unsinkable Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 The geography thread made me think of this. I had a girlfriend in college whose parents were pathologists. She would say that most people wouldn't have been able to get through a regular dinner with her family if they didn't edit for company. :lol: In our house, DH has stories of life at a trauma center...mostly centered on the heart rescue lab he works in. I think my kids have a higher than average knowledge of what can be done for a heart attack patient. :D How 'bout you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Right now the topic is usually led by dh. Football. More specifically, Minnesota Vikings. My girls have in depth knowledge of players, stats, and on and on. I might come join you for dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Right now the topic is usually led by dh. Football. More specifically, Minnesota Vikings. My girls have in depth knowledge of players, stats, and on and on. I might come join you for dinner. Just let me know what to cook & give me time to get the books off the table! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Well, we get the UPS rundown :p That's always fun. Then there's the 'what have you learned lately' and that can go anywhere. Nearly everyone in my family loves reading and those who don't are serious couch potatoes, so there's always some interesting new thing to discuss :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Why movies are never as good as books, Red Sox, NE Patriots, cute things our nephew says, chores, barn work, schedules for various events and who needs cookies and why can't we carpool more, and currently the 15 yr old is saying "I don't see why I need to go to Europe with you guys. It will be boring". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 and currently the 15 yr old is saying "I don't see why I need to go to Europe with you guys. It will be boring". Can you take me instead? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Maybe not that unusual, but Dh retells us every funny story from work that day. He's a first grade teacher and always has a story. Yesterday it was about a little boy who was suspended for spitting food through his milk straw. After he tells his stories, the kids usually tell him all about what they learned and did that day. I usually just enjoy sitting down. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 last night it was: politics & economy viruses vaccinations moist wound healing peak oil woodworking tools Those are pretty representative though usually there's more about dogs (the wound healing was a dog issue :)) I will once again thank my lucky stars for not being in a hocky/baseball/football etc home. The closest we get to talking about sport is about the security measures for the Olympics and whether they're infringing freedom of expression and protest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Why movies are never as good as books, Red Sox, NE Patriots, cute things our nephew says, chores, barn work, schedules for various events and who needs cookies and why can't we carpool more, and currently the 15 yr old is saying "I don't see why I need to go to Europe with you guys. It will be boring". My dad told me he read a book once. Later that year the movie came out and the book ruined it for him. He no longer reads books, because they RUIN movies :001_huh::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Can you take me instead? :lol: I know, right? He's always been my challenge. He'll be fine-- and on his good days he does mention the Tower of London and other gruesome things. But he must always say something teen-typical. We are also trying to do this on the cheap; our oldest is doing some study abroad, and we have hopes of meeting him in England as he does some travel when his program ends. It's not seeming so easy to do this on the cheap. sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We seem to save the very juicy stuff for car rides. We once had a peak oil discussion that started in PA (that is one big state) and lasted near to the Carolinas. Another time we accidently caught Rush Limbaugh on the radio, and you would have thought all hell broke loose in the minivan. My kids were infuriated. I am pretty sure that was the day my oldest decided to become a lawyer. I don't like sports, but the men in my family believe that the Red Sox are a metaphor for life. ;) At any rate, that's what they've told me time and again. last night it was: politics & economy viruses vaccinations moist wound healing peak oil woodworking tools Those are pretty representative though usually there's more about dogs (the wound healing was a dog issue :)) I will once again thank my lucky stars for not being in a hocky/baseball/football etc home. The closest we get to talking about sport is about the security measures for the Olympics and whether they're infringing freedom of expression and protest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We had a long discussion at breakfast this monring about quantum mechanics and Hamiltonian equations. Not. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We seem to save the very juicy stuff for car rides. We once had a peak oil discussion that started in PA (that is one big state) and lasted near to the Carolinas. Another time we accidently caught Rush Limbaugh on the radio, and you would have thought all hell broke loose in the minivan. My kids were infuriated. I am pretty sure that was the day my oldest decided to become a lawyer. Ha! Lately at our house the conversations revolve around electric cars, batteries and battery technology, the environmental impact of various types of energy use, biofuel, algae fuel, mass transportation and let me tell you, I am bored, bored, bored! Politics are also a frequent topic, though, again, I don't have much to contribute. My oldest was talk, talk, talking to me one day, and I finally had to say, "Honey, I really have no idea what you're talking about. Could you give me some background or a point of reference here?" He looked at me a long moment and then said, "Oh. I forgot. You don't read the Economist." Could a female please come over? Please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Our dinner table: Me: TJ sit on your chair completely. Kate: [singing at the top of her lungs] Me: Kate, we don't sing at the dinner table. Hannah: Mom, today I didn't feel well. I went to the bathroom and . . . Me: [interrupting] dinner table rules please. Me: [again] Linnea, do you still have that bite in your mouth? 1, 2, 3, . . . Me: [to group] No talking with your mouth full. :glare: Please tell me it will end soon and we will have interesting conversations on the state of the world or some great book we have read. Please:bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 well I am nurse, so they have heard about all kinds of gross stuff during supper:D my dh talks about electrical and engineering stuff and we talk a good bid about our political discontent we talk about different worldviews/religion My youngest son was in a K4 program. I came home late one night after coding a patient(the patient didn't make it). I was discussing it with my dh, the patient coded 15 minutes before my shift was ending, I ended up staying over 2 hours doing paper work etc. So anyway my 4 year old overheard the conversation while my wonderful dh cooked and served me a late dinner. Well I get a call the next day from his teacher. My 4 yo had told the class "mommy killed someone at work last night" I started watching my dinner conversation until he got older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 My youngest son was in a K4 program. I came home late one night after coding a patient(the patient didn't make it). I was discussing it with my dh, the patient coded 15 minutes before my shift was ending, I ended up staying over 2 hours doing paper work etc. So anyway my 4 year old overheard the conversation while my wonderful dh cooked and served me a late dinner. Well I get a call the next day from his teacher. My 4 yo had told the class "mommy killed someone at work last night" I started watching my dinner conversation until he got older. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanestMomInMidwest Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 with two medical professionals in the family, our conversations (dinner and elsewhere) can also be ... offputting to others. My niece once made the mistake of asking me what was the grossest thing I ever saw at work. I thought her mother (my SIL) was going to choke as she knocked over her chair jumping up to say "We don't want to hear Aunt M's stories!" My kids are used to it. They're also used to seeing medical texts with graphic pictures. Dh & DS9 came home very excited because while doing the recycling, they found a text on rat dissection, complete with color photographs. I try to limit the dinnertable discussions to pleasant topics. I also try to limit farting and burping. So far, no luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 OMG!! My oldest reads the Economist out loud to me when he is home. It's rather adorable, and he's 21. lol He sits with his bowls of cheerios at the kitchen bar and reads and reads. I remember when he used to read the box of Cheerios. :) The Economist is delivered weekly...and I am fracking amazed at the mass of information that tome contains...weekly. Amazing. Ha! Lately at our house the conversations revolve around electric cars, batteries and battery technology, the environmental impact of various types of energy use, biofuel, algae fuel, mass transportation and let me tell you, I am bored, bored, bored! Politics are also a frequent topic, though, again, I don't have much to contribute. My oldest was talk, talk, talking to me one day, and I finally had to say, "Honey, I really have no idea what you're talking about. Could you give me some background or a point of reference here?" He looked at me a long moment and then said, "Oh. I forgot. You don't read the Economist." Could a female please come over? Please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Could a female please come over? Please? Well, I'm female but I read The Economist weekly. It's my dd's subscription :D Hey LaurieNE - The Economist is now podcast too. It's way cool. Someone in a lovely British voice reads it out loud. It's about 9 hours each week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Now that my older son is in school and my husband spends more time working away from home, we tend to talk about the happenings of our day during dinner. School work, teachers, friends, upcoming work projects, the interesting politics and PR in professional sports... We also usually play a game during dinner. Last night it was Blokus, and the previous week it was a game of Risk that stretched out over 4 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Well, I'm female but I read The Economist weekly. It's my dd's subscription :D Hey LaurieNE - The Economist is now podcast too. It's way cool. Someone in a lovely British voice reads it out loud. It's about 9 hours each week. Does the podcast allow one to keep track of the number of times Obama is on the cover? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Math. My children are often asking questions about math topics. Where did these children come from? :confused: Infinity, fractals, googol, negative negatives, "What if you...?" Granted they're fairly young, but ds 9 is a curious bird and dh is a math guy so he's good at answering their questions and playing with their ideas. Japan. We've got a Japanese student staying with us for the school year, so we often ask questions about Japan. We also have conversations about farts and burps, despite my best efforts. :glare: Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Eat your dinner. Eat your dinner. It doesn't matter what the green thing is, just eat some and see if you like it. It's ok to eat things that are red. "Try and you may like it. Try it and you may, I say." I only gave you a tablespoon of food, you shouldn't be full already. No, you can't have dessert, you only ate one bite of your dinner! Hey, get back here, you'll be hungry in 5 minutes if you don't eat more than one bite... Dinner time is a little stressful for me. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We discuss a lot of theology, interesting things we did in our day (mostly the kids and I). Dh works with dying people. We rarely discuss his day at the table. Sometimes, later on our walk dh and I will talk about it but he would rather keep work and home separate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 My dh is one. I also cover the gross patient stuff from work (I'm an internist). After that dh's topics are: his book politics current events\newspaper\radio articles Mine are: kid's learning stuff kid's events upcoming obligation reminders lately-multiple car issues-argh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Ugh. Right now all the boys can talk about is the end of the world coming in 2012. They seem very excited and can't wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Well, I'm female but I read The Economist weekly. It's my dd's subscription :D Hey LaurieNE - The Economist is now podcast too. It's way cool. Someone in a lovely British voice reads it out loud. It's about 9 hours each week. I would read it if I had time. I'm not against the Economist at all. I just can't keep up! There's so much information in there, I don't even know where to start. And I just get up my courage to look through it, and then the next one arrives. My son was super excited about the podcast option. I might have to have him rig it up so we can all listen. Laurie, cute story about your son reading to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Skating. Specifically sychronized ice skating. It is all we ever discuss. From the moment my daughter opens her eyes in the morning till she closes them. As I type this she is still discussing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Does the podcast allow one to keep track of the number of times Obama is on the cover? lol Well, if you listen on the computer it does because the cover shows in the corner while it's playing :D I imagine if you had a fancy mp3 player with a screen it might show it too. My little cheapie doesn't...... Did you know they don't all have the same cover? The UK, European and Asian versions sometimes have different covers than the NA. You can see the various covers here: http://www.economist.com/printedition/cover_index.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverfront Headmistress Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Japan. We've got a Japanese student staying with us for the school year, so we often ask questions about Japan. We also have conversations about farts and burps, despite my best efforts. :glare: Cat I never realized how much we speak of bodily functions until we started to host exchange students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Skating. Specifically sychronized ice skating. It is all we ever discuss. From the moment my daughter opens her eyes in the morning till she closes them. As I type this she is still discussing it. We have been discussing the US Speed Skating Team lately :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Why movies are never as good as books, Red Sox, NE Patriots, cute things our nephew says, chores, barn work, schedules for various events and who needs cookies and why can't we carpool more, and currently the 15 yr old is saying "I don't see why I need to go to Europe with you guys. It will be boring". Wow..... I don't see why your 15 year old needs to go either. I do childcare and will come at a moments notice:-) Wait.... I have to get a new passport:-) Carrie:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I never realized how much we speak of bodily functions until we started to host exchange students. :lol: Apparently little boys in Japan and China are just as fascinated by farting and burping. Hats off to all the mothers of the world saying the Japanese or Chinese or Arabic or German (or....insert language here....) version of "Oh, for heaven's sake, just say 'Excuse me' and move on!" Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We have a very strict rule about not discussing any bathroom related or otherwise gross topics at the table. Dh gets physically ill feeling if someone discusses something 'gross' while he's eating. He literally loses his appetite, even has to spit out the food in his mouth if he's chewing. One of his 'things', I guess. So all the dc know what *not to discuss at the table. :) Right now, whenever my stepchildren are over, there's lots of discussion about how their school's band programs might be cut because of lack of funding. They both play in the band (dsd flute, dss trombone), and really enjoy it. Dsd in particular is 'outraged'. Ah, to have that teenage firey-ness again. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Our dinner table: Me: TJ sit on your chair completely. Kate: [singing at the top of her lungs] Me: Kate, we don't sing at the dinner table. Hannah: Mom, today I didn't feel well. I went to the bathroom and . . . Me: [interrupting] dinner table rules please. Me: [again] Linnea, do you still have that bite in your mouth? 1, 2, 3, . . . Me: [to group] No talking with your mouth full. :glare: Please tell me it will end soon and we will have interesting conversations on the state of the world or some great book we have read. Please:bigear: Our dinner conversations are mixed: we swing from "stop kicking your brother" to talk about the most recent Windows Operating System... then it's on to "please put the reading material away" (dh doesn't like the kids to read to themselves during meals -- family time instead -- yet they try to sneak the books nearly every night!). Our 10 year old must certainly be in the logic stage, because he argues with EVERYTHING. Many dinner conversations are centered around him bringing up some fact/point or question, listening to "our side," and then steadfastly arguing ANY opposite point. Sigh! Most recently our nearly 4 year old has become rather obsessed with pretending he's a dog at the table. Naturally, people at the table hear "Only PEOPLE eat our table. Please use your fork!" quite a bit. Or, if you'd rather: "If you can't stop licking your food off of your plate I'm going to take it away and you can leave the table." I don't look forward to dinners at the table lately. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We had a long discussion at breakfast this monring about quantum mechanics and Hamiltonian equations. Sad thing is, those topics would not be particularly unusual at our house. :blushing: Just the other day, we had a whole long discussion about the Hadron collider and the plausibility (or lack thereof) of someone/something from the future traveling through time to sabotage it. I wish I were joking but this was a serious conversation at our house...:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Our dinner table discussions often center on b*tches, studs, and heat cycles, natural breeding vs. chilled fresh or frozen sem*n, and then there's also the usual Monday night topic: who won Champion B*tch at what show over the weekend. Poor Molly; she didn't know "b*tch" was a vulgar term until she hit fourth grade! :D astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I just remembered another topic: time signatures. We have to play music through dinner, because my husband's chewing is so dreadfully deafening. So my oldest, who is a serious singer and wants to study choral conducting, often tries to discern the time signatures of the music we're listening to. Who would have known that this would be a topic that would stir up so much controversy and dissension? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We have to play music through dinner, because my husband's chewing is so dreadfully deafening. :D Add that to our 'similarities' list. I can't eat with these people without a little background noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We talk about everything. :D And when we have all the family over, it gets even louder, hands moving this way and that, topics ebb and flow with the wine, all making for an interesting meal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillZ Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Just the other day, we had a whole long discussion about the Hadron collider and the plausibility (or lack thereof) of someone/something from the future traveling through time to sabotage it. I wish I were joking but this was a serious conversation at our house...:tongue_smilie: Haha, we talked about this too! I love it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Haha, we talked about this too! I love it :) I don't supposed a discussion of Back to the Future I II & III counts there, does it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Our dinner conversation entered into the counselor letter I wrote for my now college freshman. "One dinner conversation recently ranged from the quirks of the past tense in English (speeded/sped versus beaded and bled) with requisite trips to our unabridged dictionary, to discussion with her father of a pre-calculus problem concerning non-constant polynomials of degree n, and concluded with an enthusiastic account by G of the fun she’d had in her Greek class role playing with her fellow students while reading Platos’s Euthydemus." Our conversations can be mundane or far ranging! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Ugh. Right now all the boys can talk about is the end of the world coming in 2012. They seem very excited and can't wait. Hey if the world's ending in 2012 I guess I won't worry about our impending unemployment situation. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Eat your dinner. Eat your dinner. It doesn't matter what the green thing is, just eat some and see if you like it. It's ok to eat things that are red. "Try and you may like it. Try it and you may, I say." I only gave you a tablespoon of food, you shouldn't be full already. No, you can't have dessert, you only ate one bite of your dinner! Hey, get back here, you'll be hungry in 5 minutes if you don't eat more than one bite... Dinner time is a little stressful for me. :D :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 He looked at me a long moment and then said, "Oh. I forgot. You don't read the Economist." Last week, my son handed me a stack of books, including a couple by Stephen Hawking. "Read these," he said. "I need to have someone to talk to about them. I can talk to Dad about physics, but he is hardly ever home." A month ago, he told me I wasn't as smart as his father because I didn't know what string theory was. Yeah, and what's more, I don't care to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 No one's talking about the US Speed Skating Team??? Really???:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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