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Thank you Sophia, that is exactly the kind of advice I need. I want to be able to give her the tools she needs to handle situations like that. We could role play some situations and she can act out how she should respond!

My daughter is now six and I am pretty sure I just witnessed her first "mean girl" moment (not sure what else to call it). Here is a little backstory. I babysit a one year old that I have kept since she was five weeks old. Well her older sister, a first grader, is out of school this week so her parents asked if I could also keep her. She has two older step sisters and is just more advanced that my kids I think. We don't have tv and she watches all the tween and teen shows with her sisters, that sort of thing. And she is much more concerned about being cool. Well they were playing in the backyard and our next door neighbors daughter (who is homeschooled and has very much the same background and morals we do) asked if she could come over. I gave my permission and while she went in to ask her mother, the child I am babysitting told my daughter that she didn't want the other girl to come over because she would steal my daughters attention away from her. Thankfully I overheard and explained that once an invitation was sent like that, it would be incrediably rude to take it back. I told them the little girl could come over and they would all have fun together. Then I went to my bedroom to get further advice from my husband when I heard the front door slam. I tell you I don't think I have ever moved so fast. When I made it to the front yard, I heard my daughter and the girl I am babysitting tell the neighbor girl that they didn't want her to come over. My neighbors daughter is just all things sugary sweet and it just broke my heart to think that my child hurt her feelings like that. I informed our neighbors daughter that I was so sorry she couldn't come over and play but the girls were no longer allowed to have a visitor since they went out in the front yard without permission. I then sat the girls on the couch while I calmed down and thought about what to say. Then we talked about the bad manners of taking back an invitation, the safety of running out the front door without permission and how the girls would feel if the situation was reversed and they were invited to a playdate and then told they weren't wanted. Anywho I know these situations are inevitable and teaching moments but I would like to continue discussions about the situation hopefully tonight with just me and my daughter so if any one has any advice about what you did in similar situations I would greatly appreciate it. And if you made it all the way through my obviously still fresh story thank you so much.

You board other horses for people who have more money but less land than you.

We are studying astronomy right now and wanted to get the family a telescope for Christmas but I don't even know where to start here. Does anyone know what I should be looking for or have a good idea of what I should get? Do I really need the $500 telescope or would the $100 one be just fine for now? Thanks so much

We just read about the celts in story of the world year 2! We make axes and painted our faces blue.

haha........whatever you do......don't stop watching!!!!!!!

I know she is a principal. I must have heard her wrong at that point but my ears were ringing from her telling me I didn't know what I was talking about. She mentioned TEA at one point too so I went on that website and it really doesn't have a whole lot of info on homeschooling. I can't necessarily blame her for not knowing the facts but the high and mighty know it all attitude can go.

Oh gracious I love you people right now. I needed that. Now to block her from my mind............

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I have been feeling like I am out of my mind. I wonder what teachers and principals are told, if anything, about homeschooling laws in Texas.

I just got back from camping with my hubby's family and all was going well until planning for next year came up. My brother-in-law's girlfriend, who is a principal at some school in west Texas, mentioned a date in May and someone asked me if my kids would be out of school. I said that I homeschool so the date doesn't matter. You would think I had just dropped a major bomb. The principal/girlfriend goes off on how my kids still have to be in school a certain number of days and my wonderful husband said that we can actually pick which days our kids go to school and which days they have vacation. She proceeds to try to explain the law to me, to which I tried to correct her and she threw up her hands and shouted, "I'm a TA!" I don't actually know what that stands for but she left at that point and barely looked at me for the rest of the vacation. Then my father in law for some reason brought up mandatory testing every two years for homeschooled kids. I just kind of stared and ignored him since he was obviously talking out of his hiney. It was just a weird experience for me since I am from a metroplex with a very large homeschooling community. The whole situation still has me a bit freaked out and second guessing myself. I have gone over everything on the TEA website and the HSLDA website and I can't find anything that says my kids have to be schooled on particular days or have mandatory testing. Grrrr I need to stop worrying right? I guess it is just kind of upsetting. :crying:

I wish the lego education store in Southlake hadn't closed down. Then at least I could ask a live human and have more to look at then just a catalog. A well unless anyone else has advice, I guess I will start searching websites.

I didn't realize there was a set on the homeschool buyers co-op!! I am off to check that out. There just seems like so much 'stuff' to go along with it and we are talking aobut a lot of money. It is hard to plop down that kind of money without getting some opinions or help first. ETA: Wow that is not much of a discount :(

I know I want to buy my son an NXT Mindstorm set but I am not sure what all I should buy. Should I get the homeschool set or the regular set? I know the software is separate. Are there any really great helpful books I should buy? Any great expansion kits or extra pieces that you love? I have the Lego education catalogs and it is all so overwhelming.

I have found that going to the parents is pointless because those same parents bought the clothes in the first place and think their little princess looks like a doll and asking if the doll they are shooting for is hooker barbie doesn't help. I say that as a joke. please don't flame me. Really the best luck I have had is in actually talking to the girl one on one but if parents don't back you up and church leaders don't inforce......

I am on a very low carb diet and have been since the beginning of the year. I am having a cold hamburger patty for breakfast. I call them meat cookies (I only call them that cause it grosses my husband out :D ) My key to success has been to always have a variety of meat in the freezer and if I need something crunchy I grab pork rinds or if I need something sweet I have russell stovers sugar free chocolate. Really my breakfasts , lunches and dinners all look the same. I eat a lot of hot wings with franks hot sauce if I need more flavor and I love steak and mushrooms. every couple of days I will have a taco salad or fajita salad. Oh also making your own beef jerky and just having that on hand to travel with has been super helpful.

I was dropping my 3 year old son off in Sunday School class when he looked up and told me that colin was his best friend...............because Colin had a p*nis. What can ya do :D

I eat very few carbs. Some days all meat and a couple times a week I have a taco salad (meat cheese lettuce and salsa). I do get some carbs from splenda in my morning coffee. Sometimes if I want a treat I will eat some russell stovers sugar free chocolate and if I need something crunchy I will eat pork rinds. I have lost 30lbs since January. I never exercise. I wish the weight was coming off faster but I have lost more than my two year old weighs and I am not starving all day like when on a low cal or low fat diet. That is a huge plus for me. I don't have to think about when my next meal is going to be and how much I can allow myself. I don't count calories at all. I would like to lose at least fifty more pounds. Right now I am at 202.

There are many great studies out there that you could do with your daughter like every young womans battle or I kissed dating goodbye, preferably something with a workbook that the two of you could work through together. This will open up the dialogue you need to get her focused on her relationship with Jesus and making that a priority right now in her life. Man I can't remember the one I used with a teen girl a few years ago that I loved. I am going to see if I can find it.....

hilarious. you got me too. My jaw dropped for a moment there :lol:

I agree with the substitution ideas I read in one of the comments. Start by baking the chicken nuggets. Use whole wheat pasta and pizza with healthier ingredients.

I'm sorry. My son will be in second grade.

I am desperatly looking for a Bible study that is interesting and easy to use. Has anyone tried a boxed curriculum like Abeka or BJU for their Bible study?

I watch a little girl during the week. I get her for four days a week, eight hours a day and make a steady extra hundred a week. It has been a huge answer to prayer to have that little extra income and I have become known as someone who babysits so during spring break I made quite a bit more. And I love having a house full of kids!

you can bento in a surprising number of ways. Be on the look out and you can find them lots of places. Sometimes Disney store has small containers that you can use for bento and my husband usually just prefers a tupperware container from walmart. I have one that is made by ziplock I think that has compartments. For something cute for the kids though, I think Jbox has the best prices. Just google jbox bento. I get a lot of my ideas from this website http://bentolunch.blogspot.com/