Mine's two words: "Grow up."

Oh, there are so many. I stick to the mid-range (for designer, anyway) stuff ... meaning $300-700ish for a new bag (I personally try to get these second-hand and stay under $250, though -- E-bay is a treasure trove as long as you can tell real vs. fake). Coach, Kooba, Rebecca Minkoff, Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors ... these are just a few of the names available. Marc Jacobs has always been my favorite, but Coach has really stepped up its game in the last few years. The super-high end stuff, like Prada, Balenciaga, Chloe, Gucci, Vuitton, etc. will easily set you back $1000+ new. (I actually had a Balenciaga bag years ago, but it got lost in our last move. SO SAD. I wish I could afford another, but I'm not working anymore.)

My eldest behaved exactly that way at 3. Now, at 7.5, he has yet to completely grow out of it, and no punishment/discipline method is really effective. (Whereas my 4 year old has NEVER acted that way and just the threat of a time out for bad behavior causes him to crumple and beg forgiveness, and actually change the behavior.) Some kids are tougher than others. This isn't meant to be scary to the OP, but we are considering having the 7.5 year old tested for ADHD and Aspergers. On the bright side, he's profoundly gifted, which can also contribute to this kind of behavior, and he is very functional other than his total lack of impulse control. (At three, though ... sheesh. Let's just say I called them the "terrorist threes" -- like the terrible twos, but worse -- for a reason ... until I had a second child and realized not every toddler acts that way.) Hang in there, but try not to compare him to your other kids, and keep open to the possibility that there may be more to it than defiance or bad behavior. I'm hoping that a bit of therapy will do wonders for my son, who would like to behave better, but feels unable. (Breaks my heart.)

I hang one for me and usually buy myself a good dark chocolate bar to stick in it so it isn't empty on Christmas morning. I fill the others' with actual gifts.

I love designer bags, but I don't love either one of those. I voted other .... I'd pick a more classic OR more updated bag.

Eerily similar! My dad worked for Republic for many years (they were bought out by Northwest when I was little and my dad retired at that point and started a new career). I hadn't thought of that airline in a LONG time!

Starfall.com, lots of classic picture books, the All About series of DVDs, and LeapFrog toys and videos were our favorites around here. He did go to preschool, but he learned much more from the things I just listed -- preschool was to provide him with opportunities for social interaction and practice.

Some I like: Leo, Dane, Finn, Fisher, Silas.

I lived in NoVA for ten years and moved away less than a year ago. If you need any help evaluating the school districts, I'm pretty plugged in, still. Feel free to send me a PM.

Whether public school will hurt them depends entirely on what part of NoVA you're going to live in. There are academically excellent schools and troubled schools, and not a lot in between.

That was my mother's reaction to my marriage and both pregnancies. Sure, she loves them NOW ... but I'll never forget the disappointment in her voice when she said "well, I hope you're happy ...." ETA Maybe we should start a support group for underachieving child geniuses. Only half-kidding ... :001_cool:

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this post. :grouphug: I was a profoundly gifted kid and I am still working through the burdens well-meaning adults unknowingly placed on me because of it. Please, if you have gifted children, think before you speak. It may well be true that your child will do something incredibly important someday. However, constantly stating this as a prediction and/or expectation is very, very limiting and damaging. I was always told I'd change the world someday, and at 28 I feel like I'm letting down everyone who ever believed in me by just raising my kids. In my mind, I can rationalize that I'm doing just fine, but the emotional side of it is difficult to shake. I'm not saying any of you are doing this -- just that it's what happened to me as a gifted child, and I see it happen a lot today, too.

Wow, you consider all of that "non-violence?" Starving and impoverishing people intentionally to stop them from reclaiming their freedom? It is a political thread. And some of us feel that "doing our duty for our country" involves fighting for the principles it was founded on, even (especially) when the country as a whole rejects them. Perhaps the people you have encountered in Vermont feel that way, too.

You are Ordinary. You buy what you need to buy and are smart about getting anything extra. You don't really look for bargains, you just get stuff when you can afford it, like a normal person would. I didn't even understand some of the questions, like the one about hearing the word "loan." That made no sense. Also, the food question was stupid -- there's a happy medium between hamburger helper and five star restaurants and we live quite comfortably there. Also, we bought our very nice car brand new ... five years ago. We hope to keep it for at least another five. So we didn't buy a used car, but we don't have a new car (anymore) either ... so I picked the "used, 2-3 years old" option because it seemed closest. There were a lot like that.

Yes, but define "handle it." I feel the same way as the OP many days (I have a son with sensory issues) ... I get frustrated by the "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" line because I feel I'm not handling it WELL, kwim? So is He up there judging me because He gave me this challenge He thinks I can handle, and I'm just sitting on the computer all day trying to avoid it because I'm so tired? Are we not called to excellence? I feel my situation is preventing me from achieving excellence in anything. My kid is a screaming wreck half the time, I'm at the end of my rope, the house is trashed, and my career is swirling down the toilet. Yet I am totally exhausted. I know I work harder than many other moms just due to the nature of the child God gave me, yet I have very little to show for it. My youngest shows no signs of the sensory stuff and he is so EASY. I just wonder why it has to be so hard, and to what level of success God is calling me considering the major limitation He has placed on us in the form of a "different" child. I love him to bits and pieces, but I have to admit I'm frustrated beyond belief and often wish he'd just act normal, already. I know how awful this must sound, but it's been a really hard week. He's doing great today, though, so I'm thankful for that and have been trying to be more productive.

I prefer Blogs. I add the ones I like to my Google Reader, which organizes them for me and notifies me when they are updated. They're available when I choose to read them, filed by topic. Newsletters/ezines end up getting buried in my inbox. I see them, but I'm inevitably busy when I check my e-mail and promise myself I'll come back to them later. I hardly ever do, even if it was something I really wanted to read. I'm just more likely to read something if it's in Google Reader.

I have a high school niece who is a straight A student who writes like this. It's appalling and I can't figure out why she does it. I've asked her, and she says "I just can't control my hands." What????? :001_huh:

Thanks for the welcome! I do so love food (especially delicious food that's easy to make!). This topic was irresistible.

Chevre, fig spread and prosciutto on mini bagels (you can omit the prosciutto if you're veg or just don't want to spend the money). Fresh or sundried tomatoes, cream cheese and arugula on sourdough. Tomato/basil/mozzerella panini. Hard salami, fresh spinach and aged cheddar or parmesan on wheat, toasted until the cheese melts a little. Morningstar spicy black bean burgers with roasted red pepper hummus and fresh spinach on wheat buns. Tuna sandwiches made with olive oil and chopped onions (instead of mayo and pickle relish). Add fresh greens, too. Tuna melts with pepper jack. BLTs! Can be improved with the addition of avocado slices. :) Scrambled egg burritos (scrambled egg, fresh salsa and cheese in a tortilla -- not really a sandwich but easy and delicious) ETA I am really hungry now!

Depends on how in-your-face they are with it and what the issue is. I don't go looking up the political or charitable contributions of every company I do business with, but if they've gone very public with their stance and it's one I feel is truly immoral, then I stop buying and encourage others to do the same.

My name is Kirsten. I've been lurking here for a month or so. I'm a 28 year old Catholic convert. I've been married for nearly six years to my wonderful husband. We have two boys, one who is turning five on Sunday and a 20 month old. The five year old has gone to private preschool for three years but we have decided to homeschool him for kindergarten as we are not fans of the public school system and we can't justify the high price of private kindergarten when he can already do everything they'll be learning there next year. Truth be told, I have always wanted to homeschool my kids and I am really getting excited about having the chance to do this. I set up the learning room this week and it's now my favorite place in the house. We'll be using FIAR as a spine, Phonics Museum for grammar and writing, Rightstart B and Miquon orange/red for math, and Catholic Mosaic and the St. Joseph Catechism for religion. We're not strictly classical yet, but I plan to head in that direction pretty quickly as he matures a bit. He's got some sensory issues and behavioral stuff we'll be working on this year, though, so I don't want to push him too hard when he's still little and dealing with all that. My soon to be two year old will be hanging out right alongside us, listening in on FIAR and doing some of his own little Montessori type activities. We live on a small acreage in rural Virginia. My husband commutes to the DC area 3-4 times a week for his work at a tech company. I work from home as a copywriter and editor for some lobbying groups. We have a sullen, angsty cat and an obnoxious, hyperactive kitten. We also have eleven young hens who should be giving us eggs pretty soon. I guess that's about all there is to tell about us. I think it's funny that the spell check keeps underlining "homeschool" on a homeschooling board. :)