My 17yo, taking 17credits PSEO for reference along with a small, very part-time job does 95% of the dishes, does own laundry and keeps up on her room, cat litter, and helps out elsewhere when asked, albeit not always with a cheerful smile. She gets that from her mother. Heh.

My 10yo has been doing the same chores for about 2yrs now. For laundry- I do it all together, but I have her sort. So she gathers, grabs towels, etc and sorts into the 3 loads I like (dark, med, light). She cleans the cat litter e/o day. Her weekly cleaning chores are dusting and wiping bathroom sinks. We trade off on the tub and shower. I do the toilets while she does sinks. I use a bit harsher of a cleaning products with the toilets, so I like to do that part. She helps with pick-up for the house and is responsible for her own room and things. Setting/cleaning table, helping with dishes, etc are all day-to-day affairs. She's expected to help if asked and takes care of her own clearing/etc. There might be more, but those are the main ones.

I do!

I dislike it...I like to be able to see a person's face. I've gotten used to talking to my mom over the phone. Totally fine with dh. My sisters are hit and miss depending on our moods and what we're up to...sometimes we hit a stride and yab, other times it feels stilted and awkward. With other friends, I do well if the person is in a cheerful mood and is chatty. I tend to overthink, and as I said...I like to see their face to gauge reactions and all that. I very rarely talk to anyone on the phone if it's not family or business. Friends can wait until we get together. :)

I'd be nervous too. I'd set a large "Beware of Dog" sign out in the lawn and some NRA stickers on the windows. I'm kidding...though I would be sorely tempted!

Not much yet, but I can see the seasons changing. All of my friends are 5-20yrs older than myself...I married and had my dd young. It's been tough at times- feeling like dh and I don't fit in anywhere. I'm starting to see moms my age more and more now though...their kids are younger than dd, so our paths don't cross much right now.

:lol: That's so cute! I let dd type big for some of her assignments and add in a little clipart. She has has to do plainer work for a past co-op class, and it WAS a lot of work for a measly paragraph! It looked so lonely on all that white paper. :D

We just celebrated 10 years this last month! I love him more each year...we really do 'complete' one another. Which sounds really, really corny and mushy, and that's not me, so I've erased it and retyped it a few times now. :tongue_smilie: He does all the awesome things I'm too scared to do or dislike and I do the same for him. We really are a good team and have grown so much as a couple over this past decade. :001_wub: I love him and even though we aren't where we had hoped to be when we were first married (in terms of career/home), I so love and respect what we've both accomplished these past 10 years...esp on dh's side- he's such a positive, hard-working guy. We'll get there, and we'll do it in a way that we're proud of. We've definitely worked for what we have, and have made our choices together, thinking things through, enjoying the planning, etc. I really can honestly say that I'm proud of him- more now than when we were first married.

Awesome!!! Congrats to you and your boy!

This would bother me a lot. As far as references to upsetting Bible passages and stories- a child's reference point for imagination hasn't matured yet. I can read Grimm's Fairy Tales and the Bible, including some rather upsetting portions without my dd having nightmares. Same thing for the kid who sings the songs about Mom's head popping off while tearing apart dandelions. The visuals haven't arrived yet, yk? They imagine a cartoon head bouncing around the room. Songs and stories are much less upsetting to most individuals than seeing something happen right before your eyes. I keep dd in church with us. The pastor has preached on everything over the years, including sexual and violent subjects. 99% has gone right over dd's head. It seems that until she has some reference point for what is being discussed, it just isn't engaging for her. If it was, I'd rather be the one conversing with her about the topic than neighborhood kids or media or whomever. As she has grown, she started paying attention to new things, but it's at her rate as she becomes aware, yk? If we would have been faced with visual presentations of the same material, I can't imagine the sort of shell-shocked conversations we would have had. It's just different. That's all my two cents though. I'm sure there are others out there who are more auditory, curious or anxious and that sitting in a service at all would be overload for them, even at a very young age. Options should be given if at all possible. The problem with the OP's church though, is that this isn't an adult service at all. This is a family service. As such, unless they encourage congregants to bring their 4yo's to PG-13 films in general, they need to stick to G-rated clips or nothing.

Hi Amy! I 'know' you from over at sewingmamas...we met at a sewing get-together. Good luck with your hsing adventure! My dd is 9 and in 4th this year. This board has been a great source of knowledge and help for me. I don't know if you've been there, but there's a great curriculum store up in Elk River called Heppners. Nice to be able to see lots of curriculum in-person without all the hustle and bustle of a convention. If you have questions, you can always shoot me a pm. I may not have the answer, but I might be able to point you in the right direction. Take care, Sarah

I'm sorry to hear about your day- how exhausting. We had a pygmy goat who's whole back end was torn open- she lost her tail too. Neighbor dogs. She got maggots on day 2 or 3 which was absolutely horrifying to deal with, but in retrospect was probably good for her. Cleaned everything out, and then we got rid of them, yk? Terrible though. She made a good recovery though, and lived a good, long life after that. I hope your poor mama goat recovers well. I pray your dd's issues are minor and that the water problem is resolved quickly. :grouphug::grouphug:

Praying :grouphug::grouphug:

What thoughtful, sweet advice! I'm loving some of these suggestions. My family is very supportive. My grandparents are the ones who are nervous about the whole thing, especially as time goes on. Somehow it was ok in the early years, but I'm surprised at how many people assumed it would be a phase or something. I'm not sure how far I'd go in catering to people who were downright rude and nasty, but for those who are close and are a bit unsure about hsing, I think this is wonderful!

I'd prefer a card or letter...less abrupt, you know? It allows her processing time. I think it's wonderful of you to think of this and follow through. Who knows- she may have stepped back from serving people in this way, just thinking perhaps she was being too pesky or something. It would be nice for her to hear how much you've thought of her these past years. Good luck!

That's slapstick-comedy-movie weird. Wow. I don't know what I would have done coming home to that. Nuts.

How exciting! Congrats to your dd!

I'm teary reading this. I can't imagine living it. My dh is such a man, and I cannot begin to imagine life without him or having to take such steps. Especially at such a time in life. I'm so sorry. :grouphug::grouphug:

I'd love to knit. I knit a legwarmer once...then put it down for awhile and forgot everything I'd learned. So dd used it for a doll sleeping bag. My older sister will be here for a month this July and I'm hoping to re-learn from her. I do love to sew though- mostly for dd and gifts. My favorite thing to sew is swimwear- I love sewing up a few new suits each March/April!

:grouphug: I'm so sorry. I am praying for you as well. :grouphug::grouphug:

Perhaps he needs a kick in the pants to re-look at the situation. PPD is nothing to mess around with, and ignoring it can lead to tragedy. He'd never forgive himself if she truly went off the deep end. I'd make one more phone call to clear my conscience.

Dd just did that this winter and a skating get-together. Got 4 stitches- just under her chin. Healed up fine (small scar)...she wasn't much bothered by the ER visit (we live in a suburb and were in and out within 1/2hr), but she wanted to make SURE we would still go out to lunch with friends!

Seconding Minnehaha falls- they can rent bikes there and explore. If they're into it- the Pirate's exhibit and Omni is at the science museum in St. Paul right now. We do nature classes at Baker! :)

Yes I do. Pretty much everything goes on it besides our daily bible and devotions (as they're ongoing) and any books she/we reread. I keep it in a binder- just printable pages with a place for the title, author and who read it (Mom, Dad, her, audio, etc).

Yes. I did with dd- she is an only and really enjoyed the structured learning time. It was another activity for our day. If anything, you can take it slowly and it'll afford you a more leisurely pace in the future. :)