100% Agree. *Tibbie's Post for My Fridge*!! Heading through it with the LAST 10/11 year old. . . . . . ETA: We REALLY went through this with dd14 when she was 12ish. My mom actually called her on it; she was being a bully, and expected everyone to cater to her needs and desires. She's always been wired this way, but puberty and some family turmoil brought it out big time. She is much happier now, and I hate to say this but one thing that helped was enrolling her in a 2-day a week, intensive co-op. She's too busy to pick on others, and has lots of time around really good kids who are her friends. I've changed from primary director to supporter and encourager, and it's been for the best. :grouphug: Hangeth Thou in There.

Totally. And I remember - our bus stop was honestly 1.5 miles from our home. Bus stopped at the intersection of main road and a new development; we walked through two developments to get to our home. Raining? "Take an umbrella," said my mom. My neighbor won't let her daughter walk 300 feet up a short street to her house. She drives her to school because the bus won't stop at their door.

I won a free copy of YNAB during an online webinar today! YAY! (And thanks to the Hive for reminding me about it!)

Would you rather. . . . . . Potty train a toddler or teach algebra to a hormonal teenager?

I didn't think of that; I use mailchimp for my small business, but I use an online management program that the ballet has for emailing. It looks like it comes from my gmail account. Thanks!

Oh, man, I'd rather get teeth pulled than take my kids for that test! I just took 3rd dd, she didn't pass the first time. I was a WRECK waiting when my dh took her for the 2nd try, which she passed. Come to think of it, my other two only passed once their dad took them. I think I'm the anti-good-luck-driver-test-charm. Hope she passes!

This is random, I know, but have Gmail or others really upped their spam filters in the last 6 months? I handle the volunteer side of our ballet - so I'm emailing around 200+ families. Not all at once, but in groups of 16-22 (class size). I sent out an email last night, and usually by this point I have at last 2 or 3 responders, but it's been deadly quiet. I use my personal email - which is a gmail account - to send everything. Anybody know if things have gotten more stringent in spam-filter land? And/or have a briliant idea as to how I can handle this? Thanks!

I really appreciate this perspective, Bill. It's a little bit of a - um - hoarding problem. "I MAY need to listen to this someday" kind of thing. But I might concentrate on the CDs, and just import the cassettes that are recordings of performances he and I were in during college years. My ultimate goal is to get him to toss the cassettes, so that when we move in the spring (hopefully!) he'll be ok with not moving 100s of pounds of cassette tapes.

Anyone? I really want to surprise my dh (music major/music teacher for most of his life) and put as much of his GINORMOUS music collection in an iTunes library for him as possible. He has a gazillion CDs, and about as many cassette tapes. The CDs I can handle, but I'm debating how to do the cassette tapes. I did find this: http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/tape-2-pc, but it would be even cooler if I found a way to do it for free or cheaper. (I run a MacBook Pro, fyi) However, given the amount of tapes I'm going to have to convert (I think around 300-500, seriously) I wonder if I'm better of to spend the money. Anyone have experience doing this? I'm hoping to have it done for Christmas.

OK, this is actually really helpful. I have used my personal account to cover, say, groceries and gas when things were very tight this summer. My husband really likes the idea of YNAB, so he can check things on the road. He'd check our main account, but not realize I was pulling $$ from my own account to cover our shortfall. . . .so. . . . . . YNAB here we come!

Gee, you just described my life :D So I guess what I'm trying to ask - here's the scoop. My hubby travels 3 weeks per month, so it's pretty hard for us to have good communication about finances. I usually handle things. YNAB looks good, because we can both access it wherever we are. Would it be better to try to do EVERYTHING with YNAB - our household account and my personal account? Or just my personal account, and work on tracking/budgeting that bit until I get a handle on that. Thoughts? I'm leaning towards just working on my personal account for now.

This looks good, too, but here's my question: We haven't even had the $$ for the "must-haves" lately. So someone encourage me, and tell me how this can work! I guess I find budgets frustrating, b/c when we look at our monthly expenses, it should not work. . . . . anyways, long story, but I'd really like to get out of this cycle, now that it looks like we actually MIGHT have $$ for our very basic living needs. What I'd really like to do is use my dh's salary for our basic living, and my salary for kid expenses and paying down debt. YNAB appeals to me the most. Who's used it and wants to give me advice? Do I link all our accounts, or just start with my personal account and see how that goes?

Timely topic. We've had cash flow problems for years, which has ended up in a no-budget-hope-it-all-works system. About to have some better income, and wanting to figure out a better way to budget. I mean, I "know" what to do. . . . but. . . . I need a better way of tracking.

My orthodontist didn't charge me for dd16's appointment today :)

We got a flyer for that last year, too - when ds was entering his freshman year. I had NO idea that was a "thing". I think it's a fundraiser for the school, or they get a kickback, maybe? At any rate, it seemed pretty impersonal, but I guess it would appeal to busy parents who want to check, 'Send care package' off their list?

We did a similar move 10 years ago - to Birmingham! I sent you a message - I'm glad to help in any way.

I know. I actually brought this up to the owner/developer a couple of weeks ago. He said he didn't think it was too expensive - he said people pay that much for piano lessons/soccer/ballet every year, so it really wasn't a big deal. Of course, he & his wife both work and their kids are in school, so maybe for a dual-income family it isn't a big deal. It would be utterly out of our price range if we were interested. For those of you who wish, go ahead and send them your thoughts via the contact form. Maybe if he hears from enough people, he'll make different decisions? I know he's really needing students this year, or the program may not continue. . . . .

Bumping to update: the coupon code is WTM2015, and it will be available through this Friday, August 6. Hope it helps!

I'm so sorry to just now be seeing this - I was out of town visiting ill relatives and had no internet access. The code expired on 7/31, but send me a message and I'll see if I can ask the owner to extend it a few more days. Thanks!

I'm adding mine in. . . . . My dh has had work struggles lately (it's a long, long saga). At any rate, he was particularly discouraged this morning and took it out (mildly) on me. When I picked him up from work today, he said he had a good day. At dinner, he surprised us all by telling us he had received a *small* bonus check - but still, with our income, every little bit is amazing right now. BUT - the biggest surprise - he took off his shoes (dress loafers) and held them up to show the kids. His left shoe has a quarter-sized hole in the sole, under the ball of his foot. The right shoe has a completely frayed edge, just literally falling off the shoe. He then told the kids that he'd been having a hard time lately, and he'd been complaining to God. When he had bad days like this, he wears these shoes - to remind him that he's worked so hard, through so many jobs, and God has never failed him. That he should just keep on keeping on and move forward. And he wears those shoes on the tough days, as his reminder to keep trusting. I had no idea. Someday, I'm going to put those shoes in a shadow box.

What the pps have said - my dd had a clear US, but the HIDA scan showed her ejection fraction at 8%. I think normal is 40. The surgeon removed her gallbladder, and she's been good ever since. He said it was filled with thick sludge, and that was the problem. My mom had hers out when she was about 35, I had mine out at 24, dd had hers out at 19. My youngest dd is now OBSESSED with asking if she takes after her dad's side of the family more than mine ;)

Anyone have a kid who's engineering bent? I with this had been available for my son 5 years ago. A local teacher who runs the engineering academy at a prestigious high school has started Catapult Engineering Academy, a four-year, college-prep engineering curriculum for home schooled high school students. I had a couple of friends pilot the course last year, and they RAVED about it. Might be worth looking into if you have someone interested. I think he's got a coupon running if you register before July 31st, so message me and I can find out the code. Hope this helps someone! I'll try to help with questions if you have them, or I can put you in touch with my friend who runs it. I'm pretty sure someone on the WTM board had their son enrolled last year as well.

You all can also check out Hosanna Sacred Arts - this is run by our Artistic Director, Kenn Tolle (he's AMAZING) and holds a summer intensive here in Birmingham during the summers. We decided to do Ballet Mag for a change of pace, but next year will be at Hosanna. Happy dancing, everyone!

Washing machine running the last load of clothes before ballet camp. Clock ticking loudly

Hey, very cool! My girls are packing as we speak. . .driving from B'ham in the morning. They are both SO excited!