He's 5, and we practice.... but I imagine he'll be 6 before he masters this one.

When DS wakes up. He's an early to bed, early to rise kid. (Bed time is no later than 8:30-- by his own internal clock. And he slept until 8:30 this morning, which was LATE for him. Usually he's up about 6:30.) DD is a night owl who likes to sleep until 9:30-10. A girl after my own heart. Except that it would be easier to get up with (or before) her big brother if she would go to sleep before 10:30 or 11. If I can wake up on my own, we're looking at 9:30 or so.

That's why I did it cold turkey. Miserable 2 weeks. Now I'm caffeine free. :-)

As someone who's had to force myself through caffeine/soda withdrawal as an adult.... I say it's definitely a good idea to get her off of the soda as a teen, before it causes lifelong damage. Caffeine withdrawal is real, and it can be hell. I threw away a pack of cigarettes when I realized I was pregnant with DS. No problem. Kicking caffeine? I thought I was dying. It turned out that having absolutely no caffeine can trigger migraines for me. I don't know if that's because of all of the Coke I drank over the years, or if it's just how I am. So, I would advise pushing water, keeping Excedrin on-hand, and letting her detox from the soda. I wouldn't force school work, chores, anything. I would treat it like an illness if asking anyone to kick soda cold turkey. Of course, if it's not caffeinated, then my little anecdote is irrelevant.

Soooo, I decided to break this down into what will inevitably turn out to be several shopping trips. Today, I purchased b00kshelves and a few pairs of panties. WOW! I spent about $100 on underthings. :glare: The frugal part of me is still in shock. The other part of me realizes that if I could have, I would have dropped another $88 on the Spanx thing that I've decided I must have. It's like shortalls that go under your b00ks and smoothes out everything between your b00ks and your knees, if that makes any sense at all. Amazing thing! ANYWAY. I think I did pretty well bargain-hunting AND getting quality things. For $112, I got 3 shelves and 7 new panties. The big shocker was my measurement. H. Dear me, I didn't think the girls were anything like that! No wonder I'm looking so dumpy-- I've been walking around falling out of DDs. :svengo: As soon as I can round up a girlfriend to shop with, I'm hitting the shops again. Mission 2: Jeans and a casual top or 3. ;)

My aunts (dad's sisters) never bought for nieces and nephews for Christmas or birthday. My mom's sisters buy for Christmas/birthday until you turn 18. Your 18th birthday gift is the last "expected" gift from them. (After that, I have 1 aunt who gifts to each household, so she gives to adult nieces/nephews if they're out of the parents' house.) My stepmom's brothers both still give me a sweater or a pair of earrings for Christmas. As long as you're consistent with your cut-off age, I see no reason for adult nieces/nephews to be offended.

I hate Barbie. But I like this one better than I like most of them. Then again, if I could, I would have tattoos myself.

I can't believe that's still going on...

My friend in MN says the "grey duck" variation is absolutely a Minnesotan thing. I FB'd him a message that said, "Fill in the blank: 'Duck, duck, _______.'" His reply was: "Grey duck. I have no shame." :tongue_smilie:

:lol:

I think what I'm going to have to do is go try on a LOT of different things. I have no idea what will work with my body. I don't really have any IRL friends who live locally that pay any attention at all to clothes. Mostly my local friends are like me: Young, worn-out SAHMs. I have one friend who lives in her nurse's scrubs (despite being the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!) and my other local friend is all vintage tees and jeans/yoga pants. Which is basically what I've worn since high school, but I need to NOT look like I'm 18 anymore. So.... I guess I need to find a shopping friend!

This weekend, I'm going shopping to buy clothes for myself. This is a big deal for me-- I actually guilt myself out of buying new clothes. And then I get to the point where I am now-- living in yoga pants, my old concert t-shirts, and hoodies. It's not a pretty picture. It's safe to say that I'm not exactly up on what's in... or even what's out there. I'm pretty short (5'4") and heavier than I like to admit. But I need to find a way to dress myself so that I am confident with what I'm wearing, and so that I look as good as I can right now. I'm going to have about $300 to spend, and I need to buy a couple of new b00kshelves with that as well as a couple of outfits that are versatile-- like can be worn as every day clothes, but can also be dressed up a bit for church or when I need to look professional. Wow, that's a tall order! Any suggestions?

:grouphug::grouphug:

:grouphug::grouphug: I think it's completely within the range of "normal" reactions. Every person grieves differently. When my grandmother died, we lived in her home, and we moved in mostly to make the end of her life easier for her and my grandfather. (She needed full-time care. They couldn't afford a nurse, I had worked previously as an in-home care provider, and my job at the time was the most expendable of our extended family.) DS was 1 when we moved in, and 3 when she passed away. He was devastated. He just turned 5, and he still has "breakdown" moments where he starts crying and telling me that he misses his Mommaw. My niece stayed with us a lot while we were there, and spent nearly as much time with my grandmother as my children. She's the same age as DS. She was contemplative about it a bit, and then quickly moved on. Like, the next week she was back to her normal, bouncy self. All this to say.... Normal.

I only asked because DS & I make a lot of paper airplanes. We make variations in their design every time, as I'm trying to get him to see the way the differences change the flight tendencies.

Goose.

So... which one flew better?

I'm an Ohioan, but I feel loyalty mostly to cities. I am capable of feeling "at home" in several cities in Tennessee, Arizona, and New York.

By the horse is the six-fingered man. I can't remember his name... The guy holding his sword aloft in the opposite background is Chris Sarandon.

:iagree: I'll be the first to admit that I should not have been left to handle my own finances when I was 17-21. I had no clue. If someone had paid attention (or if I had known to ask for help), I could have saved myself a LOT of misery. And interest. ;)

We had them as kids. I had a friend in college who used to let his roam freely around his apartment. I was never sure if that was okay for the crabs... but it worked for them, I guess.

My DS, who grows like a little weed, never grows out of clothes. He always seems to wear through them at about the same rate that he grows. So when pants are getting too short, they're also likely to have or be getting holes in the knees. :-) It is impossible to find thrift store clothes that fit him. If you go up a couple of sizes, I can find stuff in spades. He's a 6-- I can always find sizes 8s. :glare:

:iagree:

I don't know, but I feel better knowing that it's not just my kids.

:iagree: