California schools have extended until May 15.

YES! That was totally my first thought and I was about to look for a clip but you beat me to it!

Good news today -- acceptances for BOTH DS and DD to UCSD, and DS got into UCLA! So happy for both of them -- my daughter was stressing after waitlist and rejection, and UCLA is the top choice for my son. So now we can breathe easy.

Hopefully this article comes through -- it talks about two books, one of which is one of my favorites The Coddling of the American Mind by Jon Jaidt and Greg Lukianoff. I think their thesis is relevant to what is going on with Gen Z and their lack of independence, autonomy, and drive. Here is an excerpt from the article: "Where Egginton sees a threat to democracy in a polity insufficiently and unequally educated in the liberal tradition, Lukianoff and Haidt notice something unprecedented and a lot more frightening: a generation, including its most privileged and educated members — especially these members — that has been politically and socially “stunted” by a false and deepening belief in its own fragility. This is a generation engaged in a meritocratic “arms race” of epic proportions, that has racked up the most hours of homework (and screen time) in history but also the fewest ever of something so simple as unsupervised outdoor play. If that sounds trivial, it shouldn’t. “When adult-supervised activities crowd out free play, children are less likely to develop the art of association,” Lukianoff and Haidt write, along with other social skills central to the making of good citizens capable of healthy compromise. Worse, the consequences of a generation unable or disinclined to engage with ideas and interlocutors that make them uncomfortable are dire for society, and open the door — accessible from both the left and the right — to various forms of authoritarianism." "The book, which expands on a widely circulated 2015 article in The Atlantic, identifies what the authors refer to as “the three Great Untruths” of the current moment: “what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker”; “always trust your feelings”; “life is a battle between good people and evil people.” It’s a moment profoundly reshaped in the sanitized image of the hyper-connected and -protected “iGen” generation (short for “internet generation”), which directly succeeds the millennials. Members of iGen, according to the psychologist Jean Twenge, who coined the term, are “obsessed with safety,” which they define to include expansive notions of “emotional safety.” They began arriving on college campuses in 2013. Rates of anxiety and depression soon skyrocketed, along with demands for trigger warnings, safe spaces and disinvitations to controversial speakers, as well as sometimes violent confrontations with such speakers when they did appear on campus."

yes. As a mom who has absolutely been tied to her phone when it comes to my kids safety, I just can't believe that my kid having a phone during that type of emergency will do any good other than allay anxiety and fear. Those are understandable issues, but not necessarily actionable. And I am the person who spent an entire day consumed with fear because my older daughter didn't answer or text me - I thought medical emergency, got back late and got mugged, ran out late at night to bring her dog out and got kidnapped, etc etc. To the point I was lying in bed overcome with the anxiety and couldn't do a thing. Finally she called me and said she'd been reading Pride and Prejudice all day and her phone had died. I realized that the phone was enabling my anxiety and I had to work on that, NOT ensure that my kids would always be in contact with me at any point.

Awesome! Congratulations!

DS18 was accepted for electrical engineering at UC Davis and UC Irvine. Rejected at Caltech as was expected. Waiting on UCSB, UCSD, UCLA and Harvey Mudd. Oh and Berkeley - I keep forgetting about it as none of us want him to go there 😂 DS18, his twin, is having a much rougher ride. Waitlisted at UC Davis and rejected at Irvine. She's only really waiting on UCSB and UCSD now. She is looking at doing our CC for a year and combining that with AP credits to apply as a transfer next year. She is in at Santa Cruz but doesn't really want to go that far away. I have some regret for how we handled the college search for her, BUT this kid did not even see herself at college until literally starting applications. Compared to my older daughter, who was ALL IN and researching college stats constantly, my younger daughter was being pulled along the entire time. So if she ends up at CC for a year I think it would give her some time to really get that buy in on what she really wants to do. But there's still two more left so there's always hope! I have heard that the waitlist at Davis moves pretty well, so there's that too. Right now I really wish they weren't twins though!

My now husband (college boyfriend) was at a different college and I absolutely wasted my time at college focused on him. We of course didn't have facetime then, and he could only call me once a week until he was a senior (Naval Academy) but I pined nonetheless. I wish I had gotten involved in clubs or the newspaper or anything. Just sat and pined away.

Any news yet from anyone else? This is the big month and I've got two slightly stressed out seniors! They applied to mostly UCs so one is haunting the internet looking for predictions for release dates (today might be UC Davis) and the other one is trying to ignore it all. They did both get accepted to UC Santa Cruz at the end of February, which was nice. It's like an 8-9 hour drive so it's not really high on their radar. They are both homebodies. Their old sister chose college and grad schools literally on the opposite coast from us each time, and these two really would prefer a maximum of two hours away. So different!

My dd who is 24, ADHD and super independent, had resisted most attempts by me to try to help her manage her prescriptions. So she’s been handling them in her way since she was diagnosed, around 19. It’s not pretty. She has missed doses of things that shouldn’t have been missed. The short acting ones were fine but the ones that needed a buildup definitely caused some side effects when she missed 1 or two doses. Nothing dangerous - just fatigue, irritability, some anxiety. They leveled off when she went back on the doses. The worst was definitely when she was off Vyvanse for a month or more. She actually had an old Ritalin prescription that was never used after switching to Vyvanse, so she used it sporadically. But Ritalin causes her much more bounce back anxiety and Adhd, so she prefers not to use it except for emergencies.

My two seniors are so burned out. But they are on the block schedule, so for my son, he literally started AP lit early January -- so he's maybe only 1/3 of the way through the material. My daughter started AP Gov at the same time. Luckily that class has a lot less output, so she's not feeling the stress quite as much. And this is the teacher's last semester before retiring, so he's on his way out too:)

My DD has one pharmacy that seems to always stock the name brand Vyvanse. She tried for weeks to get it from CVS and it was a bust. They never had it. Her psych wrote the prescription for the generic when it came out and it was a disaster. She didn't realize it was the generic and all she knew was that all of a sudden she wasn't functioning the same anymore. So now she has to get a scrip for the name brand only.

My DD takes vyvanse vacation days. It's not ideal for her functioning-wise, but it makes no difference medically.

She talks to Jordan Harbinger on his podcast about her book, if anyone wants to listen to her for free. She's probably on other podcasts too. It was a very good episode! https://www.jordanharbinger.com/dr-ramani-how-to-protect-yourself-from-a-narcissist-part-one/ ETA that was an older episode -- the newer one is here: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/dr-ramani-identifying-and-healing-from-narcissistic-people/

Weird first post on a homeschooling board 🤷‍♀️

I have tried a few novels recently that really annoyed me - one I made all the way through and hated, one I have made it halfway through and might finish someday, and one that I read the first few pages and wondered what I was thinking to pick it up. And then I checked out the audiobook version of the fantasy novel Strange the Dreamer and fell in love! It has really fantastic world building, and I love the characters so far. Though I am only 4 hours into it, out of 18, so things might end up changing. The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared his dream chose poorly. Since he was just five years old, he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the form of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? And who is the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams? In this sweeping and breathtaking novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage. I recently finished The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War and found it very gripping. If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6. For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as the Soviet leadership grew increasingly paranoid at the United States's nuclear first-strike capabilities and brought the world closer to the brink of war. Desperate to keep the circle of trust close, MI6 never revealed Gordievsky's name to its counterparts in the CIA, which in turn grew obsessed with figuring out the identity of Britain's obviously top-level source. Their obsession ultimately doomed Gordievsky: the CIA officer assigned to identify him was none other than Aldrich Ames, the man who would become infamous for secretly spying for the Soviets. Unfolding the delicious three-way gamesmanship between America, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and culminating in the gripping cinematic beat-by-beat of Gordievsky's nail-biting escape from Moscow in 1985, Ben Macintyre's latest may be his best yet. Like the greatest novels of John le Carré, it brings readers deep into a world of treachery and betrayal, where the lines bleed between the personal and the professional, and one man's hatred of communism had the power to change the future of nations. I am also reading A Gentleman in Moscow as well, though a little more slowly. Not because it's not good, but because I am out walking and driving more so I have been listening more to books than reading them. In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

I adored her very first two novels, Behind the Scenes at the Museum and Human Croquet. I haven't really been able to read any more of hers, though I will admit I haven't tried them all. But those two hold a special place on my bookshelf.

https://blog.arborbridge.com/digital-sat-three-surprising-things-we-learned-new-practice-tests?hs_amp=true This test prep group says you need to get about 2/3 correct on the verbal and between 1/2-2/3 to get the harder modules. There are 25 verbal and 20 math. But the questions can also have different scoring weight, with some questions possibly being worth up to 50 or 60 points of the total SAT score.

The digital SAT is only adaptive in that the second half of the exam has two options -- the harder or the easier. So the entire first half is the same for everyone. Getting the first few wrong doesn't change what you'll see after those first few.

We have stupid arguments probably a good 5-6 times a year -- we don't yell really, but we get more and more upset and then stop talking for the next two days. I hate it, but he stops talking because 1. that's how his parents handled fights, and 2. he doesn't want to say anything he'll regret. The one time he let loose f-bombs was at our oldest daughter who was living at home with us after college. She definitely could inspire them FOR SURE, but he would never have done it if he hadn't had missed lunch and it was like 8 at night. He yelled at her, went to the garage and just cried. I brought him a bowl of chili and he realized he was starved. He went to our daughter and apologized and we knew NEVER to have arguments without having ddinner first again! One of our stupid fights was over how we should, as a family, vote on the VOTING SYSTEM for which board game we were going to play that day. Generally when there is stress at work, or if we are worried about the kids - then we are much more likely to ignite over small things, which become big things for no reason. I will say that I am almost always the one who has to apologize (save for major issues like the one mentioned first). He has never been good at saying I'm sorry. I'm fine with that because most of the time he's so relieved to be done with the stupid fight, and I have found creative ways to apologize without apologizing. Because again, for most of these things, neither one of us really cared about the actual issue. I don't think we've had an argument about something substantial in years. Like, those would be disagreements and we might feel strongly about them (for instance I really feel strongly that he should just sell the camper already, lol) but we would't raise our voices or stop talking to each other. The first few years were when we ironed out the major issues that tend to crop up.

@Tap I couldn't imagine trying to hold down the fort with kids and medical issues and no husband because of vacation travel. Like, my husband was always gone and there were years in there I felt like a single mom. But I didn't have to work, and he was in the military and deployed a lot. No sting there. Even when he had the choice to extend his deployment (circumstances were such that his replacement was not nearly as good as him and he was asked but not forced to extend) we had a long discussion about it and worked it out together. Now that our kids are almost out of the house, I would totally support him traveling on vacations, as he is a much greater extrovert than I am. I enjoy time at home by myself. 🙂

I agree and disagree with this -- from my own past experience, I was subject to criticism from peers that was painful but really was feedback that was helpful. I was very boisterous in middle school and found out, for instance, that my friends really didn't like me punching them in the arm as a joke. I learned this because they stopped speaking to me for awhile. Could that have been improved with better communication? Probably. But middle schoolers aren't good at that. If it had happened today, there would have been an adult moderating the intervention, but then that really infantilizes the kids and takes away their independence. Everyone now is looking for an authority to intervene because they don't have the skills themselves. I also got bullied because I was a sixth grader in an eighth grade band. There wasn't much I could do about that. That year was pretty awful. I also got bullied in 4th grade where all the girls in class stopped talking to me, and would walk behind me kicking dirt at my heels. I could have learned from it if I had known what I had done, but I never found out. Eventually it stopped and kind of just everything returned to normal. My oldest daughter was ADHD and had a LOT of negative feedback for her behavior. At 24 she is just now getting over the social anxiety from that, but at the same time, because she had a hard time controlling herself pre medication, she got a LOT of feedback on how to interact socially. She is now getting very good at it. She has a very strong desire for connection. If everyone had been nice and not said anything, they probably would have just avoided her so as not to have to deal with her. Instead she's learned from middle and high school what annoys other kids and she would MUCH rather work hard to restrain her impulsive nature and have lots of friends than drive off everyone except maybe the one person that can handle her big emotions.

What is your current favorite podcast, blog, or person you follow? A Special Place in Hell with Megan Daum and Sarah Haider What was your favorite book last year- fiction and/or non-fiction? The Mirror Visitor Series - YA Fantasy set of four novels - they were fantastic! Favorite purchase last year A car for my son so I don't have to drive him anymore, and he can feel more independent Best life hack Pilates after dinner - we eat dinner early but go to bed later, so it makes me feel somewhat productive still without it being boring stuff like cleaning:) Biggest regret - this was a financial podcast so it was my biggest financial regret but I think it's best to open it up for interpretation Probably having my oldest daughter stay with us for two years before leaving for law school. One year made sense but two years were rough on all of us and set her back in launching. What did you do to make your life easier this year? Embraced take out to be honest, lol. We get take out twice a week now and it's the high point for everyone! High point of last year Getting my daughter out of my house and into law school 2500 miles away from us! But only because against all my worry and trepidation she is doing awesome.

I went back to work (part time) after having stayed at home with kids for 18 years, started piano lessons, and started pilates. But my husband hasn't had time to have a mid life crisis yet after retiring from the military and starting a new job which is VERY time consuming. I'm not sure what will happen when the last two kids go off next year to college. I think we will be ok -- but I am so glad I started working. I know it would have been a lot more lonely even though I don't work full time! Perimenopause has caused feelings to be closer to the surface, and there was a lot of anxiety going on (so much change as well, so it was hard to know what was hormonal and what wasn't). I feel a lot more settled now.

My son would have done BA if it had been out in time. We streamlined Singapore IP's through level 5 and then at age 8 moved on to AOPS Pre-Algebra. That took a full calendar year. He also read tons of books on the side - Life of Fred, Murderous Maths, The Code Book, Computational Fairytales (there are multiple in that series), Perplexors (logic puzzles) - anything math or puzzle related he loved.