are lurking around in the iCloud, too. Oh, yes. Some "other" reason. Because, you know, sometimes I just find myself with a phone that doesn't belong to me. It's ok, phones just travel around from place to place and pick their owners. Like cats. Nelson just made the perfectly innocent error of leaving a bowl of iChow outside his door. What is a guy to do when the iPhone picked him?

We don't take off at all. We take a vacation in September, and a couple weeks at Christmas/New Year. Otherwise, we take a week here and there, but that's it. I hope people aren't feeling bad for my kids... Their education isn't a punishment. ;)

Reported.

I'm sorry my mother has been annoying you. Just tell her to go home (and not call me to have that exact.same.coversation. :glare:)

Well you don't look all mangled and bloated. That's a good sign in the heat, I think. ;) (I may be having trouble reconciling your human, non-horse-ness. )

Yup, we've thought through those since the beginning, too. We wouldn't be homeschoolers if we weren't nutso planners, right? Lab sciences come to mind. French with a native speaker. Calculus with someone who really, really gets it. Band. Sports after 15... Now, most of those we can track down and outsource without the school, but we have considered them, and continue to weigh their importance (not that we necessarily know what that is at this age), difficulty of sourcing, etc.

Also in agreement. I'm also of the opinion that it's not possible for us to "over"protect our kids. Every experience they have leaves a mark. I prefer those marks be overwhelmingly positive.

Huh. My kids listen to what I grew up listening to. Right now, in the car, we have Jack Johnson, Talking Heads, Susan Tedeschi, the Police and the Who. They also like Madonna, the Pretenders, Fleetwood Mac, REM, Depeche Mode, Boston, B-52s, U2... We drew the line at Dead Kennedys. Wow. What a crazy looking list! :D

That has crossed my mind. We started homeschooling because Bailey was reading at 4 and was not eligible for K until the next year. We continue to homeschool because of the positives, not as a rejection of the public schools (though I am keenly aware of the negatives - my eldest graduated from the same high school). It is not in our grand plan to send them to school at any level, but it's something we will consider it the situation presents an opportunity or need that leads in that direction. I was pondering this, as well. I have no idea what his plans for retirement are, but it did cross my mind that it might be an excellent fit for him, my family, and friends who have kids the same age, to have a private AP prep class. No. Maryland now explicitly prohibits primarily homeschooled children from attending schools for select classes. It used to be the prerogative of the local superintendent, but not any more. I honestly wasn't looking for anything in particular, other than others' general thoughts on the subject. We're not looking to make a decision on this for the next couple of years (at least). I'm just looking for the details and experiences I may not have in mind. I'm glad Molly is thriving! We have friends whose lives have taken turns that lead them to enroll their kids, and the kids have also thrived. (plus, I always enjoy your perspective ;) ) So, please, anyone who has any thoughts on this topic, I'd love to hear them. Anyone else have a kid who went to school later in their education, and it changed the course of their lives in a negative way? In a positive way?

This is how it works for us, as well.

I should also add the following: Maryland used to have the policy that whether to allow homeschoolers to take classes was a local decision, but passed a law a few years ago barring the option at the state level. Also, her "master plan" is to go to school once she ages out of rec lacrosse (so, 16) so she can still play. Then, she wants to be home-colleged. Lol.

Do you mean they are required to at least give PS a shot as freshmen, or of they go, they must start at as freshmen? No bearing on my pondering; AP US History is a freshman class and she would still be middle school aged is she was in PS.

That's funny. I was just listening to a discussion that included flipped classrooms on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Our neighbor is an AP history teacher at the local HS. He and his wife are lovely, supportive, interested in our kids, etc. He has been saying, for a couple of years, that he would really love to have Bailey (the 11yo) in his class. Not in a pressure-y, "you shouldn't homeschool" sort of way, at all, mind you, just in a "you're kid is bright and likable, and I'd love to have her in my class" way. (By the way, his interest in her, specifically, is not odd; he will retire before the boys get to highschool age) So, yesterday, he walks over while we're out doing yard work, and he brings it up again. "No pressure! We have a couple years. I just want to 'plant the seed'", wink. And, truly, there is no pressure. She's 11. We're just finishing grade 6 / starting 7. Buuuuuuut... since I'm a homeschooler, I like to plan and roll decisions (or possible decisions) around and look into all the angles, etc. :D Give me your best thoughts - pro, con or otherwise!

Thanks for the heads-up! We've had ours for -wow- 8 years? I will be vigilant about anything drippy looking!

I just wanted to speak to this, because it's a good point. The really nice trim paints are intentionally thin for this purpose. It mimics the flattening you get with oil based trim paints, which are now hard to come by. Honestly, I used to love Behr for walls and oil based SW paints for trim and floors. I've used the zero-VOC Olympic paints for walls recently (wipable, not scrubbable) and I wonder if the thinness that people are experiencing with Berh is because they've cut VOCs.

BB cream is sort of an all-in-one. Practically, it's a tinted moisturizer with SPF and somewhat better coverage. Somewhere between foundation and tinted moisturizer. In all honesty, this is new to me, and I went with the cheap Garnier stuff to see if it was at all something I was interested in. I'll try samples of a couple better brands now. (Sephora has samples, by the way, so you can suck them in instead of the usual way! :D)

No, but after the crockpot, shopping cart, and shoe brawls here, I'm past being shocked at what becomes contentious.

Yes, I would. But I still don't think you should. ;) If it's not your style, it's a lrge purchase you won't be happy with.

Mmmmmmmm. Me, too. I'm down for anything Mediterranean / Middle Eastern. Right now, my answer is the homemade strawberry cheesecake ice cream I have firming up in the freezer. :D

Cooler days are coming. Our neighbor came over while we were finishing yard work (well, the boys were bagging the raked piles, we were drinking a beer) and he mentioned that Thursday is only supposed to be in the 70s. Yippee!

BB cream, if I need any at all.