I agree. And if I get started with more, I'll go into a ten page rant. LOL

I doubt this. It is probably automatic. I worked for Kroger. I did not join the union, but nearly EVERYTHING there is automatic. Chances are, if he's not getting a paycheck, he doesn't have dues, and no one's going to track him down to collect anything. If you can't get through to a union rep, call the store he worked at. Tell them who you are and why you're calling and ask to speak to their human resources manager. [That way, the customer service rep that answers knows you have a legitimate reason to need to speak to HR.] Customer Service might already know the answer, or they can get you to HR, which can probably at least answer your question or give you additional contact info. If you can't get through to HR, ask to speak with one of the managers. Again, they can probably answer this question. Speaking as one who worked in customer service and the "front end", TONS of people cycle through Kroger employment. It's how they operate. They do not intend for most of their courtesy clerks to stick around. I'd say that only 1 of every 10 courtesy clerks stay beyond 12 months, and that's being generous. That was at a store with decent management. Some have an even higher turnover. Really, this is nothing new to Kroger. Don't sweat it.

And of course, this one, which directly goes with what happened to my bil today.

as in, Mercury's retrograde influences life here on earth? Just curious. My bil just did something REALLY stupid, and really, it's completely in line with MR. Doesn't mean I'll let him off the hook! Just got me thinking. ETA: This is meant to be a light-hearted post! No need for anyone to get upset if someone else does/doesn't follow, believe in, or whatever with regards to astrology!

No, that's not what I'm talking about. Agreed, slavery was/is horrible. What they did to Native Americans was horrible. I am NOT diminishing that! I am not saying those were right or anything along those lines! What I meant was that I see a lot of people seeming to glorify how early Americans and the founding fathers stood so bravely to oppression and that's what it means to be American...i.e. stand up and fight against whatever you don't agree with. They completely miss that America would never be here if people hadn't sat down and actually listened to each other. If they hadn't been willing to compromise, their willingness to fight would never have resulted in a functioning government. I'm not saying that I agree with all their decisions, just that they did have the ability to compromise, which I fail to see in our government or in society in general.

Absolutely. Agreed. Arguing with me does very little to convince me of anything, and I know too many people who just use arguing as an attempt at inflating their ego. But... Listening to people's experiences and actually discussing things with them has been very eye opening to me. It was very humbling to find that what I grew up believing, what I was taught, what I was sooo sure of... that none of it was how it worked at all for many people! This board and the huge variety of people and experiences has been wonderful for me personally.

As I understand it, the shooting hoax was back in September. The latest one (this week) in Washington State was not. Still an awful joke!!!

My heart hurts. I wonder how much our society thinks it okay to hurt others in an attempt to express themselves? Not talking about defense of self or others, but how many people are okay with getting angry and lashing out...with social media or whatever strikes a persons fancy? Is it any wonder that some people take it to the next level of violence? And isn't blaming people just another symptom of this? I wish our society would embrace compassion and learn how to agree to disagree! I think about all the compromises the U.S.'s founding fathers and initial colonies made, and it saddens me even further to see what we've become. Granted, they had their own issues. I'm not saying we need to go back to the way it was in the 18th-19th centuries! Just saying they knew how to compromise and come to an agreement, and I wish we could remember that instead of glorified accounts of rebellion against [insert perceived oppression here].

The problem as I see it, is this being a societal/cultural issue, and it's not going away until we address it on a societal level. I'm not sure more laws are really going to help. Maybe the will. And I'd be supportive of certain ones...but for pete's sake, what's the point of making more laws when the ones we have can't even be enforced?! Will discussion help? Yes, I believe it's a start. We need more than just talk, of course, but shutting down discussion is, IMO, the antithesis.

I'm brunette and color to cover my gray. I use henna. Keeps my hair healthy and gives me a nice, auburn color with red highlights. It's really easy, but messy. I use henna from Amazon, mix it with coffee, and let it sit overnight. I divvy it into small ziploc bags, about a cup each. I keep these in the freezer until I'm ready to touch up my roots, then I thaw in hot water. Super easy and good for your hair and scalp. But, still, messy.

I like the sound of that!]

From what I could see of MobyMax, it still requires reading. Has that been your experience? ST looks amazing! :drool5: But at $200 for one kid for one year, I think it's out of our price range. Ds just had a full professional evaluation and the feedback app't is in a few days, so we'll see what comes out of that. It may be worth it.

