Topix Chitown Regulars

Amy

http://www.topix.com/forum/chicago/TEU3OCR1ON...

Abby

http://www.topix.com/forum/chicago/TUS2UOQE18...

Bunch of crappy love crap today. But Abby's got a naked slumber party letter! Happy Valentines day, everyone! And if you're alone... be grateful!!

Was up at 5 and at the gym around 5:30 this morning -- joined a new gym last week. OMG, I had no idea how crappy my local YMCA was until I got to this gym this morning. Tons of machines. Nice shower facilities. I didn't have to wait 15 minutes to get hot water. Everyone in the lockerroom is quiet and focused.

And it's half the price of the Y. Suck it, Young Christian Men's Association!

RedheadwGlasses wrote:

Everyone in the lockerroom is quiet and focused.

what? The locker room at the Y was a loud unfocused party? I go to the locker room, change, and get the f out. What are they doing at the Y?

Mister Tonka wrote:

<quoted text>what? The locker room at the Y was a loud unfocused party? I go to the locker room, change, and get the f out. What are they doing at the Y?

AT the y, in the mornings, lots of chatter among the women (who are regulars and know one another). In the afternoon, it's crazy. The loud 12yo girls scream and shriek and generally behave poorly.

Since today is a boring amby letter day, I will vent about something that happened last week.

Ry got his first report card last week (he is in kindergarten). Instead of letter grades, the teacher can choose from "consistently demonstrated" or "developing" for all of his academic skills. She checked consistently demonstrated for everything. For social development/work habits, there are 7 categories. The teacher gave Ry a 2 instead of a 1 in one category, indicating that he practices self-control some of the time instead of most of the time (he gets excited at school and does have to be reminded to calm down).

Here's my vent - Ry showed my MIL his report card. First she said "We have to reward you." I hate paying kids for report cards and I knew she was going to give him money when she put it like that. Then she walked out with three dollars and said "You would have gotten two more dollars but you got a 2. You only get five dollars for a perfect report card."

Seriously?! That's how she responds to her grandson's first report card? This kid beats himself up for not being perfect. She is never seeing another report card.

RedheadwGlasses wrote:

Was up at 5 and at the gym around 5:30 this morning -- joined a new gym last week. OMG, I had no idea how crappy my local YMCA was until I got to this gym this morning. Tons of machines. Nice shower facilities. I didn't have to wait 15 minutes to get hot water. Everyone in the lockerroom is quiet and focused.
And it's half the price of the Y. Suck it, Young Christian Men's Association!

I was a member of a "lifetime fitness" gym in CO. It kind of ruined every other gym for me.

The place was like going to the spa. It was so nice. They had 2 hours of daycare in a kick a$$ daycare, a restaurant. Tons of nice equipment ... equipment that I've never even seen at most gyms. Lap pools, a huge swimming pool, a sauna, two huge hot tubs.

My wife and I would go work out and then go chill in the hot tub for a half hour and then go pick up the boys.

Jess in NJ wrote:

Since today is a boring amby letter day, I will vent about something that happened last week.
Ry got his first report card last week (he is in kindergarten). Instead of letter grades, the teacher can choose from "consistently demonstrated" or "developing" for all of his academic skills. She checked consistently demonstrated for everything. For social development/work habits, there are 7 categories. The teacher gave Ry a 2 instead of a 1 in one category, indicating that he practices self-control some of the time instead of most of the time (he gets excited at school and does have to be reminded to calm down).
Here's my vent - Ry showed my MIL his report card. First she said "We have to reward you." I hate paying kids for report cards and I knew she was going to give him money when she put it like that. Then she walked out with three dollars and said "You would have gotten two more dollars but you got a 2. You only get five dollars for a perfect report card."
Seriously?! That's how she responds to her grandson's first report card? This kid beats himself up for not being perfect. She is never seeing another report card.

Shouldn't someone *check *with a parent before giving a kid cash under those circumstances? Kind of like, I always quietly ask a parent, "Can she have a piece of candy?" rather than offer it to the kid without asking the parent first.

Wow. And I agree, she's being harsh on the kid for that judgment.

new peta ad:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/does-peta...

I would give the kid the $2 and tell him nobody is "Perfect".

Jess in NJ wrote:

Since today is a boring amby letter day, I will vent about something that happened last week.
Ry got his first report card last week (he is in kindergarten). Instead of letter grades, the teacher can choose from "consistently demonstrated" or "developing" for all of his academic skills. She checked consistently demonstrated for everything. For social development/work habits, there are 7 categories. The teacher gave Ry a 2 instead of a 1 in one category, indicating that he practices self-control some of the time instead of most of the time (he gets excited at school and does have to be reminded to calm down).
Here's my vent - Ry showed my MIL his report card. First she said "We have to reward you." I hate paying kids for report cards and I knew she was going to give him money when she put it like that. Then she walked out with three dollars and said "You would have gotten two more dollars but you got a 2. You only get five dollars for a perfect report card."
Seriously?! That's how she responds to her grandson's first report card? This kid beats himself up for not being perfect. She is never seeing another report card.

ignored secret admirer wrote:

So, I'm guessin' Whitney Houston was a democrat?
Anyhoo, Sam I Am, don't wanna go gay here or anything like that but, I think that Sublime guy thinks he's as wunderbar as you actually are, my little liebchein! What's wrong with that boy?

I'm sexy and I know it!

:p

Kid might as well learn at a young age he isn't gonna be perfect all the time at everything.

RedheadwGlasses wrote:

<quoted text>Shouldn't someone *check *with a parent before giving a kid cash under those circumstances? Kind of like, I always quietly ask a parent, "Can she have a piece of candy?" rather than offer it to the kid without asking the parent first.

Wow. And I agree, she's being harsh on the kid for that judgment.

Her family equates giving money with showing affection/approval so she wouldn't see this as a big deal. We talked about this last year regarding her sister and her sister's grandchildren with both report cards and paying for soccer goals, but she seems to have forgotten that convo in her excitement.

She also remarked twice on Sunday that Ry was their #1 grandson, in front of all 3 grandsons. She then quickly said "I mean he's the oldest." No, he's the favorite and she has to do a better job of not holding him to different standards or making remarks to his brother and his cousin about how smart Ry is before they start to resent him. My nephew is still to young to understand, but E is picking up on it.

Ugh, both sets of my grandparents played favorites on some level. At least they weren't around much. You'd think that people who had raised their own kids would be smarter than that.

j_m_w wrote:

<quoted text>
This.
I can't think of a single famous person whose death devastated me to the point of crying or not being able to function. My grandmother's death (she was 98, so not a shocker) didn't even do that, and I was very close to her and love her very much. Famous people have no impact on my day to day life, and this might sound sort of cold but they're a dime a dozen.

Oh, I just know I'm going to get some hate mail for this but I gotta say it anyway.

I have only been really affected by the death of a famous person once, but it was not to be devastated but to do a happy dance. I coudn't contain my glee when Jerry Garcia died. I was young and not too long out of college where I had friends beaten up by frat daddy's in Grateful Dead t-shirts and who coudn't see the hypocracy of following the Dead all summer in their Mercedes. I used to love to piss deadheads off by saying "I'll be grateful when they're dead".

I've been upset by the manner of other celebs deaths: Grace Kelly and Bruce and Brandon Lee come to mind. Whitney? meh.

Jess in NJ wrote:

<quoted text>
Her family equates giving money with showing affection/approval so she wouldn't see this as a big deal. We talked about this last year regarding her sister and her sister's grandchildren with both report cards and paying for soccer goals, but she seems to have forgotten that convo in her excitement.
She also remarked twice on Sunday that Ry was their #1 grandson, in front of all 3 grandsons. She then quickly said "I mean he's the oldest." No, he's the favorite and she has to do a better job of not holding him to different standards or making remarks to his brother and his cousin about how smart Ry is before they start to resent him. My nephew is still to young to understand, but E is picking up on it.

Might be time for another sit-down with Grandma?

Jess in NJ wrote:

Since today is a boring amby letter day, I will vent about something that happened last week.
Ry got his first report card last week (he is in kindergarten). Instead of letter grades, the teacher can choose from "consistently demonstrated" or "developing" for all of his academic skills. She checked consistently demonstrated for everything. For social development/work habits, there are 7 categories. The teacher gave Ry a 2 instead of a 1 in one category, indicating that he practices self-control some of the time instead of most of the time (he gets excited at school and does have to be reminded to calm down).
Here's my vent - Ry showed my MIL his report card. First she said "We have to reward you." I hate paying kids for report cards and I knew she was going to give him money when she put it like that. Then she walked out with three dollars and said "You would have gotten two more dollars but you got a 2. You only get five dollars for a perfect report card."
Seriously?! That's how she responds to her grandson's first report card? This kid beats himself up for not being perfect. She is never seeing another report card.

She's setting a standard -perfection- that he will never be able to reach, because...no one's perfect and all. But, he's still just a little kid and doesn't understand that and is going to try to be perfect. Grandma has the ability to do a lot of self-esteem stuff. She should channel it in a more positive way IMO.

And yeah, I would never let her see another report card either. <nod nod>

squishymama wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh, I just know I'm going to get some hate mail for this but I gotta say it anyway.
I have only been really affected by the death of a famous person once, but it was not to be devastated but to do a happy dance. I coudn't contain my glee when Jerry Garcia died. I was young and not too long out of college where I had friends beaten up by frat daddy's in Grateful Dead t-shirts and who coudn't see the hypocracy of following the Dead all summer in their Mercedes. I used to love to piss deadheads off by saying "I'll be grateful when they're dead".
I've been upset by the manner of other celebs deaths: Grace Kelly and Bruce and Brandon Lee come to mind. Whitney? meh.

Jerry was not the problem. It was the wannabe deadheads in their Mercedes-es (how the hell do you pluralize Mercedes? LOL)

Just overheard this in the cafeteria:

"So, I went and got my birth certificate and that's when I found out my birthday was different."

lolwut?

edogxxx wrote:

Kid might as well learn at a young age he isn't gonna be perfect all the time at everything.

He'll learn that soon enough and from plenty of people. Grandparents should be nothing but unconditional love.

And this grandmother could damage the relationship between Ry and his brother, and Ry and his cousin, if she doesn't knock it off.