I never ran across anything that flat out disturbed me to the point of not wanting to read it, or read with the kids. Have any examples? (and yes, we've read through the entire thing, and discussed just about everything in the Bible with our kids.)

All. the. time. My husband works from home, in addition to the kids being homeschooled. Someone is ALWAYS here. Just a couple of weeks ago, the stars aligned and I had almost an entire day all to myself at home. It was so strange and wonderful. My husband just doesn't understand my excitement when this happens. Last fall he was going out of town for a couple of weeks, and that weekend the girls were going to go away for a church retreat. 3 whole days of alone. I almost cried when their retreat was canceled.

None of my kids really knew what they wanted to do at the end of 8th grade. (most kids don't). I wanted them to be ABLE to choose a path easily later, whatever that may be. This meant giving them the classes that most colleges expect a kid to have taken in high school. Only one is going into a STEM field, but they all took Biology and Chemistry, as those are pretty standard expectations. The 3rd (and 4th in some cases) science classes later on was where their interests were followed more.

For this year at least, I would focus mostly on their math and language skills, with minimal science/history/art. Time spent firming up that foundation this year will pay off in years to come. After you've verified that they DO have good reading skills, fill in the history and science with good reading materials. I wouldn't bother with the time spent doing Homeschool in the Woods type things.

Yes. I hate how irrationally angry I can suddenly get. Or how I have days where I wake up hating every single person on the planet. My poor family. St. John's Wort has helped curb the intensity of the mood swings. When I start thinking about running away from home, I know it is time to take it.

I think many kids just don't get it until they have their own place. It just isn't on the radar, so to speak. My kids will pretty much let the house fall down around their ears if I don't ask for help. (spending 4 weeks very sick this past winter confirmed this) They are very good about doing things when asked, but never really self-initiate. Two of them DO keep their rooms clean and do their own laundry without prompting, but only because it affects them directly..lol.

If he was still learning, I would chalk it up to a parenting cost. That said, we just made our oldest pay half to replace tires she ruined. She has been driving for a while though, and has a job. It was an honest mistake, but we felt like a point needed to be made with her about the importance of basic car care and the costs involved.

I just want to offer a bit of encouragement, if you decide to stick with homeschooling. I don't have a college degree, and I graduated from a rural TN high school. That should tell you about my level of "preparedness" for homeschooling high school. Yet, I have graduated one child, and have two more that are well on their way. The graduated child is doing fine in college (a community college, but she had no grand ambitions at all and it is free for us). One of my younger dds plans on entering a STEM field in Biology or Forensic Science. She is on target for being able to pursue that. The other dd is still undecided, but is exploring Video and Sound Production through dual-enrollment classes this fall. The girls, because of our homeschooling, have learned how to educate themselves. This has been so important during their high school years. After a certain point, my personal education level became irrelevant because they were studying independently. We have outsourced certain things (foreign language and lab science) because I knew I couldn't teach them well at home, and those things are difficult to do independently. We've used things like quality co-ops and dual enrollment to outsource. My younger two were recently given the choice to go to public school or stay home, and they both decided that homeschool was best for them academically. Socially, they have plenty of friends through various activities and they feel very comfortable around all age groups. My oldest child, because of her ability to volunteer so much while homeschooled, currently has a job in her chosen career field, before she has even gotten her Associates degree. She has networked so much through things she has done during high school, that she has great references and an open invitation from several people to come work for them if she finds herself in need of another job. I'm sure your son will thrive, whatever you choose.

I'm hoping to have my CPA by 45. Gives me almost 6 years to get it done.

Cold cheese. I love melted cheese, but cold cheese is the nastiest thing. blech. Green candy. I hate, loathe, despise fake lime flavoring. If I accidentally eat something lime flavored, I WILL spit it out. Oddly, I like REAL lime juice and key lime pie. I'm not a fan of green apple flavoring either. Cottage cheese. *shudder*

Don't be afraid. Teens can be great people. There are hard moments, but overall they are pretty cool young women and I don't worry too much about odd random things like that.

My oldest dd refused to let her two youngest sisters watch "Grave of the Fireflies" for the longest time. It broke her heart.

Huge Ghibli fans here. My oldest dd owns most of them. Your poll only allows for one choice on the last two questions.

The roller things work best around here. Fleece is the worst about trapping it though. We have a white dog that sheds what looks like her body weight in fur...its in everything :(

I would try a different brand. Kotex never fit right for me. Tampax did. Maybe TMI, but my cervix sits low, and will easily push out tampons. For some reason the Tampax brand just does that less.

It depends on the class for me. Most of my dds DE classes were worth 1 credit of work. (her Stats class was a HUGE work load, she fully earned that credit) Our umbrella school was fine with giving 1 credit for each 3 credit DE class.

If she had no real interest in it, it may just be normal forgetting. I promptly forgot 90% of everything I learned in high school once I passed the test and got the grade.

Texas. I'd go back if I could. Tennessee is an option, but it really does get very humid in the summer. Both are very easy to homeschool in.

Nothing to feel guilty about IMO. I avoid children's ministry like the plague, and most people have finally realized this..lol. If God calls you to serve, then serve. Otherwise, don't let them hound you into it.

I won't even go get a pedicure because I don't like people messing with my body! lol. No way. I have a relative that had some work done, and she just looks bizarre now.

Nope. Every year added is one not in the grave. I was sensitive in a different way in my 20s. I had three kids by 24, but I looked like a 15-17 year old. People treated me like a teen mother that couldn't keep her legs closed, when in fact by 24 I had been married for 8 years and didn't have my first child until I was 20. I finally look like my age, and it is kind of nice.

I have to say, I just don't understand why telling girls about periods is such a big scary deal. It is a natural part of growing up, that every healthy female will eventually have happen. Just like getting taller, and growing breasts. We don't hide that from kids. Why wait until a certain age to even bring it up? I can't think of an exact age I told the girls about it. It was just part of life as a woman/girl. When they started their periods at the ripe old age of 10, it wasn't a shock or even a huge deal. (I did have one dd that had trouble accepting it, but it was a sensory issue more than the fact of the thing) In the same vein, talk about sex has evolved similarly in our family. For our family, sex within a committed marriage is a natural, healthy thing and not something to be ashamed to talk about. The kids have known the mechanics from a fairly young age, and the older they get, the more we've talked beyond mechanics. I didn't talk about oral and other things with them at 10 or 11, but at their ages now, pretty much everything has been talked about at one point or another.

I brush when I leave the house, and before bed. Not a big breakfast eater, and I'm a zombie when I first get up. I rarely floss. I don't use mouthwash. I also only see the dentist once every 5 years or so...lol. I haven't had a cavity or other issue since I was in my early 20s. (well, I did have a filling crack a couple of years ago, but that is because of how old it was) I got the luck of the draw. My dds brush faithfully, see the dentist every 6 months, and still have their father's teeth, complete with cavities every time we turn around.

I have purchased and cooked it just a few times as an adult. A time or two back when we were dirt poor newlyweds and it was super cheap protein, and once when the kids were younger, just for kicks.

Book buying for college is almost a nightmare for us. There are three of us attending the same community college this fall. Almost all of our books either need an access code, or are a "custom" edition for our school, both of which force your hand when buying. Also, waiting until you can talk to the professor is a huge pain, because you will often have assignments due by the end of the first week. Waiting until after your first class sets you behind right away. Then you end up buying some books you don't even need.