Wonder how long until the public will be allowed to see them???

As an introverted parent, this rule would be disastrous for me (or maybe I should say for my kids!). At least once a day, I have to send my kids outside or to the rec room or to their bedrooms just so I can get some space to BREATHE. I would have hated such a rule growing up. I can never see this working in our house. Both of my kids are fairly introverted as well. It's a recipe for disaster. But if it works for them, more power to 'em!

Good point!

Yay! So glad we won't have to reschedule again! Thanks everyone!

So the museums and monuments and such won't be closed on Monday? The parade might be fun if we can catch some of it. Our Senator's office was awesome about helping us schedule tours for our last trip (which we unexpectedly had to cancel). I need to get in touch with them again ASAP to reschedule.

I was hoping to take dd to Washington, DC for a few days this fall, but the time that works best with our schedule happens to coincide with Columbus Day weekend. Bad idea? We're hoping to do the usual tourist-y things: monuments, museums, Library of Congress, possibly the Capitol and White House if we can get tickets. We will probably drive up Friday afternoon and leave early Wednesday morning, but that still only gives us one non-holiday weekday. I'm not sure if we can go any other time before spring, and she's been looking forward to it (we've already had to postpone once) -- but I hate to make the trip if we can't do what we want to do.

I voted for the second one, but I really think they're both cute. Would the child(ren) using the set be able to read? If not, having the Bible verses isn't really a plus.

We do school at the kitchen table, on the couch, or dd works independently at her desk in her room (one of those old-fashioned, all in one school desks that my parents bought when I was a kid). If we get the house we're looking at, there is an extra room for an office/schoolroom that I already have plans for...

You make a good point. They have moved in the past few months too, so now I have now clue where he's stashed it. Might be worth having DH check into that. Thank you.

Yep, this is it exactly. Now that I've pointed it out, he sees it. He knows it is not a good environment for our kids, even once in awhile. But when you grow up with this kind of stuff on display, I'm sure you become inoculated somewhat. (The thought of my dad telling a dirty joke to a roomful of adults -- much less children -- is absurd. Seriously. It would be scandalous.) The kids can still see their uncle and grandparents, just in other settings where this stuff is not as likely to be an issue. As someone pointed out earlier, I don't want my kids to think this is normal or okay. This is why we spend the bulk of our time with my side of the family...

I'm chatting with DH online now, actually. He agrees. I think this kind of behavior is just what he expects from his family. It doesn't always register until I point it out. He really is not like them at all. When I mentioned movies above, and him wanting the kids out of the room, I meant something rated PG-13, with some bad language or something along those lines. He didn't inherit his dad's affinity for adult entertainment, thank God. I am not sure how we will handle this weekend, but at least we're on the same page. The kids know we're supposed to go, so they will be disappointed.

BIL lives an hour away, so we don't see him often. I know DH will put up a fight if I try to keep them home. They are 10 and 4. Their grandparents are very good to them normally. It's just the atmosphere of this type of gathering. I don't know how to explain it. For a good chunk of the time, things will be okay. But FIL will have to work in some of his off-color humor (he's such a class clown/center-of-attention type, and I think he truly thinks he's being sneaky and getting it over everyone's heads -- especially the kids -- but I know DD is picking it up, even if she appears to not notice/be okay with it). DH and BIL will start snickering. It will roll downhill from there. And then I guess I'll have to take the kids for a walk while BIL opens his gift. Which is coming in our car, I presume, and which I WILL NOT be wrapping, so I guess DH will just have to put it in a trash bag or something so they don't notice it in the back of the SUV. Who am I kidding? They'll notice. They notice everything. And they will ask why there's a bag of trash in the back of the SUV. Thinking about it is making me nauseated just sitting here. I am so uncomfortable with the whole environment. At least now I know it's not just me being uptight. The best I can probably hope for is to take and kids and leave if it starts to get out of control. DH can get a ride back with his mother if he wants to stay. Then of course I will have to explain to the kids why we're leaving early... Sigh. ETA: It's in the middle of the afternoon. On a SUNDAY.

DH won't drink, so I don't have any qualms about their physical safety. But yeah, it's the whole environment that bothers me. The atmosphere is terrible, even if they're out of the room for the worst of it. But how to make DH see that? I don't know.

Having been on my weight-loss journey for two years now, I agree with Twigs. You probably have a plateau in your future. You may want to hold something in reserve for when you get there. Sometimes your body needs a "jump-start" to get over the hump -- either a reduction in calories or an increase in exercise. At least that's been my experience. Don't max yourself out before you get to that point. Setting a goal has been detrimental to me every time I've tried it. When I try to "project out" what I should weigh in three months or whatever, I'm always wrong because my body apparently doesn't get the memo. I lose slow, but steady -- over the long haul. At this point, I don't even have a goal weight, much less a time frame, in mind at all. I am just focusing on making healthy choices day in and day out. YMMV, of course. Great job so far! Keep up the good work!

Cobbling together my own "multiquote" here... Oh, the kids are absolutely expected to be there. They are the only children on this side of the family. I think I can trust these idiots to send the kids to watch TV or something when the gifting goes down (and I'm sure that dh will step in, if nothing else), but honestly, I'm just as galled by the whole "you kids get outta here b/c we're about to do something inappropriate" attitude. DH is bad about that, even at home, if he wants to watch a movie or something. I think it's a bad example, even if the kids aren't directly involved in the activity. We've had numerous conversations about it, but he just doesn't see it as a big deal. (Wonder why?) Well, the "doll" is for BIL, not for DH. I think even DH would draw the line at receiving such a thing from his family. Although he's not above picking this one up from the store for FIL, so maybe not. BIL is single, so no wife to offend. But he has been quite lonely since the divorce, so in my mind, this kind of jab is even worse. But clearly I am not on the same wavelength as these people. This! The irony is, any of them is fine one on one. But get them all together, and it's a frat party. MIL is just as bad as FIL. Step-MIL is not raucous, but she's the first one drunk (usually already tipsy by the time we get there) and thinks everything is hilarious. BIL and DH act like Beavis and Butthead any time they're in the same room. FIL is the ringleader; he is terrible in any group. It's like he has to show off or something. He's been known to make inappropriate jokes at the kids' birthday parties. It's usually stuff he thinks they won't "get," but I get it (and so do my family and the parents of other children present). At DS's first birthday, he made some joke about DH's vasectomy -- during presents, so the WHOLE party heard. DD is 10 now, entering puberty and starting to learn about sexuality. I just don't think this is a healthy environment for her, even on rare occasion. Oh my goodness, you have no idea what this means to me! Thank you so much! Thank you for this, too! The immaturity is mind-boggling to me. It's literally like a locker room full of 7th grade boys. I wish DH were as put off by it as I am.

DBIL's 40th birthday is this weekend. There is a small family party at FIL's house. I am seriously thinking about coming down with something. I don't have any horrible in-law stories like I've seen on this board. DH's family are not mean or spiteful or anything like that. We just don't have ANYTHING in common. They are loud and crude. Their conversations are always littered with innuendo. FIL used to leave his p*orn magazines on the coffee table like Good Housekeeping (that stopped after the kids arrived, at my insistence via dh). With this being dbil's 40th, I'm sure there will be some less-than-tasteful gag gifts involved. I already know about the purchase of a *ahem* "doll." I was raised in a very conservative religious family. I don't find any of this stuff amusing. In fact, I find it downright humiliating, especially when it's directed towards me (which happens). I know: I'm a stick in the mud. DH says he doesn't mind if I don't go, but I think he does, a little. I should go. Right?

I hope these are not yoga pants. :biggrinjester:

DH likes the Starter ones they carry at Walmart. Usually around $10-$12. He wears them all the time -- around the house, sleeping, working out. We've bought several different styles and they have held up nicely.

My dd, who is very bright and usually has zero struggles academically, really struggled with dictation as well. Look at SWB's "Dictation with Dan" videos on YouTube. They completely changed the way I facilitated dictation as the teacher -- and it made a HUGE difference. By the end of 4th grade, dd actually looked forward to doing dictations and was so proud when she could remember them, even weeks later.

12 or so. Middle school age.

I go to a Methodist church, but I'm not really Methodist. Although, come to think of it, my church isn't terribly Methodist, either. It's some sort of weird Baptist/Methodist/Presbyterian hybrid... I voted Lutheran, because my theology fits best with Confessional Lutheranism. Just haven't found any churches nearby, unfortunately.

Both of mine gave up naps early as well (dd was barely 2, ds probably 2 and a half). We've had quiet time ever since, but ds had to be trained to it, for sure. I toddler-proofed his room and used a baby gate to keep him in his there but still be able to see/hear what he was doing. Some days that worked better than others. We had to work up to longer periods of time. There were days when he screamed bloody murder until I gave up. But he learned to entertain himself if he didn't want to sleep. I feel your pain having a toddler who is outgrowing naptime but can't quite make it to bedtime. Unfortunately, it's just a phase you have to weather. This too shall pass. Quiet time here has been two hours for the past year or more. We all need it. DS still does better some days than others about staying in his room and playing quietly. It depends on what kind of mood he's in, really. Now that he's old enough, the rule is he has to stay in the room and play quietly without bothering me or his sister. He is allowed to go to the bathroom as needed, and he has a box of healthy snacks he's allowed to get at any time (he's CONSTANTLY hungry!) so he can get those as well, and return to his room. If he breaks the rule (and he does, more often than not), he has to sit on his bed instead of playing freely in his room. He used to fall asleep when I made him do that, but now he will usually sit for a bit, then tell me he's ready to follow the rules, so I usually give him another chance. Most days once is all it takes. My biggest problem these days is that he gets out everything he owns at quiet time. Since he still needs a lot of supervision/assistance to clean up, and I don't always have time to give it, his room is pretty much constantly trashed. :glare:

I've never heard of a two-sided DVD, so if you're dumb, I'm right there with you! :laugh:

Yep. It's three sizes too big. :D I don't know what I'll do with it. I doubt dd will be able to wear it.

{Sorry for the multiple posts; multiquote isn't working.} This is the kid who read the Usborne Science Encyclopedia from cover to cover, so I do think she will like Story of Science. And I expect to get a lot of "did you know??" myself. :) I don't think we will try to do it in one chunk like I previously thought, though. Since we'll have to borrow it from the library, I'll have to see how to make it work. Now that we're dividing up literature and history, I think I will use SoS as a history/science read and let her work it in over those two blocks. It should line up nicely with our science study. Same with Archimedes, although I'm not married to that one. If she hates it, it can go.