Ok...I consider myself rich, but in love from my friends and family. While wonderful and something I couldn't live without, I don't think that's exactly what you were looking for, lol. I agree that rich or wealth will be different for everyone....family size, location, and what each person considers essential would play into it big time. My personal definition doesn't have a dollar amount....it has a goal. To be able to do what we love rather than what pays the bills would be my definition of wealth. I don't need to own McMansions or jet planes or to throw my kids a birthday party by buying Disneyland for a night, lol.....but I would like to never have to worry if I can pay the bills at the end of the month and to buy something frivolous because I want it without thinking about how it fits in the budget. I can't imagine my DH living a life of luxury....he'd probably not work for someone else anymore so that he had total freedom to do as HE thinks best for each project, but if we were to suddenly find a long lost relative who leaves us a fortune, I think my DH would still have to find some type of work to do each day. Me, though, I'd be happy to let the housekeeper do the work while I spend all day exploring life with my kids. While DH's career has allowed us to live in many different locations in the world, I would love to be able to travel more....to visit and learn first hand about things rather than from books and the internet. A couple of years just wandering around Europe would be a good start, lol. So, basically I probably wouldn't need a new house, because I wouldn't be there much. So I guess that would mean DH would need to find his work as something portable enough to do at the cafe in Paris this week or the chalet in Switerzland next week. Ok...landing back home, it's time to go make breakfast and get started on chores.....unless that rich uncle's lawyer calls first!

I'd send an email back with a Happy Birthday greeting...either just typed out or if you're in the mood there are a lot of free greeting e-card companies online that you can choose the graphics and wording for a card an have it emailed to them. My library lets me see what they've ordered, and I have a hold on a video called We Live In Public which appears to be about how the web has opened up the minute details of our lives to the public......I certainly feel that way reading many peoples' blogs, like I've peeked into their open window.....and frankly seeing simply an announcement about another family's birthday celebrations seems like a peeking tom. If you were THAT close to the child wouldn't you already KNOW when their birthday is and hopefully have been invited to the party? This sounds like fishing for presents. Kind of like the slew of graduation announcements I'll be getting in the next couple of months for kids that I can't even figure out who they are....probably kids of people we slightly knew at a military base where we were stationed years ago. Some of them I slightly recognize the last name...some I can't even feel an inkling of recognition. And I can't imagine why you'd send a graduation announcement to someone who you haven't seen/spoken to for YEARS. And it can't be a case of "just send it to everyone in the address book" because we move so often (military) that you have to make a request for our latest address.....gee, maybe because we weren't close enough to keep in touch??? Send an e-card to the child and feel that you have more than done your duty.

Could the director be concerned about the theatre company's liability for failing to keep track of the girls? Obviously you and I don't see it that way, but I can just imagine Director telling Mummy what Little Angel did and Mummy getting furious at Director for them leaving instead of seeing the truth of the matter, that Little "Angel" isn't. Sorry to say but I see this A LOT lately....nothing is ever the fault of Little Angel or the lack of decent parenting, it's always the "worlds" fault that Little Angel got into trouble.

Sounds like a perfect plan! Open discussion is always going to best and honestly, if your best friend can't take hearing your concerns, who will? Perhaps the daughter thinks YOU are the better cook or just like eating away from home so always suggests your house not being old enough to realize the burden. Since it IS a dear friend, then I'd not only have a little talk, I'd suggest ways they can make it less burdensome.....bring dessert/side dishes.....or maybe come by earlier to help with the cooking if it's a time consuming type meal (I love to entertain with Lasagne but it is a bit of work, help or even companionship has made it a less gruelling task). And maybe even a discussion about their cleanliness since it's a best friend. I'm constantly amazed at the number of woman I meet who were never taught how to cook or clean by their own mothers, so their skills aren't the best. Most times of course, this conversation is because they WANT to learn, lol. Some people just like clutter or don't even see it and won't even comprehend what you're saying, lol. But maybe some gentle mentoring.....even accountability if it's a motivation lack.....or maybe it just got out of hand and they can't see any tunnel, let alone a light so a little here and there to help clear the tunnel.

I wouldn't have let a 4th and 6th grader watch the movie, personally. When these first came out and "everyone" was reading them, I agreed to pre-read it with DH to determine if my almost teen daughter could join a book club reading these. DH and I didn't even finish half the book before we agreed no. And so none of mine will be seeing the movies either. There is soooo much wonderful literature out there...both old classics and even newer stuff. Why would I want my children who have not even dated yet to have their first impression of dating and s*x to be this twisted? Some of the things in this book were tough for me...and I'm almost 50, been married twice with a few other serious relationships to boot......and I was disturbed by it. Definitely not something for someone who has not yet experienced a good relationship.

Here is an article you may want to read: http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/bilirubin/test.html

No, it's not a formal group. While it will not be my favorite thing to do, I have no qualms about telling the infected families to not come...for the protection of the pregnant women, the infants, the fragile and the cast if not for all the others in our group. There are over 100 people in our group, but the theatre holds several times this many...so it's not even just our group. This is kind of "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" type of situation in my mind. I guess I'm just trying to be sure that my mind is right in it's thinking, lol. And seriously I am trying to understand their side of it....but I've having a lot of difficulty with their thought process. Again, I keep coming back to exposing people because you weren't aware is one thing, but knowingly exposing people I just can't wrap my head around their idea. In fact, I just went and read their latest emails, and they're jokingly saying that they should announce it to everyone they know, it might boost attendance by those who are always looking for a chicken pox party. That's great if you WANT to expose your child....happy partying...... but I am struggling mightily with what about those that don't want to be exposed, why don't their needs matter???? I was doing some research on communicable diseases and came across the story from 2007 of that guy who had TB was being held in isolation and the outrage that occured because he was being forced to stay isolated. Obviously pox isn't TB, but wow....why would someone feel that their potentially deadly disease is ok to spread so that they can go about their business and to bad for the rest of us! I know this can easily turn to paranoia...and I'm trying not to let it. I do understand that everytime we step out the door we risk exposure...but it all keeps coming back, for me, to the unknowningly exposing vs. the knowingly exposing.

No, the three families that already have the pox are Americans, homeschooling here in my area for a great number of years.

I know I was posting my answer to babysparkler at the same time you posted this....but rescheduling isn't possible. The theatre has two shows both this week, then they move on to another town.

No it's a professional performance and there are only two dates, both this week. I wish it was something like a museum where they'd probably insist that we reschedule. In fact, your question made me realize...this is a professional touring group, so after they leave our town they'll be moving on to the next. They do a "meet and greet" after the show, so they'll be in direct contact with these kids, not just 10 feet away on stage. Oy vey...that means THEY may contract it and move it on to the next town as well. I'm starting to see the pattern for how H1N1 spread worldwide so quickly all over again, lol.

Ok...here's the scene: A group of homeschoolers have been getting together weekly for the last three months rehearsing for a play that they're going to be putting on for free for the homeschool community. There are about a dozen families and twice as many kids involved. There are two shows...one this week, another on the other side of town in two weeks. But....three of the families have just announced that their little ones have the chicken pox. Which means that the entire cast has also been exposed. So...they are planning to go on with the play anyway. Thus, knowingly exposing every person in their audience to chicken pox. One of these families has one kid with pox and the other hasn't broken out....so the "healthy" kid is going to a baseball tourney this weekend with multiple visiting temas. They are all aware that their so-far healthy kids may break out in the next 7-10 days, and that they are all very potentially contagious right now. I have to say I don't get this mentality. When my kids have the flu, or diarreah, or whatever I think may be contagious, I keep them home, even if it means we miss out on some fun....or disappoint our team. I do understand that we have no way of knowing every time we take our family out in public whether the kid next to us is contagious. And that sometimes you don't even realize that your kid IS contagious especially for something like chicken pox, until it's almost too late. BUT...once you know, shouldn't you take the rest of the world into account and stay home and avoid infecting the rest? My dilemma...I have organized a field trip next week and several of these families are scheduled to come. But also signed up is a family with a child who has serious health issues (I'm not sure what all they are as I try not to pry, but this child has been in and out of the hospital and at the doctors very often). Another child has had two heart surgeries in the last year or two and is a bit frail but holding his own. This field trip had to be paid in advance and they don't issue refunds. BUT, I don't think it right for these families to KNOWINGLY expose the over 100 people going, not to mention everyone else there not from our group. I can't decide whether I simply tell them they can't come because they are contagious. Or, do I warn the other families so they can decide whether to come. Obviously someone is going to lose money (it's about $8 per person so not devasting), but should it be the ones with a contagious child...or the ones that need to protect their fragile child? EDITED TO ADD: There are also at least TWO moms who are pregnant.....if they haven't already had pox, this could be quite serious for them and their unborn child. There are several families with infants as well. And to add to it....my own kids have never had pox (though they had the vaccine as infants...and I need to research whether that's still protecting them a decade plus later). I have had pox three times.....twice as a young child and once as a teen (much worse case). My immunity to pox is obviously questionable...so chances are good that I will catch them, and as an adult it's going to be bad I'm told. But, I don't have much choice but to go...I'm coordinator. My DH has never had them, which means we'll be bringing them home to him. I'm of half a mind to pay the refunds for the contagious out of my own pocket to protect my family and the other families. So....I know this thread has the potential to become quite heated but I hope it won't. If I'm not understanding the other side, I'd like to.....but for the life of me I can't imagine KNOWINGLY exposing people to a disease that can have serious consequences for some children and be quite serious for adults as well. My feeling is that there is a HUGE difference between exposing others because you didn't realize you were contagious...and knowingly exposing others when you are well aware. I don't happen to think keeping your child home for a week while they recover or while you see if they have them is asking too much....am I wrong? Again, I ask that this not get heated...I seriously doubt that there is anyone here that is in my group so please don't take it personally...I won't be emailing you telling you not to come, lol.

It would depend on the dinner invite....if I was specifically invited "Come over next Friday for dinner"...then yeah, I think I would expect more than cold sandwiches with no sides, lol. Hot dogs would be ok, because we have several families that we BBQ with often and dogs or burgers are staples unless we decide to do a 'bring your own chicken' meal. But if it was a case of we're over at their house for a playdate and they say "hey, why don't you stay for dinner, the kids are having such a grand time"....then no, sandwiches wouldn't bother me, we were last minute add ons. And, if my house were the hosting, I'd not have a problem with offering up the sandwiches if they'd like to stay...since THEY are the last minute add ons. Of course, the phrasing of your question also makes me wonder if perhaps the "hey why don't you stay" phrase has happened once too often and perhaps the "hey" family feels they have no choice but to invite because the playdate isn't winding down, the mom isn't making a move toward the door and the dinner hour has arrived. And the "hey" family is feeling a bit tired of people overstaying their welcome and having to stretch what started out as a dinner plan for one family into two families. But, I've never been shy of saying to this family "well, it's been great playing today, but DH will be home shortly and it's time for us to be getting ready for him and dinner.....let's get the kids to start cleaning up so that you can get home too". Yet another scenario that comes to mind with the cryptic post, lol.....if your children have food preferences that make it difficult to eat at another person's home....then perhaps you could offer to bring something that your child WOULD eat..."Little Sally is going through a phase of only eating cheese doodles, so please don't plan on food for her, I'll bring an extra large bag". Or, if it's the other way around...."Since your Johnny won't like our fried chicken, why don't you bring along his favorite so he can be happy too". I never take it as an insult that someone won't eat my cooking....I have my own preferences too (though as an adult I have learned to eat almost anything to not make a hostess feel bad....but I don't expect YOUNG children to be ready for that lesson quite yet...but my kids are learning it...they learned the "don't openly complain, just leave it on your plate" lesson early on though.) Though, I also am very clear about what the menu is when I make the invite, so they can decline, suggest a potluck instead of my fried liverguts, or warn Jr. that screaming that it's some dead guys innards won't be tolerated this time. The cleanliness issue....well, that's tougher because as direct as I am I don't see myself being able to say "if you cleaned up the food pile that is molding in the living room corner, we'd be happy to come over to your house for dinner". I would not hestiate however to NOT go to their house if the cleanliness issue is something like that which would be a potential health issue. If it's a cluttery house but hygenically clean, I'd suck up my personal discomfort with clutter occasionally to visit at their house. Of course, knowing me, I'd also probably suggest that while the kids play we tackle the closet where the odd thumping sounds was coming from, just in case it's the missing neighbor. Seriously though......................Perhaps the better scenario is instead of serving inferior foods hoping that they get the hint (which in my experience people like this don't do hints well, thus why I tend to be a direct person, lol).....is to start being "busy" a little more often so that your get togethers are less frequent. Then the pressure is off you to feel like their personal restaurant. Or if that's not acceptable because Johnny & Sally are best friends and you don't want to hurt that relationship....perhaps just the dinner part can be less frequent. "Let's get together and play today, but we're only available until 3:30 today". And then at 3:15 remind the kids it's time to clean up so that they can leave at 3:30 (I find that pushing the kids to clean up signals to THEM it's time to go...suggesting it to mom means she can keep talking and delay the leaving, lol....it's hard not to leave when there are no toys left out and Jr is waiting impatiently to get home to HIS toys, lol). I know some people have trouble with the whole pushing friends out the door at a specific time...but it's a skill everyone really should consider learning because even though the friends may change....sadly the need to have people go home is a lifetime long scenario, lol. I still have relatives that come for a weekend and make gestures that indicate they'll move in permanently if I am not diligent! Oh, and you said to guess....hmmm, I seriously doubt you'd mention a lack of cleanliness on YOUR part....so I'm betting you are Susie Homemaker and the other family is Oscar the Grouch. :tongue_smilie::grouphug:

