St. Andrews sounds like another great option. I'm going to go check out Trinity College, Dublin as well. Who knows maybe they'll work harder to study abroad. Thanks again. Laura

Hmm, my dh went there, and I would never have considered it for my kids. Thanks so much for mentioning this. Laura

Wow. Just wow. So it's not mostly test scores. It is EVERYTHING. Where are all these perfect kids coming from? Laura

I agree. And my mom was also that RN. And amazingly enough, my SIL (from the above post) makes almost 100k as a private home care as an LPN. My niece is switching her major to nursing in hopes of duplicating her mother's experience--which of course will be nearly impossible (at least I hope that LPNs routinely do not make that kind of $$ as it's mostly tax dollars). Laura

This is what happened to my niece. She lived on her own and tried to get aid. Her parents did not help her. She could not get any $$ b/c her parents made too much, despite her being on her own for a year. She only got aid (and lots of it) when she had a baby (unmarried). Not exactly the public policy I want our country pursuing. Laura

I'm at the Millennium too, but can't make the get together. Eat lots of chocolate for me (or drink lots of wine). Laura

Department stores like Macy's have personal shoppers that can help you. Tell them what you want to spend (they'll look at the sale price items also) and let them try. They can give you an objective opinion about how something looks on you and they'll help you find more flattering items. And they're free. Laura

I don't have a domestic bone in my body, so I really don't care whether or not I can make ice cream cone grilled cheese. I do need to appreciate those days of snuggling/laughing together in bed as a whole family. In fact, we need to do that again ASAP b4 my kids think they're too old. Thank you for sharing this. Laura

I don't think the house speaker was being insulting to women, just being insulting in general. (Not apologizing for his rude behavior, but I don't think you can extrapolate this quote as an example of one group attacking women). Bill Maher Ms. Cohen clearly attacked SAHMs as an entire group. Laura

My 3 loved it. Including my then 12 year old ds, but he's very young at heart. It's a lot like VBS. Lots of singing/dancing/crafts. Plus tons of other kids. The year before I hesitated and the kids conference filled up, and I had to take all 3 along. They still enjoyed it. Mostly they sat outside the rooms and played games. It was a long day this way, esp. for me b/c I worried about them the whole time. I tried to leave early on Sat., but they didn't want to leave the kids' conference. You'll still have time at night w/him b/c they close b4 all the sessions are done. Registration morning is absolutely crazy. I go to the convention as much for my kids as I do for myself. They love the hotel (even w/o a pool as we stay at the Millennium--another great recommendation fro Elizabeth!), the eating out, the vendors, and the hundreds of other kids. We often run into a lot of people we know b/c it's in our state. Laura

If I can come up w/something I will too. I loved meeting other people last year w/their bee attire on. It helped to locate friendlies. I hope others are able to do this as well. Especially since I can't meet up w/everyone on Friday--big bummer. Laura

:lol:

As usual, I'm the last to know everything. Laura

My ds was like yours when he was in 3d grade--and he was in a Catholic school. The homework drove him nuts. He asked to be homeschooled even though he was a very social child. I worried about homeschooling him b/c I couldn't get him to do his 40 mins. of homework. I couldn't figure out how he was going to work at least half of the day w/me. The early days were rough. What helped is that I sprinkled his homeschool days w/enough fun and skipped homework that it eventually motivated him. He did not want to return to school. I still have to ride him some. Not nearly as much as I did in the beginning. He performs really well for others (co-ops, online classes, speech and debate). He's just not as motivated for me. Next year he will return to school at a rigorous, all-boys Catholic prep school. His decision. I wanted him to stay home for high school, but this school will provide him w/an amazing education. Hang in there. Some kids (esp. boys) are just hard. Laura

Elizabeth, Why don't you just plan what's best for you since you got this ball rolling and it sounds like Friday night is probably best for everyone. I think you might have recommended the crepes place to us last year, and we loved it. It wasn't too far. If we have time Thursday night, I might have to check out the other places that you mentioned. We got great breakfast sandwiches at the Dunkin Donut one Fri. morning (I think they were closed on Sat.) They were so filling they lasted us most of the day. We might try the LaRosa's delivery. I'm not sure if I remember correctly but the pizza at the Millennium wasn't very good. I'll catch up to you next year! Laura

Hey, I can't make it Friday night as I need to drive back to Columbus to get dd in bed at a decent hour before her 8 am volleyball tournament. Friday morning???? Millennium was a good location. Wish there was an onsite coffee shop. Laura ETA: I completely understand that Friday probably makes the most sense for everyone. I'm just sad I can't be at the convention on Sat.

