There is a myth busters episode about how disgusting the area around those dryers can get. It's been a while since I saw it, but I remember being pretty revolted. :001_smile:

This reminds me of a former SIL who came to our house with a 5 and 8 year old. We have always been straight up "whole, organic" folks. But, because of budget limitations and having 5 visitors that weekend we relaxed a little with some of the treats and snacks. SIL went on and on and on about her kids NEVER get sick because they've never had food dye. The never have ANYTHING with added sugar. So therefore they were the epitome of health and wellbeing. I refrained from getting defensive. So we all piled in her vehicle to go shopping and her kid starts coughing. She pulls out a half empty bottle of over the counter, bright red cough medicine and tells him to take a sip. She said "he just can't get rid of that cough and I keep it in the car to help them sleep." He protests about how bad it tastes and she hands him a Mountain Due to chase it down. It's a crazy, mixed up world!

I'm heading out for a little Christmas shopping but will be back this afternoon. Thanks to everyone for sharing your perspective.

Yes, I'm hoping that she will naturally learn to gravitate to people who make her feel better about who she is. I haven't heard of misty Copeland. But, will be looking her up right now. Dd is very talented and I'm super proud of her for keeping on pursuing her dreams.

We are friends and I've considered a conversation about it, but am undecided at this point because of my daughter's wishes.

Thank you tammyS. That's the kind of thing I need to hear. My instinct is to swoop in and protect her. I could have thrown a punch or two. Lol. I just don't want her to be the girl who thinks its ok for people to treat her poorly. She is an amazing girl!

A little background: DD is a beautiful and talented 10 yo, with a caring and sensitive personality. She has a strong, muscular build but somehow ended up in a classical ballet studio at 3 years old. Because of that she is very body conscious. Basically none of the other girls look like her. In the general population of 10 year old girls her "size" is not quite as obvious but its still an issue for her. She has talked about how she is picked on, but she has a very confident and mature attitude about it and has asked me not to say anything to parents or teachers. Fast forward to homeschool park day yesterday. One of the girls (11yo) that she dances with and considers to be one of her best friends attends park day and we occasionally carpool for dance and field trips. My dd, the friend and 3 other girls where standing together talking. I was in hearing distance and they were talking at a normal volume. I started listening in during a lull in the conversation that I was having with the moms. I looked over at the girls and at the moment I looked, the friend turned to one of the other girls and said "No. --insert dd's name-- is FAAAT." I made eye contact with the girl and my daughter at the moment she said it. The other girls just stood there speechless. DD looked stunned, backed away a moment and turned her head. I got up to go speak to my daughter and privately said "I think your friend just said something rude to you. Would you like to leave?" She wanted to stay and denied that the friend had said anything rude. So one of two things happened. 1.) DD did not hear the girl, unlikely. 2.) DD is covering for the girl so that the issue just goes away, most likely. 3.) There is a very small chance that I misunderstood. At the time I heard it, I knew that is what was said, but, I've talked myself into thinking there is the tiniest, little bittiest chance that she said something different. This is not completely out of the blue for this friend as we had a questionable incident at the pool over the summer and one when they were shopping for dance stuff. But, I did a benefit of the doubt thing on those, because they were not quite as blatant. I just don't know how to handle this going forward with this friendship. I know there are all types of moms on this board and I could use your thoughts.

Here is one link that might give you the idea. My big guy likes Under Armor, but there are lots of brands. My youngest who wants to be just like big brother gets the ones from dollar general. :) They don't lose them like they do a 12 pack of white ones.

He has a WiiU. He mentioned a game, but regrettably I didn't write it down quickly enough. I wish I would have grabbed the kindle. Somebody could have used it at that price. :)

You guys are awesome. Lots of good ideas to explore. The pony is especially a great idea!!!

I really am not good at Christmas or birthdays. I just have no creativity for making things special. So I appreciate the help. :)

I just put the book in my cart. He will LOVE it. And yes, he would love another pair of those crazy $18 socks. And an MP3 player loaded with audio books. That just might his perfect Christmas! Thanks for the ideas.

