You mean I have to start back?

My husband worked on a house plan for a famous person and the shoe closet alone was the size of our master bedroom. Our master bedroom isn't huge, but big enough for a queen sized bed, a dresser, a chest, a couple smallish chairs, and breathing room.

I don't think your friend with take offense to kindly being told your girls can't swim due to rashes they developed and you suspect they have a chlorine sensitivity that you never noticed before yesterday.

I am fine sending 8+ yo kids off to either play or occupy themselves in some situations so adults can visit with other adults, but not every situation. And usually this is in my home or a home in which the kids are comfortable and not for long lengths of time, maybe I could expect a couple 30 min slots of time without polite interruption of any of the kids involved (unless the kids are watching a movie). Just think, kids don't go long lengths of time at school without needing to ask teachers questions or needing the teacher to give direction for what to do next every 30 min or less. 2-5 kids of that age playing together may not find something to interrupt grown ups for as often as a large group of kids expected to all play together while the grown ups visit, IME. As far as having kids sit and listen in on "planned" personal conversation between adults, I send mine on their way after addressing the reason for the polite interruption (they get corrected if they butt in rudely or more frequently than every few minutes). If they weren't forewarned that I am going to have a visit with the other parent(s) while they do their own thing, I would not expect them to know I didn't want them hanging around while the adults talked, nor would I expect another parent to know I wanted some chat time without much kid interruption without saying so when the play date was planned. For most adult visitors in our home, the kids do often sit in with the adults in conversation and contribute if they have something to contribute. Most adults we have had over engage the kids in conversation. Often, we have adults over for dinner and visiting is with our kids involved through the dinner and a bit after dinner conversation. Then we send the kids upstairs to either go to bed early, watch a show, or read while the adults visit. We don't allow the kids down in our conversation after that transition. As they are growing older, I am also trying to butt in less when they are having conversations with their peers and respect their space to just want to hang out with their friends without me helicoptering over them all the time. It's a balance both ways, I hope they always feel free to be in conversation with adults around me, while respecting when I plan a visit intended just for talking with the grown ups involved. Likewise, I hope to always feel free to engage in conversations they are having with their friends, while respecting their desire to just go ride bikes or hang in their rooms with just their friends without me always looking over their shoulder. A park or pool with a group of people we have few bonds with other than we all happen to homeschool is not one of the situations where I would send my kid off to play if my child felt more comfortable hanging by me. I expect the conversation in those situations to be light and filled with many interruptions due to little ones needing bathroom runs or extra supervision, a scraped knee or bee sting here and there, a riff among a few of the kids that needs gentle (or blunt) redirection from a parent, an introverted child needing a time out from group play, a tween just not mixing well with the other kids yet not having a place to be alone, etc.... I gave up expectations on finishing a conversation with another mom at a park long ago! Even if the kids play well together and are old enough for minimal supervision, some interruption always comes up (and not always a rude interruption). Eg: an asthmatic needs an inhaler puff from mom's purse and then needs to sit out a few minutes, another group of kids shows up with foul language and our kids need redirected to a different area, little sister scraped a knee, and so on. Also, to revisit the public school comparison, homeschool play date at the park could be a bit compared to recess at the public school...the 4th and 5th grade recess does not run on auto-pilot. Lots of kids coming to the teacher for this and that during recess time-some for legit reasons, some unnecessary, and some kids just like to hang with the teacher during recess time (I remember hanging near my 5th grade teacher quite a bit during recess even if she was in light conversation with other teachers.) I was teacher's pet though! However, I can sympathize with your feeling the need for that parent alone chat time while the kids play, especially if park gatherings is your main place to get that. I just think your desire for having that adult chat time at a park can only happen if you are with like-minded families that want the same thing out of the park day and the kids are close enough friends to be content visiting with each other long lengths of time-which is not usually the case if people are just getting together because they all homeschool or all in the same class or whatever. It sounds like in your mind homeschool park play date = time for the kids to play while the adults have peer-peer conversation (which is a legit desire, just not a practical desire in a park environment with random people IMO) and some others in the group are showing up just to hang out in a family intergrated way.

