For those who are tired of questioning from family and friends about whether your daughter will have adequate socialization is heaven forbid you home educate all the way through high school. Read this and be prepared to be horrified. This is the "socialization" our daughters are missing out on...they can keep it. I sense I am preaching to the choir here but seriously there is no case that can be made that this is of any value whatsoever in fact herd mentality makes for an ugly Spencerian Survival of the Fitttest. I am so glad we ignored the naysayers and did things our way. http://www.slate.com...er_kids.html��. It will not post google slate mean girls article and the link will show up.

May I brag a moment? OK I am going to so just go with it. We only took AP exams, SAT and ACT. To date, we have received over six figures from 7 schools based on test scores and my very transparent, inclusive and broad transcripts complete with book lists. It was the decisive factor in every award given. You have no idea how very little is expected in terms of reading in high schools today it is all about experiential learning and group projects. Trust me on this. Teach the AP courses you think you will excel at and take your child to the local high school for the exams. Study on a schedule that would make lesser mortals shake their fists at the sky for having been born to a home schooling mother. The SAT and ACT matter far more than anyone is honest enough to say. Kill those exams and the world is your oyster, do moderately well and the results will be moderate. In essence, unis are lying when they say they are not important. They get your application looked at very seriously from the outset. Prepare by doing actual exams from the ACT and College Board SAT. AP did not mean much in terms of admissions but the book lists for Literature and World History meant a great deal when the ACT and SAT scores buttressed my grades and validated that yes indeed my child did read all of these texts many which have been deemed to difficult for college students. Read TWTM and follow it as far as it comports with your values. I think it is a testament to the book that it is both too conservative and too liberal for many families. I call it just right as it miffs both sides of the coin to a certain degree. I am glad to share my transcripts and cover letters with you. I also sent several of her research papers. However they all said the SAT score clinched the acceptance and merit awards from the outset. The other supporting material was nice but not dispositive.

The incidence of Guillian Barre syndrome with this vax concerns me. We have given our daughter all of the recommended vax except for those cultured in egg as she is allergic. Thus we cannot get flu shots(aargh) as they are all cultrued in egg medium to date. I am concerned that this vax might not give coverage for as long as it is predicted to and I am committed to barrier birth control methods to prevent HIV. The biggest problem we had in the late 80's and early 90's was educating young women that the bc pill will not in any way, shape or form protect against HIV, Hepatitis or Herpes. Thus they never made it non negotiable with their partners that condom use was mandatory. So simple yet so totally under utilized. I am tired of seeing many people my age(late 40's) dying of HIV due to the early years when we were not certain how HIV was transmitted and certainly safe practices were not followed. I never want young women and men to think that anything can protect against HIV except for condom use. Or abstinence. I would not want to rely on the latter so being a realist the former is the rule.

Can I just say how delighted I am that there are other Walking Dead fanladies? And that means I am in mighty fine company. Fanlady that I am the Governor has to go. In a bad way. A chompy way.

Why yes Ellie you are absolutely correct. Many puppy "mills" are individuals. In fact the name is a misnomer in many ways. We have so many of them here in Iowa it is hard to keep up with the worst offenders.

Your Frenchie is also possibly "debarked. " French bulldogs are often from the very worst sort of puppy mills. It amazes me that people who are otherwise conscientious and unerringly kind will buy purebreds rather than adopt from the local humane society. If there are allergy issues I understand but otherwise I must assume given the generally well formed consciences around here that many do not know about the puppy mill problem . Here is our local no kill shelter with plenty of information about why one should not buy purebred without at least seeing the parents. Harsh truth here, visually upsetting. http://www.hua.org/ I post this for those who want to know why a puppy mill is bad for all concerned. If you think this is of no moment then you go your way I will go mine and we part friends. For those who care and do find it troubling please read the section on the puppy breeding industry and share as your conscience leads you.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteo arthritis and Fibromyalgia. All within the past 7 years. Today I was dx with erythema nodosum so I am having many tests including some quite lovely biopsies.

You have relatively low post count and so I surmise you are new to the WTM boards. That being noted I will introduce myself briefly. It is nice to meet you and I hope you find wonderful content and friendship among the many wonderful people here. I am Catholic, Jesuit taught for undergraduate and law school. It has been my privilege to see two former OD leave and have normal lives post OD. They are good faithful Catholics and so fortunate to have left what for them was toxic. That is all I can say. So we are on opposite sides of the table on that issue. I wish you well.