I haven't ever done that. I have a couple who would not care but also a couple that would probably get their feelings hurt. So if it were me, I'd get the bed and not count it toward Christmas. Personally, I try very hard to keep things as close to even as I can for the kids, so unless I wanted to do some equivalent for all the kids, I would not put it for Christmas.

I have looked some at Math U See. I will it at it some more. Thanks. Thanks! Thanks, but I don't think so. I haven't seen it in person, but it looks like something I'd have to sit and read to him.

I might have to look in to Teaching Textbooks, thanks. I appreciate the thoughts, and your advice is sound! But I'm not a novice. I've BTDT. Ds7 is the youngest of six. I've homeschooled all of them. Two are in college. I do lot of involving math in to other things...cooking, cleaning, board games, shopping, etc. I've been looking for teaching moments for so long it's second nature. He gets plenty of that. But he's at an age, and a skill level, where he needs more than that. He's getting LOTS of human interaction, since (1) he still can't read independently and nearly everything he does involves someone reading to him, and (2) as the youngest, he nearly always has someone available to play with or help him. He needs to start learning a bit of independence, BUT he's still little, and I don't want to overwhelm him, either. We're just at that stage where we need to start working this into his routine. What we need--based on his needs and what I can realistically provide--is a program where he can work independently, without human interaction, for 10 to 30 minutes (tops) at a time. I like Khan Academy because it can easily be done in small increments. It progresses at his level without seeming too difficult or too babyish, and it's a great way to supplement all the other hands-on learning we're doing. And I *could* continue reading to him, but I'd like for him to spend a little of bit of time working independently.

Title pretty much covers it. I've been using Khan Academy, but my devices (laptop, chromebook, Kindles) just don't give an easy read-to-me option. I really want something that he can do himself, something where he has a bit more independence and isn't so dependent on Mom. So much of his stuff is already dependent on me. Any suggestions? :bigear:

:grouphug:

First, we have a sibling swap. (I have six kids, too.) Every year, on Thanksgiving weekend, we put up Christmas decorations. When that's done, all the kids' names go into a hat, and they draw a name. They get the sibling they drew a present in a prescribed budget. We typically do shopping online now, but dh and I have carted up the kids, split into two groups, and gone shopping. We started this when I had just two kids and they'd each get the other a present. With the tiny littles, I'm really the one who picked out the present, but I'd involve the child as much as they were capable. Second, the kids get together and "buy" something for a parent, with the help of the opposite parent. So I help them pick a collective gift for dh, and dh helps them get a collective gift for me. Third, the pets have stockings. The kids get to help pick inexpensive gifts for them. LOL Fourth, this year, we're doing baskets for their neighborhood friends' families. We're planning on leaving the baskets in an "elfed" style on Christmas eve.

Or, something else I'd thought about for my eldest was a coffee-table type book on his interest, something with lots of illustrations and brief synopsis of varying subtopics. Personally, I think the biggest key is finding the topic and/or style that is most engaging to the reader. All the reluctant readers I know of at that age, dislike pages of nothing but words, so the pp suggestion of graphic novels could work, or something that doesn't have tons of descriptive narrative. Maybe a youth fiction like Percy Jackson series? Except that's not really non-violent, even if it's geared for tweens. LOL Just an example of an engaging style that I thought of off the top of my head. Not sure if that's any help or not. Good luck!

I'm getting my oldest a magazine subscription. He doesn't really like reading, but he's highly interested in the topic. I figured magazines generally are geared for shorter attention spans. So something with brief reading (compared to a book), lots of pics, and was geared to his interests would actually be something he'd enjoy. Maybe your dd would like something like that, too?

Agreed. If it was cold...which may or may not be the case here in GA...I'd do the hose. But otherwise, I'd do the bare legs but use make up or tanning spray/lotion to make my legs a little less, ahem, reflective.

Interesting. My experience actually disagrees with this. After working as a cashier and in customer service, I found that most people are kind and generous. I could deal with hundreds of people a day, and most would be pleasant and helpful. Nowadays, if I'm doing errands, most people I encounter are nice. But, boy, the ones that aren't are wayyyy more memorable! OP...I agree that she was probably frazzled and self-conscious. You were sweet to try to help! And while you may have been misunderstood at first, your clarification may have helped to encourage and/or calm her. :grouphug:

Hmpf. Well, I can't like posts for whatever reason and I can't quote! but I'm trying to do most of shopping online, so I'm not sure about hitting Goodwill, but thanks for the suggestion!

Sounds like mine! :lol: