Layers are your friend. Even though, May can be quite beautiful and warm, it still has chilly mornings and evenings. Also, it can be quite rainy in early May. Sorry that doesn't bode well for packing light. :(

I have 6 sports bras that I wear when exercising which is 5-6 times a week. Otherwise I have 3 regular bras that fit comfortable and I like to wear. I have about 3 others that I put into rotation. I like them more for summer because they are lighter materials, but they aren't as supportive as my 3 regular bras.

My two oldest have asked at various times. Only my oldest asked specifically what the term "gay" meant upon reading it in a book as we had previously discussed the term "homosexual." I don't think either of them have asked about "straight", and it hasn't been something I have made a point to address.

I voted "yes" because at the end of the day, I would have the kids and/or myself put it back into order. It is more disarray to me vs. messy as it looks lived in and a lot like our main room that the family uses.

A good friend of mine who is serving a 3 year sentence would probably confirm something similar. He is working as a tutor for other inmates that wish to get their GED. My friend graduated high school and culinary school and has often felt inferior when it came to his education compared to his friends, but he says his education was leaps and bounds over what most inmates have received. His greatest difficulty in tutoring though is that he suspects many are dyslexic or have other learning disabilities, and his resources are very limited in what he has to help them. Also, an area adult literacy program has volunteers that does one-on-one tutoring. One of the places they serve is the county jail. This organization is always in desperate need to get enough volunteers to meet the desire for all those that want literacy tutoring. The jail program is in the most need, not because people aren't willing to tutor there, but because the demand is so high and the "allowed" tutoring hours are not possible for those that work 9-5 or have young children (or schooling children) at home.

Is your son more upset that he didn't go to the party or didn't get to celebrate friend's birthday? I ask because we have neighbor friends that our kids play together quite a bit. However, often the kids have their school class or their family over for their birthday parties. My oldest DD was really upset when she heard the neighbor girls (twins) were having a birthday party. After talking with her, she was more upset because she wanted to get them a present and celebrate their birthday with them not about not going to the actual party. Although she would have loved to attend the party as well. Together, we got a present, and invited the girls (their brother and mom too) over for pizza and a fun dessert. DD was able to spend time with them, and give them the present. Maybe you could do something similar. When seeing your friends, ask how the party went. Then say something like "Son really wants to celebrates C's birthday. Would you and Mom of B, like to have a come over to play and have some cupcakes that son wants make? Maybe the kids could decorate their own cupcakes."

First thing I would do is set up 20 dummy email accounts. Yes I would rather get an email than a phone call or other instrusive solicitation. However, I would not appreciate someone else giving my email, phone number, or address out without my permission. It would be one thing, if the young person I knew, sent me a solicitation personally. It would be another for that young person (or their parent) to go through their parent's files (email, real address, or even phone number) and give it to a person, business, or otherwise that I don't even know. I have several friends that do product parties. My friends have always sent out a personal request, and then I can choose to "sign up" at which time I provide my contact info. It becomes MY choice to share MY information.

You must feel so great after all that work! When I had babies (under 1), the state of my house was similar so no judgment here. Now I can keep it up more to my standards, but some days I'm like "a tornado exploded in here." Then it's priority cleaning followed (usually the next day) by all the little things. And after all that, turn around and do it the next week. :laugh:

I have used AirBNB several times. It is for our family vacations so I always rent a WHOLE space whether it be a house or apartment. I love it over a hotel for longer stays. It has not always been cheaper for us, but it hasn't been more expensive. For the cost of a hotel, we get a lot more space and are able to prepare meals which makes for a more pleasant and cost effective vacation for us. I'm not sure how I feel about your DD's circumstances, but I'm leaning more towards it being a better option than some random find with getting a much better cultural experience.

If we damaged the book beyond what is normal wear and tear of the book, than yes I do pay for the new book. Many times we have had pages fall out of a book because the bindings has been through so many hands. I always hand those type of books directly to the staff and let them know the problem, but we have never been charged. They repair or replace as needed. Spilling a glass of water on a book - yes I pay to replace the book.

Just so you are aware of my bias, I do not swear or curse, and I don't particularly like it hear it. High schoolers hearing swear/curse words - many are probably saying worse than they are hearing. I don't think it is professional for a teacher/coach/etc. to have the "mouth of a sailor" while performing their job, but some peppering here or there certainly wouldn't be cause for concern for me. Swearing/Cursing AT - totally different story. First, I find it quite hostile. It is anger, frustration, and impatience not communicated in a way that seems motivating or addressing the true problem. Second, I find it demeaning to the person on the receiving end. I'm not exactly sure how I would handle the situation, but I would find your example HIGHLY inappropriate. Theatre, sports, or other activity doesn't matter.

