Can I be that off-the-wall "I don't get her" cousin that makes sure there is never a dull moment at family gatherings?

Thank you guys...
I've never been a 7 year old boy... so it's hard for me to understand...lol...

My fiance has luck with him... my son will at least email and write letters to him... (he is overseas)... but as for his reading at home- his school requires 20 minutes of reading per night... and my son WON'T budge. The school ends up calling me insulting MY parenting capabilities and telling me I need to be more involved with my son's academic career.

Single mom of 2... donates every spare minute to the munchkin... but 2 things I WILL NOT DO FOR MY KIDS:
1. Lie and say they did an assignment if I know they didn't.
2. DO a homework assignment FOR my kid.

Life has consequences for actions... if I start covering up for my kids now... they will NEVER take responsibility and will always look to mom for bailing and fixing.

No... that's my daughter... and she is "beckoning with her index finger" not flipping anyone off.

The school he's in isn't very supportive. I am transferring him in February to a new school.(We have to move)... He has books on ALL subjects- sci fi, fantasy, sports, geography, comic books, science/planets/human body, how-to-draw, travel... Goosebumps... I have spent TONS of money on books HE has picked out... I have library cards for the Niles and Chicago public libraries... we go to the library twice a week...PLUS he has library at school.

My 7 year old is brilliant. (Really). He can do complex addition and multiplication in his head and always get the correct answer. He knows all 50 states and their geographical regions, he knows where most major cities are located in the US. He plays Chess and Clue and games of reasoning and wins against adults!

But we are struggling with his reading and writing. This child gives me hell everytime I sit down with him to read. He refuses to sound out words and always wants me to spell them out for him. He writes in the worst chickenscratch and just refuses to try. He knows how to read... but REFUSES TO READ.

Is this laziness? How do I help him? I've had his eyes tested. I've taken him for A.D.D and A.D.H.D. testing... and the doctors tell me he is normal.
He starts an afterschool reading tutoring program 2 days a week on Monday. I have tried to make it fun for him- we sing karaoke (but he will only sing songs he memorized the words to)... we write our own short stories together, but lately he won't participate. I've even tried playing board games like Scrabble Jr and Boggle with him... and to no avail. I personally read to my kids for a 1/2 hour before bed every night. I read on my own all the time... so it isn't like I'm NOT setting a good example for him.

Any tips/pointers?

My prayers are with you. You will make it... stay positive and find joy in the little moments of life...

I wholeheartedly believe in MIND over MATTER. My Uncle Len (RIP), had a cancer that was 98% fatal the first year he had it. He lived for 32 years after his diagnosis. At one point the doctors stopped giving him time frames of how long he had left... they told him "You aren't going to listen to us anyway... so why should we bother?" Despite what he went through, he was in good spirits overall... and he was surrounded by friends and family and those he loved... I'd like to think we helped make the difference in whether he lived out his days happily or not... and that we contributed to his comfort while he was here. The 5 year anniversary just passed recently. Miss him lots. He was survived by his mother, 2 sisters 7 brothers, 36 nieces and nephews and (at the time) 1 great nephew.

I dated someone for almost 2 years who swore that if he did something while "blacked out drunk" it didn't happen. Final straw... he came by my house after work one night (he was a bartender... worked early and stayed for "a few" after his shift)... he was SO drunk, I yelled at him for driving to my place. He got angry, hit me in the face and I had a black eye as a result. (This is the night the relationship ended)... through mutual acquaintances it came back that he couldn't have hit me because he isn't the abusive type... and that he would have remembered something THAT drastic... in almost 2 years of dating, that was the ONLY time he'd ever struck me. It was also the last... and YES... I hold him accountable for his actions.

CONGRATS! That's awesome news!!!

What's creepy is when the creepy teenie boppers get the notion that they are adult enough to join a creepy internet dating site and they get creeped out by the creepy weirdos that browse their profiles where within the first 6 lines the creepy teeniebopper has narrow-mindedly rejected the majority of the members of the creepy dating website...

what's even creepier is that OMG! I can't believe all the creepy old people are offended that little miss teenie bopper called them creepy... like little miss teenie bopper will never have a wrinkle, a stretch mark or a few extra pounds, because as the old creepy people know, perfect people like her will never get old and creepy.



(sorry... can people be any more shallow? )

WOW! Too funny! Great thread!!!

))))))))))))))))))))HUGS((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
For all the creepy people!

Thanks Brian.


As for Adobe Suite... LOVED IT... but if it's a "just starting out" thing... Adobe might be pricey...
I got spoiled when I was a graphic designer... LOVED working with the Adobe software... presently, I do low-end marketing pieces and have to create them in MSPublisher....

Corel Draw is a great one and it isn't too expensive.

My fiance predicted we would fall in love and get married the very first day we met (met on a different site). I told him he was crazy. Much time after the fact... here we are... but he knew from day one... took me a bit longer to realize it, though.

English! Speak English!



Welcome to JSH & Good Luck to you

When you go through a break up and say "I can't make it" - somehow you move past it.... when a soldier is in boot camp and he feels overwhelmed he might say "I can't do this" and yet he makes a career out of the military.... When a student says "I can't pass this exam" yet graduates in the top of his class...

Mind over matter, sweetheart. We can do anything we WANT to do... it is when our efforts and determination are lacking and our self confidence waivers that we fall astray and "Cannot".

Everyone has a song to sing... whether they choose to admit it or not. I refuse to believe otherwise.

And I never said EVERYONE CAN SING WELL... I merely said EVERYONE CAN SING... music is a treasure... to have musical talent is truly a blessing... but just because we are not born with certain talents does not make us incapable of the task...

I wish all my fellow JSH-ers would find happiness and love and companionship. It will happen- out of the blue. Heck... my guy and I started out as penpals on a military penpal site... I was not even thinking about dating... let alone a Navy guy... I was just trying to give something back to some of the troops overseas who wanted some company or needed a friend.

Just some advice: Most Women don't find it attractive to be called a broad...

I agree...

In my case:
I am happy being me AS IS...
My guy is just the icing on the cake....

I'll admit, at first, I wasn't willing to move. My roots and family and support system are all here in Illinois.

BUT the more I got to know him, the more I knew there was nowhere else on earth that I'd belong.

We are getting married in March.
It will be hard to leave all of this behind. But he is worth it... and I adore his family (they are in Arizona)....

I know I am making the right choice... even though I know there will be adjustments and learning to do... my fiance and I know it will not always be sunshine and rainbows... but we've gone through hell and back together... we can survive anything.

Yep yep... I agree.
A month ago I was told my fiance was to be stationed in Guam...

<----- was gonna be sippin' pina coladas on the beach...

but something happened and things changed... now it looks like Cali in August...

Hell- he could be stationed in Antarctica, and I'd take up residency in an igloo with him... although it might be hazardous to the environment... (things would be so hot we'd melt all the ice! )

Welcome to my life... in process of relocating from Illinois to Arizona... and then probably Cali depending on his orders...
It was a huge decision... to relocate. I have to go through the courts here in IL to get permission to move with my kids (dad is not involved)... and I was born and raised here, so I'm going into a whole new environment. All-in-all... I think the change will be good. It will take some adjusting... but I'd rather start a new life with him rather than live this one I have currently without him. He has 2 more years of active duty (Navy)... so he can't come here... sure there's a lot of sacrifice involved on my part, for now... but the end result will be entirely worth it.