Here, because of the limited space, they only take kids that "need" pre-K in order to be ready for K. Older ds got in, because he decided to play puppy instead of letting them screen him :p I guess they figured a little boy that hides under the table and growls at people needed better social skills before he could handle Kindergarten.

I think a better approach might be having the boys research liars. I mean the biggies, those folks that lied and it became a national phenomenon (balloon boy, for instance). Let them see the consequences of telling lies. A nice paragraph on one big fat liar and how things could've been different had they told the truth could change their perspective. I would worry that you fibbing could be misconstrued and make it a game.

How does your church teach it? I ask, because what she described is how I've heard folks in my church describe it. Of course, our pastor does not preach it from the pulpit :p

Do you still have Managers of their Chores? We just implemented it today and I'm exhausted. How can giving out chores make MORE work for me? Granted, though, the house is tidy :) I do like the way they blend normal daily activities (brushing teeth) into the chore cards. This way ds doesn't complain as much as he had when I tried to just make a chore chart. Breaking it down into am, afternoon, and pm helped too. IOW, I have no good advice :p but I do feel your pain.

I have found the same thing with my dh. I think the first few years of a marraige are spent really getting to know each other. Dh and I believed we were similar with the same goals and interests. Then, we had a year where everything seemed to split at the seems. We both liked the same kinds of music, but different styles. We had the same goals, but different ideas of how to reach them and our hopes fleshed out differently (I'm not sure how to make that clear :confused: we vaguely wanted the same things, but not specifically, iykwIm). I do have to wonder sometimes at the idea that men are so ... well ... it seems like when they're brought up in regard to women (all those m------ threads, now this) the idea is, they're okay for now, but WATCH OUT, they could blow at any minute! :lol: I give dh more credit than that.

YES, we've had it and REALLY enjoyed it. You can get it prestuffed too. It looks strange, because it's boneless, but it really is very good. :)

I should have made the (imo, obvious) caveat that allergies and sensory issues are an exception. I would throw rude the other way if someone served a food they knew their guest could not (not would not, but could not) eat. I do believe a host (or parent) should take tastes into consideration, however if it were up to my kids and my husband (and secretly even my own tastes) we would not eat vegetables. So, everyone is forced to eat them, two at most meals (excluding breakfast ;) ). My point is that the kids get limited options, because they are not funding the meal, they are not cooking the meal and they should be grateful for whatever food they get. If it's pea soup and ham, as much as we all love pea soup and ham :glare:, then they'll eat pea soup and ham. When they become adults they can be as picky and choose whatever their wallet can afford.

Cool whip? :lol: I LIKE your menu ;)

Openers: croisant cornucopias stuffed with a cream cheese/cranberry/apricot filling Dinner: Turkey with plain ol' stuffing and gizzards :p Sweet Potatoes (with marshmallows/raisins/pecans/brown sugar) Sweet Potatoes plain Green Beans Carrots Cranberries made three ways :glare: to accomodate different tastes Mashed Potatoes duh... forgot the roles (two types: whole wheat and yeast) (would love more ideas for veggies) Desert: Pumpkin Cheese Pie Pumpkin Pie Pecan Pie A' la mode et al :)

Ime, and as I explain to my children, the reason they only get some choices, whereas Mom or Dad have seemingly endless choices, is because Mom and Dad are the ones paying. If someone takes me out to lunch I try to be considerate of their wallet as well as pleasing to my own pallet. It's rude to refuse to even try food that another person has made for you. Few people I know run a diner in their kitchen. You either eat what's made or you don't eat. As for forcing kids to eat healthy food, it's teaching them that even if they hate veggies they HAVE to eat them, because it's part of a balanced diet. I eat foods I'm not a fan of (most of them are green), because they are good for me. If I'm at someone else's home I will eat what they cook, because they were kind enough to do so and it would be rude to do otherwise.

She put God ahead of her family and that was wrong? That jumped out at me... The whole article seems like a bunch of leaps in logic. I knew a kid raised by athiests, they were quite affluent and he was an only child. He killed himself. Does that mean affluent athiests with only one child are marking their child for suicide? Uh, no.

I drool over the combo curriculums (Reading, Writing, Math, Science, ALL IN ONE!), but can't afford them (go figure). It's kind of wierd to think that being broke means the boys are getting a more thorough (can't remember how you put it) education. I have a list, on the wipe-off board, of all the subjects we do. As we finish them, we check them off (ds gets to do this and really loves it). It's not really an option, whether or not we do things. We just keep going until it's done. The only two subjects that are "optional" are art and music :p That's because ds will do that on their own. I don't use the time guides from any curriculum. Sometimes we run long, sometimes I cut it short, but we do cover everything. I don't know that this helps you any. It is a pretty pat answer, 'Just do it!' The only thing I can think to add is, if you HAD to (compelled by law or whatever) you could.

