Is it bad that I don't have any advice but I wanted to tell you I love the pun in your thread title? :leaving:

I line them with this stuff: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/LifeLiner-Clear-Shelf-Liner/100360?categoryId=12100 It's not contact paper. It's kind of a thicker foam mesh that protects the dishes from chipping and the cabinets from being scratched. You just cut it to size and lay it down, pick it up to wipe the cabinets. I don't know how long it lasts because I've never had to replace it. It does require you to set things straight down on it; because it's not stuck it will scrunch if you slide things. Also available at Home Depot, I think.

I kept mine rear-facing until they outgrew it. They were both somewhere between 3 and 3.5. I got a lot of cr*p for it, though. I'm still getting heat for having DD5 in a 5-point harness. <shrug>

We use Singapore as our spine. DS does Beast Academy on the weekends (takes my time to help him) because he has to complete one hour of BA to be allowed to do one hour of martial arts. The martial arts are very important to him so it works out. I don't try to line them up; we just go through them in order. If Singapore comes up on something we've already covered in BA I sometimes skip it in Singapore as I find BA to be more rigorous. I only skip it in Singapore if I think it's not "core" to the Singapore methodology. For example I'd skip calculating perimeter in Singapore if we'd already done the much more in-depth version in BA, but I wouldn't skip something like addition because number bond methods are carried throughout Singapore. If I get to a topic in BA that we've already covered in Singapore, I let DS read the BA guide and then highlight problems in BA that I think are different from how it was approached in Singapore. It sounds like a lot of work but it's not. I really like math, though, and it might be more onerous for a person who doesn't want to decide which problems approach a topic from different angles. If that were the case for me, I would either go through everything in both books or skip entire sections in the supplemental book when we got to them if they had already been covered in the spine. I still think we would get a lot out of it.

But I'm trying to lose weight! :laugh: Just kidding, I'd probably only have to do this for a day. Great idea.

I felt this way a bit today. We found some stilts I had bought too early when the kids were too small for them. I got them out and gave them to the kids to use after giving them a demonstration. They just stood there like I was going to help them figure out how to walk on low stilts. They wanted me to help them walk, hold the sides, explain how to balance, when to lift their feet etc. They wanted me to spoon feed them the whole "stilts experience" I guess. Finally I said, "You're kids. These are fun stilts. They have no moving parts. Figure out how to use them, or don't." They're still unused. I mean, they're stilts. No one can use them for you. Kids are supposed to jump on and figure it out. :001_huh: Right?

Well, I think that's a little unfair. You don't know her history. She might be cashiering homeschooling while working her way through school helping her children or they may be unable to get a job in her field good education at the local district. I'm in no way condoning her comments, but summarily dismissing someone based on their current employment educational choices seems elitist. I agree, but it's just being elitist back at her! (She started it!) :lol:

That buns video troll is doing good work. Got me off the sofa to get in some much-needed exercise.

I think it's the context. Ex 1: Sitting at cafe with friends, talking about someone coming onto someone else's wife. "People have been shot for less!" "I know, right?" (Just talking, no implied threat.) Ex 2: Fence around property, with sign on it. Sign says, "No trespassing. People have been shot for less." (Generally speaking this is true, but implies perhaps at this location, by this person.) Because you're talking about someone entering a property it sounds more like the second, not the first. JMHO.

I think the email was over the top, especially since you know what he looks like and approximately when he's arriving. Good grief. I also think your reaction last year was over the top. If I was expecting the property manager and somebody was in the yard a few minutes before that I would assume it was him and he was running a few minutes early. Property management, home repair, etc runs like that. Some things take longer than you expect and some things are quicker. If you're running ahead of schedule you keep going because the next stop might be problematic.

