It's worth watching. My favorite shows are Modern Family and The Good Guys... friggin' hilarious. But, The Event is pretty good. :001_smile:

I think what you are planning to wear is fine, as long as your jeans aren't worn out looking. Jeans can be very dressy these days. If you are doubtful, I'd wear khakis. But, even some khakis don't look as nice as a nice pairs of jeans... if that makes any sense. From what you say about the theme, event location, etc. it sounds like jeans with a nicer top and shoes will do nicely. :D

I used to attend a more conservative Southern Baptist church (very similar to Independent Baptist). My husband's family is Independent Baptist and he grew up in that denomination, so I will share what I have gathered over the years... From what I can tell, Independent churches are "independent" in two ways: church leadership and missions. What I mean by them being independent in "church leadership" is that the head pastor of a particular church "steers the ship." His interpretations of the Bible and/or preferences influence that church (and influence the specific answers to many of the questions you asked). If he takes the verse that says that woman should not wear "...anything that pertains to a man..." and preaches that he thinks that means women should only wear skirts, then women in that church probably only wear skirts... If he interprets the verse as meaning women shouldn't dress in men's clothing, then women in that church are probably "allowed" to wear feminine looking slacks. Because of the influence pastor's have, independent churches can vary widely from church to church and the same church can even change from old pastor to new pastor. But, in general, a pastor's interpretations generally fall in line with what is accepted among most other independent baptist churches teachings on things, so people can go from one independent church to another and get basically the same teachings, know what to expect, etc... For example, I think it is rare that independent baptists would mandate women wear head coverings... unless their pastor felt strongly that it was the correct Biblical interpretation of "every woman that prays with her head uncovered dishonors her head" but it is generally accepted among independent churches that women should grow their hair long and that's their "covering." :001_smile: Another thing that practically distinguishes them from other baptist churches (like Southern baptists, for example) is the fact that their missionaries raise money by traveling from church to church to church and getting pledges. They then use the money they have raised to go on mission until they have to come home on "furlough" and raise more money again. Southern baptists, also baptist churches who also look to the head pastor for Biblical interpretations, etc. would differ in the sense that they usually send funds to a central "convention" for mission work and that convention sends out missionaries so that their denomination's missionaries do not have to spend a year or more fund raising. Hope some of that helps. :001_smile:

PS- Keeping a blog has really, really helped us communicate... about my past, about everything! I mean, I am always communicating, I was always communicating, but he just wasn't always soaking it all up... Poor guy. He understands me a lot better by reading my thoughts in a coherent form there and he can (sort of) manage to keep up with all I am doing with his kids by reading it. :D

Ha! My husband is still learning things about me! Heck, I'm still learning things about me, so how can he ever keep up?! :D

Have any of you (or your kids) ever done this event? Please let me know about it. Was it "worth it?" Thanks.:001_smile:

I got a basic model Kenmore from Sears. I use it as often as I need to. I've made quilts, dresses, costumes, hemmed pants, etc. and it works fine and I've had it for about five years now. I oil it like I should and keep it clean, etc. per the directions in the care manual. I was given an old machine from my husband's grandmother. It didn't come with a book, so I (being a beginner and doing it all on my own) could not find the parts or figure out how to put in the bobbin, change the feet, etc. So I just went with the new one. :001_smile: I figure... by the time the new one breaks (because it isn't as well made), I will know what to do with the old one. It's so solid I could anchor a boat to it. I know it will work fine... I just needed something cheap (with a manual) to learn on.

Continue to communicate with the parents when you are outside with their kids. Be over there so much that their parents, your neighbors, have to deal with you and your concerns over the issue, their behavior, etc. If they get sick of hearing from you, they may try to keep their kids inside more. Take control of what happens on your property. If your kids are playing in the backyard, you can say, "No" to other kids who want to come over. If they are out front, tell your kids they do not have to share their bikes and toys, especially if the other kids hog the toys or treat them badly. With certain kids, in certain situations, I think this is okay... You wouldn't lend a horse to someone who you knew would kick it and not give it water... The same goes with property. This sounds like one of those situations.

Roasted garlic and dried oregano with extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top. :001_smile:

Baskets and more baskets from IKEA. :D

When you leave a home school co-op and your four year old says she meet a new friend... When you ask her, "What was his name?" She says, "Christopher Columbus." Hmmm.... :glare:

Really?! :D

Obviously the school isn't going to let the kid back in... (or did I miss something?) So these loving, concerned parents can choose #1- sue and let their child's poor education help their case or #2- sue and do what they need to do to make sure he is learning what he needs to learn... I am glad the article mentions how much his mom IS doing... Depending on the school he was in and how much the mom really is doing, her son may be getting as much or even more attention than he would if he were in class. I don't have a lot of sympathy for moms who play the fiddle and whine about how hard it is to educate their kids at home themselves... obviously, I wouldn't understand where they are coming from... not one bit. ;) But, I will give this mom the benefit of the doubt... I don't know her situation... and you all who pointed that our are right to say so.

