Perky is always how I deal with manipulative people at the restaurant. They want to shake you up. When you stay calm and perky, even if they have your blood pressure to the moon, they either back off, or up their hand. In the restaurant if they up their hand they look like a jerk to other patrons, not what they like, so usually they back down. In your case it's the same thing with your kids. If you are calm and perky, she probably doesn't want to up her game with them watching ready to be on your side.

If she is good with it I don't see what else you could do.

That is all my oldest ever wanted. To have the privileges of an adult but none of the responsibilities. It is really hard.

I had one for many years that we used as a pantry. My dh's uncle had one in a house with nearly the exact same floor plan where he made it a media cave. He finished it with a drywall ceiling even though it wouldn't be code, and put a big screen TV at the end with many recliners in the back ground. So cool.

A friend and I have a running joke about Facebook posts we don't make. Tonight after we cleaned up the restaurant I found dd making a milkshake and I was annoyed, but she promised to clean up all the mess. I found her on my favorite chair, with the canister she had clearly been drinking straight from, in a complete sugar coma... I didn't take a pic and post. I feel very mature, lol.

You are not wrong, but you cannot expect anyone to own responsibility. I'm sorry. I might consider taking a FB pic of all the debris that you collect and posting it for the group and then dropping the whole thing.

I have a friend whose ex and new wife have been this delightful as far as setting my friend up to get custody of her kids. they have been caught in most of their extreme deceit but still have custody. They are better liars than the people in the OP, I guess, because even when caught people agree with them. But at least my friend's ex is a person who wants his own kids bad enough to frame someone. The people in the OP were just controlling criminals. Honestly, it is scary the things they probably did they got away with. My friends ex did try to frame my friend for a DUII, but it didn't stick. He also framed her for stalking him, even when he was stalking her, again, she managed to prove he was the creep, but he still got what he wanted in the end. I wish she would sue, although, like the people in the OP, good luck collecting if she won.

I would have. I think that is pretty reasonable. The worst thing that could happen would be she gets lost in the hotel for a bit. Not the end of the world.

In this case the neighbor is the deciding factor. I'd do it. When my oldest was 17 we left her for one night, middle of the week, and she had a raging party. She was only caught because a home school mom from swim found part of dd's swim suit at the aquatic center and dropped it off and told me what was going on, lol. She has never owned it, she claims the home school mom MADE IT ALL UP, lol. But it sure has been fun to watch her squirm over the years. With the neighbor I'd consider it an adulting skills class.

I have BTDT with Frontier. I have so many Tee-shirts it's not even funny. I'm sorry. It really isn't cool.

I would do a broccoli salad, leafy greens after all. I'd also do sweet potato chips, and a marshmallow fruit salad. I will let you know what else comes to mind. Cut out sandwiches might be really good here, with fancy shapes...

My dh read The Hobbit out loud to our whole family at one point and it was a wonderful time. We had so much fun listening. Dh is a master of accents and is a champ of a read aloud dad.

Yes, that is me and my dad. We had good old days... until I realized how dysfunctional everything was. I do love my dad. I really, really, do. But the sound of his voice sends my spine tingling in the worst possible way these days. I deal by avoiding him, and when we do talk, we talk about other people. I just accept the things he says about other people as fact while we are talking. In other words... I move into his world on the phone for 20 min at a time every other week.

I have not suggestions, but I admire you deeply.

I think I have shared about an attempted child abduction at a library I was at. I was pregnant with dd then, so that was 17 years ago. The "perp" tried to drag a girl out the back door of the library where he had a waiting van. The worst part to me was that when the mother was shrieking for people to stop him, the whole library froze. I, a pregnant woman, chased him to his van and got his license plate number for the police. But if the mother had not physically stopped him by getting in front of the back door of the library, no one would have helped. There were countless people at the library, it was nearly full, and every one acted like it was a game of freeze tag.

You are a rock star of a mom, for doing what you do. Whenever you put something on Facebook you do subject yourself to judgement. You don't owe anyone any explanations at all. I think you are amazing. I think your kids are lucky to have you. I, also, used to believe anyone could home school and have changed my mind. I will say that the public schools my oldest attended formed my opinion very negatively. I do think many schools are not good enough. But I also think that a negative home situation can be worse than a bad school. You really need to do what you feel is best. It isn't written in blood that she never comes home anyway. If you don't like it you can keep her home next year.

So sweet! Congratulations!

The article I read suggested she had only been urging him for two weeks after being a sympathetic listener for more than a year... I haven't read up on this more than one article, but it didn't seem like bullying in the normal way to me.

My dd had a friend who was severely depressed, the friend had another friend who urged her to just kill herself. It was not good. I still don't know how it will all play out. Mental healthcare is not good here. The waiting lists are long, both girls in the case I speak of had real mental health issues that would need addressing, and both of them had parents with the money to get it but the parents don't take it seriously. No one wants to admit your child has such issues. I feel bad for all the families. I do think the young woman "snapped". She had been acting as his unpaid counselor and possibly simply decided he wasn't fit to live. She is so young. It doesn't sound like she was teaming up with mean kids to bully him. It sounds like she went too long with no outside help and his depressing thoughts wore her out. I'd feel very differently if she and others had been taunting him for a power trip. Then I'd have no trouble sending her to jail. At all. Bullying needs to be a crime. That doesn't look like what happened here.

I have an aunt that buys straws for daily use at home. People in nursing homes and hospitals often use them, so that ups the average.

I always worked part time when I home schooled to keep my union seniority. If you are already working part time, you have a good idea of what would change if you worked full time. The teen years are big money eaters, that is for certain. there is just no winning because teens need the money, they eat more, their clothes are more expensive, and their activities cost more. I worked as much as I could when my ds started CC to pay cash for it, and often felt stressed. I think it's easier to belt tighten when the kids are small, rather than older.

Sometimes humor is the best way to cope with a passive aggressive person/ people. The OP has been being nice, it's wearing her out. Humor can invigorate you.

So many good suggestions! I would... be prepared to mercilessly mock them for our amusement for the whole trip! Roast them with great delight, and roast them well done! Anyone remember the house guest who required so many sodas and mixed all the nuts together and all the other weird stuff? I loved it! We are ready for the madness! It's hot and we're bored!

I wouldn't go to the trouble of home made ice cream. I did that for a small BBQ once and almost killed DH with the stress, lol. Everyone made really good suggestions. I think you are planning on offering enough food, but I'd go the Popsicle, ice cream bar route for dessert and call it good. People WILL be happy.

I would go with the drop myself, but I am paranoid about needing easy access.