We just went recently and were able to eat gf/df easily. We did stay in a hotel right in town so we could walk to everything. We ate breakfast every morning at the Green Sage cafe and loved it (yummy pancakes and desserts). We ate at the Laughing Seed (ds16 loved it but it was a bit health-foody for me and dh likes meat). We visited Biltmore and ate at the Winery Bistro, which was able to accomodate us fine (though I don't really recommend touring Biltmore this time of year...I forgot the house wasn't air conditioned!) There were quite a few other restaurants I wanted to try, but we only got to stay a few days. Even the bike shop had craft beer, so there are plenty of options there. We are morning people, so didn't partake of any of the nightlife.

I definitely should have said "inherently" aberrant or unhealthy. So many people seem to think it's just wrong that ds might want to continue living here in college. Toxic situations stink whether they are blood-related or not

I'm not pushing mine out...he's the best roommate I've ever had. He even cleans :-) But seriously, we are more family oriented than typical Americans. We lived with my in-laws for a few years after we married and when my parents got older we moved them in with us. Multi-generational household just don't seem aberrant or unhealthy to me.

I enjoyed this article when it came out: http://drrobertepstein.com/pdf/Epstein-THE_MYTH_OF_THE_TEEN_BRAIN-Scientific_American_Mind-4-07.pdf As I am getting into the late teens with ds, I'd say treating kids with respect throughout their lives really pays off. They do reciprocate.

It's also available as a channel on our Roku.

Ds16 would like to learn to draw people. He has ideas of characters in his head (for his stories) and can describe them, but he would really like to learn to draw realistic characters (not Manga). He wants to do some of his own illustrations. He does have some natural talent, but no training in drawing (or art) at all. I'm no artist, but it seems quite hard to get from an ideal in your head to paper. I'd like to hire a tutor, but that's going to have to wait, so I'm looking for video instruction that explains all the steps as it goes through a drawing, and is also aimed at adults, not children. Something like the Bob Ross series ;-) (I've gotten books, but he needs the dynamic component.) I'd be happy to pay for DVDs that come with recommendations, or if there is something awesome out there for free, even better.

My mother passed away two years ago. It is very difficult and takes quite a long time. I paid the last medical bill for mom 13 months after she died. It takes about a year before all of the mail and calls stop coming. Many of those require death notification. I worked from this list to call people: https://www.tn.gov/regboards/funeral/documents/DeathNotificationChecklist-NFDA-01.24.2008.pdf Get lots of copies of the death certificate. You get one from the funeral home and can pay a little bit for each extra. The funeral home warned me, but I still didn't get enough. They are more expensive after that and require a trip to the courthouse. Everyone seems to want an original. I ended up getting twenty total and have two left. I didn't use this one, but it looks complete: http://www.aarp.org/home-family/friends-family/info-06-2012/when-loved-one-dies-checklist.html To do now: -Get a POA if your dad is willing. -Take a look at final expenses and have him open a joint account with you that has enough money. The money will go to you upon death and you can just write checks for everything. -Get a list of every bank account, investment account, credit card and debt he has, so you can start making lists. If he will allow you, go ahead and get online access to these accounts. Just remember not to make any changes or transactions after his death. -Get copies of his old tax returns. -Get certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees and military service records (discharge papers.) -Ask him about old life insurance policies, like for children. My mom had several old 13 cent a week policies from the 30's that actually paid out. -Ask him about final wishes if you can. If you know what he wants, it will be so much easier to be at peace with your decisions. Big Hugs to you! It is so hard. I take care of my dad full time now, so I'll be going through it all again someday.

Xylitol is a great choice. It actually seems to help prevent cavities (which dry mouth can cause.) But one big giant warning, it is toxic to dogs. Keep it put where they can't get to it and don't spit it in the trash if there is any chance they will forage there, particularly with a tiny 5 pounder visiting. just wanted to make sure you knew, since you said you'd never heard of it.

Asperger's and Girls edited by Tony Attwood http://www.amazon.com/Aspergers-Girls-Tony-Attwood/dp/193256540X It was recommended at an autism conference I attended at Emory. It has articles about how Asperger's presents differently in girls in our society. It has some excellent insight, but if they know nothing of the syndrome, they may want to read general books first and then read this more specific one. (It does deal with some more sensitive topics like relationships, including physical ones. Not comfortable topics, but I think important ones to protect girls from being victims. Definitely for adults, not the 9yo.)

Ok, I've thought this through and I think I'm going to do 1/2 credit for AP Mechanics and 1/2 credit for AP Emag, since that seems to be common and the sample syllabi have each class set out in 15-18 weeks. I'm going to have a separate 1/2 or 1 credit class for the rest of the material we are covering. We are covering the other topics that would have been on the AP B test (but at a higher level, since he has the calculus to do so) and also physics of the past century including some of the historical context of that. Any ideas on what to call that class? It's more than "Modern Physics," but that's all I can come up with.

That's a good point that more is covered. I do plan to do the other basics of fluid dynamics, optics, thermodynamics and nuclear physics, like one would need for the old B or SAT subject tests. And adding to that the couple of hours a day he peppers me with questions about black holes, uncertainty, special relativity, string theory, etc., I'm pretty sure I'm getting two credits in. Actually I'm starting to wonder if we will do anything besides physics this year :huh: Fortunately we started our school year in June so I have a full 12 months!

