I will say that the protecting of your child depends on the circumstances. I love my DSD very much but I also know what she is and what her motivations are in life. If it came down to my husband or her, or her against her child, or her vs her sibling, I would always take the other person's side. I think Casey's parents don't truly see her for what she is (allegedly of course), at least they didn't. They might by now. I also agree with a pp that sociopaths are born not created. It is really sad to admit but the complete lack of moral compass even in a child is frightening. Watching Casey I see my DSD. If Casey is truly a sociopath (no way for me to know lol) they are VERY good at faking sadness and playing on other's sympathies. They will say ANYTHING to get themselves out of trouble. Even accuse loving parents of horrible things.

We went on our honeymoon last fall and had a jacuzzi suite. We used it! A lot. Since we have children we obviously have *ahem* experience..... Some of it wasn't together but it was VERY relaxing. ETA: Okay so the "some of it" above I was referring to was NOT experience but to the time in the jacuzzi. (This is why you shouldn't respond to threads while giving Spelling tests!)

Oh thank you for this thread! I am interested also! I burn at 0 ft above sea level in OR through clouds and my tinted windows while driving. I just moved to a desert, a mile above sea level and I am really scared to go outside :tongue_smilie: I can't wait to hear all the responses :bigear:

Thank you for the update!

Thank you everyone for the links! I will be researching this further. My family has always felt the Bible was very scientific and actually teaches science if you look carefully, of course written in terms understood at the time. I am not sure how I feel about the extreme end of evolution but am willing to look into it. (Actually will love looking into it.)

:iagree: Exactly as it is here :) He does pay for it though!

ETA: Someone already told you it works :)

Not that you need mine or my family's approval but I just want you all to know that not all non-Catholics feel this way. I am Christian of the Wesleyan persuasion :) I remember as a child hearing something somewhere about Catholics not being Christians and asked my dad about it. My dad, who was a PK and a much older than normal dad, told me that just like all the people who go to my church weren't necessarily Christians in their hearts he was sure that somewhere there were some people who attended a Catholic church who weren't Christians in their heart but that Catholics believed in Jesus for their saving grace just like we do. They were God's people just like we are. Confession was explained to me kind of like a how many Protestants have a mentor or pastor that holds them accountable. He went on to point out some more differences but also showed me we have more in common with each other than we have different. I have NEVER understood the derision that some have for the Catholic church. I hope that you all don't think all of us Protestants were raised to hate you. I obviously can't speak for all churches because some have seen this and posted here but please know it isn't true for all. Our church has NEVER had a sermon or a SS class about this. In the town in Oregon I was raised in and attended church in from birth until two months ago our pastor was very good friends with the St Peter's priest. Our town had a weekly breakfast between the pastors of multiple churches including the Catholic church. We even all put together community outreaches multiple times a year. There was a rule that no one could say which church they were from during the outreaches so that the community would only see that we were all the body of Christ working together to help others. I know it isn't this way everywhere but I love the vision that our town put together for the world to see, I hope in the future the world's body of Christ can act more like it does in that town. Carry on! Sorry if way too OT but I have really enjoyed this thread, it has given me more insight and I even bookmarked a few pages mentioned to go back and read later. I think it is wonderful that you ladies stand up for your faith in such a respectful way and are willing to answer everyone's questions. It made me sad that you have been attacked for your faith by other Christians that should have stood alongside of you. :grouphug:

I thought about the race thing too. My twins are mixed (white and black) and they tell everyone they are white and usually not just white but Irish, even more specifically Irish leprechauns. :lol: They have had no contact with their birthdad but their step dad is black so it isn't like they haven't had that influence. Their step-siblings are mixed also but identify themselves as black. Granted, my step-children have curly, black hair and darker skin while my twins have nothing more than slightly olive skin compared to my pastiness (no idea how that happened!). I have always corrected them gently and said you are white AND black. I honestly wanted mixed children but haven't made a big deal of their desire to be white only. I think they just think they look mostly white and Mama is white so hey we are white. I find it interesting that even though they have never gone to school to be told their race (you aren't black, look at you!) and I have always said both that they decided they were quite obviously white (no idea why mama keeps lying about it lol) and stuck with it for a long time, they are almost 11. All that to say I wonder if at some point this child will think hey thanks for trying but I've been looking around and I've noticed I am a boy so that is all there is to it.

I talk to my dad several times a week. We also text and send pic messages back and forth. I send them of the kids; he sends them of his flowers. (And he is in his 70s, so cute!) Before my mom died, she and I talked daily, sometimes multiple times a day. Before we moved away we went to church with my dad twice a week, he would drive 20 miles to stop by our house once or twice a week and he took my twins every other week for a day or two. :( Miss him!

UGH my twins are soooo competitive they do okay with manipulatives and such but anything where someone "wins" or there is a score I had to stop for at least school time. It drives me nuts! Scratch that my oldest DSS is competitive too! I had to ban football containing games because DSS FIFTEEN will come running in to tell me how he scored on the ten year-old, who is a foot shorter. Then ten year-old comes in crying because big brother is so mean and knocked him down to get the ball. AGGHHHH I want to tell them they can never play together and keep them separated until they are 18! (I can see why that might not be an effective parenting method though:lol:) Sorry have no effective advice, none of my methods have worked so far! I will be watching eagerly to see if there is any advice I can use too! :bigear:

Nice!

