There is an awful bug going around. I had it the week before Christmas. I felt like my head was swimming for two days, then I was flat out in bed and slept for two days. After that, I still felt "off" but not as sleepy. I have never in my life had anything hit me so hard that just made me sleep and sleep and sleep. One day, I got up and made DS breakfast, then went back to bed and didn't wake back up until 3 in the afternoon. :001_huh: Got up, fixed DS a late lunch and went back to bed until DH got home that evening. I never ran a fever, either, and didn't feel very "sick" other than being incredibly tired. Praying you feel better soon!

I have found that a day of eating only raw foods is a great way to detox and reset my appetite. I have done that twice over the holidays and it has really helped keep my eating and weight in check.

Cucumber and Artichoke Salsa 2 med cucumbers, peeled 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons shallots, minced 2-3 serranos, chopped 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped 1 1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seeds 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoons sugar 12 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh mint or salad burnett (I used salad burnett) 2 teaspoons olive oil (optional) Cut the cucumbers in half lenghtwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Chop cucumber halves into 1/4 inch cubes; sprinkle with salt. Place cubes in a colander and allow to drain for 10 minutes to remove any bitterness and excess moisture. Mix the shallots, serranos, red onions and artichoke hearts together in a bowl and add the cucumbers. Add mustard seeds, sugar, vinegar and oil. Toss with the fresh herbs and allow to chill for at least an hour before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or baked pita chips.

Like others have said, it isn't so much about knowing and understanding the monetary value of an item but knowing that we treat all of our possessions with respect. At a very young age, I trusted my son to know not to throw a toy at the television set or computer monitor. We let our son use our television, which costs more than, say, a hand-held video game. We let our son use the fridge and expect him to not swing on the door or try to climb the shelves. We trust that he will treat all of our possessions with respect. Teaching children to respect possessions is just a routine part of parenting. Our son wanted to take lessons that involved us buying an expensive musical instrument and shelling out for the lessons. We sat down and talked about what we expected from him (valuing the time and money invested) and he was still interested. He has taken lessons now 1.5 years and continues to love it. Should we have waited until he understood the real monetary investment? I don't think so. Children need to know to respect everything whether it was a gift to them or not. We had a neighbor girl rip the towel bar off the bathroom wall when she decided to climb up the wall. (Several children were in the bathroom at the time, washing their hands.) She caused a lot of damage to the wall. Should she have known better? I thought so. But now she does. She learned a very valuable lesson that day. Likewise, we had a friend that was visiting and she decided to climb our son's bookcase to get something at the very top. Thankfully, the bookcase was secured to the wall - but she knocked something off and it landed on something else and broke it. Should she have known better? I thought so. But things do happen. Some children never think to climb up a towel bar. Others need to do it to learn that it shouldn't be done. :tongue_smilie: It is all part of parenting.

:grouphug:I went through something similar with DH a few years back. He doesn't have a big family history of heart disease, but enough that I was worried. I took his bp on a Monday morning and it was insanely high. I wouldn't let him out of the house to go to work until he called his doctor. They got him in right away after hearing how high his bp, and he started taking meds that same day. He has since made some diet/life changes and been able to wean off the meds with doctor's supervision. Go with your gut feeling. We have instinct for a reason, you know?!

Yes. She wrote it about children. But I think the topic also pertains to adults. This is not something that "only" applies to children, especially this time of year.

I don't follow this line of reasoning.My DH gave me a Kindle for Christmas this year, but I certainly don't expect him to "top" that next year. Some years I get some bling for our anniversary, but this year we decided to just go out to eat and not buy gifts for each other. I don't want my child to always feel like he has to get something bigger and better each and every gift-giving occasion. Life just doesn't happen that way. We do have friends (adult and children) that feel that everything must always be topped, but we would rather be happy with what we have and not see gift giving as a competition. I don't know if this has been commented on - but the original topic is not something that just pertains to children. We have friends on both ends of the economic scale, while we are probably square in the middle. I have a friend that got a new car for Christmas. I have a friend that didn't exchange gifts because they don't have any extra money right now. Does that mean that I can't be happy for my friend that got a new car while I "just" got a Kindle or that I can't tell my other friend that I got a Kindle while she didn't get anything? I don't think as adults that we need to be ashamed of what we received or didn't receive. We need to be gracious, yes. But that doesn't mean we have to hide what we received or didn't receive.

