Buddha didn't practice what he preached. Didn't he abandon his wife and child on his way to enlightenment?

Agree with the others. Snacking should be minimal. Popcorn or fruit is our go-to snack. Require them to drink a glass of water before eating or even in between meals. We don't allow much snacking, but keep the same water glass per person out all day. Even my 4 year old fills hers when she's thirsty. Make sure the foods are full of fat and protein. No low-fat or fat free foods. Those terms on labels are code words for chemical laden. If a child is still hungry after a meal, by all means offer more food. If they are only hungry for dessert or the main dish they aren't likely hungry. Offer up a tray of vegetables. If growing children are hungry they will gladly eat them. You can always make it more substantial by offering a dip of Ranch dressing or hummus. Good fill-em-up snacks to keep on hand: air popped popcorn with real butter, a pot 'o beans, baked potatoes, nuts and raisins or craisins, or fresh fruits and vegetables with or without a filling dip.

I am sure this isn't in response to my post. For the record my children have seen specialists.

My dh reads to the kids every evening. We choose a book that is entertaining like Don Quixote or a history book like Story of the World. He sits at the top of the stairs, which is a central location. He waits until the younger children are in bed. The older children go about their evening, but everyone can hear. Sometimes he may only read a chapter or two. It is a great way to slip in more school reading to an unsuspecting, captive audience. ;)

I also have a large family, 9 kids. Some of ours are birthed by another mother. My birth daughter has dyslexia, my not birth daughter has severe speech problems. We got her at one and put her straight onto a cup. I have always wondered if I created the problem by not giving her a bottle. She has seen a speech therapist but it is slow go. My dyslexic daughter will always deal with dyslexia. It runs in the family. I have read about eye muscle control and "education induced" dyslexia. Who knows if it was "created" or hereditary. It really doesn't matter, she still has it. We have various other special needs that I would rather not share on a public board, but are there nonetheless. At the beginning of the year I counted how many different math curricula we were using. It was 7. In addition to levels. Seven different publishers!! It works for us. We have used boxed and I have pulled from multiple resources to created my own "boxed" variety. Now we are just using what is working, and you know what? It *is* working. Use what works. It doesn't matter if it is the newest, greatest, bestest, out there. If it doesn't work for you then it doesn't work! If it is the worst out there and it works for you then it does work!! Motherhood of a large family is tough. Just because you chose this life doesn't mean you don't get to commiserate with those who also chose this life. Special needs present challenges. The struggle is real, but the successes can be just as great or better than a success in your "average" child. Hang in there, Mamma! You are doing a good job!!

Yes! Goonies was one of them. E.T. was another I was shocked about. I didn't remember the children smoking and drinking in the first scene!

King's Speech is very good. The rating is due to the specific language used. I am not a fan of gratuitous anything. It is not. It is crucial to the storyline and is historically accurate. We have pretty strict standards of movie watching for our children. One child in particular is banned from watching Leave It to Beaver (don't ask) however I wouldn't hesitate to let a 10 year old see the real King's Speech. Producing a cleaned-up version loses the integrity of the story.

I had a post and lost it. Back to the Future has lots of language. Lots. I wouldn't do Forrest Gump with a 10 year old. There is implied sex, nudity and innuendo. A Christmas Story Princess Bride Secondhand Lions National Treasure Classic Disney: Mary Poppins, Big Hero 6, Parent Trap (1961), Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Despicable Me, Monsters Inc. Night at the Museum The Sound of Music Narnia Elf Pirates of the Caribbean Napoleon Dynamite Nacho Libre Peter Pan (non-animated version) Eragon One Night with the King Jurassic Park

No, not offended. We are going to do the opposite. We are dropping our landline, but want a phone to reach the kids if we are out or there is an emergency at home. No one, and I mean no one is getting that number. Not even the kids, lol. Dh, me, oldest daughter, and our parents will get it. No. one. else. If someone needs to contact us, they can contact us through Dh and my cells or email. They don't want to do that, well I guess they won't contact us. :tongue_smilie: Our phones are for our convenience and I couldn't care less what others think.

