This looks great, thanks for sharing! We still have three more "events" at our home before summer is over, looking forward to making this for the next one.

I don't have anything new to add but have visited the Crayola Factory and the zoo and enjoyed both. Hawk Mountain is on my list of things to do, hopefully this fall to go along with our Zoology 1, Flying Creatures study.

LOL. You mean I should be checking their bathroom?!? My 18yo dd is in charge of cleaning it once a week and one of the 9yos wipes the sink down every morning. When we have company I always ask her to make sure that the bathroom is clean and then I announce as loudly and as often as appropriate that it is my dd's job to clean that bathroom! Just in case. :)

I recognize and can relate to most of the above.;) I really think the heat makes it worse, it makes everyone cranky! You've gotten lots of great advice, now you know that you are not alone:)

My great-aunt was always very generous in purchasing new sneakers/shoes for my "schooled" children. Now that I am homeschooling these last two, back to school shopping is never mentioned. I guess she thinks that since we never leave the house they don't need shoes:tongue_smilie:

I agree that you want to nip this behavior right now. Sometimes we have taken privileges away for a set amount of time but we have also stated that when we see improvement in a certain area THEN they can have their "whatever it happens to be" returned. Is this the only area you see deceitfulness in? Or are there others? I guess that's what I would question. If it's just the electronics or if it's an ongoing pattern.

This is our situation as well. We have committed to paying for CC for our dd ( after years of Christian school $$ it's a drop in the bucket) but she will need to work and pay for her own schooling when she transfers in two years. We are strongly advising her to NOT go into debt. Our 26 yo son is married with two children, baby #3 on the way. My dil's parents were generous enough to allow them to move in with them so they could pay off the debt much sooner and save for a downpayment for a home. College debt is NOT something you want your kids to be saddled with, IMHO.

Sounds like a typical day to me:lol:

I"m having one right now:) The 9yos are asleep, 18yo dd is watching episodes of "Psych" on her laptop and dh just put the dog to bed and went to bed himself. I am also usually the first one up. I like to have my devotions before everyone else gets up. Today the boys were playing on the laptop in the kitchen while I read a book out on the deck, bliss! I very much need "quiet time" so I am always looking for ways to get it without sacrificing family time.

Congratulations! Grandchildren are wonderful, aren't they? :)

I'm shooting for 6pm this year. Dh works from home so is almost always here except for a late meeting or travel. 18 dd's partime job ends at 6 each day and it's only a few minutes away so if I start getting dinner on the table at 6 we'll be eating shortly after. But I'm flexible, if we have something out of the home that night we can move dinner time up or back, depending. This is the first fall in "forever" that we don't have to be concerned about sports schedules interfering with life. Very happy about this!:D

I read somewhere (AFTER we brought our Shih Tzu puppy home!) that this very common among this breed. Lovely, huh? Ours did this too but now that she just turned 1 and is trained (mostly:tongue_smilie:) she doesn't do this anymore. Thank goodness for small favors!

Our dd will be going to community college for two years and then, hopefully, transfer to finish her degree. We are paying for the CC, she is responsible for books, gas and maintenence on her car. It's her car, she paid for it, we pay her insurance. She will be working 24 hours a week so she can have spending money as well as save some. She buys some of her clothing and we supplement when needed.

:iagree:We do exactly the same here.

My husband earned a trip to Alberta, Canada about 4 years ago. My youngest has just turned 5 and I had never left them for that long (10 days). I had a good friend take the kids every now and then to give my mom a break. It worked out well. I also think that you should take the time to just be with your dh, it can be a very wonderful thing! ;)

Parenting adult children can be difficult, can't it? Sometimes I wish they could just stay 8 forever:) But since that's impossible I tend to agree with meeting the guy. Welcome him into your home, be as hospitable as you can. Only after spending time with him, and observing he and your dd together can you actually get a real "feel" for him and their relationship. I wish you well.

Congratulations! I bet you can't wait to get your hands on him;) We have our 2 and a half gs and 1yo gd sleeping over tonight. So precious!

Wow, that's a tough call. My oldest son is divorced and my two grandsons are in public school and daycare. I hate it, it just breaks my heart. But ex-dil would never consider allowing me to homeschool the boys even if I offered. My oldest grandson is only 13 months younger than my twins so it wouldn't be all that much of a stretch but as I said, she would never allow it. If I could, in order to keep them out of public school and teach them a biblical worldview, I'd do it. It would be some VERY long days, but I'd do it. My second son and dil are planning on homeschooling their children. They have a 2, 1 and baby due in January;) My dil was homeschooled, her younger sister is still being homeschooled so I'm fairly confident that I won't be called on to homeschool there, but I'll certainly help when I can. Time will tell how the other four plan to educate their children.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the wildlife! We have a momma dear and her three fawns who eat from the trees along the back of our property. We see them almost every day, love them! The boys were in heaven last spring with all of the frogs/toads in the creek. Lots of bunnies and squirrels too. We just love it!

Country all the way! Our neighborhood has about 20 homes with 1 acre or larger lots. There are several families in the neighborhood with children but we are the only homeschoolers. We like it a lot. Our property is wooded on two sides so very quiet and private We are about 20-30 minutes away from most stores, church, library. I am a homebody anyway and don't really like to run out very much. I try to do all my errands on one to two days of the week, stay home the rest. We've been here since last October and there have been times that I thought maybe we didn't move FAR enough out but for the most part, it works for us.

My dd can eat just as much as her brothers can. My boys were never huge eaters like some of my friends sons were but then comes along my petite dd and man, can she put it away! I am always astonished. She is also the milk drinker in the house. She was on a one week missions trip this summer and part of the gallon of milk we bought the day she left was still in the fridge on the day she came home. She drinks several glasses of milk a day and so consequently we go through a gallon every other day or so. She is our most athletic child so far so that may have something to do with the amount of food she eats.

Praying here, too!

This is also one of the first chapter books we read with our older (now 28 and 26) sons. I think the first chapter book that my dh ever read to the kids was James and the Giant Peach;) My 9yo sons have never heard The Indian and the Cupboard, have to put that one on the list. Right now we are reading Dr. Doolittle.

They are currently stored in three different areas of the house ( oh, and UNO is on top of the fridge:). I'd like to at least get the ones stored in the basement up to the main level of the house.

I'm thinking that I better have a plan in place when school starts in 2 and a half weeks. How do you manage your personal computer time? Do you schedule a certain amount of time? Set a timer? Stay off until lunch? I'm probably better off to not even turn on the computer until lunch time but that seems like cruel and unusual punishment after a summer of breakfast with the boards.