[Homeschool kids out and about during school hours]

Do you have any policy about staying out of public during certain hours with your homeschooled kids?

Nope. Our law states that home education does not have to coincide with public school calendar or hours.

[I am having a low level anxiety attack tonight]

That was my entire point in reposting the crook and monster blog entry. Oh, and quoting Phil Vischer:

https://mobile.twitter.com/philvischer/status/795991002502795264

 

The world isn't ending, half of our friends and neighbors aren't actually monsters voting for Hitler, and the disappointing ugliness seems to be most on display in the words and actions of those claiming they hold the moral high ground.

 

Deep breaths, prayers for the next president to be wise and prudent, and remembering we aren't one another's enemies in this process are all good and prudent things. I maintain neither of these folks were good choices, but I'm not surprised at what spawned both of them either.

It's not ending for YOU because it's your religion which will be codified into law. On the other hand, it's MY family about to lose basic human rights.

[I am having a low level anxiety attack tonight]

I sent my boys upstairs for their bedtime story and by the time I got there to read to them my ten-year-old was bawling about all this. :(

As my 19yo has been for hours.

[Desperate...where do you feed your cats (if you have big dogs)]

Waaa

[Desperate...where do you feed your cats (if you have big dogs)]

Our cat dish & litter box are on opposite sides of the downstairs bathroom sink. We put a chain lock on the outside of the bathroom door about 2/3 of the way up. It was installed vertically so that the lock drops into it, and so that the bathroom door can be kept open enough for the cat to get through when it's latched, but the dog can't fit. It can also be easily unlocked with a hand stuck through from inside the bathroom by sliding the chain up - just in case someone accidentally gets locked in. I don't know if you get the gist from this convoluted description, but it works great and solves that problem as well as keeping the dog out of the litter box.

[How would advise a friend who would like to lose 20 lbs?]

It sorta sounds like you're snacking a lot. You may not realize how much you're consuming, especially if you were nursing, etc. I'm not one to not eat, so I decided I needed to work out and put on more muscle. That way, no matter what I eat (within reason, my normal excessive nibbling and indulging), I don't gain weight now. I enrolled my ds, who was about the same age as your oldest, in classes at the Y and started working out in the women's area. Not only did I stop the weight gain, but I lost 20 pounds in a year. :D And my kid got lots of good exercise and now is on team gymnastics and team swimming. :thumbup:

 

I love the Y. So I would say get your kids signed up for classes, use the child care for your youngest, and go work out an hour three days a week. That's all it has taken for me to lose 20, and I used to have thyroid problems, etc. etc. Oh, I would lay off the carbs a bit. You sound a little addicted there. I would eat garlic daily or drink diluted cranberry juice or eat yogurt daily to get your gut back on track and kill the carb craving. Your gut flora actually determine if you lose weight or not, per the studies.

Our closest Y is 2 hours away.

[How would advise a friend who would like to lose 20 lbs?]

What goes in the lettuce wraps?

Whatever proteins you normally put on bread, although peanut butter would be weird. I think the idea is to use the lettuce leaf like a tortilla or wrap.

[How would advise a friend who would like to lose 20 lbs?]

Eat less sugar and carbs. Don't drink milk or juice. Eat more veges, raw is preferred. Eat smaller portions at mealtimes. Drink lots of water. Exercise or walk 30 minutes per day.

 

Wish I could take my own advice. :p

[What do you do with a child who doesn't care?]

Let her go with broken painty stuff or go without. Let her get a job (not from you) and earn money to buy the things she must have.

 

My kids have never owned a pair of $100 jeans. That's just crazy.

[I am starting to feel old]

My best friend from high school is the grandmother of a 2yo. A good friend from toddler days is also grandmother of a 2yo.

[Parenting JAWM]

This is what I would do:

 

Give Dh's contact information to the math teacher and tell her you are no longer the one to contact if there are problems.

 

Tell DH and son in no uncertain terms that you are willing and available to provide help as requested, but otherwise you will let ds sink or swim on his own merit. If that means he fails then so be it. He can repeat a grade if necessary.

 

In this way you can stop being the scapegoat.

[I know you're not supposed to put a kid on a diet, but...]

What would you do about kids who don't like apples or carrots?

Asking seriously. I have a child with sensory issues who will not eat fruit, or anything runny (like eggs, or oatmeal).

 

It is a challenge.

There are plenty of non-runny ways to cook eggs (says the adult who likes eggs but would never eat them runny, and probably has SPD). Likewise there are so many fruits with different textures there must be something he would like. Go with vegetables instead of fruits?

[Deep breathing/sighing...lung problems vs dramatic]

I never had lung issues until the past few years. I started having an intermittent problem like what you described after a bad chest cold. I had it so bad last fall I went to the doctor for an exam. I was waking from a sound sleep gasping for air, and had a hard time catching my breath all day long. Doctor didn't find anything, but prescribed an inhaler to see if it would help my symptoms. Problem recurred recently with no chest tightness, cough, wheezing, or phlegm, but when I tried the inhaler I coughed up stuff for 15-20 minutes. Not sure what that's about, but have you tried an inhaler?

[Medical mystery mostly solved, but questions remain....]

Following because we've been trying to figure out what DD's issues are. EDS hypermobility fits a lot of the symptoms, but not all of them.

Same, but not dd - me?

[source for men's XS jacket?]

Have you checked Amazon? I heard they were selling a lot of clothing.

[Who has turned their heat on?]

We turned ours on 2-3 weeks ago. It was a high of 37 here today, and has been snowing off and on since Saturday.

[It's apple season. When's the last time you had an apple?]

Honey Crisp!

[Flu shot poll]

College kid gets it since they are at risk of being exposed in an institutional school environment.

 

The rest of us aren't really at risk.

[Trump book report--very funny]

I was reading through the NPR transcript of the interview (with real-time fact checking) and they transcribed "bigly" as "big league". 

Neither would surprise me, though.  I wonder what he was actually saying?

[Wow..another look at the whole gay cake baker idea]

I don't think the timing of the changes was really all that predictable. In fact, 10 years ago even many gay rights activists were saying that they didn't want gay marriage. The Defense of Marriage act was fairly recent--September of 1996. Whether it was predictable or not, as I said before, I don't think it's right to be cavilier about it, as in, "Oh, they should have known better than to start that business." That's pretty low.

 

And to me it IS clear what the distinction should be going forward, which is something artistic or otherwise requiring an emotional and approving commitment on the part of the seller, or active participation in something that forces them to go against their conscience. Again, personally I would make the cake, but if the cake is personalized in an artistic way where part of the 'product' itself requires an emotional buy in of the couple or the wedding from the seller, then I don't think you can force someone to do that if it goes against their conscience. To me a photographer is even closer to that requirement, and florist is less so. FWIW.

 

And just in general, the First Amendment right to freedom of religious expression needs protection, just like all the other freedoms do. 'If you can keep it...' applies to all of them.

This is not a matter of your religious expression being encroached. You can still worship as you see fit, even praying the whole time you make the cake for the gay couple. They also have a freedom of religious expression, which includes being free not to have to live according to your religious preferences, that also needs to be protected.

[Wow..another look at the whole gay cake baker idea]

By the way, I did some research this morning because I haven't studied embryiological development since college. The medical definitions of embryo that I found were all similar to this: "In humans, the developing organism from conception until the end of the eighth month; developmental stages from this time to birth are commonly designated as fetal."

Not sure what source you were using. Try a medical reference book. Here's one: http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/women-s-health-issues/normal-pregnancy/stages-of-development-of-the-fetus

[Wow..another look at the whole gay cake baker idea]

The morning after pill is often referred to as an abortion pill because the result of the medicine is not to allow implantation and expel the tiny human embryo. It is not the same as the RU486, though. So if your definition of the begining of human life is conception, it acts the same. Look at number three from the FDA: here is the link:http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/BioterrorismandDrugPreparedness/ucm109795.htm

 

". If fertilization does occur, Plan B may prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb (implantation). If a fertilized egg is implanted prior to taking Plan B, Plan B will not work."

 

Just sayin.

It does not become an embryo until after implantation. It would be expelled as a zygote/blastocyst - a ball of indistinguishable cells.

[How to dress a tween]

Justice can be pricey, but they have regular sales. For instance, 30% off of all bottoms or 30% off of pajamas. Also, they have regular "style buys" which are items that don't go on sale, but are reasonably priced. Dd likes their jeans and they are always $20.

 

My tween dd won't wear jeans, but we did get a sale email from Justice this morning bragging about how all their jeans are $25!

 

They do have a good selection of colors in leggings, though, which were on sale when I stopped there last week.

[Request For Recipes]

You can double any recipe to make enough to have leftovers. When I think quick easy meals, that requires the prep steps to have already been completed. So, I might spend an evening making 10lb of homemade meatballs for the freezer, then it takes only 15 minutes to heat and serve with pasta or rice and a quick sauce from canned and jarred ingredients. Or buying bagged salads or squash that is already peeled and chopped. Throwing stuff into the slow cooker is always quick.

[Oily, dull hair in preteen. Help!]

Are you sure she is actually shampooing? I'd pick up some head and shoulders and have her scrub it on just her scalp, let sit while doing the body wash, then rinse. Lather the whole head with a nice smelling shampoo, then rinse. Then work a conditioner into the bottom 2/3 of her hair when she gets out of the shower.