Thanks I joined....I didn't even know there were social groups on this board....and I've been here since way back when it didn't look like this board, lol. Sheesh, I guess I need to look around a little more, eh? The quilt blocks are lovely ladies....what a loving thing you have done. :grouphug:

Thanks, I already know how it all got started.....I've been watching and hoping to see the completed quilt...but blocks would be cool to see too. My problem is I have no idea where Scarlett's Social page is...that's what I was asking for a link to.

Is whereever you need to communte to in Oakland near the BART system? If so, I'd check San Francisco. You wouldn't even need a car then. It can be expensive, but there are parts that are cheaper....it's safe, it's got more culture than you can do in a lifetime, getting around is uber-easy without a car (in fact if you won't live without a car don't do SF, as a parking space is sometime more costly than an apartment!). When you do need a car because you're leaving the Bay Area you rent it for the day or weekend you want it. If SF isn't for you....try going south from Oakland down the 17/Nimitz to Castro Valley, San Leandro, Hayward, Union City, Fremont, Newark....they're all bedroom communities, a reasonable commute to Oakland via car or BART.....not so much a bay view, but you'll pay through the nose for that anywhere. El Cerrito has some good places....Berkeley is a college town so rents can be relatively cheap if you can handle the college atmosphere. Into Contra Costa (Concord, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, etc) is going to be safe but more expensive, and no bay view. Someone else mentioned Emeryville....be sure to ask around about different neighborhoods as that town has a lot of bad pockets. In the good parts, it's great. Also check out the Oakland Hills.....gorgeous houses, away from Oakland proper it's relatively safe. We lived on Sunnyhills for a couple years and it was safe enough that people let their kids play in the front yards. Livermore is a bit further than a 30 minute commute and Tracy is double that. Because DH was career military we have lived in a lot of different places....somehow the SF Bay Area is where I always think of "home".

Can someone provide a link, I'd love to see this quilt. Thanks.

