I knd of want to watch it, because I love most of the Muppet movies but it doesn't sound like it will be all that funny. And the idea of implied puppet sex is just not really my thing.

Most people that I know use charters, so they don't offer any bussing. A couple of them are located so that two blocks away would have you crossing a highway or really busy and not at all pedestrian friendly street. With the neighborhood schools, you have a live a certain distance from the school or you are not eligible for bussing(from what I understand), so I don't know that getting a bus is as practical here as it sounds like it is for you. :)

You don't have a weekly complaint on Facebook about how awful the pick up line is. I seriously feel so bad for some of my friends, they are sitting in the school pick up line with their small kids for over an hour some days. Mostly though, the people I know with neuro typical kids are really happy with their chosen school, so I'd guess the pick up line is small potatoes.

I can't open YouTube on my iPad for whatever reason, but are you hearing Harper Valley P.T.A by any chance? I am....

My son was afraid of water aand going in past his knees until this year. I found an indoor, warm water pool that kept classes small and spent a lot of time at every open swim and the beach that I could. He's gone from crying over putting his head in the water to jumping into 6 feet of water and having an ok crawl and backstroke. He still needs work, but according to him, having the water feel like a bathtub really helped his comfort level to start. OTOH, I spent a ton of time and money on my dd and see learned that she loves lessons to socialize. She'll jump in and go under, but can't float. :)

I can tell you that I'm doing 1st grade cheaply, but not free. Many things I'm using are free resources from the Internet, but I do have to print some of them out to use them. Most free resources still require something else, ink, pencils, papers, manipulatives, science equipment of some kind or another, and/or time. I also have at home internet and a tablet to use readers and watch videos. I have picked up board games and manipulatives at garage sales and thrift stores over the years, but I had the place to store them. Also, it's 1st grade. ;). I assume later grades will require more money or time to put together a decent year. OTOH, I enrolled my son in a PS run one day a week enrichment program and the trade off is that he gets classes and we get access to a curriculum library, so there's yet another resource I have in my back pocket, There are Facebook groups which are handy to discuss low cost/free resources and they are very helpful and supportive. This board is awesome, but when I was at a very low income I found the magazines Ethel Flint shared and FB groups to be better resources for me.

Not a large family, but I do make your own pizza parties often. I make pizza dough and pat crusts to fit into 8 or 9 inch cake pans. That way I can fit several into the oven at once, no one's toppings are touching someone else's, and people can work around our table and/or peninsula to top their own at the same time.

I do agree she seems annoying. Her XOJane article almost put me off further reading, but I am curious about their lifestyle.

The husband gave up a job at the Library of Congress to move to their Victorian town. I'm pretty sure they are both invested in this lifestyle. I think a lot of her(their) ideas about feminism, society, and the superiority of the time period are annoying or I disagree with her conclusions. That said, I don't have any issues with people who want to extend their dress up into a living history. I don't really see a problem with them picking and choosing the parts that they enjoy or aren't dangerous(to them). It seems like a really involved game, play for adults with the props and costumes. Still not my thing, but eh.

(((Hugs))).

We are preparing to move in a duplex style home with my family living upstairs and my parents living down. My father has early onset and is 57. We think this will help so my mom is not dealing with all care taking as they age and will lower both families financial burdens significantly. Also, my dad has better days when he is around my kids, my dog, has multiple people to talk to, and gets out of the house regularly to hike, go to museums, parks etc.. My mom is an introvert who hates the outdoors, museums, and is...overwhelmed at the changes in her life. We are hoping this will prove to be a good thing and that my kids don't end up hating me. I've heard that one as well.

I think the complaining about people staring come from the number of people she is saying have touched her waist, butt, and bust area uninvited. I would be unnerved if I was regularly groped or touched by strangers in public too and if the staring precedes the touching, I can see why it would be stressful. The smug is annoying, but it's similar to tones/ideas that many people who choose something wildly outside the norm. I've seen similar wording or tone in articles about homeschooling, people who don't watch TV, tiny house living, and coffee prep(wish I could find that one again".