My kids aren't teens yet, but they are responsible for cleaning two of the bathrooms. Of their own accord, they have chosen to split up the tasks with each doing one part of the bathroom. I will check it afterwards, and have them fix any missed areas. Since yours are teens, maybe they can be in on the task assignment, expectations, and any consequences for not doing their tasks.

Where I went to college, honors college students registered for classes 1st. Also, there were specific honors classes for some of the electives. Those I loved because they were smaller class size and ALL the students were working to get the best grade. In these classes I didn't mind group work because everyone contributed and did their part.

I know when I was in high school, we could apply for an Independent Study. I don't know all the criteria because I never applied. The few friends often applied so they could focus extra time on a passion. One friend wrote a novel, another choreographed a ballet, and another composed a piano piece. All three also did extra curriculars in these areas as well, but the completion and excution of their independent study built many of the skills that your son is exhibiting fueled by their passion in their chosen area. While it is certainly reasonable to consider it just an extracurriculer, homeschooling gives us flexibility that not all schools have. I know one of the schools by me that is STEM focus (I can't remember specifically what is called, but I know another school focuses heavily in the arts), the students can take a class that basically plans and executes their annual science/invention fair, but at other schools is an extracurricular heavily planned by the science teachers.

If my DD had a long set of problems, she gets quite a few wrong especially towards the last half of the problems - mostly silly mistakes. I think it was just fatigue or possibly laziness, but having to go back and correct them wasn't helping in future lessons. I made a deal with her - "if you can get half of the problems 100% right, then you don't have to complete the rest of the worksheet. However, for every wrong problem, you much correct it and do an additional problem. Occasionally she will get one or two wrong, but overall she will work diligently on half just to get out of doing the other half.

My nephew, who attended Yale, REALLY, REALLY wanted to attend Yale. My SIL said she would not pay the application fee (they are tight on money) nor could they really be able to help much with the college cost if he chose this option. My nephew got a job, paid for the application himself, and received a wonderful financial aid/scholarship package (he graduated without debt!) I'm not sure that really answers your question. There are a great many wonderful universities. Ivies have pros and cons. I, personally, would only pursue it if my child had a strong desire to attend.

We have both. I turned the formal dining into our school room because we always ate in the breakfast room. Breakfast and lunch, everyone gets their own in their own time. Cleaning wise was easier for me to have all dirty surfaces and sweeping contained into one area. If I had to pick one, it would probably be a part of the kitchen.

I'd love to help you out, but we have been turning much of our art work into bookmarks of late. Especially good ones are laminated!

A couple of years ago on Mother's Day or really during the night leading into Mother's Day, I had a dream about my BFF's miscarried child about 3ish years after her miscarriage. I dreamed of a little boy playing in a field of wildflowers. There was more to the dream than just that, but that's the pertinent part. Upon waking up, I wrote down my dream in my journal and said a little prayer for my BFF as I know she desperately wants children. Fast forward two week and my BFF comes out to visit us from my DD's birthday party. That night she started talking about desperately wanting children. She said the night before Mother's Day she was crying out to the Lord that she just wanted to know what her child looked like and whether it was a boy or a girl. She asked the Lord to please just give her or someone she knew a dream of her child. I got all prickly and then showed her my journal and let her read my dream story where I described in detail what her son looked like.

I would probably take a nice walk/hike. Come home and pick ONE room to declutter & deep clean. Get take out and spend the evening knitting in front of Netflix. The following morning, I would probably have a leisurely wake up and then do some regular cleaning or errands.

We do, but it is somewhat organized. I HATE, HATE digging through things to find something. I have have a set of boxes to in my drawer that holds various things based on size. DH on the other hand has various jars. He starts a new one when the old one is full. I have seen him dump out 10 jars before finding the item.

I am currently helping in a baking class for middle schoolers at my co-op. They all have very basic baking skills. They know how to read a recipe, familar with the ingredients, measure out ingredients, and use basic tools like a mixer. Some things they would like to learn: 1. Rolling out and cutting cookies 2. Pies 3. Yeast bread- most have done quick bread like banana 4. Tiered or layered cakes 5. Tarts 6. Biscuits/Scones

Never for a purchase. However at the border I have been required to sign my name 10 times in a row, and then they compared it against my signature on my passport. I don't think they were NOT accepting it, but rather verifying my identity.

Only if PJ's count, including the teacher's. :lol: Whatever works. Here it is a dedicated room for school work. Definitely not an option for many, but if your child or yourself need a "trigger" to focus on a school mindset then by all means do it.

My heels used to get thick dry skin and then crack. I needed to soak and exfoliate a couple times a week for about three weeks, and apply moisturize following the treatment as well as in the morning and before going to bed. I use a combo of coconut oil, shea butter, and lanolin. I slather it on and put on socks. Now my feet stay nice if I exfoliate them during my shower and then moisturize.