One thing we take to co-op for lunches that is different than most of the suggestions so far is this soup, eaten cold. Keto Green Chicken Enchilada Soup The ingredients are 1 cups salsa verde (see example) 8 oz cream cheese, softened 2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 4 cups bone broth or chicken stock 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded It tastes great hot, but I always eat the leftovers cold because I think it tastes even better that way, and bonus...it’s easy to eat on the go like that! We also make Cheesy Zoodles (a low carb mac ‘n cheese style dish made with spiralized zucchini instead of pasta) and those are fantastic cold.

I always get a family gift that the kids open on Christmas Eve. Usually it is a board game, but this year I decided to get a set of “snowballs” for a snowball fight. My 85 year old grandma had so much fun with it! I knew everyone else would love it, but her enthusiasm was surprising and made the day extra special.

These! They are so good. So good.

I’m with Pawz4me. If my 14yo (and I do actually have a son who turned 14 at the end of July) was comfortable being left alone in the circumstances you describe, I would do it.

I am so sorry for the loss of your precious baby. What a terrifying experience; I am so happy that you made it through.

I don’t! We don’t do vacations of the traditional sort. It used to be because we couldn’t afford to, but now it’s because it is ten times the work for me and nobody seems to enjoy it or appreciate it enough for it to feel worth it. We do staycations. We do day trips up to 2 hours in any direction and find something fun everyone will enjoy, or leave the elder kids home alone if they don’t want to go. We do plan to take each kid on a senior trip with just mom and dad, but we have family and friends nearby who can watch the other two to make that possible. Honestly, my ideal vacation would be my entire family leaving on their own vacation for a week while I stayed home. 😂

Thank you for this! I watched a bit of one video and I can tell this teacher is one who my sons would like and learn from. We may just have to use some of those videos!

😛 She was so confused as to why I kicked her off my lap and then took her picture.

These are terrible iPad pics, but should give you an idea. And excuse the uncentered painting, doh has moving that on his to-do list.

My couches are tan and the walls are grey, but I liven it up a bit with aqua and yellow accents and tie it all together with dark wood tables, chair legs, bookcases, desk, etc. I think a darker brown couch could work in my space, too, if that’s what I had to work with.

Your signature leads me to believe your son is around 3rd grade age? I’m also a fairly structured schooler with 15 and 13 yo boys and at that age I would not hesitate to drop everything for an experience like yours!

What about one of those thin flexible plastic cutting boards? Do you have one of those?

No idea, but I wanted to let you know that before I came to the forums I tried to check FB and it will not load on my iPad. So something is up.

I love a tidy house, but I really have struggled with getting it that way over the years. Just this school year we have finally hit on a routine that works to keep our house under control. My oldest kid is 15, so that’s a lot of years of relative chaos. We always, always panicked if unexpected guests came, or took days to clean the house before expected guests arrived. Now I don’t worry if someone drops by and that is so, so, so freeing! What we did was to assign a specific room or set of rooms for every day of the week. But I do not have written checklists because in the past that would just stress me out when we didn’t finish them. We do basically what you are talking about, without the written lists. The biggest change over everything I have tried in the past is that if we get behind I don’t let myself say, “Well that failed.” and give up. We Just...Keep...Going. We miss a week, oh well, we’ll catch up next week. The only room this once a week method doesn’t work well for is the kitchen, since that is really an every day job. We do, however, only bother mopping (and sometimes even sweeping) on kitchen cleaning day. If we miss a day, for whatever reason, we live with the chaos in that area for another week unless we just can’t. Over time everything has gotten so much more clean and organized that missing a week isn’t such a big deal. And I always inspect the kids’ work if I can, and have them re-do things if needed. I want them to learn how to do things properly, so not letting them get away with sloppy work is important! While things like toothpaste caps left off and towels on the floor used to be a huge problem, after 7 months they are finally seeming to notice those types of things and take care of them without needing reminders. In our house this looks like..... Monday ~ Kitchen 15yo unloads and reloads dishwasher and empties recycling into outdoor can, 13yo empties garbage and sweeps and swiffers floor, 7yo uses natural stainless steel cleaner on appliances and wipes down counters Tuesday ~ Music & Mud Rooms 7yo does the shoe & jacket tidying, 13yo vacuums doormat and empties garbage we keep there for when we are emptying the car, 15yo dusts music room and swiffers floors of both rooms Wednesday ~ Living Room 7yo cleans up the mountains of paper crafting she has made and rearranges throw blankets and pillows and waters plants, 13yo makes sure all books are put away properly and vacuums, 15yo dusts surfaces and for cobwebs and washes dog nose prints off of windows if needed Thursday ~ Dining Room/Hallway/Stairs/Library 7yo washes table and buffet and sweeps library, 15yo swiffers dining room and makes sure library shelves are tidy, 13yo vacuums stairs and runners Friday ~ rest day! If possible we do not chores this day aside from keeping kitchen liveable. Saturday ~ Bedrooms/wash laundry Each kid cleans their own room. Older two carry down dirty laundry and sort into hot wash/cold wash for me. I wash laundry. Sunday ~ Bathrooms/fold laundry & put away We have 2.5 baths, so 15yo cleans master bath because he usually use that one, 13yo cleans kids’ bathroom since he is the primary user, and 7yo cleans half bath/laundry room with a bit of help from me for the toilet. I sort laundry if I didn’t take care of it yesterday when I was washing, and fold everything that isn’t one of the kids’. They generally fold and put away their own. In the beginning I had to help them, especially with bathrooms, but now I can generally just let them at it and then inspect. Having to re-do a job you thought you were done with before you can have screen time is a really effective method for making sure they learn how to do it to Mom’s standard the first try! My main chore is inspecting their work daily, and helping with anything they need help with. I also try to do one bigger thing, or thing that needs done but not as frequently as weekly, in that days’ zone if I have the chance; like vacuuming inside the couches, or organizing desk drawers, or cleaning the washing machine or coffee pot, or emptying and washing the fridge, or pulling out all of the clothes from a dresser and donating outgrown things. It took time to get here, but slow and steady has been the only thing that has worked for me.

