Love this thread! My husband is definitely in the "glad he gets to escape the chaos and go to work" club! His job is relatively low-stress and he knows he's got the easier daily duty. He has an hour commute and loves driving, so he comes home refreshed. Which is great, because by the time he walks in the door, I am SO done...:lol: Now if I could just get him to help more with the cleaning, etc. in the evenings, that would be grand. I work about 20 hours a week, as a freelance writer and some weekends as a cake decorator/face painter/party planner. He always says he doesn't know how I do it all, and I don't, either. I am just tired all the time!

We go through maybe two gallons a week, most of it used in cereal or cooking. None of us are big milk drinkers unless we're having something sweet, like pancakes or cookies. I wasn't brought up drinking milk at meals--we almost always had water or sometimes iced tea. But DH was always given milk with meals. He says that most times, he just drank two glasses of milk, was full, and left the table. He didn't want our kids to do that, so he never pressed the issue. (Thankfully!) I hated drinking milk as a child and never planned to make my kids have it. Needless to say, my MIL thinks we are SO weird when she comes to visit. She always, always comments on how little milk we use. Of course, her single daughter with one school-aged son would go through a gallon a day between the two of them. I can't imagine!

LOL! Well...this might be me tomorrow. I don't know, though...I like to think of it like the one poster said, as marinated now. :)

This is why I love this board (well, there are other reasons! LOL)...thank you! My husband will be happy to hear I'm not tossing his beloved roast beef. LOL

We hosted Easter dinner today. I bought two pot roasts so there would be enough for leftovers. I browned them on the stovetop, then put them in separate crock pots with carrots and potatoes, covered in a mixture of onion soup mix, water, chopped garlic and red wine. I plugged in both crock pots, and thought I turned both of them on. Exactly 3 hours later, I discovered that one had not been turned on at all. Grrr! So, my sister said it was probably fine and turned it on. I ended up feeding everyone from the one that cooked OK, and let the other one finish cooking. It's cooked for a good five hours on high. She said she wouldn't be afraid to eat it. I'm a little squeamish about such things...knowing it just sat there, seared but raw, for three hours just kind of icks me out. But I've heard that beef doesn't spoil like poultry would in that situation. I'd just toss it, but there's like $15 worth of food in that pot! Of course, I wouldn't accept a dose of food poisoning if someone paid me $15 to do so....:glare: WWYD? Thanks!

I'm co-hosting a reunion in a few weeks. It's for a group of about 40 people that used to attend church together (the church ended up closing). (Edited to add that's 40 families/couples, not 40 individuals.) Anyway...I posted a thread on our FB group asking people to share what they're bringing to eat, so that we don't end up with lots of similar foods. So far, only two of us are bringing any kind of entree. Others have said they'll bring a salad and bread, some are bringing a dessert. I was always told the rule for potluck was to bring as much food as your family will eat, plus enough to share with another person or two. But now I'm wondering if other people haven't heard of that before? I have a family of five, but I'm making enough of my entrees (a big crock pot of meatballs, and a 9x13 dish of baked macaroni and cheese) to serve at least ten people, in addition to a salad, a sheet cake that serves 20 and a few gallons of iced tea. But I was brought up to always cook for an army. :001_smile: Is it tacky to ask those who've said they're just bringing a pie or a salad to bring something more substantial? I know the idea is that everyone shares a bit of this and that, but if no one else brings main dishes, it's going to be slim pickings...or is that just the risk one takes when hosting a "pot LUCK"? Thank you in advance for any input!

This is what I feel. Though the way it may actually play out might differ. I was allowed to date at 16 and really, was not mature enough for it. Of course I thought I was, but I wasn't. Did a lot of stupid things. I like the comments about arranged marriages. My friend's 11 y.o. DD would make a fabulous wife for my oldest son! :D

Yeah, we quit, too, for the reasons others have described. Loved the idea of it, and saving money, but it just didn't clean well enough for me. So far we've had luck with Purex, and the price is right! I do use Tide as well, but only on my youngest's cloth diapers.

I voted "other" because it depends more on when the child can afford to pay for it himself. But I really like this idea! I'll have to share it with the hubs!

