PMBD

Ok dont hate me, I did search first and i couldnt find where we had discussed alice fashion.
http://www.alicefashion.com
Paysite, hasnt been updated for over 6 months.

People have been wondering on various forums wtf is going on with the site. While others dont care at all, I figured I'd try to contact her and see what was going on.
my email to her (sent to her paypal addy yesterday):

her response an hour later:

So alicefashion is dead. Hopefully she will take down the donation sets and put up a news notice to let her visitors know.
If you have been trying to contact her using her contact form and havent gotten a response, try the email address on her paypal page.
Considering I got a response within an hour, anyone who has donated should still be getting their donation items (which means no scamming going on), but it sucks for those people trying to download free items since none of them work :|
But yay, a new baby! What a wonderful reason to stop simming :)

like I said on msn, sucks that she's a paysite but at least she was honest with you about her reasons and I give her kudos for that...would've been easy for her to give a defensive 'mind your own fucking business' spiel at you about it but instead took the time to explain her reason.

That was done with diplomacy and class on the part of both you ladies, I applaud you both. And new babies are always a cause for yays!

Why does Cala call you ebil, Jess?  That was a very nice email that you sent.   :D

See, Cala, Jess is NOT ebil.  :lol:

Is.

Aww, I really liked her stuff.  It was getting really good and not many sites make clothes that style.

But yay for babies!  I love babies.  My husband and I spent the weekend with some of our married friends this weekend, one set of which is pregnant and now my uterus is having like spasms of envy and rage.

So I spent the evening cleaning my downloads folder... Used the Compressorizor and just that took my folder from 8.32GB to 5.17GB.  *dance*

I prefer dogs to babies myself. Puppies are so much cuter, and way more fun!

Hear hear!

No nasty-pimply-teenager-to-be is getting free boarding in my uterus, no sir. Give me my doggy any day.

/threadhijack

But you can't push a dog out of your vagina so what's the fun?  :(

yeah and when they don't look like a cute puppy anymore, you cook em up and eat them.
Doesn't the pound get suspiscious of you, getting a new puppy every year right after christmas?  :cry:

Well, you could push a dog out of your vagina. You'd just have to push it up there first.

Dog: "Hi hi hi, mama! I'm so glad you're home again! Treat? I can haz treat? Wait. What are you doing? Why are you pushing me into this dark place? What's going on? Oh my god! Vagina! AAAAH!"

Poor dog.

Wow  :shock:

I really could have done without all that mental imagery.

*reaches for the rum to wash it away*

Getting babies in your vagina is far more fun - plus, doctors will medicate you to push them out - no real explanation needed.

Whereas with dogs, they would bite and scrabble frantically, you have to explain to your doctor *why* your chihuahua is up there, then re-explain it to the doctor's nurse, then they take pictures for the "medical books" (when really we all know it's for a Darwin Award) and then, with the contempt of animal lovers everywhere, they refuse to medicate you fully.

If it's a baby, you can use your vagina again after a short time, but if there's a scrabbling dog, well, I daresay it'll take a year before you stop screaming when you piss.

Poor dog?  No - poor vagina.

I'm sorry. I suppose my sense of humor is just a little... uncomfortable.
*readies vat o' rum for imagery-washing-away-ing*

Edit:
You're right, Calalily. I suppose the vagina does suffer more than the dog.

:lol:
Dont' worry, Rebbie, I was thinking the same thing.

You just posted it first...

*chuckles*

All good Rebbie  :wink:

It was funny ... and disturbing  :twisted:

That was the funniest thing I've heard in a while. xD Wow.

Jess isn't evil, she's ebil. There's a difference.

Yeah, but when I told my doctor the pink ninja was after me again I got all the dope I wanted, no need to mangle my vagigi with a diaper-filler.

Paysite closing = dogs & vaginas? lmfao! What a twist! Well at least another paysite is gone but when are they gonna remove the pay button?

O-My-Freakin'-Lord!   Someone please pass the mental clorox so I can bleach that image out of my head!  I've heard of gerbils going up the wazoo, but puppies in the vagina?   :shock:

With PMBD, anything is possible.  :D



Hey, you could break your leg and get painkillers.  With children, you also get someone to blame for ruining your life - "the dog did it" as explanation of why you (global you) have loser qualities isn't gonna cut it. Best thing you can get is "it ate my homework".

Actually, that's: "Don't look at me, it was the dog!"
*glare at puppy accusingly*

This is a good excuse if you're prone to crapping randomly on the floor, but everyone feels sympathy for those who have children.  It's a huge rort you're not in on.  :lol:

When a puppy is sick, you take it to the vets' and you leave it there, and if you weep over your dog at least half the people in the room think you're a nutcase.  When a child is sick, well bitch, you better cry and milk it for all it's worth - or you will be named.....BAD MOTHER OF THE YEAR.

Plus, no one gives you time off work to take care of your new dog for three months, and when the dog moves out, you cannot present it with a bill.  :P

Look, the only thing I'm willing to admit to on this baby thing is that they provide a cheap alternative for turkey on Thanksgiving.

I like other people's kids; spoil 'em rotten and send 'em home with a sugar high.  I will always be all kids' crazy Aunt Ann but this womb weren't made for breeding.  I was preggers once (miscarriage) and never again, horrible experience even before the complications and I wish to god my family would stop telling me I'll regret it if I don't because I have and I won't.  I like cats and dogs.  They don't wear clothes (mostly, my cat is very skinny), eat the same food everyday (approximately) and will never need a college fund.  Sounds like a good deal to me.

You might like this site:

http://happilychildfree.com/rants/

I have to say that most of the people I know personally with children are amazing and considerate. It's the ones who don't monitor their sproggen (which could actually get the little rug rats hurt, or worse) or want special privileges or inflict bad baby / child public behavior on others in, say, restaurants that do not have a plastic ball-filled pit outside (i.e., is not geared towards children).

Poor kids are bored. Teach them to eat properly at a child-focused restaurant until they are old enough not to be bored and whiny and messy. (Having two sets of "polite" dining manners is confusing for a kid, anyway.)

Praise the parents who do their job properly, always.

But burninate with extreme wrath and vigor (!!!) those who do not, for they make good parents look like assholes by association, which isn't really fair.

Actually I don't think you would - this coming from a woman with 2 kids. Most women who choose not to have children do just fine.  Children may have meant a great deal of status to 50s housewives, but they're really not essential now.

I took care of my Dad leading up to his death, including when he was in a wheelchair and bedridden.  But that's become a rare thing - for kids to care for their parents.  It's often foisted on one kid (for years, who ends up feeling beleaguered under the strain) or they're put in a home.  So it's not as if you can say it's for your old age.  That might be the dream, but it no longer happens but for rare cases.

And there are always other people's kids - one of the things I look forward to is when my kids move out, and their kids will come to visit.  :P

Yeah, I'm intentionally child-free and I'm doing just fine. I have had the maternal instinct for oh, maybe five minutes...and not all in a row.

ETA: One thing I've noticed, though, is that many sites/lists for childfree people are very anti-children. I don't mind kids - kinda like them, actually. But that doesn't mean I want my own, and that's where the struggle comes in. It's hard to explain to many folks why this is the right decision for me. And to the anti-kid people, it's hard to say "I'm fine with kids and their mothers" without being suspected of being a troll. It's a hard line to walk...so just be forwarned.

Since we're being serious about all this all of a sudden, let it be said that I adore children, especially between ages 3 and 6. It's actually my dream to become a kindergarten teacher (difficult studies!) The happiest times of my life were spent in class with 25 rugrats playing and laughing and crying all around me. I live for that, God knows why.

I don't take well to child-haters. It's like they are trying there hardest to ignore these brilliant, funny, intelligent creatures. Children teach us so much we've forgotten and I have a healthy dose of respect for what they unknowingly teach.

I just don't want any of my own. I don't know why not.

Then you shouldn't have them, I totally agree with you.  I have 3, I could lend you a couple if you just need a quick fix  :lol: .  I think there is really nothing worse than someone who has kids and doesn't want them.  There are pros & cons on both sides of the issue.  I respect that you know that you don't want them and you won't be pressured into it.  Stick to your guns.  All of those who tell you what you will be feeling and how you will regret it yada yada yada, will not be the ones changing diapers and wiping spitup off of your clothes.

I know exactly how you feel.  I so overly identify with kids, particularly teens and preteens you'd think I still was one sometimes (actually I can pass, I do theatre and still play teens at 32 on occasion).  I find it so disturbing to see people ignore their kids like their thoughts aren't valid.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who made it to adulthood still remembering what it was like to BE a kid.  

It's really hard to explain to people that I love kids but don't want to have any of my own.  A long list of reasons go into this and most of it falls into the category of "No one's damned business" such as health and philosophical issues and the like.  They can be a bit complicated to explain and most are very personal.  Not exactly something I'm going to explain to a random on the street.  Randoms on the interwebs are fine though.  ;)

But man do people look at me like I'm nuts when I have a friend's toddler climbing all over me but then answer the question of when I'm having my own with a hearty "never."

On the upside, early menopause runs in my family so I should be past my own childbearing years in 10-15 years.  Then my idiot relatives can stop asking.

I totally understand guys. I also don't think it's necessary to have kids. First of all, I believe that a child deserves loads of attention and love, and I just don't have it in me. I'm very eccentric and distracted, and am buried in one task to the other, I don't think a child would be very happy with me lol

That and the fact the responsibility seems too overwhelming.

Many reasons, and I understand about family pressure too. My mother won't take "No" for an answer, so I have to keep saying "Maybe one day" but I highly doubt it. My bf doesn't care either way.

I think the difference is that I like looking at toddlers and children, but when they cry or are mad acting spoilt. I don't know what to do. I don't have any maternal instincts at all! I think motherhood is a very brave situation to be in!

:lol:
Heh. I have to say one thing, though. When you're in your twenties, don't do anything permanent (i.e. get sterilized) just because you think you'll never have kids. When I was younger, I was all: "Kids? Never!" Then it turned into: "Perhaps some day..." and now I'm slowly moving towards: "Want!" :lol: I'm not hysterical about it, though. :D

Having said that, I totally understand people who do not want kids. For example, my best friend has known since childhood that she'll never have kids. She loves her nephews, but she just does not feel the need to have  kids, and I understand her completely.  It is just such a deeply personal choice, and I think it is very insensitive to badger people about it. After all, there are all these people who cannot have kids, and if well-meaning strangers ask "When are you going to have kids" it must feel terrible.

So, I never ask people that, basically, because it is none of my business. :)

Hear that clock ticking, alia?   :lol:

Hehe, somewhere in the background, yes. :lol:

I've never had the craving or the need, though. I just figured, I better get the kids while I'm still young enough. You know, if you wait too long, staying up all those night's gonna turn you into a zombie. (I know it will anyways, but when you're younger, you need less sleep than when you're in your 40ies, so you're going to recover faster.) :lol:

I have 2 grown sons and I love being a mom (and now a grandma).  I knew from a young age that I wanted to be "married with children".  I had my boys at 19 and 21 and kind-of grew up with them.  They are now out of the house and doing very well.

I completely understand the choice to not have children and agree that if you don't want them, don't let anyone pressure you into it.

The ideal thing would be to be able to skip parenthood and go right into being a grandparent.  :D  Being a Grandma is awesome.  I get to spoil Josie and then send her home with her parents.  It's AWESOME!  :lol:

You say that, alia, yet I knew from the time I was 18 that I didn't want to have children. I've seen this whole annoying reproductive system as rather a bother - epsecially when it produces graperfuit-sized cysts.  I would have loved to have had the whole thing turned off/ripped out/stop doing its thing. (Yes, I know there are health benefits to having a working reproductive system - lower instances of this or that...but still. I'm not using it!)

*taps foot and looks VERY annoyed* I'm 42 and have a four-year old. I thought that I was already done with my child-bearing and rearing duties, but guess what? Mother Nature bushwhacked my ass with another one! Don't get me wrong, I ADORE my son, would not trade him for the world, but to find out at age thirty-eight that you're gonna be a mother again is something sobering.

It's also a good warning to you younger folk that if you're gonna play without the proper equipment, be ready to be responsible. Every woman has a choice about life, this I do know. Make the proper precautions part of that choice, though.

At my age, I should be worrying about whether or not we're gonna have enough money for retirement when the age hits, not potty training and stuff. That's something keirra's kids should be doing, not raising one of their own... At this rate, I'm gonna be too old and senile to spoil my son's kids!

Protect your playground or you're gonna be sweeping cereal and french fries out of your carpet for about eighteen years... And that's a modest estimate! But I still wouldn't trade my son, he's a ray of sunshine for many folks, some of them on this board!

Well I really wanna have kids but I'm weighing my options: Watermelon sized human coming out of my vagina or being a dog lady. Dog lady is so winning right now.

Sorry for that but really now <.<

ETA: And Keirra I still can't wrap my brain around you being old enough to be a grandmother.  :lol: In fact, You're not old enough. Stop it.  :lol:

Wow! I need something to erase that mental image, Nish.  :shock:

 :lol:

ETA: Nish, I am a very young Gramma.  Turning 29 again soon.  :lol:

There is no question whatsoever that I want kids.  I have wanted them since I was first married.  One day I will have them, but I also respect the fact that not everyone wants children.  I also know that I won't ask someone if they have children or why not if they don't.  I hate it when someone asks me that, so I extend the same respect to everyone else and don't ask.

I think that's the thing - if there's even a remote INKLING that you want kids, don't do anything drastic. Firmly sworn to be child-free folks like me, who have not just made the decision but seem to have had it made for them by their brains, might not be mistaken to have vastectomies, tubal ligations, etc.

I never want kids. Being an uncle is great though.

*hangs head* I play Barbies with my daughter and watch Disney princess movies.  When our daughters were younger (several years ago), I went to the Back Street Boys concert on Friday night with the oldest and Barney on Saturday with the youngest.  The saddest part - I knew the words to almost all of the songs at both.  :shock:

I don't have kids, but I do want them. Not until I get a house and with my PCOS I'm trying not to get my heart set on having kids. Basically I have a "if it happens" type of mentality right now. I'm sure it'll last four months before I get depressed about it. =p

I love my kids dearly. It did shock me though just how hard it was raising them. I wouldn't trade any of the experiences (well maybe a few of the teen ones) for anything though. I would never tell anyone they should have children, but I'd advise anyone under 30 not to do anything permanent about not having kids. You really can't predict how you will change and feel in the future.

Seconded.

I'm quite sure I don't want kids, and quite sure just isn't enough to warant any drastic measures. How hard is it to just use birth control anyway? I know there's always a chance they don't work as advertised, but seriously, it's not worth risking your future happiness. I'm a careful person and I do hope that in 10 years I won't be the person I am today. Who knows, maybe older me will love the idea of having a child.

I'm not doing anything drastic to my body. I'd feel... I don't know, not like me anymore. I got a female body in working order with all the bits and pieces intact and I'm overjoyed to be blessed this way. I wouldn't mess with it. I wouldn't chop of my arm, I'm not getting my tubes tied. Same difference to me.

...

So yeah, Alice Fashion's dead then? Huh...

Sometimes the choice is not ours to make, sadly enough. I grew up wanting a family desperately and no I didn't. I have reconciled myself to what happened, but still, I get pretty upset when I hear of women who have a family for all the wrong reasons.

At the tender age of 32 I had to have an emergency hysterectomy It was either that or die. I chose to live even though it meant the death of my only real dream. In retrospect I see now that it was probably a good thing that I didn't have children, although I always feel sorry for my self on Mother's Day.

Too many times I see where the kids do not come first, where their needs are not met, and it makes my blood boil. If you want kids, want them for the right reasons and not because you want somebody to love, and love you back. Once you are a parent, no matter how much time passes you will always be a parent. Even when you are 90 and your kid is 65, you are still a parent. A parent is a lifelong commitment, all I'm saying here is to be prepared.
For people like me who had the choice taken away from them, to see when kids don't come first, to hear stories of neglect and abuse, well lets just say
I have no pity for the parents in those cases, and drawing and quartering said parents at dawn is not as awful as it may seem.

Sounds good to me.

I'm sorry about what happened to you. I have a friend who needed an emergency hysterectomy at 22.

I am all for mandatory tube tying and tubes snipped for people that have proven that they should not be allowed to contribute to the gene pool.

I too knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a Mommy. I also began having my children at a fairly young age (19). Mother of three of the most awesome people you could ever meet and grandmother of one and a half. :wink:

Oh, don't get me started on what I think of people who treat their children horribly. I get very very angry.  :x  I don't even want to think about it.

Everyone always says that - I think that if you're sure at 23, you'll be sure at 33.  Operative word here being sure.

We opted for permanent surgical birth control at 23 - with 2 kids.  I don't regret it for one minute - almost 11 years later.  It is reinforced for me everytime we have a toddler (and recently a cockatiel) that I don't want to be a parent again.  We had great difficulty doing it - doctors warning and re-warning us, and had to go private.  But I thank God everyday that I don't have any more children.  Not that I don't love the ones I have dearly, but I'm very glad that stage is behind us, and I can hold a debate with my little lateral thinkers.  :P

And of course, there's always the relative that guilts you about the amount - don't think it's just the people with no kids.  After I had my first son, I was told how bad it would be if I didn't have another child.  When I had two, well that was just an invitation to have 3.  All that crap annoyed the living hell out of me, so I relate to those women who don't want to have any.

I always told myself: One at least, two at most, after three I'm getting my tubes tied/hubby getting snipped.

But that's a little different Calalily. A 23 year old with no children should really think twice before doing something permanent.

Ah yes, but everyone told us we were too young - that we'd regret it, that we'd want more later.  They were wrong.   :P

Unfortunately, not everyone is as blessed as many of us here at PMBD to be always right.  :wink:

Same thing happened to me.  I had my tubes tied at 21, after the birth of my second son.  My husband was in the military, but, the military doctors wouldn't do it.  They said we would regret it, that we were too young.

So, I went to a private doctor and the military paid for it.  I never regretted it either.

Far better to do something. I spoke to a woman at a taxi rank once - 23 with 4 kids - and wanted to stop, but couldn't get the operation at all and nor could her husband.  She was resigned to having more kids, while dreading it, cause birth control had failed 4 times.  

I'm all for the operation whenever someone wants it - there's foster kids who need some love in every Western country. Change your mind, and you can change the life of lots of little people instead producing another.  :)

How can birth control fail 4 times by the age of 23?

I imagine they must not have been using it properly.

That's what I was thinking. But if it really did, I do feel for her. The laws of probability did a nasty number on her.
It's times like these when I'm thankful I live in Belgium though. It's not the best country to live in but at least we've got good health care.

Some women are just incredibly fertile. It's not that they do not know how to use birth control, it's just that if there is even the slightest chance, they will get pregnant.

Fact of life. Thank god I'm not one of them! ;)

sorry to push you guys back on-topic, but i contacted alicefashion again to see if she'd be ok with her items being put on the graveyard, and she said she would be ok with it, but that she has talked to a friend about fixing the broken files.
So the broken files may be fixed soon, but if any of you have any of her files could you send them to the graveyard? Once her site is working properly again, they'll be taken down.

Good news Jessica! Thank you!

Well guys, I've told all my girlfriends that when they start having kids they can come and visit crazy auntie Dee. Who will feed them good food, and let them read our comic collection, watch our DVD's and play with  uncle's action figures. We have a nice backyard too with flowers and stuff.

I actually can't wait for that. The thing is that I know there is a lot of joy to babies, but there is a lot of pain. I have a lot of issues to sort out at age 28, and until I resolve them, and until I really have a burning desire to have children. I'm quite happy to be Auntie Dee  :wink:

It does make me happy that everyone is tolerable to a woman's choice in regards to motherhood. It's a very personal and contextual question and it's something to think about deeply! :P

That's good Jess.

And there are some women who get pregnant at the drop of a hat.  The pill isn't particularly effective, and can be circumvented by antibiotics IIRC.

I've known of some weird situations - a guy who had a vascectomy and had another child after that, a woman who had her tubes tied, and became pregnant, and there is high anecdotal evidence that some Islander (as in South Pacific Islander) women *having their periods while pregnant*.  

One of my friends of Islander descent had her periods for 7 months while pregnant - so she didn't know until she went into premature labour, which she thought was appendix pain, until she had the baby 20 minutes later.  :shock:

Dee, that's exactly how i feel. My best friend got married in July (he "doesn't want" kids, but his wife wants a brood  :lol:) and I told them to hurry up and get pregnant so I have a baby to come over and spoil. I'm still pretty young ("18" still...just barely... by the rule), but I want kids less and less as I age... Not that i'm doing anything drastic, like Hec warned against.

Cala, my aunt had her period for 3 months into her pregnancy - obviously not as extreme as your example, just sharing. They didn't know she was pregnant until she skipped month 4 and they went to the Dr and found out how far along it was. (That terrifies me to this day - that I will become pregnant and not know it for months...)

I've got Islander in me too - and I didn't have an inkling until about 3 months in. Other than weight gain (or what I thought was weight gain) around the tummy, there was no stoppage of period to indicate I was pregnant.   Felt like being on a rollercoaster till D-day, particularly with some mothers insistence on telling me horror stories about labour.   :(

Speaking of babies. I just found out that my favorite niece who was diagnosed with  Hydrocephalus (http://www.medicinenet.com/hydrocephalus/article.htm) at three months is expecting her first baby!!

My sister was told, when they first diagnosed my niece, that she would suffer from brain damage and all other sorts of problems. The doctors were so wrong. Instead she has an IQ through the roof, was always in gifted and advanced classes, and she graduated with honors - top of her class. She has undergone many surgeries in connection with the shunt and yet has far exceeded her peers. She grew into such a lovely brilliant young lady.

She had her first doctor visit this week with an OB doctor, who has dealt with patients who had been diagnosed with Hydrocephalus, and everything is looking great!

We are all so very excited for her, I just wanted to share with you all!

Awesome Sweet!

Yay! Great news  :twisted:

I was one of those who wanted...and tried...and couldn't  :cry:   It was a very difficult time for hubby and me, but we figured that there must have been some divine reason it wasn't meant to be.

Now we're a bit older and financially settled, we're looking into adopting an older sibling group of two.  And I have to tell you that if biological parents had to go through all the interviews and classes that we are before having children, there would be a lot fewer unwanted and abused children in this world.

Wow, that's fantastic SmilingSweetly. Shunts are a bloody hassle, but it's good that hers has allowed her to have a good life.



That's good though - you can change the lives of some kids who might not have had someone to love them.  That's a special peice of goodness right there.  :D And hopefully they will have kids, and you'll get to be grandparents - which is all the fun and none of the throwing up and being thrown up on.  :lol:

doh, Cala, I meant to put in my previous post that we are NOT islander. It was late and apparently my brain flaked out. @_@ I was just saying, it's not just islanders that it happens to.

Euterpe - hearing about people who want babies and can't have them always makes me sad. It's fantastic you're looking to adopt. :D Esp. since you are looking at older ones... the babies "fly off the shelves" so to speak, but the older ones always have a hard time getting placed.

Oh - it's alright - I got that bit.  I was referring to my own previous post.  Without doubt it crops up in all ethnicities, but I personally know of lots of islander women who have the problem.  :D

A funny little factoid that OBGYN's don't like to pass onto to their patients for some strange reason.  I have a genetic tendency towards a lot of girlie infections and it was a Planned Parenthood doctor who finally warned me of this when I went in for an exam and some anit-bios for yet another case of BV.  It's probably how I got pregnant when I was 19 and heading for Navy boot camp (where the miscarriage took place).  Fortunately, I can't take the pill anymore and the health problems seem to have taken their tole as there are more than a few times in my 20s where I probably should have gotten knocked up but didn't.

It's too bad I'm a smoker, I'd love to give my eggs to some woman who wants kids but can't have any.  Much better use for them than sitting around in my body.

I wish that prospective bio-parents had to go through the same process that foster and adoptive parents do.  The world would be a better place.  Good on you for looking for older siblings.  If I ever change my mind about having kids, I plan to adopt instead of giving birth.  Everyone wants puppies and kittens, I mean babies.  But no one seems to want to older kids and I have a lot of friends who went through foster care so I'd love to save a child from that experience.

As long as that parent education includes a lesson entitled "Your child's schoolteachers are not their ONLY teachers" - my sister teaches first grade, and it's a crime to know how many parents do NOT participate in their kids' educations. It's too bad - because the kids whose parents are involved do a lot better in school.

Tell me about it. I taught second grade for a couple of weeks as an intern, it's sickening what these parents expect of teachers. One mother came to complain (loudly, in front of 26 young children) because I gave her kid one of my sandwiches. The reason she was so steamed was that they were vegetarians and the sandwich I gave her daughter had some meat on it.
She conveniently forgot all about the fact that she hasn't packed her 13-year-old a lunchbox in ages, because she has yoga classes or somesuch in the mornings.

Seriously, I'm not going to let a kid starve because you're to lazy to give her food. Ugh. These people make Miss Teacherninja angry.

There are a lot of parents who are involved with the kids' education and help the school out, but they usually expect applause for it and are very demanding as a result.

I cannot stand parents like that.  That is why when we were relocated by the Army and I was interviewing for jobs, I was very clear about only working 4 days a week so that I could volunteer at the school on Fridays.  Being able to help kids that really need it with literacy has been so fulfilling.  Hec and I were talking about this the other day.  I stay in contact with my kids teachers by email frequently.  Last year when my son misbehaved and wouldn't settle down, I took a week off and sat in class with him in 5th grade.  Sufficiently embarrassed, he decided that he would do things the way he was supposed to and quit being a shithead.

Also, 20/20 did an educational special about 2 years ago on Pentagon schools (these are schools located on military posts).  Students that attend Pentagon schools are required to have one of the parents volunteer/participate 2 school days a year, one each semester.  Because of the parental involvement, a study showed that no matter ethnic or financial station, that all students excelled and actually placed in the 90% nationally.

Anyone who thinks it is solely the responsibility of the teacher and the school to provide the education for their child is an idiot.  Parents and teachers should partner together to help support one another.  Even if you can't volunteer your time in the classroom, as I couldn't for many years, I still did projects at home like putting together booklets, cutting things out, typing up different study guides, etc.  My kids will roll their eyes, but the one thing I have told them that no one can ever take away from you is your education.  

My husband is also very involved and participates in the special night curriculum classes that they will provide to help kids excel.  He became very committed to supporting education even more so after returning from Afghanistan.  Seeing children who had never been to school and wanted so badly to learn was heartbreaking.  The first letter he sent home was asking me to ship colors, pencils and paper for these kids.  They didn't ask for candy and such, they wanted things to write with, books, etc.  So we helped provide that to as many as we could.  I even got the community involved and we sent 1800 backpacks filled with general school supplies from the elementary school our kids attended.  

To not support those educators who do so much, for so little money.  Who now take their school work home with them and have additional responsibilities placed on them by the school boards and the parents is ridiculous.

*ramble is over*  :lol:

armywife, you and your husband sound like the kind of parents this world deperately needs right now. Mucho kudos to both of you, it sounds like you're raising wonderful kids.

You mentioning the children in Afghanistan reminded me of Room to Read. It's a wonderful, inspiring initiative, so in case someone is interested: http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/roomtoread.html

It goes both ways though. Good teachers welcome parent involvement, poor teachers fear it. It is a pity that people who should have the same goals in mind don't always work well together. It's made worse if you have poor administrators. As for egos, that's stupid really. A small determined group can make a huge difference, the lower under the radar, the greater your effect.

I've met a lot of teachers in training that stated that they wanted to be a teacher because of the tons of vacation they get. That stupid, stupid idea just won't go away. I can just see them becoming the uninvolved, 9-to-5-and-then-fuck-off teachers who don't give a damn about the education of the children in their care. There's bad apples on both sides. If you're not in it for the kids, you shouldn't be in it at all.

Pah, this subject gets me all riled up. Children are the future and such. Anyone messes with them, they mess with me.

So if I'm pissed at you, I should punch my kids in the face?

Huh, and here I am wondering why I keep getting nosebleeds and bruises for no apparant reason.

Just one thing to first topic (now it looks like offtopic, heh) - Alice is already uploading the things back (right NOW!) - she started in morning (it was morning for me  :)) and now there are at least little girls. But everytime I went to check it again, there's something new... So no graveyard is (I hope) needed ever again.  :D

yes i just came back here to let you guys know that her hubby changed it to blog format to make it easier for her to update so once they get everything put back on there, she may actually be updating when she has time

Well that's nice. Is she gonna be free now?

"Sims Free Downloads and AliceFashion Donation Sets will be back soon."

Apparently not.

Hello all !

It's Alice's boyfriend. Just few words to confirm that AliceFashion is back. I was sad when Alice said me to stop the website, so I made a new version of the website (blog) and I'll bring you back all the entire free collection of skins. So yes, still free.

And a correction for old posts on this board, AliceFashion isn't a paysite. You have hundreds of free skins and some Donation Sets. Money is for the hosting of the website, not for buying a yacht  ;)

I'll try to add some skins each day, so check the website or subscribe to RSS to stay informed about new skins to download

Romain

Sigh. Hosting? Gimme a break.

I have questions!!

OK. A thirteen-year-old was in second grade? Tell me this was a typo, or that you don't teach second graders anymore. Getting left behind in first grade 6-7 times is just wrong, yo!

A thirteen-year-old can't make her own lunches? I'll give her a pass if Mum is too lazy to buy groceries, but if there is food in the house, a child that age should know how to scavenge for and prepare meals by then. Amirite? :)

A thirteen-year-old doesn't "know" she is a vegetarian? (Sounds like "they" aren't veg, only Dumb Mum is!  :D)

Gah, my mom taught kids that age. Yikes. I don't envy you. However, the rewards for getting them to learn are probably worth the hassles most of the time.

@Devilfish: Wait until those teachers learn about re-certifications, summer school, continuing ed, required business conferences, pre-planning, and much more.

@Romain: Selling anything for any reason is against EA's EULA that you agree to when installing the games. The "bandwidth loophole" ended with Sims 1. Free hosting is available. If the money is truly for hosting, then it would behoove you to stop enabling someone to break the law and piss off most of the Simming community. Help her go free, talk to the folks here who want to help creators create and NOT break the law or look weaselly to fellow Simmers.

Romain, thank you for taking the time to come over here to tell us about the site.

I too am glad that Alicefashions is back, Alice made beautiful skins.

However, we consider any site that has any donation sets a paysite, even if there is just one or two donations sets, so in that sense, Alicefashions is a paysite.

On this site there are several creators that offer all their creations for free and survive on donations. If you feel that you cannot afford the hosting without donation sets, you should consider finding a cheaper host, or if that is not possible, several people here offer free hosting to sites that cannot afford them, the only condition being that everything on the site is free.

For example, Moneybetterspent (http://www.moneybetterspent.org/) offers options and suggestions to site owners on how to become a free site.

I don't want to enter in a polemical and useless discusses.

The fact is : Do you see pay skins on the website actually ?

And while you talk about law, do you know how many hours that take to make a beautiful skin ? So for you it's normal that pirate websites propose original creation (based on meshes and first skins by Electronic Arts yes of course) for free ?

It's the same that divx and MP3. For you it's normal to download mp3 songs from singers who made several months to make and produce songs ?

Electronic Arts never sent us any email or legal letter. Why ? Because the creations of Alice and other sims fans and creators, are good for business. More people are addicts, more peoples will buy new Sims Updates. So stop annoying me with your legal questions.

And yes 2000+ visitors / day on a website, it needs a good hosting, with good database capacities, to satisfy AliceFashion's visitors

You came to a phorum that's about destroying paysites and expected us to embrace your paysite?  LOL, you're funny.

to alia : Thanks, I don't have any problem with the "paysite" fact. I saw Alice make skins for hours and hours and seeing people discussing about false law reasons make me tired... (sorry for my english)

AliceFashion give to Sims community hundreds of free skins and maybe 5% in donation set...

I think that lawyer addicts on this board should look on bigger "paysite" before to talk about AliceFashion...

I don't really understand anybody. I make effort to bring back AliceFashion skins to everybody, for free, and there are always people to be negatives...

I came to a forum in order to answer to the author "Jessica" and to inform the Sims Community that AliceFashion is back with all the free skins...

That's all

Hosting is free. "Donation Sets" are not free. You are a paysite.

Well, I think there is some confusion as to whether the Alicefashions donation sets will be back (as paysets). If not, congratulations on going free!  ;D

As to creating paysets being legal, here's a quote from money better spent I linked in my earlier post:

This is a direct quote from EA's EULA:

Why EA does not enforce their copyright, I have no idea. However, this makes filesharing donation sets completely legal.


ETA: Romain, this site does not target only Alicefashions or other smaller sites. Our main "enemy" if you so wish to call it, is the TSR, the biggest paysite there is.
We also have here several free creators who know how hard it can be to create new things for sims. However, these people feel that they have no right to ask money for their creations, even if it took hours to make them perfect.

to Lemmiwinks : I ask you again. Tell me where you see paying skins on AliceFashion ?

All skins will be free

Your first post. "You have hundreds of free skins and some Donation Sets."

So, no donation sets?  ;D
Yay! Good for you!

So I'm proud to be clear with you all : ALL SKINS WILL BE FREE. PAST DONATION SETS ALSO

"You have hundreds of free skins and some Donation Sets. Money is for the hosting of the website, not for buying a yacht"

So are you getting no money for ""donations sets"? Are they free now? I am confused.

I put online free skins for now, that I can each day.

Then, I'll add skins who was in donation sets. They will be added with other free skins. So, they will be free

Yay! Awesome news!  ;D
Sorry for the curt tone of my fellow pirates, it was just a misunderstanding.

As soon as you've added the former pay skins to Alicefashions, they will be taken out of the booty.  :D

Good for you. I misunderstood your original post. I apologize.
Welcome to PMBD. Please feel at home.

Alice I am very glad to hear you're not charging for your stuff.. Free site people all support each other. You'll find lots of friends.

There's a lady called Susim over at Cat and Susim's who has the same passion for Toddler clothing that you do.. It's nice to see someone specialising in that area, sometimes it's hard to do nice stuff with very limited meshes.

I apologize.  I misunderstood what you were saying. Yay! for going free.  ;D

Well, that is exiting!  I am also glad to hear you will be releasing all of your files for free.  I love to appreciate a creator that spends time making quality downloads, and then puts them up for everyone to have, no strings attached.   :)

Congratulations for being LIBERATED! We're so glad you've decided to set all your items free!

And...welcome to the Phorum.

Wonderful news.  ;D

We will help you in any way we can. We support all freesites here. Let us know what we can do if you need help affording hosting costs.

Your comments about donation sets and money "not being spent on yachts but on hosting" implied that some of your files require a payment before being downloaded. That is what we referred to when we advised you that this was against EA's EULA. It appears there was a misunderstanding. If so, I regret my mistake.

To clarify:
Having a donation button that is optional and not tied to donations IS legal. Several freesites have donation buttons, but all their files remain free.
Making donations mandatory before releasing files is equal to selling them, and thus those are not actually "donations" but an exchange of money for goods or services, and that IS NOT legal.

So, again, I am glad to have this matter clarified. And, again, let us know how we can support you, if you are indeed a freesite. We are always happy to welcome talented creators and to assist, advise, and protect them in any way possible.

Also, if your site is now a freesite, your former pay items will soon be removed from the Booty (unless you wish to have us provide "backup hosting"! ;))

Congratulations on going free!  *passes rum and cookies*

Thanks all for your posts. I'll be back soon when all content will be online

LOL. I apologise, that was indeed a typo. This was a Belgian school, and a Waldorf school to boot. I don't really know how to 'convert' to the more standard grade system used in other countries. It's the second grade of high school in the Belgian system, meaning she was indeed 12 or 13.

So yes, theoretically she should have been able to pack her own lunchbox, but for some reason she didn't and was left hungry. (This kid was very, very young for her age. Very fragile kid.) What bothered me about the situation was that the mother insisted that I was some sort of backwards cannibal teaching her daughter some ancient evil passed on to me directly by Satan, while the girl herself didn't care either way about what she got fed. She came down on me really hard for something that was meant to be a nice gesture, and that bugged me. A lot. If you want to raise your kids in a non-standard way, like vegetarian or Catholic or atechnological, that's all well and good, but you should at least inform the teachers of this. It's going to take some extra effort to raise your kid 'different' from most other children they'll communicate with, and if you're not willing to put forth that effort you shouldn't blame the (intern) teachers. In front of a whole class.

/rant

Anyway, back on topic.  :)

For what it's worth, I just wanted to congratulate you people at Alicefashion and apologise for the misunderstanding.
This reminds me again of the fact that paysite owners aren't the puppy-raping, kitten-punching bastards some people make them out to be. I personally take no satisfaction in closing a paysite or 'causing butthurt'. Despite what our Glorious Leader proclaimed a while ago, I personally do care if someone's pwecious feewing get hurt. Paysite owners are human after all. I dislike causing these people grief. But I dislike paysites even more. Even with people like Peggy and Carla Niven, I feel a little pang of compassion every now and again. The same I felt when we put that one Numenor file here. Good people are getting hurt for a good cause on both sides.

Okay, let the tomato-pelting commence!

*ducks*

YEAH ALICE!!!  WOOT!

*rum and cookies*

Devilfish, I go on a LOT of field trips (for some reason, I'm always the one that the teachers ask).  There was this one child in my son's 4th grade class, from a pretty affluent family, who never had his lunches for field trips.  Note, that the teachers were excellent about announcing said trips one week up until a day prior.  Still, no lunch for this child.  Twice, I bought his lunch.

The third trip we were taking was to a manufacturing company.  It was quite a distance and it was suggested that you might want to pack a few snacks.  Ahead of time, acting as if I was calling all the parents, I called his mother and reminded her about the field trip the following day and about extra snacks.  Just a side note, she didn't work, she stayed home with a 4 year old.  I was the SVP of a brokerage firm.  Anyway, as a safety net, I packed an extra lunch, a ton of snacks, brought so many water bottles and juice boxes it was crazy.  And you can you guess what happened?  That's right, he had NO lunch, NO snacks.  I seriously wanted to smack his mother.  It was so pitiful.  When they asked for his lunch to put it in the cooler underneath the bus, he just looked completely helpless.  I handed the driver the lunch I had packed and told him, "Here it is, your mom dropped it off after you left home."  While we were loading up, I called that stupid woman and told her I had packed her child's lunch, and followed it up with a huge verbal spanking.  Her excuses were she had another child, blah, blah, blah and her husband worked all the time.  I countered with, "Well, I manage $32 million dollars a day to the penny, have 3 kids and a husband in Afghanistan, please take you flimsy fucking excuses and shove them up your ass."  I would have cheerfully choked this woman.  The teacher actually called the dad later that night and talked about the lack of preparedness for his son at school.  He was so completely embarrassed to find out that another mother had been taking care of his child.  He offered to send money to the parent (I asked that she not reveal who it was) and she said no, that she just expected the parents of her students to make sure that their children came prepared for the school day.  Thankfully, he was not in my son's class the following year.

Now, back to making Valentine's Day goodie bags.   ;D

(emphasis mine)

Hehe, I wasn't aware being raised catholic was "Non-standard", or that it required teachers being informed of anything.  ::)

Back on topic: Congrats on being liberated, AliceFashions.

Congratulations on going free, AliceFashions.  ;D

I spent a lot of time volunteering in my (3) children's schools with various reading/tutoring programs, on top of being room mother for many of their classes, organizing events, fund raisers, PTA, yadda yadda and I did this all while attending college full time, running a household and having a husband who was a long-haul truck driver who was only home every other weekend (if that). And don't get me started on all the sports practices/events, cub scouts, etc that I participated/was involved in.

So I really can't understand what excuse there is for not being involved in your child(ren)'s school(s). I didn't mention all that to say "because I did so can you" but rather to illustrate that it is possible to make the time if you really want to.

I would get so frustrated and want to seriously hurt a few parents when I would hear the heartbreaking stories teachers would tell me. To see some children sent to school without breakfast in the mornings and then no lunch during the day, and some being sent to school without a coat on a cold day. One teacher told me of one child who kept complaining that his feet were hurting and the teacher found out that the shoes he was wearing were three sizes too small. She bought and paid for new shoes for the child out of her own pocket.

This all goes way beyond non-involvement of parents in the school system. In my opinion, this reaches abuse.

If you don't have the resources to provide breakfast or lunch for your child, there are government agencies that help with reduced or even free breakfast/lunch. Contact your local churches for help with getting a coat or even new shoes for your child if you can't provide. If you don't have time to prepare a lunch or breakfast for the child, then buy quick and easy stuff the child can access and prepare themself (ie pop tarts, frozen waffles, cereal etc), or pre-prepare things for the child on the weekends.

And get involved in what is going on at your child's school. It doesn't take but a few minutes of your time to jot a note to the teacher or pick up a phone if you have a question regarding your child.

My apologies for the rant but it just makes my blood boil when I read or hear about stuff like AW wrote about. grrr  >:(


Oh and welcome Alicefashion!!

Congrats on going free :) AW you're like a perfect mom or something. o.o

In Belgian it isn't standard at all. Hasn't been sine the sixties. Atheism rules supreme here, religion (chistianity especially) is regarded as something for old folks and idiots. And the reason I personally like to know these things is so that children who aren't from white atheist families (who were born in another country, speak other languages at home, actively practice a religion etc.) can tell the other children about it and we can discuss it. Older classes only of course, but it's usually a lot of fun for all involved.
(Do keep in mind I'm not a teacher just yet. I'm talking internships here. Wouldn't ant to give anyone the wrong impression)

Being a chemistry techer my self, I saw all sorts of parents. On the one hand you'll have parents you make an effort to participate in their children's education and who are always willing to listen to any comments you have to make about their chldren's progress. And then you'll have parents whose children you have tought for 3 straight years and you have never seen their face or heard their voice over the phone. We were taking my class on a school trip which included a 2 hour drive. To be prepared I had handed out a tick sheet with everything I believed the children should have with them. On the list were food, adequate water and of course a coat since it was winter. Needless to say more than a couple of kids turned up with nothing. Parents who don't take initiative really drive me nuts.

Rant over! Well done Alice for going free!  ;D

Keep in mind I've mostly seen Waldorf school (Steiner schools, free schools, I don't know what they're called in other countries). It's kind of hard to explain on the fly, but the children there are taught according to the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner; antroposophy (or whatever you call it in English). These schools do not recieve any funding because of this and get by on parent participation alone. Parents are expected to know the basics of antroposophy and carry the basics over to every part of their children's daily lives. Not to mention the involvement we need in schools that recieve almost no money. Everything from cleaning the building to organising events has to be done by the staff and parents. Without parent involvement, these schools fall flat. So it's doubly scary when all of a sudden, parents just stop caring and expect the staff to take care of everything. Thsese schools will start closing down, while the waiting lists are endless. Everybody wants their kid in those schools, but parents usually do a double take when they realise it's not just their child who's getting an alternative education.

One day in 3rd grade (USA public school) our teacher introduced her new volunteer Teacher's Assistant.
It... was... my... mom! I took so much crap over it that it almost seems funny now. Kids can be so cruel.
 ;D

Ha, ha! Poor Lemmiwinks! My mom was the substitute for my class for a week when I was in 5th grade. Fortunately, I was easy going enough to not register anything greater than shrugged shoulders and an "eh". Of course, this was the one year for me where the most important project for the class was to learn all the words to the song "Superstar" by Abba. ;D

I just laughed thinking about if i had gone up to one of my old teachers, and said "I'm Catholic, is that going to change your teaching plans at all?" Just gave me a good tickle. And I don't know if it was just my school district, or my particular class/teacher at the time, or if it's the US in general (that I doubt), but we didn't discuss religious things outside of where it was strictly appropriate - Such as, the history class I took where we covered some major religions and how they were formed, or Civics and Economics where, obviously, politics come into play and so does religion.

It's good you're using it as a conversation starter... from the context, i thought you meant it was for a special kind of treatment.. I just imagined all the catholics grouped up in the corner of the room or something, sheltered from the rest of you.

LOL! Oh heavens no. There's been enough class wars in this country, I'm not going to start a new one by myself. No, I just feel it's a good thing to teach children that their way of doing things isn't the only way.other families do things differently. I hear it makes for more tolerant adults.
Besides that, I think it's nice to know if you're raising your kid, for example, vegetarian, so I know she's not supposed to eat meat. (Would have saved me a world of trouble if I had known that before shit hit the fan.) Different situations call for different approaches. For example, if I saw this girl have a meat sandwich, I'd ask her if her mum would approve, maybe open up a conversation about how she feels about it and why she's going against her parents' wishes. (Just using the example above, it applies to all kinds of things) It's not to single kids out and call attention to the fact that they're 'different'. It's to avoid drama.

Besides, you're not just their teacher. You're not there to stuff dry facts in their heads and bugger off. You're an authority figure. For toddlers, you're the one who knows best and can always tell them how to do things right, simply by virtue of being an adult. That is a huge responsibility and if I tell them something that goes directly against what they hear at home, that's going to upset them. I feel like I should know these kids outside the classroom. I want to know how they feel and how they react to things. And I'm not going to be able to do that if I don't know what the hell is going on with them outside of school.

I'm also in the process of becoming a teacher here in the U.S., and agree wholeheartedly with you. Granted, my target age group is high schoolers, but the idea is still the same. There are too many teachers who just want to throw some information up on the board and go home. I've had some wonderful teachers in my own academic career, and they all expressed the same attitude that you have.