Kate, my parents give us annual memberships in the local Natural History Museum. Bonus is that they are partners with several hundred other museums and zoos around the country, so we get reduced/free admission all over the place. You might see if your zoo has something like that and find out what other museums/science/discovery centers you can get free/reduced admit to with the membership.

Oh, that's good advice, sara. We'll look into that! And yikes on your neighbor's house. That's really sad.

Jess, I would totally be all HULK SMASH about a comment like that. Ugh.

I'm going to blame this one on my in-laws.

Definitely. I'm pretty sure I saw them do it.

Dana, if my relatives came to help pack me up....um. I'm really glad msbelle took me firmly in hand.

They were a lot of help, and I'm glad they were here three days and no longer than that.

I think the time span is important. Relatives have a shorter expiration date.

Jessica, I get lots of convos like that, both as a parent and a teacher. I would have been super steamed by the "No Offense" bit. Anytime you preface something with no offense, it's probably better to keep your mouth shut.

When I get the "I'd never send DD to X school." I generally respond with a bland, "I feel like Noah has learned a lot this year and really grown." When I'm really pissy, I'll say something like, "Oh, I was worried about the program, but then I realized my children are essentially homeschooled and I don't need to rely on the school to do all of the educating since our family does so much of it already." Or my favorite, "I can see where your son might need the special support of a more individualized program to do well in school."

Strix, surgery ~ma! I have two friends who've had gallbladders removed, and it seems to be as simple a surgery as can be.

flea, house-selling ~ma!

Security questions: I have a fake life memorized that I answer these questions with. I met my spouse in Hawaii! We honeymooned in Paris! My mother's maiden name was Smith! All untrue, but so what, as long as I remember it all.

Hannibal

I watched the first episode while eating beef stew, so I may not be the test audience here. Like le n, I don't like the actor playing Hannibal; that's the main thing getting in the way of my enjoyment of the show. But I'm still watching; it's an interesting take on the story of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. Especially since we, the audience (presumably aware of the story), know certain things about what's happening and what's (likely) to come that Will and even Hannibal don't know. I don't feel that it's significantly different from most crime/profiler shows, though.

I'm kinda concerned about disturbing images - if it's the last thing (or like, the most powerful image) I see at night, I find myself lingering on those images or even importing them into dreams. Given that, would you recommend daylight-only viewing?

In that case, I would recommend not watching the show right before going to bed. Some of the images might stick to your brain for a while.

Or my favorite, "I can see where your son might need the special support of a more individualized program to do well in school."

BOOM.

Jessica, comments like your friend's have way more to do with their own anxieties about their kid's future than any verifiable facts about the actual school. I still remember Kat talking me out of my anxiety about sending Franny to school-- pretty much any school at that point--by gently reminding there are good teachers at every school, and that the biggest boost I could give my daughter in terms of her education was simply being her mother.

I would have been super steamed by the "No Offense" bit.

Yes, me too. Don't blame you for being angry one bit.

Or my favorite, "I can see where your son might need the special support of a more individualized program to do well in school."

Ooooh, nice.

comments like your friend's have way more to do with their own anxieties about their kid's future than any verifiable facts about the actual school.

I've known for a while that this guy is a judgmental snob, so it's not like I was surprised. I was surprised to hear him say it in such an assholish way while I was standing right there. I mean, I have opinions about his kids and parenting choices too, but I don't talk shit about them with other adults while he's in the room! Tact, people!

And, you know, the only appropriate response to "No offense" is "Fuck off" and you can't say that in an apartment full of 5 year-olds. So it wasn't a fair battleground.

OMG you guys, my daughter is so freaking adorable right now. She's got that cliche little-kid accent where "what are you doing" becomes "watcher doing?" Dylan never had that speech pattern and I had no idea it was a real thing outside of British children's books. "Whatcher doing Mommy? Are you pushing buttons on the COMPUTER?" "Watcher doing Mommy? Are you cooking in the KITCHEN?"

OMG you guys, my daughter is so freaking adorable right now. She's got that cliche little-kid accent where "what are you doing" becomes "watcher doing?" Dylan never had that speech pattern and I had no idea it was a real thing outside of British children's books. "Whatcher doing Mommy? Are you pushing buttons on the COMPUTER?" "Watcher doing Mommy? Are you cooking in the KITCHEN?"

That is adorable.

I have been somewhat productive today. Went to the library to return some books and get a new one, and went to the post office to send off my passport application. Now I ought to either do laundry or grade papers or both.

OMG you guys, my daughter is so freaking adorable right now. She's got that cliche little-kid accent where "what are you doing" becomes "watcher doing?" Dylan never had that speech pattern and I had no idea it was a real thing outside of British children's books. "Whatcher doing Mommy? Are you pushing buttons on the COMPUTER?" "Watcher doing Mommy? Are you cooking in the KITCHEN?"

Supercute! Matilda still retains a few of these, most notably her rather formal rejection of contractions, making her sound like a very proper and affronted Victorian at times.

"Did you make this mess?"
"I did not!"

She has a few other "puh-sketti" type phrases still in her vocabulary too.