This is my husband's situation exactly. :001_smile:

I could tell you were just upset. :grouphug: I think husbands and wives forget how hard the other person's day is. Last night, I asked my husband to take me step by step through his day yesterday. When he did, my jaw hit the floor. NOW I understood why he is sooo short with me when I call him because the home computer froze or when I want to ask a question about money... :001_smile: I didn't call him at all today. I figured, whatever it was could wait. ;)

:grouphug: My husband is the nicest man I know (for real) and this could have been him on any given day. :grouphug: He can't do the calling at work because he's being paid to do something else... and he's honest... and he probably can't do it on the weekend because he's doing other things with you and the kids or around the house or the places are closed... But, he also doesn't realize it will take the whole day for you to call six places... :glare: We had the exact same fight when my hubby wanted me to call around a get the price of oil a few years ago. I did. It took all day. We got the cheapest oil. Six weeks later, he wanted me to call again to make sure the prices hadn't changed. I did. It took all day. We ended up getting oil from the same place the second go around. Six weeks later, he wanted me to call again to price shop. I (politely) refused... We've been using the same oil company for years now. ;) I should probably call to make sure that company still has the best prices.... My hubby sits on the couch when he watches the kids, too. He doesn't feed them or change them or notice that the garbage smells so bad it is coming into the living area and making it smell RANK, too... Sigh. ...But, he IS keeping them alive so I can sleep in or go to the store without them... so I try not to gripe. :grouphug: Try to think about the good things he does, his good qualities, etc. These kinds of negative things can fester and grow from a root of bitterness to a huge tree that sucks the love right out of your marriage... It's wiser to overlook it and just sacrifice a day to make those phone calls. "A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands." (I have to say this under my breath all day some days.) You are totally right in this, but then again, so is he... since he can't do the calling either.... And, keep in mind, once you pick an insurance company, you probably won't change it for years and years... and you need insurance, without question.

:iagree: The same was true for us.

P.S. We did make it fun... She liked putting a heart over the letter she thought looked the best. Then I put a heart over the one I liked best... which was usually the one she did with correct formation techniques ;) to encourage her to do what the arrows said, etc. We are just now finishing with Zanier Bloser's Manuscript K and moving into Manuscript 1... so we took it reeeeally slow. For that reason, I don't think it was too much for her age. :001_smile:

Are you sure that we don't have the exact same kid? :grouphug: :D My daughter started doing that, too, and that's when I started teaching her handwriting... I just did what I had planned to do with when she was older. She was teaching herself the wrong ways and if I just let it go, I figured it would be a real problem the longer I waited. She already knew how to hold the pencil, so we just went right into letter formation. I just made my daughter do it the way the arrows in the book showed. She didn't want to at first because just like your daughter, she already had her way of doing it. But, I made it "a matter of obedience." I don't always play that card. Sometimes I let her have a say about what she learns, but in the case of handwriting, it was my way or the highway... so to speak. I mean, is my four year old going to create a method that is more efficient than what people have been doing for centuries? I could tell by looking at her writing, it wasn't going to work for her long term. She needed to learn the "right way." I figured she'd be hindered later on if she didn't learn the most efficient way to write her letters. She needs to be able to take notes and write letters as quickly as possible (even if she does more typing on the computer than writing). I don't want her to start hating handwriting and avoiding it later in school work and in life because she isn't good enough at it or quick enough at it. :001_smile:

We've had the same problem the last few days!!!! I have been doing science one day and history the other, science one day, history the other... :001_smile: We just keep going forward. It will take longer this way, but we just can't seem to get both in right now. Maybe in the winter it will be easier to do more.

That sounds like a good idea. Does anyone have a .pdf of your home school group's guidelines that you could post as an example. I'd like to see one... What kind of things do the guidelines say?

:grouphug: This a touchy situation. I have a friend who loves the influence my daughter has on her kid, but her kid is a terrible influence on my daughter... You know how some kids just don't bring out the best in your kid? Or how one six year old and another can play together for hours and how another two six years can't be together for five minutes without fighting? Anyway, this family seems to seek us out because we see them everywhere!!!??? I do try to be friendly and make friends with lots of people, as a rule, but it is hard when a relationship is a real tax and stresser again and again and again. Anyway, In your situation, it sounds like the mom is encouraging the boy to ask... probably so that she isn't the one asking all the time. I like what other moms said, "We have plans." Or... If either of them ask, I'd just start saying, "Not this time" and try not to give them anymore explanation. After a while, the mom should get the hint... eventually. ;) Or, you can try to see the situation in a whole new way and try to be a blessing. (This is what we did with our difficult friend. It was easier than trying to avoid them). The mom might not ever acknowledge what you do for her... the boy might not ever be grateful or nice... but you can use it as a chance to teach your kids service and forbearance and how to behave even when other kids don't. My mentor used to say that some people are like "spiritual sandpaper" ...smoothing our rough edges. Good luck!

I've been there! Let me share another horror story that made me nuts (in a bad way) about my fellow homeschoolers... At a home school day at a local museum, the kids were climbing trees outside the museum building and one boy was using his pocket knife on the trees. Now, many of the trees were saplings and the kids were sitting on the branches, and bending the branches nearly to the ground, and nearly breaking them off. The kids were acting totally wild! ...And all this was within sight of their proud parents who were engaged in an intelligent conversation about their favored curricula. :001_huh: I mean, I get it... We home schoolers are all so "free-spirited" that we let our kids climb trees and our kids are so uninhibited that they can just go up to a tree and climb it and we let our six year olds carry knives, so they can grow up to be empowered... blah, blah. I can see the idealistic beauty in what lies behind all that behavior. But, we should do our kids a HUGE favor and teach them to operate within the confines of polite society. We need to teach them to be creative, yes... but we also need to teach them some restraint so they will succeed.

This is so true. And was true for me as a kid... I didn't see anything of the natural world till after I grew up and had means of my own, really. And, even the first graders who do get to go on field trips seem too distracted with the other kids to even watch, listen and really take in the wonders that are around them. We were at the aquarium last week (I blogged about it, if you want to visit the link below. It's an older post, by now, through...) Anyway, when the group of school kids entered the area we were in it was like a cloud of noise and dust and motion entered. They were too busy smacking each other and being yelled at by teachers to learn anything in the moment. Very sad. I can see how professional educators would easily make the decision that field trips are not worth the effort and cost.

:iagree: That's what I do, too.