WOW.. thats awesome! Id buy a cake!

Start with a good breakfast, strong coffee and heart puimping music. Keep the daughter :tongue_smilie:

I'm with Aubrey. I was once told and think this way, that pretend your child is a bag with a million dollars in it. Would you leave a bag with a million dollars sitting on a seat when you go into a store to grab milk? No, more then likely not. My child is worth way more then any financial amount so I don't leave them alone in cars. * noted, by child I mean child under 12 and I dont' mean to pump gas by a pay at the pump, you're not "leaving" your child then

Although in a black/white situation I agree with you. My situation was that it was approx 12 years ago- that was pre-everyone has a cell phone so I couldnt' just "call the cops", it was in a BAD neighborhood (highly known gang activity) and the store was a large warehouse type (costco) type. The child was 3 and told me daddy went to buy a refrigerator. As far as lying about the job, I had just resently quit my job with family services to stay home with my own kids. I knew what I was talking about. The law wasn't spelt out you can't leave children in a car at the time, it was however not uncommon for a parent to be charged with endangerment or neglect in this situation. Now, 12 yrs later, I wouldn't claim I worked for them, I'd call the police directly.

what i have done and what i will do again.... I have been in that situation. First, I checked to make sure the door was locked/unlocked. In the case I was in, the door was locked. I reentered the store, kept the car in view and told the closest employee of the store to ANNOUNCE on the loud speaker to the parent that left their child in the car to come to the front of the store immediately. When the father, came to the front- I told him I worked for CFSD (child famiy service division) and that leaving a child that age in a car alone is illegal. He told me she was sleep and didnt want to wake her. I told him that didn't matter in the least and to not do it again. Did I lie? Yes I no longer had any affiliation with CFSD. Was it illegal? Yes. Would I go there again? Yes or, if my kids were with me or if I felt it wasn't safe to do what I did again, I'd call the location police dept. No question about it. I know parents who regret that decision they made and hate thinking another child/family would have to go through what my friends have. BTW, if the car was unlocked, I would have taken the child back into the store with me to show the parent how quickly a child could have been kidnapped.

I am in Southern California. We had some standing water in the backyard (which yes is now drained). The kids found baby mosquitoes in the water and these STRANGE insects hiding on the bottom of the water in alge. We have spent a lot of time online and can't find an image of it! Description: infants are baby mosquito sized while the largest we found was at least an 1 1/2 inches. They are clear for the most part but the top is yellowish/greenish that blend perfectly with the alge. They have tiny redish brown dots on their backs helping them blend. They have a head separated from the body & each leg has a brown foot on its end. The backend looks like a leaf or as if it was bitten off (bite marks). They appear to be some kind of water beetle. They run cockroach quick in water. F R E A K Y ~ What is it??????????

ooh good question! We are moving an hour and a half away from where we live now 1 1/2 months into school! I dont think i can take off a month but I'm thinking I'll get through it by working just math & phonics during that time.

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: and did i say :iagree: I had a screamer. He wasn't even 13 months old yet. We would tap, and by tap I do mean slap to the point of being a slight sting, and he would not cry but instead stare right at me and tell me "not do that to me again". He screamed, I tapped. It didnt' take long for him to get the message. He is 13 now and very independent and head strong. I am very very glad I chose the firmer authorive way to discipine him when he was 1 instead of waiting until he was 13 to take my stand. :)

Old Navy. Thats where we go. I hate commercial pjs~!!!

I am anemic as are all the women in my family- along with everything posted here.. I'll add a few things. Google for more info but I tried to control it with diet and learned there are foods you can combine to help the body absorb, there are also foods that deplete the bodys iron. Tea is one of them, and although calcuim doesn't deplete the body, it does slow down the adsorption of iron so I no longer drink milk with my meals. I love iced tea but try not to drink any within 4 hrs of eatting.. so basically I rarely drink tea. On top of all that, I recently learned something very interesting. For women of mediterranean descent (I am greek) it is very common to be anemic and no amounts of iron pills or spinage really gets rid of this problem. I am able to raise my levels so I can function (more energy & non fuzzy brain) but even after years of trying, I still do not qualify to give blood.

My $.02 on bringing them. Homeschooling means my kids are around me all the time. There have been Bible study groups that I have brought them but let them kick it alone in the next room and others I've attended and left them home alone (oldest was a mature 12). Some others have brought their children and let them sit in a corner with a book and I don't like it. Sometimes I go to a womans group to get away from kids and although I understand situations can come up, children attending shouldn't be the norm. It has nothing to do with how well behaved a child is. Some converstaions that come up in prayer request and Bible study question/accountability situations are not something I want my kids listening to sometimes. My 12 yr old doesn't need to know that a man at the church is struggling w/ an addiction. I missed the age of your children but I remember when mine were younger a wise mother reminded me this was just a season of my life.. now they are older and that is easier to understand.

I'm sorry financially for this but I agree. I had a similar situation and put off going. I even went to the ER twice in 3 days for "pain", on the third trip back, they admitted me to the hospital for 6 days for my infection. My 18 yr was bed ridden for 4 days on doctors orders just last month. He told her if he didn't trust her to stay down and do nothing, hed admit her. THe meds you got for him didn't work. Sound like they killed the weak bacteria and the strong got stronger. :grouphug:

Same here. We tend to say "I don't care for ..... or It isn't my taste" instead of "I hate.." Used in the bad attitude way, it is just complaining. Complaining isn't allowed around here either unless it is for corrective productive reasons (meaning you have something positive to say as well).

If we get the house we just bid on it will be $2200 for a 7 bedroom, 5 bath house in So Cal. near a beautiful winery! :tongue_smilie:

Thanks for all the replys! I have never looked for a rug, I didn't even know there were rug stores ?!?! I do have to have comfortable carpet on my feet. I was soft and long lasting. This is going on travertine which I do NOT want scratched. Great info Tab, thanks!!

Between homeschooling & life and with so many hive members updating and remodeling this place is THE BEST resource for all kinds of knowledge! Anyone know where I can buy area rugs? I'm not talking about short 5X7 rungs for under a table. We are buying a home with a downstairs bedroom w/ all travertine flooring. It is beautiful but cold for a bedroom. I want a nice large area run that will fit almost the whole floor (approx 13X14) Where do I go? Thanks!!

:grouphug::grouphug: Stay focused on the cleaning & packing. Hang in there.... I am a huge believer that we are where we are suppose to be for a reason that we may never know. Can you help gpa out a bit to move up that Aug date? Are there any rent by the week hotels near you? Not much to offer just :grouphug:

Is there a site that will let me play around with differenct kitchen cabnets, flooring & counter tops? We're buying a house that needs a major kitchen & bathroom remodel-- I have no idea where to start! Thanks~

Thank you for your reply!! I mentioned what she was like a few months back, (full time college, two jobs) now school is out, job #1 is maybe 2 shifts a month & job #2 is 2 shifts a week. I have had numerous "talks" with her. Those admittedly have been good talks, speeches, yelling matches & note of encouragement & things I need to get across that I knew would end badly if done in person. She isn't changing her attitude. It isn't all the time, but a large portion of the time. (short tempered & rude) but realllllyyyy.... doesn't care. Now what? ....

Karen from CO: Ask questions and listen to the answers. What is her vision for the future and how does she plan to get there? What are your expectations of an adult living in your house? She has decided on her major. It is photography. She doesn't know much more then that. We laid out for her when she graduated high school while she is in school full time, she can live her rent free and get a part time job for her spending money. When she graduates or quits to work full time, she can stay for 1 year paying rent. katia: I think my dhs point is that she is doing NOTHING. Well, going to country dance clubs, Disneyland w/ friends & all day rock concerts while working 2 shifts at work a week but nothing else. Not her chores, no longer attending church b/c shes "tired", NOTHING. He never asks much of his kids so when he does, he expects them to step up w/o gruff. Two of the service projects weren't just him signing HER up but him signing our entire family of six up. The third thing was 2 of our 6 family members are helping out a situation in a bind, the rest of us could not b/c he is already involved in something at that time. When he has asked her if she could "help" she ALWAYS has an excuse. Does any of that matter or do you see it as him still being rude? I am not being snarky, I am honestly asking. *Let her learn to be an adult and support her while she's doing it. That's my motto. It's worked for us so far. ** This is what we are trying to do. Dh comes from the stand of "if someone needs help and asks, and you're only reason for not helping is b/c you're being lazy- then you obviously have to do the right thing". Again, he rarely asks the kids to step up, so when he does he expects them to. ug. and I thought twos were hard! Thanks for all input!

along with everything else that everyone has also said.... I believe sometimes, it can be a pride issue.

Is it common for a once easy going happy 16 yr old to become a spoiled bratty 18 1/2 yr old? It seems like once my oldest became 17 (senior in high) she has changed dramatically. She just completed her first year at communtiy college. She is required to do dishes twice a week & keep her room & bathroom clean & her old beat up truck- given to her by dad, clean. She isn't really keeping up on these chores. She is lazy & rude. She is spoiled, snappy and impatient to our entire household. When I give her the grow up and get it together with her tone, language & responsibility speech, she clams up with obvious contempt and says "ok mom". Her father has signed our family up for some Christian service projects, 3 times in 6 months. They are not big things, usually only lasting a few hrs. For the first 2, she knew about them a few weeks ahead of time & for this third thing, it was during church hours & our church was in a bind so he signed her up. She is having a huge issue w/ how he "assumes" she doesn't have plans and asked me to speak w/ him. I shot her down immediately & told her it was b/t her & her dad. I have spoken to her dad a few times about her attitude lately but until now, she has never given it to him so he kind of blew it off chalking it up to mother /daughters around each other to much. She was in school full time, working 2 jobs, doesn't pay rent but pays $50 a month for car insurance and pays her own gas. She has a laptop (internet) & cell paid for by dad. School is over, job 1 is no longer and job 2 is about 15 hrs a week at most. That is her summer life right now. When I look at this situation I see the future-- a 24 yr old still living at home not motivated brat. and I am NOT ok with that. Is this a normal 18 yr old I think the world owes me feelings that is just showing her immaturity or ....? Advice please, we have 3 younger that are watching how we deal with this... :confused: Thanks!

i did this only I used stickers. All yellow stickers were homeschool supplies. I numbered them. I kept track of what was in yellow 1, yellow 2, yellow 3- the men that help us move only have to worry about putting yellows together. Same w/ boxes marked kitchen- I number them... When I want to find something specific, I just refer to my list to find which box it is in. Ultra organized & crazy for my dh but when I can find EXACTLY what he wants in just seconds, he appreciates it!

Apparently I'm the odd ball but thats ok. We homeschooled the oldest through high school via duel enrollment. We are currently looking for a new house near a top high school (ranked 200 out of 1447 in California in both Gate & IB testing & so far has a 100% grad rate w/ 73% being accepted into a UC school) because of that. I will homeschool the others alone through elementary, duel enroll for Jr high & public for high school. That is the plan, well today anyway..... ;)

Target. Both my boys found ones there they liked. My 13 yr old is very picky about what he wears. He settled on solid grey. The 10 yr old, beginning to be picky settled on a striped one that looks like a regular shirt. $12ish each.