Two Sunday morning, one Sunday evening service....probably 250+ at the mornings and half that at the evenings....so definitely not a small church. No school attached, but we are the only homeschool family. When we were looking for a new church after moving we attended a couple of services at another church that had a school attached. When we struck up a conversation with the pastor he was quite pleasant, happy to see that we'd returned a few times.....but as soon as he mentioned the "fine school" and I politely said we homeschool, you could actually see his posture and demeanor change. I might as well have casually mentioned that we were lepers. That was our last visit there, lol. We'd already had some discussion about the wiseness of homeschooling among a congregation that support a private school on campus, but had almost convinced ourself that it wouldn't matter since we were used to be surrounded by public schoolers. Obviously we were wrong, lol. I guess you really need to ask yourself whether it's a problem for your family....obviously for us that other church would have probably become quite a problem. At our current church I've not heard even subtle negative comments.....but while my kids enjoy Sunday School they haven't really made friends outside of church time. I think it's because most of the kids go to the nearby schools so they all know each other well from school and talk about school happenings a lot. Kinda like our kids feel about our neighborhood kids.....everyone is nice but there is just not enough bond there to really make it better. Part of it may be our fault as we haven't made it a priority to make something work....but neither have any of the neighbors. All that sounds like my poor children have no friends, but that's definitely not the case.....we just have to arrange and travel for play dates with our homeschooling friends who are all over town. But it's worth it because they are of like mind when it comes to education and unlike Sunday School or neighborhood kids who object when a game or idea even hints at learning...our hs friends WANT to play learning games. We don't all subscribe to the same homeschool theory, so there is some tension occasionally (especially with the unschooling family when the kids complain about my kids having to do some school before they can get together, lol)....but it's much less tension or awkwardness than with the public school families. It's like we're unwelcome foreigners but they're trying to be polite, lol. When I think about it like this it annoys me....maybe even makes me sad....but most of the time I don't bother thinking about it. I can't change them, and I'm not willing to change me....so that's how it is. I'd probably feel differently if we had no friends and make more effort, but why bother when a quick phone call and a drive one way by one parent and a return drive by the other nets a fun filled day of learning and playing together. There is one of those mega churches a few miles away....attendance in the thousands each week, multiple services, multiple languages even, etc etc....and they have a HUGE homeschooling group. They even have a section of the church library that has curriculum that can be checked out and the librarian (see how big it is, our church has a plastic file box keeping track of check outs, lol) will take requests for curriculum. We went with friends to a couple services, but something about being in a nearly stadium sized building with a screen that rivals the IMAX theatre in size just made it too hard to me to feel like I was worshipping. I felt like I was there watching a concert. I'll always be a small town church goer, lol.

I agree with the others that said plan a trip with her....you said she loves to travel...so travel with her! And, if YOU are interested in quilting as well, one of the major quilt shows is April 21-24.....as someone who is looking at 50 next year, and a quilter, I would give my eyeteeth to go to this (or to Houston in October). And having a beloved neice along would be very very cool.

I'm not sure THAT is a good quote to get us to try it, lol.

If she "says so" than it would seem that it's perfectly ok for you to SAY NO. People like this will never take hints, you must come right out and say "I don't like to be hugged, thank you". No need to offer a hand to shake unless you are ok with that. I would say it with a rather nuetral tone, same as you'd say "no I don't want a piece of cake". If that fails to slow her down, then a little more 'tude in your tone may be necessary, but in no way would I continue to allow her to make you feel uncomfortable for her own pleasure. I would guess that you would not allow your child to be made uncomfortable by someone's unwanted "affections".....you are just as important as your child, so don't allow someone to do that to you!

Edited to add: Assuming that your kids are eating healthy foods.......... I seriously doubt that your children are eating enough extra food to fund a vacation, lol. Just because your family and your friend's family have comparable salaries doesn't mean that you should be able to spend like they do. For all you know they have tens of thousands of dollars of debt for credit cards that are paying for those vacations and extras. Or a trust fund...or investments that bring in extra cash. Or they aren't saving a dime towards college or retirement. As for your kids eating habits, I'd say take a hard look at WHAT they are eating in between meals and if it's relatively healthy choices and they don't have weight or health issues because of those choices, then I'd not make changes. If they are snacking all day on high fat/high sugar/low nutritious foods....it may be time to change the snack choices, but I wouldn't change access. There is a lot of evidence that eating when you're hungry and more importantly stopping eating when you're full is the healthiest choice. "Listening to your body" is the buzz words on that. Being hungry between meals but not able to satisfy it means that at meal time you will "fill up while you can"....and that can be very detrimental. I have lost well over a hundred pounds and so far (knock wood) kept it off. I had to completely overhaul WHAT I ate, but probably more importantly WHEN I eat. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm not, I don't. Many times when I think I'm hungry....a glass of water is really what my body wants and a quick guzzle and I'm satisfied. If not, a handful of grapes does it.....I don't need a lot to take that empty feeling down a notch. Sounds simple, but most of us eat by habit...it's noon so it's lunch time whether you are hungry or not...and lunch means 3 courses or whatever. Our family still has rather set mealtimes, but in between if you're hungry, go grab a handful of grapes, a banana, an apple, or a slice of bread with some peanut butter, whatever you need to tide you over. At mealtime if you snacked recently so you aren't very hungry, take small portions and eat until you're full, then push the plate away. I'd rather see food go to waste than have my kids deal with the weight issues that plauged me my entire life from the simple "clean your plate" command that I grew up with!!! It can take 10-20 minutes for your brain to register that you ate and it's satisfied. That's why many people overeat....they come to the dinner table "starving" because they resisted eating a small healthy snack an hour before dinner and now they start shoveling food in quickly because of that hunger....and before their brain has registered full they've eaten two or three times what their body really needed. My kids are pretty good about regulating their snacks to not cause them to not want a meal.....and the snacks they do eat are healthy choices so eating less at a meal is perfectly fine. We do not keep much junk food in the house so there is little temptation to binge on it. And, the kids have learned how healthy choices make them feel better than a day of junk food eating, so that usually helps. I only step in and say no when it seems like they're forgotten that lesson, lol. As for the other issue...about them appearing to have more than you do....You might also look over your spending habits to see if maybe something you spend money on that your friend doesn't might help you afford more vacations. We don't have cable TV, we don't subscribe to magazines or the newspaper, we don't have a Netflix or Blockbuster account........we borrow movies and magazines from the library for free and read the news online or watch the news on TV. That saves us several hundred dollars a month over our neighbors. Look too at your cell phone bill...ours is $45 and we have unlimited calls, internet and texting. One family we know spends over $200 a month on cell phones and still have a landline at home too! The difference between their phone bills and ours over the course of a year is enough for a vacation! There are so many ways that people are spending a small fortune that may not be as necessary as they think....it may just be a habit that you don't realize is costing you so much! One example I typically offer friends asking how to save money....my DH takes his lunch to work each day. Even a fast food meal would be five or more dollars....multiply that by the average 22 work days a month is over a hundred dollars, multiply that by 12 months and you've paid for a decent vacation just by making him a lunch each morning. Yes, I have to spend a little bit more in groceries to make his lunch, but not five dollars a day! Maybe your friend has pared her expenses down to afford those vacations. Or......Maybe she just charges it all and has her credit card bills maxed out, a second on the house, and is barely keep her head above water....but feels that the vacations are necessary and they deserve them so they keep going into debt.

Sadly, it sounds like it is time to find new friends. Why people who previously supported and cared about someone who then decides to homeschool and suddenly find themselves unsupported is a mystery to me. Some of the somewhat plausible reasons I've heard over the years: That somehow your removing your children from the public school is an afront to them, because they are still leaving their children in that same school (or system) and therefore your choice means they're doing "less" for their child than you are.....no amount of explaining that it's a choice that is right for YOUR family and not a judgment about others choices seems to make a difference. Now that you are not involved in the public school world, expect that you and your children will become something of outsiders to those in that world. It's inevitable and not necessarily exclusive to homeschooling....it's just that you are no longer a part of their everyday life....you don't speak the language so to speak, lol. I think the same thing happens when you leave a job but try to remain friends with co-workers that you were very close to....or leave a church, or move from the neighborhood. Your focus changes, their focus is on the public school and talk of teachers, tests, vacations, festivals, fairs, fundraisers, whatever, will no longer mean anything to you....and your talk of curriculum choosing, the latest research or taking trips while their kids are sitting in a classroom will further alienate you. All sounds rather grim and depressing, I know, and might make you wonder if you've made the right overall decision....maybe homeschooling is right for the educational purposes, but gosh if you're going to lose all your friends (and your kids lose their friends) is it worth it. Obviously, only you can answer that, but you probably thought long and hard before deciding to homeschool, so think long and hard before changing your mind because of the social/friend aspect. You are NOT destined to have a lifetime of loneliness, honest! But....you may find that you need to cultivate friends with like mind-sets. Find other homeschoolers to hang out with, join several support groups if there are multiple in your area, so that you can meet a wide range of people and find the right place for you and your family. And yes, mourn the loss of closeness with those other friends, but realize that this is a new season in your life, and homeschooling is apparently important to that season, so it's time to move towards it wholeheartedly. I personally found that "I" was the one doing the changing and was lucky enough not to be gettin snide remarks from friends, but I did feel like we were drifting away. They all had a breakfast party the first day of Kindergarten to celebrate their "freedom", and each year apparently do the same thing to celebrate the kids going back to school and not being home all day. We had all been in a mommy group up til Kinder so I figured since I was homeschooling and they were not, that we'd just get together with the kids after they got home from their school, and we'd be done with ours....but I found we had less and less to talk about, and that I was uncomfortable about their attitudes. I would have been in tears to send my first to school, not out celebrating! I enjoy my children's company, and they mine, so we don't look for ways to be apart and are truly joyful when we have been apart and come back together. I tried for a couple of years to stay a part of that group but it was never the same and I finally realized I didn't need, and shouldn't, be living two lives....one where I hung with other homeschoolers and extolled the virtues of various homeschool philosphies, marveled and talked for hours about all the different curriculum choices, oooh and ahhed over others' purchases and proudly showed mine treasures to them for their oohs and ahhs.......instead of hanging with my old friends who complained about the teachers, the schools, the uniforms, their "brats" (their words), the hatred of the morning routine of getting them ready for school, packing lunches, having to drive them to school and pick them up, and the unending complaints about the homework. It became almost depressing to listen to, and VERY hypocritical when I would try to join in and complain too, but my heart wasn't in it. I'm sorry that you are having to go through this change....it's not easy, but it's not the end of the world. It's a change. You will make friends again, and they will be of like mind and lift you up and support you when you're having a rough patch and be a source of joy and inspiration to your homeschool journey. But it takes time, so give yourself permission to take that time and even enjoy that part of the journey!

I respectfully disagree with the poster who suggested threatening daughter with dire consequences, lol. But...I would sit down and talk to her. She's obviously VERY excited at the idea of a relationship between you and her best friend's dad.....they're looking at it as "we could be sisters". Yep, they've already got you guys married off, I'll bet. So...I would explain to her that running to tell the Dad that you dressed up just for him might make him feel as embarassed as it does you....and that because of that he might decide he wants to avoid you. So....the best thing she could if she wants to help the relationship along is to NOT point out the obvious. Guys like to make their own decisions and don't like it when they think someone is manipulating them. So, let you dress up and let him notice by himself, but if daughter and friend keep pushing, they are likely to push you two far far apart. Then....I'd dress up, and unlike junior high where you hope that he likes you too and will come over and talk, I'd take the initative. After all, HE already made the first move by coming over and saying goodbye....so he may be a little embarassed by the girls' announcements, but at least he's not dashing out the door hoping to avoid you because he thinks you're icky....instead he was probably testing the waters a little to see if what they said was true.....hopefully you smiled a beautiful smile and said you'd see him tomorrow too! Maybe you and daughter could walk in together and you could follow her over to her friend, who HOPEFULLY will be standing with Dad. Now you have an excuse to say hello, and to stand around and make small talk. Maybe suggest lunch after the workout......all 4 of you. If this is a friend that has been over your house before, maybe invite dad to join daughter at your house next weekend for a BBQ. It's not a true date because the girls will be there....it's getting together with your children's friends right? Good luck! There is nothing better than finding a man who shares your interests and it sounds like he cares about his kid if he stays at her practices and such....many parents (single or not) just drop them off and come back later....or sit in a corner on their laptop. He sounds involved, that's a plus in my book....and hey, good looking helps!

We moved dozens of times with the military....slow arriving is pretty much the worst we had (knock wood). BUT...you have to pack it all CAREFULLY. Precious china dishes were bubble wrapped each piece individually. LOTS of bubble wrap and paper stuffed into the box so that wild shaking by me doesn't make a sound of moving at all. Any sound of movement means more paper stuffing. Means a lot more boxes but we've yet to have one break due to moving...now, kids and husbands breakage we have a lot of, but not due to moving. Curriculum I always sent through the mail....never came up missing. Good luck!

Yeah, right. :lol::tongue_smilie:Most of the time snack comes after some activity, maybe even where the kids are sitting on the floor, meaning teacher and everyone else has had their hands on that lovely floor. Same hands that then serve and eat the snack. Reason #45879546370891657 that I'm glad I homeschool. And at Sunday School, Girl Scouts and every other group thing, my kids know to say "no thank you" to snacks. We'll have a snack at home afer we've washed up. And lots of the parents that look at my kids like they feel so sorry that mean old mom won't let them have a snack, can't quite figure out why MY kids rarely come down with the cold/flu that goes through the rest of the group. Hmmmmm, I wonder............