Love it!!

Security, no. We do live in a very conservative, pro 2nd amendment area though. I am sure several members carry. One member is a police officer another a U.S. Marshal.

You need to go out of town for the week. Plan a couple of activities and do not prep anything beforehand. He can figure out how to feed the kids. They may eat pb&j all week, but they will eat. Plan a semi-important something for when you get back. Like a good friend coming over for a family dinner, type of thing. Then ask your dh to please have the house clean upon your return, because you know x is coming over. Then go out of town and do. not. stress. about how the house is being run or how clean it is when you get back. It may be a disaster area, but he'll "get it" somewhat. It worked for my dh. Now he asks me to lay down in the afternoon to put my feet up. It's not always feasible, but he no longer thinks my days are all soap operas and bon bons. :D

Please. I write awkwardly. It is embarrassing. How I can learn to write in an eloquent, educated way?

I remember craving bacon so badly I *had* to have it. I made pan fried two lbs. After it was cooked I couldn't eat any of it. I couldn't even stay in thr house with it. Just the thought of bacon made me ill. Thankfully, I can eat bacon again! EtA: Ignore the lack of editing. I can't edit on my phone and it is impossible to type on. I will come back later and at least make the post readable.

Someone can remote onto your computer and basically control it. IT guys do this all of the time. I don't know if it would allow them to text, but to be sure you should change all of your passwords while on another device.

If you ever need to clear your conscience after taking such a photo, post it here. The hive will generously vote on the appropriateness of the photo. Then you can, in good conscience, know it was okay.

I missed if the above link had an age requirement, however I sure hope its younger than 12! We certainly wouldn't want parents micromanaging food allergies of teens. What if they discussed the ingredients with the child's doctor? :scared: That was a joke, btw. That is a ridiculous permission slip, unless it is for a class of 4 year olds. If it is for a class of four year-olds then the teacher shouldn't be providing a snack that all of the children can't share, so the document once again makes it into the realm of ridiculousness.

We should capitalize Dumpster?

All of this, especially the bolded, is absurd!

Hee hee. I know I've said lots recently. My brain has shut down for the evening. I'll post tomorrow.

You all eat weird stuff!

I am a very overprotective mother. I watch my kids in ways that would cause free-range parents to permanently roll their eyes at me and write me off as a helicopter mother for life, however I do and have done all of the things you mentioned in the original post. I have left children younger than 9 in the waiting room of the dentist's office. For the record we are at the dentist. a. lot. and they know us well plus our dentist's office has a fairly open floor plan and is in a decent area so it is safe. The children are only left if I know for a fact they will behave, but yeah, I do it and it never occurred to me it wouldn't be okay. Browsing books at the library? Absolutely! I often give my children instructions for finding certain books and give them guidelines on where they are to assemble when those books are found then I go off to find my own books and meet back up with them. This is done weekly. If they want help from me to find a book, I direct them to the computer system or the children's librarian. It is a life skill. Again, the library is in a good area and has an open floor plan. Every sport my children have ever been involved with has been okay with, even encouraged (gymnastics) parents dropping off. I can't imagine a coach refusing unless they were short on adult volunteers or had children with discipline issues.

I don't see it as selfish. I see it as a way for her to try to rekindle that friendship by being completely honest. It sounds like your past friendship was not completely built on honesty and trust. This time she wants it to be. While I understand it may hurt and hurt a lot, I think you should commend her for trying to do the right thing and not necessarily focus on the (unknown) intentions behind it.

Growing up we had a Rainbow. My parents still use it. It really is worth the money. I recently purchased a Bissell Symphony for our tile.

We are using mesh nylon drawstring backpacks this year. I got a dozen from Oriental Trading for cheap. We'll use them for our egg hunts then sew them onto the back of their beach towels to make summer pool runs faster.