My "other" thing that I don't do: I don't keep a lot of stuff around. My house is pretty small (900 sf for 4 of us) and mostly decluttered. This means I don't buy things that tempt me. Our curriculum (minus literature we check out from the library) for both kids could fit in a small suitcase. I'm pretty ruthless about culling toys, books, magazines, clothes, etc. I have a limit of how many pants, shirts, etc each person gets to have. We only have 2 towels/person, 2 full sets of sheets/bed, etc. Also, the kids help: 5 yo: make bed, take out recycling, sweep kitchen floor, set table, pick up toys, "help" with cooking, fold and put away her laundry 9 yo: take out trash and compost, deal with cans on trash day, make bed, open all blinds and shades, pick up toys, clear table, load laundry, move to dryer, and bring it back up from basement, put away clothes, help with cooking (inc. making scrambled eggs, which really helps in the morning). I need to teach them the older one to load the dishwasher. I've been putting it off because 1) I'm really picky about how it's loaded and 2) I love my dishes.

You can read Yahoo emails in the browser instead of having them sent via email. Try the "web only" option. He'll have to log in to see them.

Just some encouragement... My (public-schooled) brother was a lot like this. It turns out he's really good at math, and even works in a financial field with lots of numbers. He's teaching himself Calculus now. Hang in there...

And he's made so many! If you scroll to the bottom you can see the "previous 20" as well. So many great photos. Some of the Parisian ones are really well done. And chilling. http://sergey-larenkov.livejournal.com/tag/paris

I'm not Christian, but... I am the child of Muslim immigrants who have many friends who are also Muslim immigrants to the U.S. For them living in the U.S. has been a challenge, whether it was the 1970s and they had seen no other Muslims for a decade, or whether it was 2001 and people were being shot for being Muslim or even looking different (Sikh, Hindu, etc). Even in this isolating and sometimes antagonistic environment that have retained their faith and worship. Coming to a new country that was much less religious than their original country didn't cause them, nor their friends, to leave their faith. Immigrants go to new countries and keep their faith all the time. Just look around the U.S.!

We really enjoyed this nice use of Photoshop: http://sergey-larenkov.livejournal.com/ (I used Chrome browser and translated the page.) This person has taken historical photos, found or taken modern photos of the same place, and blended them together so you can see the historical event in a modern context. It's pretty fascinating, well to me anyway. :)

I agree "will be going into" is a mouthful, but I'm trying to figure out how "She is a rising 2nd grader." is any shorter than "She will be in second grade." The second option has fewer syllables and uses less confusing terminology. No need to use "will be going into" or "in the fall" or whatever else.... :tongue_smilie:

Yep, see if you can move in early. Good thing you found out the real deal while it was still a trial period...

I would throw it in the trash or donate it and never mention it. At all. Too bad for Dad, maybe he would think twice before going along next time. If asked I would say "what gift?" (it's not really a gift anyway) and pretend I'd never seen it. Wash, rinse, and repeat if it comes again. I'm very firm with boundaries and would not want to make any effort to do more. And I wouldn't feel bad for even a moment. :leaving: (I'm not a terrible person, really! But this situation is a psychological trap and I would do the same thing I would do if someone handed me a bomb wrapped in a nice box.)

I agree w/ Quill, forget the idea of substituting gluten foods and just eat lots of veggies, some meat, some eggs, and some fruit and nuts, some fats.

Yes it's fair not just to consider it, but to do it. You're a people too!

Try looking at the long-term picture. What will be the probable outcomes/consequences of this 5 years from now?

Hmmm. My stuff didn't taste particularly sour. Maybe a little bit. I used whey (from drained yogurt). Also different bacteria types make different yogurt taste more or less sour. Have you experimented with different brands? Or are you making your own? How long have you been doing this? Sour is also something you get used to....

I also have a holistic health practice with a shared office (almost same requirements as you). Absolutely take the space. Be polite and friendly if you run into the ex-partners. People move to better situations all the time, especially in the service industry. Do NOT make the mistake many women make of trying to do the nice thing; you've done nothing wrong or unethical. You and the ex-partners couldn't find a deal you could agree on, that's all. Go for it, TODAY.

Those are the exact things I ask my 5 yo to do and she does them with some whining at first. But she is capable. I would not list all of the things at once, however. Give her one task at a time. If that task is too big, break it down for her in parts of 5 (pick up 5 pieces of clothing first, then another 5, etc.) So guide her verbally, support and encourage her, but let her to the physical tasks. Unless it's a mountain of work, in which case help her get it done and make her do the tasks often enough it doesn't get like that again. Declutter if she has too much stuff to manage.