CalicoKat
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Posts posted by CalicoKat
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Homemade bubbles? A squirt of dish soap and few drops of food coloring in water?
Maybe the materials and instructions for Rainbow Bubble Snakes?
http://www.housingaforest.com/rainbow-bubble-snakes/#.T-xEfDQo68c.facebook
I would likely welcome the opportunity to let my kids get out and about and have fun with friends. I am positive the invite is not about a gift.
Good idea. The birthday girl is turning 13. Maybe we could give her some toiletries of her own. I've got soap, toothpaste, and a new B.O stick. Or is that tacky?
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Some of our friends got into wanting to give environmentally friendly gifts. They had three girls and let people know that they would love to have a gift that was edible or biodegradable. One friend made a giant cookie and decorated it with icing. Another made six cupcakes. I am not sure what else they got. I think an edible gift that is homemade is a lovely gift. How many kids get their very own batch of cookies or tin of cupcakes?
We always make our own cards and we often make our own wrapping paper. For wrapping paper we use sheets of newsprint and the kids paint them. One year we did potato stamping to create our paper.
I'll have them make a card and a word search puzzle for their friend. That's doable.
Baking cookies is on hold until grocery day. No butter. I have some coconut oil still but I don't want to use it up. But it's a great idea.
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8/1 we're starting midweek.
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Did you have a hard time transitioning?:bigear: :
For some things, but not others.
I still can't use it in my coffee. I do like it in my ice tea or on berries. And I use it instead when a recipe calls for 1T or so of sugar.
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I agree with the above. I also suggest building up a stash of presents. I go to Target after holidays and during clearance sales and stock up on inexpensive, not-holiday specific toy/craft/beauty items-things like small lego sets, flavored chapstick, small craft and science sets (Steve Spangler ones seem to be very common in the Target impulse section, and I swear I'm the ONLY one who buys them, because there are always a ton left). In the next weeks, as school supplies go on sale, until after Labor Day when they're reduced to 50% off, I'll stock up on crayons, markers, colored pencils, small notebooks, fancy erasers, and the like. Dover does frequent sales online where I buy activity and sticker books at well under list price as well. When DD gets an invitation, she can simply go to the closet and pick something out-and a pack of Crayola markers, a notebook, and a Dover sticker book only ends up costing me about $2 total, but ends up looking like a nice gift in, say, March!
Subway kids meal bags are great gift bags for kids' gifts :). Usually we end up at Subway enough to end up with enough of the reusable lunch bags to cover DD's invites for the year.
Unemployment has depleted the gift box. That provided Christmas & birthdays this year. Haven't been able to replenish it yet. Probably the source of my feelings about this.
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Hypothetical question here....
If children are removed from a home by CPS, can family members take in said children without a home study in place? (If they are like 2nd cousin related, but are known well by the children) If so, would a home study have to be done after placement?
If the initial police check on the family members checks out OK the kids could go to the family without a detailed home study. The training and such would happen then post placement.
If the family or a member of that family has a record (drugs or violence) they wouldn't be considered as a placement.
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OK so we got one invite for a kid party from this family.....
We shopped at the dollar store, he went, and he had a blast. It was the very first invitation ds received. He'd been wanting to experience the whole "Going to a birthday party" thang.
Yesterday I got two invitations for a kid party from the same family..... Actually it was one invite, but it was for two of my kids. Am I supposed to
1. buy one gift from both of my kids?
2. buy two separate gifts from each of my kids?
3. decline because we met that quota in the last 30 days.
4. smile and shop ahead for the next invite. This family has 8 kids.
My girls have had The Birthday Party experience already. Not going wouldn't diminish their socialization. Declining would be a foray into the whole, "All God's Children have a budget!" realm.
WWYD?
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OH MY, living with her will keep his arteries from getting clogged! :D
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I'd keep both placements and once one is gone just refuse any further placements so the system doesn't get used to you being a 2 placement home. toddler girl really needs the stability to staying, and baby boy has been with you for half his life. I could not imagine sending either one away unless one of them was too disruptive to the home as a whole (like an extremely colicky baby, or a toddler that was not suited to a family with other kids etc). Basically it would have to be something severe to send one of them away.
You suspect baby boy will be a shorter placement, do you have any estimation on how long of one they are thinking at this point?
:iagree:
:iagree: Once they're "in the door" dh and I figured however they arrived they're meant to stay and we're meant to be flexible. We always do sit down with our other children and get their buy in on the whole situation. It's not so much to ask their permission as it is to acknowledge that after our honeymoon feelings wear off it will be tough and their feelings might change too, so keep talking to us we want to hear.
:grouphug::grouphug:
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My sister is an adoptive mom. I've posted about her before. She has anxiety issues and she is surrounded by drama (I don't think she pursues drama, she just can't think rationally at times and drama happens). My sister is coming to visit us (My mother and I live next door to each other and she has a guest house that sis will stay in) tomorrow for a few days. My mother asked me if I could try to talk to sis while she's here. (Sis and I had a blow up earlier this year and I have distanced myself but I still love her, I'm just busy with other things).
Mother said that while she was visiting Sis a few weeks back, that Sis broke down and cried. She said that she's a horrible mother and that she's raised a horribly behaved child (dniece 3) and she wishes she hadn't adopted her. (DN3 was adopted at birth). They also recently adopted a newborn about 9 months ago. DN 9 mos is perfect and sleeps through the night, etc. She told Mother that she wished she only had DN 9 mos although she's worried she'll grow up to be rotten as well.
I really don't know what to say to my sister. Not only do we have awkwardness at the moment, but she frequently gets annoyed at me because she says that I think that I'm perfect. (I don't think I'm perfect, but that doesn't matter since she thinks that I do). I know that suggestions have mentioned RAD before and I've passed that along. She says that is not the problem.
I've suggested she see her doctor since having a 3 yr old and 9 month old would probably drive many people crazy and she may need to adjust her medication. She said she would, but it took a really ugly scene to get her to agree and we're not sure that she actually went.
If I tell her that my niece was a sweetheart (I typically look after her while they are here), she gets annoyed. I don't want to say that she was naughty (because that would annoy her as well). I would characterize my niece as a typical 3 yr old. If she's left unattended, she will mark in books and eat candy that is left out. But she minds and loves doing things. She's sweetly high energy. :)
Any suggestions on things to do or say to make this situation better? I've offered to keep dniece for an extended amount of time to give sis a break but that suggestion annoyed her as well. Lately, I've completely stayed out of everyone's business but now they all complain that I could have saved them time and money but I didn't speak up. :001_huh:
I feel like maybe sis hasn't really bonded with her child (although I'm not going to dare to say that), but I'm not sure how to help? Should I continue to stay out of it, or find some way to say mild comments to make her feel better? (Mild being, "Whew, she's a busy 3 yr old, but I hear that gifted kids are like that when they are young, so she'll probably be very smart when she's older.")
Keep in mind that she's been scrutinized to the Nth degree over the past 9 months with that new baby. The stress of entertaining social workers when you've got a toddler terror & baby is huge. Doctors, social workers, birth family letters & pictures, post adoption agency requirements...... she's been under tremendous pressure.
My kids have always been able to reflect my emotions. Usually by acting out. So it's no wonder that little girl is being a typical, a little higher powered, 3 year old. She's got a new sib, she's learning to share her mommy, and her mommy & daddy are playing host to a lot of folks who are analyzing their family.
Enjoy your niece, smile, play, and talk to the little girl, "Aren't you the most clever 3 year old so smart to figure out how to use that toy another way. Were you bored?" Mom hears, "She's a normal 3 year old! It's OK that she's very active, a bit naughty etc. She's normal and we love her. Teaching the little person a new thing is always a good way to connect. Bake something with her and have a tea party for Mommy.
Whatever you do don't gift her crayons, markers, or those awful bath paints! :D
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Has he had someone (professional) review his resume, making sure it has current, important key skills listed. Format is crucial. I know that in our area, there are openings for those with computer science backgrounds. Most are with defense contractors or the government.
Yup, it's been done professionally.
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eaten out of your pantry without buying any food? We just got back from vacation and I am trying to clear stuff out before shopping. I think we can make it the rest of the week before needing to shop. DH just doesn't like having a lot of food around. I think it makes him nervous, like it's going to go to waste or something.
How long have you gone eating out of your existing supply? I'm just curious.
2.5 to 3 weeks is my tolerance. Then we start to run out of cheese & chocolate. :D
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:iagree:
When you have a regular paycheck coming in, that feels like some kind of validation for your work. Homeschooling sometimes take years to "pay" off. I know that's not why I do it, but at the same time, a little "atta girl" from somebody some time is nice, especially from the important people in my life. I've taken to rewarding myself in little ways, chocolate helps.
Seriously, the best thing I've found that works is positive self affirmation and adopting a spirit of optimism. Negative thought habits can spiral out of control very easily.
:001_smile:
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In the teaching parent?
I am all :confused::confused:
And was wondering if anyone thinks this is just a side effect of homeschooling.....
Faithe
I think it's because of the general lack of encouragement or affirmation from our kids, family, friends, and perfect strangers combined with the bottomless drain on body, mind, and soul.
The act of homeschooling is far easier than the cocktail above.
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Well now I know what to do when my van dies.....(knock on wood!)
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I use my crock pot outside on the porch all the time, of course I had to protect it when we had a dog. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any dinner for us and lots for pooch!
:D
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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
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Well, it's low carb! :D
Yup, I like to saute it in a pan and have it for dinner in place of potatoes.
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So we have no A/C and are roasting away while it's in the high '90s this week. I think I'm good with my meal plans for this week, but in case this insane heat continues I would like to hear any other suggestions for meals that are no-cook or very light cooking like cooking pasta in the morning or perhaps couscous. Also, we don't have a grill and so that's out. I have some meat that's already cooked and frozen I can pull out but veggie suggestions are welcome as well. Did I mention that I'm pregnant, moving in four weeks, and work from home part-time? :tongue_smilie:
So here's what I have so far.
Breakfast:
Cereal
Fruit with yogurt or cottage cheese
Toast with nut butter
Smoothies
Lunch/dinner
PB&J
Meat sandwiches
Leafy salad with protein (meat, chickpeas, cheese, etc)
Hummus with tortillas and vegetables
Gazpacho
Cilantro Couscous salad
Greek pasta salad
Tacos/taco salad
Smoothies and popcorn
Do you have a crockpot? I've been using my instead of my stove & oven this week.
Bread machines are cheap at Goodwill ($3-$7) and they work just fine. Hillbilly Housewife has a few breadmachine recipes that are fantastic. I call it my bread bank. :D PB&Js.....have kept my kids in lunch this heat wave.
I plug these in outside on the porch to keep even that heat out of the house.
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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
Sigh, I just got done yelling at dd 11, again.
:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
Do what you have to and don't ask for permission.
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I had a gigantic head of cabbage in my CSA share, so I used half of it to make cole slaw. And that half made an enormous amount of cole slaw. I keep eating it. Tell me to stop. Somebody . . . please!
It's so good and I keep munching on it even though I'm full. What is wrong with me?
:D I love slaw!! Your body must be craving some nutrient in the cabbage. It's good for you so eat it up!
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Laid off in May of 2011.
Self-employed in January. He studied and took his realtor exam. AND he's negotiating mortgage settlements for another company in the evenings.
He's still looking for a "real" job with benefits in the IT world.
It's a tough job market.
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:lurk5: Is it possible to find it again? Twelve years of parenting has left me wrung.
dd11 got to fulfill a dream of hers!
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Cool! :D