I guess it's really debatable. I mean people have had to apologize for things where there was no ill intent after realizing what a fuss it caused. She could be his future MIL. You really think it's wise for him to point out every thing? lol. My MIL sounds rude when she answers the phone. I have never told her that. I told dh before. He said, "nah, that's just my mom" (but I think she sounds differently when he calls). She says, "Heellllooooo" in a weird way sometimes. No, the word "hello" is not offensive. But you know, context and all that. Jerry Seinfeld and Newman haha.

Two of them mostly do FB. The other one has one of those websites with homeschool-life. This paying online thing mentioned upthread is new to me. I don't know if ours does that. We pay one sum at registration and I don't know how much of it goes to maintaining the site. I never thought about it. I do occasionally get emails, too. I don't know how often they will use that.

Seriously? You guys want him to go around saying, "that's offensive" each time she says something offensive? That's just extreme to the other end. Neither person needs to do all the changing. But as OP stated, she can only change herself. So being mindful of his reaction (body language) or whatever is a start. You tell a joke and no one laughs it doesn't mean they are going to feel the urge to approach you and say, "you know, that joke was offensive." Sometimes you just gotta put two and two together. yeah, I'm not perfect. I am just saying I have picked up vibes before that were right. I blurted out to mutual friend once, "I don't think so and so likes me." She said, "she doesn't. She thinks you're a know-it-all" but she would never say that to my face.

So many posts here are like, "man this guy is so over the top sensitive." Well, speak as an HSP I can tell you I will get a vibe if someone doesn't like me. I will pick up on body language, tone, etc. So if you walk around acting like, "sigh, I can't do anything right. Sigh, this person is so difficult. Why won't he change?!" he can probably sense that. Stop looking at him as "dude with an issue." Did you let her know where the gift was? Did you put a tag on it? Maybe she had no idea it was hers and someone offhandedly said, "oh that's yours." Presentation has a lot to do with gift giving imo. It's not your fault you weren't there and I wouldn't expect you to be late to your flight, but making sure it was clearly stated that it was for her is important in my opinion. Did you tell her, "I have a gift for you and I'd like to see you open it but I really have to go" or were you gone before she arrived? I'm a detail-oriented person. Not everyone is.

I can totally see how this happens. Might I suggest... just state that lately she has been eating less beef and more chicken. No need to state where it is being consumed. I mean, that probably made him defensive like it was his family's fault. "I'll pray for you" DOES sound rude sometimes... have you never heard it used that way? Maybe when he leaves his grandparents' home they tell him this, but when his parents leave the house they don't say it. Maybe they have made other comments about his lifestyle (just guessing) that suggest that they disapprove of something and therefore it's easier to read into the "we'll pray for you" thing. As for the curfew thing... maybe he wants to feel like an adult. Questioning if he has a curfew might make him feel like a kid? Let him feel like an adult. He can set his own alarm (cell phone alarm is what many people use and he probably had one with him). It's not a right vs wrong thing. Definitely don't tell him to not be so sensitive. I hate it when people tell me that. Absolutely hate it. It would be better to reassure someone rather than tell them essentially that they are defective in some way (you're too _____). When he said he felt like you were offending him just say, "I'm sorry. I had no idea" or "how would someone else you know phrase it? I didn't mean anything by it, really." Then maybe he could put it into his own words what it was you said differently or how someone else says it and then just mimic their speech pattern.

it depends I am very wordy online, but I feel like if it's a tutorial you should kinda cut to the case and then feel free to add more info at the end. Or talk while you work so people can see what they want to learn. Have you ever watched YouTube on the TV and misplaced the remote? Oh my gosh LOL. I didn't know people could talk that long about organizing their fridge. I do like seeing things on video, like if someone is building something.

I don't know if I should laugh or not. How crazy. I'm going to add my recent Walmart stories. One day I did a price check on an item. I did not get the item. The cashier said she voided it. Well, I didn't realize til I got home that she did not in fact delete it, but I didn't have the shirt. So how would I prove that I didn't have the shirt? I called the store immediately and they said it was fine, I could show them the receipt and get a refund. I said don't you need my information? I'm afraid no one will believe me. I can leave my name and number. She refused and said she would just tell all the customer service staff. I was like uhh. I said it might be a few days before I can come back. She assured me it would be fine. So then I went in there another day and caught the cashier that rang me up and asked if she remembered me and the shirt and all that. It took her a min. but she said she did recall and I said well maybe you can vouch for me then. I said I think the name of the manager was something like "so and so" on the phone. She said that manager no longer works here. I was like really? And customer service was closed for the night. I thought hmm maybe I can handle this now because the longer I take the more likely I'll be stuck with this shirt charge. So I found some managers and explained the whole story. They said oh "so and so?" and seemed to think she did work there but just wasn't around? Uhh. Ok. I told them the cashier was there and remembered me. They went ahead and gave me my money back right then. Phew. Friday night ds and dh had car trouble. There was no where to go but Walmart. They had a lot of customers. Dh and ds spent literally like 6 hours in walmart. I asked why they didn't leave. They said they kept having to check on the status and talk to people in the auto dept. They did grocery shopping when they thought it was safe but it took longer so dh got permission to park his cart inside the dairy cooler. I felt horrible for them. Then the next day the tire said low. They went to be seen again. Employees were trying to close soon and tried to shoo them away. Said that they could ride home and let it flatten and just buy an air compressor. WHAT?! They finally got seen and censor fixed and said one tire had wrong size valve? Got a $25 gift card for their trouble. Then today issues with tire pressure. Spent a few hours waiting on service. Told the whole story again, but luckily two employees recognized dh so they had an idea of how much time he'd been there this week. They said they'd make it right. They checked censors on all tires and I guess fixed them and/or valves. Dh pointed out that they didn't put the right size lug bolts? on one tire. They tried to tell him to go buy his own. He thought what, that's just as bad as telling me to buy an air compressor after you guys botched up the tire job. So he pushed back a bit and they were like well we don't sell them here, bring your receipt for them. Lol I know they are cheap but it's the principle. We are so over that tire place but have some type of year tire balance/rotation now? Someone did recommend another place for us to go, but of course we had limited options when all this happened. Dh feels like being stuck in Walmart all week has been his personal hell. I was with them today. I tried to make the most of it. Did my shopkick lol.

I went to the movies the other night (in the US). And the door said "theatre." It actually kind of made me happy because it just seems fancier haha.

I know you are looking for the US in general, but I would see if there are post cards in the shop by your home, to reflect on their stay there.

I noticed in Books-A-Million and B&N that some of their books are like buy 2 get one or such. I'm currently trying to figure out if I can use an educator card on a bargain book (I saw several classics for $4.97 at BAM).

I linked a site with pie charts and stuff, but it really didn't say much about the outcome of homeschool students. But maybe you can find a site with some stats or something that would put his mind at ease?

Did he finish the Little House series? Mine only read the first book and said he liked it a lot. He also received Caddie Woodlawn but hasn't read it yet. Looks like the same style.

My 9 yr old reads a lot of the "Who was" series (they have Who Was/What Was/Where Was). http://www.whowasbookseries.com My ds really enjoyed one about Jackie Robinson because of his role in integration. Other books that might appeal to this age (we haven't read everything on this list) I Survived series Boxcar Children Lemonade Wars series My son is trying to read Zombie Chasers but he is having trouble with some of the vocabulary. I ordered the first book in the series The Mapmaker Chronicles (Usborne book). My nephew really likes a series called Fablehaven.

I don't know what the equivalent on an ipad is, but on the PC if something fishy shows up I did "ctrl alt del" and task manager and close that way. I try my best not to touch the actual boxes that are being spammy. Like those pop ups that are supposedly concerned you have a virus but probably are the virus lol

roundabouts and 2 way stops (wait these other people don't have to stop?) But it's rational to me, because I feel like my odds of getting into an accident go up a huge percent

I go for less trendy things myself, stuff that I think will work for years. Stuff I can mix and match ideally. When I used to work I owned a few skirts, a few pairs of slacks (some solid, a pair of pinstripe, some plaid but not really loud plaid designs) and tops. Several camisoles since I usually wore those underneath. When I had to shop for Easter I found some tops I liked at Steinmart (a little pricy but I love them). I also like to go to Cato. Didn't have any luck this last time. JcPenney is also one of my favorite places to look. Might wanna try Kohl's. I'm sure there are several more options depending on where you live. I don't have a Sears around me but I used to buy stuff there.

When you find a suit that fits you're already winning.

Lol I just mean once you get it, you might need to eliminate it so it can't thrive. I would try gurgling some grapefruit seed extract (diluted in water). Or drink it (prefer to drink it in oj. It's the only thing that masks the flavor for me).

It depends. My sister sent me some books from the UK (she lives there). The word that really throws me off is "mummy." I think of Halloween! Our word is "mommy" which sounds totally different, not just a spelling thing. Well one of the books she sent is Monkey Puzzle (which in the US is titled Where's my Mom?). I don't mind the spelling of "grey" lol.

thrush, as in on the body or tongue? I am a bit confused if they determined thrush somewhere for sure. If on the tongue then sterilize your toothbrush each night and/or toss the old one. Maybe too much sugar in the diet. One time I got a bit of a rash on my chest and my ob/gyn had me put antifungal on it I think? She didn't call it thrush but I think referred to it as yeast.

I actually struggle being a stay at home mom, but it has little to nothing to with what time of year we're schooling or not. I find parts of summer stressful and parts of school stressful. I find parts of summer enjoyable and parts of schooling enjoyable. I think some children/parents mesh better than others. I find my children very challenging. Maybe the parents typing those things find their children challenging after so many hours of whatever (I'm hungry, I'm bored, etc.). I'm just hoping dd outgrows the desire to draw on the walls soon lol.

Yeah. I worry I'm going to have to order from Tall Paul's Tall Mall for ds one day lol. Really, that's where we should have ordered our bed. Dh's feet still hang off our Cal. King. The prices make me cringe so badly for long furniture, though.

:lurk5: We really really want one. This home does not have one. We might manage to get one for ourselves as a Christmas present. I have used dishwashers before. One thing that drove me nuts is one we got the top rack was rigid, didn't slide smoothly. If you can try out the model you are taking home make sure it doesn't "stick" or whatever. I don't know if there's anything I could have done about it or not, but I complained on day one and it never got better. Also see if the top rack is adjustable, can go up or down enough to accommodate certain items you plan to wash. Some items are "top rack only." This is where you would generally put certain plastic items (many I'd consider just hand washing even if they say dishwasher safe) and certain other items. Parts of certain kitchen appliances. If you have items that you can wash on the top rack that are small, I highly recommend a little basket like this: https://www.target.com/p/munchkin-deluxe-dishwasher-basket/-/A-13991502 I'm out of touch with new dishwashers, but the ones I've used sometimes it was best to crack the door open or wait a bit before unloading. Let them dry air dry a bit and let some steam escape? You might want to see if there's a removable utensil tray and if so where will it allow you to arrange it? Even if you plan on washing bottles in the dishwasher, I highly recommend this nipple brush (I sometimes used on entire bottle). https://www.amazon.com/Simba-Sponge-Nipple-Brush-Orange/dp/B00LMM9BMS/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1500959158&sr=8-1&keywords=simba+nipple+brush While I do not own a dishwasher, I do own this thing. It has been useful for drying baby bottles and pump parts. You can run mult. times a day and it will dry things pretty well! So I hand washed the stuff and then popped it in there. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027FFOWA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They lack social awareness? They do not care for the gift giver or recipient and want to make one of them feel or look badly? They are grouchy they got put in charge of delivering gifts? Ds has blurted out things before and we had to talk to him. "It cost X dollars." LOL Now sometimes if it's just dh and I we will reveal we got a great deal because it means we didn't dent the budget and it makes the other person happy. But with others I prefer not to go into detail about the spending.

But chocolate?? Are we talking man made vs caught in the wild? (so no one takes this too literally I mean you don't find chocolate bars/candies growing off trees)