I didn't know it had a name! I've always kind of done something like that. I have a section of my daily planner that is just one giant ongoing list. When I feel the need for a new project or have a block of time that needs filled, I scan the list for something that needs doing or sounds like fun. I don't know about the 300 things. My list probably has a couple hundred items on it, but that is because I have been keeping the current list since 2007. I just cross things off as I do them and add more as I think of them. I would say there is always 20 to 30 things on there that still need done at any given time. Some are also seasonal things, so they get added again each year.

It was pretty consuming in the beginning, but I could only let it consume a certain amount of my time because I work full time (from home) so I have other responsibilities. Otherwise, I think it would consume my time a lot more than it does. I have a pretty good rhythm going now, even though certain parts of HS are becoming more intense. I've finely learned the best way to block out my time for planning and implementing school work. For the first two years, it seemed like I had way too many balls in the air and HS was taking up the majority of my time and my thoughts!

Oldest DS is a nose bleeder. When we lived in the desert it was an almost daily occurrence. Now that we live in the frozen northwest, it's only a winter occurrence. Youngest only gets nose bleeds when he sticks a finger up there. Keep in mind, it always looks like a lot more blood than it is. When the nose starts bleeding the sinuses usually get going too, so there's quite a bit of watery mucous mixed in.

DS12 switched from character undies at about 8, to character boxers. Makes sense, since DH still wears boxers advertising his favorite superheroes. Heck, I'd still be wearing my underoos if they made them for adult women, I loved my Supergirl and Wonder Woman sets as a kid! DS7 is still in character undies, but he's outgrowing them so we'll see what he picks out next time we go sock and undie shopping. I expect he'll stick with them for as long as possible. He is my kid that refuses to wear matching socks because he says it "stifles him."

DS12's birthday is on 9/6, same as my dad's. We take the day off because we do a joint family outing with my dad on that day. It's the beginning of our school year, so we usually start the day after their birthday. DS7 and I are a week apart on our April birthdays, so we schedule our spring break for that week. DH's birthday lands in summer, so he is very opposed to school on birthdays!

Our basic rule with monetary gifts is save at least half. They can spend the other half as they want, but any purchase over $10 must have a parental approval. I also enforce a one week waiting period for larger purchases, since they often seem inspired by seeing a display in the store while they have money burning a hole in their pocket. My kids have been known to pool money in the past to buy something, too. In your case, I would probably steer him away from the unlimited access. I would look into the game, though. Sometimes you can buy a clothing pack or weapons pack for a smaller amount of cash. That could provide a way to meet your son halfway on his spending choices and teach a lesson about compromise and budgeting.

I've been to two very successful no-gift parties. The first was a book exchange. The second was a craft party. The invite read not to bring any gifts because the children were making them at the party. My son and the other attendees had a blast painting a giant piece of fabric. When they were done, the fabric went over a PVC frame to make a play tent for the birthday boy's room. This was a very crafty mama and the tent looked great. The party recipients also tie-dyed and decorated their own t-shirts as party favors. It's also common in our circle for parents to list gift ideas on the invite (yes, I know this is against social conventions and common etiquette, but we all know each other fairly well and it's become our norm). Craft items, books, games and puzzles and the standard request, likely because parents find these less overwhelming and more useful than the plastic toy-of-the-month often given at parties.

Thanks, Aimee! I haven't looked into it yet, so I'm definitely adding that to my list of things to check out!

I'm still in the rudimentary stages, and I don't want to change too much because what we have this year is working so well. For example, I hate Saxon, but it is working for DS, who is a bit math-challenged. Thankfully, my other one isn't and Saxon would drive him crazy, too, so I only have to go through it once! Math: Saxon 8/7 Writing: The last Wordsmith book, the name escapes me. Grammar: Probably going to take a year off from formal grammar, this is his strong subject and it really isn't necessary so we'll just review as needed where it comes up in his writing. Literature: In depth book study on his reading list books, plus a semester-long research paper tied to one of the author's or books' subject. History: WTM-style, paired with Creek's Edge renaissance/early modern task cards Science: Mr. Q's chemistry plus Creek's Edge chemistry task cards Art: Art history, not sure how yet Logic: No clue yet French: Will probably switch to a class or tutor, he's moving beyond my skill level. PE: Martial art, not sure which yet, we're still checking out local instructors and styles. May also look into an instrument or drama class/group. He's expressed an interest in both.

