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annandatje

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Everything posted by annandatje

  1. annandatje
    Although it is much pricier than a discount store, we bought some at a local children's museum gift shop.
  2. annandatje
    The deal we made long ago was that if the kids acquired an article of clothing that required ironing, they had to be the one to do it. Thus, they have been ironing on occasion ever since the middle school years or even earlier.
  3. annandatje
    :iagree: Your post gives me points to ponder in dealing with an issue in my life.
  4. annandatje
    :iagree: Although I did not read blog, my take on what you mentioned would be that she is airing her own personal frustrations. Homeschooling a significantly special needs student is a whole 'nother ball of wax even if the decision to homeschool had nothing to do with lack of access to traditional schools equipped to deal with those needs. Long ago I learned to stop giving much emotional energy to people who were ideologically opposed to homeschooling.
  5. annandatje
    Your children are so compliant that they willingly take on assignments given by phone from a relative they seldom see? I only wish my kids would have been as eager to complete school assignments. Instead of fretting about a mil who is a merciful 14 hour drive and a phone call away, I would concentrate on coaching the kids in setting boundaries and in dealing with those who would quiz them. Why is Wolf continuing to allow her to talk to the children after you have told him about her over the line antics? He was supposed to function as the family's shield against her intrusions. Perhaps a gentle reminder of his duty is warranted.
  6. annandatje
    Tongs also are handy for removing dead rats, mice, moles, birds, and other critters from house.
  7. annandatje
    :iagree: The mother's over the top reaction is unhealthy and could be misinterpreted by the adolescents involved. It is almost as if she is sexualizing normal innocent actions. Her response to such matters is bound to eventually invoke guilt or, worse yet, deceit in her own children. :iagree:Maybe a spiced tEa .. I can never remember the upper case sequence of the code word. I feel sorry for your daughter's humiliation; give her lots of loving reassurance and hugs.
  8. annandatje
    I voted "other" because I would want to be an undomesticated truly wild animal that was as far out of humans' reach as possible, preferably somewhere so wild and wooly that it was basically uninhabitable by humans. Second location choice would be in a huge nature preserve or national park.
  9. annandatje
    I never put much stock in life advice that consists of numbered items.
  10. annandatje
    :iagree: I have been with my partner 30+ years; he is a moral hardworking fellow who took on a huge amount of responsibility at a young age. I admire his character.
  11. annandatje
    :iagree: What a sensible rational post. I tend to cut people slack on family size comments because often they're awkwardly grasping for conversational topics.
  12. annandatje
    :iagree: I hope you have reason for a more optimistic outlook soon. Cracks in one's primary relationship are hard to endure.
  13. annandatje
    :iagree: I was wondering same thing about why sleepy newborns seemed to be viewed negatively. Generally newborns sleep a *lot*, so how uncommon could it be for them to arrive ready for a snooze?
  14. annandatje
    I hope you find solutions to your marital issues.
  15. annandatje
    Caring for or overseeing care and respite care of a disabled person can be difficult as they age, particularly when mental illness worsens over time. Both my partner and I had parents who died relatively young, leaving us with the care of a disabled sibling each. My partner felt for a few years that he probably should not have a family of his own since he already had a huge responsibility at a young age. In his sibling group, it was a matter of the willing mule carrying the load. Of course, all the siblings felt they had valid reasons for not helping with the care of the disabled sibling.
  16. annandatje
    Excellent point and something that is not so much in our face in our current land of plenty. Elfgivas, your post about living in area where scarce water had to allocated in a fair manner was spot on.
  17. annandatje
    And although I have not seen it mentioned here, it is quite okay to have no children. I find nothing at all selfish about having no children or ten children, assuming you can adequately provide for them. Further, people who have zero, one, two, or whatever constitutes small family - or a large family - should *never* feel compelled to justify why they do or do not want to bear more children. People just have to do what makes them fulfilled within reason and stop looking for validation from family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers on the internet.
  18. annandatje
    Congratulations, Joanne. You will be giving young people critical tools for success.
  19. annandatje
    nm
  20. annandatje
    She'll come around eventually and share in your excitement.
  21. annandatje
    :iagree: I also agree with what transientchris posted. As the oldest daughter in a family of thirteen children, my mother once told me that when she was a child, she wished she were a dog because dogs did not have to work so hard. She was born into terrible poverty in a remote area where people did not have good access to healthcare and education. So, no, I do not think that children are automatically blessings. It depends upon the circumstances. If BOTH parents want a child, and they can provide for the needs and few wants of child, then having another child is right for them. I really do not believe that one can determine whether a person is selfish based upon their family size at all. My personal choice was to stop reproducing after giving birth to a troubled special needs child because I was confident I could not give her the attention she needed plus nurture another child. As it was, my existing children lost a considerable amount of my available time. Also, I was determined to not have more than I felt I could provide for if I were widowed. Although we stopped having children of our own, we did foster both officially and unofficially.
  22. annandatje
    :iagree: Thank you for pointing out a painful truth! Original poster, why do your friends feel free to comment upon your family size? Do you discuss these decisions with them and ask for their opinions?
  23. annandatje
    :lol: :iagree: While I do not provide facebook with my birthday or anniversary information, it truly is none of my business what other people decide to post on facebook unless they are violating facebook terms. I honestly never gave facebook any real thought beyond the few threads I've read here about facebook. At the request of a friend who was sharing pictures, I set up a fb account for sole purpose of seeing the pics. Later it was used as a substitute for a special interest group email loop. While I rarely post a status, I sometimes do enjoy reading about what is going on in other peoples' lives. I have had brief facebook conversations with my kids when we are in same house together. I've also called them on the phone when they are inside the house because they may not hear me when I yell up the stairs. If (generic) you do not wish to read peoples' posts, it really is as simple as selecting one of the following courses of action: (1) unfriend them (2) hide their posts (3) stay away from facebook. The bonus with the third choice is that (generic) you will no longer have the need to fret about what people post. The beauty of facebook is that it is a free service that no one is forced to use. A free service where the user has freedom of choice about whose posts he/she sees.
  24. annandatje
    Are you saying that your husband intentionally runs over snakes in road when he could easily avoid them? When he is in a vehicle and the snakes are not a direct threat to him? And you find this :lol: ? Perhaps I am misreading. Snakes' rodent-ridding abilities are an important aspect of the ecosystem and their senseless wholesale slaughter is ... well, senseless. Most snake road kills happen during their mating season when they travel for procreation. I understand taking action if you are personally threatened. Although most snakes are harmless, their appearance is understandably alarming to humans. However, showdowns are rare, especially since snakes and humans tend to give one another wide berth.
  25. annandatje
    :iagree: Wise response, floridamom. Copperheads and water moccasins are pretty much ubiquitous in U.S. We only see the patriarch of our creek's copperhead clan when weedeating. We are in an unofficially semi-preserved subdivision in a suburb where lots are large and quite a bit of wooded area remains. When it comes to gardening and growing berries, it is a race to see whether the raccoons and deer or our family gets to the harvest first. We've carefully removed a few snakes from our home without incident. Years ago, I did suffer a spider bite which took a long time to heal. I should have had medical treatment, but we did not have insurance at the time. Try not to worry too much about the spiders and snakes. The real culprits will be the coyotes' nocturnal howls in your very own yard that will wake you from sound sleep.
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