My dh has worked from home for almost 10 years. (with travel). It would not have worked well if he didn't have a office with a door. As it is, there are things that I wish I could have done, but could not because he works from home. We could not have the kids' friends over during the day because of the noise. (this is changing a bit now that the kids are older, but there are certain friends that we don't invite over until after work hours because they are just loud people). I couldn't teach art classes at home, for the same reasons. I can't blast music throughout the house while I'm cleaning. Because of where his office is, we even have to be careful about the TV volume in the living room during work hours. When the kids were small, we lived in a house where his office was on a different floor and rather secluded from the rest of the house. That was the best of our housing arrangements for his job. Another down side is that family and friends seem to think that he doesn't work a real job and can just do stuff with or for them whenever. It isn't as bad now that he's been doing it for so long though. What worked for us: He is very good at separating himself from the family while he is working. His job/being home never interfered with our day. The kids knew to not bother him at all if his door was shut. He also makes himself take a lunch most days and tries to get out of the house some during lunch. (it isn't unusual to see him in the garden or on the tractor in the middle of the day during his lunch break...which contributes to people thinking he doesn't have a "real job" lol.) His job has always involved him being on the phone at odd hours, so that didn't change. We've lived with him having to take calls in the middle of family activities for 20+ years..lol. Also...a plus: we see him 24/7. A con: we see him 24/7.

My 19 year old still brings home picture books from the library, and occasionally purchases them for her collection..lol. I love the artwork in picture books and I don't think they should ever be put away. (Although I do have a box of special ones packed up in the attic to make a little room)

Yes, thank you!

Yes they are softer. I'm sorry you were told otherwise. They work beautifully for artwork though. (although I have been disappointed with the quality control lately, as I've had off center and badly broken cores.) This is how they can be used in art/blending:

Our rules are simply obeying traffic laws and letting us know roughly when you'll be home and where you'll be. My oldest seems to have done fine with that so far. Our younger two will have their licenses in May. My wallet hurts.

Yes. And it isn't my hair color..lol. They were all VERY blond when they were small. People used to ask if I was their nanny. (I have dark curly hair and green eyes, they were blond/blue eyed) It has darkened to a light brown/dark blond. The twins have slightly lighter hair, but theirs is also a lot longer than my oldest. They also have the same slight wave, also unlike mine. Basically, they all have their father's hair. Dh and his brother had very different hair and complexion. Dh is blond with dark skin. His brother was fiery red headed with pale freckled skin. When I met dh's brother for the first time, I couldn't believe they were full siblings.

EIL has plenty of writing, IMO. I've used it several times as a full English credit. No grammar needed in the upper grades unless your student is still having issues with it.

Interesting to know! My dd DID jump from 25 to 30 (tested in 10th grade and then again in 11th). Is that really a concern that they'll investigate for cheating? FWIW, we spent a LOT of time practicing the test and becoming accustomed to the question format. I think that was the biggest hold back for her on the prior test, not really understanding what they were looking for in some of the questions.

Yes! When my step-dad passed away (years after my mom passed away) it was a nightmare. The only clue we had to his intent were a few conversations he had with me over the phone, and a hand-written list that his live-in girlfriend produced from somewhere. She suddenly expected to inherit pretty much everything despite the fact that just one month before he passed away he had updated his insurance beneficiaries and didn't have her listed on them at all. A mess. In the process we lost some things that were valuable only to my brother and I (Christmas decorations, home videos and photos from our childhood) that she took out of spite.

Spring Break here hadn't been very break-y. My oldest still has to work, and still has some homework to do over break. My DE student's co-op spring break isn't until next week, although our college spring break is this week. She has school and homework for both weeks. Plus she had a college visit trip Monday and a job interview today. My own spring break has been a series of appointments and road trips that have left me feeling very unrelaxed..lol. I declared tomorrow a true break day.

I grew up in a barely scraping the bottom of middle class family. My mom always worked somewhere, at least part time, but usually full time. I'm actually glad for that because she wasn't in good enough mental health to stay home alone with us 24/7. We lived out in the boonies, and there were no activities to tote us to. We were latch key kids and probably better off for it. Her mom also worked off and on at a factory, in addition to the tobacco farm the family had. So even when her mom was officially unemployed, she worked her behind off. My paternal grandmother was a SAHM, but they were military and moved all over the world. She was NOT a good housekeeper, but had mad skills with needle and thread. After grandpa retired from the military, she also raised chickens and sold eggs to help support the family. Dh on the other hand, came from a family in which almost all the moms stayed home with the kids and helped with the farm. His mom stayed at home with them and baby-sat for extra money. They weren't well off by any means, but they made do so she could raise the kids at home. When the boys were grown, she worked part time for a little while, but has been a SAHW for most of our 23 year marriage. Anyway, he had the expectation that I would stay home with the kids. I struggled with that a bit, and I did work off and on when they were small. SAHMs were valued in his family, and not seen as less than. My struggle was personal, and stemmed partially from a lack of help. I also just really like working. For my own girls, we have tried to instill that being a mom is a valuable job, and that SAHM is very much a worthy thing to do. But we've also balanced that with pursuing your own interests, and developing your own identity beyond just being a mom/wife. I hope we've done a decent job. And I hope that I can be around to support them in motherhood, no matter their choices, because it can be a lonely job.

Thanks! He had his colostomy reversed also, and has healed completely from the colon issues. The neck is another story, but we are thankful for the healing of the rupture.

I actually have a no funeral/memorial request in my will. I do however, ask that friends and family have a big party/gathering to support my kids/husband, to bring food and remember to laugh a lot. I've lost two parents and all of my grandparents. Funerals were traumatic, horrible things that I was forced to get through. I found no comfort or peace there. Here in our area, memorials are where the immediate family of the deceased stand by a coffin (often open for "viewing") or an urn, while parades of people you may or may not know come by and hug you and tell you what a wonderful person the dead person was (whether it is true or not). Throw in the occasional wailing relative that always seems to be the one that wouldn't give the deceased the time of day when they were alive. It is just an awful event that prolongs a very sad, stressful time. There's nothing like standing for hours while random people touch you, trying to hold it together, when all you really want to do is go somewhere quiet and cry.

Like everything else around here, we just talk it out, a lot. We haven't told them they couldn't major in something, but we do go over all the pros and cons. We also discourage going to college just to go. (With the exception of the tuition free CC we get here, that is the bare minimum they have to do) So far all three are pursuing a degree in something and none of them are lucrative careers. They are all, however, fairly stable careers. My oldest wanted to be a writer for the longest time. We talked a lot about how hard it can be to get published, and to make a self-supporting amount of money writing fiction. She was not interested in technical/non-fiction writing at all. She then found a love of language, and is now taking classes in her third language. She is a German major at CC. However, she has a job at the small local library as their PR person/librarian. Now, she wants to eventually get a degree in library science and become a full-time librarian. She will likely never have a great paying job as a librarian, and may have to work two jobs to support herself as long as she remains single...but we are all ok with that. She is also being very careful not to go into debt for her degree. One of my twins is super passionate about becoming a forensic scientist. We've talking through career opportunities within that field, and looked at so many different programs. She has picked a very reasonable state school that has a flagship program that offers internships in the field. She'll hopefully start at her chosen school in the fall of 2017. The other twin is fairly certain she wants to become an elementary school teacher. She's going to go about it the most debt free way she can because she knows it doesn't always pay well. She has changed her mind a lot the past few years though, so it wouldn't surprise me if she changed majors at least once in college. Overall we just really hammer into their head to not take on more debt than they can reasonably pay. We've also stressed the importance of finding something, anything, that they can tolerate doing that will put a roof over their heads and food on their table. Not being a professional writer doesn't mean you can never write. Just like my choice to not become a professional artist doesn't mean I never produce art.

I understand completely. Several years ago my dh had a cervical fusion, and then 3 days later had a colon rupture. He ended up with a colostomy while in a neck brace. Which meant he couldn't even SEE to do self care for the colostomy. Not to mention the major emotional side effects he had from various meds they had him on. While I love him dearly, and would do anything to care for him when he was in such a need, it was mentally exhausting! I got stressed and grumpy too. And ticked when he wouldn't follow medical advice to the letter. ((Hugs)) to you both.

Last summer my dd landed a job teaching circus tricks to kids in an after school program. She loved it, although it was pretty exhausting. It was a low-income area with a lot of behavior problems. She came out of it in love with every one of those kids though. She is hoping to get a job at one of the book stores this summer. She works at a library year-round, and is fairly confident she can land a book store job. One of my other girls has an interview Tuesday at a thrift store. She and her twin are also looking at hostessing jobs at a few area restaurants.

That kind of stuff is starting to drive me bonkers. My dh has chronic pain problems that can all be solved by diet changes and essential oils. While I DO believe that what we put in our body can have some profound effects, it is exhausting to have every person in your life asking repeatedly if you've tried the latest XYZ.

Udi's makes some rather passable GF hamburger buns. Plain meat patties are great. I wouldn't count on canned baked beans being gluten free unless they are labeled as such. Fresh veggies are fine. Baked potatoes, or home fries are good. Corn chips are generally ok. Anything that comes pre-seasoned is suspect.

I have found that things are always going to have to be defined as you go. I had a no dating until 16 rule. So far, no one has had a boyfriend before then. (Actually, only my oldest has dated at all and she was 18 when she went on her first date....not because of our rules though.) But I have found as I wade through the teen years that my rule isn't hard and fast, and I am very willing to take things case by case. All of my girls have had male friends that they were close to, and often go out in groups with. (From age 13ish and up) I wouldn't mind if my 15 year olds had a boyfriend now if he was a good kid. I do have one young man that I have forbidden them to ever let drive, but that is simply because he texts while driving...he's otherwise a really nice kid.

The only real issue I've had with my girls is dressing appropriately for the occasion, and it really has only been with one child. She's quirky, goes for comfort over looks every time, and basically wanted to dress like she pulled her clothes from a dumpster behind a men's store..lol. (wrinkled, ill-fitting, shapeless, stained, etc., did not matter to her). Now that she's working it has improved quite a bit. Plus, she found her "style" in which she can be comfortable AND look nice. (think bohemian librarian..lol). Anyway. My younger two would obviously be considered floozies by some here, even though I think they dress very respectably. They prefer skinny jeans (which, btw are termed as such because of the slender cut of the leg, not because they are supposed to make you look skinny) and layered tops. They have curves because they are shapely young women, and don't go to extremes to hide that they are shaped like women. I loved that double standard video someone posted earlier. The whole extreme modesty thing sends the WRONG message to young men. If they keep being told that they can't control their lustful eyes, then yes, they are going to hyper-focus on visual stimulation.

Yep. We were talking about what it would be like to attend the school: She walks up to a student that doesn't know her from Adam, says "Hey, I know you! I have a poster of you on my wall!", and goes all fangirl. Creepy.

The amount of $$$ wasted on this stuff makes me mad. With my three being the ages they are, our mailbox is flooded with this garbage daily. Posters, glossy books, 5 million oversized postcards, etc. Here it has the opposite than intended effect. The more garbage a school sends us, the farther down the list they go. I don't want our tuition bills to fund that. One school keeps sending posters of spotlighted students. I mean really? Who wants posters of random kids and their degree stats? lol.

(My dh does this...some people don't outgrow it)

Have you tried giving her grain free food? My JRT will lick her feet raw when she has wheat or corn in her diet. She becomes an anxious mess.

If she is pretty confident, it may go well.