Yeah! And the wonderful news is mowing season doesn't have that long left. It is still hot hot hot here. Dh and I aren't looking forward to mowing this evening. Our yard is too small to consider a riding mower, but I did talk my mom into buying one. They have a large lawn. She has COPD and her husband recently had a slew of medical problems that included surgery. They love the riding mower.

Granola Sardines on crackers with sliced cucumber and carrots to the side. Pre-make PB&J sandwiched on whole grain bread and freeze. Store in cooler to help keep things cold, but remove a few hours before eating. Apples and celery sticks dipped in PB. Nuts Whole grain muffins Freeze hummus and place in cooler. Should be cold the next day. Serve on pita bread. Cheese sticks in the cooler Freeze green smoothies in a mason jar and leave in cooler. Drink when defrosted. Avocado halved and seasoned right before eaten. Eat straight out of peel with a spoon.

Yes, usually from bulk packages and most are bad. I try hard to inspect as well as possible before buying. That isn't always possible in sealed large packages.

They still make local papers? j/k. I am unsure, but I checked the local news website's home page. There is one big local story with a big picture. The democratic nomination story is the 4th thumbnail pic down below some local stories. It has her picture in the thumbnail.

You are correct. Stupid was the word I was looking for. The situation just sucks the life out of my vocabulary. ETA: actually HEARTLESS may be even closer to the actual word to describe the people who did that to the dear man.

Reversible 😀 Ours is chalk board on one side and whiteboard on the other. It isn't hung though. I slide out from behind sofa when needed, write on the side I like, and display it by leaning against a wall or cabinet for the time needed to view. If you must choose to permanently fix it to the wall, a chalkboard with Nice framing is prettier in a public space. A whiteboard is more practical. If you go with chalkboard, try the dustless chalk from Amazon and review it here so I can know whether the extra price is worth it.

Just, wow. My heart is broken. The police didn't even believe the group home staff and kept the man locked up 4 hours after finding there was no weapon. Wow. Clueless!

I am not seasoned yet, but I love teaching and have looked at a few different curricula past elementary aged. CLE math resembles math the way I learned it in school through 8th grade, but better. It is a Mennonite company. The workbooks have some biblical and old school references here and there, but It doesn't seem to bother most secular homeschoolers to my understanding. I have read secular homeschoolers being bothered by their religion in the LA, but unsure about the majority of users. I don't know much about the high school levels. This is low on the priority list, but throwing it out there. Easy Peasy All in One High School has a free online Spanish curriculum for high school if you want something simple just for a 9th grade foreign language credit. I am not sure of its rigor, but you go to the website each day and it has links to videos or other websites where you can learn the foreign language. I wouldn't look into it until after your main subjects are covered, but if you need to do a foreign language credit for your 9th grader and you aren't planning to have an honors level foreign language credit it may be worth your time to look at it. Doing the Spanish Duolingo app, free, on the side would be a great supplement. As an aside, Easy Peasy online is put together by a homeschool mom. It has a free K-12 curriculum mostly from online websites she links to for each day's subjects and lessons. It looks a bit choppy and confusing to use as a full curriculum, but you may like bits and pieces of it for some extras like art appreciation or elementary science. I would have a hard time using it for math, LA, writing, or reading everyday (especially just starting out). Some people do use it for those things so it is worth mentioning. Rod and Staff, also A Mennonite Company, has a spelling program, Spelling by Sound and Structure. It is very affordable, I understand it is very solid, and it may be a good fit for a 4th grader exiting public school. You can look at samples online. I don't use it, but I would use it if I didn't have time to do a more time consuming dictation spelling program with my elementary kids. This is not a seasoned opinion, but a humble suggestion. I would set together courses for the 9th and 8th grader 1st. I would have the 4th grader watch lots of educational videos, do some handwriting practice or creative writing of your choosing, math practice from free online sites (like Xtramath for drills or Kahn academy for teaching videos) , and read some library books everyday UNTIL you have the 9th grader and 8th grader in a groove. That may be anywhere from 1-4 months give or take. Then I would put together an active teaching plan with curriculum of your choosing for the 4th grader. For the Kindergartener, I would get some cheap workbooks only if the child likes that thing, do some simple math activities in real life circumstances, play lots of board games, look up a craft to do once in awhile for perks, pick 1-2 educational PBS shows to watch regularly, go to library reading programs if offered, go to places like the zoo often, and read lots of great picture books. Start working on active reading lessons after the 9th, 8th, and 4th grader are comfortable with their stuff so you aren't juggling too much new stuff at once, If your Ker isn't eager to learn to read just yet, no worries waiting until 1st grade if you are comfortable waiting until then. Most importantly, find out what the homeschool laws are in your state. How do you report homeschooling and who do you report to? Are there certain courses, hours, days, or ways you have to teach? Will you need testing or a portfolio to turn in each year? Some states don't require notification of homeschooling until a certain age and some require registration for Kindergarten. If you need links to any websites to your state's homeschool laws let us know so we can help find a link for you. Find out what social support is available in your area.

Can she scale back to one language? Can she sit in on the 1st part of morning basket time and the 2nd half go off to do independent work while you focus on things geared to the younger two? You can still do assigned readings, but maybe less of them. I am thinking poetry one day, science another, then lit, then biography. Do your assigned readings overlap with things you are covering in morning basket time? If so, save those things in morning basket for the 2nd half when she is on her own. I know there are so many great things to cover and so little time.

One more thing, this case also bothers me because I have worked with 2 black guys that were wonderful men. Both have gotten unjust treatment from cops. One was late for work one day because the neighborhood convenience store was robbed after he walked out and someone reported seeing a black man speed away in a blue car. He had got cuffed and taken in just because he had recently picked up a coke there on his way to work and happened to drive away in a blue car. He used his one call to call the boss at the low paying job to explain why he didn't show up to work. They caught the real robber soon after and let him go. He came into work even though the boss would have excused him for the day, or week for that matter.

Exactly this. I made a medical error that did no harm to a patient once. I reported it immediately and felt guilty forever. Even the doctor tried to make me feel better. He said it was nothing. I performed all the steps required by the facility as follow up to a medical error. The facility wrote me up and said in the report that my actions put the facility and the patient in danger. Wow! A coworker told me I should have never reported the incident, but I didn't feel right about that. I had no idea if I did everything right after a human error that I would be considered a bad employee. Why in the heck do they tell you to fill out an incident report after a medical error if they don't expect you to ever make an error? Eta: this may be why this case tugs my heart strings. The man who got shot did EVERYTHING RIGHT and was still shot and cuffed by the "good guys" without explanation. The man is having a very hard time coming to terms with that and I completely understand. And to bring up that maybe the group home was at fault for not keeping a closer eye on the residents or not having 2 aides to assist just makes me more flustered! Anyone have chill pills to spare? My husband is due home soon so I'm leaving this thread a bit. I will try to read on when I can hopefully be more objective.

From the video, I think the therapist was doing an outstanding job of trying to de escalate the situation. I could tell the man was great at his job. The way he spoke to the autistic man and police was very professional even in the most stressful of situations. I hope he gets a big raise! I would hope for him to get a promotion, but there are few people that have a gift to work in his position and the position is definitely his gifting.

Very small children don't have rights to run out into the road either. But are you going to fault every parent who has a child that breaks away and runs into the street as an unfit parent? A group home that has a disabled resident break protocol and wander into the street does not need to be judged for finding out the disabled man rwandered off and sent someone to attempt to get him to return. If the group home is not a lockdown facility, there is no way the staff can ensure no resident ever wanders off any more than a mom of 6 can ensure none of her children ever run out of her home and into the street unless she dead bolts the doors.

Just like group homes MIGHT have policies for 2 aides to assist in that situation, it was also policy on a hospital floor I worked on to have a certain number of patients/caregiver. Someone calls out sick, the ratio gets ignored, and people fuss about the neglectful care in hospitals. The neglect was never the caregiver's fault. In no way, would I fault the group home facility for the situation at hand even if 2 aides were supposed to be present.

Did the police officer then proceed to handcuff the homeowner IN CASE the homeowner retaliated in violence???

I love the goats idea! In some 3rd world countries the goats, chickens, and cattle just roam around the villages like pet dogs and cats. No need for lawn mowers or fertilizer. ETA: too bad our HOA doesn't allow free range anything, especially goats.

But you still haven't answered my curiosity is how the cop could justifiably cuff the man the police spokesman is saying the cop was trying to protect?

I'm deleting in response to above change â˜ºï¸ ETA: if you do the yard, wear a mask and do a sinus rinse after the fact. My husband has bad allergies and I have bad feet. Neither of us want the other to do yard work due to our issues. We have a small lawn and would feel terrible hiring out lawn care since we are physically active. We also have more time than you and your dh. I usually mow and he usually trims. He takes a shower and does a sinus rinse immediately after trimming. I sometimes mow the front and back separately to rest my feet.

Or you could let this fall on your husband's shoulders. The fine will be more than hiring out lawn care I am sure. He will have to spend the money either way. Sometimes men just need to be forced to wear big boy panties. Sorry that is an unsympathetic answer, and I don't know the full situation. I just don't think your husband has his priorities straight. He wants to move out by the end of the month, but leave behind a trashy looking yard? ETA: In response to a post below, my attitude is likely too harsh. Either way, one of you need to take care of yard, hire out, barter, or get fined like Fried Clams mentioned below. Is there a plan set up for lawn care at the new place?

And now, after deep breaths and a gradual rising of my blood pressure again. The officer told the therapist, "I don't know," when asked why he shot. A sane officer who was rational enough to assess there was possible immediate danger to the therapist would have said something like, "I felt the other guy was about to harm you and I was trying to protect you, but I missed the shot."

Again, if the cops assessed the therapist was under immediate threat due to not being able to hear the therapist, WHY treat the therapist like a criminal after a bad attempt to save his life from that threat??? I just can't get why the news report the statement the police were defending the therapist, not intentionally shooting at the therapist, but NO ONE has spat right back at that argument that they treated the therapist like a criminal for no reason! This is really bothering me and even my husband thinks I need to take a chill pill over it. It should be automatic, "So you shot someone accidentally while meaning to shoot the person you felt was a danger to a person? The automatic reaction isn't to go treat the person you were protecting like a criminal!" Taking deep breaths and trying to step away from the situation.

And WHY handcuff a calm, cooperative man that just got shot accidentally if the intent was to save his life from the man with the toy truck??? I am not for this next scenario, but it would make more sense if they truly believed the therapist was the victim and the autistic man was about to shoot: Why not handcuff the guy they thought had a gun and was ready to shoot and figure out it was true he was an autistic guy with a toy truck after the fact???? It would have been equally terrible to rush in and raid the autistic man and cuff him after the fact, BUT how can their argument the cops were protecting the therapist from harm stand if the cops treated the therapist like the criminal after the shooting?

Barter services possibly? Is there someone you can exchange free babysitting for lawn care? I had a vet friend that bartered vet fees for free babysitting when I was a college student. So helpful!

Take care of your feet! I bought cheap shoes for years even though I worked on my feet all day. I now have all kinds of feet problems. It's tough to know your podiatrist too well and know you will be seeing a foot doctor the rest of your life when you're still childbearing age. Sigh. I can only wear the clunky rocker shoes or clogs now. I HAVE to wear shoes anytime I walk more than to another room and back here and there or my feet hurt. I can sometimes get a deal on the limited types I can wear for around $70. My broken in "house shoes" Dansko clogs started to fall apart last week and I had to replace them with another roomy slip on shoe for around the house. $90 on sale for around the house shoes! Knock off clogs don't cut it because they don't have a tough enough insole. I do use a knock off pair for yard work in short spurts. A few days ago, frustrated with my shoe dilemma, I splurged on a pair of running shoes with orthotics for public use. Unlike my other shoes, these don't make me feel like I am going to fall over from the rocker sole. $225 with tax and the orthotic. The only shoe in the store that worked for my feet. The shoes are awesome and I will buy a replacement pair when needed. Hopefully, they will still be made the same way when I can afford another pair in a year or so. Be blessed to find shoes in $50-$80 range that have work well for your feet.

PSA: just a note to Pokemon Go players. BBC world news reports police warn against playing Pokemon Go in mine fields. Just wanted to put that out there in case anyone is tempted to do so. 😉 Evidently some players in Bosnia need this warning. THAT is what I call not finding a balance.