Some Pics...

[BEG]

Those pictures are great. I can't imagine you being mean to a child. 

Happy Birthday again from Auntie Schadie. 

I was snotty and I'm not proud of it.  Spending two nights in a row with the "feral" isn't easy.

Here is Feral again from the night before.  She is the one in the middle in the red dress.

Oh look how sweet she looks sitting on Mel Gibson's lap. That is who I think it is, is it not?

Yeah I thought she was all cute and sweet the first time I met her.  By the end of the first day I understood why one of my other friends had "issues" with her.  Yes, that is Mel. 

By the way, "Feral" dad is the one in the red tie standing behind her.

[Lauri]

Thanks everyone.  Now we have ELEVEN 9 year olds and FOUR 13-14 year olds at our house.  I need a drink.

oh just wait til they start driving! 

looks like a fun time. our older daughter went to dances for four years in a row with the same group of kids and the parents always had a party after they left - its mostly commiserating about how much older (looking) they all get every year and that we're all still holding the line on no drinking wherever they land at the end of the night.

i used to think we were lucky our kids never did that stuff, but now i realize.. it was us parents being dialed in every single year that kept them in line.

keep the family parties going and your kids will always have fun and stay safe ..

[DixieBelle]

Gorgeous pics BEG! It looks like they had a blast despite the "feral" one in the bunch.

[Splashdown]

Love how the birthday girl's outfit and cake are color-coordinated! That's damn impressive. 

[BEG]

Love how the birthday girl's outfit and cake are color-coordinated! That's damn impressive. 

LOL I hadn't noticed (and I notice EVERYTHING).  She was wearing her PJ's.  As soon as some of the kids arrived they changed into their pajama's.   

[lastparker]

Those father-daughter pics are so stinkin' cute!!!!  Your daughter is very pretty!

And we need details about the feral one.  Details!

I'm dealing with one myself...we love his parents, but we very nearly HATE the child.  And we feel guilty, but jeez!  How can two intelligent, normal adults be so blind to the horrors of their own child?

Come on - spill it! What'd she do?  Hoard attention?  Hoard cake?  Put down the other kids presents?

[BEG]

Those father-daughter pics are so stinkin' cute!!!!  Your daughter is very pretty!

And we need details about the feral one.  Details!

I'm dealing with one myself...we love his parents, but we very nearly HATE the child.  And we feel guilty, but jeez!  How can two intelligent, normal adults be so blind to the horrors of their own child?

Come on - spill it! What'd she do?  Hoard attention?  Hoard cake?  Put down the other kids presents?

OMG....are you sure they aren't the same kid? 

She is obnoxious and talks back to parents.  Once she was over and they were swimming in the pool.  When they came in I heard my daughter say, "You need to pick up your wet towel...don't leave it on the floor".  She said, "You pick it up".  My daughter said, "My mom will be mad".  The little f*cker said, "Like I CARE...tell her to pick it up".  I yelled down the stairs, "You better care, pick up the towel NOW.  If you don't like it you can go home.". 

When ever I'm talking to the girls (other friends have said the same thing) she always chimes in and is really a smart mouth.  The type of kid that you have to almost sit on your hands to keep from smacking.  Like if I'm telling my daughter she can't do something she will say, "My Mom is letting me, Sarah can go if she wants".  She told my one friend's kid (in front of my friend) that her house (the feral kids house) was nicer and prettier than hers (my friends house) and that they had a lot more money than they did.

She is the mean kid who makes the girls turn on each other.  She will manipulate the girls and pit one against the other.  I would almost categorize her as evil and I don't feel good saying that.  Say the girls are all getting in the car, she will pick one kid that is her "new best friend" and will latch onto them.  She will announce that she gets to set by her "new best friend", even if someone is already sitting next to her.  She will demand that the other child move.  It's as if she can sense which child feels the most insecure at the time and makes that kid the outsider.  It is almost creepy the way she does this. 

Her parents are really nice.  Her Mom is as sweet as can be and her Dad is funny.  He does get annoying at times but we think it is the "Napoleon" complex and he feels he has to always be "on" to take away from the fact that he is so short as well as other "insecurities".  Her Mom is clueless but my other friend thinks there is more to it and that something just isn't right going on in the family.  She knows them better than I do so I can't say. 

[Chris_]

Sounds like:

[BEG]

Sounds like:

Actually I have thought about the movie "The Bad Seed" often when think of Feral.

[DixieBelle]

^she sounds mental. We had a girl like that in our group/school growing up. Turns out there was a lot of really unhealthy stuff going on in her home. Someone told me she ended up in the looney bin after graduation because she was a cutter. Yikes.

Fortunately, your daughter can see her B.S. (calling her out on the towel) This Feral will end up hurting someone or herself eventually. Sounds like there is something going on at home. Or she may just be a rotten apple.

[jtyangel]

I had to laugh at the two little girls with cell phones taking pictures I assume My daughter, nearly 10, is begging for a cell phone, she'll be in middle school after all next year. Ain't gonna happen...I told her when she goes to junior high is the most likely time--that's only 2 years and a few months away. 

[BEG]

I had to laugh at the two little girls with cell phones taking pictures I assume My daughter, nearly 10, is begging for a cell phone, she'll be in middle school after all next year. Ain't gonna happen...I told her when she goes to junior high is the most likely time--that's only 2 years and a few months away. 

Yeah my daughter wants one so badly and I refuse.  "But MOM, everyone else has one".  My 14 year old has one and got it on her 13th birthday.

[lastparker]

OMG....are you sure they aren't the same kid? 

She is obnoxious and talks back to parents.  Once she was over and they were swimming in the pool.  When they came in I heard my daughter say, "You need to pick up your wet towel...don't leave it on the floor".  She said, "You pick it up".  My daughter said, "My mom will be mad".  The little f*cker said, "Like I CARE...tell her to pick it up".  I yelled down the stairs, "You better care, pick up the towel NOW.  If you don't like it you can go home.". 

When ever I'm talking to the girls (other friends have said the same thing) she always chimes in and is really a smart mouth.  The type of kid that you have to almost sit on your hands to keep from smacking.  Like if I'm telling my daughter she can't do something she will say, "My Mom is letting me, Sarah can go if she wants".  She told my one friend's kid (in front of my friend) that her house (the feral kids house) was nicer and prettier than hers (my friends house) and that they had a lot more money than they did.

She is the mean kid who makes the girls turn on each other.  She will manipulate the girls and pit one against the other.  I would almost categorize her as evil and I don't feel good saying that.  Say the girls are all getting in the car, she will pick one kid that is her "new best friend" and will latch onto them.  She will announce that she gets to set by her "new best friend", even if someone is already sitting next to her.  She will demand that the other child move.  It's as if she can sense which child feels the most insecure at the time and makes that kid the outsider.  It is almost creepy the way she does this. 

Her parents are really nice.  Her Mom is as sweet as can be and her Dad is funny.  He does get annoying at times but we think it is the "Napoleon" complex and he feels he has to always be "on" to take away from the fact that he is so short as well as other "insecurities".  Her Mom is clueless but my other friend thinks there is more to it and that something just isn't right going on in the family.  She knows them better than I do so I can't say. 

Napolean complex!!!  I noticed his...er....height in the picture, and wondered about that very thing.
And the reference to the pic with the cell phones at the birthday party - there's one little girl using her cell who looks like a little Katie Couric....

Anyway, re: the feral kid..... there MUST be some common issue with her family and the one I'm dealing with - your story is eerily similar to "our feral". Actually, I call him "Red" or "The Prince".  He's snotty to us...and he whines constantly.  He hates pizza, cake, ice cream and hot dogs, so he's a pain in the ass to feed.  He and my my daughter are 7 (he's almost 7) and my son is 4.5.  He goads my daughter into picking on my poor son whenever he visits....and my kids usually get along.  He gets nastier if there are other kids around - if he can't be the center of attention, he can't stand it.  Just this weekend, they "dropped in" and my kids were skateboarding and riding scooters in the cul-de-sac with the neighbor kids.  My son was kneeling on another boy's skateboard while the other boy propelled the two of them..... Red had a tennis racket and was trying to make them both fall by whipping it in front of them as they came by - the parents were oblivious.  Then we went in and Red is outside CRYING because a tennis ball rolled down the sewer.....of course he said my son threw it down there.  My son's aim ain't that good, kid.

When they first started hanging out with us, we were living in our last house, and Red would tell my daughter that when they grew up, he'd buy her a big house because hers was too small.  He announced to my husband that "We are richer than you are".  Now we've moved to a much larger house, and that really got him.  He said to me one day, and I quote, "You should know that my house is bigger than yours."  How many six-year olds say crap like that????  For the record, I'm pretty sure our house is bigger than theirs.   

But, they ARE loaded.  Both are retired Military officers with second careers, and the Dad is almost 60..... they have a wonderful lot on the water and tons of disposable income, so it is hard to keep up with them.  When they have our kids, they go to museums, shows, movies.....when we have their kid, I send them outside to play.  And try not to smack him.

Just what do I say to him next time he brags about his "riches"?  One of my friends told me to send him home with a tape measure and tell him to measure every room and report back.  I thought of saying, "Does it really mean that much to you to know that your house is bigger and you're richer?"  But I figure it would be lost on him.

[DixieBelle]

^what an arrogant little pissant. Maybe your little one will bean him upside the head. I know that's not very motherly of me, but I would have trouble holding in a giggle if some little "feral" got his due.

Sounds like he was a late baby with the parents being older and established. Bet he gets his way at home and has his little ego stroked. Hey, on the flip side, you could set him up with BEG's feral girl.

Oy! To think that these kids will someday be adults. Voting adults.

