The Lake District in England

We love mixing ginger ale with peach white grape juice (from Walmart). A friend of mine did it as a non-alcoholic option at a dinner and I loved it.

Thank you so much for this! DS will be starting 8th grade next year and so I'm in the process of vaguely planning what we'll do in high school (with the idea that things can change). I tend to get bogged down in future planning so I needed to read your rant and think it's worthy of reading over and over again!

For SE Asia we really liked Li Lun Lad of Courage, House of Sixty Fathers, God's Adventurer: Hudson Taylor (you know, if you're going with lots of SL books. HA!) Out of all of the SE Asia books those three (along with Mission to Cathay) were our favorite, and they were faster reads. ETA: DS really liked Ali and the Golden Eagle when he read it as a reader.

When you are taxiing in to MSP tomorrow right before you catch your flight (and the plane is on the ground but headed to the gate) check your flight number in google (DL yourflightnumber, so if your flight is Delta flight #472 then you'd put in DL 472 in google) and it should tell you if the gates have been changed or if they're still the same. Should give you the most up to date info, that way you can make sure you're headed to the right gate (as these sometimes change last minute due to many unforeseen circumstances). If you are a ticketed passenger on the flight then you could walk up at the end of boarding and still get on your plane. DH is an airline pilot (not with Delta) and we fly standby so we have to often wait until the end of boarding to get on. I've never been to MSP but I do know that looking at maps it sometimes seems like a much longer walk than it usually is. Get your fast walking shoes on and go. You will never be the only person in an airport who is running! LOL! It often feels much longer than it actually is to get from gate to gate especially if you're in a rush! Good luck!

Lima is on my list - I'd love to see Machu Picchu and the Rainbow Mountains (what I get for pinning almost exclusively travel to my pinterest board. HA!) You can also travel a short distance and take a tour of part of the Amazon. With China check on if you'll need a visa. I'm part of a travel group on FB (specific to my DH's job) and there are frequently people posting about needing a 10 year visa to enter China (except for HK) I'd plan Japan for next year around cherry blossom season. That's on my bucket list. I saw the cherry blossoms in DC this year so Japan is next for me!

I would say that A would probably be too easy. I would buy B and then if it's too tough you can always go back to A coursework. Have they already gone through A? If so then you could probably do their A continuation course.

I used Level B with my 7th grader and was able to print out level A source work for my 3rd grader to use at the same time. In the notebook that contains SWI-B they give you instructions (a web address) to find all of the source work for Level A so you could buy B and do A for your younger and B for your older. That's what we did.

I'm posting from Florida but I'm originally from England. We moved to the US when I was 10 and I was raised in a very British household. It was a third culture kid experience. I answered "the South" in your list but there are those in the deep south that would not consider Florida to be part of the south! I picked before I read your opening post. I would say that my thinking is definitely not stereotypical Southern.

I second the Pampered Chef spinner. You can keep your greens in the fridge with a paper towel in the bag OR keep them submerged in water for a couple of days then spin them. That might help with the constant breaking of the spinner.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. DS (12) loves all of them! DS also has loved TinTin comics and Asterix and Obelisk.

It didn't work for me when I pre-printed everything and put them in the hanging files. I now use it for "organization" after the fact. I put our work that we've completed into the hanging files during the week. They keep the work somewhat orderly and at the end of the year it makes it easier to compile our portfolio. They are mainly used for history papers (SOTW tests and maps), Latin (I photocopy out of the book) and special projects. When I started with all of the work divvied up it was frustrating and overwhelming when we'd get off track, which invariably happens a lot! I am NOT type A!

I take notes on the whiteboard while I read and then we do the map work (from the activity book) and then they take the tests (from the separate test booklet). I've found doing these things really helps. I am NOT an auditory learner so it's helpful for me as well as the kids! ETA: I have a 3rd grader and a 7th grader.

I think it's lovely that you want to commemorate this life event with a gift! Very kind of you. I'm sorry I'm not helpful in helping you choose one. I have applied to become a citizen and it was a mental struggle for me - hence why I've lived in this country since 10 years old (legally! LOL!) but just now (at 36) am becoming a citizen. My DH is American. So my head is in a weird place in regards to this topic! While I DEFINITELY know that I want to become an American and all that comes with that leaving citizenship of my country of origin has been surprisingly difficult. That's why I liked the PP's post about not giving something coffee table related. Your friends may not have difficulty with this at all, though! I think some sort of food item would be totally appropriate! A gift card to a burger joint? Ha ha. You could definitely do a house flag or even a small yard flag. I'm sure they would appreciate even just a card. ETA: If you can find an America related Christmas ornament that would be neat also (if they celebrate Christmas!)

We lived in Seaside/Gearhart for 3 years. My vote is for bringing an empty suitcase and going to Powells! If you go to the coast then anywhere in Seaside/Cannon Beach would be fun to investigate. If you have a car my favorite beach in the area is Indian Beach (in Ecola State Park). You don't get the iconic Haystack Rock, but it's a beautiful area!

DH spends a lot of time in airports. I say get rid of the skate rink and the goats and make the seats in the terminal all comfy recliners! THAT is a great use of money.

I would cancel. I'm trying not to go anywhere non-essential right now because it seems like everyone I know has the flu so it has to be rampant in my community.

Both sets of our parents live overseas and I would definitely go with DH. I would be anxious about it, but I would still make myself go. If the grandparents are competent then go and have a good time! ETA: I agree with WhatsApp. All of our families use it to communicate.

#4 Lie on the couch and eat bon-bons? If I have alone time I don't want to take that time to clean OR plan,that's just not me!

Noooooope. Not after my Mom handed me a little vial with all of my baby teeth in it when DH and I got married. To be fair to her it was with a whole bunch of other things that she had saved for me, so not SUPER creepy. I kept them for a few years because I didn't know what to do with them. I ended up throwing them away about 2 moves ago.

I'm sorry that you have something going on where you need a good cry. Hugs! I will say, though, that I'm a lightweight when it comes to tears. I often can't do any read aloud without tearing up. I read a book to the kids about the rainforest and ended up tearing up because of how the layers all work together to make the ecosystem. :laugh: DS just patted me on the back and said "keep it together, Mom!" I'm probably not the best person to reply to this thread. My answer probably could have been "anything!" HA!

I second This is Us. I think I have cried on every episode! It's on Hulu.

I just bought a Mason Cash mixing bowl at Home Goods. They had a few colors and I got a maroon colored bowl for $12.99. I was thrilled! At my store they had black or gray as well for $19.99 Hope that's helpful to you!

I would also spend the money on math. We use a christian curriculum for math, so that is no help to you even though it is cheap (Christian Light Education - CLE). Your first step, however, would be to try to figure out what she's been learning in math and whether she struggles or not. For my older child we use Saxon. I don't care for it in the younger grades as when we started HS'ing I found it overwhelming! For your first year I'd de-school a bit (you've gotten some really good advice with the above) and do some interest led learning. Try not to worry. We are on our 5th year of homeschooling and I just now feel that I've gotten the curriculum down that works for us. My kids have grown exponentially in many ways that are not quantifiable on standard tests (though with individualized instruction they've done pretty well on those as well). You will probably have many days where you want to put her back on the school bus. That's normal for your first year, you wouldn't be the only one! I can honestly say now, at 5 years in, that I don't ever have those thoughts anymore and HS'ing is probably what we will always do. Seeing fruit of our choices. Good luck to you!