Sounds normal to me! But then I don't know anyone who would consider us normal. My favorite are... (said with as much pretend sympathy, and thickest southern accent as I can) " Oh! poor baby, does it need a kiss??? Come let moma kiss it for you!!" even my 7yr. old will roll her eyes at me. I've been known to use this one Loudly and in public :D or If said child is hollaring or whining... "I better see blood, or hush" or "If you {insert favorite melodramatic wound}, Your paying to fix it!" Tough Love :001_wub: Just make sure they know the love part. Growing up I was taught to tough it out, and I hated hearing kids whine over little stuff, so I have tried to teach mine to not make a big deal out of every little thing. They were also taught basic first aid and are responsible to clean and bandaid small ouchies, but make sure they know to come if they really are hurt! One of mine cut his foot pretty bad, and came dripping down the stairs, asking for a bandaid :eek: Afterwards, we had a discussion about how much blood was "to much" for a bandaid. :D

askew :) It took me a minute to figure out there wasn't something wrong with my computer :tongue_smilie: Off to hunt eggs :D

:grouphug: :crying: :grouphug: I am sorry.

I have this: http://www.amazon.com/Camelbak-Better-Stainless-Bottle-Stripe/dp/B003Z05S22/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1344128491&sr=8-11&keywords=camelbak+water+bottle I am notorious for destroying water bottles or causing them to leak or loose parts and I have been very happy with this bottle. Doesn't leak, and I drink lots more water with it. It does take a bit to get used to the way of drinking out of it (bite and suck) but I have had mine a long time and there are no bite marks, so that's a plus to me. Got mine at Target. hth

Where I grew up, anything south of I-10 was "southern" everyone else was a yankee :tongue_smilie: When we moved north I was shocked to find where the actual Mason-Dixon line was, my dh had to drive me to one of the posted signs and show me :) :iagree: except I would say that northern Florida is very "Southern" and parts of TX are that way also, it's sort-of a mix of Southern and TX, but definitely not Dallas, it's has little left of the Southern culture, imho

ohhh, boiled peanuts,:drool: Trying to teach my kiddos how to suck the juice out and crack the nuts was :lol: My son requested chicken fried steak for a birthday meal and the family we had over was amazed. It was the first time they had eaten it and they :001_wub: I've lived in the deep south and the NE and it's like two different planets! The main differences I've noticed are... in the NE it's my way or the highway and the lifestyles are so busy they don't seem to have time for relationships. in the south it's been much more "live and let live" and laid-back. The bugs are smaller in the north (I don't miss the "water bugs" aka giant flying cockroaches of the south :eek:) in the NE everything is so close together, I still have a hard time seeing how people stand to live in each others back pockets! in the south it's almost a badge to be backwards sometimes, and that's a shame because there are so many smart people I've known who were caught up in that culture and didn't successes because of it. :glare: In the south they are more "polite", "Yes, ma'am . No, ma'am" In the NE there are lots more things to do, closer together. The mountains, and the ocean are day trips, and there are lots of museums and state parks to choose from. Specific areas I've noticed: Texans are fanatical about Texas, and sports. Oklahoma has a really nice state park called Lake Murray, if you like outdoors stuff it's worth the stop, and the people are friendly too. Be for-warned if the map says "scenic" route in Arkansas, believe it! We spent 4+ hours winding up and down mountains. Pretty? yes...but we were so dizzy it was difficult to enjoy the beauty :) In rural Georgia, it's pretty, but not as friendly to "outsiders" as other places I've been. Yes, the locals get tired of tourists, no it's not okay to be rude--from a former local of 2 very busy tourist areas. Pretty much everywhere I've been, if you smile and act friendly, people respond in-kind

Oldest dd has wanted to be a nurse for years. she started and runs an outreach to a local nursing home where they go in bi-monthly and do a presentation of singing, instruments, etc. and have a snack and visit. She's even picked out the college she wants, we'll see as we get closer how it all pans out :D Ds wants to be an architect, but the college costs have him a bit daunted :blink:

Hi, I have two boys that would love to have a pen-pal. Ds11 likes to create things (he made a working crossbow from rubberbands, straws,and chopsticks that would stick in a wall :eek: ), raises rabbits, loves to swim, planes, and legos. Ds9 loves animals, reading, swimming, legos, and mysteries. Snail mail is preferred, they don't have e-mail accounts. Pm me if you have boys that would like to have a pen-pal. Thanks!

I have pygmy goats!! We're pretty low key here but I did insist on good tempered, healthy animals when I started. I do sell the baby's and it depends on the year as to if I make anything or not. Some years I do, but again, it's not alot, it really depends on where you are, what type you have, and what you have to pay for care. Mine are in a meadow they take care of for me:D so except in winter or when pregnant/nursing I don't have to supplement much. Also, I leave my males intact and don't dehorn, so that also cuts down on my costs. I sell them as soon as they wean, so unless someone asks (and then it's extra) I don't neuter, and I like their horns, so don't touch them either. (none of my goats but, that's the quickest ticket off the property I know) I started with full sized goats but for me they weren't what I was looking for, I :001_wub: my pygmies! They are so nice, easy to handle, and have such funny personalities. I have a very nice tempered billy and made sure to also get good healthy, friendly nannies. Temperment is soooo important! I have never had a goat come back as mean or even heard about one butting their owners and I directly relate that to the parents being such calm goats (and I'm sure having lots of attention helps :tongue_smilie:) I can answer more specific questions if you have them, just wanted to join in with a vote for pygmies:)

If you look in the original language it actually references something that covers the "head", different from the "hair" on the head, and gives the impression of something cast about (think like if you have a wrap and you cast it around your shoulders to put it on.) Anyway, that is the general meaning of the original language. I think only certain groups legislate what type of head covering to wear, if your not a part of one of those groups you can wear whatever you feel led to :)

I'll have 2 9th graders this year, a 13yr. old and a 14yr. old. They are both doing MFW AHL and Apologia Physical Science. Dd is also doing BJU Spanish 1, Latin 1, Voice/Choir, TT Algebra, Photography, and Art History, Ds will continue Piano, and take..Drafting, Business Development, LOF Algebra, and maybe Speech. No, I'm not ready, yes, I'm :willy_nilly::)

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't heard of Harmony fine arts or Gardner's art through history. I'll have to look into those, But, for now, since I have this, we'll have to stick with it because of finances. As to how juvenile the God & the History of Art is, I couldn't say at this point. I do know that as a young (13) 9th grader she will probably tolerate that sort of thing more than some might, but, we will have to see as we go along. At this point I'm going to turn her loose with it and see how much she gets done this next year and how she feels about it after using it for a while. She's very self motivated so I'm sure those 2 min. lessons will be added to. When doing art, she tends to loose track of time and will spend hours on it, so this may not last that long after all. I do wonder about how to get some nice color art examples cheap, though. I assumed the curriculum would have some nice color examples of what she is learning about but it doesn't. So, if you have any suggestions for that :bigear: Thanks

Now, see I think that depends on the person. I nursed all of mine and always had to use a cover of some sort except when alone, or with dh. I've got unabridged dictionary b00ks, and even with using my shirt and dc head as cover, you could still see at least a hand full of pages :blush: and they all wanted to "play" and look while they ate, if they could see me, so we were all better off if they ate "under cover" Always jealous of my friends who could just pop and feed anywhere without needing one of those blurry censor lines :lol: On the other hand, I had a friend who was spastic about her boys seeing anything and she just about would have a heart attack if they even knocked on the nursery door (at church where some of us where nursing or changing diapers of baby girls) That totally freaked me out, as if teenage boys are gonna go gaga over some middle age woman and her baby or a dirty baby bottom!:blink: All my guys thought it was perfectly normal, even if I did cover up, and sadly, I think they have all finally outgrown carrying their "babies" under their shirts :)

Did you just use book 1 for credit? I have books 1 and 2 so was thinking I could get 2 credits for them, but wasn't sure. Glad to here you enjoyed it, she looked through them last night and seemed pretty interested.

I'm not sure how much she will get done this year, we use a diploma program that lets you accumulate hours over your whole high school time, so we are shooting for 1/2 year of art/art history credit a year and then if she does more fine but that, with some art shows will give her 2 years credit by the time she graduates, hopefully. I haven't seen Sister Wendy's stuff, is it good enough that I should try to work it in also? Thanks.

Thinking about using this for dd high school credit. If she does everything in the book (I have books 1 and 2) what kind of credit would you give?? only for the hands on art work, art history only ?? Is this even going to be enough or should we supplement?? Trying to figure out high school without :willy_nilly:kwim?