I, too, have a ds like this. He's very sweet, loved by young and old and just happy go lucky. He does have very high ambitions, but low follow through. It's disconcerting to dh who is extremely driven. However, when I look back on the kid I was (and young adult) ds is actually a harder worker than I. We're both minimalists, but b/c he has me 'pushing' him, he gets a lot more accomplished than I ever did. And he's like Creekland's 3ds, if it's something he's interested in (history, geography, sports) there's no end to his enthusiasm. I won't stop 'pushing' him, but I will try to appreciate him more for the happy person that he is. Laura

Yes, by far. We didn't start hs'ing until ds was in 4th. DD8 has been homeschooled the whole time. She also listens in on what I'm doing w/the other two and gets a head start. And I'm finally feeling comfortable with the curriculum and methods I'm using. However, ds gets the lion share of my attention, even if I'm not sitting next to him. I feel the pressure of educating him more b/c he will be hitting college a lot sooner than dd8. I let dd8 have a lot more free time b/c I just don't have the time to get to her as much as I'd like. Laura

Also you can let them make their own food--mini pizzas, decorate cupcakes, etc.

We kept super busy, and we did a lot of things that I normally wouldn't have done. School was not a priority. My kids had to all do the same sport (fencing) b/c I couldn't clone myself and drive in 3 different directions. Once a week after fencing, we'd stop and get donuts and watch Jeopardy. Another night, we went to a friend's house after chess. We did CC. I tutored that year. We skyped 3x/week when possible. He sent packages home somewhat regularly. One time he sent home a custom Iraqi gold-colored gown from my dd7 with matching shoes. I napped a lot--or at least sought out quiet time in my room after school. I needed decompression time. Dinners were super easy. I had zero energy by that point, but then again, I've never liked cooking. We did a lot more reading on the couch activities. I didn't have much help, but mine were older than yours and that helped. Use any babysitting services you can from family members. Laura

We have quite a few. I think they're an addiction for me. All that education in one little box. Unfortunately, they don't sell the time that I need to watch them. DS really enjoys most of the history ones. We're near the end of the American history (non-high school course-although that was fun and our first intro). We've paired that with AAH, and it's been an educational American history year. Sometimes I use the math dvds as review or to approach problems differently. I'm listening to the Am. literature classics disk in the car, and it's a bit of a snore, but I'm still learning a lot. I have a couple of the Vandiver's, but haven't gotten to them yet. Laura

Yes, definitely. Both of my kids received gold medals on the Latin 1 exam. I was afraid we were going to ruin Lukeion's reputation for NLE success b/c we didn't do anything besides the Lukeion Latin 1b class (we did Wheelock's at home for Latin 1a). Lukeion also has a "Meet the Romans" class, which is also supposed to be geared towards the exam. It was full by the time I got around to signing up for it. But, I figured since my dc were only in 6th and 8th grade, I would worry about it next year. DS knows a lot about Romans, but dd knew very little. We're pretty happy campers here. Laura

:iagree: We only got through the first few lectures w/JOS. It was too difficult for my non-sciency, history loving son. He has enjoyed quite a few of TC lectures (mostly history, but a couple of math), but this did not hold his interested. Again, I think a sciency kids would also enjoy SM, and it is in fact recommended for 8th grade in LCC, but I think this is something my ds would not get much out of w/o my holding his hand. I agree with the Bill Nye and possibly Standard Deviants dvds. Laura

Dd 12 started 1/2 in 5th and is now doing Alg. 1. We skipped the first 30 or so chapters b/c we don't take a summer break. Over the summer we do the LOF books w/one Saxon lesson a week. At this point she's going to do half of an Algebra 1 lesson/day b/c it is starting to take her a very long time to do her math. And while I think it's ok for someone in high school to spend 90 mins. to two hours on math, I don't think it's ok for a middle schooler (unless they want to of course--not the case here). She should finish Alg. 1 by the end of 7th grade (with LOF interspersed). Laura

There's been a thread on this, but I haven't seen it lately. The past couple of years I've gone to a WTM board get together--usually the first night. I'd love to meet you. Nobody on this board could be weird, right :001_huh:. Laura