That is wonderful! I hope your son is feeling better soon.

As far as vision, you don't have buy glasses from the same place you get your exam. When is open enrollment for your husband's company? Maybe you can make selections now and change in 6 months (or whenever open enrollment occurs) if you picked a plan you aren't happy about.

There happened to be a LWW ballet locally shortly after we read this. It was fantastic and great timing for my kids. A couple months later we also attended a play at the local children's theater. It only had two actors so it was a little different, but a way for my kids to see the same story told different ways. I know that the likelihood of those being available right now are slim, but if you get the chance, go see a performance.

When my oldest decided to be fussy every single night I would rock him and repeat to myself, "He can't possibly cry forever". Hang in there!

I've had two different cysts removed, neither from my head. They were both done in an office, one was frozen and one cut out. The spot was sore for a couple days in each case. I think you will be ok. My brother self removed a cyst from his head to save money. I don't recommend that, he ended up with an infection and had to go to the doctor anyway. Also, don't look for videos of the procedure on YouTube, you can't unsee that.

Happy birthday!

I'm really jealous of your ability to go out in the woods daily! We are about an hour from a national forest. I'd move closer but there aren't many jobs, my husband keeps reminding me that our kids like to eat more than I like to hike.

My husband loves Red Wing, I had no idea they made hiking boots.

I do have Brooks Cascadia and they are awesome most of the time. The trails I go on are pretty muddy off and on throughout winter and spring. I am a bit concerned about my feet getting hot though. I'm going to go to check out my local stores first since it's closer then head up to REI if I'm not happy with the selection locally.

I found the 1st Grade diary very helpful, you can find it used on Amazon. The Education Unboxed videos are helpful too. Yes, let your child play around and discover what to do, but facilitate it. Resist the urge to just tell him, but especially at first he will need some guidance. I thought Miquon was the most confusing thing at first, but now it's pretty easy. Every once in awhile we come across a sheet that doesn't make any sense and just skip it.

We've used a mifi in the car for Netflix. It works pretty well as long as you aren't in the boonies.

It's not normal, but you also aren't alone. I wish I had some great advice for you but I don't.

I guess I need to know what I should be looking for in a hiking boot. I see they start around $120 and go up to $400 (and probably beyond). What's the difference? Weight? Will I be as happy with a $120 pair as a $200 pair? I wore my last pair 15 years so I don't mind shelling out more than I would typically pay for a pair of shoes but $400 is still a lot of money and more than I'm comfortable spending unless I'm doing the AT or something.

It's time to replace my old hiking boots, Timberlands that have seen a lot of miles. Currently I usually hike in trail runners but they aren't really appropriate for some of the trails we go on. I'd like something waterproof since we do occasionally have creek crossings and I usually want boots when the trails are muddy. Our trails are typically hilly but not mountains. I do like online shopping, but it's been so long since I bought my last pair of boots I'd prefer to shop in person. My local options are Cabellas, Dicks Sporting Goods, Sportsman Warehouse, and a local outdoor store that's main focus is on climbing. There is an REI just over an hour away, it's kind of small and I wouldn't drive up there just to try on boots, but could find other things in the area to do to make the trip worth it. What brands or styles should I consider? It's been a long time since I last bought hiking boots.

I really like the Mardel Planner too. I picked mine up at a convention last year but they do have them on their website.

My kids really enjoy hour of code from code.org.

If he has a shop vac maybe he could vacuum out cars for people. I hate that job and would pay to have a kid do that for me a couple times a month.

I know you aren't looking for read alouds, but I use those lists quite a bit for my advanced reader. They are grouped many times by interest level which makes it easier to pick out age appropriate books. Jim Trelease has the Read Aloud Handbook, his website has a link to many, many booklists. Read Aloud Revival has a free booklist too. "What then will we read" by Jan Bloom is good. I also use Newbury lists, Five in a Row, and SOTW (the supplemental readings), and Ambleside as well.

We have had more than one frustrating experience with Anthem (BCBS) but it is such a big company that I am certain this varies from state to state. We currently have Cigna, we haven't had any issues with our health insurance but they also carry our dental insurance. We have had a very difficult time finding a dentist that accepts Cigna. I would make sure the doctors you see most frequently accept whichever plan you end up selecting.

What about painting barn quilts? They are really popular around my area and sell for $150+.

He may be able to find a job at 14, the problem is labor laws prevent the number of hours per week and how late he could work. I worked in a grocery store and they still hire high schoolers to help bag groceries. Not many places are willing to deal with kids only available 3 hours a day though. I worked in a bakery more recently and the dishwasher was a 15 year old. He only worked Saturdays. For my own kids, our neighborhood requires a certain mailbox and they are solid black. Many of them need painting right now so I'm thinking of having my son ask neighbors if he can paint them. I plan to have him do ours first for practice. A 14 or 15 year old cleaned my husband's previous office building once a week. He was the son of an employee which is how he got the job, but really his company just cared that the trash was taken out and the floors vacuumed on occasion. A family we knew bought a couple vending machines their kids maintained. I made a ton of money babysitting. I know not everyone would hire a boy to babysit but maybe they just haven't thought of it. One more idea, my friend is the director of a summer camp. He has high school freshmen and sophomores that work for him, I'm not sure if they are paid or volunteer labor though. It would be worth checking into if there are camps around.

Oh and a lot of mornings we go for a walk or do jumping jacks before we get started just to burn off excess energy. It seems to help my oldest boy focus better.

You may be doing too much or expecting too much from your children. Your circle/ morning time is going to look different from anyone else and listening to audio books may be sufficient. It's supposed to be enjoyable, if it isn't, don't do it. Your Morning Basket episode 9 is a Q&A session that may be helpful to you. A couple things brought up in that episode that may be useful to you: playing a specific song when morning time is about to start. It gives kids a chance to wrap up breakfast or whatever without mom having to find everyone. Another thing was practicing the memory work together but not worry about testing the kids on it. I'm bad about wanting all my kids to say everything perfectly before we move on. With the memory system we use, I can move on a week or so after something new is introduced. I'm one of those people that could have an hour long morning time everyday, but my kids aren't. Slowly I'm learning how to meet all our needs. I think you can find a way to make it work if you want to, but it may not be the right thing or you and your family.

I trained one boy at 2.5 and one at 3, I say wait until 3. I trained my daughter at 17 months. None of them were difficult, but it was easiest waiting until 3. I didn't have to remind the three year old or ask him if he needed the bathroom and he only has had one accident, ever.

I do the same as Kiara, using the guidelines in the back of WTM as my guideline. If you don't want to piece your curriculum together, you can purchase a 1st grade box through Well Trained Mind Press (it used to be Peace Hill Press). 1st grade is fun! I'm teaching it for the second time next year.