This child will not provide a list, because he wants it to be a surprise. He's also not quite ready for a clothes and shoes kind of Christmas. He has plenty of Legos and Nerf guns, so I'm pretty much out of ideas. He likes soccer, crossfit, video games, ancient and medieval history and audio books. I'm sure he would like a new video game , but I don't know which one to grab and he's not saying. :)

My kids hated the games and the silly jokes. The games took up too much time and there was no way to skip over them if they were just ridiculous. My kiddos got through about 6 weeks and begged for mercy. I agreed with their frustrations and pulled the plug. I felt like the information could have been conveyed in about 1/3 of the time if the nonsense was cut out and it would have been an excellent program.

Those were some of the scariest of my parenting moments. It seemed impossible to nurse a sleeping baby. My first three children were jaundiced but the third was by far the worst. Every conversation with the doctor made me so nervous, I think it was effecting my milk coming in. Hard times. I felt like the clock was ticking. But, I started eating raw garlic and waking baby up every two hours around the clock and things started turning around. My thoughts are with you. Keep us posted!

A little different than your situation, but a fun example of clueless dad. DH had to take one of the kiddos to the doctor recently. I told him when and where. He said "ok, text me." I responded "text what? The when and where?" He said "no. I've got that. Just text the general info like full name, date of birth, home address." For real! I promise I'm not lying.

It bothers me, too! I get mad. I don't think I would get upset if someone actually said it to me, because I would think they were just doing their best to be encouraging. But, when it's been said to my friends or family, I think it's ridiculous. I just lost a friend who was diagnosed with a stage 1 highly treatable form of cancer. She was going through radiation and everyone was all like "it's just stage 1--it's going to be fine." 4 weeks later she died and no one ever validated her fears or pain--because it was all going to be ok. :(

Well, I guess pain medicine makes me wired instead of tired so I've been awake since the sedation wore off. Lol. I made coffee at 4:30 this morning and let Dh sleep in until 9:00. :) And the 2 year old is sick. And the place where ds was supposed to have his birthday party tomorrow decided that they were going to close early and the group would need to come early, which was not an option. So, I had to plan an alternative party at the last minute. Everyone said it was a blast, but DH forgot to take pictures. Oh, my mom made me the best smoothie ever, so that was nice. Lol.

Is it bad that I am looking forward to dental surgery tomorrow! The doctor said I will be out all weekend and absolutely should not be responsible for anything whatsoever until Monday morning. Nothing, but sleeping. Right now it feels like a dream come true. :) I didn't even get a weekend off with child births. He said it would be best to send kiddos off to the grandparents, but since that's not an option he could write up a prescription for me to tape to the closed bedroom door. I really, really like this guy. It seems like he gets motherhood. Lol. I just hope that pain doesn't interfere with my weekend off.

Another thought...desensitation is done under very close medical supervision. I would be surprised if she has not discussed this very issue with the allergist. My son's allergist talks with us a lot about this kind of thing (forms and how to fill them out, what accommodations to ask for, which accommodations are probably not necessary). Doctors generally go under the assumption that the kids are in school all day, so they discuss this liberally with their patients. With the information provided I would not assume that the mom "lied" or falsely filled out the paperwork.

This thread is going to make my brain hurt. I won't be able to get it out of my mind for days. :) My almost 7yo has a life threatening peanut and tree nut allergy. I have a daughter with non-life threatening food allergies. I am an attorney. And my husband is a culinary arts teacher. This brings up so many issues I could write a thesis on it! But, I don't have any real advice, yet. I'm still pondering. :) Just some brief thoughts for now...it would not be difficult to accommodate this particular child, especially with the cross contamination risk eliminated by desensitization. My husband has taught cooking classes for 15 years and has never needed to use peanut or tree nut products to complete a lesson. Most semesters he has at least one child with food allergies in his class and he has always made whatever effort necessary to include the child. Not only is it the right thing to do for the student, he is required by law to do it. Whether or not there is a known food allergy in the class, it is important for anyone who works directly with kids and food to be aware of the signs of an allergic reaction, how to avoid cross contamination and what to do in an emergency. It could actually be worked into a very valuable lesson for all of the students. My husband has designed such a training program. It's really cool and the kids get excited over his chef coat and hat. I think that in the near future everyone will pause before serving a peanut or treenut product to any group of kids as many/most food allergy deaths occur with unknown or undiagnosed allergens.

My Dh uses our church kitchen. It works out well. :)

Prayers that all goes well with the appointment. DS has severe allergies and he thinks that the little girls are less likely to show up with peanut butter dripping off their faces. :)

That makes me smile. I think it's going to be a fun ride.

Starting at 14 is awesome! My guy thinks it will help him with balance and flexibility.