Oh dear. I hope you didn't congratulate her. Ironically, I just came across this article. It made me laugh. (The article would be PG13 for language.) http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-7-most-baffling-things-about-womens-clothes/

Loose and swingy is in—whether it be tops, Ts, or dresses. I am slight and small chested; my hips are a bit wider than my chest and shoulders. In everything I tried on today when my daughter and I went shopping, I looked like a house elf.

From what my cousin says, he is alone in the grudge. My aunt sent me a very sweet, encouraging note last winter.

Thank you, again, for the encouragement—and for the prayers, mommyoffive. I am out of "likes" or I would click "like" for all. Sometimes helping our aging parents can be a hard, lonely road, as I know many of you know firsthand. LarlaB, yes, the family knows.

And that is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you all! Now I have new thoughts to pull forth ("He doesn't paint my dunny door!" :lol:) if I get that nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. As far as my mom, she would like him to be there. They were very close for many years. But she is not expecting he will go, so I don't plan on telling her I sent an invitation to their home (as that would make her feel worse in the probability of a no-show), but she will be surprised and thrilled if he goes. And thank you for the stories from your own lives and for the hugs.

I have appreciated the threads about boundaries and not owning others' reactions, etc. So, tell me how I should feel. :001_smile: My uncle's family cut off my mom after my grandma's death, 15+ years ago. This has caused lots of awkward situations where my family is invited to the large family holiday gatherings but my mom is not. Since she is a widow, we always spend the holiday with her rather than joining the extended family and leaving her on her own. But we do get to see extended family occasionally. My mom would be at the events (her sister and brother and families) if she were invited. Anyway, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a couple days before Christmas, and she will be celebrating, in all likelihood, her final birthday next month. She has planned a community benefit lunch, where she is paying for the catering and all the lunch donations will go to a community center for seniors where she has often volunteered and served on the board. Besides the community, she is inviting dear friends and relatives from around the country, many of whom are going to fly in. I am sending invitations to both my aunt (the sister) and my uncle (the estranged brother) because I definitely want them to be invited, even if they choose not to attend. (BTW, they both live about 45 minutes away, if that makes any difference.) Here is the issue (finally!): The invitations haven't even been picked up from my mailbox, and I am feeling unsettled/stressed/anxious. I guess I'm wondering if my uncle will be angry with me for the invite? Can you all give me some perspective? Theoretically, there is nothing to feel stressed about, but my stomach feels like I have swallowed a small stone.

Did you all see the post going around Facebook? "I'm going to start calling my bathroom 'Jim' instead of 'John.' It sounds so much better to say, 'I went to the Jim this morning.'"

Well, if you want another BTDT perspective: Our daughter wanted to be a ballerina from the age of four. We waited a couple years and enrolled her in ballet at the age of six. She organized and started teaching homeschool ballet classes (not pointe!) at the age of 13. She earned a childcare certification at a technical college and a college degree (associate's—9 hours short of a BA, so, close, if she decides to finish at some point) at 17 and graduated early from high school. A few months later, now 18, she moved nine hours away for a two-year trainee program she got accepted in. At 20 she moved across the country from us to dance with a small, new company on the East Coast. She supports herself by teaching in the evenings at several studios and was asked to start a ballet program from the ground up at a competition studio when she was 21 (which she is doing). She also does online Internet assessments from home for additional income. Is she rolling in the dough? No. Self-supporting, happy, and "living the dream"? Yes! Do I sometimes wish she had a more stable occupation? Yep. I'm so very proud of her and love to hear about all the impact she is having in the circles where she moves, yet, we both know dancers are always one critical injury away from being done (and of course, dancers age out young), but she holds it all lightly and will move in other directions when the time comes. She is a very strong, mature young woman (now 22) from all of her experiences. Who knows how the road might twist in the future? But I think she is smart, flexible, and resilient enough (and has wonderful professional contacts and friends around the country) to support herself whether in the world of ballet or elsewhere. Time will tell.

