This is what I'm familiar with as well. There have been a lot of presents at most weddings I have been to.

Paper route in 5th grade. It was an afternoon paper that only printed 5 days a week, I'm not sure those exist anymore. At 13 I detassled corn and got my first paycheck (and filed first taxes).

That's tough. I hope she can adjust to the gate.

I don't have advice but our dog of 16 years passed away last fall. His personality changed alot in the last couple years and he became quite grouchy. His hearing and eye sight weren't as good but he definitely could hear us get food or the leash just like he was a puppy. He was also quite playful in bursts. I think you do need to separate the dog from the kids if he's snapping without being provoked. Would one of those baby yard gates or even a pack n play work (you did say this was a 10 pound dog, right)?

I bet I know right where you are talking about in GA. . We visited the children's museum in Chatanooga about 5 years ago and I remember thinking we must have taken a wrong turn to be in GA, then a few miles later we were back in TN.

My grandfather didn't have a passport until he was in his 70's and went to the Ukraine. I do think he has been to Mexico too. My grandmother has never had a passport but she has been to Mexico. I have 5 siblings. Two of my brothers enjoy traveling, one doesn't mind traveling but doesn't seek it out either. My sisters hate to travel.

My husband has also been to 48 states, Hawaii and Maine are the two he hasn't visited. I told him he isn't allowed to go to Hawaii without me. His dad was a truck driver for a few years. When my husband was in college, he got his CDL and would drive with his dad on some school breaks which allowed him to see most of the continental US.

My grandfather has probably been to 15 states at the most but I would bet it's closer to 10. His family has been in east Texas for 200+ years. I would say he knows a 100 mile radius extremely well having lived in that area his entire life. With the exception of my dad (and my dad's children/grandchildren) all his family has lived in that area too so he never felt the need to travel much. He was also a pastor so he didn't travel much for work either. My BIL has only left his home state 3 or 4 times in his life. He's a farmer with a lot of cattle and land so it's hard to get away. He's farming his grandparent's land, so again he has deep roots in the area. I bet he knows every person and business in his county and the counties surrounding his farm. I've been to 42 states. I've spent the night in all but a handful of those. I would say that other than the four states I have lived in, I have not travelled extensively in many of those states, but at least spent the day. Most of my travel has been to visit family or related to my husband's work.

I tried to find out how many states the average American has visited, I came up with an article from 1988 stating that a study found the average is 20 states. I'm sure if I spent some time searching I could find a more current answer but that sounds about right in my circle of family and friends. I'm curious, if you have been to only a few states (around 10), have you traveled extensively within those states. If you have been to most of the states (35+), have you just driven through? Spent a few days there?

29. When we got married I wanted 3 or 4 kids before I was 30. Instead I was having my first.

I've travelled to 42 states plus DC. I'm still missing Hawaii, a couple western states and parts of New England. My husband and I are planning a road trip to the Northeast later this year. Outside the US I've been to Ireland, Baja Mexico, the Bahamas, and Canada (only long enough to say I had been there. The farthest I've been from home Valdez, AK and Dublin Ireland are about the same distance from my home. I can't choose a favorite place any more than I can choose a favorite kid, book, or food. I love where I live, where I hike regularly, where I grew up, where I travelled. I can think of something good about everywhere I have been.

My 8 year old has been to 30 states, my 3 year old around 20. None of my kids have been outside the US yet.

If it's viral it could last awhile.

I attended the Teaching from Rest seminar that Circe put on locally, it was great. I scored a used copy of "Teaching the Classics" which will hopefully arrive this week so I can get started watching/reading. It is so expensive! I feel lucky I found it. Also to read: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare and Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition.

I'm going to have to check out those books.

Since it is an extra, I would have her pay. Honor your original agreement. If it wouldn't make your budget tight that's a different story. I always paid for camps myself growing up. In high school that began to get expensive but my parents couldn't afford to pay for all the kids to do everything extra that we wanted to do.

Also, it's $20, to me it's worth it to make a phone call, but not worth it to spend 2 hours trying to get it back. My sister would probably spend a day trying to get it back and in the end she would. Decide how much energy you are willing to put into it ahead of time and then let it go whether you get the fee returned or not.

Paying the fee twice when I didn't make the mistake is where I draw the line. The worst that can happen is the bank will say no. I hate confrontation, but practice what you are going to say with confidence. It will help when you make the call. If the first person can't authorize the reimbursement, ask who can. Expect that you will be reimbursed and it's more likely to happen. Don't sound accusatory, just say "I was given the wrong routing number the first time I called, my bank charged me twice. I would like to be reimbursed for the second fee."

Good luck today! 8 is a good age, it will be an adjustment, but I suspect you can handle it.

PS I don't have a teenager yet, so take my advise with a grain of salt.

I think dads are just weird about makeup, it bothers them that their daughters are growing up. I think moms go through this in a different way when their kids are younger. There is a 13 year old at church we have known her entire life. She recently started wearing very light makeup and it really bothered my husband. He couldn't articulate why (especially since he has absolutely no dog in the fight) but I think it made him feel old and realize how quickly our children are growing up. I imagine when our daughter wants to start wearing makeup it will really bother him. I don't know how you can get your husband to see that this isn't worth battling, but is there any way they can work out a compromise? Maybe she only wears that eyeliner on the weekends or something? They need to have a conversation because this is something easy to work out compared to what else you may face in the next couple years. It is the style now even if he doesn't love it. One of our ministers let his son wear his hair really ridiculous for awhile. It was a terrible style, covering his eyes and looked like it was cut via machete. The minister said he would rather his son "rebel" by having weird hair than do other things. A year or so later the son started dating a girl and soon afterward he got a more traditional haircut. It was a lesson to me not to battle over things that really don't matter.

Would it help if you took her to get a spray tan? That way she looks tan but doesn't get burned in the process? Would you be willing to help her pay for self tanner or a spray tan if she actually uses sunscreen? Even though I burned easily and it was painful, I so desperately wanted to be tan as a teenager I would only reapply sunscreen on my face.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz narrated by Anne Hathaway is fantastic. Peter Nimble and his Fabulous Eyes was also a fantastic audiobook. I told my husband that I probably would not have enjoyed just reading it to the kids as much as I enjoyed listening to it. It isn't a classic and the ending may be too scary (there is a battle and some characters are hurt or die) for some kids so you may want to read some reviews. My kids aren't terribly sensitive so even my three year old loved it.

I hear how overwhelmed you are but please don't walk out on your kids. Focus on one thing at a time. What about a mother's helper or trading childcare?Do you have other homeschoolers in your area? Are you in a good church? What resources are possibly available near you?

I said a prayer.