A couple of ideas- you could give them a budget and let them plan a trip. If it is a trip to a large city, you can practice using the bus or subway system. A really big home improvement project that you can do as a family. Adding a deck or building a shed would provide lots opportunity to apply knowledge to real world situations. Do a financial planning class. Have them plan out a fictional life- like they choose a job, find out how much it pays in a certain city, find an apartment/house that they could afford, a car payment, etc. They could research using actual classifieds. Give them a budget for a week's worth of meals and have them do all of the shopping and cooking. You could add requirements that they meet certain nutritional standards! They could choose a few meals to become really good at making. You could assign books like "7 habits of highly effective teens" and discuss them. I like thinking about the possibilities that this opens up!

To delay the entry into college, not because they are not ready academically, but maybe they would do well with being a little older when going off to school.

A couple of years ago I needed a new coat, so I bought one. Two weeks later, I saw the prettiest NorthFace coat! Of course, I didn't buy it, because I already had one. I usually avoid buying the "cool" thing, but this coat was so pretty, I kept thinking about it and finally went back to the store just to find out it was gone. Dh knew how much I liked it, so he tracked one down online and bought it for me. I am actually still a little self-conscious about the brand- I guess I don't want people to think I bought something because it was the "in" thing. But I LOVE the coat. It is ridiculously warm, but at the same time, it's not bulky at all. And it is this beautiful teal color. People are always commenting on it.

I agree with the stool softeners, and holding a pillow or something against her belly when she coughs or laughs or something- with one of my babies I used one of those belly support belts and it helped a LOT. Also, getting up and walking as much as possible while in the hospital helps immensely!

When someone asks me, I answer with K-State. They usually respond asking which of the states that start with a K. (Kansas, BTW) But in conversations about that part of my life I have mentioned living in Manhattan people always do a double take and then I have to explain that there is a Manhattan in Kansas, New York doesn't have the only one! I don't do this on purpose, I just don't think about it until after they give me a surprised look.

Oh my word. I have your child's long lost twin. Seriously. I'm glad I am not alone.

Interesting topic. I can't think of anything major that would have changed if I felt safer. Of course, I was cautious in college and girls tried not to walk around alone at night, but it wasn't ever difficult to find someone to go with you wherever you wanted to go. The rest of my life, I have always lived in small towns that felt very safe. I might feel differently if I lived somewhere else.

I think 95% of elf on the shelf people are not doing it to try to get their kids to behave, I think they just think it's fun to put it in a new place every day and the kids have fun looking for him. I'm too lazy to do it personally, buy my SIL does it for her kids and they are so excited in the morning. She does it in her classroom too and her kids there also love it. I'm sure she has never even mentioned the elf watching them or reporting on their behavior.

I had one of these curious, exploring types and there was a year or so when she made crazy messes. Sunscreen on the carpet was one I remember in particular. And yes, I posted things on fb- not videos just funny little one-liners or a photo. My MIL babysat her one time and afterwards she apologized to me. She told me she had been thinking that I wasn't watching her closely enough, but after babysitting, she realized just how quickly dd could destroy things.

I have only skimmed the thread, but if you only need childcare for 10-12 hours /week, I think you should just start asking around. There is no way that I would advertise that I was willing to babysit, but if someone I knew needed it, I would have no problem with a 6 yo hanging out with us. You may also find a homeschooled teen who has a flexible schedule and a need for cash.

It didn't seem right to "like" this. But I wanted to offer hugs and encouragement and understanding. I hope you are able to move out of survival mode soon.

Oh my word, YES! I LOVE the baby/toddler stage. LOVE! Of course I will enjoy when I get to sleep through the night regularly and even more when they can fix their own food, but I find elementary age kids to be MUCH harder than babies/toddlers. So much harder. I think what it comes down to for me is that with babies and young toddlers, all you have to do is love them. You don't have to set limits (or at least they are easy to set, putting a baby gate across the stairs as opposed to telling an older kid they can't have any more screen time) or discipline them. You don't have power struggles. They do not argue with you. Their needs are so easy to meet. If I go to the store, it's 1000x easier to take my 1 yo than my 8 yo. My 8 year old will whine and gripe about everything from wanting Pokemon cards to why we have to be at the store at all to how hungry he is and how much his legs hurt and a million other things. My 1 yo will sit in the cart, point at things he finds interesting, and wave to everyone he sees. It's just so simple and easy. Diapers don't really bother me. And I would rather pick up a bunch of baby toys than have to force an older kid to pick up his own stuff. My 8 yo was easy when he was 1.

See, this comes across as you providing a home environment that produced the results that you wanted. You have *NO* idea what other people's home environment is like. My ds is strong willed in the extreme. My extended family is all very close and full of people who have worked with kids their entire lives. None of them have a clue how to handle this kid. I was a teacher before I had kids. I loved kids, I was so good with them. I taught Sunday school and bible school and did church camp and all kinds of kid oriented things. I know (ha- I knew) how to work with kids. I worked in an inner city school. And all I ever wanted was to be a mom. I am not a mom who just lets my kids run wild. But that means daily battles. Daily. And yes, my kid is one who is perfectly behaved for other people. Whatever. I just need to stop.

Give me a break. Your kids "mind" because that is their personality, NOT because of any magic thing that you did. I have a kid that doesn't mind, one that does and one that is too young to know yet. The one that doesn't does NOT "run the house". I'm sure that your house sees lots more fun than mine does- because you can't do fun things with a kid that doesn't mind. They ruin it for everybody. Some kids are easy. Some are not. Be thankful that you have easy ones.

I have loaned and borrowed a few books and such. But what I would really, really like to do would be to box up stuff that we have that doesn't get used a ton and trade the boxes with other homeschoolers. I have stuff sitting around that would be great- things like a rock collection and a streak plate along with a couple books on rocks. Some plastic bone replicas that someone who works in a hospital gave me along with a book on bones and a game putting a skeleton together, a puzzle of the US, some plastic landmarks, some educational games. Stuff like that. Sometimes I see things on Pinterest that I would be more likely to put the time and effort into putting it together if it was going to be for more than just my kids. Sometimes it seems like an awful lot of trouble for something that isn't going to be used much.

I absolutely couldn't care one way or another. I had never considered people being forced to kiss other people. If I was sitting there with someone I didn't want to kiss and the kiss cam was on us, I simply wouldn't do it. (I would kiss dh if the camera was on us) I would be majorly pissed if I was pushed into it. If that is really happening, the kiss cam should go.

Magic school bus?

I've forgotten that I don't have the kids too. I'm so used to having them with me that it's disconcerting when they are not!

No, but one time I forgot to buckle my baby's carseat. Y'know those baby carriers that snap into the base in the car or into the stroller? We were at the zoo and the car seat was in the stroller, but I had taken the baby out and put him back in without buckling the straps. (I kept taking him in and out to hold him up to see the animals). Usually he was strapped into the car seat while it was in the stroller. I just popped the seat out of the stroller and into the car and drove home. I had NO IDEA until we were home. I even took the car seat out of the car and carried him into the house without noticing. It wasn't until I actually took him out that I realized. Then I held him and sat on the floor and cried. I don't even know if i was crying because i was so stupid or I was so incredibly grateful that we were not in an accident. I would not throw stones at a parent who forgot their child. I have nothing but sympathy for them.

Don't friend anyone that you don't feel comfortable with. I have a couple old boyfriends that I look for occasionally on fb, but they aren't there. I would like to know how they are, I really, really hope they are happy.

One time I started rumors flying because I ate dinner with my brother. I was "home" from having moved away and there is enough of an age difference that the people he knew, didn't know me. You cannot live your life trying to keep up appearances for other people.

I'm so sorry.

I have an 8 year old that whines a lot. Something that has helped sometimes is to tell him that if he can't do something with a good (or at least not-terrible) attitude then he must need more practice. So I would add chores and tell him to practice. Sometimes I also act ridiculously over-the-top happy while "showing" him how to do it. Like if it was mowing the lawn, I would sing "oh what a beautiful day" and gushing over how much I LOVE to mow. The ridiculousness makes him laugh and helps reset our day.

The West Wing was excellent and there are a ton of episodes! Totally binge-worthy! Also Hart of Dixie is a good one- it is similar to Gilmore Girls with the quirky small town setting. It is about a big city doctor who ends up working in a tiny town in the south.

My 16 month old eats everything, but he still LOVES the pouches of baby food. The ones that are blends of fruit and veggies. Or sometimes fruit and yogurt or veggies and grains. For awhile, he wasn't eating applesauce that I was trying to feed him with a spoon and then one day (after he refused even a bite of the applesauce) I left the applesauce on the table and went in the kitchen to get something else. He climbed out of his chair, grabbed the applesauce, climbed back into his chair and happily fed himself. He just wanted to be in control of putting the food in his mouth!