You should approach weight differently because out of acne, TV and video games, weight is the only issue that could end up killing her if she, like myself and others here, internalizes it as rejection and swings the opposite way into eating disorders. Of course, the flip side is that obesity isn't healthy and over the long term, can damage her health as well. But "long-term" means that chances are, before it's a true health issue, she'll be an adult and able to make her own choices regarding diet and exercise...without carrying a ton of emotional baggage from feeling that even in her own home, she was singled out because of her weight. Remember that eating disorders aren't just those of starvation, but compulsive overeating as well. Teenage rebellion, anyone? If you make weight an issue, if she knows that you want her to eat less, eating more could very well become a way she declares independence. This raises an issue I haven't seen posted in this thread yet, which is that it doesn't have to be such a big deal! As a society, we are SO totally over-focused on weight and food. That's why I have a hard time believing this girl could possibly be oblivious about her body shape. We're assaulted with images of thin perfection right alongside ads for Big Macs, dieting competitions on TV, diet products everywhere, diet commercials, healthy eating initiatives that have even Cookie Monster eating vegetables...food and the focus on it is EVERYWHERE. Everywhere. So I don't think it's easy to "fall prey to thinking that food/diet isn't a big deal"---I think our real problem as a society is to STOP thinking of it as the ultimate big deal! We've made food and dieting into this huge, emotionally-charged thing that it shouldn't even be. Is it possible to remove ourselves from that? I don't know. But I think the healthiest approach to food is to see it as fuel, to see exercise as something our bodies were designed to do, and try to find the joy in those things while listening to our own body's cues on when we're hungry and have had enough. NO ONE can do this for us. Trying to impose it externally usually fails, or results are often temporary. I am trying to learn this myself after a lifetime of obesity. Funny thing is, when I look back on my childhood and teenage pictures, I was not that fat, especially not by today's standards. My parents tried to make me diet from a very young age, tried to bribe me into thinness with gifts. It was awful, especially being the only heavy one out of three daughters. When I look back on how skewed my body image always was, it makes me feel sick. But you know what I've realized? Being a little overweight is not the worst thing in the world. Someone said earlier that they didn't want their kid to fall into the trap of thinking "I'll always be chunky." I don't see that as a trap, but freedom! Fact is, I come from a long line of stockily-built women, and I will never be svelte. (Even when I was bulimic, I had fat thighs! Which repulsed me at the time; if it wasn't so pathetic, it would be almost funny to realize how hard I fought against my own genes.) I inherited Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which played a huge part in my weight issues as a teen but no one started treating for that until I was in my mid-20's and struggling with infertility. (Could be worth getting your DD tested for that--women with PCOS can eat fewer calories than women without the disease and still gain weight.) Self-acceptance was the best thing I ever gave myself. And I've had a happy adult life because of it, and that is in spite of being heavy. Clearly, this is an emotionally-charged subject for me, but honestly--if you know you're providing healthy food and encouraging exercise in a non-judgmental way, in my opinion, that's the end of your responsibility here. Don't shame her when you're buying her spring and summer clothes. Let her choose things she likes that feel good on her, no matter what the size tag says. Ultimately, it is HER body, and if she gets unhappy with how she looks, and she feels she can trust you, she will come to you for help. I really believe that.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me...your differing perspectives have answered the questions I had. :001_smile: And they've made me even more thankful for attending a great church with truly insightful, spiritual, educational kids' ministries. I love that there are so many different denominations and beliefs that allow us to all find the house of worship where our family fits best.

I mean...they are children....right? :001_smile: I've never been to a church that didn't have programs for kids. Personally, I wouldn't want to go to one that didn't. So I don't understand why some see it as bad for a kid to sing songs and watch puppets instead of sitting in an adult's service that they aren't developed enough to get a lot out of? I mean, we don't plop a new reader in front of a set of encyclopedias and demand they read the whole thing. We give them books that interest them, that fit their level of understanding. We were doing science today and it reminded my son of an experiment his children's church pastor did a few weeks ago that explained an attribute of God. I find that the lessons my teen son's youth leader teaches on Sunday mornings really stick with him as well. If you're against this during church time, do you also shun vacation bible school programs in the summer? Do you opt-out of using child-friendly biblical lessons in your homeschooling? I don't mean to be snarky...I just don't understand the perspective that children's church is something to be avoided. It's been nothing but good for my kids. (And good for me, because I can actually get something out of a service instead of being distracted by a room full of active kids.) I do agree that kids need to learn how to sit still for an hour at a time, but there are ways to do this that don't involve making them attend regular church services weekly from birth, IMO.

