UO Thursday

[origamimommy]

summergirl1211 I know you're on a business trip and all, but like, UO is important stuff.

[lizwinderson]

I have no intention of paying upfront for Anderson's college tuition. In fact, I don't necessarily feel it is my duty. He can take out loans in his name, and I will assist him with them upon graduation. And yes, I will help him along the way with books, housing, groceries, etc. But if he doesn't do well or drops out that is on him.

[danielle1220]

SIWTBU: The little "pockets" (or whatever they are called) on boy toddler underwear are ridiculous. There is no way his itty-bity penis is going to be able to maneuver in such a way to be able to pee through it without dropping his underwear down to his ankles.

[trixi282]

I don't think kids need a birthday party every year. It's a bit overkill to me... but then again I didn't have bday parties every year either.

I think it's fun if you want to have a BBQ with family over for food and cake... but planning a whole ordeal each year and inviting lots of people is a lot to take on, especially if you have more than one kid.

I think these early years kids will enjoy them, but after 5 maybe it definitely doesn't need to be every year.

[starfishy]

Mar 5, 2015 9:34:43 GMT -5 trixi282 said:

I don't think kids need a birthday party every year. It's a bit overkill to me... but then again I didn't have bday parties every year either.

I think it's fun if you want to have a BBQ with family over for food and cake... but planning a whole ordeal each year and inviting lots of people is a lot to take on, especially if you have more than one kid.

I think these early years kids will enjoy them, but after 5 maybe it definitely doesn't need to be every year.

I hear you. I want to celebrate, but a party is not necessary.
Between the ages of 5-10 kids want a party,(I would think), but I don't think it's a bad idea to say to them "you can pick 2 friends and we will do XYZ"
Like this year my nephew was given the choice of having party or going to a legoland place with one friend. He picked the Legos. They know what they like.

[bantyrooster]

Mar 5, 2015 9:34:43 GMT -5 trixi282 said:

I don't think kids need a birthday party every year. It's a bit overkill to me... but then again I didn't have bday parties every year either.

I think it's fun if you want to have a BBQ with family over for food and cake... but planning a whole ordeal each year and inviting lots of people is a lot to take on, especially if you have more than one kid.

I think these early years kids will enjoy them, but after 5 maybe it definitely doesn't need to be every year.

My issue is we have a huge family! We both have divorced parents and 3 sibs. A "family" party is 30 people. I want to do the opposite and do a friends only party. That would be like 15 people, he doesn't have tons of friends and at this age you have to invite parents. And like in the bday thread it was worse with having no actual one party, he ended up with like 4-5 small ones because heaven forbid they didn't all have cake and presents.

So my uo I can't wait until he is old enough to not want all of his grandparents at his party. I love our family but they are overwhelming and don't all get along.

[pegleg715]

I don't think people should be able to home school without passing tests like teachers do. Just because you're the parent does not automatically make you the best teacher for the job. You should know basic grammar (to, too, there, their, they're, etc.), math, and history to be eligible

[trixi282]

See bantyrooster, that's the thing. Growing up birthdays for me/us were with immediate family only. I don't even remember having cake and stuff with my cousins for their birthdays each year and they lived 1 mile away. A few here and there (like age 1 and 5 maybe) and they were simple BBQ's.

My mom always let us pick what we wanted for dinner, and she would make it, and she would make us our favorite cake and we would do dinner cake and presents at home on our actual birthday (even if it was on a Tuesday), and that was usually it.... We also never had to do any chores on our birthday.

When I got older I had a few birthday parties with friends usually simple... my mom threw me a surprise sleepover party when I was 13, and it was awesome. But that's it.

If you don't want to have cake 6 times, and don't want to have 30 people over, tell them you're not doing it!

[bantyrooster]

I want your birthdays trixi282! I wish it was that simple. Our families are crazy. Birthdays around here are a big deal. And we have 4 parents who like to compete with each other. It is annoying. I am hoping now that two of my brothers are having babies this summer at least my side will go bug them. I don't do Pinterest type parties. Just food and cake. It isn't hard or even expensive, it is just emotionally exhausting. I have had to remind my parents more than once that my kids don't have divorced parents, I do. And don't get me started on H's side..... I can't just tell them they aren't allowed to get my kids birthday presents.

[trixi282]

Mar 5, 2015 9:55:38 GMT -5 pegleg715 said:

I don't think people should be able to home school without passing tests like teachers do. Just because you're the parent does not automatically make you the best teacher for the job. You should know basic grammar (to, too, there, their, they're, etc.), math, and history to be eligible

YES!
A friend of mine - love her dearly - homeschools her kids.  She started because her oldest was getting bored at school (in 2nd or 3rd grade was reading at a 5th grade level, 4th grade math, etc.) but they wouldn't move him up even though he was meeting/exceeding the requirements....   My problem is that since the dawn of time she has always had some grammar/vocabulary things that drive me nuts!

The one she always uses incorrectly is THAN... I don't think she has ever used the word "then" when it is supposed to be used.  she always changes it for "than" and it drives me batty.  I know there are others, but how can you teach your 3 kids proper grammar if you don't even know it well enough yourself?!

I have a few other friends that have recently started homeschooling to and I question their abilities....

[origamimommy]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS on the homeschool thing. Birthing a child does not make you a teacher. And to be quite blunt, most of the homeschooling parents I know did not finish high school or go to college. You should have an extended education in order to teach. A lot of these kids will end up in a public school or college at some point and feel slapped in the face.

Also, if you misuse lose and loose, you are dumb. You are really dumb. For real.

[sarahandeddie]

For right now my girls each get their own party. For DD#1 we combined preschool friends with family and other friends. Avery just has family and a neighbor to invite. We did their first birthdays at home but have had them at fun places since. Our house isn't big enough for an at home party. I also like that all the kids have fun playing together and I don't have to clean up!

We also do a birthday dinner with grandparents, cousins (2 on my side) and my sister on their actual birthday. The birthday person gets to pick the restaurant. This is how we all (even adults) celebrate their birthday.

[starfishy]

So one of the other 4th grade teachers said something that a student took out of context. The mother was livid and decided to take him out of school and home school him. It wasn't even a month and he was back. Mom said she couldn't "handle him" but yet she constantly bugs this teacher about why he isn't doing well. Um, he doesn't do anything. You didn't notice that when you were "homeschooling" him?

[jennmm]

I have a FB friend who homeschools and she is looking at having to put her oldest in an actual high school. She's applying for a charter school. She has a high school diploma and he is at an 11th grade level. I think his level of knowledge is higher than hers now, and she can't really teach him at this point.

[pegleg715]

Mar 5, 2015 10:08:33 GMT -5 origamimommy said:

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS on the homeschool thing. Birthing a child does not make you a teacher. And to be quite blunt, most of the homeschooling parents I know did not finish high school or go to college. You should have an extended education in order to teach. A lot of these kids will end up in a public school or college at some point and feel slapped in the face.

Also, if you misuse lose and loose, you are dumb. You are really dumb. For real.

I frequently hide people from my news feed on fb for misusing then and than. And also lose and loose. And there and their. Fb has been a bad invention because it has clued me in to how ignorant some of my friends are. It's sad.

[jennmm]

We do birthday parties every year but they are for family. Now that DS is older, we let him pick somewhere fun to go (bowling, skating, etc) and we invite his cousins. It's usually only a few kids. We buy a cake and that's it. We have one for DD at home since she is still fairly young. Again, cake and ice cream is all we do and only family are invited. Once they turn, 13 they can pick out somewhere to eat out and we get a cake. I'm not into dropping a lot of money for birthdays.

[origamimommy]

pegleg715, so true. Lose and loose are the worst for me because they're two completely different fucking words. They don't even sound the same. And sometimes I try to think, that may be a typing error more than a spelling error. But when they keep doing it? Nope. Come on, this is fourth grade stuff.

[sarahandeddie]

Mar 5, 2015 9:55:38 GMT -5 pegleg715 said:

I don't think people should be able to home school without passing tests like teachers do. Just because you're the parent does not automatically make you the best teacher for the job. You should know basic grammar (to, too, there, their, they're, etc.), math, and history to be eligible

I completely agree. I have an advanced degree in education and I'll be the first to admit I'm not qualified to teach math or science beyond 8th grade.

[trixi282]

Mar 5, 2015 10:11:26 GMT -5 jennmm said:

I have a FB friend who homeschools and she is looking at having to put her oldest in an actual high school. She's applying for a charter school. She has a high school diploma and he is at an 11th grade level. I think his level of knowledge is higher than hers now, and she can't really teach him at this point.

I went to college with a girl who was homeschooled her entire life.  The first time she ever went to a formal classroom was her 1st day at a university!

She was very open about the fact that her mother should have never taught her "high school" because she felt so unprepared and that it was really hard for her to adapt to the 'classroom setting'.  She knew almost nothing about science, and had to take additional math classes because she wasn't at the level she needed to be. 

She got into the university (she said) because she studied a TON to get good scores on her entrance exams.

[xanthepants]

All I'm ever going to have is one kid. I don't spoil her with a lot of stuff, so maybe I will spoil her with birthday parties I guess. We just don't host a lot of family things (we aren't allowed by MIL, and my family isn't here). So honestly the one family event I put on a year is this, so be it.

With the exception of 1, the homeschoolers I know absolutely shouldn't be. They are some of the most close-minded individuals as well as the least educated and the laziest. So I don't see the outcome being very positive. I wish them luck and hope for the best for the kids. I may be college educated, but my grammar (and typing skills!) are piss poor and I know it. I would never ever want to be entrusted with being the sole source of information for my child.

[aylafsu1881]

Mar 5, 2015 9:34:43 GMT -5 trixi282 said:

I don't think kids need a birthday party every year. It's a bit overkill to me... but then again I didn't have bday parties every year either.

I think it's fun if you want to have a BBQ with family over for food and cake... but planning a whole ordeal each year and inviting lots of people is a lot to take on, especially if you have more than one kid.

I think these early years kids will enjoy them, but after 5 maybe it definitely doesn't need to be every year.

Yes!! We have friends who did it for their kids and it has become a constant struggle. They are always having to one up themselves from the last year. They have had bounce houses, petting zoos, train rides, carnivals, etc. H and I just shake our heads. Hell no am I going to start down that path.

[aylafsu1881]

Mar 5, 2015 10:11:26 GMT -5 jennmm said:

I have a FB friend who homeschools and she is looking at having to put her oldest in an actual high school. She's applying for a charter school. She has a high school diploma and he is at an 11th grade level. I think his level of knowledge is higher than hers now, and she can't really teach him at this point.

I agree completely. Home schooling is a tricky subject and one that I do not support for most people. I will say that I have seen it work in one case. The college I work at has several faculty members who banded together to home school their kids. The key here is that they each teach their discipline. So the chemistry faculty member does chemistry, they have a math faculty member and an english faculty member. One of the moms fills in the rest. This is the ONLY situation in which I think home school kids are actually getting a realistic education. I am educated and teach biology/microbiology classes. I am NOT qualified to teach math, physics, or english. I am also smart enough to know those limitations.

[junkytrunk]

xanthepants I'm kind of at the same point with you in regards to we never throw our own parties. My MIL loves doing it so she always does birthdays in the family and holidays. This is my only chance to throw a party and its fun doing it. I think when he has more school friends we will just take it down to the friends from school doing something instead of just a party at home, but right now it's still just like a large bbq in our backyard.

[tribute17]

I agree with the homeschooling. I teach AP Biology and even with a Bio degree I had to go back and review some things that I hadn't used in a while. But I hear comments some of the time from my parents that they could teach it because they took it in high school and they don't understand why I make it so hard. Oh, I'm sorry, why don't you just go ahead and belittle everything I do. I have a checking account, does that mean I'm qualified to be an accountant? Um, no. And even with a degree in Biology and lots of advanced classes in chem and physics, I would have to study a lot to be able to teach high school physics. There is a reason that teachers only get certified in one area, you can't be an expert in everything. Maybe elementary would be a tad easier but so much of that is for socializing and learning how to be in a formal classroom. Elementary teachers are experts in elementary ed and the best learning practices. AND, I will never understand teachers that home school their kids. We have a couple of male teachers in our school (a very good public high school) whose wives home school. I just will never get it.

My UO: I think tanning in tanning beds is so stupid, especially past high school age. I kind of get it in high school because of all of the peer pressure but once you reach a certain age, it is just stupid. I would be laying in the bed thinking about the fact that I am currently giving my self a higher chance of skin cancer while my 2 year old is at home wanting his mommy to live a long time. Seems rather selfish to me for no gain at all. This may not be a UO but I've seen enough people do it that it might be.

[barefoot84]

I wish there wasn't such a wide variety of stuff in grocery stores. I really don't want to have 75 different kinds of breakfast cereal to choose from. It takes forever to shop with two babies and I'm sure we'd eat just as well with a fraction of the actual selection.

[bantyrooster]

tribute17 totally agree about tanning! The ony way I would do it now is if it was winter and we are going on vacation. I wouldn't want to burn on vacation so I would tan a couple times and still wear SPF 50 on vacation. I was super tan for our wrdding , wore SPF 30 and still burned in Jamaica. My skin doesn't do well close to the equator.

[cbear]

I would never want to homeschool too much pressure lol!

I also HATE that they have little carts are the grocery store for kids to push. Elise just noticed these and my grocery trip just got SO much longer! Ain't nobody got time to shop, steer, and walk slow.

[trixi282]

I don't like having a joint checking account.

H and I have always had separate accounts until we moved and it worked just great for us the past 6 years of marriage....  Now that we have a single checking (well I still have my other, but it doesn't have much in it) I am at least in charge of it, but I hate it.  I quite liked paying "my bills" with "my money" and being in charge of it.

I don't like the added hassle of getting receipts or keeping track of H's expenditures... he has way too many transactions - and he drives me nuts the way he transfers money back and forth all the time - JUST STOP!  He's gotten better, but it still makes me crazy.

What's probably really driving part of the UO is that I hate the new bank system we have - it really drives me crazy.  Their online banking sucks balls.  I filled out the "feedback" link today on their website and told them they need to improve their website - I rated it a 5/10.  I wish we would have gone with the bank I had here 9 yrs ago - even back then I recall their website being better than the one we have now... but H liked this bank so I said OK.... I should have fought it.

[pinkluna]

trixi282, have you tried mint.com? You might be able to add your bank and track expenditures better on there. You can label transactions, tag them, or categorize any way you want. We love it.

[lainikins]

I have a couple:

1. Part of me really wants to home school Emmett for elementary school. I am a certified elementary teacher with an advanced degree in language and literacy. I have also passed the tests to teach math and science in middle school, I just need one more class (I took a class that the state of CT said was good enough, but MA disagrees) to become certified for that. I have been checking out preschools in the area and I am not satisfied with their literacy programs and it is really pissing me off. I don't think I ever would homeschool though because I could never make up for the social aspects of school.

2. I would take snow over rain any day. I hate the rain. (This is very unpopular in the Boston area this year).