[LadyLiberty]

Napolean complex!!!  I noticed his...er....height in the picture, and wondered about that very thing.
And the reference to the pic with the cell phones at the birthday party - there's one little girl using her cell who looks like a little Katie Couric....

Anyway, re: the feral kid..... there MUST be some common issue with her family and the one I'm dealing with - your story is eerily similar to "our feral". Actually, I call him "Red" or "The Prince".  He's snotty to us...and he whines constantly.  He hates pizza, cake, ice cream and hot dogs, so he's a pain in the ass to feed.  He and my my daughter are 7 (he's almost 7) and my son is 4.5.  He goads my daughter into picking on my poor son whenever he visits....and my kids usually get along.  He gets nastier if there are other kids around - if he can't be the center of attention, he can't stand it.  Just this weekend, they "dropped in" and my kids were skateboarding and riding scooters in the cul-de-sac with the neighbor kids.  My son was kneeling on another boy's skateboard while the other boy propelled the two of them..... Red had a tennis racket and was trying to make them both fall by whipping it in front of them as they came by - the parents were oblivious.  Then we went in and Red is outside CRYING because a tennis ball rolled down the sewer.....of course he said my son threw it down there.  My son's aim ain't that good, kid.

When they first started hanging out with us, we were living in our last house, and Red would tell my daughter that when they grew up, he'd buy her a big house because hers was too small.  He announced to my husband that "We are richer than you are".  Now we've moved to a much larger house, and that really got him.  He said to me one day, and I quote, "You should know that my house is bigger than yours."  How many six-year olds say crap like that????  For the record, I'm pretty sure our house is bigger than theirs.   

But, they ARE loaded.  Both are retired Military officers with second careers, and the Dad is almost 60..... they have a wonderful lot on the water and tons of disposable income, so it is hard to keep up with them.  When they have our kids, they go to museums, shows, movies.....when we have their kid, I send them outside to play.  And try not to smack him.

Just what do I say to him next time he brags about his "riches"?  One of my friends told me to send him home with a tape measure and tell him to measure every room and report back.  I thought of saying, "Does it really mean that much to you to know that your house is bigger and you're richer?"  But I figure it would be lost on him.
[/quote]

It sounds like that kid has a big void in his life, and he tries to fill it with all that his parents possess.

He also sounds like some adults that I know that I avoid 

[LadyLiberty]

^what an arrogant little pissant. Maybe your little one will bean him upside the head. I know that's not very motherly of me, but I would have trouble holding in a giggle if some little "feral" got his due.

Sounds like he was a late baby with the parents being older and established. Bet he gets his way at home and has his little ego stroked. Hey, on the flip side, you could set him up with BEG's feral girl.

Oy! To think that these kids will someday be adults. Voting adults.

 

I was wondedring if this is how this kid copes with having older parents (who subsequently have more energy maybe and just "do" more with their kids), by snubbing everything he can that he is jealous of that her kids' have in parents.

[DixieBelle]

^either that or he's being treated like a little adult at home and and no one has reigned in his mouth. I have a nephew with a porky mouth. I verbally smack him down every chance I get. He doesn't quite know what to make of my witty retorts.

[DixieBelle]

^either that or he's being treated like a little adult at home and and no one has reigned in his mouth. I have a nephew with a porky mouth. I verbally smack him down every chance I get. He doesn't quite know what to make of my witty retorts.

Just like arguing with a ronbot or a DUmmy.

Come to think of it, yes!!! He's thirteen so the mental capacity is about the same.

[jtyangel]

I had to laugh at the two little girls with cell phones taking pictures I assume My daughter, nearly 10, is begging for a cell phone, she'll be in middle school after all next year. Ain't gonna happen...I told her when she goes to junior high is the most likely time--that's only 2 years and a few months away. 

Yeah my daughter wants one so badly and I refuse.  "But MOM, everyone else has one".  My 14 year old has one and got it on her 13th birthday.

Yep, my daughter will be about 2/3 way through her first year in the jr high at that age so exactly the right age imo. 

[RedTail]

Sounds like:

Yup. . .sounds like it.

Other women. . .when you truly want your self esteem shattered, your reputation destroyed overnight.


*TKay*

[BEG]

^either that or he's being treated like a little adult at home and and no one has reigned in his mouth. I have a nephew with a porky mouth. I verbally smack him down every chance I get. He doesn't quite know what to make of my witty retorts.

I think that is part of it with Feral.  Her Dad is a smart ass and he thinks it's funny when his daughter is a smart ass and so he encourages it.

[Flame]

^either that or he's being treated like a little adult at home and and no one has reigned in his mouth. I have a nephew with a porky mouth. I verbally smack him down every chance I get. He doesn't quite know what to make of my witty retorts.

I think that is part of it with Feral.  Her Dad is a smart ass and he thinks it's funny when his daughter is a smart ass and so he encourages it.

Sounds like my sister's husbad and her kids...they get on my last nerve