I would go ahead and call, it sounds like the Amoxocillin may not be strong enough. We've never had strep, but we're always told to call if the fever didn't go away w/n 48 hours with ear infections or UTIs. One time, my daughter just needed a stronger antibiotic. I personally wouldn't wait until am so it doesn't get worse...but then again, I've never had strep so someone else may know it takes longer for antibiotics to work.

Me too, which is why I held out so long and why I am glad to have run into that couple to give me their 2c. The options are so overwhelming! There were Sharks, Hoovers, Bissel, and Dysons in the line up and they all claimed to have the best power, lightest, be the most most allergen friendly, do away with the most pet hair, have the greatest suction, the most ergonomically friendly, have the most useful attachments and storage, and/or professional results. The price range was from $80-$399!

Hopefully, it is fine to give a product review of something without being asked for a recommendation, but if not I will be glad to delete. I thought some of you may be interested in my new vacuum purchase. We needed a new vacuum and I had read on here in the past that many of you like the Shark vacuums. I was at Costco comparing the options there. A couple on the aisle put this new Shark vacuum called Shark Powered Lift Away with Duoclean in their buggy, I asked the couple if they had used Sharks before and she had for several years. There was a cheaper Shark vacuum option like the one that couple had and loved already, but they told me the one that came out this year with a soft roller brush on the front of it sucked in all the clunkier things that other vacuums scatter around. I went home and researched because they said I would like the cheaper one (for $149), but they were so happy to be able to upgrade to the newest version ($249). After online research, we ended up with the $249 Shark. I LOVE it as much as the SQ washer I recently purchased. The price was cheaper at Costco than Amazon, Walmart, Shark website, and Kohl's. However, Kohl's frequently has coupons that may make it cheaper than the Costco price, but we don't have Kohl's near us (plus, we like Costco customer service better.) When researching which Shark to get, the kids and I watched the 20 min commercial about the Duoclean on YouTube and they begged my dh to please go buy it when he went out later that day. I hooked it up this morning and they fought over who was going to vacuum downstairs (their job is to vacuum upstairs). They took turns and the one not vacuuming would pour a pile of cheerois on the floor here and there just to oooh and ahhh over how quickly and easily the cereal got sucked up into the canister. Then my daughter begged me to "let" her vacuum her room this afternoon even though I had to nearly beg her to do it with our old vacuum a couple days ago. She even hooked up the duster tool and dusted her shelves with it. I'm sure they won't beg to to vacuum for long, but I will enjoy their excitement until the newness fades away.

OT but related to the above post, about the cat. Our HOA requires that we clean up poop after our pets. The new newsletter reprimanded those who don't, issued a stern reminder, but ON TOP OF THAT, said pet owners need to keep their pets from peeing on other people's landscaping because it can kill their plantings! We have tiny yards and mailboxes by the sidewalks with many having flowers planted around the mailbox. How on earth am I supposed to stop my leashed, otherwise well controlled small dog from peeing in other people's planting when their landscaping is right at the sidewalk??? On topic, I'm for fireworks where it is legal. I think it is petty to ask neighbors to not use them in places where it is legal. Those people adamantly against them have many places to live where it is illegal, but understand just up and moving isn't so easy. However, for the sake of those with children or adults who for whatever reason are severely afraid of loud spontaneous sounds that sound almost exactly like random terror acts we unfortunately are seeing too much of in the most unsuspected of places, I,wish a time frame limit was placed on the use and enforced. I used to be fine with unexpected bings and bangs from every direction, but not since all the random public bombing and shooting things in the last several years. While not in fear of fireworks myself, the randomness of it does put me on edge. I can imagine it is most difficult for those who have been in or near some type of trauma involving firearms or bombs.

What you need is a "whole fruit" margarita. One whole orange peeled, one whole lime peeled, one whole lemon peeled, sugar to taste, a little water, the alcohol to your tolerance, and some ice. Blend all together in a high speed blender. Better and more healthy than any margarita you can get made out and about. My thinking is the whole fruit cancels out the sugar, alcohol, and dash of salt on top.....right??? (ETA: if you do try this at home, take as many seeds out of the citrus fruits as possible, cuz they are bitter when blended) Chips, I prefer semi-sweet chocolate myself. Seriously, I think some chips a couple times/week are fine for most people, it's binge eating them and eating them daily that can enter into the unhealthy zone.

For me, a Costco membership. Gallon containers of prewashed spring mix lettuce or spinach, $5 rotessorrie chicken, big bunches of bananas for cheaper than the grocery store, large bag of slivered almonds to add to yogurt or salad, ground turkey for an okay price, large bag of organic baby carrots for snacking, block cheese, frozen veggies that taste decent when cooked, large bags of frozen berries to defrost in single portions as desired, and the occasional economical easy take home pizza when I just need something not so wholesome (paired with spring mix salad or carrots or the fruit I bought there, it's not too bad for you.)

Not so much like Anne of Green Gables, but the Little Duke (free on public domain) by Yonge, is an orphaned Duke at a young age and the book takes you through his struggles and character growth. It is a bit hard to follow the story line (old school writing), but I LOVE it. There are notes to help with the storyline on the Ambleside site. Haven't read these books, and am only familiar with the Little Women movie, but a friend told me Little Men and Jo's Boyss are good books to entertain boys. Feel free to disagree, it wasn't a homeschool mom who said so. I have Little Women and Little Men on our lit family read aloud agenda for next school year. My son liked Johnny Tremain and will be reading My Side of the Mountain soon, both mentioned in prior posts.

YouTube-something for every subject CD player for audiobooks and music study Comfy sofa or loveseat Computer tablet to sit on comfy sofa and watch YouTube videos or read ebooks together during school Baskets, to organize school supplies in a cozy looking way Tin cans to store pencils, pens, and such Index cards for everything from quick bookmark, timeline addition, math flash cards, and spelling words OneNote app with stylus for schedules, writable pdfs, planning, etc... Coins for counting by ones, fives, tens, and quarters Legos for fractions Dominoes for math-use each side of any given domino for practicing addition, subtraction, or multiplication facts.

We are redoing the school area as well. It's a combo school area/den. It's been the same for 5 years, when we started hs, and the furniture (on the cheaper side to begin with) is 14+ years old (been through the baby+ young childhood years, much company, and lots of kids' friends pouncing on it). We don't have desks except small ones in a corner of each kid's room, just a comfy loveseat for group reads and some comfy chairs for group lessons or company. I painted it when the kids went to camp recently and plan to get low cost, yet functional, furniture replacements and some wall hangings like a cork board, bigger white board, and newer maps (my maps were peel and stick and got messed up last week when I peeled them off the wall to paint). I try to declutter school papers and stuff every summer to start each new year as fresh and functional as possible.

Once my kids were old enough to play out front without frequent supervision, I stopped watching out more frequently for others' little ones (unless asked as a favor once in a while, and this is by people who would do the same in return, not by freeloaders). If older brother and sister came with a sibling that needed supervision, I just said "I won't be out to look after _____. Your mom is welcome to come down and watch him, you all can play in your front yard, or you can come back to play after you take ____ back to his mom." It sounds like it was easy and instant, but it wasn't. i agree with other posters about speaking with the parents of the littler ones or the ones who you do not trust to be safe around the equipment. Something like, "I have always enjoyed my kids having the company of your kids over at my house, but this summer I have more on my plate and I am giving my kids more independence outside. I won't be able to supervise little ones or anyone not trained on the equipment my kids are using during the day. However, I will have ____ come let ____ know if we are having an outside activity where alll can join. Have a great day!" Not an easy conversation, I know, but being frank will give you a less stressful summer. If any parents get PO'd by your new boundaries, then that's their issue to deal with. ETA: another option is to have a 2 hour period each day where there is no equipment being used in the garage and all kids are welcome over, but all have to go home at a set time unless a private invitation was given for certain ones to stay and work on projects.

