I would use hope where you used expect in these instances. I hope they will wait. I hope they will go to college (I didn't right out of high school and thankfully my parents were ok). I hope they will be honorable. I hope they will choose wisely. I hope they will have children (They may not want to and it should be ok). I've learned, especially this year, that I need to expect nothing. I hope. I pray. I wish. Ultimately, I just want them to be happy. Everything else is a bonus.

My parents had four children and we all knew only the first was planned. They were using bc with all the rest of us. My mom was told at the beginning with her fourth that he wouldn't actually be born but she did everything she could and miraculously he made it. None of us ever thought anything of it except that bc isn't 100% effective. My parents always showed us they love us and knowing they didn't plan for us isn't a big deal.

I spent my first twenty years in Texas and I own a kettle. So did one of my grandmothers.

I always wanted a smooth top until I got one. I hate it! Thankfully, we are only renting this house. The home we own has coils and I never had an issue. The smooth top here heats super slow. We've had it looked at and they say nothing is wrong but my electric coil stove top could boil water in half the time. If I can't get a gas stove when we buy here, I will definitely go with coils over a smooth top.

I'm going to have to try this! My stove top takes forever and I also use an electric kettle. I'm surprised some of you don't even see them in stores. I'm in a small town in the Midwest but have lived on both coasts as well and have never had trouble finding one as they are in all the stores with other kitchen appliances.

My parents never discussed sex education with us. I don't feel slighted or harmed because of it though. I figured it all out as I grew up and I don't think it harmed myself or any of my siblings. It's how my parents grew up and it's what they knew. I do remember a classmate being kicked out of her home until she "took care" of her pregnancy. When my dad heard us talking about it, he actually pulled the car over to the side of the highway and told us that would never happen to us. He told us that we would always have a home and we should never fear something like that happening to us. I do/did make an effort to talk with my dds, though. They are both very private in spite of the open dialogue in our home but they do talk about much more than what was discussed in my own home.

If you go to Everglades definitely do an airboat tour. We really enjoyed it. If you do the Keys, I would suggest staying in one other than Key West. It was just too touristy for us but we loved Marathon.

I honestly can't fathom this response. It is not your young children's job to report it nor is it their job to have their friends tell. It is yours. My oldest dd was told something when she was 16. She was devastated and didn't know if was true or what to do. She told us, her parents. and we told those in a position of authority and ability to help. I had no idea if it was true or if they could do anything. I was informed later that there was already an open CPS investigation because of several other concerns. They were grateful for our input as they had a more narrow focus for questioning and investigation. I honestly do not get those who hear these things and do absolutely nothing. FTR, I have had CPS show up at my door based on bad information. I hated it and am forever changed because of it. In the end, nothing was done because it was completely bogus. The difference is that, in my case, bad information was given by an adult who should have known better. I would never discount or pass off information given by my dds based off information they received from their friends.

Yeah, the dessert thing would never work here as we don't really like sweets. Dessert is not a thing here. Sweets are rare because we are rarely in the mood for them. I will not make them having fruit dependent on them eating dinner. That's dumb. I have no comparison for the action given above. What would I keep from my dds if they didn't try a certain number of bites? Would I really tell them they couldn't have something healthy after dinner because they didn't like what I cooked? That seems so ridiculous to me. It's also unnecessary as it all worked out in the end and dds, now teens, are now both adventurous eaters.

I guess I think it might be considered cool in some places to say it's no big deal if one is not straight. The problem is when those who aren't straight actually vocalize it. Then, it's suddenly not actually cool. I feel lots of people are talking the talk but they aren't actually walking the walk.

Yeah, that's not the case at all here nor the last state we lived in. It's not cool. Being yourself and identifying as gay means nothing but nastiness. We moved across the country to hopefully find someplace better and it's just the same. Outsiders looking in may think it's cool by some things being said but actually living it is much different.

I honestly have no idea how to respond to the idea that it's cool to be gay. Oh, how I wish! Life would be much easier here if it were so.

Wow! My dds are neither spoiled nor are they ungrateful. They each thank me at every single meal for what I've made whether they like it or not. I don't care how much one spends. It doesn't mean anything. We have salad at every meal as well and they pretty much always eat that. That doesn't mean they don't sometimes pass on the main part and make themselves something different, which is fine. I will never have the attitude that they can wait and eat the next meal. I feel it's completely unnecessary in a home with healthy alternatives they can fix themselves.