Can he tell you why it scares him? I know DS7 would not sit down to go. The splash back really bothered him and resulted in screaming. As soon as DH showed him how to go standing like a "big guy", the problem was solved. Yeah, there was some splash out of the potty chair, but that was a small price to pay for being diaper-free!

Rice vinegar or a bit of red wine helps. Or, caramelize some onions and saute some mushrooms and add them in. Soy sauce can also help with beef soups and stews. Simmer with some rosemary, or add a pinch or two of salt.

It's aimed at college students and adult learners. It's part of the Open Course initiative.

We use dish tubs on shelves. I can fit three dish tubs side by side on a book shelf, or stack the tubs if the contents don't protrude over the top.

My kids are tall and slim. Older DS tends to outgrow his pants first, but only in length. The kids has been wearing a belt since he was four because it's impossible to find pants that are long enough and that fit in the waist! His waist is finally catching up with his long legs, I noticed, so he may evening out or teen slim really means slim, unlike little kid slim sizing. My youngest tends to outgrow pants first, too, but that's only because his shirts are usually a size or two too large anyway. He has broad shoulders and shirts in his size (appropriate length) tend to be too tight in the shoulders, so I buy large. Plus, he's a t-shirt collecting fiend and tends to choose adult small sizes so they'll fit him longer.

I was a medicated child that didn't need to be medicated, so I'm coming at this from that POV. I was put on ADD meds when they were reaching their height of popularity in the early 80's. My mother trusted the doctors and the teachers, and patiently switched me from med to med when each one didn't work. Eventually it was discovered that I was pretty high on the gifted spectrum, I was pulled from regular classes, and things got better. My mom and dad also had to learn to cope with me, I think. My youngest is just like me. My in-laws were constantly pushing us to look into medication with him when he was younger, but I refused and DH backed me. The similarities are uncanny -- extreme frustration and tantrums, stubborn refusal and defiance, distracted easily, bursts of energy. I knew as soon as his verbal and motor skills caught up with his brain he would improve, just like me. I knew he could learn better ways to handle his frustration, just like me. I knew the distractions would fade once he found something new to learn, something challenging. I was right. I don't fault my parents, they did their best and followed professional advice. They were at the end of their rope, they loved me, they wanted to make things better for both me and them. They also learned from those mistakes, and didn't make the same ones with my sister. I also know my experience isn't every family's experience. For some, medication is the only answer. If one of my children needed meds, I wouldn't fight it. I don't know other people's stories. I think fewer kids get bad diagnoses these days, or at least I hope so! I think medical professionals know more about these issues now than they did 25 years ago. Back then, I think it was treated like a cure-all and there was this idea of just hand out some meds and don't worry about the underlying issue. Now, most kids I know on meds see behavioral specialists, often go to some sort of therapy, and have other support beyond just the meds. Modern treatment goes beyond the old way, which was just medicating a kid into submission.

I guess I'm out of the loop, I didn't know walls needed regular painting! We wash our walls twice a year, but paint almost never. We do the old bleach and water wall washing, they come out spotless. I touch up any dings or chips afterwards. We have semi-gloss throughout the house so they usually just wipe clean, even in the kids room. We're repainting the living and dining this year, but that's because I don't like the color and we need to do some minor repairs to the lathe and plaster anyway. Hopefully we'll be able to go at least 10 years (if not more) until we paint again.

Hate it. Won't even talk to DH on the phone. If he calls me he knows he better be dying, otherwise text or FB message me.

If it wasn't for text, I would never actually meet up and talk to anyone IRL. I hate the phone, despise it, and always have. I fought cell phones for a long time, because that was just one more phone I had to answer. In college, I had a pager but no phone, that way I could only call people back at my leisure and they couldn't really call me. I'm an extrovert, but I find phone conversations time consuming and awkward. I never know how to keep a conversation short, so I get drawn into a long, uncomfortable convo when all I wanted to know was if the person was free on Thursday. By the time the phone convo is over, what's the point of even meeting up? We already talked about everything on the darn phone! Bleurgh. Who needs that? Now texting, email and Facebook are wonderful! I can send a message to a friend to see if they want to meet up for coffee or go to a concert, without having to call them.

