For the few years that my maternal grandmother and grandfather were raising me, my grandmother signed me up for every single after school program she could; whether I wanted to do basketball (um, NO) soccer (again, NO!) or any of the other things because she wanted me to stay away as long as possible. Right before winter break, she said to a woman (right in front of me) "I don't know what I'm going to do with her for three weeks!" That's how I got my first job; at age 13. Summers I was flown to be with my other grandparents. That constant message of rejection was very damaging to my young self. So I see pictures like these to be in very poor taste if they really are a joke, and emotionally abusive when they're not.

I enjoyed watching Robert Downey Jr., Nathan Fillion, and Tom Hiddleson getting wet. :D

Imagine having that woman as a MIL. :glare:

Ugh. Just....ugh!

There was an official press conference that he slit one of his wrists and was found hanging by a belt, with no indications of foul play.

I just read (what I thought was) a great response to the MW blog: http://www.sortacrunchy.net/sortacrunchy/2014/08/the-depressed-christian-why-the-dark-night-is-no-measure-of-your-soul-.html

LeapFrog videos! And I'm seconding the whiteboard.

I've been going to counseling on and off since I was 4 or 5 because of childhood abuse. Because of that, I guess, I'm used to talking about my problems. So it always surprises me when others are surprised that I am willing to share and be open. I've read or heard other people's stories and that has helped me. I have been especially inspired by The Bloggess' honesty on her blog. If me sharing can help others, then I'm going to do it. Some things I keep private, because those parts are not just my story, but also my siblings, many of which are still minors. But my personal struggles, I share. I've actually been blogging about it some since my diagnosis of PTSD. (Link in my signature.) Yesterday I was triggered by Mr. William's method of passing, and I wrote out my own experience with suicide which was very therapeutic. It really helped me get a handle on the emotions I was dealing with, instead of holding it all in.

Are we talking Stargate Atlantis?! ;)

My oldest is 7.5, so you are free to ignore whatever I have to say. ;) In TWTM, SWB says not to tie reading to writing. If the child is ready to start reading, but can't hold a pencil, you don't insist that the child does them together. With my early reader, we do almost everything verbally. He's working on a 1st-5th grade level, depending on the subject. I don't require him to do any writing. We talk about it, I ask him questions, he asks me. If he's got it, we go on; no paper "output" necessary. He's 5 now and we're going to start learning how to write this year. Even though he's been working through Writing With Ease 1 with his older brother; comprehending and applying the information, but not doing more than his own attempt at a word or two. Why can't he just read the textbook, do the experiments, present his learning/findings to you or your partner or another adult, and work though it that way? Unless he's doing an outside class, I don't understand why he has to write much of anything for this.

I layer in the winter time. A less full skirt under a fuller skirt, all ankle length. I use the more narrow maxi skirts for under. (I got mine in the woman's section at Kmart. I don't know where to get kid skirts.)

It really bothers me when people shorten my son's name. (2nd son doesn't have this problem.) I've been quick to correct people, to nip it in the bud, and it's possible I've come off as aggressive about it. It used to confuse my son when a lady at church called him the short version, because he didn't recognize it as himself. So the lady who insisted on doing it got mad and accused him of not respecting her and paying attention. Ummm, he didn't know you meant HIM because you didn't use his name! So I can sympathize with the mom. Also, given the stories I've read on here, it's possible she's had a similar problem with in-laws changing his name, and it's a touchy subject for her. You may have caught some frustration that was really meant for someone else. Since it was only the one time she's gone 0-pissed off, I'd extend some grace.

:drool5: I grew up getting salmon from fishing relatives in Alaska; my husband had never had it before he married me. I've done fry starting it with butter and seasonings and then finishing it in the oven. Or just cooking it in butter in a pan with garlic salt.

I like almost every thing my grandmother/woman who raised me cooked; except liver and eggplant. :ack2: It's my MIL's recipes that aren't appreciated in this house.

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: This is me, too.

MIL made dh (before we were married) a peanut butter....pudding? instant pudding with cool whip or something and peanut butter with a hard chocolate top in a square, sided dish. For his 7th birthday, ds wanted to make his very own cheesecakes (MasterChef fan) so I found an easy Bisquick recipe and he made a cheesecake all by himself. With sugared blueberries on top. :) Before that year, I always made apple-sauce spice cake cup cakes for the kids' birthdays with lightly sweetened whipping cream on top instead of frosting.

I would have liked it, as I love tradition. However, I also had no respect for my grandfather/man in charge of raising me, and I was also on a "I'm not his property!" mood. (He deserved it, but that's another story.) So I told dh not to ask him (before dh proposed. But I knew it was coming.)

We actually started FLL1 a year before we started WWE1, but hadn't finished FLL1 when we started WWE1. We skipped the copywork in FLL1 from the beginning, because I was using it with a boy who struggles with handwriting and didn't need the extra frustration, and his younger brother who hadn't learned to write yet, but could do everything else. We finished FLL1 and are a 1/3 of the way through WWE1. We will continue with FLL2, skipping the dictation in that book. We do FLL 4x/week, usually only about 10 minutes a day. We do WWE 4x/week, 10-15 minutes, depending on the lesson. (I've blogged about the extra stuff we added to FLL1 to make it more kinetic learner friendly.)

For three years now our own jenbrdsly has arranged a blog hop focusing on Parenting the Gifted. Here's a link to three year's worth of blog posts and links to other blog posts. The first year was the first blog hop I ever did, and as a result of my post I made a really good friend. :) Since the I've been made aware of other blog hops. I thought I'd share them here, too, in case you guys didn't know about them, either. :) List of Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Blog Hops Hoagie's Gifted Blog Hops

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: I was going to correct the OP if no one else did. :D I'm the major Whovian in this house.

Because it seemed like no matter how much I resized in Microsoft Paint, I could never get a picture small enough to be accepted. I copied the location of my Facebook avatar because of this thread. But last time I did that, the avatar broke when I changed it on facebook. :001_unsure: (That's Lady Bug, btw.)

What did you use to teach poetry? I've been wanting to do a fine arts tea weekly!

My brother as a kid always tried to get people to call him "Chuck E. Cheeses." No one ever did. In high school we joined together a dance group and he manage to introduce himself as Chuck. No one anywhere else called him that. When I used his *real* name, they didn't know who I was talking about. And it was always a jolt to hear them call him Chuck. Name changes are weird. :P

My 5 year old LOVES pirates, and for his birthday requested and recieved pirate playombile sets as gifts. The only thing he knows about pirates are The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. So I let him play pirates which mostly to him means saying "arrrr!" And sword fighting. Let them eat Cake party is historically ignorant and I would not purchase that product.

Piercing blue eyes I am a sucker for. Also brown eyes. Eyes must be covered at all times, too. Yes; no talking! Not if you have an accent. That's just waaaaaaay too alluring. If you're talking in an accent your intention is *clearly* to entice me to sin. :P