As someone in California in a district that does not allow homeschooled students to participate in extra curricular activities through the school system, this is encouraging and discouraging at the same time. My son is in 7th grade and I have a great delimna coming up on whether to send him to the local HS or not........strictly based on sports. He is a good basketball and track athlete and wants to play both sports in high school. Our problem is that he MUST go to the school to do it. Unfortunately we have a terrible high school in a small town. We live in a rural area, so while this organized group sounds wonderful in the article it is disheartening for someone like me who lives nowhere near anything like that. So do I send him so he can play........or keep him home and he misses out. I don't envy my decision in a year and a half

One of my personal favorites is a Golden Books author/illustrator Eloise Wilkins

Okay, I'm getting hungry..............these sound great! And they sound like things my daughter would really like.

Prayers going your way here in California! Having something you are passionate about seems to always make public speaking easier, so I'm sure he'll be pleasantly surprised at how well he does!

My son made this one up when he was about 8 years old. What kind of car has a bellybutton? An Audi (an outie......get it?):lol:

Make sure you let us know how it goes afterward! I'm anxious to hear how you feel.......

I really appreciate all the thoughtful responses here. I'm afraid I have been guilty of the occassional snide remark about G-Ma but I am trying to bite my tongue so as to let my children make up their own minds. I agree about showing respect, regardless of her actions/or lack thereof.......I just have difficulty going out of my way to encourage it when I see so much hypocrisy between what she says and does. To clear up the lunches with my husband..........these aren't about my husband...and she really could care less about him almost as much as the rest of us (a sad realization for my husband, but one he has come to deal with)........the lunches are about her. So, she can tell him what SHE is up to and about her life and about her friends. She doesn't ask about him or the family or anything else that isn't about her. That is just how she is. I think letting my kids have their say in these kinds of situations is the right answer, but making sure they show her respect when they DO see her is the other part of that answer. Obviously the difficulty for me is my maternal instinct getting the best of me. I see someone who has the opportunity to be a great grandparent, and they won't and I know it must hurt my kids in some way........so that in turn makes my hackles raise up and I want to protect them.

I actually posted about this on my blog.........how funny. Read it in high school..............hated it Actually wrote off Steinback entirely because of it. Read some other stuff of Steinback's earlier this year and have found that I LOVE his style of writing and GET his perspective now as an adult.

My kids are 13 and 15 years old. Grandma lives 1 mile away with her new husband of 2 years after Grandpa died 3 years ago. This is a woman who has never shown any interest in her grandkids at all. In the 8 years she has lived within a mile of our house she has had our kids spend the night at her house less than a dozen times............all were before Grandpa died. Never since. This is a woman who constantly talks about how important family is to her but yet has never called our house to talk to her grandkids, who stopped coming to church when my husband had to start working on Sundays even though the rest of us still go there, and BTW Sunday mornings is the ONLY time we ever see her except for Christmas and Easter by our invitation. Over the years we have mentioned our concerns to her to no avail........it always comes back to "its all about her"........she is a true narcissist and cannot see things from anyone else's point of view or how actions affect anyone but herself. We have tried to provide opportunities for her to see the kids, we have encouraged her to ask them to do things.......she makes promises to them and then never follows through. These are her only grandchildren, and my husband is her only son. She will have lunch with my husband during the work week to see him occassionally but never with the kids or me. So today she shows up for church after 2 months AWOL and asks the kids if they want to go see some drummers at the theatre (which her and her new husband are heavily involved). None of the kids want to go. She does a guilt trip on my 13yo daughter how she rather spend time with her grandkids than her friends but she'll give the tickets to friends if she doesn't want to go. So we get in the car and the kids are talking about what a joke it is that Grandma says she wants to spend time with them and how she never does. They also tell me they don't want to go and am I going to make them. I'm really at the point that they are old enough to make their own decisions about if they want to spend time with her or not. So as far as I'm concerned if they don't want to go........I'm not going to make them. Also, I'm done going out of my way to make excuses for her or trying to convince her to spend time with her grandkids. This whole thing makes my husband and I both furious, but we realize we can't change her. Fortunately my mom lives next door and spends lots of time with the kids so at least they have one grandparent that loves them dearly. So, would you force your kids to go and/or keep making excuses?