I'm planning next year and trying to figure out credits/Carnegie units. Our state gives 1 credit for each semester of a college course. So since AP Physics C is two separate college semester courses (Emag and Mechanics), does that mean it should be one credit for each or one credit total? As far as I can tell, AP Calc AB and AP Calc BC each get a full Carnegie unit. It's not really important in the scheme of things, but I don't want to shortchange him (or just plan too much). I did give him a full credit for AP Psych last year, but that was because he went far above and beyond the college course.

It's good you have extra money, but it seems like it created lots of extra work for you! I think Costco does still carry Udi's bread which is GF/DF, if you do end up doing sandwich fixings and want to accommodate. Though many people might be like me and just bring their own.

It sounds like you have things in hand, but if you want sandwiches, there is a local shop that has gluten free bread available (along with a separate prep line for gluten free sandwiches and Boar's Head meats) http://www.goodgrubsubs.com/ ETA: Lost something in my edits...meant it looks like you have dinner in hand, but if you are looking at lunch places, like sandwiches....

I also love the tags that we use with our collars. They stay on amazingly well. http://www.luckypet.com/products.php?cat=302 We also chose the $10 (just once) Owner Alert System. They put an additional 800 number on your tag and you can give them a whole list of numbers to contact. They have all our family and vet numbers. We've had that 5 years and I just call to update them. http://www.luckypet.com/owner-alert.php

http://www.lupinepet.com/ The only pet products Guaranteed for Life, “Even If Chewedâ€! So when your new puppy chews the collar off your old dog, you get a new one free. BTDT

LOL, I'm so sorry, I meant mental bandwidth. I just have a zillion things to keep up with every day and I'm SO not good remembering all the little things. They need to be on autopilot or just not exist. (I'm thinking that must just be my own personal phrase that may very well be a window into my life ;) )

You get one credit a month for the basic plan. Almost all books are 1 credit. I think I've bought one two credit book in all my years (It was a $50 new release.). There are promos where you can buy extra credits cheaply if you want more, usually you get an e-mail when you are out of credits. If you have no credits, your membership still allows you to buy any book at a discount (at least 30%, but sales will lower this.) We are signed up for the two credits a month plan, which turns out to be $11+ per credit. If a book's member price is at that or below, I just pay for it, so I don't waste a credit. If ds goes on a reading binge, we usually come off better buying extra credits. The cancelling and resubscribing probably works really well, but I just don't have the bandwidth for that. For us audible is like cable or Netflix is to other people.

It really is very easy. There are apps for most mobile devices (tablets and phones) and a PC or Mac application that you download to listen, put books on an MP3 player, or burn CDs of them. When we signed up over 5 years ago, all I could do was listen on the computer or burn to CDs. Then we got an archaic MP3 player and I had to learn to download from the computer to that. Now that most devices are WiFi enabled, it's just a couple of clicks to start listening. If you have a book junkie, it's great. They can actually clean house while reading an audiobook ;-) Well, everything except vacuuming.

I think it's a promotion for the Whispersync program: https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000827761 If you scroll down a bit, there is a link to Try a Classic for 99 cents. It will take you to a list of about 80 Kindle books that are free. When you "buy" one of these books, you can add on the corresponding Audible book for 99 cents. (The offer will show up on the purchase confirmation page for the Kindle book.). These are the real books with narrators, not the text-to-speech. It's a great deal if you want to get a few more classics in your auditory learner.

Wow! Some absolutely fabulous suggestions. I'm wishing I didn't have so much on my plate and could curl up with some of these books. Thank you!

The awful books do make it hard. I've definitely read my share of bad historical fiction (and probably some I liked and didn't realize was inaccurate.) I didn't want to turn him off the genre with my suggestions. Michener is the one I suggested. I don't have the time to get lost in a long book like that nowadays, but I loved his books when I was younger.

That course sounds great. I'll see if it is still listed to put on my watch list.

I guess I should have given more information, but it seemed to get rambling so I cut it short. First, he's read lots of fiction, but more sci-fi and fantasy, and lots of "literature," and that includes things written in the time written about and books written about past times (which I guess fall under historical literature?). I don't want to paste a long reading list, but everything from Homer and Dante to Dickens, Fitzgerald and Faulkner. Sometimes I don't exactly understand what he is looking for or why, but these are my thoughts: He's interested for two reasons: He wants to branch out and read more in different genres and he is a budding author. He writes fantasy which is in a made-up world, but wants to see how good authors integrate accurate historical settings and details with interesting characters and stories. I think the best case of what he's looking for is great historical fiction written by a historian (similar to Kathy Reichs writing about forensic anthropology.) He's open to any time periods, but the ones he threw out were the history of the Indus Valley, Greece after Alexander, and Germany when it was still a large number of city-states. The other interest was Athens or any other area during a rapid period of intellectual growth. (I think I miss the days when we wanted a book on dinosaurs. Period.) He does like non-fiction and I'm passing on the lists you posted, Lori, but it isn't quite what he's looking for. I hope that helps, it seemed like a simple question when I asked, but historical fiction really is a broad term.

I'm looking for a variety of historical fiction for ds16. He wants options that are well researched and accurate for the time period. He already knows more history than I do, so I'm not much help. I don't know (or always care) if the details are exactly right. Could I get recommendations of favorite authors and historical novels that you or your teens have enjoyed? Or great lists online of options? Thanks!