ocelotmom
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Posts posted by ocelotmom
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Laurel - The Columbia disaster happened while I was pregnant with my oldest, and this was the name of one of the astronauts. I was drawn to the name, and it seemed a nice tribute. But DH didn't like it.
Anneliese - Also considered this with my oldest, for family reasons (it's not a family name, but similar), and it might have happened, but he ended up being a boy. Then my cousin named her kid that - came up with it totally independently, for the same reason I did - so it was off the table.
Erik - this was the boy name we had picked for my younger two, who ended up being girls. In fact, we didn't even decide on a girl name until after the youngest was born and turned out to be a girl (she didn't cooperate on the ultrasound).
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28 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:
I do the same. My last name is not European in origin, and is not phonetic by English standards and there are two letters in it that sound very similar to another letter (like B,V) so I will clarify those two letters but use what’s pops into my head when clarifying. No one seems to have a problem with it.
My dh has a name that sounds similar to a European name but with a different starting letter (like Dary instead of Gary). So I introduce him by saying “like Gary but with a D”. Otherwise it’s one of those “Gary? No, Dary. Barry? No, Dary” things.
But what has surprised me is that lately I have had to clarify “Jean”. So I say, “Jean, like the pants.” And people remember my name.
My last name has a combo of consonants not normally seen in English, including two that sound similar to other letters. I spell it out phonetically every single time.
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On 6/8/2023 at 4:28 AM, Kidlit said:
I will say that I have noticed in working with "the younger generation" (this particular young adult is around 20) that there is a lack of either knowledge/skill (despite being taught the thing over and over) OR confidence, as well as initiative. This youth has to be told every single thing to do in detail, and s/he is not new at the job. S/he needs many reminders and reassurances about whatever the task is, which makes the direct supervisor frustrated to the point of just doing the thing him/herself.
I'm not sure if it's a generational thing or a personality thing, but it's definitely A Thing.
Maybe a combo?
It seems to be a common complaint for this age group. My 19 year old is similar (and it's getting darn frustrating).My 16 year old seems to be quite the opposite, though. So I don't think it's totally generational, or caused by our parenting choices.
11 hours ago, Tap said:I get lost when people use military words for letters. Especially when they just jump in to the words instead of saying the name fist. Ill ask their last name and they say “foxtrot, oscar, xray” my brain is having to remember the words, translate into letters, and then remember what order they went in. If they at least say the name first, I can manage….. if they don’t….. they will be repeating themselves over until I get it.
I only ever use them to clarify soundalike letters such as B vs. V, and even then, I'm more likely to use whatever word pops into my mind rather than the standard phonetic alphabet. I even have it memorized - as a child we had placemats with the phonetic alphabet, and I spent a lot of mealtimes reading it, and have my own little alphabet song for them. I just don't think to use them when it is actually relevant.
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I use an epilator, though I imagine that might have the same issue as far causing break outs. I get the occasional spot, but not enough to stop using it.
I feel that eating low carb has made a difference in this for me, but am a little hesitant about suggesting it, as I do not know if it would help the same for the normal and expected physiological changes of perimenopause as it would for hair from hormonal imbalances.
I use the epilator mostly to deal with heavy peach fuzz hair growth, which just seems to be a genetic thing. In addition, since at least my early 20s, I've gotten the occasional long, thick hair. I don't seem to get these long hairs anymore, even on my neck, where I used to get them and don't epilate, so it's not just that the epilator is catching them. I am pretty sure I am in perimenopause myself now, and still don't get them like I used to.
2 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:I did the laser hair removal last year; appts every 3 weeks for 27 weeks. The immediate results were phenomenal. At that time, I was having to remove hair twice a day. Some were really thick, black, and prominent and I couldn't take it any more. I saved up for the procedure and went in optimistic. It was wonderful. Hair free chin for 16 weeks. In March of 2023, at the 17 week mark after my final appt, a lot of them began to return. Hair has a 16 week growth cycle so it isn't surprising but I am so disappointed. I spent a lot of money on the laser treatments for permanent hair removal and I am now back to having to do something almost every day to have a clear chin.
If laser worked well, home IPL is likely to be effective for maintenance.
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4 hours ago, kokotg said:
I'm not sure we're all comparing apples to apples on this thread, though...if we're talking about the occasional dessert or sweetening your coffee a bit, sugar is fine for most people (I'm especially careful myself because of a strong family history of diabetes). The same occasional consumption of artificial sweeteners is probably fine, too, honestly. But plenty of people really do spend all day drinking sugary drinks....I think the big problem with these new studies about the dangers of artificial sweeteners is that we were assured it was a safe alternative to sugary drinks for so long. Most people already knew that the 96 oz convenience store Coke was not good for them (although a lot of people drink them anyway). But I'm not going to go tell my diabetic mom, who does indeed drink Diet Coke all day long, that she should switch to regular coke to avoid cancer. That would be worse for her. She should stop drinking sugary drinks, period, but she's not going to.
This is my view, too. Sugar is objectively harmful. Artificial sweeteners are not known to be harmless. I really do not think that having an *occasional* soda, diet or regular, is going to have a significant negative health effect, but I don't feel I can drink it like water without potential adverse effects, as many people do.
I experience compulsive eating issues with sugar, and carbs in general. Not so much with artificial sweeteners - I can eat a reasonable serving and be good with that. Therefore, I feel that, in the balance, using artificial sweeteners in extreme moderation is probably the better option for me than using sugar, even if neither is 100% ideal.
I prefer monk fruit and erythritol, but have stopped using them on a daily basis since the link to increased stroke risk with erythritol came out. I was using a spoonful or two a day in my coffee/tea, but I'm realistically just about as happy without.
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On 6/1/2023 at 3:18 AM, KidsHappen said:
or is being queer considered a disability or perhaps having a disability is consider queer?
Wouldn't even looking over a brief summary of the book clarify this? Usually such books would include some sort of information on what subjects they cover, since "disabilities" is a broad topic, and advice aimed at someone with physical disabilities would be vastly different from that aimed at someone with sensory issues, for example.
While I have seen people use language that is at least disability-adjacent to talk about LGBTQ+ people (including themselves), I have never seen someone self-aware enough to be writing a queer sex book use it in that sense.
In addition to what has already been said, which I agree with, there are well known health disparities between the LGBTQ+ population and the general population. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478215/ provides a good overview of the subject (while this particular article is focused on youth, similar issue do apply throughout the lifespan). Given that, it is reasonable to think that there may be higher levels of disability in the LGBTQ+ population.
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On 5/22/2023 at 1:31 PM, denarii said:
I had a border collie that would herd the toddlers away from the BBQ. He was a good dog and I miss him.
Oh, herding! When I was in labor with my youngest, I thought I'd walk around our pasture to help labor progress. But the goats weren't having any of that - they kept herding me back to safety.
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I slept for five months on a mattress that was too hard for me, and gave me shoulder and hip pain, because it was a perfectly good brand new mattress that I couldn't justify replacing. Finally bought a mattress topper, and definitely kicked myself for not doing so sooner.
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If you like Hakim's History of US in general, there is a 4 volume "concise" edition which might be a better fit if the length is overwhelming.
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My first dog... my husband had brought home a rottweiler puppy without consulting me first. I was really less than thrilled with the whole idea.
When she was 6 months old or so - reasonable size, but still young, and not full grown - I took her for a walk. We came across another dog. She was friendly with the other dog... but I noticed that the whole encounter, she kept herself positioned between me and the other dog. I forgave him for getting her.
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11 hours ago, ktgrok said:
I use some outsourced stuff that is pretty basic at times, but that is to free my own brain/time/energy up for the more fun stuff. So my K student is doing Reading Eggs (LOVE THIS!) and Math Seeds so i can check off those phonics/math boxes, and she has a subscription to Epic Books for the read to me books, when I don't get a chance to read to her as much as I like, but then we have all sorts of manipulatives out to fiddle with, cook, look for patterns, I read to her, we watch educational videos and documentaries together, look up what bird we saw outside, listen to podcasts, go to the park, hike, etc. So we use something basic, then "unschool" on top of it. Older kids do a balance of math and typing online, but a physical workbook for writing basics (Wordsmith series), then do our science together with a ton of books and hands on resources, we listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, go on field trips, I read to them at lunch, etc etc.
This is largely how I look at it.
At one point, I was a stay at home parent. I spent a lot of time planning, piecing together curriculum, and teaching.
Now, I'm a single parent working full time. My kids use a computerized curriculum for their spine, which they can do mostly independently. Not so I can totally ignore them and be uninvolved, but so that I can be sure the basics are covered and we can spend our time when I'm not working focusing on areas where they are having trouble, interests, and enrichment, rather than the day to day of trying to get them to do their math.
I also use a lot more canned food, frozen veggies, and so forth in my cooking than I ever did previously. But they get a home-cooked dinner Every. Single. Night. Just with less time spent on the chopping.
For those interested in the drama... apparently Power Homeschool has agreed to reinstate progress for the affected students and allow them to get their records and complete their courses, but tutor mode will not be available for enrollment going forward. They are blaming the parents involved, saying that this change was announced a year ago, which the parents say is not true.
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2 hours ago, Heather W said:
"They don't know how to teach their kids without it"? Really?? So apparently you know what we homeschoolers can and can not do now. Good to know! Please. Since it is very obvious you do have not a clue as to what is going on and what we are actually going through, please refrain from commenting. We have lost almost a whole year's worth of schoolwork because of Roger Billings. The fact that he NEVER informed any of us, except a post on Facebook, which is unacceptable by any business standards, then gets made when we stand up to him and speak our minds, deletes our comments, and then proceeds to delete our children from the program all together speaks volumes! As for us not knowing how to teach our own kids, please just stop. You have no clue what we are or are not doing. You do not know how we are using the program. You are truly showing your ignorance.
I agree with you. This is an offensive assumption.
I'm an experienced homeschooler and long-time forum member who is currently using Miacademy, which is often lumped into the same category as Power Homeschool. I came on over here today to find out what exactly the Power Homeschool drama was all about, since I knew someone here would have the scoop. The drama has been alluded to in the FB group I'm in, which is being flooded with new families jumping ship from PH, but people are referring to it very vaguely, with no details.
We've done it other ways in the past, but this is a tool that is working for us at this point in our lives.
And I agree - the most important point in this is that people lost access to a resource they had paid for, and were relying on for legal compliance, with no advanced notice, regardless of their reason for choosing it. You can always switch curriculum mid-stream, but losing the documentation is much harder to recover from, and could potentially get people in a lot of hot water.
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16 hours ago, pinball said:
Some people I know used freetaxusa dot com
I've been overwhelmed by my taxes this year and procrastinating, but saw some recommendations for this and gave it a try last night. I feel like it does a great job of asking clear questions to make the right choices, and would be a good choice for someone new to doing taxes (having not actually done my own in 20 years, when I was single, childless, and used the 1040EZ, this was basically me). Just make sure he's aware that there's a lot of options for situations that won't apply to him, and it's ok to skip over those. Filing federal is free (I believe without income or other limitations, as there are on other sites), state costs $15 (I don't know if this varies by state).
They do attempt to upsell with things like audit defense. Again, just be sure he knows it isn't something he needs.
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It's just DD3 and me at home right now. I bought frozen Marie Callender's beef pot pies for dinner, and little personal fruit pies, and we'll watch some sort of "Pi for Kids" video on YouTube.
I got peach, cherry, and apple (because DS might possibly be home for dinnertime and I didn't want him to be left out), and will let her choose two of those for us to split.
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1 hour ago, stephanier.1765 said:
As I was walking out of Walmart this morning, I overheard a man's phone conversation. "I was telling them, 'You don't know what I'm going through.' Then I started taking out as much money as I could.'" Are people everywhere taking money out of their bank?
