My aunt was a social worker. She rightly reported my parents and we were taken away. My father never forgave her (he's currently in jail for abusing the kids he had after we were taken away.) My mother is also in jail but has divorced my father and forgiven my aunt. All the rest of my father's side of the family sided with my aunt. My inlaws threatened us with calling child services because they thought our house was too messy. (It WAS bad, I will admit to that, but not bad enough to involve child services.) Recently FIL told Dh that we were "sheltering our children to the point of borderline abuse." And then they couldn't understand why that upset me. We have a very strained relationship where once we were close.

This makes so much sense. We've had to deal with ATnT and :cursing: :banghead: .

My husband is not working his dream job. It's a job he never thought he'd end up doing. But Life happened, Plan A didn't pan out, and he had a pregnant wife to support. 7 1/2 years later, he's REALLY good at it! He's invaluable to his boss and an inspiration to new employees. He gets some personal satisfaction from what he's doing, and enjoys it for the most part. He even had a hand in helping change a state law regarding his occupation. He's been offered work at a side company because of how good he has become at a particular aspect of his daily work. It's not the greatest pay, but it's enough that I can stay home and educate our children so that they can find their passions and work their dream job some day. I am so grateful to Dh. And even though some days he comes home and complains about what he thinks he could or should be doing at a different job, he still works hard every day. <3

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Geek parenting WIN!!! :hurray:

:grouphug: :grouphug: You had the right of way, not him. Sorry they were jerks.

Great blog post! This is how I am hoping Lady Bug turns out to be. :001_wub: I've let Early Bird go out dressed up as Super Why, and when Builder Boy was 4 he didn't take off his Thomas costume I made him for a week. Also when Builder Boy was 3 or 4, at the store he pretended he was an elephant the entire time. And when walking down the downtown street, he pretended he was a ballerina and walked on his tip toes with his arms above his head. We got a few stares. :tongue_smilie:

I would never have thought of that; well done! And if the internet is recommending it, how can it be wrong? :tongue_smilie:

http://notastepfordlife.blogspot.com/ Her blog post on another blog went viral today. She linked it here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/502614-article-at-sandbox-to-socratesand-thensqueee/

Thing is, the re-booted Doctor is well known for his running. Those are not running shoes.

"You've redecorated!....I don't like it." :P

On the business side, all customers are treated equally, pleasantly, efficiently, and respectfully.

Chick-Fil-A is well know by patrons for their customer service and the training and intention the company puts into that service.

You're famous now! And we'll all be able to say "I knew Impish when.....wait, what do you mean that's not her real name?!?!"

:grouphug: :grouphug: :lol: :leaving:

No idea, just hugs. :( :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

This is why all my skirts are ankle or floor length. :P

:iagree: Joss Whedon needs to consult. :tongue_smilie:

I actually wrote up a lesson plan for a group blog. Here's the link. There's book recommendations, the Dream speech video, BrainPOP video, a coloring page and an activity.

My kids learned this tonight at the McDonald's play place. I've never pointed out the rules (on a big, colorful, easy to read sign) but my kids noticed and commented to me when other kids were blatantly not following the rules and no one was correcting them. They're 7 and 4.5, so they tried to tell the other kids the rules, but no one listened to them. As my 4 year old put it: "That boy does not know the SAFETY RULES!" They couldn't understand why these other children were not following the printed rules. I don't think I explained well. :(

:bigear: <--- ears. :) I freaked out when my early learner started reading before he turned 3. :tongue_smilie:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Praying.

Confession: My kids are easy. Easy to teach, easy to deal with most days. I was bed ridden for most of the last pregnancy. My then 6 year old cooked in the microwave his and his brother's oatmeal every morning for 8 months.. And it makes me feel guilty when I read about other parents struggling, because I have it so easy (most of the time.)

I had to pay an $800 ER bill for a bead that my then 3 year old insisted he put up his nose. There was no bead. Dh STILL brings that up at times, but when your child says he put a bead up his nose, you take him in, KWIM? (We were 10 minutes too late for the cheaper Rapid Care.)

No zippers!