That was one of my favorites when I was 10 :)

That is disappointing, especially when it was something you were counting on doing. That is cheaper than the lessons in my previous town @$15 for 30 min. Then the private lessons I researched were $15 for 15 minutes! We just moved to a new location with an amazing deal for swimming lessons; we pay only $40 for ten thirty-minute lessons! Members pay only $30. There is also a homeschool session that is $5 for a 30 minute lesson divided by ability and then 1.5 hrs of free swim. I'm definitely enjoying this perk of living here, though there are other downsides of course.

I decided I would homeschool when I was 19; I let my DH (then 17-year-old boyfriend) know this on our first date :). He and I were both gifted and incredibly unchallenged with traditional school, despite some accommodations. Social issues in school (bullying, lonliness, mocking) were big as well as lack of rigor. They couldn't meet our needs. We wanted to be aware of and able to meet our children's individual needs, whatever they may be. Nine years later I had DS :) DS is likely gifted and has ADHD and is very innocent, boisterous, naive, and a bit clueless compared to age peers. I shudder to think what we'd have to go through if he were in traditional school at this point.

Lice and hygiene concerns would also be reasons for each kid to have a personal set. I don't like using community headphones.

I prefer Ken's Steak House dressing over any other in my pasta salad. I usually use Olive Oil Vinaigrette or Basalmic Vinaigrette.

I HATED it. Never understood why it was a kids' movie or what the point was. I haven't seen it in about 20 years but I'm tempted to watch it and see if it makes any more send now. Did anyone else see "Pinnochio and the Emperor of the Night"? Also quite creepy as I recall.

DS had me laughing this week. After preschool swimming lessons he played "Mr. Shark, Mr. Shark, what time is it?" with his classmates in the baby pool. The shark has his/her back turned, and calls out X o'clock. The swimmers swim that many strokes toward the shark, until eventually the shark declares "dinner time" and chases his prey. When it was DS's turn, the times he called out were 10:30 & 8:48 :). In his defense, the kids were just swimming as many strokes as they wished, so the link was not clear. Then, one boy faked getting tagged because he wanted to be the shark again. DS insisted he'd been tagged instead, but the boy wouldn't back down. DS asked the girl shark if she'd tagged both of them, but she said no, only DS. He turned triumphantly and declared, "See! That's evidence! (The other boy gave in at this point.)

Me too. And I usually hear it followed with "but...(insert rant here)."

Both DH and I use this one frequently. Usually it's to help DS let let go of something he's rehashing endlessly or disengage from a chronic complainer who doesn't really want advice or input. It may seem a bit dismissive at times, but there are only so many times we can bear to listen to a "problem" with no solution or a tirade about something totally within the speaker's power to fix. Our "it is what it is" might be followed up with, "so deal with it or move on."

I hate this one too, though I admit I said it as a child. However, I'm fixing it with my son. He heard someone say it and asked what it meant. I explained and he is determined to not use it improperly. At age 4 he annoyed more than one adult by responding to their kids' complaining with, "Starving means dying. You're just hungry."

Yep. There was no reasoning with her. And our hall was decorated with this phrase and potted plants so I got to spend a year rolling my eyes every time I walked in.

"Bloom where you're planted" makes my skin crawl. My RA chose this as our wing theme my sophomore year. Her narrow interpretation meant trying to be close friends with all 21 other girls. She was perturbed when I told her I came to school for an education and that interacting with classmates, students I tutored, and the 5 girls on my wing whose personalities were a good fit for mine was "blooming" too. I was "planted" in class and work and study sessions many hours each day. I tried to explain that 5 relationships with roots made more sense than 21 surfacy ones but she was aghast. Plus, how selfish was I for getting straight A's instead of devoting more time to these "friendships"! Yeah, that's exactly why I'm paying $22,000 a year...for forced "friendships" with 21 other random girls!

Personally I'm not a fan of s*xual images or plastered-everwhere lingerie ads or even bikinis for anyone...but you didn't make your argument about modesty/p*rn/modeling/objectification of women. You used loaded terms to make it all about THIS ONE MODEL who happens to be obese.

Yes. I was thinking the same thing. I like to "rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn." Weight loss, job changes, moving, relationship stuff, kid milestones, etc. They may not all be things I'd want or celebrate for myself but I share in their joy! It's not fake or two-faced to accept people as they are and be happy for their happiness at reaching a goal.

I only friend adults, with the exception of one 13-year-old cousin who could use an adult looking out for her online. I only friended former students after graduation. I know there are ways to control who sees what but I didn't want to risk it when I was employed as a teacher.

Hmmm. Now I'll always wonder if the Miss Piggy earrings my grandma sent me for my 6th birthday had a deeper, more sinister meaning....