I admit, I ordinarily pay minimal attention to financial news. However, I'm one of the people who didn't get paid last Friday because of the SVB failure. I'm fine - both my company and the payroll company addressed it admirably quickly, and even if they hadn't, I'm not living paycheck to paycheck. But hitting so close to home, it was a bit of a wakeup call to reconsider how I'm managing my finances.
Currently all my money is in one bank. While the balance is well below $250,000, something that even temporarily interfered with access to it, whether it was something widespread like a bank failure, or more personal like an account security breach, could be a major problem. Also, as far as savings go, there are banks offering much better interest rates.
Therefore, I'll likely be pulling money out of my current bank and putting it in one or more other banks in the near future. Eventually, I will likely be transferring most of the money from that bank to others, but am considering doing so gradually in order to avoid contributing to a bank run.
However, I'm not intending to go pull my money out of banks entirely and hoard cash or anything like that.
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56 minutes ago, Just Kate said:
I’ll join! Love my Fitbit ?
Ok, I'll need you to PM me your email address.
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Ok, I got a Versa for Mother's Day, so I'm back on the Fitbit wagon! I can add people to the group again if anyone wants.
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A lot of William Sleator's books would fit. Madeleine L'Engle has a lot of fantastical elements, but tends to have science (though not exactly current science) mixed in as well.
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DD somehow got a tiny bead stuck in her ear. It needed 'surgery' and they gave us the bead in a tiny tupperware. So, we designated that the "Things removed from DD's body" container. I expect when she is a teenager she'll look at them once, marvel at how tiny her teeth were, and then toss it.
I had pins put in my finger to stabilize the bone after I broke it. When they pulled them, they stuck them in a container and gave them to me. I've still got them floating around my room somewhere.
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I confess that I've also saved a couple puppy teeth over the years. I tossed them in with the baby teeth.
...and then you give them to the kids when they grow up. "Here's your baby teeth! You were one odd baby. We had to stop nursing early."
I didn't keep my kids' teeth. I do feel a bit guilty about it, but what in the world do you do with them other than hide them away in a drawer?
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When I go to the group there is a place where I can add members. If you want to PM me the person's information I can try to add it.
Thank you. I've told them to PM you (just on the off chance they don't want me giving out their email).
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Also not an expert, but wasn't there a slave woman who had possibly been engaged in a religious practice that might have been considered witchcraft? Or was she just added in some of the later stories about the events? I can't really recall, honestly.
I'm not sure where people stand on the existence of "witchcraft" in this thread, but I would personally assume that no one was practicing actual magic that led to any of the issues experienced by the townspeople. Whether or not anyone was engaged in non-Christian religious practice that would have been labeled witchcraft though...
ETA: It's Tituba - that's who I was thinking of. Wikipedia says she was the first accused and that she may have told the girls voodoo tales. With what I know about life then - again, not an expert on this period of history, but I know a little - it seems totally possible and even likely that she would have been practicing elements of voodoo religion and even have told the girls in the town some of the stories she knew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tituba
Double ETA: I feel compelled to add that whether this bit is true or debated or what, that I would personally feel very uncomfortable with a curriculum that portrayed the root of the Salem Witch Trials as being "witchcraft" without any other contextualization of what was meant by that. But also, I wouldn't personally use a Christian perspective history program like MoH, so feel free to take that with a grain of salt.
Farrar - I think the fact that you ALWAYS post exactly what I'm thinking, regardless of the subject, is clearly witchcraft.
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So someone just requested to be added to the group, and I found that I can no longer invite people because I don't currently own a fitbit. Nor can I see any way to modify group ownership.
Can other members add people? Does anyone else want to take over invitations? Or is no one paying attention anymore and it needs to just die?
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Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist in 1998. It was for a college class.
For Fun: Baby names you liked but never used
in The Chat Board
Posted · Edited by ocelotmom
One of my kids' middle names is the name of an aunt of mine who died. At some point after the kid was born and named, I ended up with a horrible boss with the same name.
Aunt or not, I'm not sure I could have gotten past that association if I'd met the boss first.