We’re discovering that The Great Courses Plus (GC+) is a very effective and efficient way for us to cover subjects, so we’re using more and more of these. My eldest will be in 10th grade and 8th grader follows along in most subjects with his brother. He could be in 9th since I started him after his 6th birthday, so he will be earning high school credit for classes he does high school level work in (Algebra, Spanish, Biology.) Math: Algebra 2 using GC+ Algebra II I think we’ll do Geometry instead. English: Medieval-Ren literature class I’m running at co-op (Beowulf, Sir Gawain, Dante, Chaucer, More’s Utopia, Shakespeare) GC+ Building a Better Vocabulary GC+ English Grammar Boot Camp writing across the curriculum? (This is the only thing I’m not settled on yet.) I’ve settled on Killgallon and writing across the curriculum. Spanish: once weekly at co-op with a native Spanish-speaking teacher (or using GC+ Learning Spanish) possibly Spanish for Children A daily practice with Mondly, Duolingo Biology once weekly at co-op GC+ Biology: The Science of Life text: Campbell Bio 9th Ed. Campbell Biology: Concepts and Connections labs: not sure what we’re planning so far, except I know we’re doing at least 2 dissections Medieval History The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade by Susan Wise Bauer study guide for HotMW GC+ Foundations of Western Civilization lectures 24-48 Music/Art guitar lessons co-op guitar ensemble, band (playing bass guitar), and chorus ... each meeting once once weekly with 2 concerts per year he is also learning on his own how to play drums weekly at co-op: wool felting, bookmaking, etc

DS (15) cello or piano DS (13) drum set or desk and computer monitor DD (7) drum set or pony These kids have expensive wants this year! I do love that musical instruments have become their most wanted items. Oldest will get his (used) piano, middle his desk and monitor (he already has an electronic drum set), and youngest a kid-size drum set. They won't be getting much more since everything they want is so expensive!

If I'm not eating potatoes with my steak I like to eat it with two veggies. My vote is for roasted asparagus alongside the already planned green beans. Roasted radishes are another idea.

I'm right there with you. My 14yo son loved history; our copy of the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History is in tatters from him spending hours a day reading it when he was little. My 13yo isn't a history lover, but he had no complaints with SOTW. But this 7yo sister of theirs is something else. I'm just sitting down to plan out her first grade year, knowing that SOTW doesn't keep her interested. may I think I may use SOTW as my reference spine and take her to the library every week. I will pull out a bunch of books related to that weeks' topic and let her choose those which she finds most interesting. I will be watching this thread for more ideas, though! Oh! Mary Pope Osbourne (The Magic Tree House author) has a version of The Odyssey for kids. We have the audiobook, and I highly recommend it.

I was at a wedding south of Punxutawney (1.5 hrs from Pitt) last weekend and they had a cookie table. I had no idea it was a thing, I just thought they did it because they are doing cake at the ceremony in Ireland this coming weekend and wanted to do something different!

I don't know if they make a size smaller than L, or what size you wear, but these dresses on Amazon are surprisingly elegant, incredibly comfortable, very well made, and cheap! I bought 3 different colors. They are easy to dress up or down and come in short or longer sleeves. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07CXJQ59L/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?pd_rd_i=B07CXJP7TV&pd_rd_wg=puCwc&pd_rd_r=ED55YNM4X2AFY1ASE1CH&pd_rd_w=VpONK&th=1&psc=1

Valley of the Fallen would require a walk of a few miles. And El Escorial is one of the most incredible places I've ever been...not to be missed!

I've recently started thinking my husband is home early from work only to realize it is just my 14yo talking. It is weird.

I would start with the Fluent Forever word list. https://fluent-forever.com/your-first-625-words/ There is even an Arabic to English version, though that is $10. I'm finding the visuals very helpful for learning German vocab. Fluent Forever uses spaced repitition, too. I bought an app called Flashcards Deluxe for my Kindle Fire that might work for you.

It did that to everyone last week, which is why they took it back down for the weekend.