My first year growing Brandy boys. I am more than willing to overlook the catfacing and cracking on these lovely beefsteaks. Most have been just under 1b. Tonight's dinner was just shy of the 2lb mark and really hit the spot in terms of flavor and texture. I like them sliced with unrefined sea salt. My daughter ate 1/4 slices like a pizza. This Whopper has been harvested shortly after summer solstice, which may help explain the size. Growing in Israel where climate is similar to zone 10. I like these way better than the famous and excellent sungold cherry tomatoes in the same row. Thin skin, refined flavor and beefy interior.

My DD is not that old yet, she's 8. But my boys are older, I have a 5th grade DS. The girls in his class are of a wide range of maturity. Some are still playing w/dolls, some are already boy crazy. Some dress and look like little girls, some dress and look like teenagers. The girls reflect a bigger range of maturity levels than the boys do at this point. They boys are still sloppy, loud goofballs and mostly focused on food and sports, not so much girls. I'd talk "with" her more than "to" her. She must be getting something out of this, some feeling she enjoys. The attention or approval of other girls, a response from Cody, something that makes it worth her effort to keep doing it. I'd want to figure that out and would ask a lot of questions. What exactly does she mean by "hot?" and "going together?" What does she like about Cody, what does she think he likes about her? I just really think you need to understand her motivation for this behavior so you can figure out how to help get whatever she's feeling emotionally in a more healthy way. Don't assume you know her motivation, talk to her to understand better, get it in her own words. (Then ban the word "hot" in referrence to another person. ;o) ) The teacher will handle whatever problems she causes in the classroom, by moving her and whatever the discipline is for being disruptive. At home, I would not punish her specifically for this behavior, but for whatever the result is. In other words, for lower grades and/or behavior report from the teacher, if those happen. I'm with Talley Sue, she's not gonna stop just b/c mom says to stop. She will stop when she doesn't get whatever positive reinforcement she is getting anymore and instead gets something negative. That will probably hurt her feelings, but then she'll learn. As long as her peers encourage it, she is gonna keep doing it no matter what you say. She'll just think you don't know what you're talking about. ;o) This is probably an extension of that outgoing personality of hers that makes her tomboyish. She is taking an emotional risk that maybe her friends would not take.

I have a 7 y/o DD, too. But she has three brothers, two older (14 and 11) and one younger 5). When DD has friends over to play they are often fascinated by the older brothers and their friends who might be here, especially my 11 y/o. I subbed in a 2nd grade class last week. My 11 y/o came to the room to meet me at the end of the day. The 3-4 girls still in the room were instantly little flirts! I didn't know they had it in them, but they wanted to be right next to DS, snuggled up to let him read stories to them, show him their "cheerleading" routine. I told people about it later, it was a phenomenon I had never seen before. And I have talked about this phase of girlhood with other moms of young girls. My DD is one of the minority who is not at all boy crazy. The thing she has in common with the other girls in that group is that they all have older brothers (older seems to make a difference). Between DD's brothers and their friends who are here all the time, DD has an immunity or something. LOL. Boys are not a new mystery to her, they are an extremely annoying fact of life. She doesn't see them as cute and charming, she sees them at their worst. She just can't seem to convince her friends that boys are really just mean and stinky and generally "not all that." The other thing I've talked about with other moms is how annoying it is when adults notice a pretty little girl and only comment on that trait. I try really hard not to do that, especially in front of the girl. Some of us make a point, when we hear someone say our daughters are pretty, to say "Thank you. You should see how well she writes." Or reads, or play soccer, or piano, or how kind and caring she is, or how funny she is, etc. Especially in front of our daughters. There is too much around young girls that reinforces the idea that their value in life is in getting the attention of boys. I think with the private parts exposure, you should just calmly tell your DD that should never happen again. That the boy was not funny when he did that, it was rude behavior. I might also ask her how it made her feel, pick up on the "weird" part of what she might say and say that's whey it's rude, it makes other people feel weird. I also really think I'd tell the boy's parents. Not in an accusatory way, but b/c I think they should know. Maybe it's something they've dealt with before with him, and they need to know it's still happening. Even as if it's the first time he's done it, they need to know so they can have a conversation with him. Not b/c I want him punished or to make a big deal of it, but for 100 reasons, I just think I would give another parent a "heads up" on that kind of behavior. I absolutely agree it's probably innocent and within the range of normal, but a parent should still be informed. If a kid has fun with the response he/she gets from showing private parts, he/she might be encouraged to try it again and maybe take it farther next time. As for the dancing, I think the next time I had my DD in the car alone I'd start a conversation about dancing. How she likes to dance, why she likes to dance that way, and how sometimes in life what's OK for adults is not OK for kids. From dancing and clothes to certain drinks and certain words. Then when I saw her dancing that way again, I'd remind her "we talked about that, that's a grown up dance, not a kid's dance." I'll confide, I think little girls are encouraged, in subtle ways and sometimes not so subtle, by our culture to behave much older. From their clothes, to music, to toys even. It's not right that 6 y/o girls are encouraged to emmulate a 16 y/o young woman. I cringe at the latest Barbie commercials for products that come with pretend credit cards for pretend shopping sprees. I even say outloud w/my kids in the room "That is so wrong!" Maybe I'm a little freaky, but I am picky about the dolls I let DD have. I think she should play with dolls that that look and act like little girls. Not ones who wear make-up, mini-skirts, high heels, and shop and have boyfriends. I choose books for her about girls who are fun, strong, and smart, and make sure she learns about real women to look up to for their accomplishments. I have no tolerance for relatives or family friends who tease any of my kids about having a boyfriend or girlfriend. I remember how that felt as a young kid and teen. It's embarrassing and feels invasive. My mother would never do that, but I have some aunts and adult cousins who think it's funny. As soon as I hear it I just say "Come on, that's not nice." and to my kids "You do not have to answer that." And change the subject to something my kids are happy and proud to talk about, like the latest "A" in school or score in sports. Oh, and you're so right about the job being harder in a new way as the kids get older. It was physically exhausting when they were little, with feeding, cleaning up, diapers, etc. Now, it's emotionally and intellectually exhausting, trying to stay ahead of the next hurdle. I tell people I think the job of parenting changes when your kids reach an age which you remember being. Make sense? I remember small things that happened when I was 7, 11 and especially 14 and how those small things stuck with me, for better or worse. So I am conscious of how my choices and responses will stick with my kid who are that age now.

I read the article twice and I still don't see where he's " bashing her character ". IMO, it's another one of those sensationalist articles that turns out to be nothing like the headline suggests, and exists only to draw attention and stir up dissention. I feel sorry for the young lady, and I'm sure it was a huge disappointment, but why would she want to keep the medal - as a reminder that she lost ? I'm certainly not a follower of Mike Rowe - too rough around the edges and too full of himself to suit me - but I think we need to stop reading things into these articles that aren't really there.