I thought of another one. My goddaughter was really into the Three Musketeers for a while. They read the unabridged original (in translation) together as a family, and she read an abridged children's version herself. She told all her friends about it and forced them to play it with her. She was always D'Artagnan!

I have to sort a mountain of clothes down the basement, start washing, drying, then fold and put away. That will definitely take longer than 5 minutes.:D But, I guess I can go pull some stuff out of the heap and get a load going, now. Thanks for the push!

Did you buy a different kind of milk than usual? I usually buy organic milk, and last week to save money, I bought some regular milk. DS5 kept telling me it tasted funny, but I ignored him because he's not a huge fan of milk to begin with. Then, I went to pour some in a muffin mix and it smelled weird. Not spoiled, just weird. So, I dumped down the sink and spent the $6.00 on some organic milk.

Me, too!

Oooo, this makes me mad, too. This has happened to me twice when I've paid things online. I'll specifically choose a date for them to be paid, and the bank will post them the day before. I would pitch a fit!

to get off the computer and do some laundry and load the dishwasher!!!

Well, they're not exactly great literature, but when I was that age, I read every single Trixie Belden mystery. My mom bought them all for me from about 4th-6th grade. I saved them all and gave them to my 10 yo goddaughter this spring and she loves them, too.

We don't do video games, yet. Putting it off as long as possible, but with them going to school, it probably won't be long until we give in and buy a Wii. I personally would like to try the Wii fit stuff. My boys, 5 and 6, like any kind of small action figure, especially Star Wars, Ben 10, Power Rangers, etc. They also like the little Bakugan balls. They like Seek and Find books, maze books, stuff like that.

I didn't ask dh, but the only time I've ever seen him get into a state that could be called agressive is when someone cuts him off on the freeway.

I did have to pee and had to run to the bathroom after the first review! Thanks so much. I needed a laugh like that!

Does your daughter have a reason for wanting to walk home? I remember wanting to walk home from the library when I was in 6th grade so I could pass by a certain boy's house to see if he was outside. If you find out her motivation for wanting to walk home, maybe it will help more with your decision. In any case, I still don't think I'd let her walk alone at 13. I have a niece who just turned 15 that I'm fairly close to. She thinks she is a lot more mature and could handle more situations than I personally think she could. I think teenage girls overestimate their maturity level and underestimate others' intentions.

Wow, I would be really proud of him for thinking those through like that. Good job! Also, shows the advantage of hs, where he can explain his answers and not get them marked wrong because the book SAYS they're wrong.

:grouphug: No advice, just sympathy. I'm not a morning person, either. Luckily my dh leaves around the time I get up! But, he does insist on talking to me or the kids when I'm trying to read stories before bed, and that drives me crazy! I always ask him to stop interrupting, but he never seems to catch a clue!

It's so hard to get started when you are feeling so drained, but if there is really no other underlying medical issue, you can feel a whole lot better when you eat healthily. It takes a bit of effort to get it together and take care of yourself, but once you actually do it, you will feel so much better that it will just get easier and easier. I agree with trying to cut the simple carbs and processed foods and added sugar out of your diet. If you do this, you will feel less bogged down and have much more energy. One thing my sister got me hooked on is green smoothies in the morning. I mix frozen fruit, whatever kind you want, but I usually use strawberries, mango, blueberries, etc. Put the fruit in the blender, cover with water, and then add a small handful of greens, like kale, turnip greens, or spinach. Blend it well until the greens are chopped up fine, and drink. It is a very tasty drink, although it looks weird at first. I used to feel exactly like you did, but once I started drinking these, without even doing anything else, I started to feel better. The cravings for sugar and junk started going away, and the energy levels started to rise. Another really easy thing to do for lunch is to get a big bag of mixed salad that's already prepared. Then, Trader Joe's or other grocery stores carry frozen grilled chicken strips. You can nuke those and put in on the bagged salad for a tasty, quick lunch. I've switched the whole family over to whole grain pasta, brown rice and quinoa, and they eat it right up, which is saying a lot, since they are all picky eaters. Good luck, and I truly hope you feel better soon.

We also have a no toy gun policy, and of course, our boys make guns out of anything remotely gun shaped. Our rule is they cannot point "guns" at people or animals. It mostly works. My older ds is also bordering on Aspie, and has major meltdowns when things don't go according to what he thinks is the "right" way. For him, being around other kids has actually been helpful. He still gets upset, but instead of my intervening right away, he is learning how to deal get over it much more quickly. Maybe that other mom needs to loosen the reins a little. I would respond to her as others have said, and if she doesn't feel comfortable with sending her son to your house, then she doesn't have to.

Well, dh and I hardly ever go out unless a family member can watch our kids because the going rate for teenage babysitters around here is $12-$15 per hour. It's usually more expensive to pay the babysitter than to do whatever activity we plan to do. So, to me, $7.00 per hour for a mother's helper doesn't seem too much. I had an adult mother's helper when my kids were babies and I was trying to paint my house to get it ready to sell, and she charged $10.00/hr.

This doesn't really have anything to do with your daughter's predicament, but it brought to mind my college boyfriend's experience. His freshman roommate was very odd and brought all kinds of weapons to the dorm. My boyfriend tried to ignore him and just carry on with his own business. Well, my bf woke up in the middle of the night around 1 month into the school year, and his roommate was leaning over him with a knife to his throat and told my bf that he(roommate) was going to kill bf and bf's whole family. Then he left the room. Bf told the RD about it, and was moved to a different dorm and had a single room from there after. Roommate denied everything, so was allowed to stay, but was expelled from school months later for setting a fire in the dorm lounge. I was fortunate to have good roommates. It really made the college experience enjoyable for me. I'm sorry your daughter hasn't had that.

:iagree: I think kids need to have time to play and explore and relax. But, they also need to learn how things work, how to participate in a household, how to prepare oneself to take care of oneself and family as an adult.

We went to Prince Edward Island in July and it was perfect weather. It doesn't get very warm up there, as we were told by the locals, so July and August are the big tourist months. Even though we were there during the tourist season, nothing was too crowded, except for maybe the actual Green Gables house. Unfortunately, we arrived just after a couple busloads of tourists got there. We didn't go to the national park beachfront, either. The people from whom we rented the house told us about a public beach that was very secluded and not well known. It was awesome. I did live in the Nice, France for 3 months, and in Tours, France for 1 year. The south of France is awesome, too. I am planning to rent a summer house in France when my kids are older and explore the whole country with them. Visiting the castles of the Loire Valley is pretty cool, too.

Cool!

All I can say is, I know what you are going through. I've been dealing with this my whole life from my mother. She actually told me at one point that she did not have children for them to grow up and have their own lives, but so that she would have people to love her. I did see a counselor for a while, who tried to get me to set up boundaries, but my mom is like a Sherman Tank and just rolled right over those boundaries. It just doesn't work with some people. Most of my siblings have moved far away to limit the contact, but due to dh's job, we cannot really leave the area. I do feel sorry for her and her sisters. They are all so crazy. I really wonder what my grandparents did to them. Anyway, I'm sorry your dh is struggling so much and I hope he does make the decision to cut her off. It will be painful, because these types of people know how to make you feel guilty and obligated and are very, very good at it. But, if he can make the break, it will be such a relief for you and your whole family.

I've been to so many places, but I think my favorite vacation as a family so far was last summer. We actually went with my best friend, her dh, and their dd10, who is my goddaughter. We rented a house on Tracadie Bay on Prince Edward Island. My friend and I wanted to do all the Anne of Green Gables stuff, and we thought my goddaughter would enjoy it, too. She did! What we didn't expect was that our hubbies and the boys would enjoy it so much, too. They really liked Avonlea Village, and the carriage ride around "the Lake of Shining Waters". We also spent two lovely days at a small beach on the north shore, splashing in the waves and building sandcastles. We took a seal watching boat tour, and visited lighthouses. We went to a Ceilidh (Scottish music) performance. It was an awesome trip. The island is beautiful and peaceful.

:lol: Seriously, though, I'm feeling bad for having criticized their choices even though I don't agree with them. I apologize.

I don't have any ideas. I'm not Jewish, but dh is and we go to reform temple, so I'd be ineterested if anybody had any thoughts, too. My kids are still little and we are listening to SOTW on CD, so I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Maybe I can ask around for ideas.

I love it!