I'd have been mortified if a relative spoke to my child and embarrassed him like that. But...I'd also scold my son (IN PRIVATE) because he's heard the "before buffets" lecture pretty much his whole life: just take a little the first time through and know you can go back for seconds after everyone else has gotten some. It's a pet peeve of mine when I see how many kids have no clue about buffet etiquette. By 11, they should know this stuff. And I'd probably tell him to apologize to the aunt after the fact, for two reasons: one, it acknowledges that he could've been a little more conservative in how much food he took, and two; it gives the aunt a chance to apologize in return (or feel like a fool because the kid apologized first, which really, should be her place, IMO, because she's the one who lost her cool and is the grown-up.) Hopefully he won't carry around lingering embarrassment, but will instead remember to take a little less the next time he's eating buffet-style.

Ah! Gotcha! :D

Thanks for all the input--definitely lots to think about. I had heard that about TT being a year behind other curricula. He started it in 5th grade, I think, and it was a good fit, so I just figured if we keep going with it, he'll be where he needs to be by the time he graduates. However...you guys have made me realize that a lot of it is repetitious, so maybe I will talk to him about checking into that academy you mentioned; plus maybe skipping ahead some in his TT. I never really thought about offering him an independent study type of thing (because he's never exactly been one to go looking for more schoolwork! LOL) but you're right: if he's asking for more, I should give it. ;) For Language Arts, we use LLATL and Vocabulary from Classical Roots. (He's on the 8th grade level in that). History and science have been mostly interest-led unit studies, but I'm thinking of switching him to a more formal curriculum in both subjects next year.

:confused:

I have a newly-13-year-old son who has quite a lot of friends. I'd say 2/3 are homeschooled while the rest go to PS. For some reason, he is always comparing himself to the PS friends and telling me that they know more than he does. Particularly, he refers to math. One of his closest PS friends was doing algebra over a year ago and bragging about it. We use Teaching Textbooks math and though he's on the 7th grade level, they're not doing actual algebra yet. I explain that he's on his grade level, doing well and he shouldn't feel like he's behind anyone...that every school and homeschool has its own curricula and rate of progress...that there aren't any "rules" about what you have to learn in which year of school. He still seems to feel like he's behind. We haven't always homeschooled; when I pulled him out of private school in the middle of 3rd grade, he was woefully behind in math, so I'm really proud of how he's caught up. But frankly, he's not ready to be moved ahead in math. When things get heated (which I'm finding they do more as his hormone levels rise!) he always flings that out there, that I'm not teaching him well enough. So I wonder if that's just his way of attacking me where it hurts? (Admittedly, it does sting a little.) He always does well on his annual testing, so I'm not worried that he's behind....aside from the usual underlying worry that's expressed here often, that everyone else's kids are smarter/brighter/will do better in college! I also thought maybe it's a ploy to try to get me to send him to PS, but he swears he never wants to go back to a traditional school. Anyway...just wondering if any other HS moms have had their kids say stuff like this. Thanks!

Here's the link to mine: http://www.kariapted.com I don't blog a ton about homeschooling--I'm a freelance writer and newspaper columnist, so my site is a hodge-podge of all sorts of parenting-related posts. I just posted this week's column about kids' birthday parties, so y'all feel free to stop by! :) (Oh, and if you want to read homeschooling posts, click "homeschooling" on my tag cloud.)

:lol: That was the ONE amusing thing about palmetto bugs. Our cat didn't just eat them, she tortured them. We'd get up in the morning to find her guarding a roach on its back, one or two of its legs flicking feebly in the air, the other legs scattered around its body. I could never stand squashing them. Not only was the crunch disgusting, but they were so big, they splattered nasty yellow-green goo everywhere. A generous spray of Lysol was as effective as any brand of bug spray. And as someone else mentioned, they don't infest a house. You do only see them one or two at a time when they wander in. I think we had them so bad in Biloxi because the house we lived in was old, sat empty for year before we rented it, and was surrounded by pine trees. But even one or two at a time was TOO much for me. I feel nauseous just writing about them...

I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but are you SERIOUS??? You live on the FL panhandle and have never seen a palmetto bug? I cannot imagine! We were stationed in Gulfport, MS and Pensacola, FL for a total of four years. Our very first night down there, a 2" palmetto bug crawled out of the heating vent and flew into my hair! They were everywhere, and totally creeped me out. One night, we ordered pizza and made the mistake of leaving the box in the kitchen unattended. We went in to get a second slice, and when I lifted the lid, there was a huge palmetto bug gnawing along the edge of my pizza. He was so big, he left little grooved bite marks in the cheese, where he'd eaten--I am not kidding! We live near Atlanta now and thankfully, I never see those monsters anymore. We found them to be just horrible along the Gulf Coast, though.

Thank you so much for all the feedback! Now I can tell my DH I'm NOT crazy! (Well, in regard to this issue, anyway...LOL)

Thanks, Crystal...that helps!

I'm trying to figure out if my son has a true milk sensitivity or if I'm totally off base. I've been trying to find answers online, but haven't had much luck. His next pediatrician appointment isn't for several weeks, so I thought I'd ask if any of you have experienced anything similar with your children. Ok, just a bit of background... My almost 18-month-old has had a combination of breastmilk and soy since birth. I have PCOS and never could maintain a full milk supply. He is still nursing 3x/day, though, so I feel good about that (even though I wonder how much he actually gets). At different points (and at his ped's suggestion) we tried weaning from soy to milk formula, but he always seemed to sleep worse when he had cow's milk formula. He'd wake up crying, and pass huge amounts of gas. However...I've never had to modify the dairy in my diet. It was only when he had the milk formula that he acted like that. Now that he's a toddler, we've tried twice switching him off soy onto whole milk. The last attempt was over the past week, gradually making the switch. Saturday was the first day he had straight whole milk. And he was a monster all day long! He's not the best sleeper at night, but always takes a great 2-hour afternoon nap. He just would not go down for his nap even though he was totally worn out. I got frustrated and told DH that I think it's the milk and sent him out to buy some more soy milk. Baby J still has a couple of 4 oz. bottles each day and he asks for them, so I'm reluctant to eliminate any type of milk completely. (Yes, I am one of those moms that lets them use bottles, nurse, etc. til 2 or beyond--whenever they seem they don't need to suck anymore.) But here's the thing: J loves cheese and yogurt, and doesn't seem to react to those. Is it possible to be sensitive to just milk itself but not milk products like cheese? That is why DH thinks it can't be the milk making his tummy hurt, because he can eat those things and be just fine. I don't know what to think...I just know that there has seemed to be a link in the past. Anyone have a similar experience? Thanks!

That is good to hear. I'd wondered if it works, as my sister has a horrible time with hair on her chin and neck. I will have to tell her to check into it. Thanks for sharing--glad to hear something is working. So far I can manage my PCOS-related hair issues with daily plucking, but if it got worse, I know I'd be looking for solutions.

:lol: I needed that laugh after totally creeping myself out, reading this thread! I voted yes. We used to have lights flicker on and off in the house I grew up in (which my father built when I was three, so it wasn't like it was an old house) and there were times I swore I felt something tug on my shirt as I walked down the hallway, home alone. I woke up once to the feeling of my cat jumping on the bed and sitting down by my feet. I felt the blankets tug a bit, and it warmed up by my feet and everything. But when I sat up to pet him, no cat. My mom told me that when my older sister was about six months old, she came walking out of her nursery with her hands up over her head, as though someone was holding her hands. She was named after my great-grandmother, who died a few months before she was born. Obviously, at six months, she wasn't walking yet and couldn't climb out of her crib. Totally freaked my mother out, but to this day she says it was Granny coming to see her namesake. I don't really believe in disembodied spirits, because the bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with God (or in the other place)...but I do believe in angelic/demonic activity.