I have twins, and still do not expect them both to be invited unless they are BOTH friends with said person. They are not a unit.

I'm an unschooler at heart. I think if I had it to do from scratch, maybe I could. But my kids got a healthy dose of public school before I pulled them out, and we are a tech heavy family. Mine would DEFINITELY spend all their days vegging. Well, one child would know everything about CSI and forensics, one would have us all big as barns from all the baking, and one would literally grow roots from her butt to her bed. They don't generally see learning as fun.

I'll have to sit in the guilty corner with you. I love having kids home. I love curriculum shopping. I love planning. I really, really don't like teaching it. When I handed my oldest her diploma, there was nothing but relief. This is why we shifted to nearly 100% independent work for my younger two during the last years of their high school. We are all happier for it.

Reward for longest Lunches ever.

Ok, you all have to try it this way: Pick it young and tender, then slice it up. Toss with olive oil, salt and garlic (or whatever seasoning you like). Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 400F until crispy, flipping a few times with a spatula. Eat while warm, no slime :) It is like the best kind of popcorn..lol. I hardly ever fry it any more. I also add sliced okra to soups and stews. If you cook it long enough, it dissolves and you don't have slime (as long as you don't put tons of it in there). It adds a nice flavor.

They are gorgeous. They are also very prolific. He planted probably 100+ this year. I'm serious. Anyone want some okra?! lol Oh we have a ton of ground cherries every year. They ARE weedy...lol.

My dd, who is apparently allergic to air, takes Zyrtec and Flonase.

Nothing really unusual. Spaghetti squash is probably the most exotic veggie. I do have Anise, chocolate mint, and lemon thyme growing in my herb garden. They are perennial. Thanks to my husband, we will have enough okra to feed the entire state.

I do think it is kind of stupid. My question is...did it meet the skirt/dress length required by girls? If not, then they had the right to make him change. If it DID meet the length requirements, then yeah, they were stupid. Kilts are cool.

This is very true. I have a young adult in my life that would lead you to believe that no one ever told her anything about college/career/life when talking to her. This is very much not the case. I've never been able to decide if she does it intentionally or just dumps anything she hears that she thinks doesn't immediately apply to her.

It has been an ongoing problem for a while.

My branching out came partially from learning about how food impacted health. The other part is just because dh and I both really, really love food and eating, and like to try new things. Moving to metropolitan areas helped a lot too, because suddenly I had easy access to foods I never even knew existed.

There is pretty much nothing I make now that I ate growing up. Our foods consisted of boiled vegetables, overcooked meat, breakfast foods for dinner (including pancakes you could sink a ship with), and various hamburger helper dishes. We did have spaghetti (but my mom always put breakfast sausage in it :mellow: ) and we ate out at Pizza Hut and Captain D's. And lots of soda and kool-aid. Until I was an adult I had never eaten: Sour cream anything Asian Most mexican (except for bland tacos at school) lasagna seafood, except for fried clams. I did have freshwater fish though. Any sort of "exotic" fruit or vegetable. I was 30+ before I ever had an avocado or a papaya. Brats, quinoa, brown rice, coconut milk, I think my actual list would be very, very long. I eat anything now, and I cook things on a regular basis that I child me wouldn't even recognize.

I think you may. The iPhone screens definitely do not have that, so you are in luck. :)

I was rather fearful too, but I have found the more she drives the less fearful I am. I still get nervous when she goes to new places, but it doesn't phase me anymore when she drives to school or church.

I *think* I understand the question. My dds iphone is white (the casing is), but the screen itself turns black when not on. Is that the part you are talking about? Do they make them where the screen is white when off?

We've been involved in three different co-ops in two states, and they were all a bit different. Our first one was completely parent led and taught, the parents had to be present at all times, and the classes were all "fun" classes. It was disorganized and stressful. We also found that we weren't the right type of Christians. The second was a HUGE co-op in Texas that had a SOF, taught by teachers and parents, and you had to remain on campus. It was very hard to get the classes you wanted because of the large size. The one we are in now is a large co-op, and while Christian based, they have no SOF to be signed and people of many different faiths and backgrounds attend. All the teachers are paid, and have some sort of expertise in the area they teach. Most also have kids at the co-op, but not all. We pay a membership fee, have per class tuition each month, and have to put in volunteer hours. It is a drop off co-op. It has been our favorite by far. We also belonged to a group that did field trips and park days. I considered it a HS group, not a co-op.

We've already gotten a lot of comments about Ks major of choice: German. No one, especially here in rural TN, can fathom why in the world someone would want to major in German. I just smile, say "she loves languages", smile some more. Stare at them until they feel awkward, and then walk away..lol. Then I have the one that wants to be a forensic scientist. More complete inability to understand why one would WANT to investigate crime scenes and dead bodies.

It was a combination of things for us. The quality of education in our schools was declining. There were policies that were being enacted that tied the teachers' hands and they weren't really able to teach well any longer. My kids weren't being challenged AT ALL. My oldest, who was an A/B student wasn't even really learning anything. My twins, who were in different classes, were at wildly different levels of learning in their classroom, not because of ability, but because of lack of teaching certain things in one of the classes. I had even tried a different school within the system, but things did not improve. The behavior problems of other students was also escalating rapidly. My oldest was in the 6th grade when we pulled her out. Her last week involved one of her best friends getting his jaw fractured by another student. My then 3rd graders were no longer getting recess. One of my 3rd graders had spent 6 weeks in a classroom that was on complete silence due to behavior problems from a good portion of the class. (an overwhelmed teacher with WAY too many problem kids in one classroom and no way to let them burn energy). I had always had the urge to homeschool, but knew NO ONE that actually did it. When all this stuff piled up, I finally bit the bullet and pulled them out (after convincing a rather reluctant dh to let me give it a shot). Everyone that knew us thought I was crazy for doing it. I even had a teacher tell me I was ruining my oldest daughters life. I'm SO glad I did. My oldest daughter's life wasn't ruined ;)

I don't right now, but my kids do. My oldest has volunteered at the library and the food bank. She currently volunteers at a rescue and rehabilitation center for birds of prey. (loves that!). One of my younger girls volunteers at a therapeutic horse stable. They are always seeking volunteers. (they have to have two people walk along either side of the horse to stabilize the riders) With groups we've volunteered at nursing homes. Just spending time with the residents is greatly appreciated.

Yes, I'll work even though technically we could afford for me not to work. (especially after we aren't supporting three kids). The only reason I'm at home is to raise and school the kids. I get incredibly bored at home. I end up on the computer all day. I'd much rather work. My hope is that I can find something that I enjoy doing and can do until I'm old. :)

I've also returned to school as my kids are getting closer to graduation (one down, two to go in just two years). Plans are to have some sort of career afterwards. I'm young yet, so I have time to launch a new career and get my 20 or so years in before I even hit retirement age :)

That is how I met my husband :) A friend's boyfriend set us up, and we went on a double date. We've been together from that night, 23 years now.

After seeing how crippled my fellow college students are in math, I would delay it as long as possible. As a group, they had zero problem solving skills, even for simple things. They only knew how to plug things into the calculator. I found I could get my math done 2-3X faster with my dinky little calculator with a few scientific functions than they could with their graphing calculators. If the arithmetic is the issue, then a graphing calculator wouldn't be any more of an advantage than a scientific.

We've been honest about it. We've also been honest about how easily you lose your inhibitions when under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. We also have family that they have watched destroy their own lives because of addiction. I think, hopefully, it has scared them straight. We will see. I'm sure they'll try a drink or two at some point.