I do ask my two girls (17 and 22) if things look OK on me age-wise. (I'm 52.) We all wear about the same size and trade clothes around a lot, and I have been known to wear their hand-me-downs. (Hey, it's often something I've purchased, after all.) However, I definitely have "going out" clothes and "casual/whatever" clothes. It probably helps that I have always like classic lines, styles, and colors, and much of my girls' clothes are fairly classic too. I do have a funny story, though. Last winter our 17 yo had a December soccer tournament—outdoors in the 29 degree weather at 9:30 p.m. at night. It was SO COLD! I decided I was going to fight the elements and wore layers, ski pants, and boots. However, my black ski jacket doesn't have a hood, and I wanted more than a knit cap. I asked my daughter if I could borrow her hooded ski jacket, but—as it is a blue violet—I wasn't sure if it would look weird. Me: Do you think it's age appropriate for me to wear your jacket? Dd: Mom. You're wearing ski pants. At this point, I don't think it matters what else you wear.

We have a different experience. We are part of a homeschooling organization with 120+ families, geared toward older kids. We have phenomenal choirs that do well in regional and national competitions and lots of high school sports (girls and boys volleyball, cross country, girls and boys soccer, basketball, golf, and track, and reciprocal agreements with local private schools for baseball and football). We also have speech and debate classes, and our debate teams are very active in competitions around the country. As for traditional classes, our organization doesn't offer classes (outside of choir and speech/debate), but we have current and past homeschooling moms who are well-qualified and teach art and lab sciences and upper-level math. Quite a few of our high schoolers who are dual enrolled for some classes at community colleges talk ahead of time and take the same classes so they can carpool. We had 110 high schoolers at our spring formal and filled a church with guests when this year's 28 seniors graduated. I have a senior next year, and we have been busy planning next fall's senior trip this spring. We had our first class meeting last week to talk about reserving a venue for the graduation, senior T-shirts, etc. Kids send informal group texts all the time and get together for ultimate frisbee, volleyball at Sonic, Bible studies, parties at people's houses, etc. I do realize this is not the norm, and I have been thankful many times for the opportunities we have!

Looks like you might be there during the crafts festival (125 demonstrating craftspeople, barn dance, etc.). http://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/Festivals/National-Harvest-Festival

It probably depends on your other interests. The cave tour is good. You could check to see which festival will be held when you visit to see if there are shows that interest you. (There are two large indoor theaters and a big outdoor amphitheater, where they stage a show after the rest of the park closes, as well as smaller stages with entertainment. All shows are included in the price of the ticket.) If you like watching craftspeople, there is a working blacksmith and glassblower, as well as candy (usually peanut brittle) makers and, sometimes, someone throwing pottery in the pottery shop. There are lots of shops—some with lovely handmade things, some clothing, some with things more like toys and trinkets, etc. There are may types of indoor and outdoor restaurants and food vendors. The train has a steam engine, and there is a comedy show halfway through (train robbery). Probably if you spend some time on the website, you can get a good general feel for it. The grounds are really lovely—lots of trees and flowers, and it doesn't have as much of a standard amusement park feel. There are certainly fewer rides than a more ride-focused amusement park and no super-hokey souvenir booths like glow-in-the-dark necklaces, etc.

Oh, another SDC money-saving tip, if you go: There are lockers to rent in the park, and outside food is allowed. So, if you want to pack sandwiches and fruit and veggies, you could save your fun money for the many interesting snacks, etc. or for something else. They will also fill water bottles for free or give you free cups of water.

My in-laws live in Branson West, so we go down several times a year. Bass Pro Shop owns Big Cedar Lodge, which is really, really nice. We were in the Bass Pro Shop at Branson Landing on Thursday. (Note: Branson Landing is a fun place to go! There is a free outdoor water fountain/music show on the river and lots of fun stores, including our favorite ice cream shop, Kilwin's.) Anyway, they were doing a Memorial Weekend promo of $199 for four nights and a $75 Bass Pro Shop gift card. Warning: You have to go to a "20 minute" presentation about timeshare in the property, and I have read some reviews of people saying they loved the place but hated the timeshare aspect, so take that with a grain of salt. My in-laws live in Stonebridge Resort, and there are lots of lovely rental properties there (condos and cabins). That area is minutes from Silver Dollar City (SDC), which is also nice. I agree that SDC is definitely worth visiting. We have been going there for over 20 years, and I just learned a few weeks ago that they have special homeschooling prices!! It's not advertised, but if you call and ask, you can get the deal. They told me it is $53.74 for ages 12 and up (and $41.92 for ages 4–11, in case anyone else is interested), but—here's the thing—that's for a two-day ticket! Normal one-day price for an adult is about $65! So, call ahead for the discount if you go to SDC. Two days would be good if you want to do rides, the cave, and the shows that are included in the ticket price. I hope you have a great time! We have many happy memories from visiting in all seasons.

