There used to be a board rule that you had to post recipes....

You're right, it does seem like a crazy question. If I understood correctly, you are considering jeopardizing your eldest daughter's education and your family's home? Don't do it. We all have moments of irritation with the status quo and long for something new occasionally. Some folks cure the momentary doldrums by changing up the living room. Make a viable plan first. Let your daughter finish her schooling. Build up a business, then exit from the job in an orderly fashion. Kids and families should not be expected to go along with change on a whim.

Have her play Kakooma Negatives. Start with the simplest puzzle type and work your way up. Seriously, after playing this I TOTALLY understood the relationships between and among integers as I hadn't before. Plus, she can race against herself. :) http://gtm.com.blossom.arvixe.com/strict_Kakooma/Kakooma?gameType=Negatives

What is a field school?

Thanks, all. :)

Ok, so where in Puerto Rico? It was number one on my list, but he was thinking about another Caribbean island... I feel so silly even debating it because, well, first world problems! Who am I to complain?!

Where would you go and why? Got booted off a plane last year due to overbooking. Voucher expires tonight. Big anniversary in the winter. What would you do for fun for a week? Help me, people. I've been thinking about this for weeks and am having a hard time choosing!

Hi, TDKmom, I taught Math in the same set up, an hour a week and the rest online. It wasn't as successful as I would have liked for reasons some others mentioned. We used Google hangouts so kids could ask questions, but it still wasn't the best. I wish I could tell you otherwise because it was a ton of work for me. :mellow:

So I have a part time job and work with people who are all related to the field of education somehow. I learned a new verb this week at work and thought I would share it here to give a Hive geek or two a Friday chuckle. The new verb is "to solution" Here it is used in a sentence: I will have to think about how to solution this issue. Ever since I heard it, I have come up with a whole host of new ones and am having a wonderful time annoying my kids, which means at least they've learned something while homeschooling. "I am recalibrationing my thoughts on that." Let's just invention a few new words since the old ones aren't good enough. :lol:

I found a good solution for that: pickle jars. I bought a couple of the really big ones with deli pickles in them for my daughter in exchange for the knowledge that the jar was mine at the end. It was way cheaper than jars made for storage. I glued a pretty scrap of fabric to the top and we were in business.

It's not a homeschool entity, but we participate in our local community youth orchestra, and homeschoolers fit right in. Great experience!

Thanks, Cat, I sure do appreciate that! :) I have no idea how we all walked away with nothing more than a concussion, but we did! I am *so* grateful no one was hurt worse than that, and I find myself just whispering a "Thanks" every day. Susan

Thanks for your opinons, folks! SkiMomma, I had no idea the Element only seats four; that is very good info to have. Also, I didn't realize you could haul 1500 pounds with any of them. We will look at that some more.

Hey folks, The kids and I got into a wreck on Christmas Eve. We are all ok, but our car was totaled and the insurance is offering a pittance, even after increasing their numbers twice. Not having a loan is important to us, and we'll have two new drivers in the next few years. SO, we have decided to buy an older-model something. We have goats and chickens. As such, the kids have campaigned long and loud for a Toyota Tacoma, but the prices are too high for the amount we want to throw at a beater. We prefer a Toyota or Honda, but we aren't 100% on that. We need something that can haul a little bit, is reliable, and we can use for a yearly road trip. A manual transmission is a must for our kids to learn how to drive one. For those who have experience, convince me of which to buy and why. I'll set up a poll for the quick responders, but if you can tell me why, please respond. 2003-2007 Honda Element 2003-2007 Toyota Rav4 2003-2007 Honda CRV

That is some kinda house, Laura! :thumbup1:

We used a fish tank overflow alarm, sewing it into a snap in between the underwear folds. We only needed three nights and were cured of accidents due to sleeping through cues ever after. There were some other wetting incidents until age nine, but they were few and far between.

No, because Core 100 ain't all that and a bag of chips after all. :)

Rent and wait. We did that for longer than I care to remember, but OH! the results!! :) So happy in our new digs! All the best! Susan

It's three years later and I am looking for an answer to the same question! Anyone?

Friends change in college. They may have been thick as thieves at summer camp and won't be after the first semester. She should make her choice based on the school itself and the implications for *her* life, not her friends.

Crew's quarters at the Ferry station in Nantucket on cots less than 2 feet wide. We decided to go to Nantucket on a three day weekend over Memorial Day because I wanted to see "The Shoe" from Cheaper by the Dozen. No one told us that there was a yacht race over and back and that every.room.on.Nantucket was rented, from $100 to $5000/night. First we tried sleeping in the park, which didn't work as all the drunken yacht people were relieving themselves in the bushes near the benches. Then we tried to get a place at the local jail, but they told us we had to charter an airplane out, we weren't allowed to loiter and if we got arrested they would make us fly out. Then we went back the the ferry where the night watchman found us and threatened to charge us with trespassing. As he was threatening, the captain came out and said he should let us sleep in crew's quarters. The watchman agreed grudgingly, but kicked us out at 3:45 am in case he got inspected. So we walked around, watched the seagulls, saw the shoe, we had breakfast and got back on the first ferry in the morning. Did I say dh was coming down with the flu, too? It was a vacation mishap, but makes a good story. :)

About ten years ago, I practiced saying "No." in the mirror. Really. "No." (Add a kind smile and a regretful shake of the head and it goes over so much more softly.) "Thanks, but that won't work for us now." "Oh, you're so sweet to think of me, but no." "Sorry, I have too much on my plate right now." "Well, my first reaction is no. But I will pray about it and get back to you." This was particularly helpful when turning down positions at church that everyone wanted to sign me up for. Be forewarned, though, if you use it, you have to be prepared for the follow-up questions. I literally said these over and over until I didn't choke on the words and I could smile sweetly when I said them. Then I used them until my gut reaction was no. At that point, I had arrived. Now I can say no pretty easily. :) Maybe it'll work for you, too. :) I do admit when using the last one, I wound up praying about things I really didn't want to do. One time I decided I actually needed to do it. BUT, it only happened once in all these years. So, it's a pretty reliable no.... Obviously, God knows most moms are too over scheduled and need to just be able to sit still once in a while. :)

:lurk5: Highly interested! Didn't even know there WAS a link!

Sorry to hear about this, Kevin'sMom. Sounds like a rough start to things, and 10 years old is an age that takes a little longer to retrain. I suggest sitting down and having a fairly adult conversation, in which you listen to his expectations and spell out yours, and together you come up with a schedule that works for both of you. It is often easier to get buy-in if your child feels ownership in the situation, and you can help move him there by explaining some of the big reasons for doing things with a bit more structure. At the same time, give yourself a break. Real life happens. When it interrupts our plans, it is hard to get back to the way things were before the interruption. If you give yourselves a general framework (we will start school at 8, take a break, and finish at x time) and a finite list of things to accomplish daily, sometimes it's easier to establish and keep forward momentum.

In the same area as the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, near the Covered Bazaar, there is also a fascinating and vast underground cistern which is worth a tour. The pillars are supported by ancient ruins such as a head of Medusa that is about 4 feet square. It is spectacular and you'll miss it if you aren't looking for it. Also worth a visit is Ataturk's Palace and a ride down the Bosphorus or over to the Asian side for some grilled clams on a stick. Yum! Have fun. If you go farther afield than Istanbul, try Ephesus, as mentioned by a pp, Pammukale (hot springs that coat everything with mineral deposits), and Cappadocia (not spelled that way in Turkish). There you can get a great tour of the Catacombs and see some first century churches. Also a nice side trip is the Mediterranean coast, especially near Antalya. :)