I am DYING laughing over here! My kids think I am nuts! I really wish we had a "like" button :) I would be "liking" all over this thread!

I read a lot of historical Christian romance. The well-written ones with lots of research into the historical time period. I can't stand the ones where they meet on a plane, their religion seems almost secondary and ten days later they are in love. Mostly because I think they are poorly written and completely unrealistic lol. I don't think the ones I like are damaging (for me anyway). The men are NEVER perfect lol they usually mess up and the relationship has to be worked out. I guess anything can be taken to the extreme and for some people I can see how they could escape from their real life. I honestly do too it is why I love to read I become immersed in the world I am reading about but I am not confused about the difference between the fiction and my real life.

I feel horrible now! At our last house our yard was small-med and the three boys accidentally hit/threw balls over the fence all the time!. I even stopped letting them use frisbees and bought a wiffle ball for them to try and curtail it. I know they were always nice but we really didn't mean to annoy anyone. They are boys and were trying to keep them in our yard. One neighbor gave them standing permission (we watched their baby every day) and the other would always let tell them when they knocked to go in the backyard and get it for themselves. I will say that it wasn't every day since we were in Oregon and playing ball in the rain isn't the most fun :lol: Now that we have a house with a really big yard in hasn't happened once in the six weeks we have been here!

:bigear:

My cat was an outdoor cat for ten years way out in the country on tons of property. When we moved to the city I was worried she would get run over since she wasn't used to cars. I bought some natural "Off" type of spray at our exotic, organic pet store and sprayed all the doors. I haven't had a problem with her trying to get out since. Don't know if that would work for yours or not.

Religious- I can't afford private school Health- my son is immunocompromised Academic- Not a fan of PS in my state (where we started) and another son with severe speech/language disorders but otherwise very bright We continue because we love it!

:iagree: Me too! In fact I keep saving lists to my computer from this forum for curriculum I don't use! Just in case! :glare:

My DH does so I don't know all of what happens. He had a lot of wires, etc. It was hard for him to sleep and he was uncomfortable but it got done. It doesn't end there. He has to wear the mask, get it maintenanced, buy new mask and tubing 1-2 times a year, clean it often (let's be realistic I do that- he was supposed to but I finally got sick of seeing the calcium build up in it lol), get rechecked. His newest cpap machine has a memory type card in it that we can just take in to the dr to have it reviewed! Very nice. It sucks but it is very helpful and I am not scared anymore while he sleeps :)

I second Silver Falls if you are going in that direction!

OR coast is almost always chilly :) Take it from me, we had a beach house in Lincoln City growing up in the Portland area. It can be a hot day but the wind will be freezing. To add to the above wonderful posts: Tillamook Cheese Factory (further north than Newport though) Devil's Punch Bowl is a quick side stop on the drive down 101 but really cool to see how it was formed, you can jump out see it and get back in car in twenty min tops http://www.directoryofhamilton.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/devils-punch-bowl.jpg Sea Lion Caves are really cool for kids but a little spendy I think Hatfield Marine Science Center isn't too far from the main aquarium but also really cool and a little different. I think it is still run by OSU, used to be free. They have a website you can check out. http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/visitor/ Love eating at Mo's Depoe Bay is fun to walk around and has really good candy! Of course History-wise there is tons. If you are driving down 101 you will see lots of signs and pull outs for famous capes and lighthouses. My kids love them all :) ETA Saw you are staying in Newport 2 nights. The wax museum and undersea gardens are favorites of my kids also.

This reminds me of the saying, " A daughter is a daughter for life. A son is a son 'til he takes a wife." My experience has been that sons are more likely to go along with their wives and their traditions. I think it depends a lot on where they live in proximity, how nice the in-laws are about it and what the traditions are. My family goes along with all of my traditions for two main reasons; the traditions in my family were VERY strong and his family hates me. Growing up we had very set traditions that were tons of fun and I carried them onto my twins as a single mom and now to my family. (My brother on the other hand I can totally see ditching it all and letting his wife decide on all traditions.) Having his family dislike me and my DH taking my side (thank God!) has made it uncomfortable to participate in their traditions and theirs aren't as deep set. I think (IME) another big reason is lots of men (not all) including my DH don't care all that much about holidays and seem to have NO idea how much work it takes to pull them off. They just let their wives do it all and then show up :) I have learned from my experience though! I won't expect anything! I will welcome whomever my boys (girls of course too) marry with open arms even if I can't stand them, and I will be as understanding and accommodating as possible. I want to see my grandchildren lots!

My parents were ALWAYS late. I was embarrassed to always be 20-30 min late for Sunday School. Sometimes I would hide in the bathroom because I hated to walk in that late. My parents routinely picked me up 60 min late from swim practice. I hated it. I always try to be on my time. It upsets me and I stress and yell until the twins are in the car on time. Then I got married. My husband makes us late to everything. No amount of begging or pleading gets us out the door on time. He just laughs it off and says he is on CPT (colored-people time) and we will only be a minute or two late. We aren't. It is later than that. I hope people don't think I am lazy and inconsiderate :( According to this thread I am sure they do though. All that being said it really doesn't bother me when others are not on time for most things. I never think they are rude are don't care about me. I just have a serious issue with walking in late.

Thank goodness it isn't only me! We really don't care. Well I guess that isn't true of my step-son, lol I don't allow him to see me naked. My twins could care less.