Not sure the best title lol. :Lol: Not really mostly about acne, though it can come into play, I'm sure. Ok, so at what age did you (assuming that you ever did) start encouraging your kid to wash their face every night? I'm just sort of thinking.... Link has his first ever zit on his forehead, which I'm thinking is quite possibly just from heat/dirt/working. He's still not wearing deodorant (doesn't need it - he's 12. My 10 year old has been wearing it for 2 years because he needs it), etc. He's still young. So I'm doubting this is any sort of hormonal thing. I'm just thinking about it because I'm sure it's coming up in the next few years. My original thought was/is this: If acne becomes common (as in a zit isn't a rarity anymore), then maybe I should encourage the kid (whichever lol) to wash their face at night before bed. I was originally planning to just get another bottle of oil cleanser exactly like what I use because it seems to be great for everyone's skin across the board, it's economical, and it's made out of good stuff. But I don't know if teenage skin is any different than adult skin or older teen/younger 20s skin? I wouldn't think that it is, right? Skin is just skin...? If that wasn't an option, I would maybe consider Cetaphil or something. But I really don't want anything crazy. Neither DH or I had much acne as teenagers... I mean, yeah, every time I had a zit it felt like my world was falling apart but when I look back it was like one zit at a time, not a total breakout. So I'm kind of hoping that my kids will have that in their favor... Anyway, any BTDT advice?

I make some of our field trips public when I set up the event page - this makes the content viewable by anyone on or off FB. I don't go out of my way to invite people who aren't on FB (on my friends list or on the homeschool page, which is private), but I tell others to feel free to invite people who they think may be interested. If, after the RSVP date, there is reason to, I will change it to private. Other events are private from the beginning, for various reasons. Anyway, that doesn't answer anything about public pages, but that's what we do for events.

Ah!! Now I've been reminded (on this thread lol) of what the logical reason for starting in August is! Semesters!! I kept thinking as I was typing my other post that there was some reason that it was preferable to have a public school schedule that is similar to that of colleges (and most colleges, to my knowledge anyway, don't wait to start in September... it's more like mid-August, give or take a week) - I just couldn't remember what it was, other than that it was nice for everything to happen at once lol!! But yes. Semesters. I think it is weird to prefer for the first semester to have one week left after Christmas break. In junior high and high school (especially high school), many classes are only a semester long, and even if they aren't, there are always tests at the end of the semester. So it doesn't make sense to me not to just finish it all out before the break, as opposed to having a week or two break and having to come back for one last week of one class with a final. That seems ridiculous. I really did think that the original PS schedule had to do with harvests. I can't think of anything here, other than apples and pumpkins... squash, I guess? ... that are harvested only/mostly in October. Our farm stands are busy in the summer and slow down when their crops do, when it starts getting colder. Not that they aren't getting a few things through September, but not much...

^^ This, however, makes no sense whatsoever. I've never heard of such a thing. All swimming places where we are (where school starts in early to mid august) have kept the exact same hours, perhaps because of our 'tourist' location :rolleyes: - Memorial Day to Labor Day, open daily. It makes no sense to me that any of that would change just because of a school calendar, but we also live in an area with a lot of people who swim who aren't school children. SaveSave

:rolleyes: Every year someone somewhere says something about this lol. IMO, this change is a good, much needed one. We don't live in a land of harvests anymore, and our school scheduled shouldn't be dictated by such. Of course, in a state such as mine, they considered year round schooling a few years ago but there were complaints because of 'tourist season'. :glare: Give me a break. When I lived in VA in elementary school, we started in September and got out in June. June is also summer, as many people don't seem to recall when this comes up. :lol: When I moved to MO, I had a schedule that makes much more sense to me - started in August and got out in May. Because in May, everyone is pretty much done and ready to be out of there anyway. And August is so darn hot that really, what is everyone going to do while they have that break just because it *should* go into September? Sit in the air conditioning? Geez, it's pretty smart to take that air conditioned mentality to school and actually get something worthwhile done. :D There is still ample summer break, and honestly, don't studies show that summer break is too long, anyway? Retention over the summer isn't great. Every kid and every school would probably benefit from changing the calendar entirely, but that's just not going to happen. But in any case, getting out in May and going back in August is literally the way I've been seeing things done since the early 90s. A few counties around us have just recently switched to it for some reason - behind the times I guess. We start our school year the first Monday in August. So obviously, when PS chooses to start has no effect on me - though apparently, judging by all the comments from 'friends' when we start, my school schedule has an effect on them. Weird. :rolleyes:

