Annie Laurie
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Posts posted by Annie Laurie
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I use these the most:
garlic press
sharp knives
tongs
spatula flipper that is just the right thickness
Vitamix
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asparagus peeler (also good for peeling potatoes)
I've never heard of this! What do you peel asparagus for? Soup?
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Because they assume that all kids like processed stuff and don't know the difference. One of my kids was so disappointed when he ordered macaroni and cheese, not from the kids menu, and they brought him Kraft mac and cheese.
I guess my kids are weird because they love stuff like goat cheese, prosciutto, and dolmas and hate boxed mac and cheese, hot dogs, etc. It's kind of annoying when I'm tired and want to give them something quick and easy. :glare:
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What if you try a cheese with more flavor, like smoked gouda or gruyere? I think gruyere would have that sharper taste, it's what I use in quiche, but I don't know how well it melts for mac and cheese. I use Tillamook extra sharp cheddar when I make mac and cheese, but I might try some different cheeses myself now that you mention it.
ETA: Maybe a blend of cheeses would be good. Parmigiano Reggiano would be good mixed in with some other cheeses.
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:grouphug:
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I have a dear friend who watches every bite. She exercises regularly. She cannot lose weight. If we went by the simple diet + exercise = healthy weight, she'd be much thinner than I. She's not, and it's frustrating for her. She works really hard at it, with minimal results. Her inner response to "I'm sure it occurred to you that perhaps your food intake was not quite in balance with your activity level?" would probably be along the lines of "Are you f---ing kidding me? I count every. single. calorie. and exercise vigorously, so you and your condescension can go jump in a lake."
Yes. My best friend in college was overweight but she didn't eat much at all. I was a skinny size 0 and would get asked if I ever ate (skinny shaming stinks too, but is a subject for another thread), and I ate constantly. We'd go somewhere to eat and she'd have a salad and some lean protein and I'd have like 6 slices of pizza. Yet, she couldn't lose the weight and I couldn't gain.
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I love them! It's great that you picked black kittens, black cats have low adoption rates, but my childhood cat was a black cat and I loved him to pieces. The one on the right reminds me of him as a kitten. Your kitties are so adorable!
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Well mine as clean as it could possibly get, freshly painted, and gone over with a fine tooth comb is as messy as my MIL's house ever was.
She lives by herself now and that is pretty much what she does all day long. Clean. She is always complaining to DH about all the cleaning she has to do. Uhhh how dirty can it get with one person?!
I wish I could remember the name of the article, but SWB wrote an article for Memoria Press about leaving the kitchen dirty and reading a book. She said that we get a feeling of accomplishment from things like cleaning, we can see tangible results and it makes us feel like we have something to show for our efforts, but in the long run it doesn't serve our kids the way reading Great Books will. I think that's why so many women go on about all the cleaning they have to do, it makes them feel accomplished and like they are busy. Especially the older generation, my grandmother, mother, and MIL, all view it as a point of personal pride that they have impeccably clean houses, they view it as reflective of a person's character even. My grandma loves me but I am certain she thinks I'm lazy. :)
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I don't have a presentable house 24/7. Nor am I. It usually isn't filthy, but it is typically somewhat to terribly messy (there are always places to sit and the floor is usually devoid of tripping hazards, but I have clutter on counters and tables.) I don't like unannounced guests, but I do let friends in because if they will just have to accept me as I am. I grew up in a house where it was company ready all the time. But, all of my memories of interactions with my mom growing up were of her being angry with me. She always seemed stressed out about the house not looking great - so much so that she didn't really notice when things weren't OK with me. (That said, she was also dealing with my much older siblings who were teens in the late 60s, early 70s.)
I have to say that part of why I am like this is a reaction to the way I was raised. I simply don't have the energy to put into my home when I'd much rather put it toward my kids. Also, I simply don't have the "organization gene." Too much of our stuff doesn't have a place. I resist rigid schedules (which is why I am a flylady drop out.)
I try not to leave the house without looking presentable (but I am getting lazier and lazier about getting in the shower.)
This is me exactly. I refuse to put my house before my kids, the way my mother and her mother did. So, it's not filthy but often is messy. Also, my health hasn't been right since I had my last baby- he didn't sleep for 2 years, and I have a hard time sleeping now and often don't feel 100%, so my house and how I look are dependent on how I feel that day. For years I neglected myself, because I'm "just a stay at home mom" but I recently lost some weight and decided to buy myself new clothes, so now I enjoy doing my hair and putting on a nice outfit and jewelry when I go out, but at home, I just throw on jeans and a tee and brush my hair.
We're about to put our house on the market and I'm so anxious about keeping it presentable at all times!
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I've read most of the responses, and I think it's okay to attempt to make some further contact, but I also think you should proceed cautiously. There is a person in my life who I have made many many overtures too who is just extremely awkward and clueless socially. I have had my feelings hurt by her thoughtless comments and clueless behavior often. I have no choice but to continue to be involved with her, and I try to think the best of her whenever possible, however there are times when I wonder if the things she says, does, and opportunities she does not share with us are conscious choices she is making. It can be painful, too, to be around a group of people and have her ignore us while she converses with people we don't know, doesn't introduce us, and pretty much ignores us. It's hard not to conclude that she has decided they are more important people to know. But, then there are times when she will initiate a conversation and chit chat like a normal person. I really wish I could have this person out of my life, but that isn't going to happen. Dh and I have decided she's just painfully awkward. It is a tremendous effort to be around her and her family. If I had a choice, I wouldn't. As, Jean said, it is okay if you don't click with people. If that's the case, it's better to realize it early on and not expend energy you could use for more satisfying relationships.
Well, to me, that's just rude, and not about being awkward. I would never leave some one out like that and not introduce new people into a group. This thread seemed like it was more about the awkwardness of not being good at small talk and not knowing how to approach someone you don't know well. I think when someone is just rude like you talked about, there is no need to make excuses for her or to try to be friends.
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If you're waiting for her to make an overture, perhaps she's waiting for you to make one too? Maybe she's also wondering why you don't say or do more?
They sound like me and my husband. He is an extrovert, and he is super friendly, charming, and good with people. He makes friends with everyone, from the receptionist at the dentist's office, to the neighbors on the street. He's good at remembering names and always knows the right thing to say. Me, I'm socially awkward, and it's gotten worse the older I've gotten. I'm an introvert, and I spend so much time caring for my family, reading up for homeschooling, and spend time on hobbies no one else is interested in, that I feel like I have nothing to talk about anymore. I'm not good at knowing what to say to someone new, and I may want to be friends, but I mostly only smile and say hi. But even that I bungle half the time, the other day I was in a mood about something else, lost in thought, and got out of my car and realized my neighbor was saying hi, I said hi back but I had been scowling to myself and she might have thought I was scowling at her.
Anyway, she may want to be friends and just not know how to go about it, or she may feel that you're not interested.
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I left my kids in the car just a few days ago. I had been grocery shopping in Target, my 3 yr old was having a huge tantrum in the checkout lane because I wouldn't buy him a badmitton set from the dollar spot, and I got to my car and realized that a pair of earrings and a pack of notebook paper had ended up smooshed in a weird spot in my cart and I hadn't paid for them. So I left my 13 year old son, my 3 year old son, and my 10 year old son in the van while I ran back in to pay. My 3 yr old was still having a fit and I wasn't hauling a 3 yr old in the middle of a tantrum back into Target with me. I would bet the people of Target preferred not hearing his tantrum again too. I was hugely paranoid about someone reporting me and almost just left the stuff on the closest shelf and ran back out. My 13 year old is extremely responsible, my 3 year old was safely buckled in his car seat, and I wasn't worried about my kids. I was worried about other people.
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Wow, I'd say WHOA! this doesn't seem right. I agree with pp - why should they care. And, in fact, parents have their babies' ears pierced and they won't have an ID! Birth certificate? Really?
We had our dd's ears pierced at a tattoo parlor b/c learned from nmoira that it was the best route to go. That was 2 years ago and they did NOT ask for a birth certificate or student id. I wouldn't have supplied one b/c I don't think it's any of their business - sorry!
I just read where you said it's a state law. Still.........
Many peds offer ear piercings. Maybe that would work for you.
I'm wondering how often the dr's office does it though, and if the same person always does it or what. I will call and find out, but I think I prefer the tattoo/piercing place because they have so much experience.
I'm not bothered by the requirement. I understand why- they don't want someone taking a kid and getting their ears pierced if they're not the parents, to protect themselves from law suits. I had thought my ID and the birth certificate would be enough, but I'll probably just try printing my own ID for dd now. Homeschools are considered private schools here, so my homeschool issued ID should be perfectly legal. We will see what they say at the piercing place though, that's the issue. I sometimes have to talk for awhile before getting a homeschool discount at certain stores too, most people don't understand homeschool laws and want something that is "official" in their eyes.
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We just got a state ID from the DMV here for my daughter to use to take the ACT. Check to make sure they don't have to mail the ID to you in your state. I had expected to just be handed the ID, but evidently now they mail both licenses and IDs, which can take up to 10 days. Luckily we went far enough in advance that it wasn't a time crunch. We also ran into issues with proof of residency for her. I had to take her birth certificate, original social security card, and provide another form of proof of residency, something official with her name and address on it like a school transcript/utility bill/etc. Unfortunately, at 13 she's not paying any of the utilities ;) and when I called the state office, they said I could sign an affadavit of her residency. They neglected to tell me there was an additional $2 charge. Luckily, I took extra cash (they don't take cards), because things always cost more than expected when the government is involved!
Thanks for this info! I hate dealing with the DPS (DMV, it's just called DPS here), and this is a good reminder to check on all details before going there, if I do.
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Is this a state thing? I don't remember having to show anything for my dd's.
ETA. Do elementary schools in your area even issue ID cards? I've also never heard of that.
Yes, it is state law.
Make one, print it, laminate it. Give your homeschool a name and make the ID official looking with a seal. I'd they ask, say you're registered homeschoolers with the state (if you are) and that this is your student ID. All true.
Yes, we used to have homemade IDs and I guess I could just update them and see if it works.
I have never heard of such a thing!
Maybe you should just check and see if you can get her ears pierced at the doctor's office.
That's a good idea, I don't know I hadn't thought of that.
Wow. I have never heard of that. It definitely isn't required here. Goodness. What about an ID through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op? Those can be created really quickly.
I think I will try that, thanks!
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Why not call the place and just ask? Alert them to the fact that students exist who don't fit the one-size-fits-all mold of having a standard school ID card. I'd be tempted to print one of my own. How would some other random relative have access to a birth certificate anyway? Ours is stored in a lockbox.
Erica in OR
I did call and ask, which is what prompted this thread. I told the lady I spoke to that my dd is homeschooled, and she said it's state law and she has to have a valid ID. I did think of printing one of my own, but I don't know if they'll accept it or not. When I asked her what else I could use if I don't have a school ID, she said an ID with her photo on it.
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Any ideas for alternate forms of ID? I should go to the stupid DPS and wait forever and just get it over with and get each of my kids a state ID for situations like this, since they don't go to school and don't have a student ID. It looks like we might be moving out of state soon though so I don't want to until I know for sure.
She was promised that we'd take her to get her ears pierced for her 12th birthday, but every piercing salon or tattoo parlor with good ratings has told me she needs an ID too, along with her birth certificate. I totally understand why, I just hate to disappoint her, and her birthday is next week. Way to go mom, on waiting until the last minute to call around for info on this! Any other ideas for forms of ID they might accept?
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Yep. But they SUCK! They are set up so that they can only go so fast. DS's physical therapist worked with him at the park one day. Both of us together could not get the thing to go fast and the second we stopped running it stopped. :glare:
I miss teeter totters.
I didn't realize we were so lucky! The park by our library has a fast merry go round (so fast that my 3 year old threw up since he's apparently sensitive to motion sickness), and a teeter totter. Plastic, not like the good old wooden ones you could get a splinter from when I was a kid.
Back to the original topic: My 10 year old walks to the park with his friends and plays there, but I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with the movie theater. I have to do some thinking about what the difference is for me.
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Potty training sucks. Why does my 3 yr old wake up dry almost every morning, but can not seem to coordinate it all during the day?
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I'm so sorry. Whatever you and your husband feel is the right thing to do is the right thing to do. :grouphug:
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I am so sorry to hear this. :( He will be missed. Sending love to his family.
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I don't want to take anything for granted or pat myself on the back. I have no idea whether our kids would have been saner than us even if we had done things differently. But I can say that both of my kids have come to me on many occasions to talk out their experience and choices and to discuss encounters with other teens that have upset or confused them. They tell us about their mistakes with an openness I cherish.
I agree, it's a blessing to have kids who feel safe about being open with their parents. But I'm definitely not patting myself on the back that my oldest has done better than I did. Parenting doesn't always make a difference, and I have 4 more kids to get through the teens.
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I didn't feel the need to lie or rebel, probably because my parents did much worse things than I could ever do and they were honest about it. They always talked honestly, talked about the natural consequences of choices I could make, talked about the choices they wished I'd make but that I'd probably do X(bad thing) instead, and they'd love me no matter what I did. All need to rebel vanished with that.
This is exactly what we do, and I think it helped build an open and honest relationship with my oldest, even when he made choices that weren't great, he felt safe telling us. I was always honest about my own past choices.
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Sorry, I'm the worst at changing my mind. Felt like too much exposure on the internet.
Mac N Cheese
in The Chat Board
Posted
This thread is making me hungry. I'm going to try mustard powder, and my husband would love the horseradish that someone suggested.