The other day, dh was super busy and asked me to give DSD22 a call to check up on her. She and her gfs had gone into the city near them for a concert the other night and stayed at a hotel. I sighed. He knows I get frustrated because she never answers when I call, nor returns the call or even texts back. Sure enough, she didn't answer, and still nothing four days later. She, her bf and their friends are going to CA this summer and driving down the coast, so she called DH for info about the state. He's been there a handful of times for work over the past few years. I GREW UP THERE. You'd think she'd ask ME, but no. I happened to pick up an expensive magazine at the bookstore last week for her, a CA Travel Guide. I think I'll just keep it for myself. Passive-aggressive, maybe, but she only calls me when she wants or needs something. I'm tired of being ignored when I've seriously gone above and beyond and bailed her out many times in the past.

I used to work under a manager that was embezzling funds. I don't know if she thought I was stupid or what, but she actually gave me the books and asked me to balance them. Telling me they've been out of balance for years and she just couldn't do it. I had an accounting background, she knew that when she hired me. So naturally the reason the books didn't balance was because she was stealing money! Duh. So she got fired, and arrested. And then later convicted of felony embezzlement. And I got promoted. And I still hated that job and quit as soon as something better came along.

My DD was a bookworm, my DS not so much. All kids are different. Just have to learn how each child operates and do your best for them to grow. I wouldn't take books away from my child as punishment though.

My first child was obsessed with reading, demanding that I read every book she owned every day. I was regularly hoarse from reading to her. She learned to read independently (she could sound out newspaper articles) before age 4. Even nowadays, I punish her by taking away her books. My second child is reading and learning averse. I have no idea how to teach her to read. She's almost 4 and doesn't even know all the letters of the alphabet.

On Friday DD16 and her BFF were doing homework together in the cafeteria during lunch. DD got up to go get her lunch tray and BFF was still there working. The HS office secretary went to the table and accused them of cheating -in front of all the other students- and took both the girls' notebooks. BFF was very upset. When she gets upset or emotional she's prone to asthma/panic attacks, and within minutes she was having an attack. At which time, the secretary was gone down the hall with the notebooks and BFF had no help. After reviewing the homework, the girls' teacher determined there was no cheating. Naturally, BFF's mother is beyond livid. She's out for blood and wants that secretary fired. Meanwhile, DD was not upset by this incident at all and thinks everyone's making a mountain out of a molehill. But- she wasn't there when the secretary came over and made a scene. A little more info: this is not the first time the secretary has done this, making loud, public cheating accusations and confiscating homework. I think she has no business doing that, she's not qualified and shouldn't have that authority. I really need opinions. Please comment.

I went to the Church of Scientology in Hollywood years ago to see what it was all about and got my thetans read. The people there were pretty much jerks, even though I went with an open mind despite their reputation. They said I was a very dark/negative individual.. which was probably true at the time since that was when I was at my absolute worst (not due to Scientology). I hated how everything was "buy this" and "spend this" and consume consume consume. Other churches I've visited have never been so pushy, they usually give you literature for free, including bibles. I'm pretty sure Scientology recruit the top sales people in the world to their church. Every time I see one of L. Ron Hubbards' books in a thrift store for like $1, I kind of laugh.

My first job, 25 years ago, was for these two doctors. They went to Florida A LOT. It was odd. Then they went for a week. When they came back, they said they'd gone to some convention, and were going to implement some of the things they'd learned in the office. One was that they hung plastic bins on the wall, and those were our "inboxes." All communication other than patient business had to go through these boxes. If you needed time off, you had to write it down and put it in their box, and you'd receive the reply in your box. Weird. Anyway, they announced that after work that Saturday we had to stay for a two-hour seminar (no pay). Someone was flying up from Florida to give it. So at the end of this seminar, the person giving it showed us some books she was leaving for us to read. I looked at the cover and kind of froze. I knew what this was. Then the doctors asked us to sign something. It said, "I hearby swear to abide by the principles and practices of L. Ron Hubbard." The other girls were about to sign when I stood up and firmly said, "No! Don't you sign that! I'm Catholic and I am NOT signing." They tried to force me to and I told them it was illegal. The others refused to sign, too. After that, they made my life absolute hell. They suddenly told me that the health insurance I was supposed to get was now a bonus, and not a benefit - and my work performance didn't warrant the bonus. My days stretched to 12+ hours. I had to work through my 2hr lunch, but had to clock out for it, and they wouldn't pay for more than 8hrs OT per week. I usually had about 22 hours. I quit a few weeks later - just walked in their office, handed them my office key and walked out.

The neighborhood kids love to come to our house. I never understood why because compared to their homes we don't have anything nice or cool toys. One day one of the girls in the neighborhood asked to come over even though DS was gone. I asked her why she liked to come over so much and she told me its because my house is so cozy and fun. I asked her what she meant by that and she said that at my house she has fun because I play games with the kids. I have conversations with them instead of telling the kids to leave the room and go play. I read books to the younger ones and we just hang out. Another thing she said that she liked is I never let any of the kids act mean. I have strict rules that every one has to follow or they can't stay and I don't make the child that is a victim feel like they are wrong for tattling. I wish more parents paid attention to their kids and gave them some one on one time. It really means more to them than most people realize. A little time and security goes a long way.

I love how my friends are telling me about their "gap year" where they traveled to Europe and then told me to take a year off because "school and work will always be there." Um, sorry to burst your bubble, bitches but I have a JOB and cannot afford to sponge off my family's money to travel. School may always be there but my fucking job won't be. I work to help my family and to pay tuition, books, etc. I wish I can skip off to Holland as well but I can't because I have to be a fucking adult.

I don't have kids, but babysit my nieces from time to time. They usually fall into their own habits- glued to their portable DVD player or playing with the 1-2 toys they bring over. But that's kind of boring and I want them (and myself) to enjoy our time together. Target had a bunch of awesome little kits and Lisa Frank thingies in the $1 or $3 spot so I picked a few of them up for next week. They didn't have any coloring books though, so I'm going to have to go to the dollar store since they have awesome ones, including Lisa Frank. I usually bake with them too, cookies and whatnot, with them doing the prep work and stirring but it's getting too hot to use the oven. What do you do with your kids (or the kids you babysit) that's cheap, easy and fun?