I've had my SQ mechanical washer a week or two and LOVE it. The Eco wash cycle threw me off as well. I thought something was wrong until I looked it up online about how the Eco cycle functions. The rinse cycle in the eco setting is a spray rinse instead of a deep soak rinse which is another difference other than just using cold water. Guess I may use it for super light washing needs. I kept my ancient, yet working, dryer for now. Congrats on your purchase. It is a solid machine. I could move my old washer to the side with little effort if needed and I can't budge the SQ to the side in our tight laundry space so it's staying where the delivery man planted it.

in addition to things around your house, would she be up for putting her name out there for a babysitter, pet sitter, and housesitter in your area? Those jobs opportunities are more available during the summer.

Haven't read the other replies-but yes, twice- the organic from Costco about 2-3 months ago and a large bunch from Trader Jo's a few years ago. All other times buying the same thing from both places, they have been fine. I took the bunches back to both places on my next regular shopping trip. TJ's staff said they knew about the bad batch as other customers had returned theirs. Costco staff said they didn't have any other returns on the bananas but mine-I think people just didn't bother with a $2 return. I only bothered because I was going anyway. ETA: just skimmed a couple replies and the ones from TJs were not organic and not bagged.

My dh works for a small company. Although he could get better pay and benefits with a larger company, the small company is better for him and our family. The larger companies in the same industry had multiple lay offs during the recession while dh's company had none. The salary positions at comparable companies in our area work the employees evenings and weekends in busy seasons. Dh is salary and gets to stop working at 5pm everyday and no weekends. His dept just has a longer lead time with customers during busier times. Also, he doesn't have to travel except on a rare occasion (less than once/year) for a few days for a random training or convention. The company offers him medical insurance, but it is too small a company to be capable of offering a decent family plan (if we wanted family medical through his company it would cost us an arm and leg). The kids and I do medical sharing.

I once watched an online video about things to inspect before buying used furniture for signs of current or former bedbug infestation. It was a while back ago, so I remember it vaguely. But I do remember it giving some advice to look at minute details I wouldn't think to inspect. If you do buy used, I would try to research that info 1st.

Thank you all! I ordered the washer only for now (big ouch to our bank account, but we have been saving for things like this...I would rather spend the money on something fun, but all is well). It won't come for a couple weeks because we are out of town next week, but I am looking forward to washing clothes in something that doesn't have the nasty stuff I saw between the inner tub and its surrounding shell of our current washer. We will definitely look into dryers with a decent reputation when needed (such as the Whirlpool mentioned a couple posts upthread). Hopefully that won't be too soon.

....did you buy the dryer as well? We have a 14 year old Kenmore washer and dryer with all mechanical controls. It is not made anymore. No computer panels, yeah! With the help of YouTube and eBay we have been able to diagnosis and fix problems here and there inexpensively. But now the washer needs a more expensive part and we are thinking of laying it to rest. I opened the shell of it to fix something minor recently and could tell the place between the inner tub and the surrounding plastic shell is yucky (possibly a tad moldy). We want a replacement without a computer panel. Speed Queen is the only one with a good reputation I have found as a comparable replacement. Is there another possibility that is decent quality without a reputation of frequent expansive repairs or dying in less than 10 years? The SQ is a splurge. We can afford the washer and dryer, but our dryer is currently working (it may need a new belt soon, but that's not expensive). I do not like to discard working huge appliances just because I can. However, I read the lifespan on dryers average about 14 years, which is the age of ours. Pros to getting the dryer.... the SQ dryer is supposedly built so much better than our current dryer, will look so nice next to the washer, and our current dryer is getting to the age that it could croak in the next 1-5 years. OTOH, there is so much I could do with the money saved by not getting the dryer or getting a $200-$400 cheaper dryer if ours does kill over within a short time after getting the SQ washer. Plus, did I mention, our current dryer is working? It isn't "green" to get rid of a working appliance for a shinier, prettier, newer one is it? If we keep the current one and decide to wait on a dryer until our current one dies, then we will only be out a $50-$75 delivery/haul away charge down the road. The difficult decision is totally a 1st world problem, so I'm trying not to over analyze. So, SQ owners, did you buy just the washer if only the washer was needed when you bought? If you bought the dryer, is it worth the extra price compared to just average dryers? Or is the couple hundred+ savings on something cheaper a better deal? I have full confidence paying an increased price for the washer is worth it. Unless someone has another non-computer panel washer recommendation besides the basic SQ. I don't have that confidence about the dryer unless someone convinces me otherwise. We are leaning toward getting the washer only for now, but if so I still would like to know is it more practical to replace our current dryer with a SQ or cheaper dryer when needed.

