No, I don't insist on "may I." I do think it sounds rather formal these days. I don't think there's anything wrong with you doing it if it's your preference, but it's not something that's a big deal to me with my kids.

I have to say, I'm happy it's March. At least my due date and the month I was due are now past and behind me. My health continues to improve every day. This morning, the scale said 205.4 lbs... 42.2 lbs down and closer than ever to being OUT of the 200's altogether! Now that it's March, my appointment with my OB-GYN is only 11 days away, and I have my fingers crossed they can easily put me on some sort of prescrip to lengthen my luteal phase. Between the weight loss and knowing I am ovulating again, I feel more positive than I have in the recent past. Another 16 lbs or so, when I hit the 180's, I plan to TTC again, and hopefully I will be successful and will have better luck than I did last time! Still a bit nervous about my odds because my 39th b-day is exactly two months from today but one step at a time, right?

No, gross, but I'm easily skeeved out by things that are at or past their expiration date. My husband on the other hand is less bothered by things that have a bit of mold and has been known to get rid of the offending bits and eat anyway. Ick. (I will get grossed out if one grape or berry in a whole carton has mold on it and won't want to eat from the package anymore at all, though, whereas he's like what's the big deal, just throw that one out)! I thought you were going to say he tried to serve it to company, that would have been even worse lol.

Done! I remembered 11 words but only like six came quickly to me and the rest took a bit of thinking. I didn't have headphones so I just listened to my computer speakers.

What you said was prob a bit snarky. Still if I were her, I would have given you more of a chance. If we were talking Craigs List strangers I would have felt no obligation to you and would have sold it to the first person to actually say I'll take it and show up with cash. But if someone in my Homeschool group expressed interest at bedtime I'd tell the second morning person I had someone else express interest first, let me get back to you tonight or something and at least give them (you) to end of business day to make a decision.

I use Oak Meadow for my main curriculum with my 6th grader, and it incorporates a decent amount of hands on activities and projects for social studies and some hands on experiments for science (plus creative writing projects and interesting reading assignments for English). We also supplement with Story of the World because we enjoy it, which also offers fun projects and activities in the Activity Guide. Our math is Teaching Textbooks a few times a week and Life of Fred one time a week. Since Teaching Textbooks is done at the computer and uses an animated buddy, and Life of Fred reads like a silly story, math at least isn't too dry and boring. We use Meet the Masters for art which she loves, she really enjoys the art projects (and best of all, I'M not artistic really at all and I can still manage to teach it using that program). So for me it's just been a matter of picking things we enjoy, things that aren't overly dry/textbookish/boring. We like more creative/hands-on kind of stuff. And of course we supplement with field trips, extra-curriculars (guitar, judo, book club, girl scouts and so on), and whatever things she likes to do in her free time. It makes for a pretty well-rounded curricula overall, I think!

:iagree: It's not like they're going to invite strangers who are going to be like who IS this greedy lady wanting gifts from us, right? (I mean that tongue in cheek of course, I do not by any means think anyone is "greedy" for allowing someone to host a shower for them to celebrate their baby)! I assume they are going to be inviting close family and friends who will actually care about and want to celebrate your impending arrival. If they don't feel the need to spend a lot on big gifts for a second, third, or whatever baby, they'll get something small, and I'm sure you'll be fine with that! If especially close family members want to know what you REALLY need and feel the need to buy that double stroller or whatever, they will, and that's fine, too!

:grouphug: You're not doing anything wrong. You have young kids! You know that saying, "The days are long, but the years are short"....? Someone here has it in her signature. It's true. You'll blink and before you know it, a few years will have gone by, and the kids will all be old enough to help clean the house. Don't worry. In the meanwhile, I'm glad your husband is so helpful! :D Try to catch breaks while you can, and enjoy those little ones as much as you can, and don't sweat the small stuff too much (I know it's hard sometimes).

I've purchased there. But yeah I'd compare that to Amazon and go with whichever is cheaper at the time (assuming you can get it in new condition on Amazon)!

I'm doing K with my son now and will be continuing with Oak Meadow for 1st grade which is pretty relaxed/gentle in the earliest years. Lots of hands on Waldorf-inspired stuff (it's not true Waldorf though, just utilizes some of the nature/seasonal/rhythm/craft/story-based kind of stuff).