My chiropractor and dh's doctor had us both (we've both done this at different times) look away while they gently dragged their fingertips down our legs and feet. If it's muscular, you'll feel as soon as they touch you (dh did), if it's not then you won't get the 'news' that they're touching you until after they've already started (I didn't). It's tres bizarre to see someone touching you, my chiropractor had me look after the first three times, and not FEEL them until a few seconds later. You can't do this, but your dh or an older dc could. They need to touch lightly, both legs/feet at the same time and move their fingertips gently down.

Wow, lots of deleted posts... I think the issue with whether or not he was nuts lay more in the insanity plea than anything else. If he was insane, then could he/ should he stand trial? Is he mentally ill? Is he sick? Can he be cured? I watched a program today on a rapist in Syracuse. He kept a "torture chamber" in his basement. Now, this guy WILL say that kidnapping is wrong, raping is wrong, torture is wrong, but he will also tell you that he is not guilty of those things. His "victims" weren't victims at all. They wanted to be there. Is he crazy/mentally ill/sick/insane? NOPE. He's got it together enough to justify his actions to himself. Has he misled himself through those justifications? Absolutely, but that does not mean he's nuts. It wouldn't surprise me if the Fort Hood shooter could justify every moment of what he did. It wouldn't surprise me if he could almost sound rational while doing so. I don't think he's nuts. I think he convinced himself it was the right thing to do. I think he's probably already justified this action to himself. Before saying this directly points to insanity, remember, someone can justify nearly any action, even the more benign crimes, without being crazy. They're just wrong.

Is it possible they whined at some point and got what they wanted, or (more likely) they saw another child whining and getting what they wanted? This problem pops up for us after being around certain groups or neighbors. I've gone with the 'you know better' and it seems to work (for the moment). IOW, you know better! Whining will get you nowhere! At one point I started taking things they already had away. IOW, there would be no McDonald's at all if they whined. At the store, anything being purchased for them, or for the family (like a movie) would be put back. That is tough (for me), but it works too... if you can bring yourself to do it, and you DON'T fall for the 'okay, I'll stop!' If you do that, then you just teach them they can whine until you start putting things back, but if they stop then... you'll remove the punishment.

Those and sometimes if it's really bad, I'll take a shot of vinegar. It tastes terrible, but it really clears out my throat. If vinegar is too far off for you, vodka will do the trick too (dh uses that).

The human condition :p Drives me crazy now that dd wants to make her own rules... and then I remember how many times (that day) I wanted to do the same thing. That's one of those things that is a struggle forever. Hopefully, she'll get ahold of herself soon and (at the very least) attempt to honor the real rules, iykwIm.

AH! So she believes she is at rock bottom, but there's still a bit of rebellion (?) iykwIm there. I thought the person was telling you she needed more punishment or something.

You could be right, maybe everyone outside of the US will brush him off as another US born and bred psycho (ala McVeigh).

:001_huh: not as broken? Like she hasn't been punished enough yet? Is that the language of, 'I'm sorry, but I know you still love me so hurry up and get over it so we can finish building our lego kingdom?' :p

I do wonder at the cost to society if this guy ends up being percieved a martyr. I mean, we don't know that he did this for jihad (or however you would put that), but it could easily be construed that way. How hard would Osama have to work to make it seem that this guy had martyred himself on American soil? What sort of scary gate would that open up? Chilling. If he is a terrorist, then the jihadist extremists have managed to essentially suicide bomb us on American soil. Am I the only one that sees huge ramifications from this well beyond the incredible loss already experienced?

Baking soda too, baking soda on the carpets, let it sit (for awhile) and it will soak up much of the odor. Scouring the walls with baking soda, vinegar, and water will get the tar off. Really, you can get rid of the smell without gutting the house :p :iagree:

She sounds lost :( I'm always surprised by the people that try to skip the confession/forgiveness part and go straight to the forget, iykwIm. I guess if you do something horrible enough you just want to put it behind you without ever dealing with it.

I couldn't imagine having that sort of muck in my family :( We have enough problems juggling between everyone's emotional issues, preferences and beliefs, without someone actually betraying another. She could fly off the handle and create an embarrassing incident, I think letting her figure it out or hear about it elsewhere is for the best. :grouphug: Hope your dinner goes well, CONGRATS to your mom :party:

:gnorsi: I just ordered some more math books :p Can you ever have enough math? I think I will go ahead and get the elemental science, at least her classes on scientists. I do love Mr. Q, but Elemental goes with TWTM... I'll just have to combine! We have Adventures with Atoms and Molecules, we made it through book 1, but I didn't feel like we were learning chemistry so much as practicing it.