I think perhaps people interested in genealogy overestimate how interested people in general are in genealogy. Perhaps that part of the family really hasn't bothered to take a dna test.

Yes, I would consider that rude.

I'm so sorry. I can see my oldest turning out this way. She can be very hateful and vicious toward me. I spent time in my 20s blaming my mom for a lot, and working out who I was. I eventually outgrew it and realized my mom is like most moms, just doing our best. I hope your daughter comes to the same realization. ETA: I posted above that I enjoy being around my kids but I don't think anyone enjoys it all the time right? Everyone needs a break, and OP, you sound like you desperately need a big one. ? I can't imagine all that you're dealing with.

Oh you sound depressed. Like, see your doctor depressed. I enjoy spending time with my children yes. Even my oldest who I have a pretty difficult relationship with, I mostly enjoy spending time with. My middle has so much her own life and I miss her. My youngest, I cherish our time together. Please take care of yourself.

Yes but we always miss some weeks due to travel or whatnot.

That is a lot of activities but I can see the value in them all. If anything I'd have her drop the capoeria class (I had to google what that is and it looks so cool!) ? But keep choir for music, swimming for safety and PE, and girl scouts for social, etc. (Or drop scouts if you don't like the social aspect of it.) And I'd work with her on her attitude about them. That's the real problem here. I would talk about the very specific things that she does and work with her on reframing how she thinks of them. And I would offer a little reward if she does the activity without whining. At first, do plenty of reminding, because it's a new habit you are trying to build. Plenty of praise. And I would probably take screen time away if zero effort was made on her part to improve the situation. Once her attitude improves, she will probably find that she enjoys her activities a lot more.

You look great in it. ?

Although if you count picture books, I will easily read over 100 unique books this year. ?

I do love sci fi. Thanks! ? I will! I didn't even think of it. I always skimmed past those threads because I don't read that much, though I wish I did. I'm just too busy, but doing better lately making time for it. ? I was eyeing The Song of Achilles and I think another by the same author. I will have to go check them out. ?

Have we had a thread like this recently? Tell me what you're reading and loving. ? I just read the first two books of The Expanse series. Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War. I had watched the first two seasons of the TV show (which I definitely recommend, you can stream it on Prime) and was in the mood for more (and didn't have season 3 available to me yet), so I picked up the books. I'm currently reading Hannah Coulter, which is the exact opposite of a soaring space epic where people are leaving the planet to settle the solar system. It's the current read for Circe's Close Reads podcast, which I just discovered, so I grabbed this book. My daughter asked me what it was about and I said, "A farmer woman and her family and neighbors. Almost nothing happens. I'm enjoying it." ?

I always wanted to do more school work in the summer than we ended up doing. We could never seem to pull it off. Everyone needed to put the books away, take a breather, and just be. We always did a lot of swimming, participated in the library summer reading program, etc. Our co-ops always took the summer off. And we made plans for the coming year. We got excited about new things, and we threw a back to school party for ourselves. Having the summer off meant we were able to be refreshed and ready for the next year. I always planned to do school in the summer, but maybe it's for the best that we didn't. ?

I destroyed mine. All that negativity, stress, worry, uncertainty. I'm a totally different person than I was. And honestly, there was so much good I didn't bother writing down and that depresses me. I used the journal to process the bad. And now that I'm done, there's no reason to keep them around.

Around $250 a week for a family of five, two teenage girls. I also have a big family dinner once a week where we have a couple other guests usually. We live in a low cost of living area. Could I do it for $70 a week? I kinda doubt it. I mean, you do what you have to do, right? So I guess if it was a matter of feeding my family or going hungry, I'd figure it out. But it wouldn't be fun, that's for sure.

I am so sorry for your loss. I have two sisters and the thought of saying goodbye to them is like a punch in the gut. My prayers are with you as you say goodbye.

I feel like after nine years of no use, mine has. The skills I acquired haven't been used at all in that time. Even if someone was foolish enough to hire me, I would be spending a ton of time at the start of the job, just relearning how to do it. Plus, I never actually worked in that field (graduating during a recession with no work experience isn't something I recommend.)

Normally I feel like people are overreacting when they read negative messages into kid's movies. But this sounds all manner of YIKES! I can't imagine what they were thinking.

Definitely clicked on this thinking your house was haunted and was going to post, "GET OUT QUILL!!! GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!" ETA: Of course, you're parenting a teen, so that might still apply. ?

Taco soup with shredded chicken Stuffed peppers, broccoli Stir fry of some sort Grilled teriyaki chicken, green beans Little pizzas made on English muffins ? I don't assign meals to days. I buy enough meals for the week, then make what sounds good that night. I like one dish meals like stir fry, which obviously has all the veggies mixed in. But otherwise, I made a large helping of green veggies on the side.

No. I think when you are young, it's common to think you'll do everything perfectly. That it's possible to live up to your ideals. I had good ideals. I failed and failed to live up to them. But still. I did ok. I probably did better than ok, but I'm dealing with challenges I never thought I could be dealing with and it's taken a toll on my self esteem and how I view myself as a mother. I have a four year old. I'm a very good mother to her. But still not ideal.

Read your update and just infuriated on behalf of you and your daughter. And I would never honor his request to keep him "out of it." If she wanted him kept out of it, she should have kept her gossiping mouth shut, and if he didn't want to be involved, he should have been not involved. I like the text ideas above, but I'd be likely to send something much angrier.

Regarding the word "trash," that's common among some teens and isn't meant to be as harsh as it sounds. They semi jokingly call people, themselves, trash. My daughter laughingly told a friend, "Just because you're trash doesn't mean you can do this. It's trash CAN not trash CAN'T." Now, this boy doesn't sound joking or light hearted, but I think he may just be borrowing terminology from those types of interactions not thinking about how horrible that sounds. Pure speculation of course.

No and no, I don't think they should require a high school diploma until a high school diploma is of some value. I don't personally officially have one. I was homeschooled in TX, then went to college. I have a bachelore's degree which probably would negate the need for a high school diploma.

Yeah I have a DO as well and I'm not at all impressed with her at the moment. ? Finding a good doctor is hard, especially since you don't know they are useless till you actually need help now.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I have no words of wisdom. ?

Wow, what an awful attitude. If she works for a company, I'd tell her bosses about why you won't be hiring her. If she's independent, I'd let her know that you won't be using her because her attitude is ungracious and unprofessional.