What a relief for those kids. And the foster parents have a few solid weeks to work with the kids. Hoping the parents don't have too much visitation during that time to try to undermine the foster families, or that if they do it's extremely well supervised.

nm, thought better of becoming the posting police. ;)

How COULD it be debunked, though? I mean, we all say it's not possible, but in the eyes of their supporters who WANT to believe it, and who will donate even more if they see people calling them out on it... we can say it's improbably and point out all the rules it can break, but the courts can't openly address it. The foster families can't openly address it. The only people allowed to say ANYTHING about this publicly are the family.

Oh wow! I hope the mothers remember information about their doctors, nurses, etc, so that they can track down exactly how this happened. There can't have been just one person involved in this, with no one else suspecting what was going on. This was a co-ordinated group effort. I can't imagine how those poor mothers feel. Anger, shock, hope (that babies might still be alive somewhere), grief, every emotion in between and some that there probably aren't words for. :(

For me it depends on my financial position at the time, and what work I could find. I would go to work if it would make a significant difference to our finances (eg, if it looked like my husband might not otherwise be able to retire on schedule, etc), AND if I could find a job that didn't feel like it sucked the life out of me every day. If I could onlt find a job that left me feeling like a horrible human being by the end of every day, I would stay home or volunteer instead. If we didn't need the money, I would volunteer instead. I realize writing this how INCREDIBLY lucky I am to be in a position where I can make those kinds of choices, and hope that I can still make that choice when the time comes. If our financial situation goes downhill, though, of course, I'd do what I had to do.

Ditto the bove poster. A co-op is when you all co-operate to make it run well by taking on various responsibilities. I would probably classify the getting together for fun activities with fluid membership as a playgroup, as taking courses with no parental involvement as, well, taking classes. Co-op has been fantastic for our family, but that's because we have a large local homeschooling group with similar values as our family. I imagine it would be a lot more negative if we were getting together with a group for my kids to be taught by other parents who believe very different things.

I found it interesting that for my name, my 1890's name would have been.... my name. I guess it really is cyclical, lol.

I fully agree on the macro vs. micro racism, AKA systemic vs. individual racism. There is no "reverse racism" on a systemic level. On an individual level, of course there is. Any individual can be racist, or prejudiced in general, against any group. Systemic racism obviously is a much larger issue, but it's not what this thread is about; this professor's tweets aren't a reflection of systemic racism, except in that they give insight in to how some of the oppressed respond to it. This is purely her personal opinion, so we're responding to her as an individual.

I can only assume from this post that my husband has another wife hidden out there somewhere. I thought I was alone!

They'll start building a new home with the money... once they get the kids back? Riiiiiiiiight. Really, how are people not seeing through this?!

That's so odd, I couldn't get it to come up for the life of me earlier this evening! Now I can go back to obsessively stalking, so thank you for that. :lol:

Oh, I just saw what you meant; they took their facebook page down. They probably realized it was a HORRIBLE idea to leave all that evidence of their neglience open to the public (and to provide a place for people who know them to post about their experiences with the family, which can't help them in any way). I've been riveted to this case too and I have NO idea why. It hasn't inspired me to do more school or cleaning or anything, lol, but it has made me think about the possibility in the future of fostering older children.

Somewhere in one of the many FAQ sections I read, the mother posted that the property actually already had a well, but she didn't want to use it. She wished the land had been "raw", but this was the property they could find and it bothered her that it already had a septic system and well on it. Edit: Here's the link, found it. http://blessedlittlehomestead.org/tiny-grid-cabin-qa/ C&P of the appropriate section: "What about a water source? Best laid plans would have given me raw land. But this land was previously occupied. This means there is a septic and a well or cistern. We have to hire someone to come out and asses them. Until then we haul in water. I get drinking water from the store and refill at work, we get bathing, washing water from a local feed store that has a well. We will also be setting up a rain water collection system. " So they do admit here to taking water from work and a local store, they just don't specify if they have those people's permission or not. It doesn't seem they bothered to get someone to "asses" the well and cistern.

Yes, they should withdraw the job offer. "Racist" and "Sociology professor" is not a good combo. At first I thought her comments were satire, a kind of mirrored skewering of the comments you might hear a white supremacist making. Then I realized she's serious. No, this person should have no part in teaching sociology.

We all make our breakfasts. Everyone wakes up at different times, some wake up hungry and some aren't hungry right away, etc, so some eat at 6am and some don't until 9:30. Everyone makes a bunch of different things, from scrambled eggs to toast to waffles to cold cereal to oatmeal. Probably the go-to choice for my younger two is a bowl of yogurt mixed with granola and fresh fruit. Simple, fast, and they love it.

Extremely rude. Actually, I don't think ride is the right word. This isn't social cluelessness (the invite alone might have been, but the rest proves otherwise); it's a deliberate power trip. I'd like to think I'd call her out on it... in reality I'd probably roll my eyes, walk away, and come alongside the other woman as a friend. She needs support and kindness, and I'd sure prefer being her friend to hanging around with the other woman. Then I'd probably toss a few "in" jokes back and forth with my new friend in front of the bully while sidelong casting glances her way, because I'm petty and would totally stoop to her level even though I know I shouldn't.

Probably not. We know how to grow our own food, but we live on a tiny city lot and couldn't in a million years grow enough to sustain our family. And with so many people around, we'd have no way of stopping them from stealing from our garden anyway. Plus the winters are cold here... we could keep warm with fires and we're well prepared to camp, but we'd have no food source. Guns are rare-ish here; don't know how to shoot one, and wouldn't know how to use one to kill game, though I'm sure we could figure it out if we could get ours hands on one. We might make it til the winter, but probably no longer than that.

LOL I'm with alisoncooks. What time of the month is it? That very much affects my answer. ;) The week before and week of, I will cry for anything from puppies to babies to a mess on the floor.

We've had a number of stillbirths along the way. Altogether we had 8 boys in a row.... and then pregnancy (and baby) #9 shocked the heck out of us by being a girl. In the ultrasound room when they told me I literally did not believe them. My husband finally had to say "Honey, I don't think they're lying..." lol. You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Your friend's logic has more holes than Swiss cheese. My heart breaks a little for the people he counsels.

I hate pads, They shift and they bunch and the leak and the smell and they're just gross. I hate tampons more. They are SO uncomfortable and the never fit properly and they're painful. Tried cups, even worse than tampons. It's like choosing the lesser of all evils, lol. I stick with pads unless I'm swimming and tend to go places less often when I'm having my period. Which is probably wise since being around people when I'm on my period is generally a very bad idea anyway, lol.

"Oh, I forgot."

From my parent's perspective (not mine) it wasn't about being flippant about the Bible. It was that the Bible says "The Word was God" so when I said "Oh my word!" it was the equivalent of saying "Oh my God!" and taking the Lord's name in vain. The pendulum may have swung a little TOO far in the other direction now that I get to make the rules in my own house. ;)

I've read two so far and enjoyed them, but not because I think they're terrific fiction. They're fun to read in the same way that Sharknado is fun to watch, lol.

I don't correct for it if it happens in the moment and just slips out, but I do prep them ahead of time that "Grandma & Grandpa don't like those words, so remember not to not use them during their visit. There's nothing wrong with the words, but since they bother your grandparents, it would be kind to them to not use those words today." If it happens unintentionally, oh well. If my kids do it on purpose to push boundaries or annoy, that's another matter. For a little insight into my family's background on this: my parents once grounded me for a week because I said "Oh my word!" and Jesus is the Word of God, therefore I was taking God's name in vain. Sigh. My mother would probably try to send me to my room even now if she heard some of the words I now use. Actually, maybe I should try that, I could use some alone time in my room. :lol: