This reminds me of Accelerated Reading and sending kids to the AR store for earning points in reading. In my opinion, this awful program has single handedly caused more kids to dislike reading than just about any other factor at our school. Is rewarding a child for good grades similar to rewarding a child for reading? I don't know. Red lover, I'm laughing because Accelerated Reader was a big fat pain in the neck here at our house. Both my kids and I love to read. Accelerated Reader and another program the school had where kids kept track of the pages they read were nothing but a drag most of the time. For us it was like telling people they could eat all the ice cream they want, but they have to count the number of bites and be tested about the flavor. The teachers told me Accelerated Reader helped some of the kids, although clearly not mine. The program was just an inconvenience to my kids, though; if it dinged my kids' desire to read, they had plenty of reading love to spare. I think paying for reading and paying for grades are essentially the same thing. And I say if paying for reading helps some kids, and if their parents and teachers think that's a useful tool and want to use it, then go for it. I didn't pay my kids for reading because they read without it. Instead, I had to look at motivation to get them to occasionally put down a book and interact with the rest of the world. I think parents have to take a look at what motivates their kid and what works for their family and make the decision they feel is best. This post was edited by daisyinga on Wed, Nov 20, 13 at 12:49

Are you kidding me? He hopes she dies giving birth? Calling her horrible names, thowing out your 15 yr old son and wanting to throw out the pregnant 16 yr old? Sorry but your husband is a real A**HOLE. Don't get me wrong, I have issues in my home but my problems seem like a walk in the park compared to what is going on in your house. We don't know the whole story but I just can't help but feel terrible for your daughter. While it's unfortunate that she became pregnant at such a young age, it's done and she has to deal with that. She will need you. Why would you even think about putting her out on the streets? Why would you even allow your 15 yr old son to be put out? I'm assuming that you probably have had a lot of issues with the teens and your husband doesn't know how to deal with it so he just wants to kick everybody to the curb. Those are your kids and you just don't give up on your kids! Somebody needs to leave but I don't think it's the kids. I'd make DH leave or I'd pack up my kids and get out of there!

Mercy, have you got a lot on your plate! I admire your cheerfulness & perseverence. I think people have a wrong impression about "mental illness"; they think someone who has a brain disorder acts crazy, when really they usually act like anyone else, & their symptoms often do not include "acting crazy". As you say, bi-polar people can be fractious, argumentative, & unreasonable....& that sounds like a lot of other people as well. I think I might work on that part of the problem first. If he can realize that your daughter really does have a disorder, that she's not just being difficult or using her problems as a crutch, he can calm down & develop more reasonable expectations of her. & I think you're going to *have* to inhale, exhale, take a step backwards, & look after yourself. No one person can solve everyone else's problems, & if you kill yourself from the stress of trying, those grandchildren never *will* get to know & enjoy their grandmother. As far as your hubs's mother rejecting him... That would hurt anyone. but if he can look at the situation from the perspective of his adult self, he'll realize that she couldn't have been a good mother to him then (that's the reason he was adopted), & she still can't be a mother to him. She just doesn't have it. I'd say if he was brought up to be a good person & a responsible adult, & if he's found some uncles who adore him, he's a lucky person indeed. Take care.

Hi Moses, I just saw your response to my post, thanks for the kind words. I’m not a writer, just always (too) eager too share my opinions on roses. My Earth Angel is own root from Roses Unlimited, and I must say vigor has not been an issue. It went from scrawny band to decent sized shapely bush in one year. The vigor and health on own roots has been very good, the spring flush is wonderful, it’s just the repeat bloom that’s almost non-existent. I’d caution against trying to to bury a fortuniana grafted rose too deep. The fortuniana budded roses are usually budded very high on a long shank (both Nelson’s and K&M do this), so you’d have to dig rather deep. They also recommend you keep the graft well above the soil line because fortuniana has a tendency to produce suckers. (It suckers anyway, but those suckers would be even more prolific if buried). I think your plan of getting from Palatine on multiflora is a good one for starting off a plant with decent size. Noseometer, Earth Angel has a spicy scent to me, similar to Blossomtime, definitely no wet newspaper or dog scent here, lol. Jen, I think Jude has one of the most amazing scents, mixed sugared tropical fruits with rose perfume. Funny how noses are so different. Even it’s first year when I didn’t really like the blooms, I was definitely keeping him just for the scent. Both the blooms and the scent are wonderful this year. It’s La Park that smells like Eau de Damp Basement to me.