I have a couple of teen boys that come over daily to hang out with my boys. They usually play video games as yours do. When I feel like they've been on screens too much, I usually tell them to wrap it up and find something else to do. They're pretty receptive but I don't know if that's because I've usually let them play for a few hours before I say something. As Swellmomma mentioned it is a lot of fun for them to play multiplayer with/against each other. They'll play 1 v. 1, 2 v. 2, or online as a team against other players. There's lots of talking, laughing, and ribbing going on so it feels more interactive to me than just zoning out in front of the screen. When they move on from the video games they might play a card or board game, go out and shoot hoops, ride rip sticks, take a bike ride, try to organize Capture the Flag or some other "big game" with other neighborhood kids or play airsoft. I don't suggest the activity just tell them they need to turn off the screen. If someone complains about there being nothing else to do (usually one of my kids) I just tell them they're smart guys and I'm sure they can figure something out, and they usually do. In your situation, when you're tired of them being on the screens, I'd just tell them it's time to move on and let them figure out what they want to do.

Let 'er rip!!! :tongue_smilie: JK. This was one of the few times I actually watched the DVD that came with an item discussing it's use. You'll get excited when you see all the things you can do with it plus it goes over cleaning and care of the machine. After watching that I made a smoothie from a recipe I'd been saving off the internet. My boys spent about an hour looking through the cookbook then finding out if we had the ingredients to make a variety of smoothies and other things. Then they made smoothies too. I still primarily use it for that but occasionally will use it in place of my food processor. Have fun! You're going to love it!!!

I grew up in WA and have never heard of it.

Absolutely adorable! Congratulations!!!!!

Happy birthday!!

I finished a few more books since I last posted. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson popped up on Overdrive when I was browsing audiobooks. I loved it because it was the perfect book for me at the perfect time. It's a Christian book about taking risks and facing challenges. This author was the narrator and his energy was contagious. I don't remember why I ordered Conversations with Millionaires by Mike Litman but I must have thought it would be something really inspiring because I requested via inter-library loan. I started this book on vacation when I ran out of other books to read. The only reason I finished it was because I had gotten so far before we came home. It felt like one big infomercial, which I guess it was. It consisted of transcripts from Mike Litman's (never heard of him) radio program where he interviewed these various people. It wasn't what I expected at all and I didn't care for it. Finally, I finished Private Games by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan. I was hoping for a sinister-feeling "bad guy" which I felt Private Berlin delivered. The villain here wasn't as interesting to me. I also thought one of the moves by the main character wasn't realistic so I only gave this book 2 stars on Goodreads, meaning it was just ok. That brings my tally to 28.

We used to start the 3rd week in August but the last couple of years it's been the first week in September. My kids are older and like to be on a similar schedule as many of their friends. In your situation I would most likely start in August. I wouldn't like the idea of 2 weeks of school, 1 week off, 1 week of school, a week off, because *I* would have a hard time transitioning back and forth.

I finished a few books last week because we were on vacation. First was Damaged by Alex Kava. This was a mystery but nothing memorable. Every time I think about it I have to remind myself what the book was about. Next was What My Mother Gave Me. I enjoyed reading about the different women and their relationships with their mothers. Not all were picture perfect which made me connect more with them. Finally, I read Private Berlin by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan. I really liked this book. I disappeared for about an hour one day because I just couldn't put it down. I was so pumped after I was finished because I thought I had finally found a new series to get hooked on. I immediately reserved the first in the series from the library. When we got home, I excitedly picked it up from the library and dove right in. Oh brother, what a letdown! I couldn't read past the first 20 pages or so, I thought it was so bad. He wrote that one with Maxine Paetro so I don't know if that's what the difference was or what. I'm trying to figure out how these collaborations between 2 authors on a piece of fiction work. Are they both writing parts of the book or do they come up with the storyline together, yet only one of them writes it? Anyway, I wasn't ready to give up on the series so I'm starting Private Games by the Patterson and Sullivan duo again. I'm hoping their combination is what made me like Berlin so well and that it will be another great read.

I don't think you're being a "jerk." I understand wanting to foster an admirable trait in your child, however for me, this would boil down to disobedience. You have explained several times to your daughter that she needs to ask before doing anything in the kitchen regarding meals and she is not following this "rule." She sounds like the type of child who really wants to do the right thing and be helpful so maybe having a discussion with her along those lines, explaining that you understand and appreciate her trying to help but when she does it after you've asked her not to and even explained why, now she is being disobedient by not following your rules. Once she sees it like that, it may be enough to get her to stop these particular surprises.

I would say no, that the cake is your gift to them. I wouldn't compare what your mother has done for you with what you're doing for her. She's the parent, you're the child. It shouldn't necessarily be equal. However, I don't know your family dynamics and if you think this could cause a problem or hard feelings with your mom, you may want to make a different decision.

I have the large tote that I keep it in the back of my van. It holds my reusable grocery bags and a couple of blankets. I also put things in it that I don't want rolling/sliding around when I'm out running errands. I really like it.

No, I wouldn't. It takes time for the team to build synergy and trust each other if it's a group that hasn't played together before. If you miss half the games you don't get the opportunity to build that with all the players.

:grouphug:

So sorry to hear about your kitties, Stacia. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

We normally take summers off because everyone (especially me :tongue_smilie:) needs a break. This year will be different because my middle son has high hopes of taking geometry in the fall at our co-op so he needs to complete algebra over the summer. He'll get a week off here and there for things we have planned, otherwise it'll be math every day for him. Also, this was the first year of high school for my oldest and it took him some time to acclimate to the workload. He has an elective that we had to set aside mid-year to focus on completing the basics. He wants to finish that over the summer.

What did you think of it?

I finished The Round House by Louise Erdrich. It was so strange because the author never used quotation marks, ever. She would do the paragraph breaks so you would know a new character was talking but no quotation marks! For some reason it gave the book a weird feel to me, kind of like I was always inside the main character's head. Over all I thought it was just so-so. I also finished listening to The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin. This book has a lot of hype about losing 7 lbs. in 7 days but that wasn't why I listened to it. The way you go about this weight loss is to eliminate 7 categories of foods that are like to cause food sensitivity. That's what I was drawn to, the information on food sensitivity. You keep all of these foods out of your diet for 3 weeks and then add them back in 1 at a time to see if your body reacts to any of them. This intrigues me and I'm hoping to give it a try later this summer.

Thank you for your reply! I forgot about asking this question until today when I was looking through some old posts.

I finished Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. I really liked this book. It's one of my favorites so far this year. I'm currently reading The Round House by Louise Erdrich and listening to The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin.

So happy for the wonderful news! Congratulations!!!

Sweet!!! :hurray: What a great accomplishment!

What you said may be correct but that wasn't the way I approached the sentence. I was thinking of "be" as the main verb and "will" as the helping verb. Then I identified the subject. Finally, I looked for the word that each of those remaining words modifies to determine its job in the sentence. So, "happy" describes (modifies) "they" which makes it a predicate adjective. "men" (modifies or) is another name for "they" which makes it a predicate nominative. "home" and "here" are telling where (modify) "they will be" which makes them both adverbs. WRT naming "will be" as a linking verb in some cases and a state of being verb in others, I can't see how that would affect the diagram. In each of the above sentences you would diagram the subject/verb the same way and use the backslash "\" for the times you have a PA or PN. Do you have an example in mind where it changes the diagram?

Adverbs tell how, when, where, or why so I would think of "here" as telling where "they will be." Does that help?

Some people can be idiots. :cursing: He sounds like a great dog! I hope you have many happy years with him.

I loved this book!