I am starting over. Networking is the best way to find to find a job that suits what you're looking for, it is more of who you know than what you know. The job market may be tough right now but it's also polluted with plenty of people who don't really want to work, who just want a paycheck and that is discouraging to employers. Persistence and confidence will win. As for me, I am going back to school to get a Bachelors in Business Administration. I thought about nursing so I could keep homeschooling but I don't think I'd do naturally well at it so I prefer to go for something I have experience/talent/skill in. I just re-entered the job market this past December so I don't know how to go after the 100K jobs, or the background to do so. I'm pretty pleased with moving up from part-time to full-time, from lower management to upper-management in just 3 months within a company. In a year's time I could be making 35-40K/yr if I move into the next position above the one I just accepted. I could make 50-60K in 2-3 years if I continue on the same track with the same company. My degree will afford more options, more open doors but time will tell if I stay with the same company or go to another to utilize my experience/degree better. I think what I've been able to do after staying at home for 5 years is great but I don't think it's the norm experience. Good luck to him!

somewhat, as WTM doesn't really cover the parent-to-child relationship, and in comparison (imo) to Charlotte Mason philosophies/techniques- it seemed a bit schoolish. After gaining a little bit of experience as a teacher, I became more confident and able to navigate education philosophies and practices outside the realm of WTM but if I had never been influenced by WTM- we wouldn't have grown as much as we have. There are a lot of areas of the WTM philosophy that we haven't strayed from but just changed the curricula to make it easier for us to accomplish the same goals, sometimes using different curricula makes it seem like you're not following the same direction due to the curricula's philosophy. I think WTM is an excellent canvas to start from, the structure is strong and broad but you have to apply the paint and figure out what you're going to paint. We ultimately chose CM philosophies and CM-friendly curricula to paint with on the WTM canvas. This is my experience...

After using it completely, I would have used it in first grade-you can supplement with younger readers if you wish, we did and loved it. The Read and Find Out About Science books are fabulous. The whole reason we did human body again was b/c I didn't want to miss the chance of using it with dd8, we covered human body in first the WTM way and it was fine but we really had fun with Head to Toe Science. Can you check it out from the library? That's how I pare down choices, if I can. :)

LOVED it! You can read our posts on it, we added Donald Silver's Easy to Make Projects: Human Body and did another My Body outline. http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/11/first-quarter-report.html http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/11/week-8-report.html http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/11/week-7-report.html http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/10/week-3-report.html http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/09/week-1-report.html and here's the schedule we worked from http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/05/human-body-lessons.html Hope this helps!

:grouphug: Wow Brandy. Just wow. I don't even know what to say...I'm glad you're safe and I hope you stay that way.

Every child, male or female needs to be able to manage a home and be self-sufficient and knowledgeable. Every child male or female needs to be encouraged to do their best academically. I think of it more as life skills than preparing them for traditional roles. I think there is a separation only at the degree of developing personal hobbies and encouraging growth within a talent or skill a child possesses that they are interested in pursuing.

ROAR!!! Psalm 27:1-3 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. Psalm 27:14 14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Okay, my inner mamma bear, lioness, inner strength, etc. has spoken and I can continue on with my day. Sorry for the interruption.

Eek, I just paid property tax on my vehicle for 2009! Hopefully they won't make me do it again. I paid early so I wouldn't have to deal with it later, I guess I can get a refund from GA if I have to pay SC. No biggie, just a pain. :) The links really helped, I learned a lot and today I'll call the auditor's office of the county we'll be in to see about the taxes. So many little details!

Thanks Emmy! Weird as it is, things are going great! Everything is just click, click, clicking into place-I'm busy as I can be but I think being busy is a blessing right now, staying focused on what is best for the kids and I. A higher position (work) was available in SC, I applied and was hired the same day of my interview. The place I work now just hired someone who can do the job I do and she starts Monday, Thursday (3/26) is my last day. I can list about 5 other things that have happened just like that, click, click, clicking into place. This is why I'm so grateful for everyone's prayers, there is no way this is all coincidence.

Thanks all! I called the college I'll be attending and I will get an erate, more than in-state but less than out of state tuition. I just won't be able to use the GA Hope Scholarship. The lease agreement sounds like the best way to go, then I'll change my driver's license, tags (shouldn't cost anything b/c I already paid the taxes, I'll call to be sure) and then get the kids' immunizations switched and then register them for school (next Fall). I'll use the Change of Address form verification if I need to. Whew, it's going to be a BUSY first week! Thank you so much, all these details were making my head spin!

Well I'm not trying to double-dip but until I live in SC for a year and have an electric bill in my name, I might be considered a GA resident. But after a little research I see that b/c I will be working full-time in SC, that will establish my residency there although it is generally a year before you are considered a SC resident as per the law: I'm calling the GA college I've applied to in order to find out if I will qualify as a GA resident or as a SC resident for this Fall. Thanks for your help and warning. :)

The correct fit is too important to purchase online and each company has a different cut to their clothes, as well as different manufacturers for the same company. I do not like Lane Bryant b/c the clothes are not cut correctly for my body shape, the tops look like balloons on me and I have a shapely figure. I learned from What Not To Wear (on TLC) to lay the garment flat to determine the actual shape, you don't want rectangle or square shape tops and most of Lane Bryant's tops do not have a tie back to give you a waistline. I also know the pants at Lane Bryant do not fit me well, they gap in the back b/c I have a smaller waist than hips. I shop at Dress Barn now and I have to be extremely picky even there, trying every single thing on to determine fit. Good clothes should match your body style, hug your curves but not be too tight- they should compliment your body and buying online makes this impossible, imo. Good luck!

I'm a little embarrassed to have to ask these questions but I haven't moved from state to state since I've had kids and now it seems things are bit more complicated. I've lived in Georgia since before kids! Locals will tell you that I'm officially a Georgian but I am and will forever be a Carolina girl. This is what I know: I have a GA license and registration, my GA car taxes have been paid for 2009, they won't expire until April 2010. My GA license won't expire until 2016. The address on my GA license is dd8's dad's home address, I've used it as my permanent address for years now b/c he's not going anywhere and we are friends now- I can use his address. From what I understand, you must live in SC for 1 year to establish residency but proof of residency comes from having an electric bill in your name. Problem- we'll be living with my parents and the electric bill is in their name. I expect to live with them for at least a year, possibly two years depending on my salary advancements. How in the world am I supposed to do all that I need to? - car insurance in SC - registering the kids in SC schools for next year - will I be able to maintain my GA residency and attend a GA college for in-state tuition while living in SC before the year of residency as been established? Or do I need to find a SC college? - the kids' immunizations are up to date but they are on a GA immunization form, the SC schools require a SC immunization form- this is interchangeable right? At this time I do not plan to move back to GA, the kids & I will be building a life in SC and other than finding a place of our own, I do not foresee any reason to leave SC or transfer back to GA. For the rest of this school year, I will continue mailing our attendance records to GA and dd8 will take the GA standardized test in May through the local homeschool group. THe GA attendance requirement will be fulfilled in May, 180 days. Any advice or input? I will start college in fall, I've decided I've got enough on my plate right now and adding to it will just be too much. I just don't know if I'll be able to attend the same GA college I've chosen or if I have to find a SC one, esp. with the residency status up in the air.

Whatever a person spends their time, money and energy on reflects what is important to them. In moderation, I don't see a problem but when a person (not just saying men) devotes hours upon hours to something inanimate and shirks the real people in their life, (even it's to be on this board) there is a problem. Here's an article about men deriving more pleasure from video games than women http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204140115.htm Soon to be ex wanted to come pick up his stuff and I offered to have him come get it when ds4 would be home so they could see each other. Stbx cared more about finding his Wii power cord than he did seeing ds4. He spent 5 min. talking to ds4 and 20 min. looking for the Wii cord. Do you know how many times I heard him yell at the kids not to touch the Wii stuff, about how expensive it is? If I heard one more time about his Guitar Hero guitar being $75 and how ds4 couldn't play with it...sigh. That part of my life is over, thankfully. While men might enjoy it more, there is still responsibilities and priorities which unfortunately get pushed aside (in my experience) at the expense of something not real at all. Hey, I was guilty of it too for a while when I spent so much time here. I don't anymore, my priorities have readjusted. :)

If there was someone to warn me about this, I figured it would be someone here. I'm planning on using a cell phone as my personal phone instead of adding a 2nd line to my parents'- you have no idea how much I :blush: every time I say "my parents", sigh. Anyways, it's no contract and pretty decent rates, any warnings?

I agree with Audrey. You can't have your cake and eat it too, a spouse shouldn't be responsible for your personal decisions esp. if they have no say. If you want a divorce then you have to be able to support yourself (and kids), child support is supposed to help with that, get alimony too if you can but ultimately- the other spouse is no longer responsible for the choices of the other. Very few have been able to divorce and continue staying at home, they have started work at home jobs or have some source of income other than child support/alimony.

I do too. The problem is that both parents have rights to determine what right for the kids, when the parents cannot reach an agreement- it's settled in court as the case here. The judge was not determining if hsling was good or bad, just trying to decide the case husband vs. wife. What is sad is that it comes across as the father trying to protect the kids from the alleged extreme antics of the mother when all that was needed was a compromise on the material used to homeschool, possibly getting the kids involved in extracurricular activities outside of their current scope- to get the 'real world' experience, not throwing the kids against their will (and the mother's) into school which is not like the 'real world' at all.

Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese combined with My Body by Teacher Created Resources (building a paper body same size as your child), with Human Body (Easy to Create) by Donald Silver activity book. We did this earlier this year and had a blast! I wish I would have used Head to Toe for first grade, which is why we revisited the Human Body this year for 3rd.

He and I already agreed upon splitting of the 'stuff'. He's getting the most important things to him, the Wii, flat screen tv and all his video games. He'll be in a parsonage where everything is provided for him (furniture, appliances, even trash cans). I'm leaving him absolute necessities like dishes and silverware, a few pots and pans, towels, linens and a twin size bed for ds4 when soon-to-be-ex has been cleared (meets requirements) to have ds4 overnight. I'm even leaving a few of ds4's toys. I'm essentially taking very little, most of the kitchen items were gifts to me from Christmas and birthdays, he has no interest in homeschooling or in our hsling items. Other than our (kids and I) own clothes, toys and personal items we really don't have much outside of hsling items. If we owned a home where we were able to invest in furniture or much else, we'd have a lot more to divide. As it is, I could rent a 10' moving truck and still not fill it if I weren't taking the kids' seesaw and bikes. The biggest items I have are three bookcases and all of our hsling items. I really cannot share anymore given the circumstances, but soon-to-be-ex will be provided for, and well- he hardly has to even pay for his college education. I cannot share about the circumstances that has led us to this point with the exception that he was court-ordered out of the house, that cannot happen unless there is good reason. So, no the stuff is not his- he has never been invested in anything that I'm taking.

No, it's more of a decision of what to keep or give to him. I'm good now, I've packed up all the decor and curtains and that was VERY helpful in making the atmosphere looking like we ARE moving. I have about 18 boxes packed and it won't be too much longer before I'm done. Y'all really helped with the motivation!

The playset is stressing me more than it should, I'm not taking it. I'd rather buy a new one than deal with moving it. Great point about ornaments! I will downsize that, I don't think we need 6 boxes of Christmas stuff, I will only take my favorite stuff/sentimental stuff and leave the rest. Off to pack and jam with blaring music while neither of the kids are here. Thank ya'll, you're the best thing next to someone being HERE helping. :)

(Background: moving in with my parents, I have a moving date of the 28th and I'm packing the kids & my stuff for living and storage) My dilemma is: the more stuff I keep, the more I have to store, the larger the storage space I have to rent, the more I have to pack. BUT- if I don't take everything now, I'll have to buy it again later...or will I? This divorcing business is hard. Just moving on its own is stressful, changing jobs...I won't list the many things I'm doing right now b/c *I'm* not even willing to admit to all it without having a panic attack. I look inside my garage and I see an artificial Christmas tree that I won't be using in the next year but it sure would be nice to have when the kids & I have our own place, the list goes on. The kitchen was easy, I separated what I'm taking from what I'm not, the coffee maker was a hard one (I love the coffee maker we have, I bought it but I don't *need* it). I don't need towels but it's hard to let them go. My personal collection of cleaning products, don't need it and I'm not taking but it's hard. I feel like I'm homeless. Lol. How much do I let go? How vigilant should I be in leaving stuff behind? We have a nice outdoor play set, wooden, I want to take it but I'm terrified of taking it apart and not being able to put it back together, or that it won't fit on the moving truck. AHHHHHH! :svengo: Okay, just releasing some crazy,

I think that's what I'll do. I'll go through each room deciding on the essentials and put them in one place (I have an empty spare bedroom right now) and then once the essentials have been taken out, I'll pack the rest making the decision (keep, toss, donate). Now to DO it. Sigh. Thanks ladies for the help and commiserating.

In my mind it seems easy enough but when faced with an open, empty box- the task seems impossible! I have to pack the kids & I to live with my parents and I keep hitting a HUGE wall of indecision of what is worth having at my parents' house with us and what needs to go to storage. Esp. of our personal items! Should I put aside a week's worth of clothing and all the absolute essentials we need and pack the rest? I think it's the realization that our lives are about to dramatically change and I don't want the kids to suffer in any way, while I think about what toys and books to take to my parents and what to store... I don't even know if I need advice other than a good ol'fashioned kick in the butt to get started. I know I want to write a list of what is in each box so that when it IS in storage, I know what we have and where it is. Oh, we're more than likely moving at the end of this month. :scared: Depending on my job situation...

The accordion ear is from http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Make-Learn-Projects-Grades/dp/0439040876 Easy Make & Learn Projects: Human Body (Grades 2-4) by Donald Silver I highly recommend it along with My Body by Teacher Created Resources and Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese.