My 4th grade DD is stubborn like me. She was doing Life of Fred for a good bit of math, but when she stopped dead in her tracks on division we started reviewing what she had learned so far, and realized that she still did not know her multiplication tables/fact families. At this point, I don't know where to start. XtraMath.com was ok, but when she is mad, she is lazy with her fingers and touches the wrong answer "accidentally" which just throws the whole thing off. As far behind as she is in math, I don't feel like we can just drop it. Help!? Should we be concerned about some sort of learning disability, or is she just being stubborn?

maybe $100/child, not including grandpa's "allowance" he sends every Christmas, of about the same amount.

I do not love the EXTREMES of Christmas. I dislike the materialism that comes with it. Sure, my kids have a few things they want, and Christmas is a good time to ask...that's common sense. I know people who seem to have NO budget for Christmas. They spend and spend and spend, for what? Spoiled kids? Does a 4 year old really need a new iPod Touch? On the other hand, I also dislike the whole "Jesus's birthday" thing. I grew up Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist...and I was always taught (how could I not be) that Christmas is "all about Jesus". We do not know when Jesus was born. The story of his birth, to the visiting of the wise men, played out over as much as a year or more. I don't believe God ever intended for his birth to be celebrated annually. Jesus was on this earth for about 33 years, but not a single mention of a celebration of his birthday is recorded. It's such a worldly thing that we have created. Don't get me wrong...the story of His birth is important, but the story of his life is so much more so. We've created a monster. With all that said, I will choose all the "Happy Birthday Jesus" over people not knowing the story of Christ at all. I just think we take it a bit far. If the only time someone ever hears about Jesus is "Happy Birthday Jesus" at Christmas, that's not much to go on. I'm sure there are people out there who think Jesus is still a baby. Shame on us.

Times like this I have to remember this verse... "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13 My husband lost his job twice in less than two years, and the second time I nearly left him for other reasons I won't discuss on the public forum. It was HARD. But instead of turning my back on God, I fell flat on my face and worshiped Him, and clung so tightly to Him. He picked me up and carried me, and made me so much stronger. Looking back, I am so thankful that things happened exactly the way they did. God has a perfect plan...sometimes we just don't want to listen.

Honestly, I have never had my kids hover to use the toilet, and they are almost NEVER sick. I have never avoided public restrooms, the only precaution I have ever taken is avoiding stalls with visible soil on the seat, and a firm, brisk wiping of the seat all around, including the inside edge where drips like to hang out. If there is a split at the front of the seat, I swipe the inside of that too. After that, they do what they do and wash their hands. When they became old enough to go in alone, I made sure they knew how to wipe down the seat. It's the ones that squat and spray pee all over the seat that make the seat so "filthy" in the first place. To find pee all over a toilet seat in the ladies bathroom makes me furious. You did mention that it is a church restroom. I know church folks have germs too, but I would worry a lot less about a church bathroom than say, a football stadium bathroom or something like that.

I responded based on the intent of the OP, which comes down to specific denominations, not just broad generalizations. I was raised with an atheist father and a mother who was Methodist from childhood and changed to Presbyterian when I was in 3rd grade. In 9th grade I started going to a Baptist church with my best friend. In 12th grade, I met my husband. He was a member of the church of Christ (NEVER to be confused with LDS, United Church of Christ, International Church of Christ). I don't think we are supposed to be shopping around trying to find a church that "suits us". The Bible is the unchanging Word of God. If you find the church that teaches only the Bible, you have found where you belong. Most importantly I grew up knowing about God, and many details of the Bible. But there were things I never could really figure out...like why babies were "christened" or baptized, considering there was never a single example of an infant baptism in the Bible. Ever. I felt drawn to a church that preached baptism after belief, because that's what the Bible teaches. My boyfriend (now husband) showed me all the scriptures in the Bible that taught baptism was not only important, but it was the point where you are added to the church, to the body of Christ, to the saved. I had been in other denominations for so long that I believed their doctrine. I have since studied it for myself, and come to the conclusion that all these instances of baptism at the point of salvation in the New Testament are there for a reason. Specifically, that this is what is commanded. It makes sense to take all the teachings about salvation together, not pick and choose which ones you will believe.

This one! THIS ONE!! This is A.MAZ.ING!!! Make a sauce to serve with it using Maple Syrup and the leftover whipping cream... Optional Glaze: 1 cup whipping cream 3/4 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional) Directions: Simmer whipping cream with maple syrup for about 20 min; stir in chopped pecans and chill. I usually use a pint (minus 2 tablespoons for the cheesecake recipe) of whipping cream and a whole small jar of maple syrup...proportions are pretty much the same, I think it's 10 ounces or so of syrup. I cook the sauce down and pour whatever will fit back into the maple syrup jar to serve it, and freeze the rest in a freezer ziploc bag....it's really good with plain vanilla cheesecake too!!

We listened to country and "top 40" 70's/80's/90's mix stations for years...then in 2008 (my oldest was 10), for several reasons I won't go into, we started re-considering everything we watched and listened to, and nitpicking with a fine toothed comb. We cancelled cable TV and started listening to only family-friendly "Christian" radio. We kept Netflix, but strictly supervised the kids. My guideline for music and lyrics is this: If I would feel uncomfortable reading the lyrics aloud to my children, then we don't listen to it. They were pretty young when the rule was established, and the "why" is explained well and often. They love it and rarely ask to listen to anything else. Occasionally we will listen to country or mix, but it never lasts long...I am VERY aware of the lyrics, and change the station if I feel something is inappropriate. I feel like it is my responsibility to let my kids be kids....they all grow up too fast. eta: I went back and read some of the replies from the OP...I think my guideline is probably somewhat unreasonable in your situation, unless you are Christian and have other reasons beside just not wanting her to say the N word. Unless it REALLY matters to you deep down inside, as another poster said, not a hill to die on.

Mold is a dealbreaker....no matter what.

To what degree is the other person not sticking to the plan? Are we talking totally wasting money, overdrafting the bank account, or just not on board with cutting back. How long have they been resisting? Is it something that will just take some time? Are they just not willing to read the book? We loved the audio Total Money Makeover. We both listened to it entirely at least 3 times.

I have an Erica, and my own parents are the worst offenders. They both spell her name Erika. One would think they are observant enough to notice all the times I spell it correctly, but it just doesn't click. My dad is famous for misspelling things on purpose, so I chalk his up to that. My mom, oy. My mom is my mom. I don't say a word about it...lol!

There's a big difference between dropping your kid off expecting free babysitting, and arranging for one mom to be responsible for your child. I think it is ridiculous that there is such a policy. What if your dd wanted to bring a friend whose mother didn't attend at all? Would they tell her no? If so, this group has bigger problems. :grouphug:

I don't know about best lasagna, but I can tell you the easiest lasagna... Ingredients 1 pound ground beef 1 28-oz jar/can spaghetti sauce 1 1/2 cups water 15 oz Ricotta or small curd cottage cheese (I use a whole 21 oz container) 8 ounce shredded mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese; divided 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 eggs 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I use dried) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 8 oz UNCOOKED regular lasagna (9 pieces) Method Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In 3-quart saucepan, brown meat; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and water; simmer about 10 minutes. In bowl, stir together ricotta, one-half mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour about 1 cup sauce on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Arrange 3 UNCOOKED pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce; cover with about 1 cup sauce. Spread one-half cheese filling over sauce. Repeat layers of pasta, sauce and cheese filling. Top with layer of pasta and remaining sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake additional 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. 10 to 12 servings. Alternate Method: Recipe can be prepared with COOKED NOODLES following same instructions, except OMIT 1 1/2 cups WATER.

I like it! I never showed anywhere near that much flesh, but it's cute.

This!