We live in the suburbs of the nations capital- no use prepping, we will go in the blast. I'm not real domestic anyway, nor inclined to get that way. I am skilled in using lots of weapons,and a great shot with a compound bow (though I've never aimed at anything alive), so I suppose I could just go take all the well prepared peoples food. Maybe not a nice plan, but in a pinch (I'm assuming the apocalypse will be more than a pinch!) it would work.

This is my sons freshman year. I combed these boards, worked out a 4 year plan, cross checked it with college requirements for likely colleges he may apply to, and took the plunge. Ps won't take home credits- we are either in or out, so it's all in now! I feel like I should be more...I don't know...frazzled. We had a rough first couple months, he often works until 7 or so at night and on weekends to get papers, reading, instruments in and that was a shock. But over all, it's going really well. Like, really well. I am beginning to think "I can do this!" I'm joking about "doing it wrong", but is anyone else pleasantly surprised that thus far, the whole home schooling high school thing is working out well? (feel free to refer me to this in the future when I come here freaked out!)

The costs are a problem- my niece got a partial scholarship to a year round ballet boarding school....but no way they could come up with the other 20,000. She has auditioned for different SIs, and gotten tuition scholarships- but getting her there, and board, are just too much. And the ballet world is full of people who can pay, and pay lots, so even a gifted dancer (which my niece is) is not as attractive as the nearly as talented, full paying dancer. Hopefully someday she will get to go.

I lived in Asia, and they sold (sell?) pantyhose and undies with butt pads. As I am 5'7" and 107 pounds, I have zero butt. Yeah, I bought some! My room mate dared me. We went out that night, I wore stretch pants with em. I was rockin that fake bum. No one noticed, not even my boyfriend (now DH). I was so disappointed. I still have a pair of the butt pad undies, just because they are so hilarious! So don't despair Twiggy types, you too can have back! I wish the heroin chic, super thin early 90s type would come back- because that's all I ever will be! We are just never happy, eh?

I am alternately glad and sad for add Meds! Glad they exist- Ds can't handle his schoolwork or ever read really without them. Sad they make him feel yucky during wear off, and he's so subdued on them. Sad he can't have a world where his natural state is okay- he'd be an awesome cowboy, or something. With today's academic expectations, it's not possible. Be prepared to change dosage, Meds, etc quite a bit- we have! And then they grow and it changes again...and they don't work, or they loose too much weight, or it makes them angry, or a number of other things. Medicating is not the "easy route", despite what some others believe. It is the route that can mean the difference between success and failure, though. Hugs to you momma, I've been there!

No, the privacy concerns because of the low income were exactly why they wouldn't fill it out. They didn't want m e to know. I found out a few years after I got married- my dad inexplicably told my dh. I qualified for a lot of merit aid, but the 7000 gap and the fact that I had no way to get to California was insurmountable. I didnt have a license until joining the army- I had no car to practice driving on, and my parents could not afford drivers Ed in high school.I couldn't concieve how I would make the extra money, books, a place to live (at least where I was, I had friends), and the thing that stuck out was a parking pass and meal plan. I couldn't make that money, no matter how many jobs I worked. I have no doubt that with parental info, I would have gotten much aid...but without it, I simply swung in the wind. Which is my point- don't do that!

