Sayra glad to hear that OH has survived the op and that you won't need to find a replacement. 
Seriously though that must have been a huge worry with the risk of a seizure and I hope he's home and well now and revelling in your TLC.
Trashy I love the cute puppy paws porn!
Eva 
! Yes I am a terminal procrastinator with no willpower, so I guess I should be more understanding of DD's difficulty in applying herself to the task at hand. It was more her bare faced cheek in lying about it after the event that annoyed/disappointed me.
I did have to laugh about DD's intrepid survival skills. She's like a furiously hormonal little Ray Mears. I've been trying to give her more freedom and independence, since that's what she craves. On Sunday I let her go into town on her own (with a phone on her) to look for jeans - it's a tiny town, just a main street really, around a 15 minute walk from here. She came back with a pair from Sainsburys; size 8 long. I told her they'd be far too long and we'd have to change them, but actually they're only a couple of inches too long and she's turned them up at the bottom. 
I was holding her hand on a walk this evening and I realised that although she's around 4ins smaller than me, her legs are pretty much the same length as mine. She's 11 FFS!!
Since I banned the laptop, she's been outside more in the last few days than in the previous few weeks, I reckon. She seems happier and more adventurous too. I asked her today what she'd discovered in the last few days and she said 'Life!'! I think we'll be having more limited screen time from now on. Notso I think they can make good friends through the internet and gaming, and that a lot of barriers to friendship (age, appearance etc) can melt away. DD's social life totally transformed when she got into minecraft. I'd just rather it didn't dominate her thoughts so much. It's finding a balance, isn't it.
Stunt I'm glad you enjoyed the duck. Home ed... well... where do I start? I think that it can be brilliant, and certainly DD is a much happier and calmer child than when she was at school (recent explosions notwithstanding). We are lucky that there is a good home ed scene where we are and that she has made a really lovely group of friends. Educationally I think she's doing ok, but I constantly doubt myself and worry that I'm not doing enough with her. The other parents seem much more confident in what they're doing, and trust that it will all happen as it needs to and everything will work out fine. I wish I had that faith but I'm a depressive worrier! I'm also a procrastinator, inconsistent and totally lacking in patience and tolerance. I would never have chosen (or been chosen) to be a teacher! I often feel that at best, I'm muddling through.
On the positive side, DD gets one-to-one tuition on maths, biology etc, which hopefully makes up for the above. We don't do a huge amount of formal/structured work, just maths really as that's what she really struggles with. The rest of it we do on a fairly ad hoc basis. Some of our best conversations/learning take place in the car when I'm ferrying her to her various groups. She also reads a lot and I download all sorts of stuff to her kindle, from Terry Pratchett to the classic novels. I'm hoping that she'll pick up a lot about English language/lit from that, but she needs to do a greater variety of writing. She wrote a novel when she came out of school - over 36,000 words of this stream of consciousness fantasy fiction. It was like Harry Potter on acid. A lot of acid! She only wants to write about what she wants to write about though, and she needs stretching/inspiring. I want more structure for her at secondary level, hence enrolling her at Interhigh from September. I must admit that the thought of not being solely responsible for her education is a fucking massive relief!
So... I reckon that home ed can be a brilliant option, especially for a child who is unhappy at school, isn't having their needs met educationally or otherwise, is being bullied or simply isn't a good 'fit' for school. It takes a lot of time and commitment from the parent(s) though. On the positive side, you know your child better than anyone and can provide an education tailored perfectly for them. You can be totally structured, with timetables and curriculums, or you can be totally autonomous and child led - it's totally up to you and what works best for your child. Most of the HE kids I know are very happy, bright, friendly kids, and although some of the parents are a bit bonkers, I've met some really lovely people.
I'll stop wittering on now but am happy to answer any questions you have. Do you have you ideas about how you'd like to do things if you HE?
G'night wonderful women. Sorry to come on and derail the thread as usual!