Oh, also, maybe the mom doesn't know what you are feeding her toddler so maybe she's going home with similar awkward questions. "I don't know what that babysitter is giving my kid. I even supplied our own food. Why does she insist on not using it?"

Yeah, I'd probably put this on my dh LOL. That way it came from someone in the medical field. Honestly, I once thought of Cliff bars as healthy, until I read into the rice syrup. So, she probably really does think she's sending her child with a good option.

Ok I'm not sure if I understand correctly, but it sounds like The Literature teacher assigned both Huckleberry Finn and TKAMB this year. If this is a problem, shouldn't it be taken up with the Literature teacher? Oh wait, she's the one that called you Lol. So basically she created this problem. Did everyone finish the second book? I don't think 7th graders and 12th graders should be in the same class necessarily. In general. How a high school English class is run vs. jr. high. I just don't know how easy that would be to do. Sounds like you're doing a great job, though. I might want to hear from the parents rather than the Lit. teacher whether or not it's problematic to the masses that you continue as you are. If I thought I was going to get too much flack I might (sorry if this sounds wimpy) just say that we need to change the book (given your dilemma of following the writing program and perhaps wanting to honor what you feel is one of the biggest themes of the book. I would agree with that). Is there time to change the book?? That might be easier than some of the alternatives. I thought TKAMB was usually reserved for high school, anyway. And by that, I mean in public schools and no, we don't have to do everything like public schools but just might be easier to discuss with high school aged kids. Sorry if I'm not making sense. I think you'd hear less feedback from the parents if this was strictly an older set of students.

I think you will run into the same battles. Getting dressed. Breakfast. Homework. This is my life right now. I told myself this routine might be good for us, but it's more or less just as stressful as homeschool was as far as starting/stopping activities. Does he just not like co-op? Thus, no motivation to get ready?

Man, that's tough. My 8 yr old is a slowpoke in a lot of areas, but the walking across the parking lot thing sounds even more extreme. I need to make a chart for my son and he even requested one recently. I think an outlined list of what happens when might help us all stay on schedule. Also alarms. He responds better to Alexa (the Echo) going off than me hollering that it's time to do X. Mine will drag out meal time and bathroom visits as well. Maybe setting an alarm for meal time would help if you can't be nearby to say, "ok, time to get ready. Put the oatmeal away" or whatever? I have done this before and probably need to try it again.

I think he should just communicate with his friend that the best time for them to game together is X o'clock.

I googled the New Orleans story and it says "dozens." http://www.nola.com/elections/index.ssf/2016/11/dozens_protesting_against_dona.html

On my newsfeed I heard that there were approx 200 protestors in the French Quarter or nearby, but I don't know how exaggerated that was. One guy said he drove by and that an effigy of Trump had been burned along with a tire? and a bank window nearby had been broken. But I haven't read about shots or guns.

Some of the clips in the video were pretty subtle and less annoying imo.

16? I have this problem with my 8 yr old lol. When does it end?! Not so much computer games, but just getting him to brush his teeth/go to bed in general.

Well don't do what I did... I deactivated for a week not long ago and then people thought I blocked them lol. My SIL told dh to tell me happy birthday since she had been blocked. He had to explain that was not the case. What I would recommend is just clicking "unfollow" next to certain people.

In our state (Miss.) there is a test students must pass to move onto third grade. Do you have that? I do know that some state tests were changed a few times in the past few years, but not sure which tests. This is what a friend in public school told me when I complained about test results in my area. My ds is in private 3rd this year. They do not use CC so I'm not much help there. While homeschooling we used Math Mammoth which is CC aligned. For the most part the program did not bother me. I even purchased the third grade edition before we enrolled ds in private. I am planning on purchasing the 4th grade as we're returning to homeschooling next year (for a few reasons). Not sure exactly how it compares to PS math curricula, though. Which subject are you most concerned about?

Do they already have one of those mini chargers? I saw some of those pretty cheap one Christmas. I think they went as low as $4-$5 on some models at one point?? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?st=portable+phone+charger&_dyncharset=UTF-8&id=pcat17071&type=page&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=&sp=&qp=&list=n&af=true&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960&keys=keys

Ok what time do they announce final results? I can't remember. I read up thread where someone said people were in line to vote at 11pm. Wow!

I heard we don't have a line here, but there are no "I voted" stickers. Boo.

Wow.

A friend mailed me her filofax planner. It is missing. I paid like $11 for the inserts and never got to use them!! This is not an ADD/ADHD thing, just a reflection of the state of my office lol.

I haven't read the whole thread. I know some people close to me that have ADD/ADHD and when it comes to certain areas in their lives, they are far from lazy. Very hard working at their jobs and some other things. But due to priorities and time management and possibly executive function skills, they may appear lazy in some areas. If this is an accurate word to describe them, I don't know. I'm still learning about ADD/ADHD. I know for myself, I consider myself lazy in certain areas. I also consider myself easily discouraged and overwhelmed. I get so stressed by papers... mail and such. I don't know what to do with things. Keep this or throw that out. Then I haul around a purse full of receipts lol. I have so much anxiety associated with mail that I set it aside with intentions to deal with it later or have dh go through it and then forget or misplace it, etc. I don't like the idea of someone writing me off as purely lazy because of it. I think lots of us are lazy and that may or may not be related to an ADD/ADHD diagnosis. I don't think I have ADD/ADHD but I do have time management issues.

This thread has reminded me to call my parents and ask what they want to do. Some years we do a meal with them, some we don't. Both situations have pros and cons. We always eat at my in-laws' so the years we do meals at both is kinda difficult. TG is huge to MIL so we can't even rotate.

Lol My toddler pulled an R2D2 off our R2D2 Christmas strand. I hope I can reattach it. I don't think they sell them anymore. We got it years ago from ThinkGeek.

Ahh, I see. So you did everything you could. He probably made up the rotation in his mind since it seemed (to him) like the natural order... "ok not at MIL's. Who else is left?" I just saw that Jane is now hosting a meal. I sorta feel badly for her, but I also think she could have said no. I don't really know her personality, though. Maybe to stop this from happening in the future you and Jane could team up and address Jim together. Like face to face? Then it would be easier? Possibly in the same room with your dhs so they could chime in. I don't know. Not during the meal, but at some other point. At least you have closure for this year!

No, they shouldn't be pressured into it, but it sorta sounds like he needs to hear "no meal" spelled out from everyone. I don't know how it has been done in the past (other than the two years you mentioned) so maybe he found a pattern and thought there had been a specific rotation. I don't think it's so strange for him to think it's someone else's turn since he did it last year and doesn't do it annually, but I also don't think that automatically means someone has to volunteer to do it. I just think everyone has different expectations and those need to be made aware by all parties. I can see now that Jane's expectations (small kitchen, already offering dessert) sound pretty clear to me now and yours (not interested in meal, possibly already hosting at Christmas, etc) are also clear. Does Jim know all this? I'm thinking it just needs to be spelled out for him. I'm not trying to disagree, just saying I can see how someone would think, "not it!" lol In this case, everyone is saying, "we're done playing, not it!" Lol

Maybe you need to be very direct about your feelings. "We no longer plan on hosting TG dinners. If you want to take turns with X, maybe you should ask them now so they still have time to prepare. We are fine with just celebrating over dessert." I don't know? I also think there is an inbetween. I don't think hosting has to require working from 5am onward. It could be buying a meal from the grocery store or something. And I'm not saying you need to do that. But maybe an idea for Jim or someone else. I'm not sure if I understand. He thinks Jane's family should have the big meal this year or you and your Dh? Sounds like if you don't care about the meal part then he and Jane's family should hash out if/where there is a big meal.

I'm confused as well. Were the pants purchased at the price point of $120 or that was the original value? You said you often shop at thrift stores so I'm not sure if you bought those in a department store or what. I would just buy inexpensive jeans, period. And not worry about the brand, either. Depending on what you wear, no one can even read the label, anyway. A belt or long shirt often covers it up. Well not the little red tab like on Levis, but some other types. I would buy cheap headphones. Could she use speakers instead of headphones? And just close the door? What about the headphones that are part of a headband? I know they make the children's ones. I don't think they all require bluetooth but the adult ones might. Get rid of the shirts with stains/holes or tell her those are specifically for things like painting if you don't want her wearing them. I wouldn't want my child leaving the house in the really ratty shirt, either. Agree about shopping online... that may be a good way to deal with the shopping. I've been ok with the quality of the jeans we get ds from target and The Children's Place and they all cost under $10. I am sure you can find something decent without hunting down the thrift store aisle if that's a headache.

:grouphug: We put ds in private school this year. We were butting heads and I was overwhelmed. But now homework is a big strain on us all. Dh wants us to just set a time for all homework to be completed by and anything not done by X time oh well. Not our problem. Sounds great in theory, but I think grades might drop. We'll see. I have to micromanage everything. Ds isn't responsible, loses his school books, etc. Dh thinks that next year I can plop ds down at the ktichen table and assign him work while I watch the toddler. Ha. Ha. Ha. He has no idea how much I have to look over ds' shoulder to get anything done. And done correctly. I did pretty much all the homeschooling (dh's idea of homeschooling was usually like, "oh we watched something on Netflix about dinosaurs" when I had curricula I wanted them to do).