Tammy, I like how you think!!! :iagree:

Side dish, main dish, casserole, stir fry, dessert........I don't care.......but my 13yo daughter who is trying to eat less meat, and really likes brown rice needs some new recipes. I'm thinking of buying a rice cooker so we can keep rice throughout the week available to her (and me) but we need some new ideas of things to do with it.......

Don't think we qualify as a success story, but we've found what works for us (most of the time) My kids all do their own laundry (13 and 15yo) and have for a few years now. What I really wish is that someone would come up with a beeper that you carry around letting you know when the washer is done because I'm guilty of leaving stuff in the washer too!!! My kids each have one day of the week that is their day to do laundry.........they know what their day is and it pretty much always gets done. They wash sheets and towels first, then clothes. I have a front loading washer that adjusts its water level for the size of the load so I don't feel like we are wasteful if theirs isn't a full load. I also have them run a short wash vs. normal unless their stuff is hideously dirty. I have a laminated chart on the wall that reminds them of the steps to take doing their laundry, tips on pre-treating the typical kid-stains, and what NOT to wash together, etc... I also have a portable timer that they set when they put the wash in the washer. My washer's instruction manual has the exact times for each cycle so they know what to set it to. they take the timer with them to wherever they are going to be so that they can't "not hear the washer go off".........same with the dryer.........I have them set it to timed dry so they can use the timer. Those are some of the things we've done and it works pretty well for us.

My kids are 13 and 15 years old. Grandma lives 1 mile away with her new husband of 2 years after Grandpa died 3 years ago. This is a woman who has never shown any interest in her grandkids at all. In the 8 years she has lived within a mile of our house she has had our kids spend the night at her house less than a dozen times............all were before Grandpa died. Never since. This is a woman who constantly talks about how important family is to her but yet has never called our house to talk to her grandkids, who stopped coming to church when my husband had to start working on Sundays even though the rest of us still go there, and BTW Sunday mornings is the ONLY time we ever see her except for Christmas and Easter by our invitation. Over the years we have mentioned our concerns to her to no avail........it always comes back to "its all about her"........she is a true narcissist and cannot see things from anyone else's point of view or how actions affect anyone but herself. We have tried to provide opportunities for her to see the kids, we have encouraged her to ask them to do things.......she makes promises to them and then never follows through. These are her only grandchildren, and my husband is her only son. She will have lunch with my husband during the work week to see him occassionally but never with the kids or me. So today she shows up for church after 2 months AWOL and asks the kids if they want to go see some drummers at the theatre (which her and her new husband are heavily involved). None of the kids want to go. She does a guilt trip on my 13yo daughter how she rather spend time with her grandkids than her friends but she'll give the tickets to friends if she doesn't want to go. So we get in the car and the kids are talking about what a joke it is that Grandma says she wants to spend time with them and how she never does. They also tell me they don't want to go and am I going to make them. I'm really at the point that they are old enough to make their own decisions about if they want to spend time with her or not. So as far as I'm concerned if they don't want to go........I'm not going to make them. Also, I'm done going out of my way to make excuses for her or trying to convince her to spend time with her grandkids. This whole thing makes my husband and I both furious, but we realize we can't change her. Fortunately my mom lives next door and spends lots of time with the kids so at least they have one grandparent that loves them dearly. So, would you force your kids to go and/or keep making excuses?

Well I am happy to say that I have only had 2 of the items on that list and then it was shared with others. I think it was a little deceptive in that "who eats an entire Awesome Blossom by themselves??"..........sure its 2000 calories, but typically these things are shared between several people......... Still, it was fun for my kids and I to watch it and see how things can look healthy for you, but aren't...........

I find this thread really interesting as I have some different experiences. I am a long time sufferer of TMJ pain (since braces 20+ years ago), I get massages for pain, I worked for a chiropractor for years, and I'm currently going to school to get my Physician's Assistant degree. A couple of things I have found....... 1. The $900 mouth guard thing never helped me much 2. Chewing gum makes my TMJ worse. In fact about 6 months ago after chewing gum daily for a week ro so, I had TMJ pain so bad I couldn't open my mouth for over a week........it took months before the pain subsided and now I probably won't ever chew gum again 3. I go to a pain specialist massage therapist and she is incredible and helps greatly....pressure point massage is most effective I believe, followed by relaxation technique. 4. Personally, I would never do massage and chiro on the same day. Now, here is why. What I've learned through my studies has changed my opinion on this........I used to think......massage equals loosened up for the chiro treatment. Now while it is important to be relaxed for chiro treatment to be most effective, there is such a thing as too relaxed and if you get any kind of deep massage that is exactly what you are. Now, if you just get your "feel good" swedish massage that may be different but for me who gets seriously deep, pain management type massage........you need 2 days to recoup. Your muscles can be so relaxed that a chiro treatment can actually do damage instead of help. It is the same concept of a muscle relaxer........the reason dr's typically prescribe them only for nighttime is because people take them, feel better and relaxed, and then they overdo it.........overstretching already relaxed muscles in ways they aren't meant to be stretched.........it is really the same thing. So, personally I would get a massage the day or two before a treatment and then go to the chiropractor for an adjustment. Just my 02 cents......

I'm not sure about doing it as a permanent post..........but I did it as part of my header or "title" underneath my main title there is an option for additional verbage

BJ Chicago's Style Pizzeria in Newport Beach, California on the ocean and the one on Maui, Hawaii in Lahaina on the ocean best pizza since it was a hole in the wall when I was a kid

South Lake Tahoe, California Huntington Beach, California Paradise, California Stockton, California Rio Vista, California Costa Mesa, California Anchorage, Alaska Palmer, Alaska Eagle River, Alaska Memphis, Tennessee Duluth, Georgia (Atlanta) Huntsville, Alabama Belton, Missouri (Kansas City)

I take Melatonin Plus by Schiff I think. It has 3mg Melatonin combined with L-Thealine........its a good combination and seems to work. The dreams think is very individual. I've never had that happen to me but neither my mom or husband can take it as they have that problem. In fact my husband actually gets nightmares.......and that's the only time he's ever had them. For some people it only happens the first time or two they take it and then it goes away, so make sure you give it time to work itself out in your system.

Actually 4-H has a great series of books on drama for all ages. They are workbook style and have lots of great activities, instruction and practicing techniques. There are 4-5 books and they are only about $2-3 each. You don't have to be in 4-H to order these, just go to your local Agriculture office or 4-H office (if its a separate entity) or you can order online.

If you had a family of 5 (3 teenagers) what size cooker would you get? I'm like someone else who really never cooked rice because I would forget until it was too late. My daughter and I especially like rice and when I do finally cook it I like to make enough to last for a few days. I'm curious too about what all you use your rice for. My husband will buy packaged rice (Rice a Roni) but do you cook plain rice and then spice it up different ways? I'm looking for some new ways to use rice during the week.

Definitely! With the economy in the toilet they will do anything to keep business up! It is a great deal........it is the only time of year we would go since dining experiences is a big part of any of our vacations and we have 3 teenagers. They usually announce it toward the end of summer........late July/early August

Well I can't stand Juliet, there is something about how she speaks to everyone that makes me mistrust everything she says. I don't think she's a good egg. I can't figure out Michael though........is he faking, or is it like Desmond and he can't remember the people from the island?? One thing I missed (kids were talking) was why the crew member jumped off the ship with all the chains on.........someone want to explain what I missed there? I think Claire dies on the island.......I can't imagine her giving up Aaron.........and most certainly not to Kate.....willingly. As for Jin, why the flashback/flashforward.....not sure, but I think he dies on the island too. I like the theory about the 2 timelines......I've thought about that one for awhile now. Could drive a person crazy, I tell ya!

Mine is up! Appetizer On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting? 8 Soup Do you prefer baths or showers? Baths Salad What was the last bad movie you watched? The Tall Men (Clark Gable) Main Course Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life. Chocolate. It is comforting when I have it, and I'll just about drive around town all night if I don't. Dessert Which instrument is your favorite to listen to? Violin

is that you have to have a passport now to cross the borders by car now as well..........this just went into effect recently.