My parents, dh's mother, and dh's father/stepmother all live within about 10 minutes of us, so it's an easy comparison. My parents see the kids at least once a week. At the very least, we have dinner with them on Sundays. They are usually our first choice for baby-sitting on the weekend (they both still work full-time). My mother has been known to experience "withdrawal" if she goes more than a week without seeing them and will make a special trip over here on her way home from work just to pick them up and take them to her house for a couple of hours. This is usually unannounced (or she will email/call me an hour or two ahead of time) and one of my favorite things -- they get time with Nana, and I get a late-afternoon break! When the kids are with my parents, it's probably a 50/50 split between "activities" (cooking, gardening, playing games outside, sometimes an outing like a restaurant or movie) and them letting the kids play on their own, watch TV, etc. My dad is less hands-on than my mom, but he takes dd to play golf and lets ds ride along on errands and pretend to drive his truck (when it's parked in the garage). Dh's mother is partial to dd. Not horribly so, but enough that it is becoming obvious, especially as ds gets older. When I worked part-time (before ds was born), she kept dd two days per week, and they bonded. MIL is one of those people who has to have the TV on every second of the day, and it was on constantly when they were here. It bothered me that dd spent so much time watching TV (she was only 2) but I tried to ignore it since MIL was doing us a huge favor providing free baby-sitting 20 hours per week. On the flip side, she also spent a lot of time playing whatever pretend game dd made up that day and reading stories, so I shouldn't make her sound too terrible. MIL is still our go-to babysitter if I need one on a weekday since she is retired. She is almost always willing to make herself available. She doesn't invite the kids to her house, though. They rarely go there. Every now and then she will take dd to the library and out for a milkshake. She doesn't let ds tag along and doesn't do anything just with him. Dh's father NEVER sees the kids unless we arrange for it. We rarely ask him to baby-sit, although he will if we ask. The kids are pretty much on their own, however. He has absolutely nothing at his house that they can play with or read so we have to take plenty of toys when we visit (mostly on holidays). He doesn't play with them at all. He barely supervises. The bulk of his interaction with them is quizzing dd on her history knowledge (he's a retired history teacher). He recently remarried, and his new wife has made more of an effort to get to know the kids than FIL ever has. She has given dd a few cooking lessons, which dd loved! Last summer she arranged a week-long summer "camp" for dd and her own granddaughters, where they painted, cooked, swam, and put on a play. FIL mostly watched TV the whole time. We have found the relationship with step-MIL a little tricky to navigate, because MIL is not happy about the kids spending time with her. They all have their own style, but the kids love each of them in their own way. My parents and MIL obviously know the kids better than FIL. They've taken the time to get to know who dd and ds are. It's a little sad to me, but it's the way FIL is, and I think ultimately he's the one missing out. I don't think his behavior surprises dh in the least; I think it's very similar to the way dh was raised. I do think I would be quite disappointed if my parents behaved that way, though. But there's hope. The last time we picked up the kids at FIL's, he and dd were sprawled out on his bed, watching a basketball game and discussing the ancient Greeks. So I think he will come to enjoy them more as they mature and can interact with him on a more adult level. He's really just not a kid person, as you say. So maybe your parents will be better grandparents of teens/young adults, too.

I just posted this same thing like three days ago on the Site News board. Don't feel bad... at least we were clueless together!

I also read it thinking that it would be like The Hunger Games, which I adored. Horrible. Especially book three. The dual narrative was so badly written that I had to keep looking back to the beginning of the chapter to see which character was speaking. When I figured out how it was going to end, I threw the book across the room. It was an insult to her readership. I will not see the movies, not even for free on HBO. (Later, I might tell you what I really think, LOL!)

I did 3 sessions with SWB and 2 with Julie Bogart. My favorite overall was still probably SWB's "Joys of Classical Education," even though it wasn't new info for me. It helps to hear it all again and get my head on straight so I can remember why I do what I do. I wasn't convinced that JB's "Nurturing Your Young Writer" session would be all that helpful for me. I've looked at BW before, and it just didn't seem to suit us. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! She really hit home with her discussion about the very personal nature of original writing and how damaging it can be to critique mistakes instead of valuing content. I know that, as a writer, this is very true for me, but I'd not thought about it much, or considered how it might be true for dd as well. I have seen her love of writing drop off over this year, and that makes me sad. We are definitely going to implement her free-writing ideas starting this week and just encourage dd to put words on paper. She is a natural writer and I don't want to kill her love for it by over-emphasizing mechanics at this point. We do plenty of spelling and grammar elsewhere. We skipped the first session on Saturday and used that time to shop the used book sale and visit the vendor halls while they were less crowded. Totally worth it. We scored both WWE4 and The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading for half price (although now I am leaning toward incorporating more BW-style elements into our writing program, but I think WWE will still get some use), as well as a whole stack of children's books for $1 or less apiece! DH went to the partner's panel and the internet/computer security session and got a lot out of them both. I was so glad he was able to come with me. We had some great conversations, and I feel that we are much more in sync. School has been more or less my domain, but after what he's learned this weekend, he's been able to help me with my blind spots and really come up with some solutions for the issues we've had.

Aha! Thanks!

Aha! Well, it's in the car, but I'll take your word for it. That will come in handy. :laugh: The drive took longer than we planned on, and we were running late, so I just grabbed it and stuck it on!

Maybe this is not okay to say (?) but no one has asked me yet which sessions I'm registered for. Heck, I don't even remember which ones I registered for and wouldn't know if I hadn't happened to have printed out my confirmation email. They didn't give me a list or anything. The sessions I attended this afternoon still had seats (although not tons of open seats in the smaller rooms). I *personally* don't see the big deal. For courtesy's sake, you could wait outside the door until right before the session starts and then take a leftover seat or stand in the back, if it was something that concerned you. This is my first homeschool conference but I have been very pleased with the content so far. SWB has been, of course, FABULOUS! DH now understands what a classical education is! :D

We're neighbors! Northern Davidson County, between HP and Thomasville, just south of Winston. Congrats, OP! Message me if you need any info about the Triad. I was born and raised here. Hope you love it as much as we do! :D

LOL! I will be on the lookout. Maybe I should get a flower for my hair?? :D Or you can just look for the lady with the semi-reluctant husband/pack mule staring at the NCAA tournament on his phone... oh wait -- do you think there will be more than one of those?

See you all tomorrow!! Yay!! :hurray:

...and why do I have them (or make that: have none)? I've never seen them under anybody else's avatar but I can't figure out how to get rid of it on mine!

Totally *normal* here! DD is bright, a quick learner -- might even fall into the "gifted" category, whatever that means. But she doesn't have much of an inclination to any specific subject. She's a trivia kind of kid who picks up random facts about all sorts of things but doesn't have anything you could remotely say she's passionate about. She does as well in LA as in math, like science and history equally well, reads pretty much anything. At one point she was going to have 5 careers -- one for each day of the week. They ranged from astronaut to pastry chef. Right now, she's majoring in Super Mario Brothers, with a minor in Ninja Turtles. DS is obsessed with trucks, but I don't think that qualifies as anything but *normal* in 3-year-old boy land. FWIW, I totally get what you're saying about feeling like normal is the new weird!

I'm tired of there never seeming to be any grace. Consequences that seem to pile up disproportionately for even the slightest slip-up. A couple of bad days and I've gained back the weight that I scrapped and clawed for two weeks to lose (a tiny amount but still significant to me). Bills that seem insurmountable if we have even one "off" month. Feeling like no matter what I do, it's never, ever enough -- there's ALWAYS more to be taken care of and I can't stop for even a second, and yet I'm always behind. And feeling guilty for being behind and for all the things that seem to slip through the cracks. I'm just tired of it never being enough, of never being good enough.

This might come in handy if you're studying Logic: https://bookofbadarguments.com/?view=flipbook Apparently, I need to brush up! :laugh:

Our ds3 has had horrible eczema since birth, just like you describe (including the rawness/bleeding). And actually, our dermatologist recommended a short daily bath in lukewarm water, followed by slathering him head to toe with a good moisturizer (we use Aveeno Baby eczema lotion, but Cetaphil, etc. would work too). We don't wash him every day, but we use unscented Dove when we do, per the doctor. We then treat any spots on his body with a corticosteroid cream, topped with Aquaphor. It seems like overkill, but we've been fighting this for years, and this routine is the first one that's made a difference. He has been virtually eczema-free on his body for a couple of months now. This winter, though, he has had a terrible case around his mouth.This is the first time it's really affected his face. We've been through three different prescriptions and nothing has touched it. We are currently using Elidel, which is a non-steroid and can be used indefinitely (every time the steroids would start to work he'd have to go off of them). His face looks the best it's looked in months -- almost completely clear. Fingers crossed that this one does the trick.

I usually do paper invitations via snail mail. Two reasons: 1) I don't get to flex my graphic design muscles enough these days, and I get a kick out of creating something that goes along with the rest of our party theme. 2) Kids always love getting mail! I know mine always save birthday cards, invites, etc. for weeks (until I get tired of finding them all over the house and throw them away)! But in terms of cost and functionality, I think evites are perfectly acceptable. Most of my kids' friends' parents just create an event or send out a message on Facebook. I realize I'm an oddball. :tongue_smilie:

We are... but we will probably be holed up in the hotel all evening so dh can watch UNC in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Yippee.

He does have to pay (as NotSoObvious noted) if he wants to attend the sessions. My dh is tagging along. We actually went ahead and joined VaHomeschoolers, even though we live in NC. Even factoring in the $29 membership, it saved us about $50. And there turned out to be some perks like access to The Happy Scientist and VaH's magazine, which I didn't expect. Win/win!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Hope your PT went well and you have something super yummy for supper tonight!

:glare: I was going to go to GHC because it seemed the best of what I could find (taking into account proximity, cost, and offerings). That was before I heard about VaHomeschoolers. I finally gave up because every time I went to their website looking for specifics on their workshops, I got a "coming soon" message. This was well into February. I'm sure I could have found some things there to interest me, but having never been, I didn't want to go to the expense and hassle of arranging travel and childcare for three days on the hopes that it would be worth it, you know? Though with titles like that, I'm not entirely convinced I wouldn't have spent more time spitting out bones than eating the meat...

Sweet! That's only an hour from me! Thanks for sharing! Anybody going to VaHomeschoolers this weekend know if there's a WTM meet-up? I haven't seen anything...

I DO fit that stereotype (except I'm not sure I want to call myself "right-wing") but it's precisely because I can examine all sides of an issue and decide for myself! I don't need or want three days' worth of propaganda shoved down my throat. Maybe that's an unfair assessment, but that's what it feels like to me. We just decided to homeschool last summer, so I had missed all the conferences, and I was SO disappointed when the info came out for this year's. I had been really looking forward to learning more about academics and improving myself as a teacher! I couldn't believe how many of the speakers/workshops focused on "lifestyle" issues instead of actual school topics. Even our state conference is like this. Why must everything have an agenda??? Me too!!!!! I CANNOT wait!! Do you know what/where this is? I haven't found anything in NC except the state conference, which doesn't appear secular to me. I would love to know more if you have any details.

I think there's a distinction there. If you truly have concerns, and if you can potentially help the situation by voicing the concerns, then I think it is okay to gently do so, understanding that the adult child may or may not take your advice. I don't see what it would help to express concern that the family can't support an additional child once they have announced the pregnancy -- what's done is done -- unless you are prepared to offer some type of assistance. Voicing your opinion about whether or not they should limit their family in general MIGHT make a difference in some situations, but I don't think it would be very appropriate timing to bring this up just after the announcement. I believe it would be better to find some joy in the situation and be as genuinely happy as possible. Needing more time to process the decision is a different thing, IMO. When dh and I announced our pregnancy with dd, my mother's reaction was less than thrilling. She barely spoke to me for three days (it was Christmas, so she conveniently kept finding other things to do when I came into the room). We were 26, married 5 years, stable (financially and otherwise), and owned our home, so there was no reason for her to question our ability to be good parents. Her hesitation was purely about her readiness to become a grandmother. Within a week or so, she came around and then was genuinely excited, but her initial reaction shocked and hurt me. I was already nervous about becoming a mother, and I could have used some support. Instead, I wound up feeling like my mom thought I'd made a terrible mistake. I guess my point is: If there is a true, objective reason to be concerned, it's okay to bring it up, but if your objections are really more about you than the situation, put on a happy face. This announcement is not about you (I mean the general you, not YOU, OP!). In the end, adults are adults, even if they used to be your children, and you have to let them make their own decisions and mistakes.

My dh sprains his ankles ALL THE TIME. He turned one pretty badly a few weeks ago and actually chipped a bone in the process. He wound up seeing an orthopedist because of that. He usually just limps around on it for a couple of days. The doctor suggested PT because of dh's weak ankles. It's only going to take four sessions so not too bad. He starts this week so I can't speak to how well it works, but if this is something that happens to you regularly, it might be worth it. If you strengthen them now, you may avoid more serious injury in the future.

Good to know, thanks. I am not that familiar with 4-H. I will do some more research. If I can explain it better to dd, she might be more interested!