Wendy, I get it. My "peer group" is people whose parents paid for 4 years at Colombia or Rutgers. They never worked in high school or college. There was never, ever an expectation that college wouldn't be a fun way to spend 4 years (or 8 as most have advanced degrees) living in am sorority house, taking a semester in Italy, and finding themselves. My own experience? Yeah. Not so much. My parents basically imploded when I was in 8 th grade, which is a damn shame as I was (am) a pretty brilliant kid. I was admitted to a program at UW to start college in 7th grade, but my parents thought I'd be socially an oddball, so they thought I ought not. Then the next year my dad got sick, and things just went to hell. If only I'd taken the chance-! No FAFSA for me, I spent my senior year couch surfing as my parents were basically homeless and there was no room for me at my grandparents. I applied to Stanford, and got accepted (I always loved Califprnia, being from rainy, gray Washington state!) but going? No. Not even to my local community college. Worked at IHOP (by the way, from 84-89, I worked many 2 am shifts?) and a clothing store and a nursing home. Barely made it. Gave up, joined the army. And here I am. Did the experience make me stronger? I suppose. But it's embarrassing as hell to hear stories of peoples junior year of college, when I was...sleeping at a friends, juggling 3 jobs, and trying to figure out how to afford not just school but books, a parking pass (that was a big deal), and you know...food. I would not wish that on anyone. I may not be able to afford to give my children help for college, but I can fill out the goddog FORM! My dads reasoning? He didn't want me to know they'd made just 6000 dollars that year. Um, I'm homeless dad, I think I figured it out. They saw no benefit to college, they were way too wrapped up in their own lives (understandably) to care. But I was totally at their mercy. And it's just wrong, however you justify it with your "I'm fighting the SySTEM, yo!" rhetoric. Fight the system to your hearts content with letters, petitions and calls to your congressman. But fill out the mother fencing form!

The national endowment for the humanities (neh.org) has great APUS history stuff on their website. Primary documents, etc. It's geared for classrooms, so I don't do many of the activities, but we use something from there every week.

I am so torn on the shot! Ds has very important sports competitions coming up for the next 4 months, the flu would be terrible as if he misses practice (it's every day) it will affect him so much. And older Ds needs to be in his,high school classes or he will fall behind. So I want them as protected as can be. But. The only time we've fallen ill with flu is the years we got the shot- and the kids are adamant they don't want the shot! It's illogical, but the correlation in their minds (and mine, frankly) is shot equals sick. I think it weakens their immune system just enough they then get it, maybe? And flu is everywhere here, in northern Virginia. What would you do, hive?

Right there with ya. Oldest has been taking a few classes since middle school at the ps, this dire warning of what school is like has served to motivate them a bit, but otherwise- no one is begging for school work. As opposed to going to a brick and mortar school? Sure. For fun, because I'm just such an awesome educator and motivator? Uh....no. Not in the 11 years we've been at at, anyway. I love this thread, by the way!

Well, without addressing all the other tangents in this thread... ...my oldest was shy. Is shy, he can just advocate for himself now. Atm14, he can say "it's so loud here, all these people make me uneasy, I'm going to sit in the living room with my kindle and ignore you all". And oddly enough, people get that- he just calmly tells us he's had enough, goes off, and that is it. But at 5 or 7? He just gave the deer in the headlights smile, and ran off, trying madly not to offend but not to get himself into a situation he couldn't handle. His brother is 3 years younger, and not shy at all, but in the situation given he would rather hang silently with big brother than play with a 3 year old, legos be damned.I might have said little bro loves legos (he did!) knowing full well neither kid would be comfortable playing- just as a social construct. Now at their ages, it's all worked out, no one is hampered by their introverted nature, but as young kids, yeah- I could see this scenario play out. 3 and 5 is a huge difference, no matter how precocious the child or tantalizing the legos. I would chalk it up more to that than an unsocialized child.

I have no helpful advice, but I am praying for you all and holding Katya up in prayer.

My oldest is up and out the door early for classes at the high school, so I get youngest up, too. But we stay in our jammies, because I find once the break to go get dressed comes it's all downhill from there. We can sit and just work, work, work while oldest is gone, and maximize that time with no distraction, in jammies. I suppose we could dress before starting work, but it's early, and we are already grumpy from being up early (isn't one of the pluses not having to get up? Well, now we have to!) and so lounging a bit works better. Also I hold out hope for a nap every day, and prolong the jammies time in the hopes the nap may happen. Most days I realize at 3 there is no nap time, and get dressed, but some days it pays off and I can crawl back in bed for an hour, and it's just nicer in jammies! I am also that lady you see in the store clearly wearing pajamas (I consider yoga pants dressed) so take that for what it's worth. I lived in China, and people never wear their pajamas places there. Since everyone stared at me, anyway, I figured what the heck, and got into the habit of it. Now I'm in the us, and too old to care.

