Never had to think about it until the last couple years. That was nice! But the metabolism is certainly different in my mid-40s. I am a healthy weight. But I do watch what I eat and exercise almost every day for 60 minutes. I can't snack much anymore -- the weight just pops right onto my hips. I do lose quickly when I cut calories way back and ramp up the exercise.

There seems to be an idea that everyone deserves a single-family home, a high-paying job, and a variety of interesting food. In other countries, it's normal to share housing, work your butt off to get by in a job that isn't a dream-come-true, and eat staple food items most days of the year. Here, we think that's failure, or neglect, or poverty. Thoughts?

Perhaps. At least, one would hope. But there seem to be such varying degrees of competence in DSHS that I wouldn't throw a family its way unless the children were in dire physical danger.

That line of thinking is one you will never hear from me.

I absolutely agree that they deserve better. But, we seem to have wandered from the original question. Does one call in the government authorities due to educational neglect? Does one call government authorities who have the power to take children from their parents because the parents are not educating them according to majority standards? I say no.

Blech. Congested and coughing today, so will probably just do a long walk or an easier version of my bike workout. It is so gloomy and wet and dark outside that it's hard to motivate myself. But, I'm posting this here so I'll have some accountability.

Consider, too, that some cultures would call a typical American public school education abusive. Some families who love and cherish their daughters consider it neglect/abuse to require girls to attend co-ed classes, to allow them to dress in contemporary clothing, participate in sports, etc. I don't share those beliefs. But an American has religious freedom. We can't call the cops on our neighbors just because we disagree with their culture. Thank goodness.

I'm amazed that people don't have 33 items of clothing. Jackets, coats, shoes, pants, sweaters, blazers, tee-shirts, athletic wear, jeans, shorts, skirts, dresses, -- even if someone had only 2 of each of these they'd be up to 24. And I believe the challenge includes accessories -- bags, scarves, etc.

My 8th grader is currently doing Windows on the World, the Medieval History writing lessons, and Fix-It. It's a nice combo. Windows is on the challenging side. The writing lessons are simple for him, but my goal is for him to focus on basic structure, so that does the trick. And then we do Fix-It. I'm very happy with my IEW 8th grade LA year.

I live in a very hilly area, and I'm trying to vary my workouts. I might add some hill hikes of my own. Just finished 30 minutes on the bike followed by a lovely 40 minute walk near the lake.

Tell me what your 'hill hikes' are. They sound appealing somehow. :)

You are not alone! :) No more cookies or treats for me until New Year's Eve. (Which is kind of a shame because those are some yummy cookies. I may have to just throw them out, or quickly feed them to my very skinny teenage boys...) Off to do my bike workout.

Well, I certainly have more than 33 articles of clothing, OP, so you're not the only one. :) I took a look at the website, and I'm interested. I'm going to give it some thought today.

Very straightforward. It takes about 10 minutes per day, including a mini lesson from me as I check my son's work. It is 'open and go' in the sense that no prep is required. I wish I could say it leads to great retention but I'm not sure, really. I know he's doing quite well with it -- I don't see him making the same mistakes over and over. And I like the daily-ness of it. He is a good proofreader now. But, as with anything, we'll have to wait and see on the retention.

There is a lot of nasty yuck going around here in the greater Seattle area. Mine hasn't been as gruesome as yours, but I have a sore throat/congestion/sneeze/fatigue thing that has hung on for a few weeks. I have several friends whose families have had seemingly random symptoms sticking to them like glue for much longer than usual. So, I'd give it a few more days unless it gets notably worse. Hang in there. :(

I would involve a government agency only if I was extremely concerned for the child's immediate well-being and no other alternatives were available. For me, that would mean imminent physical danger or threat of kidnapping or something of that nature. Educational neglect? I have a looooong list of things I'd put on that list. But I'd involve the government for precisely none of them.

I worked on an orphanage in Mexico for a year. We ate rice and beans and that was about it. Breakfast was rice cereal. It was cooked with powdered milk, cinnamon, salt, and a bit of sugar. It was actually very good. Not great nutrition, but filling and tasty. Lunch was beans and rice. The beans were partly mashed up, cooked in lard, salted, and seasoned as seasoning was available. Onions were added fairly often. The rice had spices and tomato added as available. Dinner was leftover beans and rice. The servings of beans and rice were huge -- a heaping serving on a full-sized dinner plate. The beans and rice came in huge 50 pound bags. The powdered milk came in huge cans. We had canned fruit on Sundays. Sometimes there was a powdered fruit drink served. Those were some cheap meals. But no one was hungry.

Did my 60 min on the bike and 15 min of stretching. Feels good to be back at it. Days off are okay (especially for fun major holidays!) , but I don't feel my best when I'm sedentary.

Oh my. Lots of treats. No workouts for two (3?) days due to crazy schedules. Back at it today. Plan on 60 min on bike and a walk or stretching routine.

OP, you sound a bit better already -- as you describe your new hobby of choice. I'm glad you found something and are starting already. Starting something new was sooo helpful for me when I struggled through a period of depression. Best wishes to you!

Joanne pretty much said it all. I'd say a finding good attorney should be your first priority. I'd say start on that tomorrow.

If there are decent schools in your area, I'd check those out and take some time to reevaluate. I think there are combinations of parent-child personalities that make homeschooling destructive rather than beneficial. Your son may thrive in school. You may thrive with time and space each day. You won't know unless you try.

Car-seat crying and bed-time crying were in the same category for me. I know many of you strongly disagree with me, but I felt that for baby's health and well-being both a car-seat and good sleep habits were essential. So, if some crying went along with those learning times...baby cried. I always tried to set baby up for success by feeding before a car ride, talking or touching during the car ride if possible. At bed-time there was feeding, snuggling, singing, back-rubs, binkies. That being said, we had no health issues or car-sickness. Neither of them would cry themselves sick or anything like that, either. That probably would have changed things.

Does anyone know why they need a tree? Why not just pee into the air?

I cannot imagine the government 'inspecting' my home. Must be the American in me.