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Hockey Mom

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Everything posted by Hockey Mom

  1. I completely know where you are coming from. :( We own our own business, and we lost our biggest client back in May. Fortunately, they phased us out over 8 weeks, so we didn't feel the immediate impact that you will be feeling. However, that one client is the reason we could no longer afford private school and now we will be homeschooling. I choose to look at it as a blessing rather than a burden. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. May God open a new door for you as swiftly as the old door closed!
  2. When my DD was in public school, I tried to buy things that I KNEW she would need (folders, notebook paper, pencils, highlight markers). Everything else we waited until school orientation. That usually took place the Friday before school was scheduled to start. Like everyone else stated, some teachers require specific items (flash drives and expensive calculators), so I would hold off on those until you know for sure.
  3. My youngest's baptism. We had to reschedule it 4 times! The first three times we had hurricanes moving through the area. By the time we were able to have his baptism I had to order a new outfit - he had outgrown the other one. I was beginning to think he was Damien (from The Omen) and we would never see him baptized.
  4. Wow...I was going to order this until I read this thread. How disappointing to have to wait so long to receive it, with no word from the company wrt any delays. :( I guess I'll try my hand at creating one myself and having Staples bind it for me instead.
  5. I know in our house it's because the older kids would "talk" for them. IOW, instead of the baby saying, "I want a drink", one of the older kids would come to me and say, "Can the baby have a drink?" I didn't catch on to this at first (thinking the older kids were just being helpful). Once I made the baby ask for things himself, his speech took off. WRT the OP, I have a middle child that was just like that. He is my independent thinker. My strong-willed boy. I loathed taking him with me to the store because he would act out every single time. When he was around 21 months old, in an act of desperation, I gave him my iPod to listen to. That evolved into letting him watch movies on my iPod. Around 3 y/o I bought him a Leapster to play. He was only allowed to play it when I had to take him to the store with me so he never grew bored with it. He is now 6.5 y/o, and has seemed to have outgrown his weariness of going to the store. But when I know I'm going to be a while at the store, I still pack the Didj (the next step in the Leapster line).
  6. Here is a link of several ideas you could try. Of course, it all hinges on what would be safest for your children too. I have dogs. They are a great deterrent for keeping cats out of my yard.
  7. We haven't officially started our homeschool journey yet. That said, I've been warming the kids up to the idea all summer by doing small field trips. Here are some of the places we've gone: - The zoo -The local children's science museum -BassPro Summer Family Camps -The library's summer kids' program We still have plans to go to one of our beaches (not an option for everyone, I know). We are also annual season passholders for Walt Disney World, and we will be making a few trips to Epcot/Animal Kingdom. Once the kids start school, they will be involved with Cub Scouts too, so they'll be field trips with that as well.
  8. We have two dogs. A yellow lab named "Holly" who is 10 years old, and an 18 month old English Mastiff named "Domi". I love the giant breeds, and if I had more room I would have another Great Dane (ours passed away 2 years ago), and an Irish Wolfhound.
  9. I just downloaded the free version myself, and was wondering if it's worth the money to upgrade. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. :)
  10. You either ALL need to go, or NONE of you go. With such a manipulative family, it is essential to show a united front. If your Dh goes without you, they will perceive that as a 'crack in the marital foundation' and may try to undo all of the work the two of you have put into your marriage. Since your Dh doesn't stand up to them and put a stop to the manipulation, whether he listens to them or not, they will perceive that you are not that important to him. If you go with him, you at least have an opportunity to show them that you are together and stand strong together. As far as being gracious and friendly with people you clearly resent, I think that is just as wrong as what the ILs are doing. You can be civil and polite, but don't 'fake' your feelings around them. Would you stand for a stranger trying to break your marriage apart? If the answer is 'no', then you shouldn't tolerate it from extended family members either. Let them know that there are consequences for their actions. ETA: Or what Snickerdoodle said. :)
  11. We cheer for the logo on the front, not the name on the back...unless it's my boys playing. Then we cheer for the name on the back. :D
  12. Olive oil. I have long, curly hair. I use about a quarter-sized amount of olive oil after shampooing and conditioning. It's better than any other OTC product I've ever used.
  13. :iagree: I'm suspicious of anyone who offers charity and an agenda.
  14. I am fortunate in that my DD is a pretty low-maintenance kind of girl (she takes after me I guess). She's always been a t-shirt/jeans kind of girl. That said, I decided when she was very little to pick my battles with her when she became a teen. When she was 11 she wanted to shave. I allowed it. When she was 12 she wanted to dye her blonde hair dark brown. I allowed it. She's since dyed her hair every color of the rainbow. LOL It's been natural for a year now, and I think that's because I didn't make a big deal out of it. She wanted to wear makeup at 12. I allowed it - with one restriction - make sure it looks natural. No dark colors. I also got very involved with showing her the correct way to put it on. My DD wears a 36D bra, and a size 8 jean. She's 5'7. She dresses modestly, has great self-esteem despite her friends being dangerously thin. She has a healthy outlook on body image and societal expectations of how a young woman should look. I like to think that picking my battles with her, making sure I stayed engaged with her without being her 'friend', had a lot to do with it.
  15. I've always been told 'no water after midnight' when I've had my dogs spayed/neutered.
  16. I think the difference is, $5k up-front, all at once for a reversal, versus the many more dollars you spend on a child over the course of raising him/her. I don't know many families who could drop that kind of money in one swoop, but yet, they can still afford to clothe, feed, care, educate their children fine. It's money spend over time which makes it more affordable. I hope that makes sense.
  17. My first grader is doing the BJU Grade Kit, so Science is a part of their program. However, I went ahead and ordered the science materials for the experiments to go along with it (we're very 'hands on' here). Science is DS's favorite subject so we're all pretty anxious to start it. :)
  18. I had a tubal after my last child. I had to have back-to-back c/sections so I figured I would be the one to take that step. There are times when I have regretted it. I get "baby fever" and wonder "what if". When those times come along I just spend more time with the children I have. I'm fortunate though, my oldest is 17 and not too far away from starting a family herself (please God, let it be in about 10 years though!). So I know my time to hold a new baby will be here soon enough. And this time, I won't have to be sleep-deprived! LOL My thoughts and prayers are with you as you sort all of this out. :)
  19. We've never been to the Homeschool Days, and I doubt we'll go this year as it seems like it is geared more for the third grade and up grades. I can't wait until my boys are a little older! :) However, we are annual passholders so we go quite a bit. That time of year is generally very hot still. It doesn't really start to cool down until about mid-October. So be sure to dress for hot weather. WRT the dining packages, Disney requires you to be a guest at one of their resorts in order to purchase the package. It's not a bad deal if you're planning on staying at a resort anyway. Since we found this place though, we never stay at the resorts anymore. For what you pay per night at the value resorts (glorified hotel room), you can get a 2-bedroom villas with full kitchen. HTH. :)
  20. My thoughts and prayers are with you. :grouphug: You absolutely do not have to do the depo with the new wife in the room. Talk to your attorney about this.
  21. Thanks for the welcome! :) I'm anxious to get started using the curriculum and getting back to some structure in our house. I don't know what I like better: 'collecting' stuff for our school, or actually working with the boys. :laugh:
  22. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. I "divorced" my mother many years ago for some of the same reasons you have listed. Only, my mother was an alcoholic on top of her three shades of crazy. I have tried throughout the years to connect with her, but it hasn't worked out. I call my stepmom "mom", and that works well for me. I hope you are able to find some peace with your orphan status, and know that there are many of us out here. :grouphug:
  23. Hi all! I am brand new to the world of homeschooling. I have three children (17y/o, 6y/o, and 5y/o). I will be homeschooling the younger two. All three went to private school last year and as the economy tanked, so did our ability to afford ps. However, the Lord has blessed us in that the private school gave my oldest child a scholarship to complete her senior year at the private school. We will be using BJU Online Distance Learning, grade-in-a-box, curriculum. I know many are opposed to the boxed curriculum, but since this is my first time doing this, I felt I needed to build my confidence up before I struck out on my own. :) So now I'm anxious to get my hands on it! The online sessions don't open until July 31st, so I'll have to be patient I guess. Both of my boys play hockey, here...in South Florida. My dd played until she was about 11. Hence, my user name. I look forward to getting to know all of you! :)
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