I don't think dogs should be in places that serve food, unless they really need to be (service dogs). When I worked at a coffee shop I was always kicking peoples dogs out- most were purse dogs, and they would be leaning on the coffee bar with the dog- nasty! I love dogs, I have 2, I've worked in dog rescue for years. I just don't think they need (or even want!) to go everywhere with their person. And I think dogs around food is nasty, unless it's my dog in my kitchen, in my house. Should be lucky enough to find myself living in Paris, I'm sure I'll adjust. But until then- no. Just no.

Aw, I'm sorry. I had a dog that we found as a puppy, he was fine with our cat somehow. But, he killed two cats that got into our yard. I was horrified- one I found was a neighbors, apologized, they didn't seem very caring about their cat. The other I never located an owner, I guess it was a stray. The dog had an incredible prey instinct we couldn't train him out of. He was just too much dog for us to handle, living in a crowded neighborhood with animals everywhere, I also worried about a kid coming between him and an animal even though he was not at all aggressive to people. We made the sad decision to give him up, it was agonizing. I drove him 2 states away to find a no kill rescue that would take him with his "issues". They called me the next weekend and he got adopted, the lady who took him later called me and said he was fine with her cat! Anyway, I truly don't think you can "blame" an animal for following their instincts, but I also don't think every dog is a good fit for every family. I hope your new home search is successful, and I'm so sorry for how sad the kids must be.

Violets idea is great!

Watership down is one of my yearly rereads, I just adore that book. My kids love it,too. I never read Roots.

Virtual drinks are all I'll get- at the teetotaling relatives for the week. Dh asked about getting some wine for Christmas eve- you'd have thought he mentioned brewing up meth in the kitchen. Respect for others rules and all, I get it. But dang, I'd sure like a beer...

Wow! Dh had to take the kids to the dentist until recently, when they got old enough to go back alone. (we would never, ever see a dentist who didn't allow a parent in the room- that is the source of all my dental phobia!). I bow down to your braveness!

I love Persephone! Move to the US, problem solved. Aurora Persephone sounds beautiful, IMO. Some of the objections to names in this thread are so funny to me- by that logic, everyone should be named Mary, lol. If people can't spell names with perfectly traditional spellings... Maybe they are not the people you want to be thinking of when naming your child!

Just be careful to check the life span of the bird, especially of you get a parrot of any kind. They live a long, long time! I don't like birds, they are IMO messy and sort of scary, with their reptilian eyes. Unfortunately, my mom loves them, and rehabs abused and neglected birds (which is awesome, in theory). Anyway, she has 4 birds now with lifespans of 60 years, they are all between 5 and 10 years old...and she is 67. Guess who gets her birds, lol? I will love them like my own u til I can find them proper homes, because if I drop dead tomorrow I know shed take my cats (my cats are no match for her birds, but she is allergic). But geez- some of these birds live 100 years, no joke. That's why they end up neglected- they live so, so long, and people can't care for them. So consider the life span!

Borax on carpets and couches, then vacuum and toss the bag, into outside trash. We moved into a place with an infestation (pets didn't get them- they had frontline!) and the landlord had it sprayed. Didn't work. I used the borax every night for a week (vacuum bags are pricey, that's a downer) and they were gone. Fleas suck!

That's gross.

Ohno, my niece loves that site, I briefly looked it over and it seemed fine a few months ago! Thanks for the warning- she seriously plays on there a ton. Maybe we better have a talk...my sister is going to be not so happy with me!

My youngest was quite ugly. My sister came to see us, and said "oh, he's so...little...". I cracked up- and told her obviously I too noticed he was covered with hair from his eyebrow (yes, just one) to his shoulders, bright red, and wrinkled. Ie, not at all cute! Maybe the grandma saying is true- he has been in print ads and tv commercials from age 6-11, because he got very cute! Too cute, actually, little girls keep texting him and calling!