Congrats to your son! My oldest got a bronze :)

I'm knocking on the door of 40. I started my first semester at college yesterday, as a freshman :) My whole outlook on school, and my motivation to do it has changed a lot since I was the 18 year old that just quit going to my college classes. Sitting at school yesterday, I realized that I have such an advantage over the kids surrounding me in the classrooms: I WANT to be there, and I realize how lucky I am to be able to be there. I too, have pretty much stayed home with my kids for the past 18 years (with a few exceptions working as a receptionist or at a bank for short periods). I have no degree and I'm looking at a future in which my dh may not be able to work until retirement. It was scary to consider stepping back out there, but dh's aunt really encouraged me. She went back to school at 52. She was lamenting to a friend about being too old to go back, and was unsure if she should since she would be 56 when she graduated. Her friend looked at her and said "So what? If you don't do it, you will STILL be 56 in four years. If you do, you'll be 56 with a degree!"

Hard to say because of different factors. We've been married 22 years. Most of our furniture purchases have been upgrades or filling in larger houses. We started with a 20 year old sofa and a tube style console TV that were given to us. Over the years, as we could afford it we bought used and new furniture. Our last sofa purchase was 6 or so years ago. We moved into a house that our sectional would not fit in, and it was getting shabby. We've replace our bed one time..although it is getting close to needing replacing again.

Next year is only tentatively planned, as we have to wait a bit to see if certain things are going to be offered. I will be down to just my two juniors. They may or may not dual enroll, and I will be attending college full time, so we have to streamline where we can. English: EIL with possible added lit. Math: I have one that is just trying to find her quickest route into CC and their culinary program, she will be doing TT Alg. 2. Her sister is planning on heading into a STEM major and will be doing Ask Dr. Callahan Algebra II to prep for taking the rest of her math at CC, most likely. Science: Chemistry at co-op other things that are undecided: electives, American Government, etc. I really need to sit down and take a good look at the credits they still need. Our plans have shifted around so much over the past 6 months, I've forgotten all our carefully plotted out high school Courses.

Saxon was a nightmare for us at the high school level and we happily kicked it to the curb. Jacob's Algebra, Ask Dr. Callahan, and Teaching Textbooks worked much better for my students. Some people love Saxon and it works. For us, I as the teacher, couldn't work through it well enough to help them. It also did not approach lessons in a way that my oldest could understand. There are many, many classical homeschoolers that do not use Saxon.

I agree with what has already been said. Try to go to a whole foods style of cooking. It is much easier to control the gluten. Watch out for oats, they are easily contaminated, and only certified GF oats will be sure to be GF. Some of the best GF brands of regular foods we've tried: Udis Whole Grain GF Bread (Costco carries it now!) Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta. Although some of the mainstream brands of pasta are starting to make GF versions, I haven't heard yet whether they are doing a good job of being truly gluten free. Pamela's Gluten Free pancake mix is awesome. Amy's Gluten Free frozen burritos are really good. San-J Tamari (a wheat free version of soy sauce) Just really watch labels and stay away from processed foods and seasoning mixes. Anything pre-made has the potential for wheat..from ice cream to sausage. Just learn the different terms for wheat and gluten and watch for them. I eat corn chips and corn tortillas when everyone else is eating flour tortillas for burrito night. We eat more rice and potatoes instead of pasta. I make things like homemade granola bars or Lara bars for a quick breakfast. It is MUCH easier now with so many options.

My phone, our packet of important documents, and the CD binder that I have a lot of our photos in.

I don't even make my bed..lol. Our pillows are wrinkled after sleeping on them once, so it would be a daily process anyway. But whatever makes you happy! (My happy place is a drawer full of neatly folded dish towels.)

First, I'm so sorry :( From what I understand, either is acceptable. I've had photographer friends that do this, and a few that have had it done. I'm pretty sure that in most cases it is a call when you need them thing.

We have had very little trouble.

If she goes to college, she may have to take a couple of extra language classes there. I'm running into this right now. I have to have two intermediate foreign language classes for my degree. Since I forgot all of the two years of high school French I took, there is no way I could ever start at an intermediate college level. So I'm taking beginning Spanish. Not a huge deal, but I will have two classes that will not count towards my major.

Coffee. Mostly Coffee.