I voted "other." always said it the "rhymes with 'that'" way until quite a number of years ago when my husband started managing an IT department. He tells me it's pronounced date-a in the IT industry, so now I say it that way...but I have to think before I pronounce it or I'll go back to the first way I pronounced it (which I sometimes do).

Um, I'd say realize that teenage boys often pull away some because many have a strong drive for independence. They may conflict with Mom because they want that independence but often still need help (with organization, planning, general life knowledge, etc.). They may conflict with Dad because they both have a drive to be alpha. I found it helpful to allow lots of autonomy, when possible, and to try to show unconditional love even when some choices or thoughts were different from our family's culture. Of course, there are all kinds of boys and men and people in general, so my experience may not help you at all!

At my son's last learning disorders evaluation, the educational psychologist recommended this coaching group in the report: http://addcoaching.com/ Like yours, my ds wasn't motivated to utilize that kind of opportunity. But maybe it will strike a positive note with him or be helpful in the future.

My mom bought a new one 1.5 or 2 years ago. It's a nice car, but none of us like the tiny rear window the new ones have. Even with the backing camera, there are some angles we cannot see when we are backing up. She likes everything else about it, and it has been maintenance free and gets great gas mileage.

I use this Anchor Hocking lidded pitcher: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Foxrun-9011-bistro-pitcher/34958428?action=product_interest&action_type=title&beacon_version=1.0.2&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&client_guid=a65f63b6-0aaa-4473-812a-fb1c643f6750&config_id=2&customer_id_enc&findingMethod=p13n&guid=a65f63b6-0aaa-4473-812a-fb1c643f6750&item_id=34958428&parent_anchor_item_id=52461780&parent_item_id=52461780&placement_id=irs-2-m2&reporter=recommendations&source=new_site&strategy=PWVAV&visitor_id=Z52MU6qsxFWUTMoZnge8R4 Yikes! That's a long link! If it doesn't work, you can go to walmart.com and search for "Anchor Hocking bistro glass pitcher with stopper."

Not sure of the one AK Mom4 was referring to, but here is the link to Timbuk2's laptop backpacks: http://www.timbuk2.com/laptop-backpacks

For laptop bags (briefcase or backpack style) my husband who travels a lot with his computer really likes Timbuk2 and Tom Bihn. He also likes Red Oxx for luggage, but their laptop bags might be too bulky for daily college use. BTW all of these companies have really good repair/replacement policies that my husband has successfully used.

Would luggage be helpful? I know he will be living at home, but do you anticipate any travels (study abroad, spring break trips, ski trips, etc.)? If he has a laptop, maybe a really nice laptop case or even a backpack/laptop case?

Thank you for sharing! The article brought a lump to my throat and was very encouraging. We are kind of at the "loving but cutting off support" stage and, although ours does have learning disabilities, I appreciated reading how the tough times in life helped shape and direct the author's son. I'm not hoping or holding my breath for a CFO job (dyscalculia, after all!) but it helped me to hear of another parent's similar journey and gives me renewed stamina to continue praying for a passion and a direction in life.

So many good things to think about! (And yes, I do need to look at a map! Still waiting for that library book on Melbourne to help me self-educate.) I would like all of your posts, ladies, but I'm out of likes, apparently. As far as the mom aspect, I'm trying to think from all angles (going, not going, planning to go but perhaps canceling last minute). I had planned for a year to travel to a national fine arts competition last month with my daughter and her singing group and other parents—if they qualified through local and regional competitions—but we had to have reservations two months ahead for all the travel plans etc., and that was when my mom was not doing well at all. We moved her in with us, and I was very busy with appointments and support, so I told the planners I could not go. I am thankful that my mom has initially responded well to chemo and is able to live at home except for the week after chemo now. What ended up happening, though, was she was at her home doing well, and I was at my home pretty depressed that I was missing the week-long trip and seeing our kids win at a national level. So, all that to say, it's very hard to plan right now, but I don't want to rule things out without quite a bit of thought.

Oh, wow. I didn't even know that was a thing! And that is why I came to you ladies. :) We would be staying at the Hilton Melbourne South Wharf, so I think that would probably be in the general area of being able to go to Philip Island. How hot is too hot, in February? I can look at averages, but that only helps so far. Too hot to walk on the sand at the beach? Too hot for extended bike rides? And, yes, I'm concerned about the 30-some hour flight each way. I don't enjoy traveling much...and the jet lag. Wish we could teleport!