Is anyone here familiar with the Bartlesville, OK area? I am going to be there for a gymnastics meet this weekend. We have all day Saturday with nothing to do. Any suggestions?

I would imagine you could do that by hunting and having a garden, and a large freezer. I feed 3 people on pretty much paleo, and I spend a lot more than $100 / wk.

I agree- but I also can't believe a dance studio puts up with moms who talk to the teacher, each other, and their children like that.

Hindsight is 20/20. But in the moment, I think what you did was admirable. A lot more than others might have done.

I am looking into buying a mobile home right now also, so thanks for your list- it looks great! I think you have received a lot of good advice here. I think you should hire your own real estate agent of attorney, to make sure everything is strictly legal. I would also shop around. This is a major purchase, even if used mobile homes are relatively cheap. Don't buy new, as others have noted the value goes down fast. I have been watching prices on Craig's List. Remember, if there are empty lots in the park you want to live in, you can have a mobile home brought in. Check how much that costs, so you know what the real prices are for homes outside your area. The mobile home park owner would love to have a new home brought in, as long as it meets park standards.

I think that would make the church an easy target for people who want to shoot a bunch of sitting ducks, so to speak. Unless there will be armed security guards available. Reminds me of this incident 5 years ago in Colorado Springs. (I am planning to apply for a concealed carry permit this summer.)

Thanks for the feedback, ladies- I appreciate the ideas. It's also nice to know I'm not the only one who has to deal with this.

No ideas for me yet? Please help! I want to start a trend to reform queen bee moms!

What do you do about mom drama in your child's sport? There is a Queen Bee mom who is wreaking havoc on my dd's gymnastics team. Very negative, always talking about people behind their backs (children and adults...) It feels like most of the other moms just let her do her thing, but a lot of people are done with her. I want to rally the forces to just stand up for what is right- and tell the problem mom when she is being a problem. Only I don't want to alienate or embarrass this mom, because her daughter is a really nice kid. A couple examples, because I know this is vague- Mom was telling me about how rude a younger girl on the team was, because she was implying that she was as good as some older girls (young girl said, "I could do a double back off bars!") I told mom that's a good thing for a young gymnast to say, shows she wants to reach the higher levels. One family has not competed on Sundays this year, but parents have decided to let her compete on Sunday at her state meet. Mean mom is going around telling everyone religious mom is a hypocrite. I think religious family just made a decision- if you want your kid to get to an advanced level in gymnastics, you are going to have to compete on Sundays at some point. (And religious family is not in a religion where no one ever does anything on Sundays, it's flexible.) When running booster club events, Mean Mom blames everyone else when her fund raiser is not a success... when she actually did nothing to get the word out except send 2 e-mails to the rest of the booster club. So it's nothing absolutely horrid, just tons and tons of gossiping and putting other kids and families down, it's just getting old. If you have any ideas as to how a few moms in the group can try to encourage this woman in a better direction, I would appreciate it.

Watch the first couple episodes of any season of Biggest Loser. I'm sure you're not that out of shape from the get-go.

:iagree: Second children figure out pretty young how to get under the older sibling's skin and get him/her in trouble. Just ask my brother... or my older dd. And it's easy to miss it. I don't think it's the younger sibling being "mean"... it's just convenient, amusing, etc. My older dd used to get in trouble all the time from dh for not "taking care" of her little sister. Dh said older dd had control over the situation, because she was 5 yrs older. He did not see that younger sister was ALWAYS instigating in little ways, pushing older dd over the brink after hours of pestering. The only reason I saw it was because I had been there, done that. It's difficult to take a younger child's side above an older sibling, especially if they are much older. But it takes two to tango, so I would make sure they both are held responsible, not just the 12-yo.

Here's a funny fact- a lot of women will schedule their child's birthday on Mother's Day, but none will schedule their child's birthday on Father's day. "Because father's day is about their father!" But- fathers generally don't care, and mothers generally do. Kind of an evil twist of fate, no?

I TOTALLY agree. But in some bathrooms, the flush is so violent that the water in the toilet splashes the toilet seat.

When I first read that, I thought it was silly. But thinking back, I never did that either. I think children learn best by example. Dh & I both used please and thank you with the kids from birth, and I think they were about 4th & 5th on their list of first words.

Or as the blogger said, at least talked to a Native American about what Tonto might have looked like. How insulting. The Depp quotes about his "Native heritage" are what really turned me off though. (I know... I really shouldn't read anything about actors if I ever want to enjoy their movies.)

I am now a former Johnny Depp fan... Depp as Tonto http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/2012/03/johnny-depp-as-cultural-appropriation.html I hope it doesn't end up as bad as it looks.

There are small - ish sports bras in the girls section at Target. There are also women's XS sports bras that are smaller than the children's large.

My mom. With me.

Me too!

I would be curious to see how the law reads in California. Here in Colorado, this relationship would be illegal even though she's 18, because he's a teacher. (Well, before he quit his job anyway.) I think these situations are horrible. There was a case near here last year I think, of a female teacher having a "relationship" with a 17-yo student. She lost her husband and kids over it, and there was a restraining order against her seeing the boy.

I think it's because the government "nutritionists" have been feeding us a load of crap for decades now. I hope all their lies encouraging "low-fat" and "healthy whole grains" are exposed sooner rather than later. Go Paleo!

For recipes, try googling Paleo recipes. People who follow a paleo diet don't eat grains, so you should be good there. I found paleo when I went very low-carb. I love it, because I can just add in fruit for my kids and they are good to go.

My dh did alternative treatments in conjunction with traditional. I think it made his path more comfortable. I know someone who went with alternative treatments exclusively, he died pretty fast. I'm not sure what I would do if faced with cancer treatment, it's pretty brutal. At least alternative treatments help you feel better in the short term.

I was so glad I borrowed that one from the library and didn't actually buy it. The only book in that series worth reading was Clan of the Cave Bear.

I watched the movie Julie and Julia, and felt the same way. It led me to My Life in France as well! I was relieved to hear that Julia Child refused appearances with the author of Julie, and had nothing good to say about her. LOL!