Her bio on their website lists her as an author, a licensed massage therapist, and a private tutor. A 2013 NY Times article referred to her husband as a librarian and bike shop manager. So, at least recently, they worked.

Victorian era cos-players? Cute! I would not want to do it, but I like electricity. And jeans.

I mean it's almost like her protests were about more than just getting her excused from having to sign off on forms allowing gay marriages so as not to violate her own personal religious beliefs. Weird.

I grew up calling most adults by their first names. That was just the normal way it went. Teachers and medical doctors had titles, but everyone else had a first name and seemed to prefer that. Saying Mr. or Mrs. earned you a weak chuckle and a, "Oh no, call me (Ron, Tami, etc.) Mr.(Mrs.) is my father(mother)." I have made with friends with a lot of former preschool teachers and am frequently called Miss Firstname, even by other adults while children are present. It seems too formal for friends and friend's children and I cringe, but attempts to just be Firstname gave gone almost nowhere in that circle. At a church I used to attend the some parents insisted I was Mrs. Lastname and attempts to be Firstname were met with icy insistence that their children were raised to be polite.

I visited my grandparents in Florida a few years back. She wanted to go to Dollar Tree to pick up some treats for the kids, go to Walmart, and she mentioned getting some wine. I had no idea she meant wine at Walmart. I must have sounded like a moron when she turned into the aisle with jugs of booze. "You can just buy this at Walmart? Is it real wine or just low alcohol content stuff?" Which earned me a dirty look, because "Good grief, N! Why would I buy that crapola?"

I get this and don't fully disagree, but I struggle when the person in question profits of it. Hitler does not make money or earn professional recognition when people drive on the Audobon. If people buy Douglas Wilson's books then that contributes to his reputation as an expert in his field and as someone whose POV is worth considering. If I recommend Wilson's books am I also recommending HIM? It's a big difference to me when someone who is...well, horrible is alive and benefits financially and professionally from recommendations, quotes, and write ups.

Wow. No, I am about an hour north of Denver. My city banned dispensaries as soon as they could after the law passed. There's a tiny town just on the limits of where I live that was originally incorporated to build bars and liquor when we were a dry town and they have dispensaries, but no signs in town advertising them. Personally, I have not seen much public smoking here. I was not aware it was so prevalent in Denver though. My town is definitely more conservative than a lot of the Front Range, so that probably explains some of it. And we are much smaller than Denver.

Come to think of it, I can not recall a billboard, newspaper, or radio ad either. There are two separate laws here, one covering medical use and covering recreational use. Recreational use has to be sold in licensed stores or grown under personal use laws. You have to present ID to enter a store. It is illegal to smoke in public...that law is overlooked at certain times or certain events(concerts and certain festivals). Generally stores here have names that refer to nature, green, or herb. Some towns banned the dispensaries after the law passed.

Colorado and, no. They are legal if the a certain percentage of the audience is over 21, but stations have yet to air any. There was one going to air over the summer, but the station yanked it at the last minute.

Honestly, when our state changed over to Sunday liquor sales the biggest complaints were from liquor store owners concerned about low sales and overhead and grocery stores complaining about possible loss of sales on their 3.2 beer. I don't remember much, if any, complaining about going against God. When we legalized marijuana however, that was another story.

In our state we can not buy anything other than 3.2 beer in grocery stores(I think). Liquor stores and the recently ubiquitous micro breweries prefer it that way. Until recently, liquor sales were closed on Sunday but that changed via our legislature.

I am so sorry for your poor mother. How horrible!

In my town(which is not in WA) the charter schools have a one page form that you can pick up at the school office or download and fill out. You have to take the completed application, a birth certificate, and immunization records when you enroll for the lottery. The schools have the applications in English and Spansh on their website. A criticism that often comes up in my area is that 3 of the 5 charters (and the 3 with the best test scores) are all concentrated in one(middle/upper middle class) area, have pick up lines parents are in for 30+ minutes, and charter schools do not offer bussing. Also, as I understand it , parents are required to put in X amount of volunteer time each year. I think it adds up to 60 hours. So, it's felt that those factors naturally exclude poorer students and students with unengaged parents. I am a proponent of charters and school choice, but there are honest critiques that are worth discussing.