*face palm*

No, I had no dressing. It's a small cut, 1.5" to the side of my throat. It was glued together. It had to stay dry for 10-14 days but I did sneak a hair washing a time or two. Then when it can get wet, it dissolves or washes off within a few showers - I'm foggy on those details but there were no stitches and no oozing of any sort, very clean and tidy! But he may have a much bigger incision.

I only had C5 & 6 fused but I needed my mom to come and stay with us for a week. Between the pain meds and the discomfort (you have to sleep in a really awful collar for awhile and then a softer collar that is equally difficult to sleep in), I needed help for several days just getting up and around. I don't remember being in pain for long because I stopped the pain meds very soon. I just know the pills knocked me out when I did take them. I remember lying down was so uncomfortable because of the collar. I was in my 30s, I can imagine a 70 year old would heal much slower. He needs someone there for several days at a minimum. And he'll need someone to drive him to appointments because I think it was 6 weeks before I was allowed to drive.

You could copy old tests and present them a few lessons down the road - repeatedly if necessary. MUS works really well for one of my kids. But I add other problems - mostly word problems and occasionally math mammoth pages. Or I make up my own. But I use the "tests" from the little test book as review often. If he forgets a concept, you could have him re-watch that lesson's video. I've had to back up a few lessons to re-present the concept before. It usually rings bells for her and she remembers how to do the problem.

we use two things - Old kindle Touch which you have to buy used on Amazon now but they have audio speakers. And my kids have Kindle Fires. You can lock internet on them. Don't put minecraft on there or you'll run into the issue I face - kid says they are going to listen to a book and I find them playing games. For our library audiobooks, I download on the computer and transfer to the kindle via USB cord. At least with our library, audiobooks can't be sent to a kindle via wi-fi, only cord. I've never put library audiobooks on the Fires, only the Touches. Books purchased on Audible books automatically go to the Fires via wi-fi.

I'd like to find something for Spelling, too. It is our most challenging subject. We started with AAS then tried A&P and SW. Now we're back to AAS. The two workbook styles just didn't teach the kids anything. The jury is still out on whether they are retaining anything in AAS but we're giving it a lot of effort.

We're in a similar situation. My career is higher paying so back to work I went. It's hard. We decided at the time to sell our house and move near family. We weren't tied to the area (other than we just built our dream house but there are other houses). So the kids and I are staying with my parents until my husband sells our house and we get settled in this new area. In the meantime, I work (found a good job in no time just because my profession is also in demand and I'd only been out for 4 years) and my mom has agreed to finish this school year out for the kids. They'll start school in the fall. I don't think my husband is up for homeschooling and needs to work anyway. He'll look for a job when the house sells and he gets over here. I still get very upset that we have to give up homeschooling. I just hope they transition to school seamlessly and thrive. It's the best I can hope for at this point. But I know exactly how you're feeling. The kids were pretty resilient. They gave up friends and gymnastics teams and their new house and so much more. But they keep on smiling. The least I can do is smile, too, for them.

I'm fairly picky and don't like hot lunches. The things I've been alternating: Salads Cold leftover meat (I prefer it that way to warmed up, the best is BBQ chicken from the grill leftover and I cut it before I put it in my lunchbox) add veggies and dip and fruit and maybe some crackers and a fork since he's afraid to go to the lunchroom for a fork ;) Blackbean salad with chips Hodge-Podge - fruit, veggies/dip, crackers/cheese, nuts, muffins, etc. Mix and match. Also one of my go-tos for the kiddos. I second the above person who suggested if he likes sandwiches, pack the components separately and let him build it himself at lunchtime (I personally can't stand lunch meat so no other help there). Or how about cold pizza (some people like it I hear). Or a pack of pb crackers and tell him he'll appreciate dinner when he gets home.

I'm required to test every year by the state. I use the ITBS. I like having a bit of confirmation that I'm (ok, they're) doing alright.

Yes! Getting your card punched (so to speak) by doing 2 years in a Big 4 accounting firm stinks, but industry jobs that come after that are great. There are tons of quality jobs out there without even going the public accounting route. Although I think getting that experience is a real asset. And, I think it's really important to get a CPA license even if you never plan to practice in public accounting.

We haven't decided if they will go to ps next year.

Location. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I've become a serial homebuyer. Now, I'll always think about how quickly/well I'll be able to unload a house. So, location is what matters. And then age of home. Then, features of the actual house.

We loved it. Very simple for that age. We stopped doing the states part but loved the history.

My son struggled. He still repeats the only phrase that helped: Bat before Ball makes a b. Doorknob before Door makes a d. I'm sure I found it on pinterest because I printed little visual clues that I hung on the wall near him so he just had to glance at it.

I started my twins with Singapore. One is very mathy and really took to it. The other needed to move to something else. She uses MUS and does really well with it. I'm glad I switched her. I supplement with other things - Challenging Word Problems or MM, both of which I already own.