OP This so could have been my post.... I thought things were finally getting better but no, they were only gearing up to get even worse, as if I thought that was possible! I'm sorry, I don't have anything more encouraging to offer, just know that you are cared about here :grouphug: It is some consolation for me, and I hope it is for you to know that you are not the only one, because it sure feels like I'm the only one in the land of (seeming)perfection I find myself living in. So, while I am hurting for you, it encourages me that I'm not the only one feeling this way. I hope that your situation improves soon, and you get to see some of the "better"

:grouphug: I can see both sides of this. I hate confrontation, but I also hate "pretending everything is fine". They are both demanding in a way. You are both issuing the same command "friendship on my terms or not at all" I guess you have to decide if the principle or the person is more important to you because one of you has to budge if you want the friendship to continue. You might also want to think about your past relationship with her very carefully when deciding what to do. Anyone can have blinders in an area, I think it's always good to do some healthy introspection when problems arise in friendship. I have a very good friend who will not see the forest for the trees when problems arise, I could explain an issue I was having with this person till I am blue in the face and they will never see it. I know this about this person and choose to have a relationship with them, but if they handed me an ultimatum "discuss your issue with X or give up the friendship", I'm not sure what I would do because I know that this particular person will not "hear" what I have to say and so it is a moot discussion to begin with and I refuse to start it. {not saying you are the problem or caused the problems in the relationship, I don't know you or her and certainly can't judge the situation just something else to think about, from my experience, before jettisoning the relationship}

I was definitely one of those who staggered home under a load of books from the library and my kids are the same way. We even maxed out the amount we could get from the library (100 books per family, as I discovered:tongue_smilie:). We have a number of branches in our county and I've learned which one's to go to as they all have their own "flavor". Some are rather rude regularly and it makes me wonder why they even go into the field if they don't like to help people! :confused: Our favorite location and the one my older two volunteer at has a great summer reading program, where they read for number of books or time depending on age and get packets of coupons to local attractions. So far we have really enjoyed it and since we know the librarians we don't worry about how quick we get the books read (very fast for most of them) I'm sorry that so many of you have had poor experiences with your local libraries, it is enough to kill a desire to read in some kids and they should be embarrassed to make children ashamed of learning!:mad:

fried egg & mayo, yumm! (especially if you fry a thick slice of bologna to go with it :001_smile: Anybody add mayo to their peanut butter & banana sandwiches, or is it just me?? My dh looked down on those sandwiches for years until I made him try one! He wouldn't make one himself but had to admit they taste pretty good :D

My fourth was not a big deal either, it seems almost everyone I talked with back then agreed 2 to 3 was hard, after that it's "the more the merrier :-)".

I so know how you feel. I have alot more than that to lose and I regret that I can't get out and do lots of things with the kiddos, but it seems so overwhelming, I'm not even sure where to start. Good for you, for realizing what you needed to do and taking action! I hope that you can hold on to that resolve and reap the reward of a healthier life :-)

My daughter is currently learning Spanish with powerglide for young children. She really enjoys it and seems to pick it up pretty easy. (I am partially fluent and my oldest daughter who is teaching her has had several years of Spanish-but lacks grammar as it has all been immersion up to this point) dd7 has us to practice on but I am wondering about introducing a second language. We have the opportunity for her (or a young sibling) to take a basic Chinese class from a native speaker. She would teach Pin-Yin from an elementary school book from China. The downside is that no-one in my immediate family speaks Chinese, so she would only get actual speaking practice(with a fluent person) at class once a week. Although we (me and dd13) are both interested and would likely help as possible. Is this enough for an intro? Would I be wasting our time? I would really like someone to learn Chinese, but I'm not sure if this is the best time. Advice:bigear:

I definitely agree. However nice the daughter seems, realize that she lives with, and therefore is influenced by this woman who seems manipulative and has proven she doesn't really care about your wefare (the red dye) and is willing to risk your daughter's health to prove that she knows best. That's pretty scary to me. I know what it is like to want friends for you/your dc (this is an area we have also struggled in) but your safety (mental and physical) are not worth a friendship, imho.

Yes I did. I really liked the way WWE looked but again, we don't do magic, so all of the stories it was referencing in WWE3 in the sample I looked at(snow white, etc.) I would have to edit. Anything like WWE that doesn't have alot of magic?? (I could work with one or two assignments, but there seemed to be a number of ones I would have to change in WWE, which is a shame for me because I did like it) They did well with it but this was years ago, maybe the newer one's are different. I'll have to look into them. They are all working through typing lessons, so they can all type some but not fast yet. We do use the computer for some of their writing, but I have 1 computer and 3 kids, so I would have to let each one work separately! Thanks for all the thoughts:)