NEW QUESTION: First off, Tunnelbear doesn't work. So what I'm wondering is this: if you have Direct TV or Dish or one of the gazillion different cable tv type subscriptions out there that let you watch the olympics online, is there anyone - ANYONE - who can tell me what that gives you access to? Like, if you have that, can you go online and just watch the same thing that you'd be watching on regular NBC? Or is it all split by events and you have to wade through it all? If anyone can and is willing, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! Thanks! Sigh. It's so frustrating!!! My whole childhood I watched and enjoyed the Olympics. My kids have literally. never. seen. any of it. :glare: No antenna works at our house - we've tried everything from cheap ones to top of the line ones, but basically we are in a rural town, on a low-lying piece of property, surrounded by 60-75 ft tall trees in all directions. We can *occasionally*, *maybe* get one very fuzzy channel on the antenna, but that's it. :banghead: I only want the plain old NBC stuff - that's plenty. I was looking into SlingTV, but I'm not sure if we can get NBC on that because of where we are! So that would be pointless! Same with Playstation Vue TV. We don't, and won't, be paying for a cable subscription (but does NBC come with those anyway if you can't get it from an antenna?)... either way it's moot. Not going to happen, that's way too expensive. I tried logging in and watching online last time with the borrowed login info, but I didn't like what was available. Like I said, I'm happy with the regular programming that NBC offers, where it's not just a livestream for hours on end of heats upon heats upon heats of men's freestyle, or whatever. I just don't have the patience to try to weed through all that and see the stuff that I'm actually interested in... I like the clean cut versions that they put on network TV :lol: ... :p So... .is there anything I haven't thought of? Anyone else have a good way to watch? SaveSave

Some of my friends are considering 'deleting' their facebook. (IRL friends, obviously lol) Idk. I don't really get it. If I get annoyed with what someone posts re: political crap, I unfollow them. If I get annoyed with what someone posts re: anything, I unfollow them. If I'm exceptionally annoyed at someone and seeing their mere existence on fb annoys me, I block them. :lol: I find FB incredibly useful. I like posting pictures and seeing other people's pictures, I like keeping in touch with family, I like reading funny updates from friends. I plan field trips and post about them on there; I just generally use it for a lot. I can't really imagine letting something convince me to quit FB if it's something I can control (blocking/unfriending/unfollowing). But lots of people seem to hate fb for all the reasons above. I can't say I agree, because again, all that can be controlled. But whatevs. *shrug* Lots of people love to hate on FB and social media in general.

I was offered a drink at 11, I said 'no thanks', and the adult laughed good naturedly and was like, 'ok, well, let me know if you change your mind!' And that was that. And I remained friends with the family for a long time after. Anyway, I start with that to caution against anything that is so extreme as to cut off any relationship between your children and someone who may offer them a drink. I don't think that's a big deal. And I don't drink, nor does my DH or the majority of our extended family... so we're pretty hard and fast on not drinking, for our own reasons (which are ours and ours alone - other people drinking doesn't bother either of us in the slightest). Anyway... well, it could go a couple of ways. Honestly, I'd let it go as far as the behavior of the sister. Maybe a reminder that your kids haven't seen a lot of drinking or something. But I'd focus on what the kids are processing. 'Yes, Aunt June, she was very loud tonight. What did you think of it?' and discussing being intoxicated to a point of being very drunk vs. having a little to drink. Explain some of the repercussions, on their level, of overdrinking, but don't necessarily frame Aunt June in it. Other times throughout your daily life, if something comes up, use it. As they grow older, teach them the appropriate responses to 'Hey, do you want a drink?' - based on your own family culture. For me growing up, it was a 'no, thanks.' For my best friend, she took a little sip and spat it out because it was 'so disgusting' (and that was from her dad lol). So it could be many things. Anyway, that's my $.02.

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Ah, a song from a favorite show! ;) OP, I am sorry, I didn't mean to hijack. :) I don't have any suggestions for you as I'm a huge fan of hip hop, rap, and heavy bass in anything lol. :) Glad you are getting lots of responses from others who know more of the genre you are looking for!

One of my FB friends is around my age (30s) and posted on FB: 'There may or may not be tons of Pokemon at *local university art center*. Of course, *I* was there looking at art.' :lol: I was there like the next day and forgot to even look. They do a thing during the summer for kids - a free art studio every day - and the boys have mostly outgrown it but I've been taking Pink. This week was tie-dye, though, so all the kids went... you can't have too much tie dye, apparently!! And the museum of fine arts in the city about an hour away is advertising that you can catch Pokemon there. :) I think it's all pretty fun.

275K-500K. When I searched, there were only 4 properties. Not sure what the inside of any of them looked like - I'm guessing the nicer the inside, the higher in that range it is. ETA: I looked at the inside pictures of the low end one (there was literally ONE that was on the low end lol)... it was not updated at all. So, 500K it is.

I love this thread. Seriously. I was just on FB and while some friends are playing it, others are like, 'What is this stupid Pokemon Go thing anyway?' and yet others are just talking about what a waste of time it is. Why yes, it is a waste of time. As is sitting on FB... and watching tv... and a bunch of other things that lots of people have fun doing. :banghead: Anyway. I was getting annoyed with the world. But this thread made me feel better. :D

Definitely on the hub to hub prices. (OP here, just coming back into the conversation - I've pretty much resigned myself to not being able to fly out there now.) I flew from DC to LAX for like $150 round trip. Not bad at all. Where I'd be going is non-hub, hence the price hike. Last time I managed to do Richmond to Des Moines for a decent price; this time, I can't find anything anywhere near that cheap. But... that's the way it goes sometimes. It is what it is.

I live in VA - most VA airports aren't very big, and the cost at them is usually higher, so I generally fly out of DC. DH and I have flown out of Raleigh, too.

Driving is what we usually do when we travel, but it's ~20 hours each way. I could do it by myself with the kids, but I have to admit that I don't really want to. I don't know about the bus. I have no idea. Train is around $800 one way from what I saw earlier. It is cheaper than the flights, for sure, but still pricey. Back in the day I called the airline directly and asked about tickets for a funeral. I don't think they do that anymore, nor do I have any idea how much of a discount it was, if any. Idk. I'm just whining. Sorry.

The flight in 2002 was last minute lol... for a funeral, like I said. It's just a headache. Whatever, I understand how to get cheaper flights when I know in advance - but like I said in the OP, this isn't about a leisure trip or something that's planned in advance!!! It literally keeps me from going to funerals of family members. I can't exactly plan those in advance. :banghead:

Is it fuel? Or what? I remember in 2002 (yeah, it was a long time ago, but still), I could fly from one not-huge-airport to another for less than $300 round trip for one person. It was last minute because it was for a funeral, so it's not like I booked it way in advance or anything. Now, though, every flight I look at is at least $600 round trip. I don't feel like the cost of anything else in the US has doubled in the last 14 years - why has flying?! Ugh. I HATE it. Because there's just no way I can go somewhere last minute for a funeral or anything else at that price, especially if I take the kids with me. Ridiculous. :( :cursing:

I've asked this before and here I am, asking again. :P :lol: Has anyone done the DNA testing/profiling that you can get done? I know Ancestry . com does it and I think it's 23andme? Any opinions? Which one is more recommended? How are they different? Are the costs similar? I've just always wanted to do one. 50% of my family lineage is a big question mark, so I can't help but be curious. TIA!

Denver, Colorado Springs, Estes Park. Again, not much help from me bc I went all those places multiple times as a kid/teenager, so I have no idea about cost, etc. so... 😅 Sorry about that!

(my maiden name, but I probably wouldn't have thought anything if my uncle hadn't posted about her). She's Link's age - not sure if it's my mom or my grandfather who had kids younger, or a combo of both. :) But she has an older brother and sister, too, who are both late teens/early 20s, so it is probably a bit of a combo, just when in life everyone had kids. :) Also, note the older sister's hair color. :lol: This came out online I think the same day I had mine done? So my friends were like, 'Oh, so that hair color runs in the family... or something similar, anyway. :lol: :lol: ) Oh, yes, I'm sure. I'm not saying they should have buzzed him - I did watch a couple seasons of it back in the day. I just don't think he'll go much farther, realistically, and that's ok, too.