...just a lay movement you can join. They typically just go to their local parishes. Honesty please. They do not just attend their local parishes. They are schismatic, dangerous and have all the characteristics of a cult as defined by contemporary theologians . I could not let this pass without a strong response. Just because they are not SSPX does not mean they are akin to The Knights of Columbus . Hardly. They are dangerous. This is for those who are not in the know. http://www.opus-info..._Dangerous_Sect If these pages are not sufficient to make the unwary quite concerned then so be it. I have done my due diligence, have you? http://www.opus-info.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

Awful. Thank goodness that little girl has people in her life that will support and defend her against cruelty. This is just ridiculous that children are dying because their parents will not step on thier fragile little egos and explain that their behaviour and speech are reprehensible. I just do not get it. But I know that responsibility and good values including having a moral compass to refuse to participate in victimizing other people starts at home. My parents would have both gone baja on us had we sat by silently to let another person be abused much less actually perpetuated the wrong. Had we done so I promise that we would have been driven over to the victim's home, apologized to the person we injured and their parents. My normally kind brother, did in fact toss blackberries against the back of another child's house who was not a 'cool kid" and had a profoundly ill sibling.Boy howdy my mother found stains all over his jeans from the berry tossing and marched his little behind over there where he spent several hours cleaning up the mess and repainting the side of the house. I recall him asking her why he had to do this since the other kids never had to and their parents probably did not know what they did. She leveled her green eyes at him and said ,"Because I am a good ******n parent , that's why." That look scared us all from testing her for many, many years. BTW he really was a good boy just a follower rather than a leader at that age. My gosh she was and still is fierce. I am 47 and mind my speech and conduct strictly around her. She used the almighty Anglican claw of death if we tangled with her in public. Like Spock but better because she could not simply use mind meld. Or maybe that was her secret and the claw of death was a distraction. :D

Methinks he doth protest too much. I have seen this too many times. Those who run about discussing and focusing on sexual matters have a few skeletons in their "closet."

US Government is no walk in the park. The exam has been revamped and has more constitutional emphases than prior years. And I am a practicing attorney who aced Constitutional Law and Presidential Powers. Just throwing that out there. Dd aced it but only because I taught the subject and am very well versed in the subject. It might be fine for taking via Penn HS but unless I was fairly comfortable with the subject I would shy away from teaching the course myself. That is just my .02 worth feel free to ignore.

Wonderful!! It is notoriously difficult so congratulations!!

Sadly this ( 40's) is a prime time for autoimmune disease to rear it's ugly head. I have no idea but when the stress in my life reached a breaking point, I developed Rheumatoid Arthritis which does run in my family but I am the youngest to have it. Some of what you are detailing can be high blood pressure or MS. Please have the person see an MD or Nurse Practitioner ASAP.

Hot oatmeal with one tsp of coconut oil and your troubles are over. It is the best thing since sliced bread. I was on iron infusions at nearly 1000.00 a treatment and now only take a daily vitamin as I had endometrial ablation. Problem solved. However if you are dealing with pernicious anemia from another problem than heavy menses endometrial ablation will not solve the problem. Coconut oil from any grocery store that carries it will change your life as regards constipation. It is unpleasant, painful and just difficult to treat. Best of luck to you.

Please do not think you are a "bad parent," you asked for insight and suggestions. I will say this because you asked. Please have her urine checked as it sounds like a UTI or pre diabetic condition. If this is a new behaviour for ANY child be sure that they are not being approached by an adult/teen sexually. Many children especially females will use poor hygeine in an attempt to shield and protect themselves from someone who is trying to hurt them. I would not have said this had I not seen it many times before. Poor hygeine that is a "new" behaviour is a red flag that you need to gently ask if they are safe at school/activities and that nothing, nothing could ever make you stop loving them. I hate to raise this but no one else has. I hope it is a phase and one that you will muddle through. But your mother wisdom is talking to you, listen. Something is not right either with her health or safety. You put yourself on the line to ask for insight and solutions. That says quite a bit about how much you care for your girl. I hope her health is ok and of course her safety as well. Just needed to put the idea out there that new behaviour or sudden changes can and often do mean that gentle discussion needs to take place. It is tough to be a young person in this world. It always has been and always will be. Add gender to the equation and even more TLC is needed. Best wishes on figuring out a solution that both helps your daughter and strengthens your relationship as well.

Your husband is safe because I will edge you out of the Tardis if David Tennant is commanding the ship. MMhmm. yes I would. :laugh:

And the proverbial can of worms is opened. This sounds like the Pearl's and their strawman arguments to justify what is defined by law as child abuse. If you LOVE your children you will not indulge their whims(like needing to be picked up when crying and fed on demand and if they try to explore their environment like a normal human child then whack them with a plumbing line) utter hogwash and madness. But then again I do not likely ever run in circles where this would even be part of a lecture series much less would I have friends or acquaintances that would hand me anything for a seminar. But to answer your query ,yes it is offensive and both positions are exaggerated to amount to nothing more than a caricature of how real people are likely more moderate than either of these two "mothers' in such matters. Most people are middle of the road on many topics but the margin dwelling outliers are so vocal...

My daughter is taking Religious Studies from an archaeologist and although there is no dept per se between the ten courses from the practicing archaeologist(Bethsaida) and a double major in International Studies with a minor in Anthropology she is over the moon. And in the midst of her first class fortunately Akkadian does not frighten her one bit. She might not be wealthy but she will be well prepared for the most important task, a meaningful life. We too are entering this new chapter without debt. I am so happy she is doing what she loves and hopefully in her adult years she will look back and be glad we gave her room to become her own person.

Then your "Catholics" need to get schooled. The official Catholic stance on homosexuality is NOT the same as that of many denominations. Here it is from the US Bishops who are in accord with Rome.. There is nothing whatsoever in this document to indicate that a gay man could not pass muster as a candidate for Eagle Scout. In fact quite the opposite. But there are those who twist Catholic teaching to suit their bigotry of the moment. Please know that those persons are not in fact acting in accord with Catholic doctrine but rather their own version of it. http://www.usccb.org...ion-2006.pdf��. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/homosexuality/

I think you are adventureous, awesome and jaw droppingly brave. I would jump on that house in a hot minute if I had a handyperson in my life or was handy myself. That being said, get an inspection and be sure you are correct then move forward. Your girls are blessed to have a very good role model. Roll up the sleeves and on we go. I tip my hat to you Julie and say Godspeed and God Bless!

And this circumstance is one in which there are no pat answers, no solutions that do not hurt some or all of the parties involved. I think the phrase dead marriage describes perfectly the conditions that are all too familiar to many people who would otherwise say that they would never commit adultery. It is also illustrative in pointing out that there are many ways in which one spouse can betray another without ever "cheating" but is a betrayal and soul wound that takes far longer to heal.

Well then. Former Catholic, explored neo paganism and certainly have many practices informed by that tradition but am a practicing conjure worker in the traditional AA Diasporic tradition. Great idea to start a thread and what beautiful diversity we have on this board. It does my heart good to see all the various types of belief all on one board. I read a terrific book recently by Rev Mark Townsend titled http://books.google.com/books/about/Jesus_Through_Pagan_Eyes.html?id=9GUbQD7-wqUC . It is very, very interesting and I am so glad I read it.

Ouch. Nothing like being blissfully unaware of why women would stay with an abusive spouse. Where to begin? In my law practice, I have learned that all of the following and sometimes more than one of these reasons are the cause of a woman not leaving an abuser: he threatens to keep or harm her children she grew up in an abusive home and has no idea what a good man is nor thinks she is worthy of one, she has no education, never worked outside the home, she has no self esteem, she is afraid of being alone, she is certain no one would ever want her as she is damaged goods...the list is endless. These are the reasons I can post in a public forum being mindful of painful triggers for many, many women here. Please know that whether you meant to or not your words can hurt others.

Yes it is par for the course and yes it needs to be addressed. I respond as my mother did she dished right back. Example:Oh I did not realize you were a superb singer please do all of us the kindness of singing the National Anthem at the top of your lungs. I usually would mumble an apology and quickly learned that mockery and derision were not tolerated especially once one hits the college years. That carp will not fly for a moment. However, I did not permit my daughter to socialize with any groups of girls her age as that is something I think inherently destructive. One or two and the attitude seems fine more than that and you have sociopathic behaviour encouraged, vindicated and rewarded. Flame away but this VERY liberal lady agrees whole heartedly with the oft cited proposition that groups of age related peers are inherently a waste of time and destructive. I know this is a minority and fringe belief but that is what I believe and have experienced. Our daughter has friends who are all ages but mostly 35-65 years old as the belly dance community and Jewish community are where most of her friendships are forged. Mean girls only grow in a the medium where that behaviour is rewarded and that medium is age group peers. YMMV of course.