We are done for this school grade but we continue all summer with "school lite". Tae Kwon Do twice per week at lunch time. Dd swims five morning a week on swim team. 2 vacation Bible Studies. Teaching Textbooks one lesson per day (when we are not doing vacations or Science camp)for both kids. A Reason for Handwriting one or two lessons per day. Ds has 30 lessons left in Veritas Press online self paced course so he will work away at that. Local Library had a reading program with weekly group events which include a cooking snacks class and a Lego Robotics. 4H and the fair. Fishing once a week with Dad. One week educational vacation to the Badlands. One week vacation to visit with out of town friends. Two weeks of Science Camp on Birds of Prey and Mapping (three hours in the mornings). Sounds busy but the overload will be done in August before we start the next grade and I will call it review. We get house bound in the winter here because it is so cold so we love to be busy in the summer.

Yes, it would bother me. I have a similarily difficult relationship with my mother that goes through stages of non-contact. So sorry you have to deal with her opinions. My mother has said things about my weight when she is clearly 50 lbs heavier than me and it was three weeks after I delivered a baby. I wasn't impressed. My hope is that with my experience I will learn to be more careful with my words and opinions. My MIL is a dream that way. She has learned to be tactful and to respect the independence of members of her family. She has learned also that some things are just not open for her to discuss her thoughts on. My mother however thinks anything she says is wise advice even when she is clearly being foolish. When I am feeling strong I just brush it off. When I am not....I just go no contact for whatever time I need to protect myself from her views and words. It is probably not what you hoped for but as you can see many people deal with the same things. I can only hope and pray that I am a better mother to my daughter. :grouphug:

This caught my eye.....not sure why. My parents had two kids, who in turn had three kids each. So I said 8 kids between two generations. No great grand kids or any other off spring. Pretty simple.

I'm rich. I'm rich!!! :D

When we were looking we always wanted to know where the bedrooms were. So I would want to know if it was "two up and two down" or "three up and one down". Actual measurements are a good idea, like the PP said. Your house sounds beautiful!!

Our family has hosted foreign students in the past (providing room and board)and will again this fall. We have a spare room and meals have to be made each day for my family anyway. There is a loss of privacy but we manage it and conveniently we have had several students that like their own privacy as well. Our local University has an English as a Second Language program but we have found that the quality of student is too variable. This fall we will host a highschool student from Korea who is family friends with my daughter's piano teacher. We did this a few years back with great success. We are hoping for the same successful blend this fall. It nets us about $500 per month with very little *extra* work. Our last student had a few mornings where he slept in and I had to drive him into school but otherwise the only driving we needed to do was evening trips to the local library occassionally. A local friend was a recruiter of the ESL home stay program here in town for a few years and she did most of it at home. I also have friends that clean houses....It is not at your house but the flexible hours may work for you. If you have flexiblity in hours with your husband home in evenings then you could do a night job at Target stocking shelves, sorter at UPS, or maybe a paper route. I know these jobs are not high paying but it might fill a gap. Good luck with finding what fits for you. :001_smile:

You are so right. That is where I am confusing people. I have not read Frindle so I had forgotten the title. Thank you.....the op will appreciate not getting turned around.

The buckets and twist lids are great. Google Gamma lids. For longer term storage you want to look into wheat berries instead of flour. It stays fresher and more nutritious when not bought preground. It does mean finding a source other than Sams or Walmart but the taste is worth it. You would want a mill as well but the berries are cheap! The biggest things to stay away from are moisture and bugs.

You have a great start. Good Luck! It is fun to bat ideas around, isn't it. I will keep my ear to the ground for others.

From what I remember in DP there was some discusion about the definition of an antagonist. They at one point settled on "the person that resists the forward movement of the plot". The authors may have settled on a different definition of antagonist...."good vs evil". But if you stay with the first one I still feel that The Toothpaste Millionaire fits the bill. The boy did everything in his power to resist his own success. The teacher he loved to hate fought hard for him to be successful. The book in its simplist terms was about him working hard for success. If you stay with good vs evil then, no, I agree, it does not work.

It just occured to me that you may be able to ask for a ride from someone that is going to the same event (was there a choir event in there). You are right.....it all works out even if it means you stay home more this summer and enjoy each other and simple pleasures.

Alfredo sauce....is that different enough. If you are not a purist you could eat them as a side appetizer with a salad. Maybe add a few things and make an antipesto plate. I have put meatballs on pizza before...just cut them in half and add veggies and cheese.

From what I remember in Deconstructing Penguins.....The Toothpaste Millionaire was one. Sounds like a great study.

