I don't know how the opinion on clothing gifts was originally conveyed. I guess you're right in that the way that was done makes a difference, too. I guess the whole scenario really depends on attitude from all sides. Did the child demand to not be given clothes? Or did he mention in casual conversation that he's got enough shirts to last him a good long time? Did Mom completely ignore the fact that DS had more than enough shirts and buy him another one anyway? Or was Mom getting him a cool shirt that she really thought he'd like? Attitude and intention has a lot to do with the whole scenario, I think. In response to the OP, though, I would not "punish" the behavior. I'd certainly call him out on it, as I said before, but that would be it.

That's not what I said. He can certainly be disappointed by receiving clothes. I have a problem with kids having the gall to demand that someone not give them some particular thing. To me, kids ought to appreciate the fact that they will receive gifts for Christmas, not dictate what those gifts should or should not be.

:iagree: ETA: My reaction to the OP's situation would be similar to this, too. Probably something along the lines of, "Hey, DS! That was pretty rude!" DS would likely immediately apologize and pick up the shirt and life would move on.

Am I the only one that thinks the child telling his parent what NOT to buy him was the original problem? If one of my kids told me not to buy them this or that, I'd probably respond that I would feel free to not buy them anything if that was their attitude. Now, let me clarify that a bit. If I asked DS, "what do you think about.....for Christmas" and he said, "No, I don't really like......," then it would be wrong of me to go out and buy it anyway. But I would be rather put out if one of my kids tried to dictate what I could NOT buy him/her. That seems pretty demanding and ungracious to me.

2015's word was Perseverance, and I think I did persevere. I finished my MA degree and have started teaching, however part time and low-paying the job. But, I also lost my home and had to move in with my mother (quite the challenge in itself). So, I think the word for 2016 is going to be Independence, or maybe Self-reliance. I need to work enough to support myself and my kids and get us back into our own place and stand on my own two feet, whatever that takes.

My daughter doesn't use it for this very reason. LOL...

I keep seeing ridiculous things on FB like "It is NOT 'Happy Holidays'! It's MERRY CHRISTMAS! Like if you agree." It's stupid is what it is.

I read somewhere that there are something like 29 holidays in December. To me, saying "Happy Holidays" is all-inclusive. I don't understand how that could possibly be offensive. ETA: As my students were leaving from their final exams, I told them to "enjoy your holidays." I figured that could be taken as their holiday from school or as their particular winter holiday and New Year's, too. :D

Thanks for all the suggestions, everybody. I think I have something that might work. It's not perfect, but I think it'll do the trick. Thanks so much for the input!

That's an excellent point.

Ooohhhh! I like that!

I think I'm going to end up doing something like this. It just seems the simplest solution.

Not a book, but just thought I'd throw this out there: James Patterson, Master Class

I already do this for the actual planning. What I'm trying to figure out is more how to manage a to-do list, some way to keep track of various tasks for each class in a single place but without just having a jumbled list. So for example: Class A- email Sally about her paper Class C- find handout to go with Friday's class Class D- post announcement for class to bring X with them next week Class A- adjust order of questions on next week's quiz Class B- create extra credit assignment Class C- grade essays Class B- grade quizzes By just having one list, I'd be bouncing from class to class trying to work through everything. But skipping through the list and trying to get all the Class A items might result in my missing something. I'm thinking the divided pages might be the only way, despite ending up with blank spaces and over-full spaces.

Thanks. I'll look that up.

So how would you accomplish it? I already have a big notebook that I use when I'm planning and a folder in which I keep handouts, etc. What I need is one place where I can keep track of things that need to be done for each class. I'm afraid if I just use one big list with icons or color-coding for each class, I'll miss something because it's mixed in with other things.

One more suggestion is the series of books "Write Great Fiction." There are a bunch of them, including "Characters, Emotion, and Viewpoint," "Dialogue," and plenty more. We used the settings one in my graduate fiction class, and the one on plot is really good.

If you're open to blogs, try Jennifer Crusie's blog. She writes about some random stuff, but you can search by category and find all kinds of great stuff on writing. I also suggest reading the comments on her site, too, as they can be quite helpful.

My first thought was dividing a page (or a two-page spread) into sections, but then it would annoy me greatly to end up with big empty blocks when I didn't have anything for a particular class and messy, overstuffed blocks when I had a lot for another class. But I also won't always know beforehand what I might need to do for each class.

I am at a loss. I need some bullet journal layout suggestions. I’m an adjunct instructor for a couple of colleges. I will be teaching six courses next term, and I’m trying to figure out a way to keep up with what needs to be done for each course. I have a desk calendar/planner where I write down my teaching schedule, family activities and appointments, etc. for the week, but there isn’t enough room in that to write down details. For example, I might need to grade papers for course A, do lesson plans for courses B and C, post an announcement in course D, email a couple of students in course E, etc. but I cannot figure out a good way to keep track. Some things might need to be on a list for the week while other things might need to be done on a certain day. I cannot stand the idea of just writing a random list. I really need it to be organized at least by course, and it would need to be organized by week, but then how would I do that? And what would I do on days when I don’t need to do anything for one course but I have several things to do for another? I’m really organized (and pretty particular about things). I wouldn’t be able to stand having a list for Course B and then needing to add in something for Course A later and not have it in the proper order, for example. Or having a list for a course and then having to add something to the end that really should be done before something else. So really, basic lists just don’t work for me. I just cannot seem to come up with a good layout/format/plan for how to manage this. Any suggestions? Pictures would be awesome, if you’ve got ‘em, too.

My kids are only 16 months apart in age, so I try to keep their gifts roughly the same in both number and cost. However, they also know that some things cost more and thus result in fewer gifts, etc.

You do not have "too many books." That is simply an impossibility. What you have, dear Grantmom, is a terrible lack of bookshelves, a desperate situation that must be remedied immediately.

I guess it's just semantics. To me, "mocking" and "laughing at" are cruel and mean-spirited while "banter" is lighthearted and joking together.

I'm a little dismayed that so many people would laugh and make fun of someone using a perfectly ordinary item like an umbrella in perfectly ordinary conditions for which its use was intended.

I had it. Very, very bad. Laproscopic surgery was scheduled due to infertility. They ended up having to cut me open because one of the cysts was the size of a softball. I also needed 60 stitches in my bladder when they removed it. They cleaned me out, and DD, my miracle baby, was born less than a year later. Then I had DS by c-section, and they had to clean me out again then. And when it came back a third time, I had a total abdominal hysterectomy. All gone now!