How much do you spend at amazon? I should be getting a card, too. :lol:

Wait, I have to spend a week or so with extended family? They'd have to pay me.

Have you tried the Lose it site? It has helped me immensely. I dislike keeping track of my food and calories, but this has made it so much easier. http://www.loseit.com/index.jsp#Home

I agree with the others that autonomy is a natural progression. If you have a good relationship with your kid, model a good work ethic, and help guide his character it will all work out. My oldest is about to leave a year early for university. When he was 12 he wanted to live with me forever. LOL Last night, we stayed up together and watched a movie laughing. He has had a job since he was able to get one at 16. It all works out. Really. :)

You are very fortunate having your dh so supportive. If those supplements don't work would you consider an anti-anxiety prescription? I've seen lives changed from anti-anxiety meds. :grouphug:

Praying here. I wonder if the stress you are feeling is more an anxiety issue? Have you considered seeing your doctor about it?

Isn't the house already priced with the knowledge that it needs updated?

Younger - I would recommending fostering to adopt. No way would I adopt kids that hadn't lived in my home at least a year.

Plus, they have great customer service. I choose amazon over others often just based on their return policies and great customer service. I buy big ticket items, too.

Yes, yes, yes! You can share it with all your immediate family members. I easily make up for it in how much I buy, plus it gets here faster. I get it every December for Christmas from dh.

I know! I look at my kids' friends pages & wonder where their parents are. If my kids postedanything like some of these teens we'd have a good sit down talk & probably lose fb.

Even minimum-wage jobs are now done through contacts a lot of the time. My 17ds has been offered 2 jobs this month from people he knows trying to lure him away from his current employer. Most of his friends don't even have jobs, but they aren't trying very hard to find one either.

I think they have 1 rude worker, and I had her on the phone one time. Other than that they are pretty good to work with.

Really? We take days off for camps & camping, family fun days, or decluttering days etc. Math and reading is pretty standard here during summer. :001_smile:

Easy planned menus, organized chore list & lesson plans, everyone pitching in to do the cleaning, 17ds able to help me chauffeur kids around, using the timer on myself and the kids so we don't waste time on our favorite time wasters (computer/tv/whatever), moving in town, just learning that I don't have to be perfect and being a mom means I have to be flexible. Things don't always go as planned, and sometimes kids' needs supersede any goal of mine for a clean house or nice yard. And it is all okay. :)

Are you sure he doesn't just want you to put them in school and get a job? My dh does not tell me he wants to homeschool, in fact he's said he wouldn't homeschool if I died. :( He thinks my job is way harder than his, but it isn't.

That is true. In my state, juvenile sex offenders are not made known, and even though we have laws so the school will know of offenders there are other gov. agencies that have confidentiality policies and so do not share with the school districts.

They don't. In fact, there are kids that are sex offenders and people aren't allowed to be told.

No, we don't give gifts except at Christmas and then it is a family photo & restaurant gift card. My mom does send me money & mil will send me a gift card, but I wouldn't be hurt if they stopped. I don't want my kids to get me stuff when they are adults. The last thing I'll need is more stuff to clutter my life with. Send me pics of my grandkids, homemade cards, and the kiddos art. That is all I want when my kids are grown. :001_smile:

Have you mentioned using gluten-free quinoa? You can use that in place of any rice in a meal and it is very easy.

I like liver, but don't eat it anymore. While it is high in iron, it is a filtering organ. I agree with Impish, it's kind of gross to me now.

That sounds so sweet. I think if we did BIB, I'd make sure to have one of those BIB trays.

I also took a nap. So nice.

If one of my kids brought me BIB, I would smile, thank them, and eat it. That is true. :001_smile:

I admit I don't like BIB, and I don't serve it to anyone in this house. The thought of breakfast all over the sheets & mattress & having to clean it up is not inviting.