A few additional down sides that others reminded me of: Cows are big and can break down the edge of ponds doing a lot of damage. They do keep some very wild areas less overgrown but they are destructive! Fencing is expensive and always needs repair. A graceful little deer can do damage to a fence. If a fawn gets stuck in your fence, you have to put on your big girl pants and go cut it loose. It will not thank you. If you are tender-hearted at all, you will be saddened to run into a lot of death. I could never take the reality of a really rural place. If you plan to breed any animals, there will be stillborn babies or dead moms. It is heartbreaking. Rabid skunks. Make sure the ground isn't too rocky for a well. My mom's land turned out to be VERY rocky. They tried a well very, very deep but couldn't get it to work. This was done by "experts". You need a tractor, bush hog attachment, gator, weed eater, etc. Gator tires are terrible and you could spend a lot of time/money repairing tires. {but my 7 year old girl drives a gator better than most adults drive cars ;) } Sometimes neighbors bring you unusual gifts, often strange meats/jerkies (what is the plural of Jerky?)

My mom tried guineas and ducks. Built the ducks a nice house and let them out every morning. All got eaten. The guineas are so stupid they were easy picking and attracted more wildlife (foxes? I can't remember what she said ate most of the guineas). Goats are funny. She had a llama to protect the silly goats (her first attempt at animals). When I would visit from college, I'd feed them paper. I was a city kid and the goats fascinated me. My parents decided to retire and become "farmers" after I left home for college. I will admit that I put the worst of the worst but the op did ask for the bad side. Now, there are many pros that I could list but I'll stick with one: There is nothing more peaceful than sitting outside on a cool evening and hearing nothing but bugs and looking at the stars and fireflies. (until a neighbor's dog barks or someone decides to shoot something.) (my parents live where it is hilly/rocky, so noises travel a long distance).

We recently moved from a few acres to a neighborhood. I really thought I'd love working outside and gardening and the privacy. But, I'm never moving back. My parents still live in the middle of nowhere and love the privacy. It's not worth it to me. I echo the above complaints. Here are the top troubles combining both my old house and my parents' house: Mice/rats in garage/barn or house So much mowing! Even with animals. So far to town or any activities for the kids When the power goes out, it stays out until every single town/neighborhood/store gets theirs back. Then ours will come on a week after that. Terrible Internet Service Terrible Cell Phone Service Stray animals adopt you and people nearby don't keep their dogs contained at their house so they cause problems on your land Did I mention all the mowing? It costs a lot to hire people to do whatever you can't - baling hay comes to mind, bulldozer work, digging a hole for a horse that was put down where it stood Ticks. My mom got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Ten years later the effects are still causing severe problems. {She still loves the country and tick spray; she'd never move.} You get attached to an animal - mostly barn cats - and something eats it. Teenagers plus baseball bat (or a drunk) plus your mailbox which is at the end of a long drive not within sight of your house No days off from chores if you have animals. No sleeping in! Animals = shoveling their refuse. A lot. If you have a heart and feed a barn cat Fancy Feast, he will never again eat a mouse ;) Vets cost more to come to your farm. Ponds can be more problematic that you can even begin to imagine - snakes, snapping turtles, mosquitoes, duck weed, leaking/not holding water, weed-eating the edge, droughts. Poachers on your land can be dangerous. One even had the nerve to set up a tree stand and deer cameras on our land. Granted, it was an area we rarely went back to so we didn't notice for awhile. Every distant cousin wants to hunt on your land for free. A long drive to decent stores, doctors, restaurants.

I use Standards Edition because it has the Home Instructor Guide. I buy from Rainbow Resource because I never have trouble buying enough for that free shipping

Writing with Ease 1, All About Reading, Singapore math for my mathy boy and Math U See for my non-mathy girl, Adventures in America for history, Home Art Studio, First Language Lessons 1. All about Reading was definitely the best choice I ever made. It spanned K-first and level 4 was the beginning of 2nd grade. They liked Explode the Code. I thought it was a waste of time but they clambered for it and history and science. Science never got done. I have no suggestions because all I tried failed except just reading. We read lots of books aloud. 1st was a fun year.

Ha. Wonder if come May, she'll complain the kids don't do enough school? My mom just complained that my kids aren't doing enough because we just moved and took some time off. Sometimes we can't win. I chose to ignore her!

We drive ~45 minutes one way for my daughter's gymnastics, three times per week. We pass several mediocre gyms to get to the good one. So far, although costing us an arm and leg, it's been worth it. I suppose next year it will be four times per week.

Velvetta Shells and Cheese. I used to eat it as a teenager. I got a box for my kids not long ago. All three of us thought it was disgusting. Bologna. In fact all lunch meat is disgusting to me now. Slimy. I do give it to my kids, though.

Violet Jane, Violet Claire, Violet Grace, Violet Katherine, Violet Rae I love the name Violet. And I don't see anything wrong with Violet Rose. There are lovely purple colored roses that could be her trademark flower :) I could see having trouble getting my husband to go along with it, though.

I like Rosalie. Rosalie Grace. Sarah Rose. Amelia Rose. Rose Annabelle (no flow). Rose Eliza (too many ssss sounds?). Rosemary Jane. Rose Susanne. Riley Rose.