MeanestMomInMidwest
-
Posts
1,556 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by MeanestMomInMidwest
-
-
Recently dh and I have been talking about how it used to be expected that children would eventually do better than their parents (socially, economically), but that when we look to the future, we wonder if that will be possible for our children's generation. This interesting article notes how now it is harder to climb the economic ladder in the US than in some other countries (Canada, Australia, Finland, Germany, & Sweden are specifically mentioned as countries where residents have an easier time moving up the economic & social ladder). Of particular note (since we homeschool) is the author's assertion that the US educational system may be partly to blame for the lack of upward economic mobility.
So, any thoughts on this article?
-
Spring is just mean in March!!!
My sentiments, exactly.
-
we just took many boxes to books to our library. They have a room where volunteers sort through the books, and then sell them on certain days (I've actually bought some books there). The money raised from the sales of used books buys craft supplies for the children's programs and other stuff. Some of our books the librarian said they would add to the library shelves instead of selling.
Edited: I see you GOT them from the library - too much sunshine is making me skip entire lines of text, I guess. I would recommend calling a shelter or perhaps a Foster Care agency to see if they'd like them. Or maybe ask the local hospital if they'd like them for their Pediatric waiting room.
-
Many here seem to have a love affair with private industry, while having no actual experience with it to draw from.I can tell you that in my personal experience, the po has damaged so many homeschool items it makes me sick. But the items that are shipped via UPS or FedEx actually arrive unscathed. That is my own personal experience.That is an odd thing to say, since you don't know me (or anyone else here) IRL. How would you know if I have experience in private industry? I have worked in private industry since I was 15 1/2 and I'm now 40. Private industry has allowed this country to expand and flourish, and many innovations have come from it. I, for one, am grateful for the opportunities it has allowed me to create for myself.
Why assume the "many people" meant YOU? Hubris?
-
the only thing I wish about the census is that it wouldn't come around every time we're contemplating a move. Last census, I had to fill it out knowing we weren't going to be in CA much longer, and this time I wish I could fill it out for the area we'll be moving to at the end of summer.
I think the census people are jinxing me....every time they take a census, we move. By golly, it is a government conspiracy!:tongue_smilie:
-
Nursing is my second career, and is my dh's second career. He was over 40, I was not quite 40 at the start of nursing school. Neither of us was the oldest in our respective classes.
There are nursing jobs that do not require as much walking, lifting, etc., as the typical "floor" nurse. My friend from nursing school (who is a good 10 years older than I am, btw) is a dialysis nurse. She chose this career field because she had back surgery right after nursing school and absolutely cannot lift. She works in an outpatient setting and loves her job.
My MIL, who is a nurse, worked for an insurance company doing paperwork and telephone work (claims-related) well into her 70's.
Other jobs that do not require heavy lifting for nurses:
school nurse
doctor's office nurse
administrative nurse (although this requires experience and usually a higher degree than entry level).
Occupational health nurse
Tele-medicine nurse
I'm sure there are others, but this is just off the top of my head. You are never too old! (didn't you hear that 50 is the new 20?)
-
Thanks for this. My boys (including dh) are fascinated. Also like the hummingbird someone posted a link to yesterday. Last year we watched a bald eagle nest.
-
I do wonder about this. Do you all have little reusable bags for your garbage cans? (restroom and kitchen)
:)
I forget my green bags often enough that I have plenty of plastic grocery bags for the bathroom garbage and other things (we make bag kites in the late spring).
-
I take my own green bags. Once I had a checker try to put plastic bags inside the green bags. Kinda defeats the purpose, right?
-
MeanestMomintheWest is very insightful.
The true issues at play rarely come to light in politics.
Though our country was founded by individuals who were capable of reasoning on this level, I don't see our current elected officials as that well trained. Many may have illustrious, Ivy League educations; they have little ability to problem solve much less form a logical argument.
The last 30 years of presidential and vice-presidential debates along with the "town hall" meetings, indicate that the elected are not that well educated. Either that, or so completely corrupt and crafty, that their motivations prevent them from engaging in the great debate of ideas.
I suspect that a little of both is true.
Sigh, there are many things that could be done to provide high quality healthcare to most and lower costs, but we can be pretty certain that anything that is driven by politics, will be a disaster.
Faith
at the Town Hall meetings I've seen the display of ignorance was not limited to politicians.
-
It's hard to find consensus when the focus is on the area's of disagreement. With any debate, it seems to me that the opposing factions become so entrenched in the emotion of their perceived righteousness, that to allow ground to the "other side" would be the equivalent of defeat. Finding solutions is not about prevailing in the melee, but understanding the validity and contributions of the disparate beliefs. Unfortunately, that can be a very difficult thing to do.
As one wraps oneself in external identification, in this case political ideologies, there is incentive to defend and argue for the perceived correctness of that guise; if the integrity of the given facade deigned invalid, then one's identity itself is called into question.
Frankly, I don't feel that the fundamental values have been articulated all that well in this concern. I hear the discussion focusing around "big government" vs. "free-market", but that, in my opinion, complicates the discussions and wraps it in identity politics. Unfortunately, until this, or any discussion can be disentangled from political self-identification, there is very little ground that can be made toward civil discourse. IMHO. :ack2:
Unfortunately, that would require a level of abstract thought that is not often within the grasp of the majority of individuals.
-
Maybe she can just live and die the way she wants. Not everyone is convinced medical interventions are necessary. Some believe that death will come when it comes, and accepting it at its time is better than fighting against it. Perhaps instead of changing her, just carpe diem, so to speak. Enjoy the time with her that she has left living life on her own terms, whether it be a month, a year, or a decade.
-
from the musical Little Shop of Horrors
Problem is, I only know about 7 words
-
I'm glad it worked out. My dd doesn't have any paper dolls, but she does have these wooden dolls with magnetized clothes. Might be something to consider for a birthday gift. My daughter and her bff have hours of fun with them and they are very sturdy.
-
In reading through this thread, I am in awe of the passionate, insightful, reasoned responses. Priscilla, mcconnellboys, dwkilburn1 - you bring up excellent issues!
Perhaps you could lend your collective wisdom to the following question:
Is health care a right? Do I have a "right" to medicine, doctors, x-rays?
I believe in taking care of each other. I believe we should help those in need. But I'm not sure that health care is a right. And if it's not a "right," then how do we, as a society, provide that compassionate care? What mechanism do we use?
For example, let's say "Joe" lives in a town of 100 people. "Joe" has a right to health care, and breaks his leg. Since he has a right to health care, someone in that town must be a doctor. To set a broken leg, Joe needs x-rays. Someone must be a radiographer. If Joe needs pins placed, then someone needs to be a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a surgical nurse, a post-op nurse. If Joe needs to stay in a hospital, then that hospital must be staffed - round-the-clock nursing care, food service, orderlies, nurses aides, etc.
Out of a town of 100 people, at least 30 are now engaged in health services to provide "Joe" his right.
I agree Joe needs care, but does it make sense to order 30 people in his town to provide it? What if those 30 people wanted to be lawyers, teachers, artists? How can it be a right, if it denies other people freedom?
Well, I kinda think you don't want your example taken literally, but I'll go ahead and reply literally. I have actually lived in a town of 100 people. There was no healthcare in that small town. The nearest hospital was 45 minutes away. People who lived in or near that town knew and took that into account.
If you take any one item, you can theoretically point to numerous people who made that item available to another individual.
Also, this "right to healthcare" has been debated in the past, on these forums. As I recall, lines were formed, sides taken, no consensus reached.
-
Yes. I do this an awful lot!!!!
I have read studies which say that the reason farm kids are so healthy is the fact that their immune system was put to work early and the body had to fight off real big bad germs....so now it knows how to deal with the real bad stuff and ignore the stuff that isn't a real threat (like pollen) and so not only are these kids tough, they don't have asthma and allergies to the extent of the "normal" population. Kids who grow up in overly clean homes end up with a slew of allergies because their bodies don't recognize that pollen is NOTHING compared to the real germs because they never got a good dose of real germs and so the immune systems go into overdrive when exposed to simple innocuous things.
Just a theory of course.....but one with merit in my opinion!!
Hey, I read something like that too....and have been using it for years as my justification for not having a spotless house. :D
-
When you consider that the food industry is allowed by law to have a certain percent of roach parts and rat feces and hair in the food they manufacture - someone's (hopefully) recently washed hands don't bother me at all!!! (I am more afraid of what we don't see).
We should all be grossed out by big business food manufacturing processes - but alas! all it has done for me is let me be less grossed out about people germs!!!! Once I realized that I had been eating roaches with every chocolate bar and rat hair and droppings in every loaf of bread for my entire life.....I just realized there's no hope and gave in to it. If you can't beat them, join 'em!!!!
I tell all the "germ freak" kids this in hopes that they will realize we swim in a sea of germs and the only thing we can do is keep ourselves healthy enough to deal with it. I do require hand washing before eating but not for bacterial or viral reasons. I am grossed out by parasites and lead.
My good friend's mother (now in her 70's) told me years ago that when she was a kid her uncle used to work in a jelly making plant (I think it was Smucker's) and some of the nasty men would spit hockers in the jelly vats. Her uncle wouldn't allow his family to eat jelly!!!
Also - I know FOR A FACT - that they do not recover every body part that a worker loses in the manufacturing of our food. So, as disgusting as is it, I am sure we have all been exposed to more than we care to imagine.
Well, NOW I'm grossed out!
The best policy, really, is to not think about it! :tongue_smilie:
-
I would agree, but it is hard to let go. Human nature and all that. I understand the wanting to hang on and keep grandma around longer, but that's a selfish want. It isn't necessarily what is best or most desirable from grandma's point of view.
Part of me wanted my cancer ridden mother to be free from all the pain, but honestly? The second she was gone, I would have given my left arm to have just 5 more minutes with her.
It's a tough mix of emotions and sense.
True. this is why I advocate for living wills (which are not always honored). If the family can be assured that they are following their loved one's wishes at the end of life, well - it will still be unbearably hard, but there is some peace in knowing what your loved one would have wanted.
-
It doesn't really gross me out. I assume the teacher hasn't been picking her nose or scratching her butt.
Here's what does: I was helping in my daughter's Kindy class (she goes 1/2 day while I teach the boys at home) and the kids were doing centers. The last center was "snack." No washing hands in between (play-dough was right before snack and I saw a child work a booger into the play dough). I asked the teacher if the kids could sanitize their hands prior to snack. Nope. Sanitizer is not allowed because the "school administration" is afraid some kid will lick it off their hands and get sick. She added "hand washing" to the centers flow right before snack.
-
And fully understanding the cost benefit, all aspects of it, is nigh impossible for patients and their families when they are enduring the stress of a critical or severe chronic illness. It's exactly what the author of the article is referring to.
True, true. Not only are they not in an emotional/mental state to understand, the billing is impossible to decipher. Ten people may be in the waiting room for the exact same procedure. None of them may get the same bill. It is kinda like buying a used car used to be. Almost impossible to find out ahead of time exactly what a procedure costs. Different costs for cash, Medicaid, Medicare, and various insurance plans.
-
It would be very important to me in such a situation that the decisions around when to stop are left up to the patient and the patient's family, not a government entity, or an insurance company working as an agent for a government entity, along the lines of a program of spending limitations that have become law.
I am not disagreeing with you. I do want to point out, though, that if one has insurance than the insurance is, in fact, making decisions. They force people out of treatment due to what is covered. They set up the hoops doctors must jump through as far as which test can be ordered when. Ditto for Medicare and Medicaid.
And when families are making the decision (i.e. do everything), they are often not aware or cannot grasp the significance of the prognosis with and without treatment. I often wonder how decisions would differ if families were actually (1) paying for or aware of the cost of certain treatments and (2) forced to watch their loved one undergo the severe pain some treatments cause. Now am I saying that all treatment decisions should be monetarily based? No. But I am saying that the cost/benefit should be fully understood in terms of human suffering, prognosis, quality of life, and economics.
From what I have seen, people select more humane treatment for the family pet than they do for grandma.
-
what about that putty that some use to put posters up?
-
I would do the gift basket idea last, because it seems to be the one you would have to spend the most money to make money (inventory of gifts, baskets, wrapping papers, etc.).
Organizing would be good. You could market yourself in the spring/early summer to people who want to have garage sales. You could organize them and organize their yard sale. Also, people who are trying to sell a house may want decluttering. Our house is on the market and I'm at a loss of how to empty my closets without just throwing everything away. This would be a one-time thing per customer, but real estate agents could refer you to clients. Spending a little money to make the house more appealing is a given.
The photography - if you love it, go for it. Don't people always say do what you love and the money will come? Well, this hasn't been the case in my life, but maybe it could be for you! If you already have all the equipment, you could start as a hobby and turn it into a business if it takes off.
-
When I was a dental assistant, our office had this policy. It was a small office, the exam rooms were small and there just wasn't room for extra people. However, parents could stand in the door of the room. They could see everything and the kids could see their parents.
Something I noticed, though: about 80% of the "scared" kids were suddenly not so "scared" when there was no audience to act up for. Some were definitely afraid, esp the younger kids. But after the first time or two, they were fine. Some of the biggest problems we had with disobedient patients was because of the parents either being extremely anxious themselves and the kids picking up on it, or parents telling their kids horror stories about dentists. Amazingly enough, that happened a LOT. Why in the world a parent would tell their child how painful and horrible the dentist is, then expect them to go in there and sit obediently is a mystery to me.
Anyway, we never told a parent they couldn't watch; they just had to do it from the doorway.
See, I don't go back because my kids will be scared (they're not). I go back because they cannot articulate to me if anything happens to them that makes them uncomfortable. Also because if the dentist (who comes in after the cleaning) notices a problem, my kids would forget what he said as soon as he was out of sight. As the kids get older, more confident, more articulate, I allow them to go back alone for cleanings (and the 10 year old requested to go in alone for a filling so I let him). I do not take siblings in under any circumstances.
I understand the unwillingness of healthcare professionals to allow parents to accompany children. Sometimes it does create extra problems. But I feel that a parent's right trumps any extra problems his/her presence may create. And I speak as a healthcare professional myself (RN). I have noticed there are two kinds of nurses: those who don't want any type of audience, and those who do not care if family stays in the room. There are various justifications for these points of views. I fall squarely into the camp that says, "If the patient requests it, I will do my utmost to accommodate as long as I can still provide necessary care." I also advocate for family presence during code situations, but that's a whole 'nother ball of wax. Sure, I'd like my job to be as easy as possible, but my goal is not an easy job. My goal is to provide excellent care along with patient advocacy, no matter how inconvenient or time consuming that is for me.
this is what I found in the bottom of a bag of Jasmine rice...
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
My boys think this is COOL!! They think it is a rhinoceros beetle and wish we could find one in our rice. My younger son said, "Too bad it probably suffocated in the bottom of the bag."
I think it's gross, and I would probably throw the rice out (but I'm funny that way about food).