:iagree:

I say go alone and leave the kids with their grandparents. My dh and I take trips alone regularly and it gives us a chance to reconnect in ways we can't do in the day-to-day grind. I don't realize how much I miss that until we are actually away.

I remember our first color set. I still love old black and white movies, but can't get my kids to watch them with me. I remember our first set with a remote control. It had a wire from the set to the big boxy remote. The only buttons on it were the power button and up and down for volume. I thought I had arrived.

You guys are making me very thankful that my dh owns copy/shipping stores. :001_smile: If any of you are in WNC I can hook you up!

Don't anymore, but once upon a time I drove a 15 passenger van. That way the kids could have a friend along and I could sit a big kid next to a carseat to help out with the littles.

Just jumping in here to vote for Thursday. I need more time to get things done this week. BTW, I agree that the for sale board is a perk for members and agree with the 50 post requirement.

I haven't been on too much today so I missed it. I know I'm especially cranky right now though - due to really being tired of summer chaos and ready for my fall routine. Oh yeah, and I'm hot. BTW, I'm barefoot and my toes are red for what it's worth. :001_smile: And I do wear a bikini (only when I'm on vacation and around people I don't know). Off to make an iced coffee. Thanks to whoever mentioned it.

No way. My 17yo has many friends in the local ps here, which is supposed to be a very good school. The things they tell us would make your hair curl. I am also sure that I can provide a better education for my dc than they would receive there. I have graduated two, so I feel much more confident this go round than I did with the older two.

I can so relate to boys eating you out of house and home. Yes, my girls are right there with them. My 17yo son has friends over several times a week. I start adding things to dinner when I'm sure they're coming. There is one friend who is 16yo and almost 300 lbs. of solid muscle. He is an athlete. When he is coming, I almost panic because he eats so much. When everyone is finished eating, he says "Are you guys finished?" and then proceeds to eat everything that is left. I wish I was kidding. :001_smile: My dds eat as much as the boys, especially my 11yo gymnast. She trains for 4 hours a day and comes home ready to eat the house down. I have started having to buy two roasts, two chickens, etc. to cook at each meal. When I cook potatoes I use 5 lbs. at the time.

I spend about $1200 for 6 people. We have extra people almost every night - either my ds and his gf or friends of the dc. I buy organic when I can, lots of fruits, veggies, yogurt, and dairy. I don't buy processed foods and cook every night. We rarely eat out. That total includes paper goods, cleaning supplies, and toiletries. Thankfully, we don't have to sacrifice in other areas to buy groceries.

:iagree: Jean is so right on this one.

Yes, I probably would consider it if they wanted to homeschool but some hardship prevented it. It would have to be their idea. I'm not going to suggest it!

We live in the country and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We are on the go a lot and I love having my privacy when I am at home. My dc have friends over here often. They see their friends plenty, but when it is convenient for us - no one knocking on the door wanting to know if so-and-so can play.

We like Sister Wendy's The Story Of Painting along with the DVDs up through middle school. We use Gardner's Art Through the Ages for high school.

Do they wish they were in PS? No. He doesn't. He appreciates the flexibility and ability to tailor his learning. Do they feel lonely? No. He has friends over or goes somewhere with friends probably 5 days a week. He is very much a people person and finds plenty (sometimes too much!) of ways to spend time with his friends. Would they say they would hs their OWN future kids through high school? He hasn't really talked about this. I have already graduated two and my oldest will be getting married in three weeks. He and his lovely bride have already said that they would like for their children to be homeschooled. Do they love it, like it, tolerate it, hate it? Most of the time he likes it. He loves the flexible schedule, but sometimes it is hard work and, just like any other teen, would rather be doing something fun. What would they say about it? Are they proud or ashamed of being hs'd? He is not ashamed of being homeschooled. His ps friends have told him that they wish their mothers would homeschool them. He appreciates the time and effort I have put into his education. What do they like most and least about it? He would probably say that he likes the flexibility of our schedule. He likes the fact that if he has worked hard all day, he is finished with school while his friends are just starting their homework. He likes that he can get something to eat when he wants, school in his pj pants, and listen to music while he works. Some days he would say it is just too much work and too rigorous (which he chose :001_smile:). My oldest two that have graduated and gotten old enough to understand the sacrifice and work that I put into their schooling, tell me often how much they appreciate their education. HTH

I'll be praying for you and your dh to make the right decision.

When I had babies, toddlers, and school age children, I had help come in for a half day five days a week. I don't know how I would have survived otherwise. She did all the housework and laundry. I took care of the babies and schooling. Now that the kiddos are older and two are grown and gone, we divide the chores up among us and handle things well enough ourselves.

:grouphug:Molly:grouphug: I am continuing to pray for you and will pray for your dh as well.

My 11yo dd has tons of them, and I have never bought any! They give them out as rewards at gymnastics. So far, she is the only one crazy about them around here. I don't mind them, but hate finding them all over the house.

This is how we operate at our house. We have extras here a lot. There is one asleep downstairs right now that has been here since Friday. We treat them just like our own. We worked hard on the house yesterday, and he was expected to join right in, and did.

Sometimes a little furniture polish on a cloth rubbed over the DVD/CD will work. It only works if the disc is not terribly scratched.

All four of my birth children have curly hair to some degree. Two of them very curly and two slighly curly. My adopted daughters are AA, so definitely curls! My hair is curly and my dh used to have curly hair before he lost it all!

We usually have leftovers for lunch. If not, my dd usually makes scrambled eggs and English muffins. For some reason, my dc love scrambled eggs. It is rare that we have sandwiches.

This is basically what we do. No calls/texts after 10:00 p.m., don't bring the phone to dinner, etc. We also pick it up and scroll through texts randomly. We haven't had any issues so far.

Here is a couple of pictures, one straight, one curly. It is about 3 inches longer than the pictures now though. I have the top pulled back in the curly picture, that's why it looks straight (it's not!).