We're in a small Midwestern town as well. Yesterday, my 8th grade dd spent her math class using the scores from one normed test to calculate what her SAT scores will be and what colleges she can get into based on those scores. We made sure she understood how ridiculous we think that is. She also had to meet with her high school counselor to go over schedules and the first question she was asked was what she wanted for a career and where did she want to go to college. She feels everyone knows already so she is behind. We again had to point out how ridiculous it is at this stage.

Well, I don't agree and don't see that with my own dds at all. I actually have one dd who never asks for anything. It's frustrating! Yet, if she doesn't like dinner she doesn't feel weird getting her own food or saying she wants something else. She's the least entitled feeling person I know. She's not catered to at all but she needs to eat and I'm not hung up on her only eating the food I prepare.

This is how dh's family approached food. He used to sneak out of bed in the middle of the night to eat spoonfuls of sugar because he was so hungry. He doesn't even have a sweet tooth as an adult but he was just so hungry and that was the only thing he had access to. This was a big thing that we discussed before we married. He wanted to make sure our home wouldn't be like his home growing up in regards to food. I don't think all homes do this poorly but I think one needs to be careful. I also truly don't understand the thinking behind it. Why refuse to let someone eat because they don't like what you made? Why not let them choose to make themselves something else with the food you choose to have in your home?

We really love The Office and Community here. We also find ourselves watching Reba and Last Man Standing. When they come on, we don't turn them off and we laugh a lot. Friends is ok but I wouldn't call it the best.

Maybe, but we've been navigating this through more than one area and state. We've encountered the same road blocks and issues at each place.

Thanks, everyone. It seems a bit mixed here but we've figured it out. She won't even be doing half of the problems. Dh is more than capable of teaching the concepts and deciding which problems need to be done for understanding of the material. Dd has an A in the class and homework seems to just be a completion grade for a very small percentage of the overall grade.

The teacher was sent an email on the return day, Wednesday, from the counselor. She still assigned the work but we thought she was on board like the rest of the teachers so it wasn't actually due that soon. There was nothing explicit either way said to dd. That is why I was checking to see if I'm missing something. And, yes, dd still has work currently in the class. She even made up an exam for that class this week. So, she had to study for that as well.

Teacher fits the time frame written in handbook but goes against what we had already discussed with counselor. Counselor said there comes a point when the length of absence and time given to make up the work don't really work, especially given the level of work. All other teachers have been amazing. This one yesterday threw us for a loop.

Oldest dd, 10th grade, missed seven days of school due to illness. We have hospital/dr notes. Her school is on a block schedule. Her Algebra II Honors teacher gave her a worksheet with missed problems. Teacher expected all work to be turned in this Tuesday (dd returned last Wednesday) which was a total of 180 problems. She would have had to do 30 per night, including the weekend. They are not easy problems especially since she missed the new material and is having to learn it at home with us. She, of course, didn't have it because not only is she trying to stay on top of current work she is also having to do make up work in all other classes, which are mostly Honors and AP. This is the only teacher with such expectations. I'm going to send an email and talk with all appropriate people but I am wondering if my feeling is one of only a mom or if others would see my side of this being too much. Does it sound reasonable or like overkill? At this point, I honestly feel like most of it is busywork and the important thing is she actually understand the material.

I absolutely loved the baby and toddler years! The easiest years for me are different for each child. One has been the most difficult as a teen due to mental health issues. I'm drained in every way possible. My other is the easiest teen ever but was very difficult as a baby and toddler. I felt the good still outweighed the bad with the baby/toddler issues.

I don't know of a single person on my, or dh's, side of the family that has ever been put into a home or facility to care for them. We've had dementia, Parkinson's, cancer, etc. but they've all been taken care of by family at home. I plan on taking care of my mom and in laws (or any other family) that needs it. A facility would be way down the line and the very last option. I don't expect my dds to feel the same though and that is ok.

I'm floored by your lack of compassion. I see you want some because you knew people and lived in the area, but it honestly doesn't come close to what this mother has been going through. It boggles my mind you can't see that.