I am so sorry, Lizzie. I am heading out to the garden now - my prayer place - and I will be praying for you, your daughter, and your family.

We don't do anything specifically for a graduation present, but we pour ourselves into helping our newly minted college student(s) that year get ready for school. That includes helping them obtain technology, clothing, shoes, linens, textbooks, etc., often by scouring yard sales, thrift stores, and ebay long before. We also hand-hold them through at least the first two semesters of class selection and help them move in. We try to give college essentials for birthdays and Christmas gifts in the junior and senior years of high school to spread out the expense.

I believe so. Ds has a full ride. His NM scholarship is from the NM Corp, which sent their check directly to the school. It was lumped in with all of his other merit awards and need-based aid to cover the cost of room, board, tuition, and fees. However, the school reduced the amount of one of his merit awards by almost the amount of the NMS. Strangely, they did not reduce it by the whole amount, and sent him a check for the difference. YMMV, though, depending on whether or not the school allows stacking of awards. Do you have time to call the school?

Oldest: Double major in math & cs. Works as a software engineer. 2nd oldest: Double major in math & biochem. 3rd year PhD candidate in computational quantum chemistry. 3rd oldest: Double majoring in math & cs. Finishing his freshman undergrad year & interning this summer in software engineering. Probably more math majors to come... :)

This.Many that are already listed, and also Beloved by Toni Morrison. Hard read, but it was worthwhile.

I have to bite my tongue when my coworker talks about her husband's "prostrate" surgery. Well, he probably was prostrate for it.

Beautiful reminder to keep on keeping on. Congratulations to you both!

Fantastic! I have a friend in Alexandria who is on several Capital-area homeschooling email lists. PM me with a blurb requesting a room fo rent if you want her to post it for you. It's very common for people to do that in the DC area.

She plays beautifully! Congratulations and happy birthday to your dd. Thank you for sharing.

I have definitely seen a shift in the homeschooling paradigm over the 20+ years I've been doing this. The new families seem more comfortable with a paraschool type structure. Many, many of the parents I know are very involved with their children's education. Many others' involvement consists of shuttling their children around to the huge assortment of expensive classes and activities. A lot of these are so-so in quality, but some are stellar - and everyone knows which are which! Our homeschool speech and debate league has a high level of parent involvement because it's still a grassroots type of organization, and it's required. That said, some are more involved than others. I'm ok with that as long as the parents provide the stated minimum of working certain tournament jobs, helping clean up, judging, etc. I've only known one mom who was belligerent in her non-participation. She's gone now. :)

BIL is a manipulative, selfish jerk. I'll bet no one will take her. Stand firm - if you back down and take her, you will just be inviting him to do it more (although it sounds like this is just what he does). I hope it works out that MIL is not too upset because you'll have to deal with that.

After having the pleasure of meeting your son, I am not the least bit surprised by his award. Congratulations to you all! Btw, was this why you were shopping for a business formal outfit? What did you wear? Did you go shopping with Garga? Picture, please!

I am so sorry for your loss, Faith, especially for the loss of the father and grandfather your family deserved to have. Prayers for you as you make your way through the difficult days ahead.

Congratulations on your great finds! You look very pretty in the dress.

That is fantastic! As a mom of two long-term bedwetters, I can totally relate.

The day our oldest turned three he announced, "I'm three, and I can do anything I want." Two was pretty easy, but the three year was challenging. Managing the meltdown circus is exhausting. I hope you can get some exercise soon.

Is it time to get another dog? We didn't realize how much our grey cat contributed to our home until after he died. We had a terrible mouse problem in our basement the winter after he passed away. :(

Ooh, bats are scary because they can have rabies. They can bite you while you sleep and you wouldn't even know it. I'm glad you are all ok.

Beautiful! I agree that you could definitely do that for a living. Congratulations on your new home.

Can you put an egg near the snake? If it eats the egg you can grab it when it has it in its mouth without it being able to bite you. Or you can suit up in a coat, jeans, and gloves and pick it up. Sorry about the critters!

Sorry about the flag. What are you going to do about the critter? I've heard groundhogs can dig under foundations, causing lots of problems.

I am PMing you.

Oldest ds completed both Apologia Chemistry books with an A average, and I believed their statement that he would then be prepared for the Chemistry exam. He only got a 3, which was not enough to get him credit at his univ. We switched to Zumdahl for our younger dc with much better results. We also got our syllabus approved for the new AP Chem which got us access to several good practice exams.

Wonderful! Your dd's determination is inspiring!

Burlington Coat Factory can be a good place to go for less expensive young men's suits. A little polyester will make it affordable and less wrinkly. Interns do not need the $1K suit look, they just need to blend in. Wrinkle resistant shirts are awesome! And the latest trend is "expressing yourself" with fancy socks.