Does school have a policy on bullying? Everywhere I look I see "zero tolerance for bullying" so this needs to end, immediately. Retorts are highly unlikely to make it better.

:wub:

At that point, why not just issue them all concert choir dresses? https://www.stageaccents.com/women-s/formal-dresses/maltese.htmlOr is that not OK because it might scandalize people if they're aware that some girls are actually female-shaped? I'd say just have the girls all wear potato sacks, and then hope someone shows up like this ;) http://themindcircle.com/marilyn-monroe-and-the-potato-sack-dress/ Excessively restrictive dress codes that only target girls make me a very special kind of angry. I'm totally curious if you have a link to that dress code. I broke a tooth and I'm in a bad mood, so I'd love to focus my crankies somewhere better deserving

FOr decorations, STAY AWAY FROM PINTEREST! The "theme" can be as simple as the color blue. No need to go all out designing a farm animal wonderland or creating a barnyard with a petting zoo photo booth, or hire a three-ring circus, KWIM? Bluebtablecloths or paper placemats, everyday white napkins and paper plates, clear plastic silverware and cups. I've also found it saves sanity and breaks about even $wise to just get a case of bottled water and a case or two of canned sodas, or Hawaiian Punch or lemonade come in cans. No cups, and automatic portion control :D I love the idea of borrowing boys toys for centerpieces. Puzzles and games work too- plus adults can have fun playing Connect Four, checkers, Candyland, or building simple puzzles or block towers while they gather and wait. Food: very limited menu. Not every event has to have a candy buffet and popcorn bar ;) Chicken salad on mini croissants (we LOVE Sam's Club for those) veggie tray- just carrots and broccoli, maybe cucumber slices- keep it simple. A platter of grapes and cheese cubes... and cake. Coffee and tea. Easy, inexpensive, but still nice.

I am so sorry. Sorry for the loss, and sorry that the relationship was so difficult. :grouphug:

I didn't vote yes, but how about you go and wear white like she did at your wedding and have her photographer take photos of YOU to make up for her mother's idiocy at your wedding? And I wouldn't go because we aren't close, but I wouldn't have a rule to go to no weddings if we couldn't go to all. I've gone to weddings so casual acquaintances and distant relative because it was convenient,many had to miss weddings of dear friends and families due to cost or other circumstances.

More hugs :grouphug: and something for you to laugh about... over the summer we had both bathrooms redone. They are back-to-back, mirror image of each other, and the plumbing for both sinks, toilets, and tubs were tied together, so it made sense to do both. We had some serious issues, such as water leakage/damage, broken semi-functional fixtures, and falling-apart tub surrounds, so not just a cosmetic remodel. Anyway, we picked out the basic stuff: tub or shower, color of fixtures... but little details such as exact placement of the shelves in the shower? Or the precise height of the grab bar? Or the placement of the shower curtain rod? He kept asking me about those, and honestly, I had NO IDEA. Like where should the grab bar be? He kept saying it was up to me and I had no clue. I kept trying to ask where do most people place it? DH & I are average height, so no need for anything unusual. I shoulda called your guy :rolleyes: I hope this gets straightened out and you get the kitchen you want.

Long ago, Diamond had a fish who got kinda bloated and weird looking, like you inflated a pinecone. Dropsy, I think the fish store guy said it was. He did give the "slow freeze" advice, but we couldn't do it. She loved this fish. So we called the fish store as they were closing for advice The fish store guy said that fish didn't feel much pain (hoping he was right, I never researched) from it, but needed to be separated from the other fish. So late at night, we head out to the 24hr grocery store to buy a "cheap" $25 plastic fishbowl setup for our new "fish hospital" and got some drops or medicine the next day. We set him up right next to the other fishtank so he wouldn't miss his fishy friends. I have no idea how long he lived, but his days were happy, I guess ;)

Diamond took Business Math for her associate degree at community college. She is currently a transfer student, dance education major. She will be able to fulfill her math requirement with a personal finance course.

Zinc lozenges

Ahhh, I think we're picturing two different things. I am thinking not of just leaving a two hour event, but leaving. For good. Never returning to something because someone else is causing problems and there is nothing you can do except walk away and never return, including your entire family. True, we do have more options to walk away from things as homeschoolers, but I suspect we all want the same thing: to be able to participate in our chosen or available options without having to deal with buttonholes. That is awful! Yep. Especially in a state that only issues restraining orders for domestic abuse. Which means it's always up to the person being bullied or whatever to avoid the perpetrator/s, since there is no way to make them avoid you.

I don't know I how old OPs DD is... but we are not always able to arrange everybody's schedule to suit everyone, even if we intentionally celebrate a birthday on another day (3/5 of my house have birthdays that often fall on those variable-date holidays) We have work, school, and performance schedule, plus Grannies have work schedules too. If someone misses, they miss- Birthday person's schedule and desires have to take priority Anyway, I would NOT be OK with anyone directly contacting a group leader to arrange anything. Nope nope nope. And I also don't have the kids miss scheduled activities, as suggested above. If Granny can't miss whatever is preventing her from attending the child's actual birthday party, why should the child miss her activities to have cake with Granny? Unless this Granny lived far far away and was only in town for two days every five years- then we'd cancel everything to spend time.

Whoa! What happened? So sorry. You mentioned earlier that this child might still come to your house to play? Maybe not a concern if things ended badly, but if he stole in the morning, what would stop him from stealing after school as well?

Except homeschooled kids pop up at non-homeschool activities, too. Not being argumentative, just lamenting. :( And it gets tiresome that people have to remove the targeted child, rather than tossing the troublemakers out on their rears

Sadly, agreed. And the kids don't have to be younger- some extra-special buttonholes have no age limit on the target of their buttonholery. I would encourage your DD to quickly and intentionally pursue new friendships. If it turns out these jerks were just having a jerky moment and everything goes back to normal next week, BONUS! Your DD has her old friends back AND a bunch of new ones. If it turns out they are justbturnin into jerks, then she has a head start on new friends, and new friends will already have a favorable opinion of her, and will wonder what's wrong with the jerks. (Trying to not have to say, the jerks might start spreading rumors or somehow prevent DD from making new friends. Sadly, happenes too easily, especially if social media is throwing gas on the flames)

This just popped up on the Babylon Bee http://babylonbee.com/news/report-78-marital-problems-now-caused-hgtv-home-renovation-shows/

Depends on the driver and the destination. In PA, can't get learners permit until 16th birthday, then need 65 hours of driving supervised by licensed driver 21+ and cannot test formlicense for 6 months. Junior/restricted license only 1 non-sibling passenger under 18 for 6 months, assuming no wrecks or moving violations (or something like that, parking ticket doesn't count) and then no more than 3 under18 non-sibs. No driving between 11pm and 5am. So, my rule is: my child can drive whomevers' parents are OK with her driving them. It has mostly been to musical rehearsals, church, and youth group. And short trips to local places for food, movie, shopping- under 10 miles, no major freeways. My girls can ride with a new driver provided they follow the rules, and we're reasonably certain they followed the training hours. ZERO tolerance for texting and driving. I will arrange to pick them up any where any time if they feel unsafe. Also, rules for my cars: I need to know the plans in advance, and to be informed if they change- like "Chick fil A was too crowded, going to Panera instead" is fine, or "Found Phil with his family at Panera, so he's riding to Mini Golf with us". No texting while driving, passenger controls the music so driver isn't distracted, and really basic safety concerns. Diamond was the first of her friends to turn 18, so she drove a lot since should could take all six of them in the minivan, instead of seven kids needing to take four cars. SweetChild actually does better with a passenger (she is fine without one, of course) but having someone ride with her was great when she was a new driver, coming home in a dark winding road from late rehearsals. Passenger helped her look out for deer etc a d also texted me that they were fine :D SweetChild's BF got his license a week before Prom, which was downtown in a major city. He drove, and I was fine- he'd had his permit for over a year, had driven in NYC, and his family is probably the only one pickier than ours about driver training and hours. ;)

No cable here too I still somehow managed to see a bunch of shows (were they ever on Netflix?) and while I think the finished houses look really good, I think they all kinda look the same. Not just a signature style, but the same. I like for things to coordinate or look sort of planned or on purpose because after 23 years of marriage I'm still desperately trying to get out of the handmedown curbside decor stage. But I can't stand it when over half of the things in a room are purely decorative with no useful purpose other than to keep dusting products companies in business. And if I hear the words SHIP LAP one more time, I am going to start wishing for that ship to sail away and sink to the deepest depths of the seas

Still a No, but that is mainly because I am 48 and overweight, so I'd look like he Michelin tire guy, or the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. If I had a rockin gym body and no saggy skin or cellulite I'd be so proud of myself I'd probably walk around naked, before, on, and after Labor Day :D BUT since you asked, I don't have any problem with people wearing white any day of the year, no matter their age or shape or gender. IF I were going to wear white pants, I'd probably tone down some of the summer beach look if I could.

Never But I also would never wear them before Labor Day, either ;)

Oh yes! When Corelle breaks, it is SPECTACULAR! I also need to get some new dishes. 23+ years on the wedding set. I think a few might have some weird stains, but that could be from people soaking my dang cast iron pans in the sink on top of the dishes :rolleyes:

Are you applying to a school in a different state? My state has some weird laws that don't correspond to other states, and so some requirements of PA colleges would be impossible for homeschool grads from other states to fulfill. And that's assuming the requirements are possible or even reasonable from grads homeschooled IN PA, LOL! A fun example: Diamond graduated prior to the current law specifying that a parent-issued diploma is valid high school diploma (apologies, not clear on the legal wording or distinctions at the moment) She already had an associate degree, but the school she was transferring to wanted to see her original diploma. Not a copy, but the actual diploma. The counselor said something about needing to see that it wasn't just something we made up (apologies, it was more professionally worded. I can't brain very well tonight) so the counselor took a photo of it on her cell phone to print or whatever for the records. Which makes us giggle like crazy because we literally designed and printed the diploma at home, so we actually did "make it up ourselves" ;) Anyway, a PA college might ask for proof of a state-certified diploma, but not all states provide for that. It the community college my girls use only wants to see a placement and test and a check, so nothing complicated there. :D

If I didn't care about the group, I'd hand it over (are you the only moderator?) to someone, not necessarily the bossy one Are there rules or qualifications for moderators on your group? If there seems to be a good group of people who do care, could you make a post stating you're ready to move on, and members interested in moderating can PM you? Id hate to see a good group come under the control of someone like you described. Maybe make a few members moderators, then move on.

Haha really, it's fine! My esthetician plans to take some business classes at community college, either towards a degree or certificate. I just know that so many tradeschool etc. kids get overlooked at "back to school" time. I wanted to give them some recognition and see who else is out there!

Last year, two of my daughters had boyfriends with the middle name "Richard"