I would sell the highschool one first but I agree with the others. Probably not a market for it. I would save the college one because it would have been more special to me....I worked harder for it. Sorry it has come to this. Do you have an emergency fund or other budget line? Maybe if you see better times ahead you could take it out of there and cut back next week.:grouphug:

This has happened to me before (a couple of times, actually). It happens but I am sure the people that have asked me were more careful the next time with the next woman. The only time it made me super uncormfortable is when the woman came back to me in the store to repeat her apology. She just could not let it go and kept reminding me of her mistake. I understand that she felt bad but it did not make me feel better to hear about it again and again. If your apology was geniune I would suggest you let it go and try to relate to her as if she forgave you. Eta: I am one of those people that has let it roll off my back as long as the person dosen't keep reminding me of it. If you think she is hurting still then my response might be different.

I love looking at the Tumbleweed site. The houses are so craetive and seem so neat and tidy. I will hope to downsize when my kids are gone but for now (with a tall husband and two soon to be tall sons) we need more space. As far as the books....she has a storage unit that could hold those things. I suppose she hasn't downsized stuff but just living space. I wonder how big that storage space is?

That is a neat idea. I have never heard of it so I just had to google it. I found something on yahoo.answers that might help. Instead of the flower nail you can wrap your pan in damp terry towel and it keeps the outside cool while the inside bakes. Maybe that would work so you don't have to make a trip out of the house. I love to bake quick breads but I have never heard of your technique. Good luck!

Sounds interesting. I hope you find it! Would you give us a link if you do?

Fear. I think fear as an acceptable response has become much more common.

This. Beautifully put. No amount of money will cause me to feel good about denying reasonable healthcare to anyone, deserving or not.

I had/have a mother like this. She stayed home to look after the house, not the kids. I have lots of memories of her cleaning and doing chores that she could have easily taught me and my brother to do. I even remember once she remade my bed after I left for school (highschool). She is still very wrapped up in it and our relationship reflects it. She has that overly dramatic air about her too. Interestingly, my house is as clutter free as one can make it and I do try to clean (I have in the past hired a cleaning lady....who still did not get it as clean as she thought it should have been). I have many local friends over and they all feel comfortable to relax and visit, knowing that their kids can be themselves. I think most moms try to teach their kids proper respect for belongings without over obsessing on things. Back then it was more likely that you were judged on your housekeeping skills than your parenting skills. I actually feel sorry for that generation.....they missed out on some important moments. Don't worry....you are not the only one.

Follow your heart....if you think an authoritive parenting style does not work for him then do not use it. I can relate to your thoughts on this. When I stopped the authoritative parenting with my daughter she started getting better. It just takes lots of time, talking and guidance for some kids. It is well worth the wait. Today my daughter made a whole dinner meal for me for my birthday and babysat her two brothers so my husband and I could go out for a lunch date. She is knitting me a birthday gift, too. They do grow up when you love them with consistance guidance and rules (without the punishments for each infraction...it just takes time)

Yes. These are wise words. I do not try to cheer up my daughter but I do try to give her down time to work things through. Then I go in to help her bounce the rest of the negative thoughts away.

Just a few quick thoughts....just like your son saves his worst behavior for you....other kids save their worst behavior for their family at home. Also, my younger son....although was very mature for a while......has gone through a few challenging moments, too. With my daughter, I always know when something is brewing...with my son....It is a much deeper issue by the time I clued in. I encourage you to take care of yourself, whatever form that takes. You still have a few challenging years ahead and you deserve the breaks!

A couple of thoughts come to mind. First, he is still very young and I do not think a young child will naturally tend toward selflessness, self control and mature thinking. My daugther fit your description and as time has passed she has learned to manage it better. She still has her moments (at 12) but no where near what she did have at 8 years old. Second, some kids just cannot be pushed as much. For example, my son could run "just one more errand" without any problem but I could not do that with my daughter. She just was not that resiliant. It bothered me sometimes but she has grow up to it nicely, she just needed more time. What would I do? What did I do? DHA or Fish Oil suppliments helped. Higher protien diet helps. Lots of down time to develop self monitoring and self control. Lots of demanding exercise. Small amounts of responsibility in the form of service and chores. Consistancy. Talking about why somethings are non-negotiable. (Ie. I understand you are upset. Jean had to leave at the end because it was her supper time. If you want to play Legos, you must put that at the beginning of your play time.) And like NightElf said, stay positive. What you are desciping does not make me automatically think of the autism spectrum but it is good you are open enough to keep your eyes on it. My daughter looked like she was on the spectrum when she was eight (to a close friend in PT) but now 4 years later she does not look anything like it. Hugs to you as I know the burden is great. Don't let his behavior define whether you think you are a good enough parent. Some kids just take longer to mature through the tough stuff. If it helps....my daughter was diagnosed with Sensory Integratio nDefensiveness Disorder and we did a little OT but stopped after awhile. It seems that *she* was able to grow out of it with time and whatever we accidentally found worked. All the Best!!