I don't worry about it. My oldest son went to PS for two years, but he was already a fluent reader when he started K. His teacher brought it up in our first conference and told me it was one of the things that told her he was fluent in both reading and comprehension. I know I do it all the time, myself. My youngest just made the jump to fluent reader and along with that he also started sometimes adding words to a sentence. I agree with the above poster, it's a sign of fluency and I wouldn't worry about it unless it changed the meaning.

I was allowed to read what ever I wanted as a kid, and I read everything I could get my hands on. I can't honestly think of a single book I wouldn't let my kids read. I'm even thankful for being made to read Lord of the Flies, that's what got me through seventh grade. Once I read it I realized middle school wasn't too different than that island, and the kids behaved pretty much the same way. Curious what the issue with Piers Anthony is. I read the Xanth and the Incarnations series as a kid and enjoyed them as light fantasy, but I guess if you were religious maybe Incarnations could be offensive, I don't know. I may stick one of the Xanth books on my son's nightstand tomorrow, he enjoys light, silly fantasy and I forgot about those.

I find it condescending when it's from females near my age or younger in most instances. I was raised in the south by a feminist southern mom, though, and she taught us not to do it because according to her "it is usually used to be catty." I know some people do it out of habit and that doesn't bother me as much, but you can usually tell whom is doing it to be condescending. Often it strikes me much the same as "Oh, bless your heart!" Sure, some people say that out of kindness, but most use it as a veiled insult.

This year I didn't need to change up anything over the holiday break, which is a first and feels so odd! DS12 is moving right along in Saxon math, Wordsmith and the rest of his LA stuff, and French. DS7 finished Miquon before break, so we are moving over to Singapore to see how that works. His reading has taken off so much, that I added a Think! Write! Draw! book so we can start getting some writing practice in with his reading and grammar work. He has fought organized writing thus far, but he picked the book out himself so we'll see. Both boys are tackling the Norman invasions in history this week. I did change up science a bit over break. We were about to move into space studies and have used task cards for the first half of Earth science. I found the GSA Space curriculum at the thrift store a few weeks ago, with all the reproducibles already copied in triplicate and rubber banded to it for a $1, so I grabbed it. DS7 in particular is very knowledgable about everything space science, so it looked like a great way to add more depth to the subject with minimal effort on my part, but still interesting enough for my 12 year old. That's really our only major change, and we'll still probably use the task cards with it a bit. This year has been going way too smoothly compared to the last six years, so I feel like I'm jinxing myself my posting anything! Hopefully we have just finally hit our stride!

My oldest went to PS for two years. He met his two best friends (twins). In the beginning, I had to work to keep the friendship going between them after we left PS. I called and invited the family over for barbecues, play dates, etc. We joined the cub scout pack they belonged to. Now my oldest has a good group of friends he's met over the years. Most are PS kids, although there is one or two HS kids. My youngest has been homeschooled since the beginning. I worried a lot about friends for him because he didn't have any old school friends to draw from. This was the year he decided he needs friends. He has made two good friends, one HSed, one PSed. He met one at a HS astronomy event and the other through scouts. He has a group of acquaintances from various clubs and classes. He doesn't see the acquaintances outside of meetings except for birthday parties, but it seems to be enough for him. There are also a few neighborhood kids that both boys play with on occasion. Meeting other kids isn't usually a problem, but I had to make the effort to form ties by making friendly overtures to the parents. A fringe benefit of this is I have a made a few new friends, too.

We had a friends get registered to marry us, but if you look in the phone book there are usually listings of marriage officiants. We were originally going to hire one from the phone book. I believe the standard process is is you are supposed to interview them like you would a photographer, caterer, etc, then pick the one you like.

I use my crockpot, but I don't heat the milk on the stove. I just warm it in the crockpot to 160 F, let it cool to 110, add the culture, turn off the crockpot, wrap the crockpot in a towel, and stick the whole thing in the oven with the oven light on but the oven turned off. I do it overnight, then spoon it into jars in the morning. My house is cold in winter, about 60 F during the coldest part of the year. My yogurt does beautifully. If I remember right, the temp has to be between 75 and 110 F for the culture, anything over 110 F kills it and anything below 75 F makes it go dormant.