Words are inadequate. Sending you love & strength to endure this.

If two people are drinking and they both get in the car drunk -- one as a passenger and one as the driver -- and the driver kills someone, the driver is responsible. It's no different. The one doing the penetrating is more responsible because they made the choice to penetrate, just as the person driving is more responsible than the drunk passenger because they made the choice to drive.

I'm working on a panda bear rag quilt. I have all the white pieces cut out and sewn together, and the black pieces marked. I'm hoping to at least get around to quilting the black pieces this weekend.

Because believe it or not, there are idiots out there who don't realize Saige is still in stores and they can buy her for less. There are also people who routinely strip the dolls, sell them for slightly less than you can get them at AG, and post the clothes in a separate auction for $30 or more. That way they end up making more on the doll and clothes than they would if they sold them together. I bought and fixed up a Kaya doll. I ended up selling it for $95 on ebay -- for a used doll that was still in production and very available at AG. She did have her clothes with her, but still -- she didn't cost that much more new. People do strange things!

I wasn't part of it when you were part of it. I joined later --around Christmas, I think -- when a friend invited me. I can tell you the FB group is no longer the way you described it. We mostly talk about kids, the good, bad, and ugly in our lives (including problems with spouses -- a topic not allowed here), and homeschooling. As someone else said (Bethany or Kristin?) it moves quickly. It's easy to miss threads. It's possible she doesn't know why the member in question left. I was around when she left and I'm not 100% sure why she decided to leave. I admit that I have an idea, but I'm not going to speak for her. If Bethany says she has no idea, it's likely she truly has no idea.

You pick things up and put them down....just like on that commercial ;)

I love the idea of a conference, but if something like this comes together I hope there are several around the country. A central location makes sense, but for those of us on the east or west coast, we'd still have to travel halfway across the country to get there, and that's too far for many of us. I also think the idea of more conference cds is a good one for those who are unable to attend, but I can't see cds replacing a conference. Not that I've ever been to a homeschooling conference because the few within doable driving distance are more of the "lifestyle" conferences the OP dislikes, but I imagine there is intrinsic value in meeting other, like-minded homeschoolers face-to-face. If there was a conference on the east coast, I'd do whatever I could to be able to attend.

We have 2 laptops and the kids use them either at their desks in the school room, at the dining room table, or on the coffee table/couch in the living room. The computers themselves "live" in the living room. We do have a desktop in the basement, but DH is really the only one who ever uses it, and he mostly uses it when he works from home.

This is truly one of the strangest threads I've ever read! I informed my DH he could have breastfed our children. The horrified, disgusted look on his face was priceless!!!!

Weirder than a man breastfeeding?

We use all sorts of k-cups. We don't really have a brand loyalty. A butcher shop near us sells pick-your-own trays of k-cups at a good price, so DH is always trying new things.

OP, I understand what you're saying and agree with most of it. I've been in your shoes. I take homeschooling very seriously -- it is my job and I work myself into a state of exhaustion trying to do it well. I've gone back and forth on the issue of more regulation/less regulation and I'm torn. At a surface level, more regulation makes sense. All kids deserve an adequate education, and parents who just let their kids play Minecraft and go to park days aren't preparing them for higher education. Those kids will be at a loss if they decide to attend college in the future. On the other hand, I see a whole lot of negative consequences by giving more control to the government. There are plenty of students in government-runs schools who are NOT learning anything. If there are further government regulations, will the government eventually dictate which curriculum we use and subjects we teach? I don't believe in standardized tests as a measure of success -- especially as the mom of a special needs child who is plodding away below grade-level in math. Should my homeschool program be terminated because my 4th grader bombs the 4th grade standardized test because he is diligently working on a 3rd grade math curriculum? Based on test scores in that one area, it would appear that I'm not doing a good job educating my child, when I am. He would probably do worse if he was in school, but the school's program wouldn't be terminated if my son failed. As I said, I'm on the fence. If you ask me on any given day, I'll be leaning more one way than the other.

nm

Maybe he doesn't realize he's being offensive? I know that's hard to believe, but I think there has been less sensitivity-training in our culture around Native Americans than African Americans. I'd point it out to friend. I'd say, "If my child was Africa American, would you call him Buckwheat? No? Well it's equally offensive when you call him Tonto. Stop it."

Is killing the trainer an option??????? If not, take pictures, document everything (as part of the documentation process, I would have taken the dog to the vet straight from the trainer's place), and this miserable excuse for a "trainer" should never, ever have been paid. I would also start a smear-campaign, bashing her wherever she advertised. I'd use before and after pictures of the dog to do it. Dogs are sensitive anyway, and GSDs are particularly sensitive (we have 2). We left ours with a negligent dog sitter (a FORMER friend, and this is why he's a former friend!) and it took months before our dogs recovered from it mentally and emotionally. There was no abuse involved, just gross neglect. Your sister's dog is probably emotionally and mentally messed up over this. I'm not saying he's scarred for life, but it may take a long time to get him back to where he was. If training or consultation fees are incurred to help the dog through this time, I'd expect the person who did the damage to cough up the dough. If not, I'd sue her, even if it meant money out of my own pocket to do so, but anyone who knows me knows I'm crazy about my dogs.

People really spend that much for prom? That's insane. I always managed to snag good deals on prom dresses and I never went in a limo. I thing both proms and weddings are over-the-top now. It's ridiculous.

I would consider it, but only for a close family member or very close friend.

I'm not reading the whole thread, so sorry if I'm repeating anything, but I just started using Hands on Equations with my 8 year-old DD and it is awesome! If you want to introduce the concept of algebra to a child early-on, that's the way to go. Sometimes Homeschool Buyer's Co-op has it at a decent price. That's where we got our set.

Here is mine: http://jujsky.blogspot.com/2013/04/week-31-more-artistswriter.html This is a tutorial we did (my weekly blog has a link to this as well) on bubble painting. It was so much fun! http://jujsky.blogspot.com/2013/04/bubble-paper-tutorial.html

We always school part-time in August so we have 2 full weeks in when we start back in September. I'm moving more towards a year-round model this year. The summer will be more open with no set school days. If things come up with friends or family, we'll do them. The kids are also scheduled for a couple of summer camps so we obviously won't do school on those days. I want them to keep up with math, spelling, and Russian at the very least, but I might add in science and history about July or so. We've been taking more time off during the school year as we've needed it, and it has been nice. I haven't been stressing out as much as I normally do, and we're still slated to finish everything "on time." We've already completed some of our subjects.

Many people who are mentally ill refuse to seek treatment or don't even realize they are mentally ill. My MIL is one of them. There is no way I could live with her. The atmosphere would be awful for all of us -- including my children. DH and I would probably end up divorced. Why upset everyone just to live together if it's not necessary? People deal with this where it is the norm because they HAVE TO. They don't have a plethora of options. My DH came from that type of multi-generational background (he's an immigrant from Russia). Even though that's the norm for him and he grew up that way, he wouldn't choose that life here because it's not necessary. Maybe if his mom was a different type of person, he would, but she's not. Trust me, SKL. If you had my MIL, you'd run from her too!

Thank you!

I just looked it up on Amazon. I found 3 or 4 different versions of Lamb and none of them contain Julius Caesar. Is there a version that I'm missing? Can anyone else suggest anything?

I'm trying to find a good, kids' version of Julius Caesar for next year. I found this one: http://www.amazon.com/Julius-Caesar-Shakespeare-Graphics-William/dp/1434234509/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365816503&sr=1-3&keywords=julius+caesar but it only has 1 review, and the one time I need the whole "look inside" preview feature, they don't have it. Have any of you used this one? If not, I'd appreciate any Julius Caesar recommendations for those new to Shakespeare. Thank you!

I'm trying to find a good, kids' version of Julius Caesar for next year. I found this one: http://www.amazon.com/Julius-Caesar-Shakespeare-Graphics-William/dp/1434234509/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365816503&sr=1-3&keywords=julius+caesar but it only has 1 review, and the one time I need the whole "look inside" preview feature, they don't have it. Have any of you used this one? If not, I'd appreciate any Julius Ceasar recommendations for those new to Shakespeare. Thank you!