I looked up the lyrics for the song that plays during the commercial, and I feel like it just makes it even weirder. "She's So High", by Tal Bachman. The lyrics are about this perfect woman who's out of reach. Bleh.

I don't know that it's exactly sexist. It's poorly written, though. "I didn't know how this would change me". Ok, so how exactly did it change you? Physically? Mentally? Spiritually? The commercial doesn't really demonstrate how it changes her. She doesn't look any different. They don't show improved biking times or distances in the ad. She doesn't sound more confident at the end of this "journey". So...? Where's the beef, lol?

I'm having a change of heart about the graphic novel study at co-op. Mostly, the co-op is an hour away and I don't want to make that drive. Kiddo doesn't even really care if he goes to co-op. "To co-op or not to co-op" should probably be it's own thread. 😕

Some of them are just straight forward "upload a receipt and get x points", and are not dependant on purchasing certain items. Receipt High, Receipt Pal, and Coin Out are like that. Fetch is like that a bit. You get 25 points per receipt. They have bonuses for buying certain items, but even if you don't buy them, you still get points. Basically, I check sales ads each week, and then match them to coupons and receipt tracking apps. I am in a few FB groups for this, which saves time putting together "deals". When I get home, I upload receipts. It is basically a hobby for me at this point.

I use Ibotta, Receipt Hog, Swagbucks, Shopkick, Receipt Pal, and Fetch. I earned about $180 in gift cards since September.

I have a 5th-ish grader. Math: Finish Beast Academy 5 and Start AOPS Pre-Algebra (I have no idea when we'll make this switch because it is taking forever to finish this year) Grammar, Vocabulary, Poetry: Michael Clay Thompson. We are working through the Town level right now. I expect we'll be done in April, and then we'll move on to the next level. Writing: We will be starting IEW level B Science: I am still deciding whether we will use CPO Science Earth or CPO Science Life. Philosophy: The Circle of Happiness from Royal Fireworks Press Art: Continue with weekly art classes and once a month "meet the artist" books History: We've gone through all 4 SOTW and kiddo keeps going back to ancients as his favorite. I need to move him along because I can't listen to any more Jim Weiss, (nothing personal! It's just been on continuous loop in the car for a year!) Latin: Minimus Chess club, Dungeons & Dragons We're going to try a co-op for a graphic novel study in January. If he doesn't care for the co-op, we'll ditch it and sign up for classes at the Maker Space.

Do you have a chest freezer? If so, buy as many as you can fit!

Yesterday at dinner. Kiddo and hubby were telling jokes.

My husband complains about eating the same meal too many times, (which really bugs me, because he'll eat the same take-out lunch multiple times a week by choice, but burgers at home once a week and he's "burned out" 😠 ). I don't like cooking and do not have the skills to create new recipes every week. Someone pointed me towards 5dinners1hour.com, and it has helped save me so much time with meal planning and prep work. I get 20 new recipes every month, and can create a shopping list based on what I want to make that week. It also allows me to adjust the number of servings. Husband has liked everything I've made so far and has asked me to repeat some recipes. Even the picky 11 year old likes a lot of the recipes. I usually do not make all 20 recipes each month, but will repeat some favorites from previous months.

Oh no! Call your daughter. Maybe she can come early and help out?

Wow.

I felt overwhelmed by the size of my house when we bought it. We went from a 600 sq ft apartment to a 2300 sq ft house, and it felt HUGE. We also have all tile in the living areas. Get a big janitor-style dustmop for sweeping. It will go much faster. A roomba or two could help, as well. Tupperware dishes for the kids until everyone is out of the butterfingers stage. Restrict food and drinks to one area of the house. If you really hate all that tile, can you put in carpeting? Wall to wall is expensive, but so is selling a house and moving. I'd enlist your husband to come up with solutions for the fence and paneling. If he really does not want to replace the fence, then he has to help come up with something that will solve the problem. Same for the paneling. If he wont' come up with a solution with you, then I'd give him a list of options you can live with and tell him either he picks or you do, ("Either we tear it down or we sand it down. Pick one or I decide"). I'd also point out that you were not 100% on this house when you bought it, so he's going to have to compromise on some things unless he wants to hear you complain about it for the rest of his days, lol. Any chance he's just overwhelmed by the current projects you have going on, and wants to finish those before starting something new?

Also, you could try being nice and having some empathy for your stepson. No one asked him if he'd like this version of life, where his parents are divorced and he has no choice but to visit with a mean woman who compares him unfavorably to her grandson. Your stepson is a 12 year old boy. You're showing contempt for a child. Go get some family therapy.

She said "JAWM" in the title. Sometimes people just need to vent.

Your stepson and grandson aren't competing with each other.

I am so sorry. Your poor, sweet nephew. ❤️

Is jello "salad" a regional thing? My in-laws (Texas) are into "salads" made of cool whip and jello. My NY relatives think jello is pointless as a food item, lol. I wish my grandma was still alive, because she's have so many choice things to say about jello "salad", lol.

My dad has a big disconnect, too. He has no self-awareness, at all. It's kind of fascinating in a way, but also deeply frustrating. He'll criticize his brothers for how they raised their kids and say things like "Well, of course your cousins have problems. Look at their parents! (his siblings) Their parents were raised by deeply troubled people (my grandparents), so how else could this turn out?" Um, Dad, you were raised by those same "deeply troubled people". Yet you don't see any of the problems your own kids had or the part you played in it. I agree that multi-generational patterns of dysfunction are real, but do you see how that has impacted your own kids? "Oh no, I made the choice to get sane. Your uncles never made that choice, and look how it impacted their kids!" Are you kidding me?

Do you have a library that offers any kind of kids programming? We met our first homeschooling friends at the library.

We've used both. There's no difference. Elenco will send you up to 3 free replacement parts if one misfunctions, but I've never had that happen.

Any science program that wants us to make a model of a cell using food. It's always food we do not eat, so I have to buy special junk food that gets thrown away. That $20 jello-and-candy cell model was sure worth it. 😠

Our homeschool is pretty pared down compared to others. I have one small bookshelf of books and 1 shelf in a cabinet for "what comes next". These are programs that we like and have plans to use next year. I don't keep a lot of things "just in case" anymore. It was easy to fall into the "just in case" trap when kiddo was younger. What if he suddenly wanted to use clay to make a model of the Great Pyramid and I don't have clay and he never ever wants to make a Great Pyramid model again. I've wasted a valuable learning moment! Well, probably not. If he really, really wants to make a model, he'll either find different materials or he'll remind me at the store to get clay. I no longer feel I need to keep All The Things just in case inspiration strikes. I've kept the paper, some of the paints, colored pencils, and supplies to make slime. I gave the rest to the art teacher, who is far better at inspiring artistic creativity than I am! No more string, beads, glitter, stickers, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, etc. Basically, I got rid of everything that I once said "We might use this someday!" Do I have a solid plan for using it? If not, it has to go. Past experience tells me we won't use the Someday books and supplies. They'll keep getting pushed aside for our favorites, which makes me feel guilty for not using the Someday things.

I don't have that kind of storage space and I am not saving very many toys. It never occurred to me to save kiddo's toys for theoretical grandchildren. I had my one and only child at age 35. If he does the same, that means I'd have to hold onto those legos for 35+ years. I know how I feel when my MIL shows up with yet another box of treasures from my husband's childhood, and I won't do that to my future daughter-in-law. I have a few things I've saved that meant a lot to *me*. If kiddo wants those toys and books for his kids one day, I'll hand them over, but I also understand if he says "Mom, what in the world am I going to do with these stuffed Caillou dolls? My kids don't know who Caillou is".

I don't think it's actually trendy, but I think that's a word that people use to be dismissive. If it's true that "every family is dysfunctional", then you don't have to acknowledge or do anything about families that are emotionally or psychologically abusive. Funny enough, my father used to brush off discussions about our family life with "Well, no one emerges from childhood unscathed. Eventually you grow up and learn to forgive your parents for their failures". That shut the whole conversation down. There was no talking about how to make things better for everyone, no discussion about why all the kids were struggling, why my sibling developed an eating disorder, why I ran away. Just a variation on "Every family is dysfunctional. Get over it".

They may not know. My dad and my in-laws are very out of touch with what things cost or what kids like. Last year, the in-laws gave kiddo a board book.. Kiddo was *ten*. We are far, far past board books and they know this. I was so stunned when he opened it in front of everyone. Kiddo said very loudly that he felt upset about the board book, and MIL and aunt-in-law squirmed with embarrassment. I didn't even try to reign in kiddo's attitude about it; I just let the adults sit there are feel embarrassed and told kiddo we would go by the book store to get him a "real" book. It was a weird, thoughtless "gift". Not even a "oops, we mixed up the tags! That was for your baby cousin!" explanation. They meant it for him. I have no idea what to make of that.