Mostly that my son is home from overseas and reunited with his family, and that we got to spend a wonderful 5 days with them all at home last week. That we are all healthy and well. That my three youngest are excited about spending their spring break next week working at an inner-city rescue mission and a women's shelter. They are great kids. :001_smile:

The kids and I all have morning chores that we spend about 30 minutes every morning completing - by doing this, the bathrooms get cleaned and the carpet vacuumed twice a week, the floors get swept every day, the dusting gets done once a week. One day a week our daily morning chore is a monthly chore, so between the five of us, all the monthly chores get done. Before we ever start on those chores, they have to straighten their room and make their beds. I do the dishes at breakfast and lunch, dh does them at night. I start the dishwasher after lunch and unload it while I'm cooking dinner. I do the laundry two days a week, except sheets - they get done on the weekend. I keep the laundry switched and going during the day and we all fold at night, usually while watching a movie. We pick up and put away things as we go during the day. This works for us. Having a scheduled time for specific things to get done is the only way it ever gets done around here! ETA: We spend one full week as soon as school is finished for the year cleaning out closets and drawers, and deep cleaning. We make it fun by eating take out at night and frozen junk they normally don't get to eat for lunch.

Faithe always seems to take the words right out of my mouth! :grouphug:We will talk about this when I see you this week. You know I love you. More :grouphug: until I can give you a real one.

I also prefer AoA, and I have both. AoA is just much more engaging. We found the CT book dry and boring.

I knocked a mailbox over once - on a bicycle! My dh and I were out riding, I turned around to looked behind me for a second, and when I turned around the mailbox was right in front of me. The man that came to the door had a good laugh with my dh and said he would fix it himself. I hope your mailbox people are understanding and reasonable.

I have the Lamb's, Nesbit, and Garfield. Each of my kids have had their favorite, but I like Lamb's with Garfield a close second. :001_smile:

I used to buy them to take camping when my kids were small. No perforations, though.

I've had that happen twice so far, but it was my guys doing the proposing. Best advice - love them for who they are, and only give advice when asked!

I was thinking this also. Our church does have armed security, and I'm glad.

How terribly sad. :grouphug::grouphug:

:iagree: I also have a gifted athlete, so I get that part of it. My thought is that they will be in my home, under my (and dh's, of course) influence for a limited number of years in their life. I intend to make the most of that time, and wouldn't shorten it for a sport. That is just me, and I know other people who love their children just as much and choose differently.

That's what I was thinking! If you're anywhere near me or Lara, we have you covered! I can't believe the nerve of some people. They definitely would not get my seat.

My high schoolers join us for memory work about 3/4 of the time. On days when they have a heavy load, they skip it. It has worked out well around here just to go with the flow a little bit where memory work is concerned.

We have 5 TVs. :001_smile: We have one in our room, the girls each have one in their room, and the boys have one in the basement, which is like a big "boy cave" with their bedroom, a pullout couch (because we always have extra teen boys on the weekend, weight bench, X-Box, etc. That room has made our house the "hang out" house, and I like that. Having a TV in their rooms has not caused my kids to isolate in their rooms, become anti-social, or disrespectful. Most evenings we are all gathered in the living room watching something together, playing board games, or just hanging out. They turn it off when it is time to go to bed, and my girls usually only watch theirs on the weekends when they want to stay up late to watch a DVD. Ours hasn't been turned on for months, except over Thanksgiving weekend when we all piled on my bed and watched old home videos. We have pretty strict rules about what is appropriate and they agree with us and comply. I would rethink if we had issues with either going to bed or watching something inappropriate. We just haven't had a problem.

I do all of those things. I had forgotten to lock my doors as I was driving once, and remembered while I was sitting at a red light, so I locked them. Not 5 seconds later, someone tried to get in my car on the passenger side! I never forget now. I was also accosted in a parking lot once late at night, and got away because I used my keys as a weapon.

I voted weekly, because most things get done every week, but it's actually spread out over the week. I also have things that only get done once a month, like ceiling fans, baseboards, etc., but I spread those out, too. The kids and I work on the house for about 30 minutes every morning before school, along with making beds, and picking up bedrooms. I also do a quick pick-up before dinner. I tend to get grumpy if my house is messy, so I try to stay on top of it.

Another vote for NC, especially the mountains. We absolutely love it here!

What a beautiful young lady, Mariann!

Oh my goodness, that sounds familiar. I have had the shelves absolutely emptied on weekends when there are always extra teens here. If I don't want them to eat something, I have to hide it. Seriously.

Praying, Sandy.

That sounds like so much fun! I grew up on the water on all kinds of boats, but never learned to sail. I wish I had. It's good to see you, Lisa. :001_smile:

:grouphug: How tragic! I will be praying for this family.

It sounds normal to me. My oldest dd was like that at 12. I didn't know if I was going to make it some days. I had already raised three boys through puberty, and thought I had it down. Girls are a different animal altogether. :001_smile: She is just using the step-dad thing because that's what she has. If it wasn't that, it would be something else. I had to really practice not reacting to my dd emotionally. I would agree with ignoring her text. Love on her tons, invest some one-on-one time with her, and tell her often about her qualities that you admire. When my dd got really nasty, I would tell her to go to her room until she felt like she could be kind to others. Do not let her engage you in emotional back and forth stuff. That never ends well. :grouphug: 12 is a tough age for girls (and their moms).

Asheville, NC. It has everything you listed. We love it here!

Well, as a mother of four boys, I don't think I can tell you it ever stops. I found a hole in the wall a few years ago that my two oldest, who were about 15 and 17, had strategically placed a plant in front of. My 13yo went through a large window in our sunroom a couple of years ago, and the bathroom counter in my basement has a burned spot where my then 16yo was trying to melt plastic army men (no, I don't know why). It never stops, and it would be giving you false hope to tell you otherwise. :001_smile: