At our co-op, everyone brings a snack or beverage. Decorations are pretty minimal unless it is a formal. As far as music, the songs like Cha-Cha Slide and such that call out dance moves are great ice breakers.

I'm like you...my poor kids have to be on death's door for me to take them in. There are a few logical reasons for this: Most garden variety illnesses can be fought off at home with rest and liquids. In the modern age we have access to some wonderful over the counter meds to fight off congestion, expel phlegm and reduce fevers. Healthcare costs too dang much for me to go pay for a doctor to say "Yes, it's a cold/allergies. Go buy XYZ at Walgreens that they sell over the counter." AND it seems like every time we go to the doctor, we bring home more germs than we took in. So yeah, I'm with you...the kid wouldn't have been taken in just yet. Mine have had the longest, lingering cold viruses this year, so it seems like one or the other has been snotting for months. I did break down and take one of them in because their cold very obviously made the leap to infection (brown mucus, low grade fever, etc.).

(We are eating out of a jar of mayo right now that expired some time ago) I'm in the if it doesn't smell or look funny, its probably fine camp.

If the door is open, I just walk in to my in-laws. They often have just the glass door shut and the other one open...allowing them to see people pulling into the driveway. If the main door is shut, I knock. I don't want any surprises..lol! It is kind of the same at our house. Sometimes they knock, sometimes not. ETA: Our dog lets us (and anyone within a two block radius) know if someone even pulls into our driveway, so visitors can't exactly sneak up on us) I would have ALWAYS knocked at my mom's if she were still alive. Chances would be very high that I'd walk in on something I'd rather not see...lol. She wasn't real diligent about being fully clothed at home.

I've been known to use a metal cookie cooling rack set over a baking sheet to broil mine in the oven. The fat drips into the baking sheet, and the burgers crisp up nicely on the outside. Just make sure you have an exhaust fan before doing so as it does smoke up the oven some.

Disc drives on Macs are hard to come by these days. I have a Macbook Pro that I love. It is really about processing speed and memory. If she will be doing graphics heavy things (web design, a LOT of photo editing, video games, etc.) then I'd go Pro. If she is just doing the run of the mill things like online class, word-processing, etc., then the memory and speed of a Pro isn't needed. You can buy external hard drives and external disc drives for relatively cheap. I have both and they work just fine when I need them. (the disc drive is VERY rarely used, and mostly only for getting pictures off of old CDs or for Teaching Textbooks)

My advice? IF they choose to move near you, encourage them to live on the other side of the city. Close enough to help if needed, far enough to live separate lives. I live less than a mile from my in-laws. I even get along with them fairly well, but sometimes it is too close. We've also lived with them for short periods and I hope and pray that I never have to do that again. I cannot imagine how bad it would be if there was already serious friction. Also, just stay out of the process. Keep firm in that YOU aren't moving, and your family is not sharing a home with them. Period. The rest is on them. They are adults. Make them adult.

Happy Birthday! This is how my past 25 birthdays have gone with my dh. I've grown to accept it, and just shop for myself and pick out my own restaurant for dinner. At least I know I'll get what I want. On the plus side, my kids are now of an age in which they make their own money and like to surprise me with birthday/Christmas gifts. They do a good job, and even took over the Christmas shopping for dh this year. (I actually didn't know about any of my Christmas gifts ahead of time this year!) So there is hope. At least for a little while! lol.

I'll be honest. I have a double standard. I want to meet the boy first, but I don't mind if I (or my dds) haven't met his parents. Mostly, I don't want my girls dating anyone they don't feel comfortable introducing to their parents. Also, I'm not going to judge a kid by the worthiness of his family. I'm glad I wasn't judged that way. I came from some pretty rough people, but I'm a pretty ok person! lol. We don't have any hard and fast rules for dating. It has always been a case by case scenario. I have forbidden a kid to ride in the car with a certain boy. This was only because I had heard numerous tales about his driving. Otherwise, he's a good kid and if they ever actually get around to dating I would be fine with it (this is one of my 15 year olds, who is about to turn 16. The boy in question is 18). My oldest dd just started dating at 18, her choice. We didn't actually meet her boyfriend before they went out on their first date, at least not as a dating prospect. (I had given him a ride once years ago, so I at least knew what he looked like! lol). But my niece went to school with him and told me that he was a good kid. They've been dating for almost a year now. He's been at our house a LOT, but my dd has only met his mom once. I've never met his family at all. Our only rule for her is that she has to be home by 11PM. This is only because her dad goes to bed early, and our dog goes berserk when anyone pulls into the driveway. He hates getting awakened by the dog.

If ACT is a concern, it is not allowed in testing.

Well, the first for us would have been to never even send them to public school at all. (I pulled my three from ps in 3rd and 6th grades) I think I would have been pretty much an unschooler until around 6th grade, and gradually become more planned as we neared graduation/college. When my girls were preschool aged we naturally did a ton of discovery style learning, and then I had to go and send them away to school. I'm very glad that with my younger two we did very informal science until high school. They both have a much stronger love for the sciences than my oldest, who went from science-loving to science-hating after slogging through various curricula. I wish I had been able to give my oldest a better math foundation. By the time I brought her home, she was struggling and never really gained back her confidence.

I would try it. 1. You can drop it by the drop date with no ill effects if he ends up floundering. 2. They really do seem to start with the basics. At least my class did a couple of semesters ago. 3. He can take full advantage of any tutoring they offer. I wouldn't hesitate to send a kid that can write a 5 paragraph essay.

Gift cards to nearby restaurants. (lunch time!) Gas cards Department store gift cards (clothes, backpacks, shoes)

I've taught them that just because someone has attained a higher number of years than they have, it doesn't mean they know everything. However, they've also been taught that everyone deserves a certain level of respect, and rudeness is not cool under any circumstance. They've also been taught that no one has a right to do anything to their body without permission. They are to obey authority figures, but should question anything they think is morally wrong. We taught them to obey their parents and grandparents, but always offered an explanation for why they had to do something. They didn't get into trouble for asking questions if they were asked respectfully.

I like veggies all ways :) I grew up on canned or fresh that had been cooked until they were mush. A whole new world opened up as an adult and I found out that green beans could be crunchy. I still love, love, love canned peas and corn. I cannot choke down canned greens or asparagus though. Bleh. I can our own green beans when I am able and sometimes tomatoes.

Well, I learned (the hard way) that just because I'm driven, it doesn't trickle down..lol. This is the child that I had to drag kicking and screaming through high school, and getting her to take an interest in college at all was like pushing a limp noodle uphill. So...with her I am thrilled with her Bs and Cs. She's picking up an interest now (at the end of her freshman year) and is actually enjoying her classes. This has helped. She's had to find her groove, because mine wasn't working for her. My younger two? They drive me insane with their perfectionism sometimes. I've had to warn one of them that when the inevitable happens and she gets a B in a college class (she's headed into a science field) that she must try very hard not to have a breakdown. She just laughed nervously and said.."Yeah...there are no Bs".

Our cat leaves Godfather style threats by the front door. Headless mice are her favorite. (Yes, I'm convinced they are threats. She also sidles up for a petting, lets you get about two strokes in, then bites you.) Our dog nearly did kill dh tonight. He stepped over the foot of an open recliner and she got under his feet. You could hear the crash on the second floor.

I expected a B or C from one of my kids. I expect As or high Bs out of the others. It is more about what I know they are willing to do. My oldest is kind of a dreamer and has focus issues sometimes. She has made a few Cs in her college classes, but from lack of will rather than lack of ability. My younger two are very driven, and strive for A+ in every class they take, and usually get it.

This is a common phenomenon in teen rooms I hear. My own daughter's room developed a worm hole that sucks in *all lost things*. Lose something at our house? Check dds room. That's where it is. :lol:

Community colleges are great, if you do your research. Just like any other school, they can vary greatly. The one that I attend, along with my oldest dd (full time) and younger dd (DE), has transfer agreements that are very specifically laid out for the state universities. The classes are aligned with what the university wants to see in their incoming transfer students.

I had an iPad before I got my Macbook, and honestly, I've just about stopped using my iPad. My Macbook is just as portable and far more powerful. I'm in college though, so I do a ton of paper writing, and online classes. There is no way I could deal with those on the iPad.

I didn't go, but my dd said it was Mosaic something. (I've forgotten now what she said.) I think they spent most of their time in Queens?

No, it wasn't.

Our family has been extremely picky about mission trips. Some trips definitely can be costly 'vacations' that don't really accomplish anything. We avoid those like the plague. My husband took a mission trip to Romania to help out a Romanian sister church, and asses how our church's monetary support was going. My daughters took a trip to NYC last summer to help a new church up there put on an event to raise awareness of the church in the community. They also helped out in the community in general with clean-up and repair. This summer they are going to help with a new church plant in the US. They will be doing repair/community clean up, helping with events, etc. (their youth pastor is actually moving to the same area at the end of the year to pastor there) My BIL has spent a lot of time in Haiti. He helps a church there with medical help and some construction. ETA: The trips we tend to go on are ones in which the church has developed an ongoing relationship with the place to which the trip is taken. These places are supported in various ways throughout the year(s), and it isn't just a fly by kind of trip. We have avoided trips with vague missions, trips to the beach, etc. Our trips are funded partially by the church's mission funds, and partially by the parents. We don't ask for other people to contribute.

I don't know if HE would call him his BFF or anything, but he spends almost as much time with his uncle (who lives next door) as he does with me. They do everything together. He did have a best friend, that he actually called that, but he was killed in a motorcycle accident. They went to high school together, parted ways, but then caught up again and were really close for about two years. When he died, it wrecked dh. For the most part, though, he mostly just has people that are good friends. We've never considered each other BFFs. We just don't really click that way. We think WAY too differently.