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foxbridgeacademy

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Posts posted by foxbridgeacademy

  1. Can you set up each kitty in their own room? Then when one naturally goes back in that room for whatever reason, you can shut the door and let the other one out?

     

    Actually, maybe if you isolated each kitty in their own room for a while, with neither running free in the house, they will calm down.

    :iagree: They're probably not liking being put in a small space that smells like the other cat.  Separate rooms with a common central area would be best. Also make sure that those rooms have food, water, and litter box so no sharing.

    • Like 4
  2. Mine have D&D games at the library and online, they play XBOX with friends, watch YouTube (mostly political or science type stuff) DS treats DD to days out at the mall and food at local places. DD reads a lot (DS works but I don't think he'd call that fun).  We watch movies and play board games occasionally too.  I'd like to get them involved in more stuff but we're very secular so there's not a lot of opportunity for us in my very NOT secular HSing groups.

    • Like 1
  3. What about with the a local parks and rec center?  He would have to start low but could work his way up and maybe take some certification classes later to make promotions easier.  Also if you can find certification type classes that go with his interests he might not find school so boring/difficult/etc....

  4. They are cash poor but assets rich: they haven't downsized from the home where they raised my spouse and his siblings. They love it and refuse to move, but they can't really afford it or take care of it anymore. It's an on-going disagreement

    By continuing to help them and pay for things all you're doing is enabling them to live in a house outside their means.  I would stop all financial help.  They can pay or ask their other sons.  I would continue to take them to the grocery store (or other errands) once a week but I wouldn't pay for anything.

     

    Oops, didn't realize this was a JAWM... which I kind of do... other sons should step up and it is unreasonable to expect you to do everything.

    • Like 2
  5. All my children including DSD use proper punctuation and write in mostly full sentences when they text me or anyone else.  It's my parents who write "k", "wat u want", or "luv u" and it drives me batty because both are more than capable of correct spelling and grammar. 

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  6. It's really pretty but a journal like that would not work for me.  I have a little (journal sized) 3 ring binder where I have calendar and planner pages (from Target for $3 per pack) mixed in with my own hole punched blank lined, blank mixed media  , and blank grid pages.  I still get the fun of drawing/creating and the functionality of a blank calendar. Plus lots of tabs to separate topics.  I love it and it's the only "journal" I've been able to consistantly stick with for more than a few months (almost a year now).

     

    Walmart carries a blank drawing/mixed media pad in the right size for $5

     

    I use the lined paper out of correct sized folio type pads

     

    the grid paper is the hardest, I have to actually cut it.... still looking for  5x8 stuff that won't break the bank.

  7. Maybe say you will stop by her house while you are out to pick up a check.  That way she will be home where she has the checkbook?

     

    These kind of things are tricky.  

     

    (Which reminds me...I owe a friend money for a theater ticket!).  :huh:

    :iagree:  I'd call and say "I really need to get that check from you to balance my spending (or what ever), are you going to be home tomorrow afternoon? I'll swing by and pick it up before going to the bank."

  8. I might have a similar first reaction but then I'd remind myself that she's still a kid and I would get more joy watching her doing fun/enjoyable stuff even if it was meant for me.  So I would say something along the lines of "hey punk (that's is my DD's nickname) I thought that puzzle was for us to do together! (joking tone of voice), you need to wait on me!"  If she still did it I'd let it go and pick up another puzzle to work on after that one was finished.  

     

     

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  9. This is one of those situations where it may pay to pretend to be a little deaf--i.e., choose not to hear what it would be impolite to hear. Maybe remind them to stay quiet when people are sleeping. If she turns out to be a screamer, I could think of a NSFW white elephant gift that would possibly solve the problem.

     

    But then, I'm one of those people who sleeps apart from my spouse. Most of our intimate activities take place during waking hours, so if in future one of my kids makes noise engaging in those activities with a significant other when I'm in the house, well, again, I see no reason to play "do as I say, not as I do." 

    I'm with you in theory but I just couldn't deal.  Of course I would never have sex at my parents house, I wouldn't want them to hear, so it is more of a "do as I do" even if you (the general you not specifically you  ;) ) think I'm being old fashioned.  I do think this will be an issue with our youngest.... which is why we'll probably be ponying up for her to live in a dorm her Sophomore year and after (even though we live about 5 miles from Campus).  As for DS I couldn't even imagine he'd ever feel comfortable enough to risk getting "caught" so it's probably a non-issue.

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  10. For me it really comes down to the fact that I do not, under any circumstance, want to hear them having sex...ever.  I don't have a problem with them having sex I just never want to have to hear/see proof of it.

     

    ETA: just to be clear, I have no issues with casual sex, hook ups, serial monogamy or what ever they end up getting into.  As long as they are safe and mentally healthy I don't see the problem, I just don't know that I want to hear all the details.  

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  11. We usually try to get the tree up Dec. 1st and down January 1st.  This year I think it went up on the 15th and Dh and I took it down yesterday.... I was just not in the festive spirit this year.  We still have lights on the house but since we have a negative wind chill they'll be staying up until the temps get out of the single digits (even if that's February).

     

  12. I use a dry mop with a swivel head that easily gets in and under everything plus unlike a vacuum it doesn't "blow" the dust and dirt around.  No need to move furniture all the time. I also use the same dry mop, except the other side of it, to damp mop the floors.  Every couple months or so I'll move the sectional and book case to do a better job, including baseboards, but it's usually pretty quick since the dry mop gathers most of it up.  Dry mopping is quick and easy, same with the damp mop (I just use a diluted spray cleaner).  I would have ALL wood floors if I could (we rent) I hate carpet.

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  13. I am very against getting married young, very few people I know IRL made it "to death do us part" after marrying young but, I was supportive when DD2 got married last summer days prior to her 20th b-day to her 19 y.o. on/off bf of almost 4 years.  I would be helpful and supportive if after talking and working through my concerns my younger children were to choose to marry young (over 18 under 25).  Why? because I value my relationship with my child and, here's the important part, I can't tell the future and it IS their life. 

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  14. I agree about the color.  Then while you're at it get a couple throw pillows and a lap blanket across the end of the bed the color(s) of the lamp.  Maybe a piece of art if that's your thing and voila! your room is decorated.

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  15. She sounds a lot like my 9yo and with her it has all come around to be serious anxiety. We have learned a lot of things that make cleaning go better. It's by no means good yet, and we all have a long way to go, but we don't have a 2 hour meltdown with screaming, slamming, and kicking anymore. 

     

    * Warning. We give her a head's up before we start cleaning time or giving a big instruction. As much notice as I'm able to give, really. "Hey, tomorrow we're going to take some time to clean the playroom and school room". or "after lunch we're going to spend 15 minutes cleaning up the main level" Today we made a new "after dinner" chart with expected jobs. In writing is great for her. She can easily see exactly what is expected of her and when. This one is not a full chore system spelled out, it is only the few things that need done every night after dinner (dishes, table, sweeping...) 

     

    * Spell out every step. I give her one step at a time. Clean up all the stuffed animals. Put away all the books. Legos. Doll clothes. and so on. Today we made a list like this for her bedroom so she can start taking control over this step-by-step that I usually guide her through. If the living room has gotten out of control, I'll use a jump rope or something similar and section of a bit at a time. So she is only responsible for what is enclosed. It's much less overwhelming than the whole room at once. This also gives her small accomplishments along the way, and natural spots to give her a quick jump around the room sensory break. 

     

    * Scaffolding. Suddenly having to unload the dishwasher can be overwhelming. But we start doing things together so the first time she did utensils, then the next time I asked her to do cups. Then the next time plates and bowls.... Slowly until she'd done every aspect of the job. So that the first time I asked her if she could unload the whole dishwasher she was eager to take it on as a challenge, knowing she'd done all the parts of it before. 

     

    * Bigger jobs. Surprisingly, she has done better if I trust her with more. If I tell her to gather all the dirty dishes from the table, she whines and drags her feet. If I ask her "Would you like to gather dishes while mommy loads the dishwasher, or would you rather work in here while I do that job?" She will often jump at the kitchen job. She will proudly (poorly, but proudly!) load the dishwasher while I gather up the dishes. Also if I word it so that it's less of a command and more of a gentle request for assistance, along with choices. "Okay, the bathroom needs cleaned today. P, would you like to help me in there, or do you think you can do it by yourself?" I'll sometimes get "OH I can do it! Watch!" 

     

    I give consequence for behavior (if she screams at her sister, hits, throws...), but not for the reluctance, crying, or melting down. That stems from anxiety and needs to be resolved, not punished. 

     

    I'm so going to adopt your DD's song! It is so much better than the original! 

    This is some of the best advice for this kind of situation I've ever heard.  I wish I had more patience and understanding when my kids were little.

  16. I am going on a low carb/diabetic diet to reduce blood sugar and stress on my pancreas, so I'm hoping I'll lose some weight from that. We also now have my thyroid levels back up to a range where it might be possible to lose weight again.

     

    There is a moratorium on high carb snack foods, candy, ice cream, etc coming into the house after Jan 1. I will be working out 2-3 times a week while my daughter is in cheer practice (the new gym owners let us bring in our DVDs, yoga mats, and hand weights and work out in the room that is used to review training videos. (we started that last season, but December got away from us, between a competition and then the room we use to workout being used for parties almost every practice session, but until then, we were doing really well. It's much easier with other people doing it with you, especially when we're all over 40) and DH and I plan to walk regularly as well.

     

    I'm also going to try to find a place near or on campus to meet my tutoring students that has wifi and we can talk, but doesn't have food. We met at McDonalds and Starbucks a lot last year, which isn't good for the waistline, blood sugar levels, or budget.