I doubt it. You guys all always do this for each other, it's your thing! One already responded and sounded happy about it you said! It just might take take a couple of days for everybody to check schedules and pull together, but don't get paranoid and think that people don't want to do something you guys all ALWAYS happily do for each other! lol. It'll be fine!! :)

It's March 1st, and spring is right around the corner! The Weight Loss Challenge social group has a couple of fun new challenges starting today! There's March Miles, where we each set our own personal goal of how many miles we want to walk in March (we do a new one each month). We check in regularly to let each other know how many miles we've walked, biked or jogged, and we see how many we can do each month as a group, as well, encouraging each other along the way. There's a Climbing to the Top challenge which is new for us (they're going to hate me when they see it today, I just posted it haha)- I've noted buildings and famous staircases that have a LOT of stairs and we're going to see if we can eventually "climb" those staircases by just using the stairs (or stairmasters or whatever), no time limit! There's a 10 lbs by April Fool's Day challenge (that one started a while ago, but jump in and set a 5 lb goal for yourself if you want)! There's a Biggest Loser Challenge where we chat a bit about the show and post our weight loss each week when the show airs. We support each other through weigh ins, sometimes we do food or water challenges, or just chat about diet, exercise, medical issues related to weight problems, or whatever we feel like. And anyone can join or post new "Challenges" for fun and motivation anytime! Come check it out if you're interested. :) http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/group.php?groupid=129

In past years, we (I used to be an assistant organizer, now I run it on my own) used to be a lot more lenient about it, and more members used to be more lax about paying on time. We would sometimes get the runaround for weeks past the deadline and would have to keep looking for them for it, worrying about getting the money in on time, debating at what point we say "you can't be in the group if you don't pay because it's not fair to the people who did pay, and the site fees have to be taken care of etc." It was a PITA! The old main organizer didn't take paypal and apparently a lot of people couldn't be bothered getting something in the mail and wanted to just wait until they saw us whenever that may be and we finally had to become more strict about deadlines and started sending out more reminders and including wording about how it had to be paid on time to stay in the group. Then when I took over I added paypal to make it more convenient, but definitely continued with the "barring extenuating circumstances, this has to stay more structured, you guys MUST pay by the deadline" mindset. I've made it so crystal clear and offered every payment option under the sun and gave more than ample notice. It's not the $12, it's the principal of the matter, that I just want people to follow the group policies and not keep breaking them and disrespecting me or my time or the policies I've set like they don't matter in the slightest, and that's what it feels like when there's a person who repeatedly doesn't bother to show up for events she says she will come to without taking a second to cancel despite being asked not to do that again, who only selectively responds to your emails, and who to top it all off doesn't pay her dues when she's supposed to. With someone like that whether it's four days or fourteen, $12 or $120, whether I need the money 3/1 or 3/31, it's just her "who cares what you say" attitude that gets me. *I* care what I say. It's my group. I set the rules. I didn't set them because I sat down and thought, "This will be fun! Let's see how many random rules I can make!" I set them so that the group could run as smoothly and efficiently as possible, and because the group is a big part of my life, that's how I need it to run as much as possible. And she agreed to the rules when she joined. So why can't she just follow them without breaking them over and over and over, and why should she get to be the exception to the rule again and again and again just because she feels like it?

By the way, if you want her to get a bit better with writing poetry, here's a good book for that age range (like 4th to 8th grades). It's called: Teaching Poetry, Yes You Can! by Jacqueline Sweeney. http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Poetry-Yes-You-Grades/dp/0590494198

You're absolutely right, and everything you just said makes so much sense. It's just my personality type or something, I obsess over stuff like this. :blushing:

Well, nothing, she can get reinstated as soon as she pays- I'm not really looking to hand out additional consequences- but meanwhile she isn't able to attend anything with the group or access the group's message board, calendar, emails, etc. until she's reinstated. Not that she does any of that often anyway, but the option isn't there unless she's a paid member. I figure if she realizes I meant business after all and pays quickly and gets herself right back in, that's fine, and maybe next time she'll pay on time knowing that if she doesn't she'll have to get kicked out and deal with reapplying to join (which just means filling out an online form and waiting for me to approve it). If she takes forever to pay and rejoin, that's up to her, she just doesn't have access to anything until she gets around to it. If she decides not to bother at all, that's her choice as well. Ellie, you're scary! LOL! :)

I would not really "critique" a 9 year old's poem. And you only gave one requirement- four lines. She did it lol. At most, tell her it's cute and reminds you of something you'd see in a book of kid's poems for some positive reinforcement, and that next time maybe you want her to try one that has some longer lines, not just single words or names.

I'm so sorry. :grouphug: This is what I think I would do. I would send her a letter in the mail, along with the CD. The letter would say something like, Dear Friend: I am sending you this CD because part of me has been feeling all along like it would be the nice thing to do as a friend, because I know you have done a lot for me in the past, and because if your stepdaughter's mother passes away, it would be nice for her to have these memories of her mother. I have tried to make the right decisions from a business standpoint and to keep business and friendships separate. In my line of business, most of my income initially comes from friends and family, and then word of mouth, and if I don't make money there, where would I make it? As you know, my family has also been having financial difficulties, and my equipment is very expensive, and so I told myself a long time ago I would not offer discounts, etc. even to friends in order to support my family and meet my expenses. In this case, I DID make an exception because I valued our friendship and because of the circumstances. Perhaps I should have offered more of a discount, or offered my time for free this one time. Perhaps you should have approached me initially and outright asked if I would donate my time. But what's done is done and I can't take it back. I'm sorry you were hurt by that. I hope that by sending you this CD you feel that I've made some amends. But the truth is, I am hurt, too. I'm hurt by a lot of the things you said to me during our conversation. I'm hurt that someone I thought was a dear friend brought up so many things that I had no idea were going through her mind, judging my parenting, my appearance, my home, my organizational skills, my personality. It hurts to think that any friendship we resume in the future will always feel like its under constant scrutinization, that I will always have to wonder if you are judging everything I say and do, when I always thought you were a safe person to talk to and be myself around. I'm sorry it has come to this and I wish you would have just been honest with me up front over what your wishes and expectations were when you asked me to do this photo shoot, but I hope this makes up for my part in any wrongdoing you saw. ---- A little bit of amends, a little bit of food for thought for her part in this, maybe she'll think through her part in things, maybe she'll apologize, maybe you guys will be able to work things out, I don't know. And I say this only because you've called her a "very dear friend" who has done a lot for you etc. It sounds like you're both hurt right now. I'm so sorry that it came to this. :(

:lol: Welllllllll I'll get back to you on that!

:lol: See, if I was REALLY mean I'd have no qualms about it whatsoever. The truth is, I WILL feel a bit bad about it if I end up actually doing it even though I do believe it'd be her own fault. I am hoping that my message will cause her to go, "whoops, better just pay it on time" and just go take care of it and then it won't have to come down to it. But we'll see how it plays out, and then I'll have to make a final decision, and we'll see if I'm a pushover or not lol.

I do understand what you are saying. I'm just curious, what would you then do in my position if she didn't show up on the 5th or had to cancel for some reason or if she hadn't RSVP'd to it at all, and let's say another week or two goes by and I sent yet another (sixth) gentle reminder letting her know she was late and her payment was due, and let's say she ignored that one, too, or said she'd get to it but it didn't come, do you just KEEP letting it go? Is there EVER a point where you have to put your foot down and think you can't let it go anymore, that it's not fair that everyone else has paid and this member is just coasting along without paying and that you have to remove them? When would that point be for you? How late would you let somebody be? Not asking defensively, honestly just wondering. BTW I don't mean this in a mean way but I don't feel I really HAVE a relationship with this particular member. She's been in the group about 7 months but I've only seen her twice I think because she's only showed up to two of the events she's RSVP'd to that I've attended (and I attend almost all of them). She supposedly went to three other things that were posted as an "FYI" kind of thing that were large open to the public events as opposed to private events for our group (I wouldn't know if she actually showed up to those three). Everything else she either canceled or was a no show. So I barely know her other than to know that she's been a bit difficult to deal with in regard to trying to get her to honor her RSVP's and now paying her dues. I normally DO try to foster relationships with my group members and to be sympathetic to things that might be going on with them (and I've helped quite a few of them out with various things) but this one just hasn't seemed to make the effort, and I feel any relationship needs to at least somewhat be a two way street.

When we did a biome study in 5th grade, in addition to reading and writing about different biomes, we also picked a place in our area that we could go visit regularly. We went once a week for X number of weeks (you might want to go once a month since you're doing a whole year), and we'd make notes on the temperature, if there was any precipitation, and on what we smelled, sounds we heard, different things we saw. We'd try to identify different plants and trees in the area. She'd draw different plants, trees or animals that she saw there. We'd note seasonal changes. She'd touch things. We tried making tea from white pine needles. We'd just stay quiet for a while and see what we observed. That kind of thing.

Not Saja, and I haven't used 8th yet as I've said (I've used OMK, OM4, OM5, and OM6 so far), but if you want to get an idea of what OM4, 5 or 6 was like, I did/do blog a lot about it. On the sidebar to the left of my blog under "schedule samples" or something like that, I showed how I took weekly OM schedules and broke them down into daily ones, showing a sample week, then I showed some pics etc, to show what that sample week was like, and at the bottom of each entry there's a link to our first 'daily entry' from that particular school year. I tend to blog about our day to day homeschooling lives. We use mostly OM, with some supplementing, and we use it in a pretty relaxed manner, so there are a lot of field trips and activities and such, too, but it'll give a pretty good idea of what OM is like. There's also a detailed review of OM in general under the "My reviews" section of the sidebar. You can always modify some if you think the writing is too much for your child. If they say write 2-3 pages and you think 1 is better, have them write 1. If they have you doing 3 writing assignments in one week, and you think 2 is better, write 2. If they say write a full page, and you think a couple of paragraphs is better, write a couple of paragraphs. You CAN sort of use it as a guideline. I've never used it with three kids, and like I said, my son's only in K, but with your kids being mostly older, I would think they could do at least a fair amount of it more independently, so it might not be so bad for you having three at once.

Well, the cause of its breaking was hitting the floor, but that was probably 'cause of gravity. :D

Yes, that. Which is actually a mom's night out event this time around, not a field trip. Which is at a restaurant/bar, for dinner. At which I'm going to need a drink. Or two. :P :cheers2: