call the company.

SO, the bad kids thread made me think- yes, TV is much different from when any of us were kids/ teens. what is your favorite classic tv show? it does not need to be from your generation, mine certainly aren't. so, i'll start: The many loves of Dobey Gillis- Dwayne Hickman as Dobie, Bob Dnever (of gilligan fame) as Maynard G Crebs- the lovable beatnic who's super-awesome catch line of "WORK?!?" and Sheila James as Zelda (she had this awesome face that everyone that met her made back- DD1 looks so much like her, it amuses me) Lawrence Welk- Bouffants, HUGE white teeth, bubbles and chiffon dresses, corny music- how can you go wrong? I used to watch re-runs with my dad, still makes me smile thinking of it. Looking forward to your favorites! Robyn

I was always a kid who looked tough (I am not) big mall hair and black clothes in the 80's, listened to heavy metal (and classical and jazz and everything else also, but I was always judged by the stereotype not the substance). Still have some pretty cool clothes for a mom, they just cost DH much more than the rock T-shirts of back-in-the-day! I am appalled at what is on TV now! I never knew I was such a prude! I now pretty much watch only TV land (well have since my teen years- gotta love dobey gillis!) but now it's out of necessity, that is when Charlie Rose is not on.....

A few weeks ago we had an issue where we found out that a child in a (now former) play-group had been the victim of sexual abuse & I caught him abusing another child- the one who supposedly abused him. It freaked me out. Completely terrifying. I had a sit down with our Pastor to think things through- how to approach the mom, etc. We got to talking about 'kids today' and kids when I was growing up- there were winners then too, there's no denying that. He had a very interesting perspective that I had never thought of before, something his wife (a teacher) had brought up one day. My generation are the children of the drug generation. The kids today are the GRANDCHILDREN of the drug generation. Nothing is sacred and so many things are acceptable by means of 'neglect' that anything goes now. Yes, there have always been bad parents and bad kids who felt their parents 'didn't understand them' or had a sense of entitlement (didn't John Adams have one or two of those?), but really the numbers in those columns are growing like mad. Just my 2 cents. Robyn

yes, but think of how long a mac runs for. i know no-one who has a pc that has lasted more than 1.5 years. add it up- the mac is the better bargain for the long haul.

no offense taken. i should have worded it better, but i had my little piglet in my arms squirming as she had lunch.... i'm sure you've been there. i am always surprised at what she understands. she does however do everything her sister does. monkey see.... monkey cleans up after herself! #2 is always telling big sis 'clean-up sa-sa'

i get my annies products on amazon- use subscribe & save for 15% off and amazon prime for free shipping. we are using disposable diapers for #2 now & i buy them this way too! hth robyn

how about pasta salads? you could do one with grilled veggies and cheese, one with beans and veggies. black beans, rice and mango is great at room temp. (fresh from the vegetarian slowcooker has the best recipe)... any rice bean combo- brown rice with garbanzo, roasted red peppers and anything else, sun-dried tomato & fresh mozzerella. brown rice, fresh spinach or other salad greens with some beans and a drssing of fresh ginger, sesame oil, fresh garlic and brown rice vinegar. hows that? good for you to support her!

amen!

I may be a mean mommy, maybe i am to hard on my 4.5 yo & 20 mo, but i've started 'mommy patrol'. each night before bath time i walk the house with the garbage can & throw away anything that is not picked up. i am fair- i give warning & help them pick up what ever they need help with, but i did throw away a plastic cup, and a few stray items that were more mine than theirs just to make my point. maybe my signature line should be- super nanny would cringe in my forceful presence! my kids are great, i try to be their confidant and their caretaker. don't alienate her (my mom did that) but IMHO she needs some boundaries to function as an adult. not to imply short falls on your part- i don;t mean to be harsh, can't find the words to express really.... do you get what i mean? hth robyn :grouphug:

in my pre-natal classes for DD1, the instructor told us about a child who was named placenta (teenage girl heard the word used in the delivery room of the hospital, thought it was pretty). why would they let her do that? i have no middle name. is it really that big of a deal if she has NMI? this child is blessed with the opportunity at a fresh start. names are minimal in the big scheme of things. good for you to be doing such a good deed for this child. as someone who favors family names- i think that is a lovely idea & gives the child a tie to someone who was a great person who gave of themselves.

wow. i will have to put up a fence between the orchard/ veg area and the girls sand/play area- that will keep them at bay & let them go to town if we are playing with them. thanks for that. oooh and i am guessing they don;t swim? i need to do something about our pool fence, they could fit through the openings in that too!

macs are user friendly. if you call they will walk you through & have a new computer in a few days. oh- and, they give home-schoolers the education discount!:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile: make sure to get the applecare- it pays for itself (esp. when they replace a 2 yo machine with a brand new computer!) again- i love all macs!

I love the smuckers, but it separates so quickly. I use the one beater in the mixer trick too- be sure to wear an apron if you are as lucky as me in the mixer department, seems to be the only thing I wear in the kitchen (PB not the apron! LOL) I buy the arrowhead mills creamy valencia- peanuts, nothing else (I would like a bit of salt in it myself). it spreads nicely even straight form the fridge,

bantams?

Ugh. I doubt we will do our libraries program this year. 1- We brought home a lot of stuff that I would never give them on my own. 2- DD1 and DD2 (who was an infant at the time) out-read every other kid in the program (at every age level). I don't want my kids reading for stuff (although they did get some great wipe-off activity books that they love) However, there are worse things to motivate kids to do with stuff. At home, as a family activity- what's the harm. Here's a quote from your article: "All those reading incentive campaigns inflicted on elementary school children across the country provide sobering evidence of just how many parents and educators are trapped by Skinnerian thinking. They also illustrate the consequences of extrinsic motivators more generally. Asked about the likely results of Pizza Hut's popular food-for-reading program, educational psychologist John Nicholls replied, only half in jest, that it would probably produce "a lot of fat kids who don't like to read." Are you providing a positive incentive outside of an industrial setting? (yes, that is what I refer to the public school system as).

They ship tomorrow! DH and I spent yesterday shopping for materials then framing out the coop (the fenced in area). We have not built the hen house itself. After seeing the coop which i 9' 6" by 5' (6' high) with a 5' by 3' wide 3' tall house raised off the ground. I think this is way too small for 10 bantams (they will be in there all winter). I think we should turn the 9' 6" by 5' house into the hen house (plywood, siding, proper floor), put in a few pre-built metal nesting boxes in that we can get from a friend; then, build a smaller fenced area for them go to out into for fresh air if they want. We are getting chickens as pets not for eggs- they will be muxing around the garden when we can supervise them & the crows! Hopefully for them and us-- more often than not. DH (the farm boy) thinks I am crazy. I am the crazy 'city' girl (suburbs of NYC is not a city girl IMHO). SO, chicken lovers, what do you think? Much Thanks! Robyn

I haven't, but would like to. We could join forces if no-one has done the work already. Robyn

Macs last Forever! I have multiple running for my & DHs business' and you can't kill there things! Please, go mac! Customer service is awesome- had a puppy who kept catching herself on the power cord for one till she truly did kill the thing (laptop) and they gave me a new computer in exchange for a 2 year old puppy destroyed model! My love is DH, but my heart belongs to steve (jobs for the non-maccy's) :lol:

Welcome Angela! I'm Robyn. DH and I live on the North Fork with our 2 great daughters. What borough do you live in?

:iagree: so much good advice above. cutting the diet down to fruits veg's and natural meats (free of hormones/ antibiotics) for a few weeks will make all the difference for everyone. i had to do this for different reasons winter of 2007 & what a difference it made for everyone in our house- my & DD1s asthma went away! it's amazing what is in food that causes problems for kids and adults! hope things get better for you and family & that you can all look back and say 'wow that was easy'. :grouphug:

we have bought books formt he target dollar section, pre-k and k workbooks from borders and used this website for beginning handwriting (before WTM, I guess I should refer to this period in our home schooling as- BWTM). they also have great print-outs that I bring for coloring pages for the kids during Pastors sermon.... http://www.first-school.ws/THEME/alphabetp8.htm Robyn

i will look into the food allergies on monday. we've had many problems with both girls as infants and reflux, i had to change my diet so many times over the last 5 years- gestational diabetes, baby w/ reflux, GD, reflux again. it's no wonder dh & i have decided there is no way we will have another child! these poor kids. the food thing has just been awful! with dd2 i would look into the fridge, want to cry, not want to eat anything because everything made her sick and walk away. lost all of the baby weigh in a month! thank you everyone for your support, it was along day and she just put me over the edge with the whole potty thing. i now have the resolve to tell her that accidents happen, hand her some paper towels and walk away as i had been doing before this afternoon. i'll call our chiropractor tomorrow. during my last pg and when dd2 had the reflux, we were going for adjustments & dd1 was dry (*i think*). we also travel with a small potty because she always has to go. so much to look into & great advice. thanks to all. :grouphug: & blessings. robyn off to wake her up to go now! poor kid.

And if you don't get along well with your pediatrician then its time to find a new one. we love our pediatrician, she is a wonderful doctor and and a lactation consultant. she has not given me a hard time about the vacs we have chosen to forego and seems pretty in step with what we are looking for from an m.d., thanks though. we did change pediatricians a few years back- he wasn;'t as in step with what we believe.

where are these found? all i could find is that they are present in plants. we have had many dietary issues in the past & i had thought we are past it, but maybe..... hopefully she is like me and just gets so caught up in every project she waits until it is too late sometimes.