     

    I've ordered a fitness tracker and a glucose monitor that both sync to apple health. I also have a blood pressure monitor, although I'll have to add those readings manually. I like graphs :)

    This wasn't as difficult to do as I thought it would be. I just stopped buying junk.  They whined (especially DH) for a couple weeks but that was it.  We still occasionally (2-3 times per year) buy ice cream or I'll make a cake for birthdays but that's it on the sweet stuff.  Salty has been a bit harder.  We still usually have a bag of chips in the house at all times, I just stopped eating them or replaced the kids chips with popcorn, which I don't like, so no temptations for me.  Now I can't even imagine eating a little debbie snack cake and I can't eat more than a couple bites of ice cream, way to sweet.

  17. Sausage and cabbage. I use smoked sausage or kielbasa, slice it thin. I lightly fry it in a large pot (make sure to stir to try to brown both sides).  Chop up a head or two of cabbage, probably 1-2 inch squares.  I do my best to separate layers as I add it in on top of cabbage.  Stir it all together add salt and pepper cook on med-low and stir every so often until it's done to our preferred tenderness.  It's easy, cheap and everyone, except DD, loves it.

     

    We don't eat a lot of meat, definitely very little "processed" type meat but this is one thing that we make an exception for. 

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  18. Yeah, fortunately, I quit soda years ago when I was diagnosed with IBS. But I can’t congratulate myself too hard because I do have an iced tea habit that could use breaking or modifying. It is homemade iced tea and I don’t use a ton of sugar, but I do use some.

    This has always been my issue, sweet tea.  I can't drink plain water very well.  I mean I can chug it and I do it, about 6 cups a day, that way but to just drink it? No, I need something sweet.  I used to put 2 cups of sugar per gallon of tea  :leaving: .   I got down to 3/4 -1 cup per gallon after diabetes diagnosis, which is the lowest I could do.  That's still 8 grams of sugar per 8 oz glass.  I recently discovered Splenda (yes, I know it's been around for 20 years) and as long as I don't use a lot of it I can not tell the difference.  So I'm going with 1 tsp real sugar and 1 tsp equivalent of splenda.  I make the tea by the gallon with about 1/2 cup sugar then add in the splenda by the glass.  Eventually I might be able to do all Splenda.

     

    I already cut out 95% of sugars in my daily life (other than the tea) several years ago so other than to stop eating fruit I'm not sure where else to cut.

     

    ETA- for me Stevia was not an option, it just tastes so gross (I can do Halo ice cream with stevia but only a couple bites). Other artificial sweeteners, equal and sweet&low make me sick, literally.

    • Like 1
  19. *I already cut out the majority of crap from my diet back in April 2015 when I was diagnosed with diabetes. My end goal is to get off the meds and live life normally, weighing less will accomplish that.  While I eat pretty healthy I still overeat and I've continued to gain weight, not a lot but enough that I absolutely have to stop it NOW.

     

    I've been giving WW (freestyle) a try for the last few weeks and it is not working.  Not nearly enough points (23 versus the 30 from before plus weekly). I mean if you eat a lot of meat (we don't) or beans (I have FODMAPS issues) or eggs (again gastro-intestinal issues with those) then sure 23 pts might be enough.  I do like corn and potatoes (now free on freestyle) but I like them way to much and if they are free I will definitely overeat them daily.  So instead I'm going to try to use itrackbites with 30 points daily.  I thought about doing simply filling but I don't think I can keep within the 2 tsp of fats (avocado oil) limit.  I know there are  weekly points but those are for my barely sweetened tea for which would use every one of them.

     

    Although I did recently discover Splenda.  Yes, I know it's been around for 20 years but I had never tried it.  I lumped it in with equal & sweet and low as toxic (to me, headaches and nausea).  I tried stevia years ago and it's just gross so I'd always assumed Splenda would be the same.... It's not great, I mean it's not real sugar and there is a weird taste but I can deal with it.

     

    We're moving end of February to an apartment complex with a very nice 24 hour gym that I can't wait to use.  I had a membership at PF for a while and LOVED the working out but hated having to drive through our crazy traffic and then wait around for machines.  So I'm looking forward to having a state of the art gym mostly to myself (plus a saltwater pool in the summer.... (probably won't be mostly to myself, lol).

     

    I'm setting a realistic goal of 15-20 pounds before June 2018 and hopefully 50 pounds total by June 2019.  

     

    ETA: We also bought an Air Fryer as our family Christmas gift.  That way the whole family will stop eating deep fried food and they won't have to deal with me staring at them as they eat french fries.  

     

     

     

     

     

      

  20. I started quilting back in November and made lap quilts for many of my family members (mom, dad&step mom, children) Dad and step mom liked it so much that now they have commissioned matching pillows (and I'm throwing in a mixed media piece of art that "goes" with it).  My sister LOVED the quilt I made my mom so I'll be making her one too.  I've started weaving scarfs but it's slow going (I have peripheral neuropathy)  but what I'm the most excited about is my peg loom and the white and grey fabric I bought to make a runner rug for our new place.  I'm hoping to start it after the new year.  I'll also be making pillows and curtains but they're nowhere near as much fun.

     

    • Like 7
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