I mean this in a kind and sympathetic way. I think that when you are 5, throwing a tantrum may be the only way you can express your feelings of frustration at the injustice of life. At 39 I could probably sit down over a cup of coffee and explain why I feel the rule about snacks is wrong. I could explain that I feel I am not being treated with respect or fairness. I could have a rational discussion about it. At 5 I can't do any of that.

Two of my neutered female cats behave like this to all the other cats and the dogs. One neutered female and two intact males are quite friendly to each other and the dogs. One recently deceased neutered male was also friendly to everyone.

Nigella Lawson's 'Feast' and 'How to Be an Domestic Goddess'

No - not that I couldn't seriously use some, but I'd be too scared that something could go wrong. I had an emergency C-section with baby5 and almost died. I'd never go through unnecessary surgery for anything after that.

Thank you! Just ordered the Fagles one from Amazon.

I'm not very intellectual or well read, so I want a modern translation that I can understand, but not a kid's version. I just finished the Epic of Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell and found it easy to understand and enjoy. I have two other versions that I really struggled with. So, which translation of the Iliad would you recommend for me?

I don't think it's disobedience. I think a lot of kids can't just sit and wait without starting up something to amuse themselves. Maybe it would be better to go to the bathroom before you ask them to sit down? Or give them something to do while they are waiting?

"I don't want to be like other kids" - ds 14 "I want to catch up with my age group" - dd 9 (not sure exactly what she means, we'll discuss later) "Because it's fun!" - dd 5

Not long ago the check-out lady commented on how particularly beautiful one of my daughters is. Both my daughters were standing right there. She didn't say which one, and I didn't ask. I honestly cannot tell which one she meant.

No, never intentionally. I don't have cruise control on my car so sometimes I've noticed myself creeping over the speed limit. I generally try to drive at 5mph below the speed limit just to keep myself on the safe side. Which means I'm doing 45mph on the open road because my vehicle is restricted to 50mph. If I had the power ( and please tell me I'm not the only one who dreams of how much better life would be if I was in charge :lol:) I would reduce all the speed limits by at least 10mph. So many lives are lost because of speed, and not just illegal speed. There is absolutely no reason why we all have to get wherever we are going so fast. As to keeping within the speed limit I do, very strongly, believe it comes down to the same moral issue of 'doing the right thing'. In fact I'd be happy to see much, much stiffer penalties for speeding... Can you tell I feel quite strongly about this?:lol:

I'd like to get back the countless hours of my life I've spent making plans and lists and amazing feats of organization. I just do the stuff that needs doing now - no need to plan or schedule, just do it as it needs done.

Understand what you mean - I used to feel like that. Now, I don't want any excitement at all. I like being at home all day and having a peaceful routine and a calm life.

I had this discussion with my children just recently. One of them jokingly pointed out how easy it would have been to do something dishonest in a certain situation because "no one would ever know", another replied "God would know". I said it wouldn't matter even if God would never know, or even if God didn't exist. The right thing to do is the right thing to do because it is the right thing to do. I really hope that is why I do the right thing and I hope it's why my children will make moral choices.

Sarita, I feel bad for my snippy response above. Clearly you needed support and constructive ideas which I'm glad to see you have received from the wonderful ladies here. One thing I thought you could do now is ask the girls to tell you all the toys they want back. Name them, I mean. Every time they ask for a toy by name, you immediately return it to them. Could be there are a lot of toys they don't really care about and won't ask for. I think sometimes we think we are being nice to our kids by giving them a lot of toys but really it's very stressful to them to have so much - especially when they have to think about keeping it all tidy. Hope you have a good day today.

Well, I had a good night's sleep and dreamed about...... horses! :lol: I don't have much to add to the discussion except to say that it has indeed been pleasant. Thank you to Carmen and thank you to Dawn for going to all the trouble to find those links for us.

Thank you - yes, the horse one. I've seen plenty pictures of fossils, the transitionary ones are what I'm looking for. I'm off to have a good read of that website now.

Kids can't keep their toys tidy. It's a simple fact of life. YOU have to tidy them. You didn't spend all that money on toys to keep them in storage did you?

These links are good, very interesting. Especially the one from Berkley which includes a video of a lecture with slides. I'm still feeling a little frustrated that we never get to see photographs of the fossils which are used to demonstrate evolution.

Thank you, Dawn. I'm working my way through these links. Downloading RealPlayer right now so I can see the slides from one of them. Hoping there may be photos of the fossils there.

I understand what you are saying here Soph. My worry is that I am doing exactly this (but from a creationist standpoint) with my kids. I really do want to present them with all the facts. I'm having a hard time tracking down the facts though.

Thank you. I read the site. Question 13 comes nearest to answering my question. Links to photos of the fossils would be nice. I'll check some of Dawn's links now.

Well, I'd still like to see the pictures of what they do have.