My dh was a hard nut to crack on this one. It took numerous conversations about the benefits and how it would help me. He likes the background noise. He stays in our room and watches on the computer if he really needs a fix.

I find cold turkey works the best. I frequently unplug my kids from all electronics. It does wonders for their attitudes. I am fairly strict with the tv during the school year. No tv before 5 pm on school days.

I taught mine from the beginning that you use your quiet inside voice in the library. No running or jumping around. That kind of behavior is for the park. The children's room in our library is a bit more boisterous then the main library but our librarians genuinely love the kids and would rather see excited kids then no kids.

It should be but it is not.

China sounds like a wonderful opportunity for your family. I will admit to a twinge of envy. As for negative family members I find this very effective "I appreciate your concern. Please pass the bean dip." I absolutely refuse to engage in any negative conversation.

Duct tape, banana peel, and apple cider vinegar. That is how I got rid of my kids plantar warts. It wasn't quick. Definitely took about a month. It probably would have gone quicker if it wasn't summer and the kids were in the pool most of the day. What I did: At night before bed I would clean the area with the acv. Then I would place a piece of banana peel over the wart and cover it with duct tape. In the morning I would again swab the area with acv and then place new duct tape on. Eventually it came off in the pool and I would replace it again at night.

My dh has a lot of wonderful qualities. Some of my favorites: He thinks nothing of running to the store at midnight if I realize I forgot to buy something I needed. He works harder then anyone I know 60+ hours a week so I can stay home and homeschool our kids. He never wavers in his support of homeschooling when talking to his parents. He plays scrabble with me on facebook and never complains that I am downright awful at it. My #1 reason that he is wonderful: When my father was in the hospital dying he stayed up with him until he passed at 2am.

No Bratz or realistic guns.

Around our house, if it is not seasonal and on sale I don't buy it. Our winter veggies consist of lots of root vegetables and winter squash-acrorn, butternut, and spaghetti, and frozen veggies when they are on sale. If the store is having a really good sale on frozen veggies I stock up. Fruit is apples and pears. All other fruit simply costs too much in the winter. I miss the days when I could just purchase whatever food I wanted. The cost of food in my area just keeps going up. It is very frustrating watching my food $$ buy less and less. Don't even get me started on the skrinking size of everything.

No first person shooter games allowed. No realistic people violence allowed. Mario type violence is okay.

How does it work out? It works out fine. My kids, friends, and family all know that we do not allow realistic guns/weapons in our home. Have you done it from the beginning? Yes. Did you change over at some point? No. Do your kids accept it or resent it? They accept it. I am sure ds resents it on occasion. What do they play with instead? Everything and anything. Do they just make weapons with sticks, etc? And do you allow that? Yes, they do make weapons from sticks, legos, and anything else they can make a weapon fom. Yes, we allow it. That is imaginative play and is clearly not really a weapon or gun.

It really depends on my relationship with the family. I would want to know if it was my kid but I know quite a few people who are afflicted with "Not my kid" syndrome.

:iagree:

For me it is all about the company and I don't really care what is on the menu. That said: Traditional Fare is burgers and dogs because feeding steak and chicken to a crowd gets pricey. However, for a smaller group I love some steak and chicken. Sides: Potato Salad (I like a Brazilian style), Macaroni Salad and/or a nice pasta salad, and grilled veggies, Condiments: Sliced tomato, red onion. and lettuce for hamburgers. Cheese for the burgers, ketchup, mustard, relish. Cole Slaw-I don't care for it and don't care one way or the other if it is not there. Dh, on the other hand, loves the stuff and considers it an essential.

I wear swim shorts, a high necked tankini top, and a rash guard. As for the t-shirt rule, our pool allows t-shirts in the shallow end but not the deep end. A number of years ago dh got into a heated discussion with the lifeguard and then management because we insisted ds's rash guard was not a t-shirt. It is funny now. My kids were the first to wear rash guards at the pool and now a lot of kids wear them. We were trendsetters.

We will probably drop the dvd option. I usually go to the library first if it is not available on instant streaming. I never plan far enough in advance to get the dvd in time.

Really? Seriously, I have no idea what you are talking about. I am guilty of serial "really" using.

Trying to get on it.

Private school around here will run anywhere from $16-$25k per student. It is as they say-location, location, location. As an independent contractor you could probably pay a little less since you won't have to be withholding all the taxes.

My son took ballet for 2 years when he was 4 & 5. He loved it at the time. Dh was fine with it. His friends gave him a lot of flak about his son taking ballet. Dh simply pointed out to the naysayers that it is a proven fact that the study of ballet helps you perform better in just about every other sport. They never mentioned it again. I wish we had been able for him to continue taking ballet. Now if you ask him he is not interested in returning to dance.

I guess my questions are -Is this a cash position? Will you be paying by the hour or a salaried position? Are you hiring this person for a teaching position where you will be withholding taxes or will the tutor be an independent contractor? Based on where I live the number that popped into my head was $50k for the year.

My cat left me a mouse in my shoe once. I am so thankful that when I went to put it on I missed and stepped down on the heel which caused the toe to go up and the present to slide down towards the heel. I made dh dispose of the gift. Then he had the nerve to tease me about it. I then pointed out that my excellent mouser cat loves me and brought me a gift. What has his cat ever given him? Nothing. That's right. I went there. Recently our dog behaved like a cartoon character. As he was snuffling away at the grass trying to find the mouse. I watched the cute little field mouse walk right in front of his nose and under the fire pit. I could hear the cartoon twinkle toe music playing in my head. Although, the dog did get the mouse later which upset dd greatly. We had a mouse funeral.

I think only honey bees leave their stinger behind so don't panic that there is no stinger. I would try icing the sting and giving a small dose of pain killer if he seems very uncomfortable.

I hate when my dh works from home. Just his presence in the house interferes with the routine. Sound travels through my house so the constant walking on eggshells when he is on the phone is a nightmare. Plus, there is the inevitable call downs from the ivory tower "Where is? Can you? When is?" Then he walks through the school room and starts asking questions, distracts the kids, and then when I point out that we are in the middle of school he does apologize but will occasionally throw me the "Isn't this why we homeschool/ For the flexibility and so the kids can see me when I am available? " He drives me batty. It is a miracle I have not done serious injury to him yet. For us, it is preferable that he go to his office.

My 2 love playing that game. I am sorry I can't offer any suggestions because I am not very good at it.