I don't have a favorite. I do like some others - I have a 'favorite oldest son', 'favorite youngest son', and 'favorite daughter', on occasion. 😊 One has been noticeably more strong willed and has therefore taken more attention to parent, while one has (up to this point, anyway) been very laid back and not taken that attention. The thing I've had to be sure of is that the laid back one doesn't just get ignored or forgotten. He never has been. The youngest has a whole host of things that I try to keep in check with her being 1. The youngest and 2. The only girl. :lol: She turned to me one night and was like 'Am I your favorite?' And I could just tell she believed my answer would be yes... I was like 'My favorite what?' She said, 'Kid.' I was like, 'Nope, there's no such thing. But you are my favorite daughter.' :lol: In our FOO, I am often viewed as a favorite but the circumstances are unusual - Grandparents raising their grandkid after all their kids had moved out and away. I don't think I am the favorite though. I honestly don't think there is one. My MIL and FIL I don't think have favorites. I've never seen anything to suggest so or heard anything to say it was ever the case. The older brothers tease that my youngest BIL had life the easiest, of course, and that may be. MIL has spoken before of how easy DH was as a baby and kid. But overall there's never been a sense of inequality or favoritism. I do think they have favorite grandkids though. :D None of them are mine, and it doesn't bother me. There is one grandson that is particularly attached to them (not that they all aren't, they're really good grandparents!) - he spends a lot of time over there, etc, and I think he's a favorite. I think it's good, though, because he's one in the middle of several kids and it probably is nice for him to get that extra attention. NOT saying his parents are leaving him out at ALL! The other one is one of the youngest granddaughters, and she was born when her parents were living with my ILs while they closed on a house. So FIL used to rock her and hold her while her mom/my SIL was making dinner, etc. So she just kind of has that special spot lol - and she ADORES my FIL, too. And I'm not gonna lie, I've had favorites out of the nieces and nephews, too. One is now 14 and when he was little I took care of him a fair bit, and up until he was about 7 (this was well after I was taking care of him often) he would search me out on a cookout day when he was tired, to rest next to me, etc. Even now he comes around more. The other is one niece. I adore all of her siblings, too, but this girl... She's the youngest (of all the kids, not just her siblings) and she knows it. :lol: Last night my SIL was like 'oh, yeah, she's definitely spoiled, but not by me!' I was like 'Nope, it's me! And DH! We own up to it!' (And Astro, too, actually - he adores her and its mutual - as of last night she had claimed him as 'her man'. He's 10, she's almost 2. :lol: )

This confuses me lol. What? I must have missed an inside joke somewhere lol

The part re: it being controversial was in regards to the part I quoted of yours, not the first sentence of what I said. :) I can't bold things or multi-quote on my phone bc I don't have/want the app I guess. Sorry for any confusion. :)

It's just foreign to me. I've never heard of anything like this before, seriously. It honestly blows my mind. I'm not trying to be obtuse. I just can't imagine a situation where a verbal thank you for a gift wouldn't be enough, or a friendship that is close enough to give gifts in the first place doesn't have appreciation implied. I'm honestly just completely befuddled by the idea. A thank you note seems like it matters too much in these scenarios. I don't consider a little piece of card stock to carry that much weight. Eta: I can say I don't think any one thing in a friendship can carry that much weight. If, as some posters have said, it's just one of many signs that the relationship is one sided, that's different. But that's not what some have said - some have literally said that those who send thank yous continue getting gifts while others don't. Those two things are different to me. If I always have to be the one to call Suzy and make plans and I'm always the one who tries to make time for her and it goes on for a year and her not appreciating a gift I got for her is one of many things, that's one thing. If I love my niece and she goes to college and I think 'oh, I'm going to send her a little care package just because she's away from home/it's finals week/whatever' and I don't get a thank you, that wouldn't even register on my radar. So if people are talking about the first thing - ok, whatevs. But then don't make it sound like its the second, which is what several have done.