I have to admit that whenever I hear the name "Hunter," I always think "slash Gatherer." :tongue_smilie: My nephew is named Hunter, after his mom's maiden name. He is the only kid with this name that actually hunts (with his dad) and eats meat. I live in a metro area where Hunter was the "in" name 10-12 years ago. Every single Hunter I know here is a vegetarian! :lol:

I don't know about a teacher's discount at Coke, but when we visited GA a few years ago we bought the City Pass and found that to be a great value. http://www.citypass.com/atlanta?mv_source=atlantacvb (Course that depends if you have time/interest in visiting other places.)

I've never heard of another male with the nickname "Happy" (or "Hap") before.My grandfather's name was Joy Earle. I have no idea how or why his real name was "Joy" or how he got the nickname "Hap." He was always Grandpa Hap or Grandpa Happy to us grandkids. He always looked so serious in photos, but I remember him as always being "joyful" and "happy." I did find it annoying when he was in the hospital in his later years, calling up to the hospital and asking for "his" room and being informed that "she" was sleeping or in testing or whatever. Always reminded me of that Johnny Cash song about the boy named Sue. Maybe that is why my grandfather always looked serious in photos?! If I was a boy and went through life with a girl's name and nickname, I'd want to be remembered in pictures as a crank!

I respectfully disagree.I had no history of mania or anxiety, but prednisone sent me into a severe manic, homicidal state. I had the most detailed, horrific visions of killing my co-workers. I had never had issues like that before, nor ever since. I had to be weaned off the drugs early and under medical observation. My son was young when he was on it, but he had similar issues. We are both now listed as severally "reactive" to the med.

In her defense :tongue_smilie: she gave DH a suitcase for high school graduation and that was the extent of her involvement in DH going to college. DH was totally on his own finding a college, selecting a degree, moving to college, etc. The only time MIL or FIL visited the college was for DH's graduation. I really think she was more clueless about the rivalry between the two colleges. She just saw the state's name and assumed they were one and the same. Yup. Hasn't sent a card or gift in years (which is fine), but then to send a Bah Humbug greeting? What was the point? He actually asked my SIL if all the kids could go together and get him a flatbed trailer for Christmas. After receiving that card, DH and I decided to join him in the Bah Humbug spirit. :D

DS was premature, born the day after Christmas. My grandma mailed a cute "Baby's First Christmas" outfit for him. Size: 3 months. I couldn't figure out if she expected me to dress him in the outfit in May (when it did fit him) or if she thought he would still be that small the following Christmas? My grandma would also buy a package of women's underwear and open it up to give all the females one pair of underwear. Everyone - no matter the size or age got the same exact undies. :lol: Men shared a package of tube socks. One year she gave my sister men's tube socks on accident and my uncle received women's underwear. My sister fought hard to keep those socks! FIL gave DS a glass jar filled with hard butterscotch candies for DS's first Christmas. Because all one-year-olds can eat hard candies?! Then nothing for seven years... Until this year - FIL sent DS a Christmas/birthday card that said, "Bah Humbug. Can't get in the mood this year. This is all you get." Um. I would gladly take the past seven years when he didn't even mail a card. First year DH and I were married (20+ years ago), MIL gave DH a T-shirt from his college's big rival. (Both big colleges in that state.) DH looked sincerely shocked by the school's logo when he opened the gift. MIL said she couldn't remember which school he went to, so just picked up the first one she saw.

We start our school years in January. Basically, we school 3-5 weeks on, 1-2 weeks off, then take off all of December. Looking back over this year, we did school 10-15 days a month, year-round. (Not counting field trips.) I am in the south and would rather school heavier during the hot summer months and take more time off in the spring and fall when we can enjoy the outdoors.

May I add one? I have no idea who said this or what thread it was in - and now I realized I saved it November 20th, so it is 'old' but still worthy of a laugh. So applies to my life right now. :glare: :lol:

I actually prefer to reheat things in the oven, even soups. I store leftovers in glass dishes that are ovenproof. We normally do school until noon, so around 11:30 I will turn on the oven and put our leftovers in to heat up. By noon, lunch is ready - no work on my part.

We spent four hours at the park yesterday with our homeschool group. The kids had so much fun playing in a huge pile of leaves. It was such a beautiful day!

I had no idea it had been made into a movie. We started the book last holiday season, but didn't get it finished. I had a hard time getting into it, so finally set it aside. DS never asked about it so I finally just picked up another book to read aloud.

Love it! My DS plays in our tree. As in, with his Star Wars figures. The tree is their home base. :tongue_smilie: I never know who - or what! - I might find hanging out on a branch when I walk past. These sure are precious days, aren't they?

I'm a bad one to ask... I just let DS open his main gift yesterday. He is a great kid. Never asks for anything, until this one thing he really wants this year. We have had a terrible year with DH unemployed, several deaths in the family, surgery, then too much employment for DH, etc. If it was any other time of the year, I would have just bought this item for DS. But it is Christmas - and his birthday - so I was making him wait. DH and I have talked about it for weeks - why are we making him wait? It is just torturing all of us. We don't believe that the real meaning of Christmas is wrapped up in receiving gifts. Anyway. DH had yesterday off - a rare treat these days. So I caved and gave the gift to DS. DH and DS had a wonderful day playing together with the item. I'm glad, for us, that I didn't make him wait. Your mileage, obviously, may vary. ;)

We are on break until January, but I hope to get some holiday fun squeezed in. (Hard to do when my mind is off school stuff!) I pulled out our kirigami kit and plan to work with DS on his paper cutting skills. :tongue_smilie: I also hope to get some baking done. Tuesday, we are going to an annual holiday train exhibit with friends. We will continue reading Christmas books and bird watching. DS is working hard on some Christmas music and we have plans to tape him this week so we can send the music to grandparents.

That is actually part of the problem. The mom wants the play times to be pre-arranged and then she isn't home so I can't just send her son on his way. That is why, to me, it feels more like babysitting! Thank you so much for the input.

We have been neighbors with this family for over a decade. Their boy is just six months younger than mine. When the boys were younger, they played well together and I didn't mind having him over here occasionally to play. But for the past year, I have felt taken advantage of (more like babysitting than arranged play dates) and the boys do not play well together. (Boys are ~9-years-old.) The past three-four times they have been together over here, they have not been able to agree on anything to play and just bicker with each other. The neighbor boy only wants to play video games, then complains that we don't have a big screen television. He has complained that he can't watch movies over here because we don't have Blu-Ray. Or he wants to put together new Lego sets, but doesn't want to actually play with Legos. According to the mom, the boy doesn't have any friends in the neighborhood or in school. Honestly, I can see why. His behavior has become very obnoxious the past few years, which is why my son doesn't enjoy playing with him. I think the family is using us as an easy friendship and I am enabling them by letting him come over here to play when they could/should be out trying to find new friends. I have tried to avoid them as much as possible, but I feel like they are stalking me. :tongue_smilie: I really think the friendship is just dying out, but they don't see it because my son is never at their house. When we have been together in a group setting, they will make a comment about the boys not playing together - but they don't see the pattern. I have turned down so many play dates and invites, but they don't get the clue. It feels rude to simply say, "You know, I just don't want you over anymore." Even to say, "I think the friendship has run its course," seems judgmental. They are our neighbors and I don't want to make them mad, but I can't go on avoiding them, either. WWYD?

I voted "other," because there wasn't a DONE option. :D We finished our school year last Friday. (We school from January-December.)

That is what we have been doing since DS's second Christmas. Our kitchen if off from the rest of the house and I hated missing out on all the action while off in the kitchen cooking. So now I just plan for heavy appetizers all day. If the weather is going to be good, we may grill steaks later in the day. Otherwise, we are fine with munchies.