I had a delicious, savory pumpkin soup at a friend's house the other day. It was so good! (But I don't have the recipe.)

Wow, that's a lot to handle, Melissa. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I'm sorry you are dealing with all of that. Will pray for you and your family right now.

:grouphug: I'm sorry. Hang in there!

Probably when he starts high school, or needs one to contact us for extra-curricular activity pick-up Maybe 15? Dummy phone We pay Rules/restrictions will depend on problems that arise; however, phone does not go into the bedroom at night. I have strong feelings about the smartphone, but not a dummy phone.

My youngest ds is a teen now, but he has never played with anything much when we travel. I would provide plenty of activities, etc., only for him to look at them a few minutes, and then have hours left. Even now, the only thing that helps him pass the time on a trip is earphones with his music and a bag of snacks he can access at any time.

Veggie tray sounds good. With chili, we like to have grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and the original sized Fritos to put in it. Or sometimes I will make cornbread instead of the Fritos (but we've come to prefer the Fritos).

Any updates, Night Elf? How has it been going?

Oh no, Melissa. Not again! :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Isn't that the truth!

Yes. I had four kids 7 and under, including twins; I guess that was the time I had the most young kids (we have six in all). Of course, anybody can get in a fix with young children. I wasn't a perfect parent, and my kids were not perfect kids. When we were teaching our kids how to eat in restaurants, one of us sometimes had to go outside with a child. Sometimes the rest had to hurry up so we could go home. And sometimes we avoided nice restaurants for awhile and ate at more kid-friendly places. We made our kids sit at the table with us and not run around disturbing other patrons. If they got too antsy, we left and took our conversations elsewhere. I guess I just see the above as part and parcel of being a parent; sometimes you have to put your own desires (to stay) aside and take care of your child. That is both for the sake of the child and for the sake of the other patrons. I'm not hating on kids, or hating on moms for having rowdy kids; it's just part of the "responsible" part of parenting little kids.

I get frustrated at the produce and sometimes the meats at ours (as in the quality and sometimes they don't have what I'm looking for). But pretty much any packaged food is cheaper, and in my opinion, comparable in quality. Crackers, cookies, cereals, chips, and so on, in addition to the things Sparkly mentioned.

Most meltdowns in stores situations, etc., don't bother me too much. And on an airplane? Really, what are you supposed to do? (btdt on both of those, and you are just trying to push through the situation as fast as you can). The situations that bother me are when the parents are contentedly and calmly ignoring a child who is screaming, crying, or running around like crazy, in an environment where people are there to relax or listen/learn from something--a restaurant, a movie, a concert, church. Sometimes the child needs to be removed and helped to calm down in private. I generally try to have patience, because you don't always know what is really going on. But there are parents for whom it is a pattern.

I think they are both important. I think it is a big thing to recognize how you view this differently; it can give you both insights into how you process, which increases understanding of your interactions.

I've worn them for years, and really like them. It took a few days to get used to the first ones, and usually takes a day or so to get used to a prescription change. One pair was not done quite correctly, so it was annoying because it was slightly off where I needed it to be for my sight (one out of four, I think). The biggest issue I have with them is the cost. They are worth it to me, but I really hate shelling that out.

I'm praying for you right now as he has this done. :grouphug: I imagine he went to work to help distract himself. Praying the results are the best possible.

My kids enjoyed this: https://www.amazon.com/Ed-Emberleys-Drawing-Book-Animals/dp/0316789798/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509395530&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=ed+emberley+fingerprint+drawing+book even though I know you were asking about reading books. We also had one of the fingerprint ones that they enjoyed a lot, but it looks like the cover must have changed and I don't see it. And this one looks like a lot of fun: https://www.amazon.com/Ed-Emberleys-Drawing-Book-World/dp/0316789720/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1509395687&sr=8-2&keywords=ed+emberley+drawing+books+for+kids For reading books, the My Father's Dragon trilogy was always a favorite around here. ETA: I'm sorry that second link didn't work--either time I posted it. If it's hard to see, it is Ed Emberley's Drawing Book: Make a World.

I'm so sorry. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I can't remember, and don't really want to go back over the regulation document right now. I just know it was very detailed and more than I am interested in doing. Especially if the 2 kids were from the same family. I think background checks are fine. In fact, we did them recently for something else. But the other stuff is too much for me. I like office work, but would prefer to be able to do it at home. My skills are out of date, but I have the basic talent for that kind of thing--kind of an innate ability to research and organize information, and most places that hire have a training period anyway. I've just got to find somebody who would hire me. I'm not seeing much out there, especially for part-time.

Well, there are pages of regulations, many of which are just part of being a careful parent. But it goes too far/too detailed to me, and I don't want to always be tense or concerned about whether I am doing everything just right by the regulations.

I have thought about the tutoring, but it doesn't really interest me very much. I really prefer office type work, handling and organizing information, writing, etc. I did a few things through a freelance site a couple of years ago, but the pay was so little for such a lot of effort, that I struck that off the list as well.

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a good one to consider. I also found a part-time online that I will apply for. It's not at home, but I think the situation is such that my son could find a corner and work there (it's a public place where that wouldn't be obtrusive), or could walk over to the library which is closeby the work site. We just don't want him to be home by himself all day.

I'd rather not be too specific (if someone wants to research it to figure it out, they can ;) ). $200/wk is a bit more than the daycare centers here charge. There would also be cost in some of the things to be compliant. I really wanted to just keep a couple of kids and treat them like I did my own; relaxed, a simple routine with lots of reading, playtime, rest time, and outdoor play. I have no desire to turn in immunization records of each child and each member of my family, make up menu sheets, and so on and on.

Not if it's over 15 hrs/wk on a regular basis. Only if the child is a relative. I had no idea. Okay...prayers needed.

I checked into the licensing laws here, and they are pretty restrictive. I had glanced at them before starting the thread, but should have read more thoroughly; I was expecting something like Catwoman mentioned. However, you can't even keep one child in your home regularly without it. That's sad to me. I understand the need for some regulations, but you can't even regularly babysit without all the licensing requirements? I guess I lived overseas too long... ETA: I have no desire to jump through all those hoops. I have no doubts that what I could offer would be much superior to a daycare environment. But nope--don't want to go through all that.

Ha--I wish. LCL area; that wouldn't work here.