My best friend in college was obese. One day, she went on a shopping spree and ended up with a lovely black skirt and jacket set and periwinkle shirt that suited her perfectly. It was a perfect cut for her shape and looked great on her. She looked suave and professional. I called it her "power suit." She was poised and confident and ready to take on the world. She decided to wear her new outfit to church on Sunday. Guess how many girls (out of 40) on our floor commented on its inappropriateness because of the "short" skirt (3 inches above the knee). Four. And I bet she only actually saw 15-20 of the girls that morning. Guess how many of those four ever said a word to me about the dozens of times I wore a much shorter skirt? Zero. That was a big eye-opener for me on fat-shaming. Apparently chubby knees are obscene while average ones are fine. Fortunately, my friend blew them off with my assurances and wore her outfit anyway. Guess how many college guys told her how beautiful she looked? Dozens. And a handful of girls too. She has been a hero and inspiration to me over the years in not being ashamed of what is, and embracing life. She came from obsese parents, was s*xually abused by extended family members, was tormented and ridiculed by classmates, but overcame. Not by changing herself to please their whims, but by accepting herself as a flawed and inherently beautiful and worthwhile creation of God.

I was a major perfectionist as a child/teen. Anything in my life that I could control, I did. And I was pretty sucessful at it. As I aged it became more and more impossible to meet the ideal (society's or mine) in every area. Too many irons in the fire, too many obligations and interests pulling me different ways. I spent a number of years agonizing over "perfection lost". In certain areas I was nearly paralyzed because of my "failings." Recently I've reached a better mindset. I can work on improving things while still enjoying, embracing, living with what is! I'd love to weigh 30 lbs less, but I'm not going to let my thighs keep me from enjoying the pool with my kids. Or believing my husband who thinks I'm the sexiest thing alive. I'd love to have an immaculate house with less clutter, but I'm not going to seal it off and never invite friends over until I achieve magazine home status. I'd love to have a perfectly organized homeschool room and detailed plans expertly laid out, but I'm not going to put school on hold to tackle that. And on and on, but those are the three biggies. My life is much more pragmatic and happy now. I try to live day to day with I've got without feeling defeated or resigning myself to it! I'm not going to wait until I reach my goals to find myself beautiful, talented, creative, interesting, worthwhile. I'm going to accept and enjoy myself as I am. I don't want waste my life despising myself for falling short of society's ideals.

Yep. Get enough kids together and you'll end up with a bully or two but you'll also get an 8-going-on-30-year-old like me who puts a stop to stuff or runs off for a grownup if needed. I thwarted my sister's kidnapping at age seven by following her and her friend to the sidewalk when I saw a man in a car had motioned for them to get off the see-saw to talk to him. I grabbed their hands and made them run home with me. He tried the classic "help me find my lost puppy" approach with them. There were a handful of other kids and adults around; he could have just as easily tried to make off with a kid whose mom was pushing a toddler on the swingset.

My son is reaching the age where I'll soon be leaving him with people I don't know closely (AWANA, rec center kid program, etc.). Does anyone have a favorite resource for talking to kids about staying safe from s. predators? We've done the no-one-should-see/touch talk many times but I'd like to see if anyone has a good book picture book or video recommendation. He's almost 5 1/2.

Horrifying. But Elizabeth Smart was asleep in bed. The statistics I'm finding say approximately 100 kids are abducted by strangers per year in the U.S. Most within 1300 feet of their own home. Not letting kids just play outside seems like too much "safe" for me. I have SO many fond memories of being "out" from ages 6-12. I can't imagine missing out on that. And someone actually tried to kidnap my little sister and her friend from the park across the street from our house and I stopped it as a 6-7 year old.

I say 8 billion frequently. It is rarely because I'm having a scholarly conversation about the estimated world population in 2025.

We've been trying for years to move back near my parents and finally succeeded! They're a little over an hour away. I'm thinking about asking my mom to watch the kids for 3-5 days this summer so I can have my own "teacher in-service" time. I don't know if I can leave DD overnight by then, but my mom would probably be willing to stay here and take them out and about. I also have a new boardie friend whose kids mesh awesome with mine. We're looking forward to swapping babysitting for dates.

Along the idea of the cars, what about 4-5 sections of Hot Wheels track to make a ramp off a chair? If the room isn't crowded this could work great. You could use a heavy book to hold it in place. You can buy individual track sections at Walmart or Target for $1 each.

This Boogie Board http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AFPR68E/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425415393&sr=8-1&keywords=boogie+board&dpPl=1&dpID=41eyGVwU4LL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40has been awesome for my son since age 4. He resists drawing and writing on paper but will use this happily over and over.