When you're tired and just trying to get through the days, taking time and brain space to sort this stuff out is difficult! I would totally utilise the older kids in teams with the littles. I wouldn't ask them to do mom tasks like nappies, but I would think of it as cultivating sibling relationships. Assign them a task like "read 3 y/o a picture book" "listen to music and dance with 3 y/o" "take 3y/o outside and find 3 different rocks" etc. Do you do a morning time? Cindy Rollins might be helpful! http://www.ordo-amoris.com/2014/08/what-is-morning-time-and-why-bother.html?m=1

Interesting, thanks for posting. It helped actually, a few minutes after I read this, my friend rang to tell me that one of her abusers was outed in a newspaper article and we discussed how people (her own mother included) ignored signs and only saw what they had been groomed to see...

I know one. A friend of a friend. She decided in infancy that her child would be a world leader (no, they aren't a family of politicians, they're pretty solidly lower-middle class), extra tutoring from preschool. If any 'friend' can do something that child cannot, they immediately become jealous, resentful and competitive. Shockingly, this poor child has no friends...

Fairly common

I know you don't feel like he's a danger, but pushing your boundaries like that is a red flag. It shows that he doesn't respect you as a person and he feels entitled to violate both your emotional and physical boundaries. In public - so he wants to shame you too. I would practice some quick get away responses. I wouldn't confront him, he's been told by others in authority (priest) and doesn't care so I doubt a 'stop being creepy' would help, it may just prove to him that he's getting to you. I would avoid him, keep in groups. I'm sorry you're going through this. Its not okay.

My bold, yes! I realised that I could easily schedule 6+ hours of 'the best' stuff, and my kids would never have time to play or rest or be kids... Balance is the best.

Twin 12 year olds?! You have aaaall my respect! :lol:

Oh man, they just keep piling on the malicious incompetency huh? I am so sorry you're being subjected to this crap Melissa.

At the moment my 12 year old is mostly majoring in eye rolling and snarky, with a minor of picking fights with her brothers... Otherwise she reads, does very messy crafty stuff, climbs trees, swims in the pool, wrestles in the dirt (again, brothers!) cooks, plays with the cat, board games, lego, drawing, extra chores for cash... We're homebodies, they have a decent amount of at home down time.

I am so very sorry. She sounds like a wonderful person, and so do you. :grouphug:

I haven't changed anything, but these two weeks have been good to see how/if everything fits. I'm making some small adjustments to the routine but I'm pretty happy with all our actual curriculum choices so far! I just need to organise myself a little better, some lesson plans were in different notebooks, must consolidate to a master list!

Actually, I have lots to say about the rolling stone thing, I have children to educate but I will be back!

Except we did the math up thread and it's more like 1 man > 900 women... I have no problem whatsoever with men being worried about false accusations. None. They can change their behaviour for self preservation. Women have only been doing it all day every day for ever and ever...

Amen!

I read it as 40% of that 19% happens before age 18.

Love!

Quite frankly, I think fear of false reports is about the only power we have to level the playing field. Eta- why do you think it gets dragged out in every.single.discussion on sexual assault? If men and people in positions of power (still mostly men) have to change their behaviour, nervously watch their drinks, who they associate with, have open door meetings and watch where they go late at night, well, welcome to equality! To be clear - I don't want to see any innocent person wrongly punished, I don't want anyone to lie.

I think she meant, if you want men to change their behaviour, convince them they're missing out on an entitlement - then they'll fight for the change themselves!

They don't see their victims as full humans. They are just taking what they're entitled to. Take away their entitlement - their money, power, freedom - then they take notice.

My bold.I don't want to be accused of gender slurs, but we all know what the common feature is of the majority of those at the top... I don't know how to fix it. But Judge Aquilina allowing those 156 victims to speak, and imposing an adequate sentence, is a great first step!

Thank you Amira, I read the sentencing statement multiple times and wondered where the controversial quote came from. The death warrant line seems very unremarkable to me.

So you think she was being completely literal? That if only she could ignore that darn document, she'd rub her hands together in glee? Did you read the entire statement? I disagree with you Bill, and I think calling her 'the worst in human nature' when we're discussing the sexual assault of over a hundred children is beyond disgusting. Your 'wrong side' attempts at emotional manipulation are less effective than you think they are.

Yep kiana, exactly. I was discussing this with our builder the other day - his 14 year old son has been working with him on site, lovely, capable kid - he (builder) LOVED the idea of his son coming on as apprentice whilst completing school at home. I'm on a mission to convert all our tradies into homeschoolers mwahahahahahaha (imagine me reclining in my black leather high backed throne!)

My bold. Do you really, literally, think that? The judge exemplified the worst in human nature? Throw civilization out the window? Now I know you know what hyperbole is and how it's used in rhetoric to stress a specific point...

But I almost got me a bingo!!! ;) I love how he totally glides over aaaaaaall the sexual assault discussion and brings the thread right back to the important things. :rolleyes: Some kind of privilege showing... can't make a 'gender slur'... self control waning...