Big edit and NM, I read your post as you had an option of school 9-1 and a lot less seatwork and less testing. skipped over it was just your dream (as it is my dream school). I would take it year by year. Maybe try it for a semester.

I unfriended everybody on FB and just kept s couple of local informational group pages. My social life has been so much less complicated since then! No one upset that I didn't read their post about their dog dying when I was shocked to hear it from their mouths personally months later at a visit to their house when I ask where the dog is (this person concludes I don't follow her on FB, and friendship is personally tense after I got caught missing big news on FB.) Now, without FB, some people actually call me when tragedies or exciting life events happen instead of just assuming I heard it on FB. No more accountability to keep up with 100+ vague acquaintances' births, moves, marriages, divorces, and job changes. With a FB page, these people used to be shocked when I found out a new baby came along by seeing the baby in the stroller at the store because it was all over their FB page and they knew I was on their friend list. I could go on and on with the benefits of a FB friend-free life. I do miss the pics of babies, vacations, weddings, and such. Aside: My mom had a cow when I deleted all FB friends and thinks something just can't be quite right with me for doing that in this day and age, but I am getting along just fine. She's still shocked I don't know everything she and other relatives post since dh has a page. A common phone conversations b/n us for the past 2 years has been... (mom) "Didn't you hear _____?" or "Didn't you see____pic?" (me) "No, I didn't, tell me about it!" (mom) "Well, I (or relative's name) put it on FB!" (me) "Remember mom, I don't have my FB page anymore." (mom) "well....oh....um....I forgot. But ____(my dh's name) has FB. Didn't he tell/show you???" (confused pause follows) (me) "no mom, if I wanted to know everything everybody I have ever known posts on FB, I would reinstate my account." (repeat conversation a few weeks later) People who do not know you personally will not give a squat about whether or not you defriend them. I promise! Some people just go through and request to be friends with all their friend's friends on their Facebook pages. IDK why, my guess is for bragging rights to the longest friends list or just having to be in more people's personal business. When I had FB, I managed my friend list like I did our wedding invite list. If it wasn't someone I could pick up the phone and call anytime to catch up with, be it 24 hours or 20 years since we last spoke, it wasn't someone that made it on our wedding invitation list or my FB friend list.

This is drab, but I like the story behind it. He wasn't popular for painting the poor, but love that he went against the grain and painted this painting... https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0005V1962 ETA: here is the Wikipedia article on the painting... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Potato_Eaters Excerpt from article.... Van Gogh said he wanted to depict peasants as they really were. He deliberately chose coarse and ugly models, thinking that they would be natural and unspoiled in his finished work: "You see, I really have wanted to make it so that people get the idea that these folk, who are eating their potatoes by the light of their little lamp, have tilled the earth themselves with these hands they are putting in the dish, and so it speaks of manual labor and — that they have thus honestly earned their food. I wanted it to give the idea of a wholly different way of life from ours — civilized people. So I certainly don’t want everyone just to admire it or approve of it without knowing why." [4]

I so agree with this. Especially the last paragraph.