With my oldest, I hit several points during high school in which I thought I was failing her. I would cry, look at public school enrollment (never really an option), then shift gears or buckle down. She is graduating in May with around a 3.6 GPA, and is doing fine with her CC courses she is taking this year. We tossed R&S after 7th grade, as it made us want to pull our hair out. We didn't do grammar each year through high school, but did do a year of Analytical Grammar. Latin also helped. Math was an ongoing struggle for her. We spent 2 years in Algebra I. Saxon was ditched and we finally landed on Harold Jacobs because we understood it. Anyway, even after Geometry and when she was in Algebra II at home, I still felt like we had just limped through math. But, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. She jumped into Statistics at CC and finished the class with a solid B. I guess I just want to say, sometimes we struggle more than we need to. I never went to college. I never was great at arithmetic. I had forgotten everything I knew about Algebra and Geometry. I often had doubts that I could do a good enough job. However, even though we were sometimes learning it at the same time, we got through it. I don't regret it, and she doesn't feel like I failed her.

YESSSS!!! I finally got around to replacing the batteries in all of our hard wired detectors. The ones that were ripped out of the ceiling in a fit of anger in the middle of the night because yelling FIRE throughout the entire house at 2AM when the battery dies and it freaks out...is so much fun. They don't work well laying on my dresser. :/

I agree, start slow with DE. My oldest did her first semester this year with two classes: Chinese and Statistics. She easily placed into Statistics, but the work load was HUGE for her. She often spent 4 hours in the math lab after class completing homework. She did well and got Bs in both classes. But it really was a reality check for a kid that is dreamy and not really used to having to WORK at school. She is a senior, btw. You definitely don't want him to get in over his head and have that GPA follow him through the rest of his college career.

Honestly, I thought it was pretty much a waste of time for US. Everything they went over was on the website or in the packet they mailed out. The most important thing was getting your name checked off that you attended the mandatory meeting. You walked in, got your name checked off a list, and was assigned a table where your mentor would also sit. Since we are homeschoolers, we weren't assigned a table and had no mentor to meet with. The guy doing the presentation said he would speak to us after the meeting. He basically said "have any questions?" and that was it. For the general public, it seemed like a needed meeting. The PS students and parents had a LOT of questions for the speaker. (Not a single HSer did. I think this is because we had to do so much of this on our own anyway) So, no it isn't important that you go with your student, IMO. The ONLY new info I got was about the technical schools above, and it is in the packet...I just didn't notice. Oh, and they had representatives from local CCs and Tech schools there that you could talk with if you wanted to.

I don't know what the law says, but I had an accident with that exact scenario. I was rear ended hard enough to slam my van into the car in front of me at a stop light. The police officer questioned witnesses to make sure I was already stopped at the light when the truck hit me, and I did not get a ticket nor did the insurance company fault me for hitting the other driver. I was probably only 3 feet from the other stopped car. Pet peeves: When I wake up 10 minutes before my alarm goes off. I just know those are the best ten minutes of sleep I would have gotten all night ;) When my dh incites horseplay with the kids in the kitchen while I'm cooking. Someone creasing paper. Seriously, it makes me want to murder the offender. It is the sound paper cuts make, people!!

Not weird. When we built this house I picked out the same cabinets, toilets, flooring, lights, etc. for both bathrooms. (For one, it was near the end of building and I was SOOOO over making choices!!!) However, the paint colors are completely different and with the layout being a bit different, they don't really look similar at all.

This almost seems off topic now, but I'll post it anyway.. We attended our first mandatory meeting for TN promise tonight. I was rather pleased to find out that it will also pay for the technical and Allied health programs at select Technical schools across the state. These are 12 month technical programs for things like welding, mechanics, nursing care, etc. Work ready programs for kids that aren't interested in or inclined towards academic schools and just want skills that will land them jobs.

I do it too. We live less than a half mile from the county line ! The next county over from us has a big system and a library near us, so I happily pay the annual fee to use it. Our "zoned" library is very small and pitiful.

If you do choose TN, I second the recommendation for using the HomeLife Academy cover school option. They are very easy to work with, don't require testing, and basically leave you alone if you meet their minimum reporting requirements. We live in TN, so personally, I would lean towards that choice. However, that is mostly just because I don't really know anything about Mississippi. Have you visited west TN? Many people are surprised to find out that west TN is like a completely different climate than east TN. We joke that it is three different states..lol.

My dh would love that. He has two so far, and his uncle who lives next door has an old hit or miss that they play with together...lol.

Yes, this. My 18 year old that has driven me Pokemon mad? She will talk to me about ANYTHING. It is the biggest perk of all my years of monologue torture.

I have been involuntarily immersed in the world of Pokemon, Anime, and strange foreign music. After 18 years of constant talking, I have realized that yes, you CAN be educated against your will ;) My oldest is guilty of it. She has a lot of friends, so I don't see that it has hampered her in any way. Of course, most of her friends like the same things and they will spend HOURS excitedly talking about them.

It depends on your state, the school attending, etc. There is no national limit.