you should have plenty of space. We put a whole one in our large upright.

are you ASKING her to do something or telling her? Sometimes I phrase things as a request when it is really a demand. Also, by giving in a little bit, as in the case of the dishwasher, you are training her that this is effective in getting out of work. Tell her when she begins to whine. "Dear, you are a capable young lady and I know you can do it. IN a few minutes I will be back to check your work. See you in 5minutes. If it is not done when I return you will have x as a consequence" Leave the room; if you are not present she can't whine to you. Then follow through.

I didn't use the Story of the World till my dd reached the 4th grade! It was a disaster the first couple times we tried. Now we are loving it. So just keep in mind that perhaps in the future it will work better in your house. Glad things are going better for you and your daughter!

perhaps they texted the child's birth certificate to the Health Department?

My kids have that sense too. So I made a rule that if you are up early, that is fine but you need to stay in bed and read quietly or something till Mom calls you.

the main thing for us was to NOT SLEEP TOO MUCH ON THE WEEKENDS. When we started getting up at a decent time (we slept in a little but not excessively) then we could go to bed on a SUnday night at the right time and not restart our cycle.

:hurray::hurray: my mom died of brain cancer after a TWELVE year long struggle where she gradually lost every single function. The last year of her life all she could do for herself was feed herself.

yup. :D

try this. "That is all I have to say on the subject. Discussion closed. You know what I expect." Turn your back. Walk away. If she gets louder or whatever, I'd glance at her, shrug and get on with whatever I was doing.

It seems like it is catering to men, who can't differentiate a woman from her breasts. "HEYYYYY!!! BEWBIES!!!!" Yes, they are a body part. (don't care whether someone breastfeeds in public. I'm not uptight about that at all) But calling them by these names seems to sexualize them more to me. But maybe that's just me. Different strokes and all that, you know.

absolutely. I'm not offended. I just find it in terrible taste and makes our little town look....mmmm...ignorant or crude maybe? I lost my Grandmother to cancer as well; breast cancer that went to her bones.

HTH

:iagree:

Our little town is having a 5K for Breast Cancer funds. They named the race...(drumroll please) The Booby Bolt.... yeah, I want that plastered across my chest on a t-shirt. Lets just announce to the whole world that we have no taste. Was someone trying to be "cute"? Breast cancer affects the lives of so many, it is a serious issue and people are approaching it in such a crass way. When someone has breast cancer do they tell their friends "I have cancer in my bewbies. "? Come on folks.... However, it has been quite entertaining to think up equally crude nicknames for the race.

can the Health Department do those tests for low cost? I'd be calling to find out.

Eleven is a crummy age for girls. I would quit spanking her. Really it is kind of pointless. A kid is almost the size of an adult at this point. Don't react to her mouthiness. When you argue back it will make it worse. Remember it takes 2 to argue and you are stooping to her level when you do so. Keep your voice low. Keep your dignity. Remember you are the parent, she is the kid. When things start getting off track, stop them then, don't keep trying to push through them. When she is disrespectful give her a chance to rephrase. "Dear, that sounded really ugly. Do you mean to be ugly or do you want to rephrase it?" Then if she continues you apply consequences. I found with my oldest that she needed things written out in black and white ahead of time. Rules like, speak respectfully to mom, do not argue or correct an adult. Attitude, like stomping feet slamming doors, eye rolling, huge sighs ( I listed out every example I could thing of) will be given consequences. Then I would list out consequences. Find out her currency...missing out on fun stuff, having to go to bed earlier, no TV, no computer, extra chores, whatever. Also, if there is any media consumption that features mouthy disrespectful kids or even bumbling adults , I would totally nix that forever. hope that helps. From the mom of another mouthy girl child, who is slowly improving in the attitude department.

do some pilates. Hands down the best tummy trimmer I've ever done and w/out crunches. http://www.exercisetv.tv has some freebie workouts.

BTW, as far as keeping your word to your son... Kids have got to learn that sometimes life doesn't go as planned. Mama's sick this weekend. (if you end up not going) We will go visit Grandma soon as we can, but loving Mama and taking care of her when she is sick is more important than our disappointment.

I would stay home. I thought everything would happen naturally and I'd be ok. Sometimes that happens. It didn't for me. One morning I was fine but 2 hours later I was hemorrhaging badly. I ended up blacking out from blood loss and in the ER with a d and c. Stay close. (my m/c was at 8 wks.)

try these websites. at least this can get you started. Remember that God doesn't let people down. Keep your eyes on him and not those who hurt you, http://www.hopefortheheart.org/site/DocServer/OLQR_Spiritual_Abuse.pdf?docID=409 http://www.hopefortheheart.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hlp_topic_spiritual_abuse also I googled spiritual abuse and found multiple websites,

:iagree:

could she not try some make ahead breakfasts? Like casseroles or overnight cinnamon rolls? that way morning prep is simply popping something in the oven, and people will be willing to wait with the odor of cinnamon rolls wafting through the air.

ugh. one reason that my dh has finally talked me into attempting camping as a vacation.

the verdict.... I think all slaving away writing out daily schedules for my oldest daughter is going to pay off. She knew exactly what to be doing, although I had to find some of the pages for her. Couch to 5 K is going to be challenging for my dd and I both (I may be old and have a bad knee, but I have better wind than my 13 yo dd. She felt sick and had to walk in the last half mile :)) But mostly I think getting up at 6:15 to do it will be the issue. I finally hit a history curriculum that will be interesting and challenging for her too. My two younger kids did really well. My 4th grader LOVED her DIVE CDROM, something that surprised me because her older sister HATED it so passionately. (shouldn't have been shocked. Those two couldnt be more different.) She also loved being able to do her math work on graph paper, even though I thought she would find writing out all the problems a drudgery, she really did not seem to mind. My first grader was tickled pink to be doing school and did very well. So all in all, I think it was a good day. Hope the rest of the week goes as well.